Heartsong (Logan 2)

he wanted you to go in to see him alone."

"What?"

"That's what he said, Melody. I told the head

nurse and she said to wait fifteen minutes and then

send you in to see him. She said it would be all right. I

told her you were my sister," he said.

"Why does he want to see me?" It felt like a

hand of ice was stroking the back of my neck and then

moving down my spine.

"He thinks he's going to die tonight," he said,

"and he wants to tell you something before he does,"

Cary replied, taking a deep breath before going to sit

with his mother and sister.

I felt as if I had swallowed a dozen goldfish and they were all flopping about in my stomach. Cary checked his watch and looked at me across the small lobby. It seemed he was looking at me across a chasm so wide and deep we could never reach each other

again.

I sat back. Of all people for Uncle Jacob to

want to see. Me! Maybe he wanted to lay some curse

on me or blame me for his condition. Maybe he

wanted me to promise to leave his house for good. Or

maybe, maybe one of those deeply buried secrets was

about to rear its ugly head.

I took deep breaths. May gazed at me with her

eyes big, the expression on her face mixed fear and

hope. Aunt Sara bit down on her lower lip and nodded

to unheard voices. Cary stared ahead. I vaguely heard

the voices of other people around us and heard the

footsteps of nurses and technicians. My heart pounded

harder with every passing minute.

And then Cary gazed at his watch again and

looked up at me.