Free Lonely Souls by Karice Bolton Page B

sat down at the table, picking at her bagel and eyeing my aunt across the kitchen.
    “We figured as much,” Aunt Vieta finally said. “Logan and Ellsy are going to be here for a couple of weeks before they head back, so you won’t be alone.”
    I was frozen. I looked over at Jenny and Angela, who were grinning far too wide for their own good, or mine.
    “We don’t think you should go back to the floral shop immediately, though,” Ellsy started. “Meredith is a good shop manager, and she’s got it covered. I’m on your mother’s accounts just as she’s on mine, so I can check on everything and make sure the money keeps coming in.”
    “I’m fine to go back,” I said. My irritation level with others planning for me to this degree was beginning to soar. Logan must have sensed my annoyance and stepped in to stop any train wreck from happening.
    “I was thinking I could take you out for a little road trip somewhere too. You know, to help you get far from everything,” his voice was so gentle, and his words touched everyone in the room the same way they did me. “Besides, we’ve got a lot of investigating to do.”
    I couldn’t help the swell of emotions that were making their way through me.
    “You mean in the next two weeks?” I asked, avoiding the stares from Jenny and Angela.
    “No, after.” His eyes held mine, and the kitchen fell silent. I was almost certain the others might be able to hear my pounding heartbeat. Jenny and Angela started to squirm. Their little scenario was playing out perfectly, and they were loving every minute of it.
    “Logan,” his mom warned, without saying anything else.
    “I think if Triss wants to stay here in her home, then she should be able to. She’s basically eighteen, will be in a matter of days. This home is hers. The shop is hers. Rather than screw her entire world up, I think it seems logical for me to rent one of the rooms and help around the house. That was the plan after all.” His voice was full of strength that I needed to start borrowing. It was as if he was daring his mom or aunt to cross him. The truth of it was we didn’t need their approval. It was my home, and he would just be doing what my mom had planned with Ellsy anyway.
    Surprisingly, my aunt spoke up first.
    “There’s nothing we can do about it, Ellsy. And I have to be honest,” she took a breath in, “the thought is quite comforting. It’s better to have them here than in some dorm packed in like sardines doing who knows what,” my aunt muttered.
    “In Triss’s defense,” Jenny spoke up, “it’s not like she’s ever been into anything typical. We’d constantly try to drag her to parties, and she refused every time. She always preferred to be out collecting things and working on some project for the shop.”
    My cheeks started getting warm, and I scowled at her. I was appreciative of her support, but I didn’t know I’d come across like such a prude. I’m sure Logan was not only attending the parties in his hometown, but he was probably throwing them. I glanced up at him quickly, only to have him looking over at me with a contemplative look. He was probably wondering how to get out of staying with such a complete bore.
    “Jenny’s got a point,” my aunt said. “I was always a tad envious of how easy my sister had it with Triss. I only know a small sliver of the trouble my kids have already gotten themselves into in the first couple years of college and that’s too much.”
    My cousins, all of them, were handfuls. I think Aunt Vieta preferred them in another town, so she never had the possibility of finding out what they were up to at college.
    “In the immediate, I think you’re right. I shouldn’t plan on going into the shop every day. My mom and I planned that I wouldn’t start school until spring quarter. She wanted me to experience life before heading into more classwork. Obviously, what I’m experiencing is more than I bargained for, but I’d like to stick to as