Author's Note: Many thanks to the betas who worked on this chapter: haleyhazz, His_Beautiful_Girl, and pyrodaemon, and the idea factory: Luner Kat.

I started a Pinterest Board for the story called 'Pictures for ALMH Series' under the name Saoirse Kinnardy.

I also made a playlist for this story on Spotify, called 'ALMH 02: The Winds and Rains and the Scorching Sun.' Find it by searching for the title under playlists.

Chapter Three

All I Wanted was You

Saturday, March 19, 2005

Logan's Inspirational Message

'A true relationship is someone who accepts your past, supports your present, and encourages your future.' — Unknown

Veronica's marshmallow body wash combined with her Promises perfume, with the honeydew undertones, wafted into Logan's nose. He breathed in as deep as possible without ruining the pleasure with pain. Fingers ran through hair to encourage the scent to fill his nostrils. Lips moved over each other's and tongues explored the caverns of mouths. Taste buds picking up the taste of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream, fudge, whipped cream, and a hint of maraschino cherries. The specter of the sundaes was almost more pleasurable than when they ate them for lunch after arriving at Veronica's apartment.

She pulled him closer, and while her response sent a thrill through him, he also winced when broken ribs ground together. Ever observant, she must have noticed the flinch, so she pulled away before kissing a cheek. "I'm sorry, Lo', I lose track of my thoughts when we kiss and my head spins with dizziness and all I feel is you. But I didn't mean to hurt you."

With a smirk, he leaned in and kissed her nose. "So, what you're saying is, it's my fault for kissing so well?"

She gave a rare giggle and nodded nice and slow before giving another soft kiss. Other than Backup, out in the living room, the pair was alone, so he pulled her back into his arms and brushed their lips together. The phone had other ideas, though and just as lips settled on lips, the shrill ring broke the silence.

He had a habit of assigning special rings to the people he wanted to talk to but this ring was just an ordinary ringtone. Although, it wasn't the violins screeching from the shower scene in Psycho, so not Aaron either. The prospect of the caller being Barry, to talk about getting his money deposited, was enough to get him to look at the caller ID.

Despite it being a weekend, Aaron would expect Barry to figure everything out by Monday morning. So, with a groan, he pulled away from Veronica and her tempting cherry flavored lips before taking the phone out of the pocket.

Nope, not Aaron's attorney, and not a number he recognized, so hesitation took over before he pushed talk and brought the phone to his ear. "Hello?"

"Yes, Hello, this is Jacoby Wolfe. Is this Mr. Logan Echolls?"

A heavy exhale of air rushed out of his lungs, causing muscles to stiffen with a stab of pain. "This is him."

Mr. Wolfe let out a breath, too. "I was one of Lynn Echolls', I mean your mother's, attorneys."

Eyes widened when the man said Lynn's name, but Mr. Wolfe kept talking. "I am calling to inform you I have sent paperwork and a request for a meeting in care of Keith Mars at Mars Investigations."

With a hard swallow that was audible, he then cleared his throat and leaned closer to Veronica. He wished the hand not holding the phone wasn't in a sling so he could cling to his security blanket. "What sort of paperwork?"

Mr. Wolfe hesitated. "It's regarding Ms. Echolls' last will and testament."

He let out a quiet, frustrated sound and wanted to run a hand through his hair. However, the arm in a sling kept him from doing it and still holding onto the phone. "Barry already read the will, so care to try again?" Voice straining on the word 'will.'

The man paused. "Your mother had two estates and therefore two wills, or rather one will and one living trust. Mr. Echolls' attorney read the will. It comprised the assets Mr. Echolls knew of, the art collection bought with his guidance and most of a vast first edition collection."

Mr. Wolfe paused again but when no response came, the man said, "The living trust holds the rest of the assets. She kept them from Mr. Echolls and left them in my care after her passing. That includes those assets accumulated under the name Lynn Hamilton. I would have contacted you sooner, but the instructions were to wait until you opened the safe deposit box. Also, I needed to settle the estate's affairs before I transferred the living trust to your name. California does not recognize Common Law Marriages and while your mother and Mr. Echolls wed, neither ever filed the marriage license in any state or foreign country. That makes the marriage void according to California Law. When Mr. Randall administered the will, Mr. Echolls submitted an affidavit that stated that there was no license in any state or country. That means the law does not entitle Mr. Echolls to half of her estate so everything goes to you, her sole heir."

The voice paused, so eyes closed, head leaning against the wall, he fought back tears. Circumstance just didn't seem to want to let the wound of his mother's death heal before yet another person brought her up. Still, Mr. Wolfe wasn't saying much he didn't already know. "I was already aware of that. My father was not happy when Ole Barry convinced him to tell the truth right after Mom died. But Barry pointed out that the press would figure out the lie which would affect public opinion and he'd still get nothing from Mom's estate."

Papers shuffled in the background. "The authorities might have had grounds to charge Mr. Echolls with fraud. He made a wise choice, being honest about the lack of a marriage license. Now, there wasn't much debt. However, I paid off what the estate owed and collected what others owed to it, which was considerably more. Everything is now ready to transfer the living trust to a trust that you will gain partial access to upon turning eighteen. And you'll gain full access upon your twenty-eighth birthday. Ms. Echolls did, however, set the trust up so you will receive an allowance every month until then. That is why I need to meet with you and get account information. I need the number for the account you wish the funds deposited into each month. I also have the papers detailing the terms of the trust and all the assets for your lawyer to review."

At some point, Veronica had put a hand on his shoulder, and began rubbing with a thumb in slow strokes while he listened. When Mr. Wolfe finished, he leaned towards Veronica. "The paperwork sent to Mr. Mars; is your contact information on it?"

"It is and also includes an unofficial copy of the paperwork I will give to your attorney when we meet."

He shifted on Veronica's bed and leaned against the wall. Bringing a knee up to his chest with a foot still on the bed, he used a shoulder to hold the phone and took Veronica's hand. "Okay, I'll ask Mr. Mars about it when he gets home, and I'll read it and have my attorney read over everything before we contact you. I'm healing from some serious physical wounds, so it might take a week or two for me to get through everything."

Mr. Wolfe's sincerity came across in the timber of his voice. "That's fine, take all the time you need. You won't gain access to the first tier of the estate for another year. However, you will have access to the residences and the items in those residences as soon as we meet, and the transfer is complete."

'Wait, residences? Plural?' "Uh, how many residences are we talking?"

The voice chuckled. "Nine in total: your grandparents' house in Mt. Etna, Indiana; a vacation home in Maui; a Townhouse in Manhattan, NY; and homes in Beverly Hills; Marathon, Florida; Venice, Italy; Nice, France; one outside of Colchester, England, and a recent purchase in Bucharest, Romania."

At the word 'nine,' his eyes went round as dinner plates. "How did I not know about them? Aaron made Mom sell Nana and PopPop's house."

Mr. Wolfe paused again. "Yes, and she didn't want to part with it, and so she used her pseudonym to buy it from herself."

'Wait, she bought the house from herself?'

"Um, isn't that illegal, because that smells funny?"

The attorney chuckled again. "I assure you; it was all legal. Ms. Echolls moved money from the private account and used it to pay Mr. Echolls, after leading him to believe the money was for the sale of the house. However, she never sold it, only transferred ownership to her pseudonym. Because she moved the money from a private account to an account shared with Mr. Echolls, and there was never a bill of sale, it was all legitimate."

When his head inclined, he had to let go of Veronica's hand to keep from dropping the phone. "Okay, well, I'll call when I've looked at everything."

Mr. Wolfe's sincerity was once again clear in his tone of voice. "Very well, Mr. Echolls, I wish you a speedy recovery and look forward to your call."

After disconnecting the call, he sagged in place, and with a trembling hand gripped Veronica's again. A few moments of holding her hand, his voice came out quaking. "The bank records we found were right. Mom had more than the hundred fifteen thousand that Barry told us about. Sounds like it's maybe more than the accounts we found the books for, too. Not sure how much more, but if her assets included nine homes, it's a lot more."

Veronica's eyes got big and round, and when he finished explaining, they sat there in silence for a few minutes thinking over everything.

After sitting for a moment, Veronica took the phone out of her pocket and dialed. "Hi, Dad, weird question, has anyone delivered paperwork to the office for Logan today?" A pause. "Did you open it?" Another beat. "Okay, can you bring it home?" A nod. "Hmm, yum. Okay, see you soon. Love you."

When she hung up a moment later, she made eye contact. "A thick envelope arrived about half an hour ago with your name on it, so Dad didn't open it. He wanted to respect your privacy." Another pause. "Well, to a point. The envelope has Mr. Wolfe's name and address, and since the return address states he's an attorney, Dad ran a background check. From what he found, the guy is legit. He'll be home in about an hour and a half after finishing up at the office and stopping at Mama Leone's to pick up dinner."

Logan pulled Veronica back into his arms, face buried in her hair, nose brushing hair away from her neck. With a soft kiss, he grazed the skin with his lips but then pulled back a little and held on tight. A minute later they shifted and lay down and with her wrapping him in her embrace despite the tidal wave the movements caused in the waterbed. 'She always knows what I need and when I need it.'

"I love you, Logan."

After tightening his hold, he whispered, "All the love in my heart."

Veronica released a heavy breath and snuggled in closer while he returned his nose to her hair and breathed in the aroma of marshmallows left over from her shampoo. Tears leaked out of his eyes against his will and his hold tightened a little. "Why didn't Mom love me enough to stay? If she had money hidden from her writing career, or she tried to divorce him and discovered they never legally married that would have solved all our problems. Even if she didn't get a penny from the ass, she might have sold some houses and gotten money that way if need be. Or she might have gone back to acting."

After pulling away a bit, he made eye contact. "She was a damn good actress, better than Daddy Dearest who knows how to act if he bothers to put in the effort, but he got lazy or greedy. Or probably both and started taking the highest offers for the least amount of work. If Mom were selective, she could have built her name back up and been the serious actress she always wanted to be."

With a huff, his head shook. "She had to be decent or she wouldn't have won an Oscar. So did Aaron but then he made the movies that would pay the most and they're all lowest common denominator slop. Mom had the chops for serious acting. If she didn't make movies just to make a buck, she could have avoided adding to Aaron's endless crap pile of movies. Or she could have gone back to the theater and done stage work. The point is, she could have built a career she was proud of."

He twirled strands of Veronica's hair around his pointer finger, mesmerized by the different shades of blonde in them and released them. "She still got three or four offers every week. And that's not even considering her career as Lynn Hamilton. She's got at least one of every award a writer can win. Hell, she's even got a Grammy. That was for a spoken word album written by Lynn Hamilton and narrated by Lynn Echolls, which for the record makes so much more sense now. Mom's in the freaking EGOT Club for Pete's sake. People would have fallen all over themselves to help her make a comeback. So why did she leave me with the ass and take the easy way out? Why wasn't I enough to fight for?" After a pause, he asked under his breath, "Why wasn't I enough?"

Veronica's fingers combed through his hair and rested their foreheads together. "I can't imagine how Lynn felt, Logan, or why she did what she did. She chose wrong, Love. I can't be any clearer about that. What she did was not okay any way you look at it, but let's play devil's advocate for a moment. You once told me Aaron dominated her and took away everything important to her, even you. She had to abide by his rules for raising you. He controlled every aspect of her life. And you thought there was nothing you could do until you turned eighteen. She might have felt something similar except she wouldn't age out."

With soft eyes, she pulled back. "I can't imagine what her life was like. It doesn't excuse her not protecting you from that monster, but I still can't imagine what her life was like. But, she lived with him day in and day out, thinking this was how it would be for the rest of her life. The drugs and alcohol compounded the guilt of knowing you were being abused. And she couldn't figure out how to stop it, how to protect you."

She brushed a kiss over the side of his head. "I can't pretend to understand what went through her mind, but I imagine she was plain burned out after all those years. The drugs and alcohol also might have made her mind fuzzy enough to lose focus of what was important… you."

He tried to pull away, but she held on firmer. "I'm not trying to justify her actions. Like I said, what she did was wrong, and I'm pissed that she left you all alone with that asshole who calls himself your father. I'm only saying she was also hurting and too involved in her own pain to think of anything else. She loved you, however, it's like you said about Lianne, she loves me but can't focus on anything other than her own pain. Lynn was in the same boat, only to a greater degree."

After he relaxed back into her embrace and nodded into her shoulder, he lay there breathing in the essence of Veronica, letting it soothe him.

The next thing he knew, Veronica rubbed his ears and the back of his head. "Logan, My Love, Dad's home with dinner. Time to get up."

He woke but lingered in that half-asleep limbo for a minute before sitting up. After waiting for the rippling waves of the waterbed caused by moving to subside, he rubbed the sleep from dry eyes. "How long was I out and is your dad pissed that I'm asleep in your bed?"

The corners of her lips tilted upward. "About an hour and a half, a little less. And I don't think he's upset. He knows you needed the sleep and that you're not able to do anything that would make him want to break out his rifle. Plus, you had a rough day, so he'll give us a pass he might not give us on an ordinary day."

After bracing on the bed with his good arm, he leaned over, giving her a quick, soft kiss, before pulling back and making eye contact. "Good, and um, thank you. You always know what to say and when to say nothing. I'd lose myself sometimes without your love and understanding."

With a widening grin, she leaned in and kissed him before whispering against lips, "That's fair. I'd lose myself without you, too."

She sealed her statement with another kiss, and he reveled in the softness of her lips against his before a throat cleared behind them. He pulled away, and his cheeks heated while he turned and looked at Mr. Mars—sorry, Keith. It would take some getting used to, calling adults by their first names. Keith and Alicia had both insisted that since he was as good as part of the family, he should use their given names.

The edges of Keith's lips rose. "Do we want to eat or go over the paperwork first?"

With a shrug, he met Keith's gaze. "Eat first. I need to psyche myself up to see what Mom left me. If—if she had as much as Mr. Wolfe suggested, I don't understand why she didn't leave Aaron and take me with her."

Keith tilted his head. "Without trying to justify her actions because any way you look at it, she made the wrong choice; try to keep in mind that you're not the only one Aaron abused."

His mouth opened to argue that Aaron never hit her, but Keith held up a hand. "Mental, emotional, and verbal abuse can be as devastating as physical abuse. As a parent, I can't imagine how helpless your mom felt while allowing Aaron to hurt you. I don't understand what he did or said to make her stay. But I'm sure your mother loved you. The pain of watching your child suffer and not being able to do anything to help, well it's a special torture. And I imagine Aaron knew that and used that to his advantage."

He scowled and took Veronica's hand in his again. "Yet another reason to hate the bastard."

Keith offered him a brief smile. "Any other day, I'd chastise you for your language, but you're right. Aaron is an absolute bastard, so I'll let it slide." Keith pointed his finger and wiggled it a little. "This time, but don't let it happen again."

He and Veronica both beamed at Keith before Logan got up from the bed. He tried his best to keep his ribs from rubbing against each other with only moderate success.

The three of them headed out to the kitchen and had a quiet meal with Veronica telling him what was going on at Neptune High. His stomach churned from all the business with his mom. To avoid throwing up on the Mars' kitchen floor, he only ate half his food before pushing his still half-full plate towards Veronica. The bottomless pit began eating his food and hers.

Pushing the food away had nothing to do with school, though. He couldn't care less what the rumor mill was saying about him. The fact he seemed to have garnered public sympathy didn't even please him. Everyone thought he had an ephebophile for a father and a mother who killed herself to get away from him. They didn't even know the half of it, and he would rather it stay that way.

Though, if Daddy Dearest tried to call his bluff, he would tell everyone about how Aaron used him for a punching bag on a near daily basis. Or he did before he moved out. It wasn't as bad as it was this last time. But when Aaron was home, he never managed more than two days without a whipping for some infraction that only made sense to Aaron.

The nitty-gritty details of his home life would become public knowledge if Aaron tried to force him back to that house. He would shout it from the rooftops if Aaron forced his hand; there would be no going back.