Heavenstone 01 - The Heavenstone Secrets

myself, and Cassie wouldn’t like it.
    I actually took a few steps forward, but he was already at the bottom of the driveway and preparing to turn out of the gate. In seconds, he was gone. My heart sank. I stood looking after him until I heard the front door open.
    “What are you doing standing around out there?” Cassie shouted. “We haven’t finished the kitchen yet.”
    I didn’t turn around immediately. I was afraid that if I did, I might start screaming at her, and who knew what would happen then? Daddy would certainly be very upset if Cassie and I had words. I had no choice. I took a deep breath, lowered my head, and started back to the house.

    “Did you see how fast your uncle Perry ran out of here when I mentioned giving her the medicine?” Cassie asked as I drew closer. “I told you he hasn’t the stomach for any really difficult problems. He’s like a high-strung woman or something. If he had to deal with one-tenth of what Daddy deals with daily, he’d be in a loony bin himself.”
    “You didn’t make him feel all that comfortable, Cassie,” I said.
    “Oh, pardon me. I guess I should have considered his delicate feelings more than what Daddy and Mother need.” She put her hands on her hips and wagged her head as she continued. “If he doesn’t have the common sense and the sensitivity to see how difficult things are for us now, I couldn’t possibly care less about his discomfort.”
    When I turned to continue toward the kitchen, she reached out and pulled me around.
    “You listen to me. Men like him are very self-centered, Semantha. Don’t get caught up in his show of affection. When you scratch the surface of all that, you’ll find it’s all a façade or, as Daddy says, as phony as a two-headed nickel.’”
    “That’s not true or fair,” I said, turning away again.
    “Believe what you want, but you’ll see how right I am when it comes time for him to do something for you in a crisis,” she insisted, following me.
    I didn’t respond. I returned to the kitchen to finish the work as she wanted. She went to complete her preparations for Mother’s dinner and then our dinner afterward. Before she carried up Mother’s tray, she turned to me.

    “You heard her before when we were talking about the gala. Mother’s not going to want you to stay with her tomorrow, but I still think you should. What you can do is let her think you’ve gone with us, but stay downstairs and go up to see how she’s doing hours later. If she asks you why you’re here, tell her you have a headache or something, anything.”
    “Don’t worry, Cassie. I wasn’t going to leave her if Daddy didn’t get someone to stay here with her.”
    “Good. He won’t,” she said with confidence.
    “Is Daddy still upstairs with her?”
    “No. He’s in his office.”
    “But I thought he was going to stay with her to be sure she relaxed.”
    “I told him I would do that and sent him to do what was needed. He has a great deal left to arrange, so don’t bother him. I’ll be back in a little while. Just finish that section and go up to get ready for dinner.”
    I did what she wanted and then went up to my room. Bobbi called and told me how Noel was doing, but the real reason she called was to tell me that Eddie was nervous about my telling people the accident was his fault.
    “The old guy should have been more careful,” she added before I could respond. “Don’t you agree?”
    I thought about what Uncle Perry had said about the insurance company blaming Mr. Morgan no matter what. I decided there was no point in arguing or trying to get the others to see how careless Eddie had been—and with our lives, too!
    “Yes,” I said.

    “Good. Oh, good luck with your new store, too.”
    “Thank you.”
    “I’ll be there for the festivities. My parents are going, too,” she said. “See you tomorrow.”
    I didn’t want to tell her I wouldn’t be there, so I said okay and hung up. Later, I went down to help Cassie with our dinner. Daddy was so occupied in his office that she had to go get him and insist that he come to eat. At the table, I felt like some outsider. He and Cassie discussed the details of the gala. Neither paid much attention to me. However, I had to admit to myself that I was impressed with how much Cassie knew about what had to be done. She could be the CEO of our company.
    “Should I go up to get Mother’s tray?” I asked, finally interrupting.
    They both looked at me as if they had just