“Sam?” Logan was watching the myriad of expressions cross my face.
I shook my head. “I have to go.”
“You okay?”
“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine.” I tried to wave off his concern and pointed to the office. “Tell her I’ll talk to her later. I…have to go to the bathroom.” I needed a lie that Logan wouldn’t hammer at me about, trying to figure it out. My mouth turned down, and I grabbed at my stomach. “Diarrhea.”
“Ew, Sam. We’re family, but I don’t need to know details like that.”
“Uh-huh.” I raised my voice before turning and hurrying away. “Okay, yeah, gotta take a shit. See you later, brother dearest.”
“Okay.” He sounded confused. “Enjoy taking your shit.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
I rushed around the corner, then stopped and slowed down, but my heart didn’t. It was pounding against my chest, trying to break through it. I stopped altogether.
Logan was my family. Mason was my family. I had no right thinking they weren’t. Malinda, David, Mark—we were all family. I blinked back some tears. The sudden feeling of being lost wafted up, and I shoved it down.
I needed to go on a run.
MASON
I was waiting in my Escalade when Sam returned from her run. Logan said that she was upset earlier and lied about it, so I expected that she would go on a run. She was crossing the parking lot with her roommate clutching a book next to her. Sam was counting her pulse with her finger to her neck while gripping a water bottle in her other hand. They’d see the vehicle in a second—or Sam would. I took that moment to study the roommate.
Sam mentioned that she met the family. She mentioned a stepmother. My attention sharpened on the roommate as she glanced in my direction. Our gazes caught and held, but she didn’t mask the fear that flashed for a split second. It was there and then gone, and her face went back to being pleasant. She murmured something to Sam, who looked in my direction. Sam said something to the roommate, and the two parted ways. The roommate headed for their dorm while Sam came my way.
I sat back, my eyes trained on the roommate, until Sam opened the door and climbed inside.
“Hey.” She’d probably been running for two hours, but she wasn’t winded. She had a glow to her face.
I grinned back at her and leaned over. She met me halfway, her lips fitting perfectly to mine. I held there for one more second. She was a break from reality.
With her hand coming to rest on my cheek, she pulled back with a slight frown. She asked, her hand falling to my chin and staying there, “You okay?”
I had two objectives in mind. I went with the easiest one. “Logan said you committed the ultimate crime.”
“What?” A quick laugh left her, but her eyes narrowed.
“He said you brushed him off.”
“Oh.” A second laugh came out, more relieved. “It was nothing.”
“Sam?”
“It was stupid.” She sat back, facing the front. Her head leaned back against the headrest. “I just freaked for a second. It’s ridiculous.”
“What was it?”
She groaned before saying, “I got jealous.”
She fell quiet again.
I prompted, “Of?”
“Of Logan.”
I frowned. I hadn’t expected that answer. “Of what?”
“Because Malinda told him, not me, that they were coming up for parents’ weekend. I…” She faltered again. “I got jealous.” A sheen of tears were on her eyelids. “They’re my family, not his, and I got jealous about that.” She wiped at the tears with the back of her hand, even though they hadn’t fallen yet. “It’s so, so, so dumb. You guys are my family, and so are they. I shouldn’t have felt like that. I have no right.”
“Sam.” Shit.
She was beating herself up over wanting a family.
I said softly, grabbing her hand, “You can feel like that. You’re right.”
She turned to me. The side of her mouth dipped down. “What are you talking about?”
“Malinda, David, and Mark—they are your family. They’re your legit family.”
“Mason—”
I stopped her with a gentle grin on my face. “No matter what, yes, Logan and I are your family. We always will be…even if something happens to you and me.”
Her eyes got big.
I said quickly, “Not that I want that to happen, but if anything were to happen, I’ll still be your family. Logan will still be your family. You’re in with us. No one gets in with us, and you did. But, having said that, David and Malinda are parents to you. Your real mom’s a bitch. You finally got what you’ve always wanted—a loving mom and a loving dad. It is normal for you to want to defend that. You’ve reached gold, as far as I see it. Protect the gold. Shit. Hoard the fucking gold. Loving families aren’t as common as some people think. And since we’re sharing here, I have to admit that I’m a little jealous of your setup with David and Malinda.”
“You are?” A tear slid down her cheek, but she ignored it.
I didn’t think she noticed it. Her eyes went back to sparkling. A little bit of pink moved back to her cheeks, too.
“My parents love me, but they’re a mess. James is off with your mom. I’ve not seen him in months, and Helen’s gone back to traveling ninety percent of the time since Logan and I are three hours away. You got parents coming for parents’ weekend, and they aren’t coming with an agenda.”