AN: Many thanks for your wonderful reviews and feedback. Also thanks to Marlene for editing (although I added some stuff later too, so there might be some mistakes still in there)!

Chapter 13

It had taken considerably longer than Logan had planned for them to reach their destination, despite both of them having stopped looking at the clock a while back. It wasn't that it was boring to be around each-other, talking about this and that - Logan sharing a bunch of fun maritime stories, Rory replying with her own work or hometown tales. Luckily, the summer evening gave them enough light not to worry just yet and just enjoy the quieter stretches of the sea where they could actually hear each other without having to yell.

The inconvenience of it, however, was more difficult to shake than boredom. The wind, while not strong, was near constant, causing the temperature to feel a lot chillier than it would've been on the mainland. And after having been in the sun all day, despite a good amount of sunscreen and partially shaded by the sunroof, one already felt rather baked from just being outside for a long stretch of time, so the occasional goosebumps from cold and wishing that they'd already be there, were frequent.

"There should be some blankets under those benches over there. But I'm not sure what state they're in," Logan pointed to the front of the boat as they'd once again lowered their speed to pass through a narrow passage, having noticed Rory getting cold and began to rub her arms against the chill. She already had her emergency pashmina over her shoulders, but there was only so much that did for her in this weather.

"I'm alright, really," Rory said, humbly.

"Oh, come on - I don't want you getting sick because of me," Logan encouraged, sounding genuinely concerned. It was that rare that he was that wrong about something, in this case the time estimate, and as most men, he would've hated to be wrong about knowing where he was going. And this was certainly one of the few times that he was a little ill prepared for an outing like this. Maybe he was off his game? The old him would've had a secret picnic basket hidden away, blankets, heaters and whatever else he could buy, and a driver. But he understood that it was likely that Rory was one of the few people who actually appreciated the simpler approach and the realness of not everything going according to plan.

"Okay," Rory sighed and relented, not wanting to be so fragile. But at the same time she figured that Logan must've been a little chilly himself. She knew that it was likely that Logan, like most men, would never really like to admit to something like that. While he kept steering them towards their destination, it was she who could actually help him.

Rory found a fleece blanket in there, a brand new one, still in its plastic wrap. Nothing fancy but one that would be of great use at this moment.

"There's just this one," Rory said as she returned to her seat. "You want it?" she offered.

Logan made a face - like she couldn't possibly expect him to want it.

Unexpectedly Logan called the boat to a hold, leaving it just floating there for a second. The engine kept whirring quietly in the background.

Before Rory had a chance to object, Logan had already unpacked it and covered Rory's shoulders in its warm and cozy embrace, tucking in the edges so it would not slip off easily. It brought him quite close to Rory, definitely closer than they'd ever really been, and this allowed for the tension to carry, Rory barely daring to look him in the eyes as he did that, and finished the move by gently squeezing her shoulders. It was like he was wordlessly assuring her of something.

"Thanks," Rory said, her voice sounding a little off from the tension. It was like the tension was the only thing that they were certain of - besides, knowing what they knew about life - wasn't tension really the very best part?

Logan was about to sit down and get them moving again, when Rory stopped him.

"I know it's not exactly fashionable, but you could at the very least take my shawl?" Rory offered, pulling the item off her neck. She wasn't taking 'no' for an answer.

Logan relented, every objection going out of his brain the second he got a deep whiff of her scent. Her parfume that he'd already smelled around her house, coffee, maybe something that came from one of her hair products whatever she used... and a little accent of her.

"What? You don't think I'd look good in this?" Logan teased, teasing being very much his go-to in weird situation.

"You'd be fabulous, I'm sure," Rory smiled, playing along. Rory adjusted the fleece blanket, covering the bare spot with it instead.

Logan tied the shawl around his neck, protecting it from the winds but left his arms bare, figuring he'd manage. He grinned at the result, not letting himself be bothered by the feminine old pink color. In fact, he was maybe even enjoying having this item around him a little too much, still feeling her warmth on the fibers.

And off they went, turning up the speed of the boat again.

"If I were you, I'd be probably worried about your kids throwing a kegger or something at the house," Rory said after a little while, her mind having drifted back to the kids, both his and hers, while Logan's mind had been very much solely on her.

It almost felt like a cold shower, considering Logan had nearly been picturing what her skin must taste like. But all things considered, perhaps it was a much needed one.

"I don't think they know that many people around here just yet," Logan said.

"Are you sure?" Rory shot back, having heard a thing or two about people they'd met in town through Corinne.

"It's not like it'd be their first, I give you that," Logan confessed.

Rory mused, finding it fascinating how calm he was about it. Tucker would never be this calm about anything teenagers did.

"I've never really known how to be the strict and controlling parent, you know. I just expect things to work out... one way or another. And I guess that is what they expect of me too. I'm rather the problem solver for them," Logan admitted.

"I almost wish I could be like that," Rory said. She wasn't quite as bad as Tucker with those things, and she did try to follow her mother's lead in allowing her daughter to experience certain rites of passage, but she did it the same way her mother had by insisting on being a part of those things or hearing every detail. It didn't always work, in fact - less and less so, but she tried at least.

"What's stopping you?" Logan asked.

"I mean, I'm a believer of having kids make their own mistakes, but that's in theory. At least I appreciated that I was allowed to make mine. But when I look at Corinne… getting her first crushes and... things… on one of your boys, by the way, if you haven't noticed, then I do get a little protective… I wish I could save her some heart ache," Rory explained.

"Why do you assume he'd break her heart? Besides the age thing, I mean," Logan said, sounding a little protective.

"Corinne just said she'd been getting some hot and cold signals from there, not that I would want the situation to be very 'hot' at her age, if you know what I mean," Rory explained. The wind had already reddned her cheeks so the slight blush that appeared on her face, didn't show much.

"That's odd. Liam is not really the kind to play games. But I bet he's just thinking about the age thing. She's a bit young for him," Logan said, making it clear he'd been talking about his oldest son.

"Oh, I meant Theo," Rory replied, correcting him.

"Oh, Theo?" Logan reacted, continuing to steer the boat calmly. He sounded like he genuinely hadn't expected that name to come up.

"Yeah," Rory confirmed.

"It's probably not really my place to say… but I don't know… I wouldn't worry too much about it though," Logan replied.

"So, he's not interested?" Rory asked.

"Honestly, I'm not sure," Logan replied.

"He left a girlfriend back in London or something?" Rory inquired.

"I wish I knew," Logan admitted, really not having known too much about his sons' life back in London. "He hasn't said anything to me, but I don't know… sometimes I've found myself thinking that maybe he's gay… or bi… or I don't know. Like I said, it's not really my place to guess or assume unless he comes out to me. But… but he's just a good guy, he never wants to hurt anyone's feelings and he's friendly with almost everyone he meets. So, honestly, I don't know," Logan confessed. "I guess he's just figuring things out, so I can imagine some 'hot and cold' is expected," he added.

Rory realized that that was indeed a whole other can of worms. Perhaps it was even the best outcome in the middle of all this.

"Don't tell him or your daughter I said anything, okay? I might be wrong," Logan said, worriedly.

"Of course, not," Rory agreed.

"He talks to Liam, just Liam. I am just the absent parental figure," Logan confessed.

"I'm sure that's not true," Rory said, hating how he'd sounded sad saying that.

"It kind of is," Logan said, not wanting to start proving it.

"You know, Corinne's been kind of hating me ever since I divorced her dad, too. Plus - she's a teenager, so no matter what I do, I'll be too uncool for most things anyway," Rory explained.

"It seems to be going around that age, yeah," Logan agreed, feeling very similar about his relationship with his daughter. "Is it about the fact that you moved away or just the act itself?" he asked.

"Bit of both, I guess," Rory explained. "I think she believes I was… or am being selfish. Going after the job I wanted, taking and using my money, and traveling exactly where I wanted, many of those trips without her too, so of course I was bound to be the bad mom, right? But I am not bringing her along as I backpack through Brazil, am I? I just put myself first and that must've seemed like I was being inconsiderate… maybe I was?" Rory replied, showing a very different side of her.

"You really don't seem like the backpacking type, you know? Despite all the eating, praying and loving...," Logan added teasingly.

Rory rolled her eyes at him.

"I think we've established that neither of us is exactly what we appear to be the outside world," Rory pointed out.

"Touché," Logan said, his French accent being impeccable and smiled.

"Though for quite a few years there I was very much not that person either, so…," Rory shrugged, giving another example how lost she'd been trying to balance a world of her mother's, which Tucker had very much shared, and her grandmother and father's.

"Well, anyways… I guess for a kid having one's parents break up can be quite a blow. The perfect and safe bubble is blown and it's easier for them to blame one than to blame neither or both. It's easier to just pick a side," Rory explained.

"It usually tends to be the mother they choose, though," Logan shared, explaining how the situation had been with his daughter without spelling it out for her. In the end it had been more complicated though, coming down to making a decision that was best for his daughter.

"I think, one time, I just got a little frustrated with her, and I said something along the lines of 'I'm done wasting my time on him' when she asked about why we weren't going to counseling or some couples' retreat to try to work things out," Rory explained. "It's a real wonder she even knew how to suggest something like that, or I don't know, maybe it was something her dad had put in her head, but after that I think she just thought it was half laziness on my part that the divorce happened," Rory explained.

"How long were you two married?" Logan inquired.

"8 years," Rory sighed. "We had Corinne before we were even married. I've just never been much of a believer in marrying because of something like that, despite him being very insistent on it. God, it took him like three proposals, and I just kept finding good reasons to delay it… We probably should've taken the hint," Rory described, recalling well her reasonings. First not wanting to wear a maternity wedding dress, then until Tucker finished his degree, then until they moved and got settled in Boston. There was a plethora of reasons to delay it, yet there shouldn't have been any had she been more certain.

"It's a long time," Logan said, sounding kind of impressed.

"You must've been too, right? Eléa is around the same age as Corinne," Rory asked, tentatively.

"It was more complicated than that," Logan exhaled, but for the first time since forever, he actually felt like he didn't mind discussing it. Everything just came out so easily, and if there hadn't been that draw between them, he would've just said that she'd made a hell of a therapist.

Rory felt like saying he didn't have to explain, despite being curious. But she also sensed that Logan wasn't going to volunteer any information he wasn't willing to give anyways, so she felt like she didn't even need to say it.

"For the first couple of years, I actually didn't know Eléa existed. She didn't tell me about being pregnant, or having her… I was so mad at her for years. But then she explained how she'd been in a bad place those first years and then I began to see her. They lived in Saint-Raphaël, it's in Southern France, quite close to Cannes. So mostly it was just visits from there on, getting to know her and making up for lost time. It's just a never ending game of catch-up," Logan explained.

"And then you reacquainted, I assume," Rory said, despite mostly being curious about the reason why he hadn't been told. Had there been other reasons than the mother's mental health? I couldn't imagine not having told Tucker, for example, despite knowing how everything had turned out in the end. Not all of it had been bad, far from it.

"Something like that," Logan explained, not feeling like going into the details of their relationship. It hadn't been very conventional, that was for sure. They'd had even had their other relationships on the side, on occasion, having a mutual agreement that they could keep their lives interesting. Sure, there had been the physical part, there had been companionship… but had it ever really been 'love', he wasn't certain. "Mostly it was just that I wanted them in the UK, to be a little closer with Covid and Brexit going on… and it seemed like the easiest thing to do to get them there was to marry her," Logan explained.

"Oh, I guess that's understandable," Rory discussed, having never really heard anyone discuss a convenience marriage so casually before.

"Most of the time we didn't even live together. Some bits, yeah… but it was just confusing for Theo and Liam and her lifestyle didn't exactly mix well with having a family as such. Not that mine was terribly better," Logan admitted.

"All I ever thought that I needed was to fall in love with someone that I was compatible with. You know, like the same things, make me laugh, believe in similar core principles - that type of thing… and just not be complicated. But I just realized - just that isn't enough either. The second you feel you must change yourself to fit, it just goes downhill from there," Rory explained. She really was just curious to know what had happened to his second wife, whose name she couldn't quite recall from his brief mention. What could be so horrible about her lifestyle that Logan had ended up with his daughter's custody, if she'd gotten things right?

"Yeah," Logan agreed.

"How did you meet your first wife?" Rory asked, wanting to understand him better.

"Whitney… It was pretty boring really. Just through friends at Yale. Though I later found out, that her presence might've actually been orchestrated by my mother. Had I known sooner, that alone would've been reason enough for me to never entertain the idea. And we dated in college, not even exclusively, but then we just had a scare, which didn't turn out to be just a scare… And I guess we just did what was expected of us. Of course, we could've gone the other way with that scare, but she just didn't feel right about it. I had no right to force her, I really had no good reason other than being terrified not to go through with it. And I just did the 'right thing' under those circumstances. Trust me, we had our doubts but…and in the beginning it seemed to work okay. Of course, I worked a lot and was away a lot too. She gave up a lot for me - she never graduated, she gave up her career aspirations, most of the time she was all alone, away from her family in London with Liam," Logan shared, approaching the touchy part of this story.

"That's a big price to pay," Rory reflected, compassionately. It was, of course, even harder to talk about this, knowing the woman had passed away at a young age.

"She paid the ultimate price, eventually," Logan sighed, going all thoughtful and closing on the topic.

"I'm sorry I asked," Rory said, feeling regretful about having dug such a sensitive wound open.

"It's fine…," Logan said, switching his sadness off like a light switch. "Any more awkward topics to cover on our first date?" he added with a smirk.

It was a good distraction indeed.

"Our date?" Rory reflected, not believing how cocky he could be.

"Or is it out second?" Logan inquired, cheekily.

While Logan was still battling with the idea of actually wanting to date anyone seriously, he couldn't deny that these meetings they kept having were awfully similar to the feeling one would get during dates - very good dates. And there was no doubt in his mind that there was an attraction there. He's radar never failed him.

"Oh, I don't know if that's what I'd call it. I'm not even wearing my good heels," Rory joked, flirtingly, gesturing at her sneakers and pointed out her toes like a ballerina.

"You don't need heels," Logan replied, smilingly, loving the curve of her legs regardless of her footwear.

Rory felt all giddy inside, and truthfully - she loved how real this felt too. She didn't want him to want her for the image of her all made up and pinned up like the fashion industry forced women to believe men liked their women. Especially the kind of men like Logan was. Even though it still seemed so unreal, Rory just couldn't help feeling how Logan actually wanted something genuine and that was truly what she was excited about, even if this didn't turn into anything too serious. She just wanted to be taken for who she was and just enjoy herself.

"I think you might recognize that house over there," Logan said the next moment, their little peninsula coming into view from between the Williams and Pettengill islands, that they were used to seeing from their backyards.

Rory should've cheered 'yay', but momentarily she was actually kind of sad for it to end, but as they motored closer her anticipation grew as to how exactly they might part ways. Would there be a moment? She bit her lip at that thought.

Her anticipation was killed by the sight of Logan's two sons sitting in their backyard by the fire pit, a few cans of beer in their hands. Not quite a kegger, but definitely more adult way of spending their time than would've been appropriate. They didn't even bother hiding their beer cans fully, knowing their father was lenient on that front, coming from a different set of European rules, but Theo definitely shifted his can to his brother's side on the table after seeing Rory on the boat with his father.

So much for romantic moments at the end of the boat deck - Rory sighed to herself.

Logan tied the boat up, being surprisingly handy with such simple tasks. And all their goodbye that evening, in the quickly cooling evening where both of them were hungry, tired and chilly, was just him offering his hand for her to climb out and thanking him for helping her out. Their eyes spoke of other things - longing, hope and thirst to know more.

"I'll see you around," Rory said, as she walked off, mostly just wanting to pour herself a bath the minute she got home and warm up.

As she walked towards the house, it was then she realized Logan had at some point snuck her pashmina back in her purse, possibly wanting to avoid any weird comments from his sons on the topic.

Rory closed her front door behind her and she paused, and instead of hurrying upstairs like the plan had been seconds ago, she buried her face inside the item that he'd just had around his neck, and took a deep inhale, giving her another type of fantasy to think about while she would warm herself up in that bathtub of hers.