with him, somewhere along the way he'd realized that he was happiest when he attempted to live, if not a virtuous life, then at least one where he didn't have to hear Nana Nellie's voice scolding him all the time. The way it was now.
"A boy. I can't believe I have a boy."
"And a wife," Holt said. "Don't forget the wife."
"Which reminds me of a question I have." Cade leaned forward and gave Logan an incredulous look. "How the hell did you forget marrying a woman like that? Fake wedding or not?"
"I remembered," Logan protested.
"Not right away. Not until after you recalled the voodoo queen and the California whore."
Logan flipped over one of the playing cards his friend had dealt moments before. Considering that he'd met Stoney Wilson a couple of months after his "job" for Big Jack Kilpatrick, it was no wonder he put the whole incident out of his mind. But he would never make his friends understand unless he told them about Mexico, and he wasn't about to do that, so he didn't attempt to defend himself. He shrugged and said, "Too much whiskey after the fact, I guess."
Definitely some truth in that.
Holt took a long sip of his beer, then observed, "I can't get over how much the boy looks like you, Lucky. I know you're troubled by how it's happened, but at least he hasn't had to grow up trying to figure out which man in town was his daddy. That was always the worst part for me."
"Me, too," Cade agreed. "Remember that time we decided our fathers were riverboat gamblers who worked the Sabine River and we ran off to find them?"
"In February." Holt shook his head. "Dumbass kids. Never been so cold in my life."
"Yeah, well, I wish he'd come looking for me instead of going after Geronimo's Treasure," Logan grumbled. "What would possess a kid to do that?"
"Normal boyhood adventures?" Holt suggested. "He's just had a shock with his grandmother dying."
"Maybe it's a little bit of wanting to impress his old man, too. You said Caroline told you he read about you in the papers. He learned about your exploits, your adventures. He must know you helped Dair find his family treasure. Maybe he's trying to follow in your footsteps."
Great. That was just what he'd needed to hear. Logan snatched up the poker hand and scowled at the straight flush he'd been dealt. His son was trying to live up to a lie—Lucky Logan Grey. Wonderful. Fucking wonderful. "It's my fault that he's run off to that hellhole."
"Did I say that?" Cade looked to Holt. "When did I say that?"
Holt gathered up the playing cards, then shuffled them again. "The boy is fourteen and trying to be a man. Remember what we were like at that age? Some of the stunts we pulled?"
Cade's mouth twisted in a grin. "The riverboat incident?"
The memory brought a reluctant smile to Logan's face. "I thought Nana Nellie was gonna leave us in jail to rot. Damn, but she was mad."
"I'll bet your woman has a temper to her." Holt dealt poker hands again, this time practicing dealing from the bottom of the deck. "Got just a glimpse of it tonight when she pegged you with that necklace of yours."
"It's a medallion, not a necklace," Logan muttered as he tossed down the playing cards. His woman. That brought up a whole other opportunity for guilt. Again, he imagined how desperate she must have been, pregnant and penniless and alone, and the shame all but sent him to his knees.
"Wonder what Tom Addison is doing tonight," he mused, referring to the lawyer whose services he'd utilized for his oil field investments. "Think he's at the same shindig the McBrides attended?"
"Why?" Holt's brows arched. "You thinking about getting a divorce?"
Logan scowled at his friend. It was a natural question, he guessed, but he didn't like it. It didn't sit well, though he couldn't exactly say why. "Divorce? On what grounds? That I'm an asshole?"
Cade snickered. "If that is grounds for divorce, no marriage in America is safe."
"I need Tom to write up a will for me before I head out for Black Shadow Canyon,"
"A boy. I can't believe I have a boy."
"And a wife," Holt said. "Don't forget the wife."
"Which reminds me of a question I have." Cade leaned forward and gave Logan an incredulous look. "How the hell did you forget marrying a woman like that? Fake wedding or not?"
"I remembered," Logan protested.
"Not right away. Not until after you recalled the voodoo queen and the California whore."
Logan flipped over one of the playing cards his friend had dealt moments before. Considering that he'd met Stoney Wilson a couple of months after his "job" for Big Jack Kilpatrick, it was no wonder he put the whole incident out of his mind. But he would never make his friends understand unless he told them about Mexico, and he wasn't about to do that, so he didn't attempt to defend himself. He shrugged and said, "Too much whiskey after the fact, I guess."
Definitely some truth in that.
Holt took a long sip of his beer, then observed, "I can't get over how much the boy looks like you, Lucky. I know you're troubled by how it's happened, but at least he hasn't had to grow up trying to figure out which man in town was his daddy. That was always the worst part for me."
"Me, too," Cade agreed. "Remember that time we decided our fathers were riverboat gamblers who worked the Sabine River and we ran off to find them?"
"In February." Holt shook his head. "Dumbass kids. Never been so cold in my life."
"Yeah, well, I wish he'd come looking for me instead of going after Geronimo's Treasure," Logan grumbled. "What would possess a kid to do that?"
"Normal boyhood adventures?" Holt suggested. "He's just had a shock with his grandmother dying."
"Maybe it's a little bit of wanting to impress his old man, too. You said Caroline told you he read about you in the papers. He learned about your exploits, your adventures. He must know you helped Dair find his family treasure. Maybe he's trying to follow in your footsteps."
Great. That was just what he'd needed to hear. Logan snatched up the poker hand and scowled at the straight flush he'd been dealt. His son was trying to live up to a lie—Lucky Logan Grey. Wonderful. Fucking wonderful. "It's my fault that he's run off to that hellhole."
"Did I say that?" Cade looked to Holt. "When did I say that?"
Holt gathered up the playing cards, then shuffled them again. "The boy is fourteen and trying to be a man. Remember what we were like at that age? Some of the stunts we pulled?"
Cade's mouth twisted in a grin. "The riverboat incident?"
The memory brought a reluctant smile to Logan's face. "I thought Nana Nellie was gonna leave us in jail to rot. Damn, but she was mad."
"I'll bet your woman has a temper to her." Holt dealt poker hands again, this time practicing dealing from the bottom of the deck. "Got just a glimpse of it tonight when she pegged you with that necklace of yours."
"It's a medallion, not a necklace," Logan muttered as he tossed down the playing cards. His woman. That brought up a whole other opportunity for guilt. Again, he imagined how desperate she must have been, pregnant and penniless and alone, and the shame all but sent him to his knees.
"Wonder what Tom Addison is doing tonight," he mused, referring to the lawyer whose services he'd utilized for his oil field investments. "Think he's at the same shindig the McBrides attended?"
"Why?" Holt's brows arched. "You thinking about getting a divorce?"
Logan scowled at his friend. It was a natural question, he guessed, but he didn't like it. It didn't sit well, though he couldn't exactly say why. "Divorce? On what grounds? That I'm an asshole?"
Cade snickered. "If that is grounds for divorce, no marriage in America is safe."
"I need Tom to write up a will for me before I head out for Black Shadow Canyon,"
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