Can't Let Go by Michelle Brewer

Sure, she’d only gotten about four hours worth in the last forty-eight.  But that was better than nothing.  “I could say the same to you.”
    “I am.”  She glanced over at him from the corner of her eye.  He looked just about as miserable as he had the day before—a bit less scruffy now, but the circles beneath his eyes were darker than they had been.  She guessed Logan had gotten about as much sleep as she had.  “It’s so nice down here.”
    “It’s quiet,”   Abby agreed, nodding.  She didn’t fail to notice the change of subject, but she didn’t mind it either.  “I could see myself doing something like this.”  Some time ago, she’d even fantasized about it.  Dropping everything and starting fresh some place quiet and beautiful.  Peaceful.   “Especially after living in L.A. for so long, now.”
    “Hayley said you’d gone back to school there.”  Abby nodded, still not looking at him.
    “I got my Masters from Stanford.”  She told him and out of the corner of her eye, she saw Logan nodding beside her. 
    “I’m actually in California now, too” 
    The knowledge was startling.  She turned to face him as he navigated what seemed to be familiar territory for him.  “Temporarily anyway.”
    “You live in L.A.?”  She asked, the shock barely evident in her voice.  Even less evident was the wounded undertone, but never the less, it was there. 
    “Well, Sacramento.”  He nodded, keeping his eyes on the road.  She was grateful, knowing the expression on her face was one of shock.  “I’ve been there for about a year now.  My company keeps sending me all over the place—but I think my next move is my last one.” 
    Logan had been there for a year and he hadn’t once looked her up?  He hadn’t once come to see her? 
    And Hayley?   She had never once mentioned Logan was living in the same state as Abby.  Her head swam. 
    “Sounds like you’re doing well.”  Abby heard the words come out of her mouth, though she didn’t feel connected to them.  “I’m glad to hear it.”  She added after a moment, meaning it.  She’d always known Logan was full of potential.
    “You haven’t been doing too bad yourself, from what I hear.”  Logan actually sounded almost proud as he spoke of her success.  She shrugged her shoulders, tearing her eyes away from him and shifting her gaze toward the front of the truck, staring out the windshield without really seeing anything.  “Aren’t you working at Rumor ?” 
    “That’s nothing to really be proud of, Logan.”  She was vaguely reminded of her fiancé as she spoke.  Her words sounded like his, like something she’d heard him speak before.  She frowned, saddened that his disapproval was beginning to frame her own opinion about her job.
    “Hey, I think it’s quite an accomplishment.  I mean—Abby, you worked your way up pretty quickly, didn’t you?  I don’t care what the subject matter of the magazine is—you’ve worked hard.  You deserve some credit.”  The praise in Logan’s words brought tears to her eyes and she turned her head, staring at the passing scenery through the passenger window now.  She’d always longed to hear something like that from Eric.  Some off-handed comment that proved that he took her seriously—that her work mattered.  Anything would have worked, really.
    But she’d never heard anything more from him than negativity.  She had gotten so used to hearing the demeaning comments that it almost pained her to hear someone commending her. 
    The fact that it was Logan Sheppard only complicated things that much more. 
    “Thanks,”   she whispered, cursing the way her throat constricted and the way her heart fluttered in her chest.  Abby had always had a hard time taking compliments, but especially so when they came from Logan.
    It wasn’t until they had reached Hayley and Blake’s simple ranch home that she spoke again, lost in her thoughts. 
    “Truth be told, Logan,