Chapter 36

Rory called Luke after she picked up the steaks to ask about him cooking. She told him what they planned. He was okay with it. He too wanted to hear an explanation.

Emily, Tori and Berta are going to eat in town before going to the movies to watch 'Super Pets'

Berta was giving Tori a bath when Logan and Rory returned. When Luke saw Emily's Jaquar return, he walked next door to get the steaks. He wanted to marinate them.

"Hey, Logan. Welcome." Luke told him.

"Hey Luke, Thanks" Logan said.

"Daddy Logan," Emily yelled as she came down the stairs. "I didn't know you was here." Logan picked her up when she ran to him. Lorelia stepped through the door just in time to witness it.

When Tori saw Emily, Logan put her down. "I not going to the movie Grandma. I sorry. Daddy Logan is here. He is taking me and momma to the yard." Tori said as she stepped to where Emily was standing.

"Tori," Logan said. "It's okay. Go to the movies with Grandma. We won't leave until tomorrow."

"But I can stay." Tori said. "Grandma and Berta can go." This caused the adults to laugh.

"No," Rory said, running her fingers through Tori's hair. "Logan and I are going to eat with Lele and Papa Luke."

Tori watched Rory, then Logan. She wasn't sure about this. She needed to be here with Daddy Logan. "Hey," Logan said. "If you go with Grandma, I will tuck you in tonight. In the morning we can go to the yard." Logan said with a smile.

She nodded her head.

Luke and Lorela said goodbye to Tori. Told her to come say bye tomorrow before she left for the yard. Then took the steaks to marinate while Logan got settled. The three of them came downstairs when it was time for Tori and Emily to leave.

After seeing them to the car, Rory returned to find Logan eating a cheese sandwich. "You know we are going to eat in about 45 minutes. That is what Luke said." Rory told him.

"Yeah, I know, but I need my energy. We have an empty house and 45 minutes to kill." Logan told her.

After they cleaned up from their activities, they found their way across the yard.

"Knock, Knock" Rory said as she knocked on the back porch screen door.

"Come in," Luke said. "I was just headed out to put the steaks on. Be about 15 minutes."

"Can I help with anything?" Logan asked.

"Just bring me a beer." Luke said.

Rory reached in the fridge and grabbed her, Logan and Luke a beer. When they got on the porch Rory asked. "Where's mom?"

"She went to take a nap. She should be up any minute." Luke told her.

The three of them sat and talked. Luke told Logan about fishing off Dionis pier. They were laughing at Luke telling about Tori trying to put bait on the hook, when Lorelai came outside.

"What's so funny?" She asked

"Luke was telling us about Tori trying to put bait on the hook." Logan told her.

"What I didn't tell them was the face you made when she finally did it and all the oozy got on your fingers while trying to help." Luke said, causing everyone to continue to laugh.

While the steaks were finishing, Lorelia and Rory went inside to get the salad and potatoes. They decided to eat outside, so they could watch the sunset.

When they were seated, Lorelai decided it was time to cut the small talk. "Okay, we have been friendly. We have small talk. Now it's time for the truth. "Why would you lie?" She asked Rory point blank. "Was this your idea?" she asked Logan.

"Mom, Lorelai," Rory and Luke said at the same time.

"No, I want to get this over with. I want to know what is the big reason behind lying to me, to us about Tori's paternity?"

Rory had begun to eat her salad. She put her fork down. "Okay, I thought maybe we could have a nice meal, but I see that is not on the agenda."

You could see the look on her face. She was mad. Logan reached under the table and grabbed her hand. He squeezed it letting her know he was right there.

"I am going to start from the beginning, but I need you to be quiet until I finish." Rory told Lorelai.

"Mom, remember my trip to Youngs Township, Pennsylvania?" Rory began.

"Yeah, to see Punxsutawney Phil," Lorelia said.

"Yeah," Rory continued. "I ran into Logan while I was there. We talked. Exchange numbers. This begins a series of calls and texts."

"It was right before I returned to HPG." Logan injected.

"He was doing one last story before he started his new job." Rory said.

Lorelia did not look impressed. Logan thought.

"Well, It wasn't long before I was back in London. Working on that piece for Parliament, the Honorable Mararet Beckett. I called Logan, we met up and thus began 'Vegas',"

"Vegas?" Luke asked.

"Yeah, you know. What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas." Logan said.

"We were together when we were together, and not when we were not." Rory said.

Luke made a face. "So you cheated on your fiance' with Rory?" Luke asked.

"No," Rory said. "I cheated on Paul. Logan and Odette had an open relationship."

"Odette and I have been betrothed to each other since middle school, if not before. Odette and I have never been exclusive, with the exception of our marriage."

"Even after Logan and Odette got engaged" Rory said, but interrupted by Logan. "The engagement was a joke. We both went along with it, hoping to push the actual marriage as long as we could."

Rory squeezed his hand. "I would have never agreed to get engaged let alone married if I thought Rory would have said yes." Logan held his head down.

"I loved Logan. I always have." Rory said. "I just was not ready to be a Huntzburger wife. I know Logan would have never asked me to do anything I wasn't comfortable with, but I knew his wife would be in the spotlight. I didn't want that." She and looked stared at each other.

"Okay, that is all well and good, but I still don't know why you had to hide Tori's partentity." Luke said.

"When I found out Odette was moving in with Logan, I decided it was time to stop the Vegas agreement. I knew all I had to do was tell Logan I was ready to be his wife, but I wasn't." She said, She looked sad. Logan didn't like seeing her sad.

"After 6 years, Odette and I had gotten to know each other. I liked her. She hated this as much as Logan did." Rory said.

"Rory called me," Logan said. He was smiling now remembering it. "To tell me she had to break up with me, but she couldn't because we were nothing to each other."

"We cut out all communication." Rory said. She too was smiling.

"I couldn't stand it. With the help of friends, I was at Rory's birthday party." Logan said.

"We said our goodbye." Rory said. "But, Logan left a souvenir."

"When I got back to London, I threw myself into my work. My wedding date was approaching. Odette and I were all set to sign the pre-nup. For the last few years we have been composing our own prenup as a joke. After reading the prenup, we decided to contact our personal lawyer for a prenup of our own. We both knew our marriage would not last, we just had to keep it together long enough for Odette's trust fund to kick in so she could invest enough to be finally set without my money. I had to stay married long enough to prove to the board I could do my job." Logan said.

"Logan was in Hartford during Thanksgiving week. I contacted Finn and he contacted Logan. Finn dropped him off at the Manor. Logan and I, with the help of our lawyers, came up with a contract." Rory said.

"That's all well and good, but why not allow Logan to still be a part of her life. Why not keep it under the radar." Luke said.

Rory smiled. "Luke, it would not be possible to keep it under the radar. I refused to allow Logan to be in and out of her life. The last thing I wanted was to ship my baby back and forth across the ocean. How was I to know that his family, I'm sorry Logan, his family wouldn't try to take custody away from me. Even with an iron clad contract, they could make stuff up. I knew Logan wouldn't let them, but the scandal it would cause. I didn't want my child in the middle of something like that."

"Also, what if something happens to me? I couldn't stop my family from trying to take the baby from Rory." Logan said. "She convinced me that if we could not be together, this was the best course of action."

"So you didn't want to have anything to do with a child?" Lorelai said. "Would it be too inconvenient for you?"

"No, Mom." Rory said. "I kept him up to date on her and her activities. We made sure that Finn stayed a part of my life, so that he would be a part of her life. Tori even knew Logan as Uncle Finn's friend."

"I would come as much as possible to the states to visit Finn. I would meet him at the park when He would be there with Tori." Logan said.

"You knew he was doing that?" Lorelai asked.

"Yes." Rory said.

It got quiet after that. They sat for several minutes. The food had gotten cold.

"Do either of you have any more questions about why we lied?" Rory asked.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Lorelai asked.

"I probably should have, but I knew you didn't approve of me and Logan. You were already mad about the book. I didn't want you to make snide remarks. Remarks someone might overhear and put two and two together." Rory said.

"So you punished me?" Lorelai said.

"No." Rory said.

"What changed, besides the divorce?" Luke asked.

"Mitchum died." Logan said.