Disclaimer: Much as I wish they were...they're not mine.

A/N: Many thanks to catherder and alaidh for the beta.

Chapter 7 – Out & About

Logan carefully parked on the main street outside the general store. The town was about five minutes from the cabin by car, up a deeply rutted track, although it could also be reached the long way round from the highway. He and his cousins had walked there almost every day of their holidays throughout their youth and knew the proprietor, Jack, well. Jack, now in his late seventies, had run the store all of his working life. He was a small-town institution and the fountain of all knowledge for the area. But there were some things even he didn't know. Logan, unloading Eva from the back seat, grinned to himself at what was about to occur.

Logan stretched up to put the capsule back into the car, having safely inserted Eva into the Snuggli. He slammed the door shut and headed up the sidewalk to the shop entrance, popping a small wheelie over the single step in the doorway.

"Hey, there, Jack," he called, hearing noises from within.

"Be with ya in a minute," came a gruff voice from the rear. Logan heard a couple of crashes and a muffled curse, before Jack emerged carrying a large box. The old man looked over the glass-topped counter and set the box down on top. He was grayer and more grizzled than Logan remembered, but his body was still straight, and he looked fit and well.

"Jack, how are you?"

"My goodness, Logan, it has been a long time." Jack walked around the counter to him, a bony hand stretched out, then did a classic double-take at seeing the baby as well. Logan grabbed the hand in both of his, and shook it warmly. "And who do we have here?"

"We have Eva." Logan smiled.

"Well, what do you know. Hello, Eva." Jack grabbed one of the baby's tiny hands in his great fist and shook it gravely. Eva turned her head, looked into Jack's broad, good-natured face and grinned from ear to ear. "Well, Logan, you've done it again, surprised the old man."

"Jack, you'll never be old."

"Let me go and get Rose. Be right back."

Jack disappeared into the rear of the store again, and emerged again, propelling in front of him a stocky, gray-haired woman of about his age, wearing a floral print dress with a blue apron over it. "Oh, my Lord," she said. "It's been such a long time." The old woman's voice was sweet. "Give me a hug, you naughty boy."

"Rose, good to see you looking so well." Logan reached up to the old woman and gave her a warm embrace, careful not to squeeze the baby between them.

"May I see her, please?"

"Of course you may." Logan started to unfasten the front pack to release Eva, finally lifting the baby out and sitting her on his lap for a moment. She looked around with curiosity at the new surroundings, and, catching sight of Rose, smiled a broad, gummy grin.

"So, Logan, where's Max and that son of yours?" Rose held out her arms to take Eva from him, smoothing the baby's blonde, fuzzy hair with a work-roughened hand.

"They should be here shortly. She and Ben were going to walk…and with the state of that road currently…"

"Ah, you're still together. That is good news. I feared the worst when we didn't see you for so long," Rose smiled. "And aren't you the cutest thing ever?" Eva reached out and batted Rose's mouth. "Oh, you're a cheeky girl, aren't you?" Rose grabbed Eva's hand and blew into it loudly, which produced a gleeful laugh from the baby.

"Hey, what d'ya think you're doing to my kid?" Max walked in, speaking with mock severity.

"Max!" Jack exclaimed and wrapped her in a warm embrace. "And look at this young man! Hasn't he grown." Jack enveloped Ben's hand in his own, pumping it briskly. "Rose, why don't you put on some coffee?"

"Jack, I was about to do just that. Come through, come through."

"Logan, I take it you want a few things. Want to give me the list and I'll get it all together for you?" Jack held out his bony paw once more, and Logan handed him the list he'd written the night before.

"We need a couple of extras...got some loose boards on the porch so I need nails, plus some primer and red paint for the boat, and a couple of paintbrushes." Logan looked up at Max, thinking that, for her to have arrived so soon, she and Ben must have left right after he did.

"Not a problem. Now, go on through the back and I'll be with you shortly." Jack gave him a hard pat on the shoulder.

Logan rolled through to the comfortable, familiar surroundings of Rose's kitchen. This was definitely her domain, just as the shop was Jack's. Rose already had a plate of cookies on the table and the coffee brewing. Ben was chomping on a home-made chocolate chip cookie with evident enjoyment. "Dad," he spluttered crumbs as he spoke. "How come your cookies don't come out like this?"

Logan laughed. "Well for one thing, I don't make cookies. And for another, wouldn't that spoil you for when we come here?"

"Don't you pay any attention to your father," chided Rose. "He just doesn't want to admit that someone is better than him at something." The old lady smiled broadly.

"Rose, I wouldn't even try to compete."

Jack walked in. "Where you bin all this time?" he asked.

"Oh, here and there." Logan and Max exchanged glances. "Family keeps us pretty busy."

"And where's that cousin of yours?"

"Bennett? He'll be down some time tomorrow.

"Haven't seen him in a bit either."

"He'll be here for the weekend. Want me to deliver him bound and gagged at your door?" asked Max, raising her eyebrows innocently.

~*~*~*~

Logan scooted across the back porch floor on the cushion from his chair and banged a nail into the last of several loose boards. He reached back for the chair, but stayed where he was, watching Max and Ben in the yard. Max, her hair tied back in a loose ponytail, was crouched down next to the rowboat, which the two of them had carried away from the house to the cutting stump. They had leaned it there in order to prepare it for painting. Eva sat in the stroller beside them, supervising their activities, her wide-open dark eyes not missing a move. Max was covered in dust from sanding back a few rough patches, as was Ben, and she had a spot of primer on her nose.

Logan caught Max drinking him in greedily with her eyes, and his heart lurched. He, alone, knew how much she hated this insatiable urge she suffered with regular monotony. She flashed him a smile, and turned back to the task at hand. Logan prepared to get back in the wheelchair, his task finished, then paused as he saw Max stop to listen. The next thing he knew, there was a loud pounding of feet through the cabin and Bennett's son, Jonas, tore out the back door, almost tripping over Logan in the process.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, there, what's the hurry?"

"Sorry, Uncle Logan," Jonas said, ceasing his rush and continuing down the ramp more slowly.

"Logan!" came a voice from within.

"Out here!" he responded, picking up the hammer and box of nails and moving them out of the doorway.

Bennett and Marianne followed Jonas out the door at a more sedate pace. "Who's this? I was expecting to see my cousin, Logan, not Bob the Builder!"

"Very funny," replied Logan, once again preparing to climb back into the chair. "Good to see you, Bennett. But weren't you supposed to come tomorrow?" Logan smoothly transferred himself and placed his feet on the footrest, then leaned down to pick up the hammer and box of nails. Ben and Jonas immediately disappeared back around the front of the house, and Max stopped what she was doing to greet her brother-in-law and his wife.

"Hey, you guys, how come you're so early?" she asked, dusting her hands on the butt of the oldest pair of cargo pants she owned. She walked to the porch, pushed the stroller up the ramp, and gave them both warm hugs. Marianne, in full holiday mode, was wearing jeans and a t-shirt instead of the usual power suit. Bennett was also in casual attire. "Good to see you." She shot a slightly alarmed look at Logan, trying not to make it obvious. She was genuinely fond of Bennett and Marianne, but really, their timing could not have been worse, from her point of view.

With a roar, the two boys appeared around the side of the house again, riding a pair of matched trail bikes, heading off in a cloud of dust. "I hope they take pity on the local wildlife," laughed Logan. "So what are you doing here, anyway? We weren't expecting you yet."

"Well," said Marianne. "My trial finished early, and Bennett decided he wanted out of the office...so here we are."

"Well, glad to see you, anyway. Come in and I'll make some coffee," said Logan, leading the way in the kitchen door.

Logan filled the kettle with water and put it on to boil. One of the comforts the cabin lacked was his expensive coffee machine. "We're slumming it with instant, sorry."

"Instant is fine," replied Bennett, pulling up a chair and sitting down. "Good to get away. Cale Industries is a bit tense right now, but the new operations are almost in place now so I can afford to take a few days off."

The two women wandered through to the living room with the baby.

"So, who'd you leave in charge?"

"James," he responded simply. "My big brother may not be the biggest brain in the business, but at least if things get too hot, he'll call for help." Bennett indicated his confidence by removing the phone from his pocket and placing it on the table.

Logan nodded and turned to put the hammer and nails back in the cupboard where they belonged. "Just as well I bought plenty of food."

"Sorry if we caught you by surprise. Thought you'd be happy to see us."

"Bennett, it's always good to see you. You're the only Cales I have any time for, and well you know it."

"What's with the Bob the Builder stuff? You're no carpenter."

"Wouldn't want anyone to fall over a loose board. They wouldn't enjoy the trip."

Bennett laughed. "I tried to call you earlier."

"Got my phone switched off – boss's orders."

"And the phone here?"

"Must've been while we were out."

"And how're Jack and Rose anyway?" Bennett guessed accurately.

"Good. They'd like to see you." The kettle clicked off and Logan turned his attention to pouring. He put the four cups on a small tray with a plastic-covered plate of Rose's cookies and gestured for Bennett to precede him into the living room.

Max and Marianne were quietly talking. When the men entered the room, Max immediately excused herself and went to wash up, leaving Marianne holding the baby. Logan looked at his own hands, covered in grime from the floor and figured maybe he should do the same. He found Max, her face dripping, leaning over the basin, a picture of abject misery.

"You okay?" he asked, coming alongside her.

"Dammit, Logan, I love Bennett and Marianne, really I do, but why'd they have to be early this time?" She thumped her fist on the vanity unit in frustration.

Logan sighed and closed his eyes. "It'll be all right, really it will." He held out his arms to her.