Where the Allegheny Meets the Monongahela Read Online Free

you,
    Logan. But until we can get to the root of what made you lose
    control—‖
    ―A bad day and bad whiskey.‖
    ―If that‘s all it took, then you need to tell me what has changed
    since then.‖
    ―Plenty.‖ His shoulders slumped as he continued. ―But nothin‘
    good.‖
    ―Then we need to find a good change for you.‖ When her patient
    had no response, Trudy plowed ahead. ―Remember we talked about
    you teaching that automotive course?‖
    ―Yeah?‖
    ―Are you still up for it?‖
    ―I guess. It‘s for girls who… who‘ve had some trouble. Right?‖
    ―Right. Domestic abuse victims.‖
    Dread tightened the muscles in Logan‘s shoulders at Trudy‘s
    plainspoken answer. ―Are you gonna tell ‘em about… about….‖
    ―They will know that you‘re in counseling for a domestic abuse
    incident.‖
    ―Why? Why do ya have ta tell ‘em?‖
    ―So they can make an informed decision about joining the group
    or not. Logan, most of these women have spent years being
    manipulated and controlled; we‘re trying to give them that control
    back. We can‘t do it by lying to them.‖

    Where the Allegheny Meets the Monongahela
    15

    ―It wouldn‘t be lyin‘ not to tell ‘em anything.‖
    ―Yes, it would. Some of the worst lies in life are told with
    silence.‖
    ―What‘a you mean by that?‖ Logan snapped.
    ―Just what I said,‖ Trudy answered. ―Why? What did it mean to
    you?‖
    Logan ignored the answers buzzing in his head and brushed her
    off with a brusque, ―Nothin‘. Now, what about this class?‖
    Trudy‘s head stayed cocked, and she stared at Logan in silence
    for a few seconds before relenting with, ―Things are pretty much set.
    My husband has made arrangements for a garage we can use—it‘s on
    Arlington Avenue. That‘s on the South Side.‖
    ―Where‘s that, exactly? I don‘t know the city too good.‖
    ―It‘s right across the Monongahela—from here you‘d take the
    Fort Pitt Bridge. Then get on….‖
    Logan missed the rest of Trudy‘s directions, distracted by her
    mention of the river he‘d practically grown up on back in Elco. His
    daydreaming was cut short by the realization that, like everything else
    in Pittsburgh, the familiar waterway was a very different entity here.
    Fortunately, Trudy was writing the address down for him. He
    figured, when the time came, he‘d find it without her directions—one
    way or another. The counselor reached across her desk and handed him
    the paper, saying, ―Nick Zales, the guy who runs the Life Skills
    program, would like to meet with you to go over a few things. I
    suggested tomorrow afternoon; can you make it?‖
    Though Trudy had been talking about this idea for weeks, it had
    always been somewhere off in the future to Logan, so the word
    ―tomorrow‖ caught him off-guard. ―No… not tomorrow. Maybe
    sometime next—‖
    ―I thought you had Thursdays off?‖
    ―Yeah… but I got some stuff I gotta take care of….‖
    ―Can‘t you take care of it in the morning?‖ Trudy leaned forward
    and speared Logan with her piercing gaze. ―I really think this is
    16
    Felicia Watson

    important for you. You want to move on, don‘t you? You want to get
    unsupervised visitation rights, don‘t you?‖
    After two months in therapy, Logan had no trouble recognizing
    that Trudy was working up a head of steam. Cutting it off by agreeing
    to her request seemed suddenly more attractive than sitting through one
    of her fiery lectures. ―Yeah, sure, I‘ll make some time. When‘s he
    wanta meet?‖
    ―Nick said anytime in the afternoon before five. What works for
    you?‖
    Since Logan had no particular desire to teach a bunch of women
    who would probably think of him as some kind of monster, he still
    wanted to put this meeting off as long as possible. ―How ‘bout four?‖
    ―Okay, I‘ll let him know.‖ It was Trudy‘s turn to glance at the
    clock. ―We still have a few minutes. Why don‘t we spend it exploring
    why