Charade (9 page)

Why haven’t you said anything?

I knew you would tell me about it when you were ready.
But I also didn’t like knowing that some other guy had an effect on her.

She smiled, then tilted her head to the side.
Why aren’t you yelling at me?

I’d rather kiss you.
To wipe out any trace of someone else’s kiss. I grabbed her shirt at the waist, bunching the extra material in my hands and towed her slowly forward. I wrapped my arms around her and kissed her, urgently at first, like I had something to prove, but then the kiss changed and softened, erasing all thought from my mind.

After a while I pulled away and took in her unfocused and soft eyes.
Let Cole compete with that,
I thought to myself.

There is no competition,
Heven replied.

Damn Mindbond.

I guided Heven toward the bed, but she pulled away to go over to the window to pull the curtains closed over the blinds. I lifted an eyebrow.

Did you see anything out there when you came in?
she asked.

No. Why?
Everything in me went on alert.

She shook her head.
Never mind. I guess I’m just a little freaked out with everything that’s been going on.

I’ll go look around.
I started for the window, mentally berating myself for being so caught up in my own thoughts and then the scene with Heven and Cole on the porch that I hadn’t paid any attention to my surroundings outside. So much for that damn protective instinct.

Heven reached out and grabbed my hand.
No. Stay. I’m sure it’s nothing.

I hesitated as she moved away and climbed into bed. My instincts would have told me if a demon had been close and I was exhausted… I kicked out of my shoes and jeans (I was already wearing basketballs shorts under my jeans) and climbed in next to her. She settled against me with a sigh.

We lay there in silence for a few moments, and as exhausted as I was, I couldn’t sleep.
What’s he doing here, Heven?

I think he came to ask me about earlier, but we never talked about it.

No?

We talked about Kimber and his mom. He’s just confused… I feel bad for him.

I made a rude noise.
He took advantage of it and kissed you.

He’s drunk. He probably won’t even remember in the morning,
she said, but I wasn’t convinced. Kissing Heven isn’t something someone would forget. I couldn’t stop from snorting softly.
He’ll remember when I punch his lights out.

She jerked up to stare down at me through the dark.
You can’t. Please don’t.

The anger I tried to push away earlier came back.
The guy made a play for you. You think I’m just going to let it go?

I was hoping you would.

I laughed.

Sam, please. You can’t just march in here tomorrow and punch him. Think of Gran. You’ll upset her.
As soon as she said the words, something in her shifted.

What is it?
I asked.

Gran met him tonight. It was weird.

Weird how?

She just kept staring at him.

She was probably wondering what some drunk guy was doing in her kitchen with you.

She shook her head like it didn’t make sense.
Her aura was all over the place.

I sighed.
She was probably just tired. Enough about Cole. I don’t want to spend any more time talking about him.

Me either.

Come here,
I said to cover her lips with mine. All this talk about Cole made me want to mark my territory.

Heven seemed to sense my thoughts and pulled away.
You’re never going to be able to accept him as part of my life—even if we are just friends, are you?

I stared at her for long moments.
I don’t know.

I thought she would argue with me, try to make me see reason. But she didn’t. Instead, she laid her head on my chest and went to sleep.

*   *   *

I didn’t sleep well that night. After everything that happened with Logan and knowing that Cole was downstairs, I just couldn’t seem to find any peace, even with Heven curled up next to me. When the very first rays of dawn began peeking through the clouds, I very carefully slid from the bed, slid off my shorts and shrugged into my jeans. Moving quietly, I slipped through Heven’s bedroom door and down the stairs to the living room where Cole was passed out on the couch. I stood over him, staring down, wondering why Heven was so insistent on keeping him in her life. I had the urge to reach down and—his eyes flew open and he jerked up, turning to stare at me.

“What the hell are you doing here?” he said, his voice low from sleep.

He had faster reflexes than I gave him credit for. I lifted an eyebrow. “I’m here every morning at this time to do the barn work,” I answered coolly.

“It’s morning?”

“You should go.”

His eyes narrowed. “I was invited to breakfast.”

“Something must have come up,” I said, flat.

“Actually, my day is free.”

“You’re lucky I’m letting you walk out of here after what you pulled last night with Heven,” I began and I could see that some of my words took the steam out of his challenge.

“She told you?”

“Did you think she wouldn’t?” I smirked. I sat down on the coffee table in front of the couch, making a show of getting comfortable. “Did you really think that one pathetic kiss was going to make her walk away from me?”

“There’s something between us.” The way he said it didn’t exactly disagree with what I said, but there was an absolute truth behind his words.

It bothered me in ways I didn’t want to admit.

I stared at him, without blinking, imagining my fist smacking into the side of his jaw.

He got up from the couch and ran a hand through his extremely messy head of hair. “Yeah, I’ll go, but not because you’re telling me too. Because…”

“Because you showed up here drunk and made an ass out of yourself?” I asked, mildly amused and stood from the table so I could show him the door.

“No. Because I’m sure my mom is freaked out and wondering why I never came home.”

“There went your Son of the Year award.”

“Yeah, well, at least my parents want me.”

His words were like a slap to my face. I stood there frozen for a few long seconds before I jerked forward and plowed my fist right into his jaw. I moved so fast he hadn’t even seen it coming and he fell backward onto the couch. It tipped before falling back into place onto the floor.

He looked up at me with wide eyes and slowly felt around his jaw.

“Get the hell out of here before I do it again,” I growled.

He went to the door and put his hand on the handle, but then he stopped but didn’t turn around. “I deserved that. I shouldn’t have said it. But next time… I’m going to hit back.”

“Looking forward to it,” I said.

His back stiffened, but he walked out the door. I stood there until I heard his truck drive away and then I crept back upstairs. I should’ve gone straight out to the barn and gotten to work but I wanted to see her. I had come to accept the fact that my parents didn’t want me—that I was emancipated at the age of sixteen. Cole’s words weren’t any surprise. They shouldn’t have hurt me.

But they did.

Chapter Five

Heven

Rain was pattering against the roof and window, making me burrow further into the sheets. Sam tried to slide out from beneath me, but I pulled him back in. “Don’t go,” I murmured.

He groaned. “The sun is already up. I have to leave so I can come back and start the barn chores.”

“It’s raining,”

“The horses still want to eat.”

“Five more minutes.”

He pressed his lips to my forehead. “Five minutes.”

Five minutes just wasn’t long enough because in no time, Sam was climbing out of bed and throwing on his T-shirt and shoes. I watched unhappily as he reached into my closet and pulled out one of the hoodies he kept there. He chuckled when he caught me watching and came to stand next to me.

“I’ll be right back.”

“But we won’t be alone.”

His eyes softened. “At least I’m off tonight.”

It reminded me. “Ugh, we have dinner tonight with my mother and her boyfriend.”

“At least we’ll be together.”

“Yeah.” I pushed the covers back and climbed out of bed. “I’ll meet you in the barn to help.”

He shook his head. “It’s chilly and rainy this morning. You stay inside.”

I was about to protest, but he kissed me. “Will you have some coffee ready for me when I’m finished?”

“Of course,” I murmured, smiling at him.

After he disappeared into the falling rain, I pulled the curtains closed, gathered up my clothes and went into the bathroom for a hot shower. On my way downstairs, I remembered that Cole was here and I was surprised Sam didn’t take me up on my offer to help in the barn, if only to keep me away from Cole. But when I came down the stairs I understood.

Cole was gone.

The blanket and pillows he used were all folded neatly and stacked on the couch.

I wandered into the kitchen, partly thinking that maybe he would be there, eating some of Gran’s cooking. But he wasn’t and Gran was staring out the window watching the rain fall.

“Cole left?” I asked.

“It seems so.” She seemed sad by this.

“He was probably just embarrassed because he was drunk.”

Gran didn’t turn from the window. “You’ve been friends with him for a long time?”

“A few years.”

“He’s a good boy?”

“Yeah, Cole’s great. First time I’ve seen him like that.”

“Wonder what’s wrong?” Gran said, almost to herself.

“Oh, he got into a fight with Kimber.” I brushed it all off and went to make some coffee for Sam. Frankly, I was relieved that Cole wasn’t here, even if it meant he was avoiding me. Now
I
could avoid all the awkwardness from last night’s kiss and Sam wouldn’t have a chance to deck him.

“That’s too bad.” Gran turned from the window and smiled. “Here, I’ll do that.” She grabbed the coffee pot and began filling it with water. I relinquished the coffee to her and began pulling out the makings for French toast. I thought briefly about calling to make sure Cole made it home okay, but I thought better of it.

If I called he would ask.

I couldn’t tell him.

Sam was still adamant that Cole not know about the demons and the Treasure Map. I managed to dodge the topic last night but luck only went so far. I didn’t want to lie to Cole so I figured I would say nothing at all.

*   *   *

The rain finally stopped, leaving the ground soggy and the air thick with moisture. The sun was out, doing its best to shine rays of light through the lingering clouds. We were standing on the front porch of my mother’s house (how odd that I didn’t see it as my house anymore), but I couldn’t bring myself to ring the doorbell and begin the evening.

Calm down.

I glanced over my shoulder at Sam.
Is it that obvious?

He caught a strand of my hair between his fingers and tucked it behind my ear.
They won’t see it, but I can feel it.

I don’t know what to expect.
That was what made me so nervous. All my life I thought I knew exactly who my mother was. Sure, sometimes I didn’t always agree with her, but I could always understand her. Until she declared that I was marked by evil. Since that day, I’ve often wondered if I ever really knew her at all.

And then she threw another curve ball at me.

She’s dating.

It’s just going to be dinner, sweetheart.
Sam’s voice cut through my thoughts.

Yes, but, my mother invited me
and
you, the boy she has made no secret of disapproving of, and her new boyfriend. She has a boyfriend, Sam.

His warm, rough fingertips trailed tenderly down the side of my cheek.
Does that bother you?

My eyes were stinging and I blinked rapidly, telling myself that it didn’t.
No. I want her to be happy.

It’s okay to wish it was your dad, Hev.

I turned fully around to face him, his understanding and safety was like a beacon to my dark, uncertain mood. He folded his arms around me and I sighed deeply. This is where I fit, where I belonged, everything else was just details. I squeezed my eyes shut and committed this feeling to memory, certain I would need to call on it later.

Maybe now that your mother has found someone, she’ll be more accepting of us.

How close could they be? They just started dating.

One way to find out.
He used his oversized hands to spin me around to face the front door and pointed at the doorbell.

I reached out and pressed the button while wondering what was waiting for us on the other side of the door.

*   *   *

Things were not as I expected. From the second she opened the door, I knew that something was different. What I hadn’t decided was if that something was good or bad.

“Well, are you going to come in or stand out there and stare all night?” Mom asked with a smile on her face. She motioned for us to come in and held the door open wide.

“Sorry,” I mumbled as I walked in, my eyes searching for a glimpse of Mom’s new man.

“It’s so good to see you!” she said and pulled me in for a hug. I was caught off guard, but brushed it off and I hugged her back. She pulled back to look at me. “You look wonderful. How has your summer been so far?”

I studied her as I gave some lame response about swimming and hanging out with Kimber. She looked really good. Her brown hair was shining, settling down around her shoulders, and her blue eyes were bright and clear. Her smile was genuine with none of the tension around her mouth that I had gotten used to. She was dressed in a blue sundress that came to her knees. What was most impressive was her aura. It held none of the mistrust and disappointment that usually bloomed around her head when I was near. Things felt like they used to be before I was disfigured, started dating Sam and ‘became evil.’ Well, maybe not exactly like it used to be.