Whiskey In The Water

Chapter 15-Lori

Chapter 15

Lori

It’s been a month since we found out what we’re having, I wake up every morning to Logan talking softly to Magnolia. He’s always telling her how much we love her and how he can’t wait to meet her and hold her. Logan has been at the office most of the day and I am sitting in my office, writing in my journal when I hear a soft knock on the door. “Come in.” I say. The door opens and Logan walks in with a tray. “I thought you might be hungry.” He says. I close my journal and put it and my pen down as he places the tray on the coffee table in front of the loveseat. “This looks amazing.” I tell him as he leans over to give me a kiss. I look at the tray and he's loaded fruits and BLTs onto the tray with some apple juice.

After we eat, he pulls my feet into his lap and starts rubbing my feet. “That feels good.” I tell him. “Have you been on your feet much today?” he asks. “Some. I’ve been cleaning up Magnolia’s room and refolding her clothes.” I tell him. “Your feet look a little swollen.” He tells me. “I will take it easy. I do have a lunch planned with Izzy and Mary tomorrow and then we have that meeting with Izzy later in the week to work on getting the new program going.” I tell him. “Make sure Hans drives you.” He tells me. “Always. I don’t like driving. Plus, it makes me feel a little more relaxed knowing he’s not far from me when you’re not able to be there.” I tell him. “He was hired to be your security guard so he will stay close as long as you need him to.” He tells me. “Thank you.” I tell him.

I look down at my stomach and rub my hand over the top of my stomach. “What’s on your mind honey?” Logan asks. “I’ve just been thinking about things with you and her.” I tell him, looking up at him. “Like what?” he asks. “She’s not even here yet and you are already trying to bond with her. You’re already a better father than my dad was, and I am so grateful for that. For you. It’s like I can’t wait to hold her but it’s more that I can’t wait to see you holding her. I can’t wait to see the two of you together.” I tell him. He smiles at me before reaching over and rubbing my stomach and Magnolia kicks his hand. After he leans back and starts rubbing my feet again, I say, “I had a dream last night.” He looks at me worried and asks, “What was it about?” I pull my feet from his lap and move over to sit next to him. Leaning into his side, he wraps his arm around me, and I take his other hand and play with his fingers.

“In the dream, she was already here. It was nice. She was about five or six years old, and you were in the garden with her. She was telling you about how she sees fairies around her flowers and how they tell her that she’s special. You were telling her that she is special and that she’s our princess.” I tell him. “She is our princess.” He tells me. “I know. But in the dream, she was all about spending time with you.” I tell him. “Where were you?” he asks. “I don’t know. But it was like I was on the outside looking in. Like I was seeing a special memory that hasn’t happened yet. If that makes sense.” I tell him. “It does. I have dreams about you and her.” He tells me and I look up at him. “In my dreams, she’s playing in the garden, and you are sitting on the gazebo pregnant while she’s running around with a little boy.” I look up at him and smile. “I want at least two more kids after her.” He tells me. “I’m good with that.” I tell him.

The next day, Logan heads to the office and I head out to the car. Hans opens the door for me and helps me into the car. I buckle in while he walks around to the driver’s seat. Getting in, he starts the car, and we head to the local diner where I’m supposed to meet Izzy and Mary. I’ve been feeling more confident and speaking my mind more since I’ve been with Logan, and it feels good to be this new version of myself. I feel like I am finally someone that my daughter will be able to look up to.

We pull up to the diner and Hans helps me out of the car. “I’ll be right here if you need me Mrs. Edwards.” He tells me. “Thank you, Hans.” I say before heading inside. I walk up to the table and Izzy and Mary both stand to hug me. We sit down and the waitress comes over to take our drink orders and I order an apple juice. I’ve been craving apple juice a lot lately. She brings our drinks and then takes our food orders and when she walks away, I look out the window and can see Hans from where I sit, and I know he can see me too. “So, how are you feeling?” Izzy asks me. “I’m okay. Been getting tired a little faster these days but Logan and Alice are making sure I get plenty of rest.” I tell them. “That’s good. I was planning on coming over in a couple of days and showing you and Logan the drawings for Magnolia’s room if that’s okay.” She says. “That would be amazing. We can’t wait to see what you came up with.” I tell her. “Well, I’ve come up with three different themes, so you guys have a few things to choose from.” She tells me. I clap my hands together excitedly and say, “I can’t wait.” And both ladies start laughing.

The waitress brings out food and we start to eat. “How are things with you and Evan?” I ask. Mary looks down at her plate with a small smile on her face. “Good I think.” She says. “You think?” Izzy asks. “Yeah. I mean, I don’t know.” She tells us and Izzy and I look at each other before Izzy asks, “What’s been going on?” She looks at Izzy and then me and says “He comes to the mission to see me almost every day. Makes sure to text and call every day. Anytime we all have something planned, he’s the one that picks me up. I mean, he’s really nice but I just can’t figure out why he’s hanging out with me.” She says. “Oh honey, we can answer that one for you.” I say. She looks at me and I say, “He’s into you.” She shakes her head and says, “No. He’s just being nice.” She says. “He’s a nice guy but he is into you.” I tell her. She shakes her head no, and I can tell she’s uncomfortable, so I change the subject. “So, how are the kids doing?” I ask Izzy. “They are a handful. As always.” She says and starts telling us about their latest antics.

After lunch, I head out with Izzy and Mary by my side. “Lori?” I hear someone say and I freeze. My hands immediately go to my stomach, and I turn towards the voice and steel myself for whatever is about to come out of his mouth. “Corbin.” I say and Mary and Izzy walk closer. I look over and see Hans and I hold up my hand to let him know I’m okay before looking back at Corbin. “I thought that was you.” He says and sees me holding my stomach. “s**t. You’re pregnant.” He says. “I am.” I say standing a little taller because I know he’s about to start berating me like he always did when we were in school. “Wow. Do you even know who the father is?” he asks, smirking. “I mean, I can be your baby daddy, but it will cost you.” He says. “Actually, I do know who my baby’s father is. He’s my husband.” I tell him. “You got someone to marry you? Bull shit.” He says. About that time, I hear “There a problem here?” Logan says before wrapping his arm around me and pulling me close. “Hey honey.” He says before kissing my temple. “You’re still here?” he asks when he looks over and sees Corbin. Looking back at me he asks, “You know this guy?” I nod and say, with confidence “Corbin, this is my husband, Logan Edwards. Baby, this is Corbin McDowell. We went to school together.” I tell him. Logan looks at me and raises an eyebrow in question and I nod slightly. He kisses me and says “Head to the car baby. I’ll be right there. Don’t need you on your feet any more than you have to be.” I kiss him one more time before heading to the car and Hans helps me inside without even giving Corbin another glance. Mary and Izzy head to Izzy’s car and Logan steps up to Corbin and says “I know the s**t you used to say to my wife when you were in school. She’s mine and I won’t have anyone disrespecting what’s mine. You don’t look at her. You don’t speak to her. If you see her around town, you will cross the street and head the other way. Do I make myself clear?” Logan asks and Corbin nods his head in agreement. “Good. You can go.” Logan commands and Corbin wastes no time obeying.

Logan comes to the car and gets into the back seat with me. I push the button to raise the partition and pull his face close to mine. “I love you.” I say before crashing my lips with his. The windows are tinted so no one can see inside the car. I start working on his belt before unfastening the button and unzipping his pants. Pulling out his hard member, I stroke him slowly and his head falls back against the headrest. “That feels good baby.” He says softly. “Then you’re going to love this.” I tell him before lowering my mouth to his hard member. I kiss the tip before slowly sliding my lips down his shaft, taking him to the back of my throat. Hearing him groan in pleasure makes me feel so powerful. That’s how he makes me feel. He makes me feel like I have all the power in the world, and I guess being his wife, I do.

I slide my lips up and down his hard shaft as my hand strokes the part that won’t fit into my mouth. He tangles his fingers into my hair but doesn’t try to control the pace. I look up at him and see him watching me pleasure him. “I’m close baby.” He whispers and I start to stroke a little bit faster. “Here I come baby.” He groans and I feel him start releasing rope after rope of c*m into my mouth and I swallow each drop. When he’s done, I slip my lips off his tip with a pop, and he pulls me closer and kisses me hard before putting his forehead to mine and saying, “I don’t know what I did to deserve that, but I’ll do it every day for the rest of my life.” I smile at him and say, “You rescued me…again.”

We get to the house and head inside. Once we are in the living room, he asks “How bad was he to you?” I shake my head and say “Doesn’t matter. He won’t bother me again.” I tell him and I move to the couch. Taking off my shoes, he pulls my feet into his lap. It seems he likes to rub my feet and pamper me. “It does matter. I don’t want anyone thinking that they can disrespect you.” He says. “He wasn’t as bad a dad and Jake. He would make fun of me for being poor and that I was always wearing hand me downs. He would always make comments about how I was wearing long sleeves in the summer, but he didn’t know they were hiding bruises.” I tell him. “Do you think it would have been different if he knew?” he asks. “Probably not. He was one of the kids that thought they did no wrong and it didn’t help that his dad got him out of everything that he got caught doing. I didn’t have it as bad as some when it came to him.” I tell him. “How’s that?” he asks. “When we were in our senior year, he started talking to this sophomore. I don’t even remember her name. But he started talking to her and talked her into going to a party with him. I guess he talked her into hooking up with him because she ended up finding out she was pregnant at fifteen. After they hooked up, he stopped talking to her and acted like she didn’t exist. She told him that she was pregnant, apparently, he was the only one she had been with, and he told her that it wasn’t his baby and that she should just get rid of it. When she refused, he had some of his buddies jump her after school and she miscarried. She committed suicide a couple of weeks later.” I tell him. “s**t. And nothing happened to him?” he asks. “Nope. I think her parents tried to get something done but his dad knew too many people and they couldn’t get anything to stick. He had just turned eighteen when she found out she was pregnant, and she was fifteen, but they couldn’t even get him for statutory rape.” I tell him. “That’s crazy.” He says. “I know but I tried to stay out of his way. One of his buddies tried to talk to me one time but I started staying in the library, so he stopped trying. I tried to disappear.” I tell him. “You know I won’t let anyone disrespect you again, right?” he asks. “I know baby. I know that me and Magnolia are safe with you.” I tell him. He leans over and kisses me softly and I whisper, “I love you.” And he smiles against my lips. “I love you too.” He whispers as he places his hand on my stomach, and he feels our daughter kick.

That night, we head to bed and as we are lying in bed, I drift off to sleep with Logan’s arm around me. Next thing I know, I’m dreaming of when I was in high school. I’m sitting in the library during lunch, reading a book, minding my own business when the door opens. I glance up over the top of my book and see Corbin and his buddy Oliver walk in. They see me sitting there and as soon as I see them heading my way, I start packing my things up as fast as I can. “Where do you think you’re going?” Corbin asks. I don’t answer. I pull my backpack onto my shoulder and head towards the door when Oliver grabs my arm, and I wince. “He asked you a question.” Oliver says. “Where are you going?” Corbin asks again. “To class.” I whisper. “Nah. We need help finding a book.” Corbin says and they start dragging me down one of the aisles to the back of the library. I look and see the librarian looking at me before she heads into her office, acting like she doesn’t see what’s happening. They pin me to the wall and Oliver starts trying to raise my shirt and I fight him off. Or at least I try. I feel his hand on my bare stomach, and he asks, “I wonder what color her panties are?” Oliver asks. “Are you wearing panties, Lori?” Corbin asks. I try to fight against them again, but they are stronger than me. I feel Corbin’s hand unbuttoning my pants and the tears start to fall. He unzips my pants, and I feel him slip his hand into my pants. Then I hear it. “Lori. Baby. Come back to me honey. It’s just a dream.” Logan. It’s Logan’s voice. I open my eyes and see Logan looking at me with worry in his eyes.

I sit up and he moves against the headboard and pulls me between his legs. I snuggle into him, and he kisses the top of my head. I feel the tears start falling and he doesn’t say anything. He just holds me close and lets me cry. When I get myself together, he softly asks “Do you want to talk about it?” I sit there for a minute and decide to tell him. “When we were in school, I was in the library, reading. Corbin and his best friend Oliver came in. They saw me. They grabbed me and pulled me to the back of the library. They pinned me to the wall and Oliver was trying to get his hand up my shirt and Corbin was sliding his hand into my pants when we heard the principal come in and they let me go. The worst part is that the librarian saw them dragging me to the back and she went into her office and pretended she didn’t see anything.” I tell him. “Shit.” He says. After a few minutes of just holding me, he says “You know I’m going to find them.” I look up at him and say, “I know.” He kisses me softly and says, “You know what I’m going to do.” I nod and say, “I do.” I move to straddle him and cup his face. “No matter what you do to protect me and our daughter, it’s not going to change how I feel about you. You’ve already proven you’ll move heaven and earth to protect us.” I tell him. “I would die protecting you.” He tells me. “I would rather you not die. We need you. Plus, you owe me two more kids.” I tell him, trying to lighten the mood. “I need you to give me their last names.” He says. “In the morning.” I tell him and we move to lay back down.

The next morning, we are sitting in the kitchen, eating breakfast and I’ve still not said much. I didn’t sleep well last night, even after talking to Logan. I wrote down both of their names for him and he texted Rico to find them. We are just finishing breakfast when Ashton knocks on the door. Logan lets him in, and they walk back to the kitchen. “Morning sis.” Ashton says as he kisses my cheek. “Morning Ash.” I say and he looks from me to Logan. He looks back at me and says “Rico found them. We’re heading to take care of them.” Ashton says. “Okay. Be careful please.” I say to both Ashton and Logan. Ashton nods and heads towards the door. Logan walks over and says “Please don’t leave the house. I will be back soon as we can spend the day in bed, resting.” He tells me. “I won’t leave but I will be fine.” I tell him. “You barely slept last night. We are going to rest.” He tells me and I nod my agreement, deciding not to fight him on this.

After they leave, Alice asks “What was that about?” She helps me to stand, and we head to the living room. We sit on the couch, and I start explaining. I tell her about the dream and about what happened in school. I tell her about me running into him at the diner and the things he was saying and Logan showing up. “You know he has Hans text him updates on when you leave and when you get to where you’re going, don’t you?” she asks. “I know. He didn’t tell me that he has him doing it, but I suspected.” I tell her. “Are you okay with that?” I ask. “I know to some it might be a little over the top but to me, it makes me feel safe.” I tell her. “He worries about you.” She tells me. “I know. I feel for Magnolia when she starts dating.” I tell her. “Honey, that little girl is going to have Logan, Ashton and Evan protecting her.” She tells me. “Oh God. A lawyer, a judge, and a man with a killer security team?” I ask and she starts laughing. “Can you imagine when she starts walking? Or when she starts school?” I ask. “Or when she starts dating?” Alice says and I start laughing harder before grabbing my stomach. “Are you okay?” she asks. “Yeah. She’s kicking again.” I tell her before grabbing her hand and placing it on my stomach. “Say hello to grandma.” I say and she kicks Alice’s hand.

I spend the next few hours sitting on the couch with Alice, watching movies while we wait for Logan to come home. “When are you supposed to meet with Izzy and Mary about the new program?” Alice asks. “Day after tomorrow. I printed out my business plan yesterday and had Logan look over it. He thinks it’s a pretty sound plan.” I tell her. “That’s great sweetheart. You know it’s going to be an amazing legacy to leave your daughter.” She says. “I never thought about that. I’ve just been concentrating on finding a way to help other girls like me that aren’t lucky enough to find someone like Logan to come in and sweep them off their feet like he did for me.” I tell her. “Men like Logan don’t come along every day.” She tells me. “I know. I still don’t know how I got so lucky and he’s even claiming my daughter. She’s never going to feel the things that I did growing up. She will never know what it’s like to feel the pain I did. She won’t know what it’s like to feel like you’re not wanted.” I tell her. “You are wanted.” She tells me. “I know. I never felt like I was but that’s changed since I’ve been with Logan. He shows me every single day that Magnolia and I are wanted and loved. You do too.” I tell her and she pats my hand and says “Well, I don’t have any kids of my own but you, Logan and Magnolia are mine.” She tells me. “And that makes me happy.” I tell her and she smiles.

It's been hours since Logan and Ashton left. They left right after breakfast and still haven’t made it home. He has texted me throughout the day to tell me that he’s okay so that I don’t worry but now it’s close to ten at night and I’m starting to get tired. “Head on up to bed sweetheart. I’ll wait up for him.” Alice tells me. I shake my head, and she says “You and my granddaughter need your rest. I will send him up as soon as he gets here.” She tells me. “Okay. Goodnight Alice.” I say and I kiss her cheek. I head upstairs and get a shower before heading to bed. I lay in bed and say a silent prayer that my husband comes home safe to me and our daughter.