Logan

127. Maybe I Don't Want To Accept It

"Hey Natalie, how about a duet for old time's sake?" Hux asked. He knew how to play the guitar so there were a couple times we sang together at work. Part of me didn't feel like it, but the way he smiled at me, hyping me up, as he held his guitar in hand, I nodded.

"How about, Ain't No Mountain High Enough by Marvin Gaye?" He started tuning and I looked up some lyrics. I hadn't performed in such a long time, I felt some peace for the first time since my accident as his fingers glided over the chords.

Hux's voice was smooth and feeling, "Listen baby, ain't no mountain high enough, ain't no valley low, ain't no river wide enough baby...

"If you need me call me, no matter where you are, no matter how far," Hux came in with the "don't worry baby" duetting me, "just call my name, I'll be there in a hurry you don't have to worry...

He made eye contact with me almost the entire time and I felt my anxiety ease and relax, as our voices played off each other.

After a couple of lyrics, the entire hall began swaying with the music. I snuck a glance at Ripley and noticed his eyes especially misty. He surprised me, he had such a tough exterior-maybe he was a sucker for 60s music.

Huxley was so good with the vocals, I was definitely considering asking him to duet again sometime. He made me feel like the only person in the room, just looking at me.

One glance over at Desmond, his expression was... was it jealousy? I tore away from that and back to Huxley, his charcoal hair wisping around his face as he sang.

As the song ended, the crowd broke into applause. Hux grinned and scooped me up into a hug and for a few moments I felt something chip away at the wall I'd made for myself. Ache, for the future and for Logan.

I held him tighter and he gave me some extra pressure while whispering in my ear, "You okay?"

"I will be." He gave me another squeeze and let me go, handing the mic off to Captain Ripley.

"Wow, thank you for that, our very own firefighter Briar Huxley and local starlet Miss Natalie Koughlin singing "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" by Marvin Gaye. Another round of applause for this amazing duet." He beamed at me, then at Hux. The applause wavered as we took our seats. "Now, if you take a look at the screen, we can see our amount is only $50 away from our 10K goal, how fantastic is that?" He waited for the applause and looked around, "I am so happy you could all be here to celebrate the station and all that we do here. Enjoy the rest of your night." This was my move.

I walked up to him, check in hand, "Captain Ripley? I know its not as much as other donations, but on behalf of me and my friends, we really appreciate what you're doing here."

He looked down at the check and spoke into the microphone, "Look here folks, a donation from Miss Koughlin in the amount of 1K, that puts us well over our goal! Thank you so much!" He put the microphone back onto the stand and grabbed me into a hug, my body softening in his grasp. "I've had the privilege of getting to know Miss Koughlin over these past few months and I'm so proud to be..." he stopped mid-sentence and looked at me, then cleared his throat, "... to be apart of her life, as well as the lives of these great firefighters who do so much good for this community one day at a time."

The entire room broke out into applause and Ripley put the mic back on the stand.

Ripley and I took our seats and then Micah stood up and walked over to the mic. "Thank you all for coming out tonight, I am Lt. Micah Gideon. As you all know, this town has had it's fair share of ups and downs over the years. For me, it can only go up. Frankie and I met at an event, coincidentally put on by Natalie, Miss Koughlin, and she was the one to introduce us. Now here we are, so... here goes."