Logan's Leap (4 page)

“Logan?”
Jayna asked.

“Oh
no. Playboy extraordinaire, Dylan Harper was the bane of my existence. But
that’s a long story for another time.”

Nicoletta
sanitized her hands, put on gloves and checked Jayna. When she was done she
disposed of her gloves and told the young woman to get ready for a trip to the
hospital, then left the room.

“Hey,
how is she?” Logan asked when he saw his friend leave the bedroom.

“She’s
tired and I think her iron is low. The food she ate yesterday seems to have
helped her dizziness, but Logan, we need to get her to the hospital now. She
went from 5 cm dilated to six while I was checking her and she’s starting to
feel the contractions in her abdomen.”

“Oh
God! Okay um… I’ll get her into the truck. Are the roads okay? Hell, it doesn’t
matter, it’s just down the street. I wonder if I should pack her bag. Oh man,
we’ve got to hurry.

Nicoletta
was chuckling at her old friend. “Logan, is this your baby? You’re acting like
an expectant father.”

He
stopped pacing and his jaw dropped. “Uh no…no, the baby isn’t mine. But Jesus
this is all so, so…nerve-wracking!”

Just
then, Jayna came out of the bedroom groaning and holding her stomach. “We need
to go now,” she breathed. “Please!”

“Yeah,
yeah. Come on,” Logan said, grabbing his keys and wallet and walking out the
door.

A
few moments later, he walked back inside. “I guess we should take the mom-to-be,
huh?”

Nicoletta
and Jayna both laughed at him. Logan put his jacket over her head and they all
walked out of the nearly empty store as if nothing were out of the ordinary.

Nicoletta
helped Logan get her through the six inches of fresh snow and into the truck
before she headed to her own car with a promise to meet them at the hospital.

Chapter 4

Logan
was standing in the hallway of the small maternity ward of the twenty-five bed
community hospital when a woman in scrubs approached him. "Hey Daddy,
there you are. You’re being asked for.”

"But
I’m not…” Of course Jayna’s nurse was a new one who didn’t know who he was.

“Come
on Papa, it’s time to have a baby,” she said, pulling on his arm. "Your
wife is asking for you.”

Logan
sighed and followed her. What in the hell was he getting himself into. He
wasn’t sure if he wanted to watch a near stranger give birth.

The
woman in scrubs dragged him into the room. Jayna was moaning in pain as he
rushed over to her. “Hey, they said you asked for me."

“Yeah,”
she panted. “I need you here with me.”

“I…I’m
not sure I’m the best person to have here,” he said nervously. “You have
Nicoletta.”

“She’s
in a strange place, surrounded by complete strangers, Logan,” Nicoletta
stressed. “You’re the only one who can make her feel safe right now.”

“Okay,”
he sighed. “What do I do?”

“Just
hold her hand and encourage her.”

“Okay,”
he said nodding. “I can do that.”

A
nurse brought him a stool to sit on. As he seated himself and took Jayna’s
hand, the doctor, Nicoletta’s father Adam Ballas, walked in. “I hear we’re
ready to have a baby!”

Logan
sat there through the whole process, fascinated. At first he was nervous that
he would see too much, but then he couldn’t help but watch when Jayna told him
it was okay. He watched in awe as an eight pound four ounce little boy was
pushed into the world by the beautiful, scared woman he’d taken into his home.

"Miss
McIntyre, would you like to feed the baby before we take him?”

“Yes,
please,” she smiled as tears of joy ran down her face.

The
baby was put into her arms and the nurse helped her get him latched on. Logan looked away to give her privacy but Jayna would have none of it. After being
pregnant, giving birth, and passing out in the shower, she really didn’t care
who saw what anymore.

“Logan?”

“Yeah,”
he said, turning back to her. The baby all snuggled up to his mother’s breast,
was a captivating, beautiful scene.

“What
is your middle name?”

“Wha…um,
Charles. Why?” he asked, looking from the suckling baby to her eyes.

“I’d
like you to meet Charles Joseph McIntyre,” she said softly.

Logan
smiled at her. It felt almost hard to breathe, but it wasn’t entirely a bad
feeling. He reached over and took the tiny hand of the little boy who now bore
his middle name. “It’s nice to meet you Charles.” The tiny hand wrapped around
his index finger and he truly did lose his breath for a brief moment. “He is so
perfect,” Logan murmured.

“He
is,” Jayna agreed as she switched breasts. “I can’t believe how perfect he is.
Aren’t they supposed to be wrinkly and funny looking?”

Logan
laughed. “Apparently not all are.”

The
baby pulled away from the breast and started to cry. A nurse walked over and
handed a cloth to Logan. “It looks like Daddy is the first to burp him. Put
that on your shoulder.”

“But
I’m not…” the baby was suddenly in his arms and he couldn’t think straight. He
was mesmerized by the tiny, screaming, little human.

“Put
him on your shoulder and pat his back,” the nurse explained.

He
pulled out of his fog and did as the nurse had instructed him. After just a
moment of patting the little back, Charles let out a burp so loud that it
received a quiet round of applause from everyone in the room. “Wow, little man
that was impressive, especially since your Mama’s milk hasn’t even come in
yet!”

The
baby stopped crying and settled into Logan’s arms again. After a few minutes,
the nurse took him so they could finish checking him over.

“Have
you been around children a lot?” Jayna asked.

“What?
No,” he chuckled. “I have very little experience with
human
babies.”

“Well,
you’re a natural then,” she smiled. “You’re really good with him.”

Logan
didn’t quite know what to say. He wasn’t really fond of kids, but when the
nurse took Charles from him, he almost felt… bereft? “I’ll be right back. I’m
going to get something. What is your favorite animal?”

“Umm,
eagles and moose.  Why?”

“You’ll
see,” he said, standing up. “I’ll be right back.”

“She’ll
be in a room soon. 101 I believe,” the nurse called after him.

Logan
hurried down to the tiny, volunteer-run gift shop with hopes that it was open
and they had what he wanted.

Fifteen
minutes later, he walked out with exactly what he’d been looking for. Heading
back to the maternity area, he ran into Nicoletta and Jayna slowly walking
toward room 101. “Should you be walking around already?” he asked concerned.

Nicoletta
chuckled. “Once the mom can get up and pee, they let her walk around.
Especially since she didn’t have an epidural.”

“Oh
okay. How are you feeling, Jayna?”

She
looked at him and smiled. “I’m shaky and sore, but I’m good.”

Logan
knew that was true physically, but he could see the fear in her eyes. After he
got her settled in he would head home and figure out what to do about that
fear.

Ten
minutes later, he, Jayna and Charles were alone in the room. Logan lifted the
little boy carefully out of the bassinet and handed him to his mother for
another feeding. “So, I know you probably don’t want to talk about this right
now, but I need you to tell me everything you know about Reginald Sanders so I
can try to find him before he finds you.”

“I
have a file on him in the bag at your place. Everything you need to know is in
there.”

Logan
sensed her fear go up a notch. Just the thought of that bastard put her on
edge. “You’ll be safe here Sleeping Beauty. They won’t let anyone into this
wing unless they have a reason to be here. Nicoletta and I will be the only
ones authorized to see you.”

“Okay,”
she said, looking down at Charles. Tears were once again shining in her eyes.
“This isn’t how I originally imagined this day.”

“I’m
sorry. Is there anyone I can call for you?”

“Just
Deb. I don’t have any family.”

“I’ll
call her when I get home,” he promised. “I have something for you and Charles,”
he said, picking the bag up off the floor. “This is for you.” Logan pulled a
stuffed moose out of the bag. The shirt she was wearing said ‘mommy’. “And this
itty bitty one is for CJ.” He pulled a smaller moose out of the bag – he had a
t-shirt that said ‘baby’ on it.

“CJ?”
Jayna asked as she studied the moose pair.

Logan
grinned and shrugged his shoulders. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s
okay,” she murmured. “I kind of like it. Do you like it, CJ?” she asked. The
baby cooed and continued to eat.

Logan
reached out and caressed the little guy’s soft cheek but pulled back quickly.
When in the Hell did he get so touchy-feely?

CJ
pulled away from the breast and refused to go back on, so Logan took him from
his mother and put him on his shoulder. He patted and rubbed while the baby
squirmed and fussed. “Being stubborn, my man? Just let it out. You don’t want
to get into trouble with your mama do you?” At just that moment the little guy
let out a huge burp. “That’s my boy!"

Logan
realized immediately what he’d said and looked down to see Jayna’s reaction.
She was asleep. “Well, I guess my slip of the tongue will be our little
secret,” he whispered, shifting his eyes to the baby. CJ was dozing on his
shoulder. “Or just mine,” he chuckled.

He
held the baby a bit longer, just enjoying the feeling of the tiny little human
breathing in and out. But soon, he knew it was time to get home. Putting the
baby gently in the bassinet, he briefly mourned the loss then got to work
leaving a note for Jayna.

I
put my number in your phone.  If you need anything, just call, it doesn’t
matter what time it is
.

Logan

He
picked up her phone, entered his number in the contacts and walked around the
other side of the bed. Looking down at Jayna he smiled. His nickname for her
was spot on; she was definitely a beauty. He bent down, kissed her forehead and
hurried from the room. Whatever had gotten into him had better end soon. He
couldn’t afford to have warm and fuzzy feelings, even for the cutest little
human being he’d ever seen.

After
making arrangements for the hospital bill, he headed back to his apartment to
make a few calls.

***********

Following
a quick stop at the local fast food joint for a to-go order, Logan arrived
home. It was just past six p.m. He pulled out his phone and dialed his cousin’s
number.

“Hey
Logan, what’s up,” Jackson answered.

“Hey
Jack, is Deb there?”

“Uh
yeah, hold on a minute.”

“Hey
when I’m done talking to her, get back on the line, okay?”

“Sure.”

Deb
quickly picked up the line. “Hi Logan. How are you? How is Jayna?”

“That’s
actually why I called. She had the baby this afternoon. A little boy, eight
pounds four ounces and twenty-two inches long.”

“Oooh!
I’m so excited for her! I hope I get to see them soon.”

Logan
paused for a moment when he heard her telling Jack about the baby. “I hope so
too, because that will mean her trouble is over.”

“Tell
her I’m thinking about her, will you.”

“I
will Deb, when I see her tomorrow.” If he didn’t think that Reginald would find
her, he’d ask Deb to come up for a few days to visit.

“Hey
Logan?”

“Yeah.”

“What
did she name him?”

“Charles
Joseph. I call him CJ.”

Deb
chuckled. “I like that. Here’s Jack.”

“Hey
cousin. What’s on your mind?” Jackson asked as he came back on the line.

“I’m
trying to figure out what to do about Jayna. Why is she so adamant about not
calling the authorities?”

Jack
sighed and Logan heard a chair slide along the floor. “He told her that if law enforcement
got involved, he would kill the baby and then her so she would have to watch
him die.”

“Oh
Jesus! This is one sick mother fucker we’re dealing with, isn’t it?”

“Yeah
Logan, he’s really bad news. He’s the privileged son of a billionaire. He was
given the Heart of Alaska Resort to run after his daddy bought it from our
family friend Dirk Peterson ten years ago. He can do pretty much anything he
likes and no one cares.”

“Or
at least he thinks he can,” Logan spat out. “I think his carefree days might be
about to run out.”

“Wow,”
Jackson chuckled. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard anything close to an emotion
in your voice in years.”

“Shut
up, Jack. I have to go. There’s a PI in Denver I need to talk to.”

“Bye,
cousin. Keep us updated.”

Logan
stood up and started to pace. As much as he didn’t want to betray Jayna’s
fragile trust, he just had to at least let the authorities know what was going
on in case Reginald Sanders did show up in town. It was time to call his cousin
Mark Harper.

“Can
I please speak to Chief Harper?”

“May
I ask who’s calling, sir?” asked the young receptionist.

“This
is his cousin, Logan.”

“Hold
please, Logan.” A few minutes later, the receptionist came back on the line.
“Can I give him a message? There was an incident out at the old mill he has to
take care of.”

“Uh,
yeah sure. Just tell him I called about a very important matter.”

“Will
do Logan. I haven’t see you around in a while. Is everything okay?”

“Yeah
Marcy, things are great.”

“I’ll
have the chief call as soon as he’s in.”

“Thanks
Marcy.” He wasn’t about to get into a conversation with her. She’d been chasing
him since high school and she didn’t seem to get the hint that he was
uncatchable.

Logan
went into the bedroom to find the file on Reginald Sanders. When he had finished
reading through it, he called his friend James in Denver.

They
went over the man’s file, and James and his father Marcus decided to take the
case. They would find Reginald and keep track of him until they could find a
way to get rid of the threat.