Hearths of Fire (8 page)

“A
ritual
? How reliable is Becky?” Neal took a sip of the hot bitter liquid and then set it
down in front of him on the coffee table. He zeroed his gaze in on Char, who’d tucked
her legs underneath her. She looked like she did back when they’d been in high school.
“We need to get her to speak with the sheriff.”

“I told her to do that but he wasn’t at the game.” Charlotte glanced at the clock
on the wall, but it was so early he wasn’t sure how to reassure her over Mandy being
out with Garreth after what Becky had said. He wasn’t sure he
could
reassure her. “Are you going to talk with Sheriff Plinkton tomorrow?”

“First thing on my agenda.”

“And what exactly
is
your agenda?” Char picked at what Neal thought was imaginary lint since he couldn’t
see anything from where he was sitting. He figured it was due to her worry over her
sister and not what had taken place at the game. He shouldn’t have said anything about
touching her. He was here solely to help her sister and he’d do well to remember that.
“Mandy is not going to be happy when you try and tell her that you’re not fond of
Garreth either.”

“I’m going to speak with Sheriff Plinkton, the mayor, and then make an informal swing
by Robert and Patricia Ashe’s land.” Neal could see the skepticism written across
her beautiful features. He couldn’t remember a time that emotion
hadn’t
been there since her parents had passed. He’d tried his best to soothe it from her
then and he fought the urge to do it now. He needed a breather. “I’m going to take
a look around the property and see if I notice anything that stands out.”

Charlotte didn’t say anything to Neal’s declaration, so he stood up and walked toward
the door. He could feel her blue eyes trailing him as he exited. The temperature had
dropped but he didn’t bother with a jacket. It was still in the truck anyway, not
that he’d retrieve it. He needed the cold to cool him off or otherwise he might make
a move that both of them would regret. It wasn’t like anything was going to change.
Hadn’t Daegan said that earlier this week?

The leaves were rustling in the light breeze and the sounds of music could be heard
from the fall festival that had kicked off an hour ago after the football game. Neal
stepped off the wrap-around covered porch, having noticed earlier that it had been
repainted recently. Charlotte had kept up the property and it looked just as good
as it did when he’d left town. She’d chosen a Navaho red for the wood along with matching
shutters. The live oak tree out front had already changed colors, so the house and
lawn looked like a Thomas Kincaid painting. At least it got his mind off of what was
waiting for him inside.

Finally Neal’s eyes adjusted to the dark and he didn’t see anything or anyone that
stood out. Patrolling the small property, he took his time as he went around the house
and grounds. His head was a hell of a lot clearer than it was ten minutes ago. Walking
back up the porch steps, he saw that Charlotte was waiting for him with his coffee
and it was then that he decided the time alone hadn’t done a damn bit of good. When
she handed it over to him, her warm fingers brushed his and he knew it was done on
purpose. What the hell did she want from him?

“I’m sorry for what I did to us back then,” Charlotte said, her voice barely above
a whisper. Neal wasn’t even sure he’d heard her correctly, because if he had the anger
he’d kept at bay would finally be released and they had other pressing issues to deal
with. “I handled it poorly and—”

“I’m going to stop you right there,” Neal replied in a hardened tone. “What happened
is in the past and that’s where it needs to stay. We don’t need to rehash it. Our
misfortunate circumstances don’t erase the fact that we grew up together and that
Mandy is like my sister—which is why I’m here. I think it’s best that we stick to
that, don’t you?”

“No, I don’t.” Charlotte raised her voice, but it wasn’t loud enough to cover up the
sound of a car door. Neal had seen the headlights fifteen seconds prior and had recognized
Mandy’s older vehicle. He wasn’t sure why she’d come home early, but it was perfect
timing. He wasn’t being dragged into this conversation despite Charlotte’s obvious
intention. “We’ve never talked about—”

“You’re right, we haven’t spoken about it…and for damn good reason.” Neal turned away
from Charlotte to face the street, where Mandy was making her way up the short manicured
walkway. “This is how you wanted it, Char.”

‡

C
harlotte finished sprinkling
some powdered sugar on the French toast and then placed the platter in the middle
of the table, where the rest of the settings were arranged. It was eight o’clock in
the morning, although Neal had left the house a little before six. She figured he’d
be back soon to talk to Mandy and cooking breakfast gave Charlotte something to do
while she thought over their behavior last night. He might not want to talk about
the past, but she did. His remark about them being teenagers and making it sound as
if their youth wasn’t of importance left her feeling somewhat bereft. What they had
felt for each other back then was real. It just hadn’t been the right time.

“Morning,” Mandy muttered as she walked into the kitchen wearing a pair of sweats
and an old T-shirt that had the insignia of their high school. She snatched a piece
of bacon from the table as she made her way to the refrigerator. “Why aren’t you at
the store?”

“I’m having Pam open it for me. It’s not like Neal comes home that often,” Charlotte
replied, taking a seat at the table and picking up her coffee. Last night Mandy 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 morning when I got the paper I left it unlocked,”
Charlotte replied, not moving from where she sat. He could join her at the table and
maybe she could finally say what she wanted to. “I was here, so it wasn’t like someone
was going to come in and rob the place. This is Hearth, remember?”

“You now live where a cult is residing, so I think that changes things. As for a key,
I took the spare that your parents always kept in the side table.” Neal closed the
distance and joined Charlotte at the table, causing her to realize that his demeanor
was more serious than last night. She wasn’t sure how that was even possible, but
his features seemed to be set in stone. “I spoke with Sheriff Plinkton. You were right
about the livestock going missing. Unfortunately they can’t tie the stolen animals
to Ashes to Dirt.”

Charlotte felt an uneasy feeling settle around them, pushing aside what she’d wanted
to discuss. Mandy’s safety came first and it was sounding like what Neal had discovered
wasn’t in favor of that. She needed to do something with her hands, so she rose from
the table and went about pouring him a cup of coffee.

“Does he think they are sacrificing them?” Charlotte asked, not really wanting to
know the answer. The thought of what might have happened to those animals made her
sick. “Has he sent anyone out to their property?”

“Yes, but unless they have probable cause he or his deputies can’t get a warrant from
the county judge to search the property.” Neal gave Charlotte a half smile when she
handed him the cup. At least he didn’t seem as uncomfortable with her as he did last
night. She backed up a few steps to lean against the counter, thinking over their
options. “Which is why I’m heading over there now. I also shared with the sheriff
what Becky overheard yesterday and he’s going to pay a visit on her today.”

“I’m coming with you,” Charlotte stated, feeling better about the situation now that
she was helping. She turned and reached for her cell, which had been on the counter.
She’d never formally met Garreth’s parents, although she’d seen them once or twice
around town. She ignored the trembling in her fingers at what their first encounter
might entail. “I’ll call Pam at the shop and make sure she—”

“Char, you’re not going with me.”

“Yes, I am.” Charlotte whipped around to find that Neal was standing directly in front
of her. His intensity caused her voice to catch, but if he thought for one second
that he was going out to that property without her he was sorely mistaken. “This is
my sister, Neal. She’s been dating this boy for almost two months and I’ve never met
his parents. What happens when you leave? I’m left here to deal with them by myself
and I think it’s best I meet them with you by my side.”

Charlotte cringed at how her last sentence must have sounded to him. It wasn’t like
they were married and while she had every intention of addressing what had happened
back then, it didn’t change the fact that he would leave come tomorrow. What clearing
the air would do was give her the closure she hadn’t even realized she’d been missing.
First they needed to get through this day and she did her best to stare him down.
It wasn’t easy when his green eyes practically penetrated her soul.

“Fine. We’ll go together, but I do the talking,” Neal warned, turning and taking those
couple of steps back toward his seat. “The drive out there will also give us time
to figure out dinner this evening. There are some things I’d like to cover with you
before I start asking Garreth some questions. Is Mandy around?”