My heart lurches in my chest. And I notice that my dad isn’t handing the keys to me…he’s handing them to Logan.

I turn toward him to gauge his response. “Thank you, sir,” he replies. “But I have an apartment.”

“I know you do,” my dad answers firmly. “But this might be the closest thing you’ve had to a vacation, so take it.” Logan looks at me, like he’s asking me what he should do.

Logan is too proud to accept gifts or donations. He’ll turn a million bucks away if he thinks he doesn’t deserve it, but that’s the problem. Logan doesn’t think he deserves anything, and he deserves so much more than the keys to a weekend condo on the beach.

I put my hand to his back.

“Thanks, sir,” he says to my dad.

My dad claps him on the shoulder. “Sierra doesn’t do anything lightheartedly. She’s not the kind of girl to waste her time on bad choices or whims. If she has put her faith in you…well…” My dad clears his throat. I’ve never heard him talk about me like that, especially while I’m standing right there. “It means you deserve it.”

Logan

The apartment is bright, the windows floor-to-ceiling and overlooking the water. It’s spotless and smells like delicate flowers and bleach, like the cleaning crew just came through.

I have no fucking clue what I’m doing here or why I accepted these keys. On one hand, this guy barely knows me, and I know his opinion of people like me. And yet, today changed the tides. We almost lost Sierra today, and as he handed me those keys, his eyes steady on mine, I could read the devastation there. It matched mine. The fear. The gratitude.

So, it wasn’t about giving me a place to be alone with his daughter, it was about sending the message that he trusted me to be alone with her.

The sun is setting, leaving darkness hovering over the water, and in the dim light, I can see how tired Sierra is. She’s been through too much today. Having a gun pointed at you, knowing your life could end too soon, is a sobering and terrifying experience that I would have never wanted for her.

We have a lot to talk about, her and I, but first, she needs rest.

“You need a bath and a bed,” I say, pulling her into my arms.

“With you, right?” She smiles at me.

“Tonight, you rest. You’ve been through a lot today.” I kiss her forehead.

Having her in my arms again feels rejuvenating, like a fresh start, and maybe I can start afresh with Sierra. Maybe our worlds aren’t too different, after all.

Even when I catch a glimpse of us in the bathroom mirror as I help her ready her bath. She’s in a light athletic top and mint green yoga pants. My black leather jacket and dark brown hair looks all wrong in this bathroom, but I don’t give a fuck anymore. Sierra and I may have come from different worlds, but we are creating an entirely new one together. One that lets her be the wild, little rebel she is and one that sets me free from the expectations that weigh me down.