Page 46

Hunter laughed, and the rich timber in his voice instantly caused my lips to curve into a smile.

“You’re not a pussy, Andi. Just a girl with strong feelings that needed a little bit longer to act on them.””

“Thank you for seeing me,” I wanted to say but inwardly battled with this new sappy side of me that was coming to light the more time I spent around him.

Instead, I kept the smile on my face that he’d been responsible for, placed a quick kiss on his jaw, and told Hunter I’d see him in a bit.

The more distance that grew between me and the G-Wagon, my smile began to fade, and my insides swirled with nerves.

Sure, I held resentment toward Logan, but when I saw him, would it be too much for me to hug him? The rules stated only a quick hug would be allowed anyway, but I was afraid if I gave myself permission, I’d get too tied up in the emotions. I’d forget the whole reason I showed up in the first place.

After checking in with the front desk, I waited for my name to be called, rolling over in my mind all the ways in which the conversation could go.

After moments lost in thought, my name was finally called over the intercom.

“Andi Brooks to the check in counter—Andi Brooks.”

My heart pounded through my ears, and as badly as I wanted to stay glued to the seat, my legs found their way back to the front.

“Before we conduct our search, I need to make sure you have no jewelry on, your pockets are empty, you’ve left your cellphone in your vehicle, and you understand you will be subjected to a full pat down search.” The guard read off the rules as if it was his hundredth time repeating them that day.

“Yes, sir,” I answered awkwardly, feeling completely out of my element.

“Good. Put anything you’ll be bringing into the visiting room in the bucket, and walk through the metal detector, please.” He motioned to the small gray pan that had just enough room for the plastic bag I brought with quarters for the vending machine and my proof of identification.

Placing my items in the container, I walked through the machine without any issues. Before handing me my belongings, a woman officer stepped in to conduct her search on me.

“Good to go.” She nodded to the other officer after patting me down.

“Grab your belongings, go through the door, and choose any empty table to wait for your family member.”

“Thank you.” I nodded nervously before choosing a corner table that looked more isolated than the others.

My knee had to have bounced at least a thousand times before the guard finally creaked the door open with Logan by his side.

As if my tear ducts had a mind of their own, my green eyes welled up with tears the moment they laid on Logan. He’d completely changed since the last time I saw him. I hated to say it, but prison looked good on him. He stood about a foot taller than me, had more facial hair on him than when I saw him last, but his soft green eyes remained the same.

My once strung-out twin now appeared fuller in the face, his color had completely returned, and his beaming smile reminded me of the boy I used to ignore the world with.

Moments ago, I had no idea what I’d do when I saw him, but it felt like a crime not to hold my brother in my arms even if we weren’t on the best terms.

“Andi,” he breathed, looking at me in disbelief that I was actually here, and his eyes began to gloss over as the guard uncuffed him.

“One hug now, and one when you say goodbye,” the officer directed.

Logan waited for me to open my arms, and when I did, he pulled me into his chest and gave me the type of bear hug that was only the tip of the iceberg when it came to missing out on as many years as we had.

“Thank you for coming,” he wept into my hair.

It was hard not to put myself in his shoes, and if I had to guess, he hadn’t seen a familiar face in years, and I was likely his first visitor. As much as I wanted to draw a hard line between me and him, there was always a crack in that line waiting to be filled.

“Times up,” the officer interrupted.

It felt impossible to do, but we pulled ourselves apart and took a seat on the little round table across from one another.

“You look really good, Logan,” I finally choked out after picking my heart up off the ground.

“Thank you. It might be weird to say this, but being here has been the best thing that’s ever happened to me.” It was as if he’d read my mind.