Chapter 40

"Well, it was just as we expected," Rory sighed, sitting in her dad's guest bedroom 11.30 PM, talking on the phone to Logan.

Rory had spent the afternoon with her daughter, doing a little retail therapy, indulging in some Indian food and watched a movie before dropping her off at Tucker's again. She liked to think she'd managed to cheer her up a little, and she'd made sure she had no more sleeping pills in her possession, just in case. It would still take some convincing, however, to make Corinne want to come back to Freeport.

"Yeah?" Logan replied, hoping Rory would elaborate.

Rory was still feeling a little guilty about offering Corinne a new perspective on Theo, considering it was a topic Logan had asked for her secrecy. But just like she and her mother had had their own little secrets, she trusted Corinne enough to not outright tell on her. It was the only thing she'd thought of doing to make her feel better, and as a mother it was her job to do it.

"She kissed him and then she just didn't get the response she expected," Rory summed things up, not feeling it was entirely right to give Logan more personal details than would've been necessary to help his son.

"Right," Logan exhaled, beginning to sense that he might not hear the full story from his son. It was his business and if it was deeply personal to him, embarrassing, maybe he really didn't want to share it with him. Logan didn't want to be the type of parent who just kept on digging.

"And then… after a day with her, I'm finally thinking she's just a little heartbroken, Tucker came home… and I just… I asked him what happened at the university and then he told me. Ah...I'm just so incredibly furious," Rory explained, sounding frustrated but not at Logan.

Logan didn't need to tell her he was more than willing to be the person she unwound herself to that evening.

"I mean it's one thing to get reprimanded for dating a student. And I mean it was consensual and all, and no grades were involved… but to date my half-sister? I don't understand what he was thinking! What kind of a man sets that kind of example to their daughter?" Rory contined to exclaim.

"She's what - an undergrad?" Logan asked.

"She's getting her Master's, her second one," Rory replied, explaining that her sister wasn't quite in her twenties but a little older by now. Gigi was a grown woman, even if she often behaved like she was still much younger and treated Corinne as her sister rather than someone considerably younger.

"Did you talk to her?" Logan inquired, trying to sound supportive.

"No, she's in Sri Lanka, hiking and meditating… or something," Rory replied.

"Well, at least it sounds like it's not serious," Logan commented.

"Honestly, I don't know what to think anymore. Did he do this on purpose and what purpose was that? To piss me off? To prove something to me?" Rory discussed, feeling confused.

"Or maybe it was just your sister's version of payback to get him fired?" Logan suggested, not too seriously, offering her the other side of the coin on the subject.

"She's not really...," Rory began to argue, only then realizing Logan was kidding. "Wouldn't that be fun," she added sarcastically, sighing deeply.

"Is he getting fired?" Logan asked.

"I don't think so. But it just makes me sick to my stomach," Rory groaned.

"Did he say anything about me?" Logan asked.

"No, but he asked Cor," Rory replied.

"And?" Logan inquired, curious to hear what the girl thought of him just the same.

"She said you were nice, that you treated me well," Rory said, leaving out the bit she and her daughter had laughed over describing Logan's appearance to Tucker with the phrases 'movie-star-like' and 'silver fox'. Corinne knew better than to say those things to her dad, though, but it had been a nice hypothetical to laugh over.

"Sounds like at least in her eyes I'm in the good books," Logan replied, huskily.

"And in mine," Rory assured.

"Well, I've never had a book as fascinating as you," Logan replied, half unintentionally coming up with a romantic statement.

"Aw, you're sweet," Rory chimed, dreamily. There was that missing again, thinking how she would've just loved to have him in bed with her tonight. When she closed her eyes, she could almost picture him there, his closeness and his warmth radiating towards her.

"I miss you," Logan confessed.

"I miss you too," Rory replied.

"How long do you think you're going to need to be there?" Logan asked.

"A few days at least… I just want to be sure, you know. I don't like the idea of Corinne spending her days alone while he is at work, possibly making up for his lack of judgment for all I know," Rory discussed.

"And he wouldn't be willing to have her come back to Maine early?" Logan suggested.

"Custody stuff… it's a boat better not shaken. And besides, Corinne is not exactly eager to face Theo," Rory replied with a sigh. "So, basically, I was just thinking of hanging out with her a little, doing the Boston ghost tour or something fun like that. She's always wanted to go but before she wasn't old enough when we lived here," Rory discussed, going on to explain how that kind of thing had never been Tucker's cup of tea. There had been a lot of things they'd both enjoyed - books, movies and museums, but travel and things quirky or popular, weren't really his thing.

Logan wondered why Rory was so reluctant to stir up conflict with Tucker - was it that she was genuinely afraid of him for some reason? With some things she seemed fine, but there were some topics that she seemed especially submissive on. But it didn't seem like the moment to ask something like that, since all he really had was a hunch.

"You know, I got an idea… feel free to say no, maybe it's just too clingy of me," Logan began, realizing he'd never really used to think of himself like that.

"What? Tell me," Rory insisted, in a sweet tone.

It was 12 hours later as Logan, with Eléa sitting next to him on the passenger seat, drove into Boston, his destination fixed on an address in Beacon Hill. It was bold of him, kind of cocky even if one just looked at the surface. But inside, he was actually a little nervous and struggling to fully comprehend how this woman made him want to move mountains and fly across the country, even if the drive to Boston wasn't exactly the latter. On top of everything, it was his moment to meet the 'dad' too, not that he was particularly needy of his approval.

Convincing his daughter to join him had actually been easier than he'd thought. It seemed that Eléa responded well to being engaged by him rather than coming to him, and this was him employing this newly discovered trick. Plus, Logan had told her that they were going to Boston to cheer up Corinne because of Theo, the rift having not gone unnoticed by Eléa either, and getting a tour of a city new to Eléa from two people who knew it intimately. Besides, admitting to her daughter how he missed Rory too, had actually been kind of liberating. Eléa had even teased him about having a crush on her, which was more than accurate. Eléa didn't seem too bothered about him having moved on to someone other than her mother, but then again, she'd seen their relationship as nothing but unconventional.

Logan felt calmer, being able to be closer to Rory, and victorious at the fact that he was spending quality time with Eléa, even if it wasn't solely 1:1 time.

He felt like his sons would be fine, even if things were still in limbo with Theo. But he'd told Liam to keep an eye on Theo, hoping if not fatherly love than surely some brotherly comradery would cheer him up. For now, it seemed more important to ensure that Eléa knew that he wanted her around and in his mind, he was achieving two good things at once.

"Hey! You made it!" Rory chimed, stepping out of the door of the red brick townhouse before Logan and Eléa had even reached the door.

Rory's arms hugged him and Logan didn't wait to land a proper kiss on her lips, not caring about witnesses.

"Hey, Eléa," Rory said, her cheeks slightly flushed as they pulled apart, realizing this wasn't entirely appropriate. "Come, come…. Corinne is inside," Rory said, having opted for spending time with her daughter mostly at her dad's place over Tucker's.

Eléa didn't say much, but nodded affably, and they could even see a hint of excitement at Eléa seeing her friend.

"And here's my dad. Cristopher Hayden. Dad, this is Logan Huntzberger and his daughter Eléa," Rory said, as they stepped inside.

The reaction wasn't what she'd anticipated, however, and she watched the two men stare at each other thoughtfully, needing a minute before responding.

Could it be that they knew each other? – Rory thought.