At least the kid had the capacity to make him snort, Logan thought, amused at the alleged reason why Karr needed to get out of here. Maybe he was going to be all right after all. He was all set to keep going, the knot in his throat somewhat tamed, when Karr reached for him so suddenly. Logan froze in his tracks and whipped his head around, his eyes wide and alert. Yes, he was a bit on edge, and had been for days. No sleep and little food did that to a man.
The flash of humanity in Karr's eyes threw him for a loop. Karr definitely had his attention. Damn his eyes for making Logan mist up like some infirm old woman! He jutted his jaw out stubbornly, clinging to all the hard things he'd had to do, everything he'd had to withstand, in order to not allow himself to be completely disarmed by those simple words. Whenever Logan had heard the idea that having children changed a man, he had shrugged it off. Now that he had kids of his own, he had then figured that what it meant was that they made a man perpetually annoyed. He had not understood what it really meant until now. It was like something had shifted inside him, as he looked at this young man who was so much like him, who was blood of his blood.
He swallowed, and his gaze softened considerably. "Yeah, ya will," he replied, nodding. That was a promise. "I'll be seeing ya, son," he finished even though he had the maddening sensation like something was tickling his throat. And damned if he didn't even manage a tight little smile too, for all that he was sure he would have more gladly parted with a limb, or a damn kidney. Unable to stop himself, he reached over one last time and ruffled his son's hair, nodding at him as if to confirm that promise. "Now, git," he ground out roughly as ever, but a muscle in his cheek was twitching as he said it. And with that, he walked away, deep in thought, unconsciously fingering the adoption papers gently with his thumb.