Read Online Hearths of Fire by Kennedy Layne - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Kennedy Layne
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had
returned home early because she and Garreth had gotten into a slight argument over
how he’d treated Neal. Charlotte knew better than to add fuel to the fire so she sat
back and let Neal address that issue. He’d done well, saying that maybe Garreth had
felt a little intimidated by a male figure showing up out of nowhere. After that the
two of them caught up on things while Charlotte stayed in the background. He’d been
careful about saying too much about Garreth and she knew that today was going to be
hell in that regard. Mandy wasn’t quite ready to hear anything bad about the boy.
Neal had wanted to do a little more investigating before broaching the subject of
what Becky had shared with them last night. “I’ll head in after breakfast.”
“Where’s Neal?” Mandy poured herself some orange juice and after putting the container
back into the fridge, she grabbed her glass and joined Charlotte at the table. Mandy
raised an eyebrow at the food on the table and then pulled her ponytail a little tighter.
“Breakfast? Either you’re trying to impress Neal or you’re upset about something.”
Charlotte wasn’t going to reply to that assumption, especially when both suppositions
were right. She took a sip of her coffee and thought about the day ahead. Maybe she
should have Pam work until closing.
“Neal said he had some things to take care of and as for breakfast, I thought it would
be nice. It’s not often we get houseguests.”
“Charlotte, bringing Neal here to fight your battles is wrong,” Mandy said, setting
her juice on the table with a little more force than necessary. She sat back in her
chair and crossed her arms. “I mean, it’s not that I don’t like seeing him. I do.
I miss him. Let’s face it—you didn’t even speak with Neal when he came home last time.
But there’s nothing he can say or do that will change my mind about Garreth. He acted
stupid last night, but that doesn’t mean he’s a bad person. Even Neal said so.”
Charlotte bit her tongue, knowing Neal hadn’t said anything of the kind. It always
amazed her that people could take things in such different ways. She needed to be
patient and wait to see what Neal found out today. She did wonder why he’d left the
house so early and she hoped like hell it wasn’t because he didn’t want to be alone
with her. Couldn’t he see that there were things they needed to talk about? She’d
needed to apologize to him and last night had been the perfect opportunity. Being
near him brought back all those buried emotions and though it might be wrong, she
wasn’t so sure she wanted to keep them buried.
“Charlotte?” Mandy’s voice finally penetrated and Charlotte had to wonder how long
she’d been calling her name. Her sister huffed in annoyance and then snatched up her
orange juice before sliding back her chair. “I’m not hungry right now. I’m going to
take a shower.”
Just like that, Mandy left the room. Charlotte sat there a while longer and stared
at the food that probably wasn’t going to be eaten. She wasn’t in the mood for breakfast
either. Sighing in resignation, she placed her mug on the table and wondered again
how things had gotten so out of hand. One minute her sister was concentrating on her
studies and talking about nursing school. The next minute her life revolved around
Garreth Ashe and proving to everyone that he wasn’t as bad as everyone thought. It
also included pushing away Charlotte as if she was nothing more than a stand-in parent
who was acting way too overprotective.
“I know I locked the front door when I left.” Charlotte jumped at the sound of Neal’s
voice that was heavy with censure, not having heard him enter the house. When she
glanced up he was standing in the doorway of the kitchen looking as if he was waiting
for an answer. “Want to tell me why it was unlocked?”
“You didn’t have a key, so this
returned home early because she and Garreth had gotten into a slight argument over
how he’d treated Neal. Charlotte knew better than to add fuel to the fire so she sat
back and let Neal address that issue. He’d done well, saying that maybe Garreth had
felt a little intimidated by a male figure showing up out of nowhere. After that the
two of them caught up on things while Charlotte stayed in the background. He’d been
careful about saying too much about Garreth and she knew that today was going to be
hell in that regard. Mandy wasn’t quite ready to hear anything bad about the boy.
Neal had wanted to do a little more investigating before broaching the subject of
what Becky had shared with them last night. “I’ll head in after breakfast.”
“Where’s Neal?” Mandy poured herself some orange juice and after putting the container
back into the fridge, she grabbed her glass and joined Charlotte at the table. Mandy
raised an eyebrow at the food on the table and then pulled her ponytail a little tighter.
“Breakfast? Either you’re trying to impress Neal or you’re upset about something.”
Charlotte wasn’t going to reply to that assumption, especially when both suppositions
were right. She took a sip of her coffee and thought about the day ahead. Maybe she
should have Pam work until closing.
“Neal said he had some things to take care of and as for breakfast, I thought it would
be nice. It’s not often we get houseguests.”
“Charlotte, bringing Neal here to fight your battles is wrong,” Mandy said, setting
her juice on the table with a little more force than necessary. She sat back in her
chair and crossed her arms. “I mean, it’s not that I don’t like seeing him. I do.
I miss him. Let’s face it—you didn’t even speak with Neal when he came home last time.
But there’s nothing he can say or do that will change my mind about Garreth. He acted
stupid last night, but that doesn’t mean he’s a bad person. Even Neal said so.”
Charlotte bit her tongue, knowing Neal hadn’t said anything of the kind. It always
amazed her that people could take things in such different ways. She needed to be
patient and wait to see what Neal found out today. She did wonder why he’d left the
house so early and she hoped like hell it wasn’t because he didn’t want to be alone
with her. Couldn’t he see that there were things they needed to talk about? She’d
needed to apologize to him and last night had been the perfect opportunity. Being
near him brought back all those buried emotions and though it might be wrong, she
wasn’t so sure she wanted to keep them buried.
“Charlotte?” Mandy’s voice finally penetrated and Charlotte had to wonder how long
she’d been calling her name. Her sister huffed in annoyance and then snatched up her
orange juice before sliding back her chair. “I’m not hungry right now. I’m going to
take a shower.”
Just like that, Mandy left the room. Charlotte sat there a while longer and stared
at the food that probably wasn’t going to be eaten. She wasn’t in the mood for breakfast
either. Sighing in resignation, she placed her mug on the table and wondered again
how things had gotten so out of hand. One minute her sister was concentrating on her
studies and talking about nursing school. The next minute her life revolved around
Garreth Ashe and proving to everyone that he wasn’t as bad as everyone thought. It
also included pushing away Charlotte as if she was nothing more than a stand-in parent
who was acting way too overprotective.
“I know I locked the front door when I left.” Charlotte jumped at the sound of Neal’s
voice that was heavy with censure, not having heard him enter the house. When she
glanced up he was standing in the doorway of the kitchen looking as if he was waiting
for an answer. “Want to tell me why it was unlocked?”
“You didn’t have a key, so this
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