Charade (Heven and Hell #2)(52)
Author: Cambria Hebert

“Why don’t you go back to the house? That’s where you want to be anyway. Maybe we can meet up tonight for one last session before you leave tomorrow?”

I nodded. “I get off work at seven. I’ll meet you here.”

I didn’t waste any more time, but headed to the house. Behind me I could hear Gemma and Cole still training.

I couldn’t stop thinking about Logan. I was leaving for Rome tomorrow and he couldn’t come with me. But I didn’t want to leave him home alone, either. What if something happened? What if he had one of his “fits” and trashed something or hurt someone? What if he hurt himself? But I couldn’t stay home with him. I had to go with Heven and return that scroll. Once the Map was in its rightful place, hopefully the demon attacks on Hev would stop and I could focus more on helping Logan.

I rapped lightly on the kitchen door and heard Gran call out, so I let myself in. She was standing at the small island making what looked like a pie crust.

“Chores all done?” she asked with a smile. She had a smudge of flour on her nose.

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Wash up there and get yourself a drink. You must be thirsty.”

I went to the sink and did as she asked, watching the grime on my hands from my training flowing down the drain. When I was done, I grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge.

“Where’s Heven and Logan?”

“Heven went to feed the horses. Logan just went out there a few minutes ago to join her.”

My eyes strayed to the door. I wasn’t sure how I felt about Logan and Heven being alone together. “I’ll go see what they are up to.”

“Sam? Before you go, is everything all right? You seem worried.”

I stopped halfway to the door and turned. “I’m worried about leaving Logan here by himself while I’m in Italy.”

“Ahh,” Gran said. “He’s not going home?”

I felt my shoulders slump. I was so tired of lying and making up stories. “No. My parents… they can be kind of hard to live with. It’s the reason I’m emancipated. When I left home, things got a lot harder for Logan. He doesn’t want to go back there and I can’t make him.”

It wasn’t the whole truth, but it was some of it. Just that little bit of truth actually made me feel better.

Gran picked up a kitchen towel and began wiping flour off her hands. “That must be very hard for you. Caring for a younger brother must be tough, considering how young you are yourself.”

I nodded.

“Sam, I want you to know that you are always welcome in my home. Logan too. I see how you look at Heven…” She turned to grab two pie plates, and with her back turned, she said, “I know how you take care of her.”

It almost seemed for a moment that she understood more than we thought. But then she turned around with a smile and began assembling two pies.

“Why don’t you bring Logan here to stay while you are gone? I’ll watch over him.”

It would be the answer to my worry about Logan. Unfortunately, it would give me new worry. Gran was like the family I never had. She was unbelievably kind and loving. The thought of leaving Logan here and him accidently hurting her in one of his “fits” left me feeling cold inside.

“Thank you for the offer but Logan is… he’s been hard to deal with… I think he’s having a hard time adjusting and he can be a real handful. I don’t want to put that on you.”

She didn’t seem the least bit concerned. “I think I can handle one sullen teenage boy. I used to be married to a police officer, you know. And my son was one too. They taught me a thing or two.” She winked as she poured what looked like a strawberry mixture into the pie shells.

Even so, her strength would be no match for Logan’s. If he went into a rage, there would be no stopping him. “Heven’s grandfather was a police officer too?”

“Oh, yes. Best cop on the force.” She smiled fondly.

“How… how long has he been gone?” My curiosity got the better of my manners as the question tumbled right out of my mouth.

“A long time, almost seventeen years ago. He died when Heven was just a baby.” She looked up from her work and seemed lost in a memory. “He loved that girl more than life itself.”

Then her thoughts seem to clear and she glanced at me then back at her pies.

I shouldn’t have asked. Really it wasn’t my business and I didn’t want to upset her. “I’ll go check on Heven and Logan now.”

I pushed open the door and stepped out onto the porch.

“Sam? Think about it. Logan is welcome here anytime.”

I thanked her and then walked toward the barn. I was tempted to leave Logan here at the farm, but something inside me just couldn’t say yes. I wanted to protect Gran from all of this, and what would happen to Heven if something were to go wrong with Gran? Yes, Heven and her mother’s relationship was a lot better than it used to be. Even I, who thought I would never forgive her mother for telling Heven she was evil, could see the genuine good in her. But even still, I knew that the farm was where Heven belonged. This was her true home.

When I reached the barn door a skittering of fear ran over my body. I wasn’t afraid, so that meant that Heven must be. I resisted the urge to burst through the door to see where the threat was because along with her fear I was also feeling her effort to control it, to make it go away.

A very bad feeling that Logan was behind this sunk into me.

I stepped up to the door and listened, focusing on the voices just inside the barn.

“You never know,” Logan said, his voice sounded different than usual, deeper somehow. “Sam can’t always be where you are.”

What was he saying? Why would he speak to her like that?

“Are you threatening me?” Heven’s voice sounded strong, but I knew that she was frightened.

“Tell me where it is.”

“No.”

“Is it here?” There was a slight pause; then he said, “Up there?”

“It isn’t here,” Heven insisted and I had enough.

I grabbed the barn door and opened it, trying not to just fling it, trying to hide the simmering frustration beneath my skin. Remember that he’s sick. He doesn’t mean what he’s saying, the way he’s acting, I told myself.

“Hey guys, what’s going on?” I tried to sound casual.

“Sam! Heven was showing me the horses!” I could sense the change come over him and I suddenly understood why Heven was always so uncomfortable around him. He acted different when I wasn’t around—who knows the things he has said and done to her.