Logan's Leap (3 page)

Logan
felt there was more to the story, but he didn’t want to push her, yet. “I have
an old friend, Nicoletta, who is a nurse and has worked with an OB before.
Please let me call her and have her come check you over.” He felt her body
tense against him. “Please?”

“She
can’t tell anyone that I’m here.”

“I
know. She’ll do whatever I ask.”

“Okay,”
Jayna finally agreed. “Can I sleep now?”

“I
want you to eat again, and take some vitamins,” he told her, rising up off the
bed to prop her on pillows. He went to his closet and pulled out an old
t-shirt. “Come on, help me get this on you and I’ll go grab us something to
eat.”

Jayna
shakily sat herself up and let Logan put his shirt over her head then collapsed
back onto the pillows. “I ran out of vitamins three days ago. But I'm still
kind of hungry,” she admitted.

“The
benefits of living above a grocery store. If you’ll be okay for about ten
minutes, I’ll run down and grab some stuff.”

“I’ll
be fine,” she smiled. “I’ll probably just doze off until you get back."

Logan
grabbed a dry shirt and quickly put it on. When he turned around, Jayna looked
away, a blush coloring her face.

“It’s
nice to see that you can have some color in your face,” he said lightly. “Hang
tight, I’ll be right back.”

The
store was nearly deserted when he stepped through the swinging doors from the
back. It seemed everyone was being smart and staying out of the storm. There
were two customers on their way out, a shift manager and two cashiers. “If you
guys want, you can close up early. It you don’t feel safe going home, feel free
to use the spare apartment. The key is in the bakery’s cash drawer.”

The
employees assured him that they would be fine and went about cleaning up the
store. Before grabbing what he needed, Logan stood by the front windows and
looked out at the blowing snow. It wasn’t far from a whiteout, but because the
last week had been in the eighties, the snow wasn’t sticking everywhere yet. He
stood and watched as the wind shifted and the storm started to lighten a bit.
Hopefully he would wake up to only a few inches of accumulation. The sound of
the howling wind made him shiver. It made it cold as hell, but it could also
blow things away and make the world fresh.

Turning
from the window, he set about getting the stuff he needed. Two bottles of
water, two pre-made sandwiches and a bottle of prenatal vitamins later, he was
walking through the door leading to the stairwell. His cashier would probably
wonder about the vitamins all night. Thank goodness she wasn’t one to gossip.

Chapter 3

Once
he was back in the apartment, he put the sandwiches, water, vitamins, two
plates and some potato chips on a tray and took them to the bedroom. Jayna was
lying on her side, her eyes closed. She looked so peaceful – and so very
beautiful.

“Jayna,
it’s time to eat,” he said softly so as not to startle her. He set the tray
down on the nightstand and sat next to her. “Yoohoo, Sleeping Beauty,” he said,
putting a hand on her arm. “I brought food and vitamins.”

Her
eyes came open slowly and she smiled. “Food?”

Logan
chuckled. “Yeah, let’s get you propped up and we’ll have a picnic dinner right
here.”

“Thank
you. I…”

Jayna
bent forward and grabbed her belly. “I think I need to drink more,” she said
through gritted teeth. “I always get crampy when I’m dehydrated.”

Logan
opened the liter bottle of water for her and watched as she drank down a
quarter of it. "Make sure you finish that,” he said, handing her a plate.

“Yes
sir,” she returned, throwing him a salute and a smile.

“So,
you’re a smart ass too,” he joked as he unwrapped a sandwich and handed it to
her.

“I’m
the supreme smartass,” she chuckled. “Just ask Deb.”

Logan
took his food, water and the bag of chips to the other side of the bed to sit
next to her. He put the chips between them. “I think her husband, Jackson,
would argue that. He’s the biggest smart ass I know.”

Jayna
laughed and nodded. “I’ve only met him twice, but I have heard all about your
crazy cousin. He probably is the actual supreme smart ass, but I’m definitely
second in command.”

They
sat eating in companionable silence until Logan asked a question. “You know the
baby is a boy?”

“Yeah.
At least that’s what four ultrasounds have said.”

“Do
you have a name picked out?”

“No,”
she said quietly. “Thank God Reginald didn’t want a namesake because there’s no
way in hell I’ll name my baby after that monster.”

“I
understand that,” he said, giving her a reassuring smile. “You know, Logan is a
pretty good name…”

Jayna
chuckled and smiled back shyly. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Hey,
don’t forget to take your vitamin,” he reminded her, pointing to the bottle on
the nightstand.

She
reached over and grabbed the bottle with shaking hands. Logan took it from her
and opened the difficult packaging. He handed her one and she took it with the
last of her water. “I think it’s time to go to the bathroom,” she groaned.
“He’s kicking my bladder.”

Logan
jumped up and hurried to help her up from the bed.

“I’m
okay now,” she said. "I just get so tired.”

“I’ll
be right here,” he declared. “If you need something, just holler.”

After
a few minutes, Jayna came out, still weak but not in danger of passing out. “Hopefully
a good night’s sleep will help.”

“I’m
sure it will,” he said, ushering her back into bed. “I have a few phone calls
to make then I’ll come check on you.” He turned to walk out the door.

“Logan?”

“Yeah.”

“Thank
you for everything?”

“My
pleasure, Jayna. And by the way, what happened to the brown hair?”

“It
was a wig,” she said with amusement in her voice. “Did you just notice?”

“No,”
he chuckled. “But it did take me a while. I didn’t notice your hair was
actually blonde until I returned from downstairs. Sleep well.” Back in the
living room, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed.

“Hello,”
a man answered.

“Hello
sir, this is Logan Harper.  May I please speak with Nicoletta?”

“Sure
you can, boy. Hold on just a moment.”

Logan
waited patiently while the old doctor went to get his daughter.

“Hey
Logan, how are you?” came a sweet, soft voice, colored by a faint Greek accent.

“Hi
Nicoletta,” he returned. “I heard you were home now and…well, truthfully I know
I have no right to ask, but I need a favor.”

“This
sounds serious, Logan. What’s going on?”

He
sighed and sat back against the couch cushions. “A friend of my cousin is here
with me and she’s seven months pregnant. I think she needs to see someone but
she refuses to go to a doctor.”

“Oh
Logan, she really should go to the emergency room. They can help her better
there.”

“I
know,” he agreed. “But she won’t. Someone is after her, trying to hurt her. She
needs your help.” He sure hoped his old friend would keep their secret but at
this point, he didn’t have much choice but to confide the whole story in her.

Nicoletta
was quiet for a few moments. “Okay Logan. I’ll come over first thing in the
morning to check on her. What exactly is wrong with her?”

“She’s
weak and tired. She wasn’t able to eat for a couple of days and she was a bit
dehydrated. Oh, and she’s really pale."

“Okay,”
Nicoletta said. “Make sure she eats proteins, drinks a lot of water and takes
her vitamins. If you can get them, give her an iron pill."

“Thank
you so much!”

“You’re
welcome. I’ll see you in the morning.”

Logan
hung up the phone and dialed his cousin Jackson.

“Hey
cousin, what’s up?”

“Hey
Jack. I have some questions for you and Deb.”

“Ah,
I have a feeling I know what this is about. Is her name Jayna?”

“Yeah,
exactly. She’s here and she’s safe, but I just wanted to double check her
story.”

“Well,
what did she tell you?”

“Mean
son-of-a-bitch ex. Tracking her down, beating her up.”

“All
true,” Jackson said. “He is one mean piece of shit. He attacked me but the
rangers scared him off before he did much damage. He is officially being looked
for.”

“Well
that’s good. I hope they find him before he finds her.”

“Keep
her safe, Logan. She’s a pretty amazing woman.”

“I’ll
do my best, cousin. Oh hey, do you have a picture of this guy. It might help if
I know who I’m hiding her from.”

“Yeah,
do you still have a fax machine at the store?”

“I
sure do. Thanks Jack.”

“No,
thank you, Logan. I’ll fax that picture right over. And by the way, I’m sorry
you didn’t get any warning. Aunt Evie never returned my call.”

“It’s
okay man. I don’t think she even knows how to check voicemail on her new
phone.” Logan hung up and slipped down to the now empty store to get the
picture and some iron pills. When he walked back into the apartment he heard
Jayna calling out. He rushed into the bedroom but she was fast asleep with
tears in her eyes. It must have been a nightmare. He hated to wake her up, but
he wanted to do exactly as Nicoletta had instructed.

Walking
to the bathroom, he filled a cup with water and went back to the bed. “Hey Sleeping
Beauty, I need you to take another pill.”

“What?
What kind?” she asked warily.

“Don’t
worry, I won’t hurt you. Nurse Nicoletta wants you to take iron pills.”

“Oh
okay,” she murmured reaching for the pill and drink. After taking it, she
handed Logan the cup and laid back down.

He
turned to walk out and Jayna sat up. "Logan, I'm so sorry, but could you
stay with me for a while? I..I’m scared."

“Sure,”
he said, setting the cup on the nightstand. “I’ll stay with you.” He walked
around to the other side of the bed and sat with his back against the
headboard. Reaching over, he tucked her in and wiped the hair from her face.
“Go to sleep now,” he whispered. “I’ll wake you when Nicoletta gets here.”

After
a while, Logan started to get uncomfortable so he slid down to rest his head on
the pillow. He allowed his eyes to close, telling himself that he would lie
there for another hour or so and then head out to the couch.

Sometime
later, he woke to Jayna’s screams. She was asleep but sitting up in the bed.
“Hey, Sleeping Beauty. It’s okay. Lie back down.”

“Logan,”
she murmured, opening her eyes. “Oh Logan!” She launched herself into his arms.

“Whoa.
Hey, it’s okay.” He held her while she cried then pulled her with him to lay
down. “Go back to sleep. You’re safe.”

Jayna
hugged Logan tighter as she cried herself to sleep. It appeared he would be
staying right where he was. Not that holding her was that big of a chore. She
smelled so good and her skin was so incredibly soft. He couldn’t help but feel
strange that he was physically attracted to a woman pregnant with another man’s
child. The thought that he found anyone attractive scared him out of his mind.
He didn’t usually find himself in situations like this. In fact he made sure to
stay away from them.

Eventually
he fell into a deep sleep, with Jayna still wrapped in his arms. The next time
he opened his eyes, there was light coming through the blinds. He felt a
strange sensation on his hand. One minute, Jayna’s belly was normal and a short
time later it was hard as a rock. Oh no. He’d helped birth enough animals to
know that meant she was having contractions. “Jayna.”

“Yeah,”
she said sleepily.                   

“How
are you feeling?”

Her
eyes opened and met his. “I ache all over, but I feel a bit stronger. I guess
maybe my body got used to sleeping in the car.”

He
gently took her hand and set it on her belly. “Sleeping Beauty, you’re having
contractions. It’s too early, we should get you to a hospital.”

Logan
was up and pacing. “Come on. Get up. The sooner we get there, the sooner they
can try to stop your labor.”

“Logan,”
she said softly, with tears in her eyes. “Logan,” she cried when he didn’t
respond the first time.

“Yeah,
what?” he asked, turning to her. “Oh hey, don’t cry. Everything will be okay.
They do great things with early babies all the time.”

“That’s
what I’m trying to tell you. He’s not early,” she said softly. “He’s due in
three days. I…I lied to you.”

Logan
sat down hard on the bed and looked at her. “Why?”

Jayna
took a deep breath and turned her head away. “I figured if you knew how close I
was you wouldn’t let me stay.”

“Really?"
he asked incredulously. “Did you think I would throw you out on the street in
your condition?”

She
shrugged. “You could have sent me to a hotel or the hospital or… I don’t want
him to find me. He can’t find me Logan!”

“But
when you give birth, you’ll have to go to the hospital.”

“But
by then the baby will be here and I can take measures to keep him safe.
Reginald can beat me or kill me, but he must never be allowed to hurt the
baby.”

“Okay,”
Logan sighed. “I understand your train of thought but…”

There
was a knock at the door and he reluctantly left her side to answer it. “Oh am I
glad to see you,” he told Nicoletta as he ushered her inside. “I think my
friend might be going into labor. She’s contracting pretty good but not really
feeling it.”

“Okay
Logan. You seem nervous, just calm down. We’ll go check on her.”

When
they walked into the room, Jayna was sitting on the edge of the bed, trying to
get her stuff packed.

“What
are you doing?” Logan asked. “You need to lie down.”

“I
lied to you. I should leave. We’ll make it on our own.”

“You’re
not going anywhere,” he said through gritted teeth. “You’re about to give birth
and you’re safe here.”

“I’ve
put you out enough,” she sobbed.

“Jayna,
just lie down and let Nicoletta check you. Please. For your baby.”

“Come
on sweetie,” the young nurse cut in as she helped Jayna to lie down. “You’ve
got one of the Harper boys on your side. You’re one lucky woman.”

While
they talked, Logan quietly walked out of the room to give them some privacy.

“Do
you think you’re in labor?” Nicoletta asked.

“I
don’t know,” she sighed. "I can see the contractions but I’m not feeling
them.”

Nicoletta
felt her stomach and checked for the baby’s position. “Do you have pain in your
back?”

“From
my shoulders to my hips aches and radiates into my limbs, but nothing super
specific.”

The
young nurse smiled. “I think you’re having back labor. Would you mind if I
checked you for dilation? I brought my daddy’s bag, he’s an OB.”

Jayna
looked at her with fear in her eyes. “Have you…have you ever done this before?”

“I
did my clinicals in an OB/GYN office. The only reason I worked on a cruise ship
was to stay away from a Harper boy.”