Where the Allegheny Meets the Monongahela by Felicia Watson Page A

bring the original subject back around. ―You were saying,
    about the Kennywood trip?‖
    ―Yeah, so I was thinking,‖ Logan said while pulling a ten-dollar
    bill out of his pocket. He kept his eyes on the money as he extended it
    towards Nick, continuing, ―You could get ‘em an ice cream cone or
    somethin‘.‖ He finally looked up from under his lashes, finishing, ―Tell
    ‘em it‘s from their dad.‖
    At that moment, Nick felt a chunk of the ice wall he‘d doggedly
    erected against this man melt away—and no stern self-reminders had
    the power to halt the thaw. He reluctantly waved the money off, saying,
    ―They won‘t need it. We give all the kids food vouchers,‖ adding with
    a laugh, ―Plenty enough to make sure one or two of ‘em throws up on
    the way home.‖
    Clearly crestfallen, Logan tucked the money away, mumbling,
    ―Uh. Okay.‖
    Pressed by a sudden need to offer consolation, Nick blurted,
    ―Why don‘t you come with us? Tracy, one of the other chaperones,
    dropped out yesterday, and twenty kids‘s a lot for me an‘ Ciera to
    handle alone.‖
    ―I don‘t think I could….‖ Logan‘s gaze was fixed on a spot over
    Nick‘s shoulder.
    The man‘s obvious discomfort jogged Nick‘s memory as to his
    situation; he immediately surmised that Logan was restricted to
    supervised visitation. ―It‘s not like you‘d be alone with ‘em. I mean, I
    could clear it with Trudy, see what she says.‖
    The faintest smile lifted the corner of Logan‘s mouth. ―Ya think?‖
    ―Sure.‖ Nick‘s own smile turned mischievous. ―But you an‘
    Ciera‘re getting stuck with the ‗Kiddieland crowd‘.‖

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    Felicia Watson

    TRUDY not only approved of the idea, she steamrolled over any
    objections of the visitation mediator. So it was that on Saturday
    morning, Logan found himself nervously studying the gaudy carousel
    horse perched in the middle of a fountain at Kennywood‘s entrance.
    Nick had told him that the group would be taking one of the city buses
    to the park; Logan had driven there and wasn‘t sure where the bus
    shelter was, but he figured he‘d spot them easily from his current
    vantage point.
    However, when the group finally arrived, it was his younger
    daughter who spotted him . She started shrieking ―Daddy!‖ from fifty
    feet away and was dragging Sister Ciera, who was only slightly taller
    than Meghan, by the hand towards him, with Krista close behind.
    Logan reveled in his daughters‘ hugs and smiles and drew solace from
    their company that had previously been dimmed by Marie‘s frowning
    presence.
    Logan looked up from Meghan to find another smiling face
    directed his way—Nick Zales‘s. He tried to ignore the surge of blood in
    his veins by gruffly introducing him to the girls. ―Hey, girls, this is Mr.
    Zales.‖ He put one hand on each girl‘s shoulder as he continued, ―Nick,
    these are my daughters, Krista and Meghan.‖
    After exchanging a quiet hello with the girls, Nick turned to
    Logan. ―Good to see you here. I‘m glad it all worked out for you.‖
    ―Yeah, me too.‖ Only after Nick was pulled away by two other
    ebullient kids did Logan think that he should have thanked the man for
    championing his participation in the outing. For a second, Logan felt a
    flush of shame at his apparent show of ingratitude but shrugged it off,
    figuring he‘d catch up with Nick sometime during the day.
    Twenty minutes later, the group was inside the park, with Ciera
    herding the younger children and Nick efficiently barking orders at the
    older crew. The plan was for Nick to take all the teenagers on the roller
    coasters and other teeth-jarring attractions while Logan and Sister Ciera
    did the tamer rides with the younger crowd. At two p.m. the whole
    group would meet for a late lunch at the Parkside Café before splitting
    off again.
    Logan wondered how Nick was going to handle nine rowdy
    teenagers but fast observed that they took his directions seriously; even

    Where