Fallen Crest Home(93)

Logan cleared his throat, reaching for the microphone. Mason let it go without a fight, but he continued to hold my mother’s gaze steadily.

“Uh.” Logan laughed, moving a few feet away from his brother. He took the spotlight with him. “Thank you for that…very transparent speech, Mason.”

More people began to talk, but Logan spoke over them, raising his voice. “Yeah. So. I’m usually the one who delivers the bomb. I don’t think I can compete with my brother, and by the way…” He waited until Mason looked at him, “You should’ve dropped the mic. I don’t know if you’ll get a more perfect moment than after that speech.”

Mason shrugged.

Logan laughed again. “I guess here’s my turn. Everything Mason said was true. If you guys didn’t know, there’s not a good history between us and our dad. And the other thing he said was true, too. When Analise was walking down the aisle, Dad made me promise to be nice, so this is a little different for me. Mason’s the quiet fighter, and I’m the talker, and I don’t usually equate nice with Analise—”

“Logan.”

He lifted a hand toward his dad. “Hold on, Dad. But I’m going to do that tonight.” He gestured to me in the back. “And if you all didn’t know this either, Mason and I are protective of Sam back there, who is Analise’s daughter. So…” His eyebrows pinched together, and he turned to regard Analise. He held the mic up to his mouth so we could hear his soft breathing. “My speech is going to suck because I can only think of a couple nice things to say. One, thank you, Analise, for giving birth to my new stepsister. Not only is she my first stepsister, she’s my first sister at all.” He did a half-bow, which caused some laughter from the room.

“Thank you for that. Two, uh…” He raked a hand through his hair. “You got my dad to stop sleeping around. I give you two thumbs up for that.” And he actually did, flashing her a grin at the same time.

More laughter sounded from the tables, along with an air of relief.

“I have one more I just thought of; it goes along with my dad’s newfound fidelity.” He suddenly grew serious. “For what it’s worth, I do think my dad loves you. And through that, he’s shown me a different side of himself, one that I respect.”

He turned to his dad. “Kind of. I kind of respect you. I’m starting to respect you. Wait. No. Yeah. I do, somewhat. You’re halfway there, Dad. I almost completely respect you. Not really. You’re like an eighth of the way there. Maybe a tiny bit more than an eighth, but you know what I mean. It’s more than before.” He grinned and held his hand up, leaning down toward James. “High five to that.”

James didn’t move to slap his hand, and Logan looked at it. “You’re leaving me hanging? I kept it nice about Analise.”

One of the ushers took that opportunity to get the mic from Logan. “Okay. Thank you…both.” His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down, and he glanced over to a stage where the deejay was setting up. “I believe we’re ready for our slideshow, and then the dancing will be starting soon. Drinks are on the house, so everyone drink up!” He turned around, but Mason and Logan were still standing there. The mic was down by his side, but it still caught him saying, “Get off the platform. You two are horrible sons.”

Logan didn’t move, so Mason began to move him to the edge. Logan twisted back around. “Dad, you did ask us to do speeches. What were you thinking?”

“I thought you’d have the decency to be polite.”

“Logan, come on.” Mason kept moving.

Logan stepped back, and as Mason hopped down and moved my way, Logan spoke again. “Hey. At least I’m calling you Dad again. Mase, too. That’s a big step for us.”

Mason was almost to me, but more movement on the platform caught my eye.

Analise had stood, and she moved in front of Logan, folding her arms over her chest. Everyone quieted, and I heard her say, “You protect Samantha from me. This is my turn to protect my husband from you. Please leave, Logan.” She glanced to me. “All of you.”

I felt nothing. The Sam I used to be would’ve felt stabbed, taking those words as a personal blow, but the Analise before would’ve delivered them with that intent. They weren’t this time. They really were just words from a wife who loved her husband and was protecting him.

Mason pulled me with him as he headed to the parking lot. Logan jumped down to follow. I knew Heather and Channing were coming as well, and for the first time ever, I felt like we’d overstepped.