It's Only Logical

Chapter Four: Memories

Patton was still beaming when he walked into Val's house that evening. It had been a very good day, and he was thrilled with everything that had been accomplished. He and Logan had a really great rapport, an easy flow that made everything just fall into place. It had been a little trying when he'd had to stand right next to his new boss when he was learning the register system, just because the man was so attractive it was distracting. He didn't smell like a boss, he smelled sexy, and he looked even better. Knowing that there was a soft, generous heart and a brilliant mind underneath was just icing on an already dangerously tempting cake.

Val was in the kitchen when he walked in, and she immediately came over to give him a hug. "Hey there, Pat! How was your first day?"

"Amazing, Val! I'm so excited, I can't wait to really get going with this. Logan is way too kind, though. He's already giving me a raise."

"I'm not surprised. Logan's always been the type of guy that would give you the shirt off his back if you needed it. If he didn't think he was paying you a fair wage, he'd immediately fix it. It's a compliment that he thinks so highly of you." Val was smiling when she drew back, and Patton felt a pang of curiosity.

"Val...what do you know about him?"

"Logan? Why, you want the dirt?"

"Is there dirt to be had?" Val laughed at that, then directed him to a chair in the kitchen. She bustled about, making hot cocoa for the both of them and bringing the mugs over. If there was one person in the family who knew all the gossip, it was Val.

"Where do I start? Okay, he came to town...hmm...about 6 years ago, I want to say. Maybe 7? He bought up these huge chunks of property, probably about 15 acres in total, and started building up Minny's Garden. It was small at first, and he's expanded it over the years. At some point, he got mixed up with that bastard Jason Bryce! Ugh, what a piece of trash." Patton leaned forward, very interested.

"Jason Bryce?"

"A good-looking guy who put Logan through hell. Nobody knows the full scoop except for Virgil and Roman, and they'll never tell. All I know is that right after he got here, Logan's mother got sick, Stage IV lung cancer and the woman had never smoked a day in her life. He spent a lot of time running back and forth between here and Boston, where his mom lived, before moving her down here. Logan took really good care of her. I talked with her a few times, and she was an amazing woman. You'd have loved her, Pat." Val paused, her eyes going sad, but a flicker of something darker and angrier was there too.

"Three years ago, she passed away, and the night Logan buried her is the night his relationship with that selfish prick ended. Can you imagine, breaking up with someone the night they buried their mother?! Ugh, I don't know what happened, but it must have been bad. It was the talk of the town for a few months after, not that anybody would dare say a word to Logan's face. The poor guy was a wreck, for a long time. Somehow put himself back together, and he's been putting his everything into that shop. It started out small, but it's really something now. He's practically family, at this point, so it's been wonderful seeing him come back to life, so to speak." Patton nodded, taking this new information in. Jason Bryce...it sounded like someone who needed a solid right hook to the jaw.

"Why the sudden interest in Logan? You got a thing for Dr. Hottie?"

"Dr. Hottie?"

"Hey, when it fits, it fits."

"Well....not a thing, per sae. He's a really handsome guy, but he's also my boss. I don't know him well enough, but what I've seen so far, I like a lot. I don't know as I'm ready for anything right now, anyway. I don't know how Thomas would take it, and he comes first. Speaking of which, how was my son today?"