Logan's Salute

Chapter 13

Connor's POV

"Well, that is all from my side," Steve says and Natasha nods in silence and so does Connor. He made it back to his room just in time for the scheduled conference Zoom call from America. They discussed his meeting with the colonel and Samantha. Also, Connor included the investigation that will be headed up by Samantha and that fact that he awaits her feedback. However, Connor could not help but be distant, as his thoughts were far away from the conversation at hand. 

"Connor!" Steve shouts and Connor looks at him. "Where the hell are you?" 

Connor then notices that Natasha has logged off. 

"Sorry," Connor says and wipes his eyes. "The jetlag must be sinking in now only."

"Does this jetlag, have chocolate brown eyes and dark hair?" Steve asks. Connor shoots him a look. "Natasha has informed me of your living arrangements." 

"Does she know about Kristin?" Connor asks.

"I don't think so," Steve says.

"It does not matter anyway," Connor says with a yawn. "It is all ancient history."

"Is it really?" Steve asks. "You have that same look in your eyes you had eighteen years ago." Connor lifts his hand up to stop Steve from talking.

"There is nothing there, so, let's just leave it!" Connor says sternly. 

Steve nods with a, "If you say so," and prepares to log off.

"Steve," Connor says and Steve looks up at him. "Forward me the file of Kristin and Matthew." Steve shoots him a confused look. "Something is not adding up." Steve eyed him for seconds before responding.

"I will ask Natasha to forward it to you," Steve says.

"No!" Connor says abruptly. "Please, can you forward it. Also, can we please keep this between us. Let's just say I have a hunch." Steve nods and logs off.

Connor does the same and prepares for bed, when a knock at the door interrupts him. Connor opens the door and finds Kristin standing there with a cup of tea in her hand. She was dressed in her gown, wrapped tightly around her, with her eyes cast down.

"I heard voices," she says and pushes the tea towards him. "So, I made you tea." Connor eyes the cup in her hand before taking it from her. 

"You shouldn't have." He says softly and sniffs the steaming liquid.

"It's camomile," she says glancing up at him. "It will help you sleep." 

"Thank you," he says and steps aside. "Would you like to..."Kristin shakes her head and keeps her eyes cast down to the floor. 

"It is late," she says, then searches his eyes and says, "I have but one request. Do not ask me about my personal business. My marraige...my life is just that, mine. You have no right to question my..." Her eyes falls on his chest and that is when Connor realises that he is dressed in nothing but his boxer shorts. Kristin close her eyes and takes a deep breath. "Please, I ask you to respect my private life and I will respect yours. Let us keep it professional." Kristin opens her eyes and makes eye contact with Connor. "Please." Her eyes were filled with tears. 

Connor nods and says, "As you wish." Kristin then turns away and leaves. Connor close the door and goes to bed for the night with his cup of tea.

Kristin's POV

The next morning came quicker than Kristin wanted it to. Her eyes felt heavy and her body tired as she dragged herself out of bed. Half an hour later, Kristin was busy preparing breakfast for the guests. Gabriella pulls up at six am, like clockwork, and walks in with two cups of coffee she bought at a new coffee shop they have been stalking for business purposes. 

"Morning," Gabriella sings as she walks in. 

"Hey, there, Gabs," Kristin says with a bright smile. "Was there much traffic?"

"No," Gabriella says. "Apparently the Ed Sheeran show last night was still going on until four this morning. The whole of Cape Town is asleep still." Kristin chuckles at Gabriella's words. "Hear anything from Matt?" 

"No," Kristin says, taking a sip from her coffee. "I am sure that man will feel like the dogs arse when he gets up later." Gabriella laughs and so does Kristin. 

"What was it this time?" Gabriella asks, sitting down at the counter with her coffee. 

"The divorce papers," Kristin says. 

"What?" Gabriella asks. "When did you get the papers?" Kristin shrugs as she takes a long sip.

"I didn't. He got them yesterday," Kristin says. "He only mentioned it once we reached the restaurant. That was when he began drinking like a fish. I forgot I even sent it to him." 

"Good morning, ma," Blake walks in and kisses his mother. "Aunty." he kisses his aunt. "How did the date go?" Kristin pulls a face at Blake's words as she looks at Gabriella.

"I am so sorry for ruining your date!" Kristin says and grabs her mouth. Blake looks at his mother with a shocked expression.

"Wait! What?" Blake says and looks at Gabriella. 

Gabriella giggles and says, "It wasn't a date! He said so himself."

"He likes you aunty," Blake says as he moves to the fridge. 

"He does," Kristin says. "I saw how he looked at you." Kristin recalls this and a pang of jealousy hits her. 

"He said I remind him of his sister," Gabriella says. "How is that romantic? Huh?" 

"Maybe he and his sister were very close?" Kristin says, making obscene eye gestures and pouts her lips, making kissing sounds. Blake burst into laughter and Kristin giggles. 

"This sounds cheerful!" Connor says, and all the laughter stopped. "Please don't stop on my account." Kristin and Gabriella make eye contact and snicker. 

"So," Connor says and grabs Kristin's gaze. "Talking about me?" His eyes were dancing with humour which made Kristin smile apologetically. 

"No," she says. "Why would I be...I mean, we were just..."

"Suggesting that my sister and I have incestuous relationship?" Connor says after taking an apple. The room goes silent as Connor bites into his apple and Kristin's eyes widen with shock. "What did you say about minding my own business?" Kristin looks at Blake, who was busy making his smoothie and then at Gabriella, who appeared amused by the whole awkward situation. 

"I am sorry," Kristin says softly. "I was just..."

"Having a little fun at my expense?" He says, his eyes never leaving her face. Kristin drops her eyes in shame.

"I'm sorry," she says again. Both Gabriella and Connor burst into laughter and Blake joins them as he also realized that Connor was joking. 

"I'm kidding, Kris," Connor says and reaches for her shoulder. His hand felt warm on her, through her flimsy blouse. "You have to lighten up!" he says and turns his focus on Blake. "What time are we leaving?" 

"I like to prep my smoothies before I leave," Blake says and starts to blend his smoothie. Kristin watches the interaction between the two males and sees similarities. Similarities that makes her think of Logan. 

"So," Gabriella says and breaks Kristin's thoughts. "He is allowed to call you that?" 

"What?" Kristin asks, feeling dazed. 

"He just called you Kris, again, and you said nothing," Gabriella says, but Kristin's focus was drawn towards Connor. His actions were familiar. So familiar that he mesmerised her. "She is not even listening to me." Gabriella says and Kristin smiles.

"I'm sorry," Kristin says, still focused on Connor. Gabriella speaks again but this time Kristin was not listening. Her mind slipped back to the night before, when she took the tea to his room. She was determined to tell him her reason for her madness, when she realised that he had no right to judge her, after knowing her for just one day. She walked up ready to let him have it, until he opened the door wearing only a very revealing boxer shorts. His perfect muscular body in the dim light, knocked all the wind out of her sails. Kristin tried focusing on his feet, but to her avail the front bulge of his shorts kept grabbing her attention. Kristin blushes as she remembers this. Connor turns around at that moment and catches her eyes on him. Shocked by his sudden change in position, Kristin jumps ups, still holding his gaze.

"What happened?" Gabriella asks. Kristin knocks her coffee over and it spills on the counter and then the floor. Everyone in the room was looking at her now. In silence, Kristin rushes out of the room and dashes to her bedroom, feeling ridiculous.

Kristin sits in her room, still feeling silly, when Gabriella knocked on the door and walks inside. 

"Hey," Gabriella says softly. "Are you okay? You left so suddenly." Kristin eyes Gabriella as she walks towards her. 

"Are they gone?" Kristin asks softly. 

"Connor and the boy?" Gabriella asks and Kristin nods. "Yip. Left a few minutes after you ran out." Kristin grabs her head in shame for acting like a teenager. "what is wrong?" 

"That man makes me feel like a," Kristin pauses as she searches for a suitable word. "fool. A silly, stupid little fool." Gabriella giggles at her. "It is not funny!" Kristin shouts at her.

"He reminds me so much of Logan," Gabriella says as she giggles. "Even the way he teases you. Logan loved teasing you. It was his best pass time." Kristin makes nagging sounds at Gabriella's words. "Oh, come on! He is funny. And you are too easy!" Gabriella places a kiss on Kristin's right temple and walks to the door. "Well, no rest for the wicked. I have a business to run. Check you later?" Kristin nods with a smile and Gabriella leaves. 

Gabriella was right though, Connor resembled Logan in his mannerisms as well as some of his actions. Kristin walks back to the kitchen to finish the breakfast for her guests. 

Just as she finished the last bacon and places it on the platter, her cell phone rings. It was Matthew. 

"Hello, Matt," she says as she places the platter on the buffet table. the guests swarm to the table as if they have not eaten in days. 

"Kristin?" Matthew says, sounding horrible. "What happened last night?" Kristin moves out of the dining hall and back to the kitchen where it was more quiet. 

"What do you remember?" Kristin asks looking out the window to the back yard, overlooking the parked cars. 

"I remember you serving me with divorce papers," Matthew says with a sigh. "But I tore them up and threw it into the fire." 

"Matthew, please," She says into the phone. "Let me go. I cannot do this with you anymore." 

"I will never let you go!" Matthew says, his voice changing from calm to anger in a split second. Kristin close her eyes as tears stream down her face. 

"You know that was just copies right?" Kristin asks, hiding the fact that she is crying. "I can send another batch over."

"And I will destroy them as well," Matthew says through his teeth. Kristin drops the call and sinks down to the floor feeling overwhelmed all of a sudden. She begins to black out as she hears Blake's voice rushing towards her.

Kristin opens her eyes and looks around, finding herself back in her room. She turns onto her side and sees Connor laying on the couch in her room. His eyes on the ceiling. As she sits up, he looks her way. Connor takes one step and he is at her side. 

"Hey, Kris," he says tenderly. "Don't get up. Do you need anything?" Kristin looks at him with confusion.

"What are you doing in my room?" She asks as she sits up and almost topples over. 

"Careful!" Connor says as he sees what happens. "Blake made me promise to watch over you." 

"Blake?" she says and looks under the covers. She was naked. "Where are my clothes?" Connor looks down at he breasts and then over his shoulder, pointing to her clothing.

"Blake said that you had some kind of condition," Connor says, adding, "that affected your blood flow, so I decided to remove your clothes."

"You removed my clothes?" Kristin asks in horror. Her cheeks become crimson at the thought of him seeing her naked. Connor nods silently. "Well, I feel better now, you can leave." 

"I can see that," Connor says as he stands up from the bed. "If you need more blood, you can take some from your cheeks. There seems to be an abundance." Kristin shoots him a look and Connor smiles. 

"Leave, Connor!" Kristin shouts and he jumps at her words before walking to the door as he chuckles. Connor stops at the door and turns back to look at her.

"If Blake asks, I did stay until you chased me out like a dog," Connor says. Kristin grabs a pillow beside her and throws it at Connor. He catches it with a smile and says, "I will keep this. Something to remember this amazing moment by." Kristin grunts and he leaves. 

Clutching the covers to her naked body, Kristin lays down on her back and begins to laugh. 

Connor's POV

Still smiling Connor makes his way back to his room. He still needed to take a shower as he never had the time to do so when he returned from his run. Seeing Kristin conk out on the floor stopped him and Blake in they normal morning routine. The boy was scared and panicked, forcing Connor to take be the rational one of the two of them, despite his shock and horror of her sudden black out. Blake mentioned that she has had the condition ever since she was pregnant with him, as his aunt Gabriella told him. Kristin's pregnancy was difficult and so was the birth.

Connor also found the bond between Blake and Gabriella was very tight. Almost as if Gabriella is his actual blood and not just a family friend. They seemed very close. 

Connor checks his emails, before taking his shower and sees that the file he has requested has arrived. He clicks to download the file and opens it. There were pictures of Kristin and Matthew getting married, as he has seen before so many years ago, and then there was another marriage certificate with an earlier date. Connor clicks on it and it pops open. The marriage certificate had Kristin's maiden name along with John Logan as the husband. Connor's stares at the document with confusion. He wipes his eyes and reads it again. His mind begins to run wild. 'How?' Connor sit and thinks, trying to make sense of it all. He does not remember this part of the file. He clicks on another certificate and sees that it is Blake's birth certificate. Connor checks the name of the father and sees Logan's name again. His blood runs cold. This information literally knocks him off his seat as Connor falls back on the bed in shock. His hand falls on the pillow Kristin threw at him minutes ago and he brings it into his arms. Her scent was still on the pillow as he inhales deeply. 

'Blake is his son!'

His mind was racing. He had so many questions, so many things he wanted to know. Then the words of Gabriella comes back to him. "We waited to tell him about Kristin and Blake." This is what she meant. 

Connor sits back up abruptly, placing the pillow beside him. "I need to talk to my sister," he says and jumps up to take his shower.

Fifteen minutes later, Connor finds himself running down the stairs and crashes into Kristin on the ground floor as she emerges from her room. They tumble to the floor and Connor ensures that he hits the ground and she falls on him. Just like in high school, she buried her head in his broad chest, as he holds her in place, so that she does not get hurt. Connor smiles as she looks up at him with her beautiful chocolate brown eyes. 

"Are you okay?" He asks her and she nods, wriggling to get loose from his grip. Connor releases her and she gets up. Connor follows her up. "Sorry, I am a bit of in a hurry." She nods again as she pulls her clothes straight. Connor wanted to tell her right there who he was, but found himself just staring down at her. Kristin looks up at him and gives him an odd look. 

"Didn't you just say you were in a hurry?" she asks him. Connor smiled down at her and takes a step towards her, reaching for her left elbow. Then he reaches for her right elbow. Kristin watches his hands as he touches her, not noticing him bend down. Connor tilts her head back by placing his forefinger under her chin, making her look up at him as he places his lips on hers. She at first did not respond, but melted as he slipped his tongue pass her lips, tasting the sweetness of hers. Connor places his arms around her waist, lifting her up to his frame as he deepens his kiss. She moans softly and her arms envelope his neck. Connor pulls away slowly, feeling somewhat unsteady, he places his hands on the door behind her. Kristin hung onto him for dear life at his sudden release. Connor smiles down at her, noticing that he was not alone in his breathlessness. 

"I will see you later," he says softly. Kristin nods at his words, but does not remove her arms from around his neck. "You need to let me go." he tells her with a smile and she releases him slowly. "Keep your schedule wide open for me," he drawls and pecks her cheek before leaving the B&B to meet Gabriella. 

The drive over is less than fifteen minutes, but felt like an hour's drive for Connor. He parks in front of the building finding Gabriella speaking to a grey-haired, middle-aged man, frantically waving her arms in the air. The man eyed Gabriella with confusion as she did this. Connor smiles knowing that his sister gets animated when she is unable to get her point across. Connor then exits the car, walks to where they are and calls her name. Gabriella turns to look at him and excuses herself from the man.

"Connor?" She says and walks over to him. "Is something wrong? Is Kristin okay?"

"Kris?" He asks, realising she still sees him as the American. "Oh, she is fine," he says, then remembers the episode. "Well, she is now. She fainted earlier, but she is fine now." Gabriella's eyes widen at his words, but he calms her down quickly. 

"Then what are you doing here?" Gabriella asks him after he explained what happened to Kristin. 

"Can we go for a drive?" Connor asks. "I have something to ask you and ultimately confess to you." 

"I'm in the middle of something here," Gabriella says, gesturing to the middle-aged man behind her. "It took me six weeks to finally get this contractor to come and assess of this building. I want to expand and add more rooms and he is only available today." Connor eyes the man for several seconds before speaking again.

"Okay, wait here," Connor says and approaches the man. "Hi, there, sir. Can we talk real quick?" The man turns to Connor and nods. "How much will it cost for you to come back tomorrow, same time." The man shoots Connor a strange look. "I need to spend more time with my sister, before I return to America." The man then looks at Gabriella then back at Connor.

"Ten thousand," the man says.

Connor takes out his cheque book and write out the amount then signs it. " Here," Connor says as he tears out the page and passes it to the man. "Ten thousand dollars!" The man's eyes widen when he hears the word dollars instead of rands. Connor turns away and walks back to Gabriella. 

"There!" He says. "He will come back tomorrow. Let's go for that drive." Connor walks back to his car, pulling Gabriella by the arm. 

"Are you insane?" She shouts as they reach his car. Connor opens the door for her as he speaks again.

"I need to talk to you now!" Connor says sternly. "It is important!" Gabriella crosses her arms and stares up at him angrily. "Gabby, it is about Kristin and Blake!"

"What did you call me?" Gabriella asks, shocked at the pet name her brother Logan called her when he wanted something from her. Connor looks at her seriously and says, " Gabby," once again. "It's me! It's Johnny! Your brother." His American accent was gone.

All the blood disappears from her face as she stares up at him in disbelief. Connor grabs her as she sinks down, almost falling to the ground. He places her unconscious body in his car and drives off. 

Three hours later, Connor sat facing the Indian Ocean, off Muzenberg beach. Gabriella begins to stir beside him as she slowly wakes up. She looks around confused and sees his face. A frown invades her features as she recalls the mornings events. 

"Feeling better?" Connor asks, using his fake American accent again. "You have been out for three hours." She looks at him as if he had a contagious disease, leaning heavily onto the car door. Connor smiles and points to a melting smoothy between them. "I laced yours with some rum. You're gonna need it." Gabriella stares at him silently.

"You probably want to know how I am still alive," he says, eyeing her curiously. When she does not answer, he faces the ocean once again and tells her the whole story. When he reached the part when he relocated to America, Gabriella reached for her smoothy. She listened to everything he said, not interrupting him, until he finished. 

"I think I need something stronger," Gabriella says, placing the empty cup back down.

"Stronger than rum?" He asks.

"It is not everyday that your brother comes back from the dead, you know!" She says. Connor pulls a face and nods. "So, what are you doing back?"

"I can't tell you," Connor says. "I have already said too much, by revealing my true identity to you."

"Then, why tell me?" She asks, shaking her head.

"I," he starts to say and stops. "Blake? Is he my son?" He turns to look at her after the question, nervous for the answer. 

"Yes," she says and Connor releases a sigh. "We were going to tell you when you returned back from Iran. Kristin wanted to tell you after your basic training, but you left before she could." Connor makes eye contact with her as he remembered the awkward night. 

"Matthew?" Connor says.

"He is just a friend," Gabriella says. "She never stopped loving you. I mean, she never stopped loving Johnny." 

"What?" Connor asks, almost in a whisper. "She married him? I mean, she is married to him!" Gabriella shakes her head and looks at the waves.

"Stay away from her, Johnny," Gabriella says. "It took her eighteen years to get over you! She is still recovering!" Connor looks at her in disbelief. "You walked away! You walked away and everything as I knew it, died! Ma died of a broken heart! You killed her and almost took Kristin. If it wasn't for that sweet little boy, she would also have been gone!" Connor shakes his head.

"I thought she and Matthew were together!" He says, grabbing his head. 

"Well, they are now," she says softly. "And you are going to leave it that way. Did you know that she almost lost her mind when you died? She was in an assylum for weeks, trying to deal with your death."

Connor listens and all his feelings return, washing over him, one by one, like the waves of the ocean. His memories of their love flood his mind as his sister rebukes him, but all he wanted to do was rush back to Kristin and just hold her. Kiss her and tell her he loved her. 

"Johnny!" Gabriella shouts his name, and Connor opens his eyes to look at her. "Please don't mess this up. They are fine now. We have learned to cope without you for fifteen years. Telling her would derail her. If you have ever loved her or love her still, you have to let her go."

Minutes later, Connor drives back as his sister's words run through his mind over and over again, as she tells him repeatedly not to mess with Kristin's head again. He agreed reluctantly, but still felt heavy hearted. After, dropping her off, he makes his way to his place. He wondered if it still exists after all these years. The weather was perfect for the beach. He parks his car, removes his socks and shoes and roll his pants up to his knees. Memories floods his mind as he stares out over the ocean. He walks to the place solely, taking in the scenery, not noticing that the place was already occupied. 

"Connor?" Kristin says as he comes into her sights. Connor eyes her, wanting to turn and walk away. Her face riddled with questions as he looks at her. "What are you doing here?"

Connor drops his head, feeling defeated. His heart leapt at the sight of her and she still saw him as the American guest at her B&B. 

"I was just looking for a quiet place to think," Connor says. He looks up at her and it was clear that she came there for the same reason. "What brings you here?" He asks as he sits down beside her. Her hair was up in a messy bun with strands hanging down here and there, but she looked amazing to him. Her toes curled in the sand as she looks out at the ocean. She was wearing a knee-high red, floral sun dress with no shoes. Her hands clasped tight in her lap. Connor reaches for her hands and she flinches. 

"Relax," he say in a soft and tender voice, staring into her eyes. "I won't hurt you." She allows him to take her one hand in his. He eyes her as she returns her gaze back to the moving water. Her eyes become filled with tears and she wipes he away as they roll down her cheeks. Connor says nothing as he paces his arm around her, pulling her to him. She sobs softly in silence. 

Minutes go by while Kristin and Connor remain holding each other in silence. Kristin pulls away and reaches for her bag beside her. She takes out some tissues and wipe her face as well as Connor's white shirt.

"Leave," he says. "Let me just," he says and removes his shirt. He was wearing a vest beneath it. She eyes his arm and frowns. "What?" He asks her.

"I know his tattoo," she says as she sniffs. "Logan had the same one when he returned from his basic." Connor remembers getting the tattoo with Samantha and their platoon. 

"It is a special ops tattoo," Connor confesses. "Everyone who joins gets one. It s a tradition." 

She nods, still eyeing his tattoo. "And these initials?" She reaches for his arm where the initials are. "J.L.?" Connor becomes rigid at her touch and his jaw clenches. 

"Don't," he says, jerking away from her. "Please, don't." He says and stands up. 

"I'm sorry," she says and places her hands back in her lap, dropping her head. Connor begins to feel bad and sits down beside her once again. 

"It's not you," he says. "I just have a difficult time forgetting my days back in Iraq." She shoots him a look. "Lost a very close friend there," he adds, "Those are his initials." Kristin nods. 

"So, what do you need to think about?" She asks him. 

"My sister and I had a disagreement," he confesses truthfully. "The problem is she is right, and I am wrong." 

"I hate when that happens," Kristin says with a chuckle. Connor smiles with a nod. 

"And you?" He asks. "What is on your mind?" Kristin gives a heavy sigh me buries her head in her hands. "I don't mean to pry," he says softly.

"No, you are not," she says, looking up again. "I asked and you answered. It is only fair that I do the same." Kristin takes a deep breath with closed eyes and lets it out slowly. "I needed to get away from the house, because I asked Matthew for a divorce." 

Connor shoots her a very confused look. "Look, I know kissing you was out of line earlier, but you don't have to divorce your husband." Kristin laughs out loud at his words. 

"I am not divorcing him because of you!" She says with a smile. "Your kiss was good, but not that good." Connor pulls a face and she laughs again. He smiles at her laughter, as he always loved the sound of it. 

"Are you you sure about this?" He asks.

"The kiss?" She asks and sucks in some more air before speaking again. "Well, I must admit, I have not been moved by a kiss for eighteen years." Connor chuckles and she laughs again. "Oh, you mean the divorce?" Connor nods and she smiles. "Yes, I am." Connor takes her right hand into his again and brings it to his lips, kissing her fingers softly. Her gaze remained on his lips as he does this. 

"All the best, then," he says, focusing on her mouth. A familiar feeling of desire dwells in the pit of his stomach as he looks at her. Kristin licks her lips and leans in, placing her arms around his neck, and placing her lips on his.