Lonely Souls by Karice Bolton Page A

on you.” He smiled.
    “On me?” I laughed. “More like the other way around. A guy like you needs to be watched.”
    “What’s that supposed to mean?” His eyes were wide with curiosity and dancing a little.
    “Oh, please! I bet you’ve left a million girls back at your house ready to chase you down out here,” I teased him, hoping he’d reject the idea.
    He never did.
    “Speaking of that,” he avoided my feeble attempt at probing, “was that your boyfriend?”
    “Who? Trevor? God no!” I shuddered at the thought.
    “With the whole hun thing, I just thought—”
    I interrupted him.
    “That surprised me more than you, I’m sure. I think that’s the case of distance makes the heart grow fonder.” I smiled at him. “I know him too well to let that happen.”
    “So you don’t have a boyfriend then?” his voice was a little gruffer than I expected.
    “Nope. I’d say I never really have.” A flush began creeping up my face, and I had no idea where it was coming from. And why did I just tell him that?
    “Maybe those letters did the trick then?” he said, and I started laughing.
    “Doubtful. Now what plan are you busy devising?” I asked, leaning back against the bench, letting the warmth from Seattle’s June weather pierce through my clothes. Hearing the birds’ chirping and the kids’ playing began to make the wall I’d started building around my heart begin to crumble a little.
    “Well, until we find your mom, I think you’ve got a lot to take care of, and I’d be more than happy to help however I can.” His blue eyes darkened a bit, and I wasn’t sure what he was thinking beyond the obvious.
    I nodded and turned away, looking at anything but him once more. This was probably a really bad idea.
    He found my hand that was gripping the edge of the bench and traced it with his finger. I did everything I could to ignore what the sensation provided.
    “I’d still like to move in,” he said once more.
    I turned to face him, and his eyes were penetrating mine, creating a stir in my belly that I knew I’d have to squash if he moved into my home.
    “I think that sounds like a really good idea.” I surprised myself with the words that came tumbling out. “It would be a lot easier to try to track down everything with my mom, too, if you were under the same roof.”
    “Aah, total business I see.” His lips pursed a little.
    “Yes, total business,” I nodded. The wall around my heart was starting to go back up just how I liked it in recent times. “With that, do you know many protection chants?”
    He looked disappointed, but I made myself brush away the guilt. I had too much going on and couldn’t jeopardize my mom’s safe return over a fleeting feeling that probably wouldn’t last more than a summer. Once he started college, he’d be off doing his own thing.
    “Actually I do. I became intrigued with that side of things. Scared myself to death, really. Reading about black magic back in the day and its uses really brought things to my attention, so I brushed up on how to combat it.” He squinted at me, trying to gauge my reaction and then turned away.
    I knew what he was telling me, without so many words. I was in shock. It didn’t seem possible, but I knew what he was implying, and he’d have no reason to lie about it. In order to fully fight the evil, a witch must learn that side of darkness. Silence was the only thing that filled the air between us. Looking at Logan, I never would have guessed it. He was busy staring down the street. He didn’t want to make eye contact with me either. The only thing that radiated from him was warmth and kindness the moment I laid my eyes on him back at the house. It was almost impossible to wrap my head around what he said.
    “Does your mom know?” I finally blurted out.
    He turned back to face me.
    “What do you think?” he almost growled.
    “Guess not,” I nodded. “You don’t—”
    “Absolutely not. But I saw a side of things that I