Out of the Ashes by Kelly Hashway Read Free Book Online Page B

don’t care about the imprint. That’s not what’s making me feel this way.”
    “Yes, it is. If you were—” she pauses and looks around to make sure we’re still alone, “—a Phoenix you’d know that.”
    “So that’s it. It’s all about me not being a Phoenix. Not being good enough for Cara.”
    Un. Freakin’. Believable.

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter Six
     
     
    Cara
     
    Mom’s waiting at the door when I get home. Her fiery red hair is no match for the anger coloring her face. “Where were you?” She pulls me into the house where the others, minus Linette, who is probably reaming Logan out right now, are standing in a line looking like they’re about to burn the house down.
    “I needed some air.”
    Mom throws her hands up. “That’s why I offered to take you to the falls.”
    Garret steps toward Mom. “You did what?”
    She waves him off. “Oh get over it, Garret. She’s my daughter. I’ll decide what’s best for her.”
    To my surprise, he lets it go.
    “Thanks, Mom.”
    “Don’t give me that, Cara. I still want an answer.”
    “She was with me,” Linette says, walking in the door behind us with her car keys in hand.
    Logan is with her. No way is this going to end well. She saw Logan and me about to kiss and she’s probably here to tell everyone else about it. I should be glad Linette is about to put an end to this imprint, but my eyes plead with her not to say anything.
    “Cara needed to get out and I offered to take her to the falls since I couldn’t be here for the meeting.”
    Logan’s eyes widen. He’s obviously as shocked as I am that Linette is covering for us.
    “You couldn’t be here because of him .” Garret motions to Logan. “Yet here you both are.”
    “Wait a minute,” Monique says. “Does this mean you, Cara, and Logan were all together? Do you really think that’s a good idea?”
    “I don’t,” Mom says. “You know how I feel about this, Linette. I never would’ve agreed to let you watch over Logan if I knew you’d allow him to see Cara behind my back.”
    “I know I should’ve talked to you first, but when Cara called me she sounded frantic. You remember how caged up Jeremy felt after his rebirth.”
    “Don’t remind me.” Jeremy leaves the interrogation line and flops down on the couch.
    “What about Logan?” Monique asks.
    Logan waves his hands in the air. “Did you all forget I’m standing right here? I can hear every word you’re saying.”
    “Jer, take Logan into the kitchen please,” Mom requests.
    Jeremy grumbles, but he gets up.
    “No. I’ll take him,” I volunteer.
    “Awesome.” Jeremy slumps back down.
    Mom glares at me. “Cara, I don’t think it’s a good idea for you and Logan to be alone together.”
    “What do you people think I’m going to do to her?” Logan looks back and forth between the group.
    I can tell Garret wants to pummel Logan, so I reach for Mom’s hand. “Can I talk to you for a moment?” I pull her toward the kitchen. The breakfast dishes are still in the sink, which means the meeting must have gotten intense. Mom doesn’t strike me as the type to let a mess pile up.
    “What is it, Cara? We need to figure this all out, and—”
    “Something happened,” I blurt out. “When I was talking to Logan at the falls, he said I kept saying things that I said to him in my first life. That has to mean something, doesn’t it? Like maybe on some level I’m remembering things?”
    She sighs and turns on the faucet. She scrubs a plate, rinses it, and hands it to me to dry. I guess we’re doing the dishes. “I don’t want you to get your hopes up. Being around Logan is going to make everything harder for you both.”
    Even though I don’t remember things, being near Logan does make me feel somehow connected to my past life. And after he told me about his mom, I did want to kiss him. Of course I can’t tell Mom about that. She’d freak out.
    “Maybe not. I feel different around him. He said