The title of this story comes from the song On Days Like These by Janis Ian.
Nothing Comes For Free
Georgie and Logan, GH
Chapter Eight
June 2016
"Ms. Perkins," Georgie said to the cook, at breakfast, "have you seen Mr. Hayes this morning?"
"He's down at the stables again, I do believe. He goes there each day after coming back from taking the children to school."
"He does? Thank you." She headed out of the kitchen. In the foyer, she checked her make up in a mirror.
Don't be silly, Georgie thought to herself, as she hurried away from the mirror. Logan could care less how you look. You two are living together for the kids, not cause you make each other hot.
Though, if she was being honest with herself, seeing him shirtless definitely got her blood pumping. But that was probably just because she was a normal woman with needs, as much as she tried to ignore them.
They had been living together for just three weeks now but each day was changing her life- and her- more and more.
When she made it down to the barn she found him feeding Chester, one of the horses, an apple.
Logan said "You understand me, don't you? You can tell I'm homesick today. I surely do miss my little patch of heaven in East Texas but I wouldn't go trade what I got here for nothing. I would like to make it back to the farm one day though. Show Georgie where I come from, what makes me who I am. I think she might like it there. Or maybe I'm just wishin she would."
Georgie tried to leave before Logan realized she was there, but she stumbled as she backed up, and bumped the barn door.
He spun around and spied her.
"I'm sorry!" she cried. "I didn't mean to eavesdrop."
"I picked the wrong moment to spill my guts to old Chester here. I ain't never had good timing a day in my life."
"Wanna talk about bad timing? I got married before I graduated high school and he got another girl pregnant before I made it to college. Now that was some bad timing."
Logan smirked. "I forgot all about that. And here I was thinking you ain't never lived."
"I lived two lifetimes before I was twenty."
"And after?"
"After I wrote about lives other people could have lived, and I moved here to... recover."
"You've made a safe haven for yourself here. Just be careful it don't turn into a gilded cage."
"Until you moved in it was too quiet here. Now with you and the kids, this place is finally a real home."
"You think so?"
"What do you think?"
"I think we're getting there, darlin."
"Want to join me for some breakfast?"
He looked at his watch. "It's closer to lunch. I've been up since six."
"You have lunch. I'll have breakfast. Or else we could just call it brunch."
"Are you sure you're willing to share brunch with me? I don't have to eat tuna from a can while the Queen eats cavier as her royal court caters to her?"
Georgie giggled. "I was not that bad."
"You were worse."
"I do apologize for not welcoming you with open arms. It was just a shock. I didn't expect Maxie to force a cowboy slash playboy on me but I'm glad she did...I think."
"I think I'm glad too. This is the absolute last curve in the road I expected life to give me...ending up on Spook Island, trying to be half the father figure that Cooper was to those great kids...trying to get along with a woman I remember as hating my guts on principal...trying to get her to see I'm not that angry guy who just came back from the war anymore. I'm glad you gave me a second chance to make a first impression."
"I'm glad you don't hate me for the way I acted at first."
"We both lost Maxie and Cooper. All that anger you threw at me, I threw mine at God for taking them away. It's not fair and it sucks. I'm not nearly as good as either of them were but I'm here. I want to be here...with you."
"I'm glad."
"You sure?"
"For today, I'm glad."
"I'll take it."