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dinner time, Logan could feel his stomach growling as he walked into his house after his shift ended. There was a strong, meaty aroma that hit him instantly and he practically floated toward the kitchen breathing it in like a life line.  His father was standing over the stove, stirring up some freshly cooked beef stew.  Mickey glanced at his son, saw the exhaustion on his face, and nodded his head to his boy.  Clay men didn’t need to talk about their emotions, that just wasn’t done, but he was proud of Logan.  The tired aching was a reward, in Mickey’s eyes, for hard work and a life well lived.  Clay men didn’t do lazy.  
    “Beer’s in the fridge.” He grunted at his son who gratefully swung open the door and popped the lid to an amber ale, chugging it down quickly.  The cool sensation sliding down his throat was an amazing contrast to a twelve hour shift in the sun.
    “Where’s Mom?”  Logan asked after a lengthy gulp and satisfied sigh, wiping his lips with his thumb.  
    “Upstairs brushing her hair, she just finished bathing.  Can you go bring her to dinner?”  Mickey asked Logan as he portioned beef stew into bowls on top of rice.  Logan just nodded and headed out of the kitchen, taking the adjourning staircase two steps at a time and heading down the hallway to the last door.    
    “Mom?”  Logan tapped on the door with his knuckles and walked in.  Laura Clay was sitting at her makeup table, looking in the mirror at herself, and brushing her hair.  She clearly was deep in thought and had not been expecting him. There were tears slowly working their way down her cheeks.    
    “Logan! Oh, is dinner ready?”  She asked him, attempting to be nonchalant and quickly covering her face and removing any evidence of her tears. Logan wasn’t so easily fooled and was by her side in a few quick steps. He didn’t say anything, just bent down on his knees and looked at her, his hand on her arm. Laura looked at her son and couldn’t stop the smile from spreading across her face.        
    “Look at my boy.  So handsome. So tired.”  His mother cupped his chin in her hand and lovingly tilted her head to the side as she surveyed her son.  
    “I’m a burden to you, baby boy.”  She said quietly after a moment of silence, looking at the darkening circles below his eyes.  He had a way of making her open up without saying anything, his eyes were the key to her soul and had been since the first moment she held him in her arms.  
    “Momma, that never has been, and never will be, true.”  Logan spoke firmly with conviction and she smiled at him, her heart expanding with love for her son.  
    “You ready for dinner, Mom?”  Logan said, standing back up, having eased her worries.  She put down her hairbrush on the table and took a tissue to blot below her eyes so Mickey wouldn’t know she had been crying.  
    “Yep, I’ve been smelling it from up here.  I’m famished!”  She grinned at her son, her mood lifting. He nodded in agreement and bent down, sliding one hand behind her back and another behind her knees, scooping his mother into his arms and holding her firmly against his chest.  She had always had a very small frame, so carrying her was not taxing in the slightest.    
    “Thank you, Logan.”  Laura said softly, looking at her son while her arms were wrapped around his neck for support.  
“It’s nothing, Momma. Easier than setting up the wheel chair and all that.” He said to her with a wink and a smile, as he carried her down the stairs to dinner. She hugged his neck tighter.
    “It’s everything.”  She replied, so softly that Logan almost didn’t hear her. With those words and the earlier witness of her tears, Logan silently made a new conviction that he would go to New York no matter what.  
    He had to do this for her.

CHAPTER SIX
     
     
     
    Monday morning came and with it went the flurry of Friday night excitement, Logan groaned in pain as he