Heartsong (Logan 2)

was."

I gazed at the food. I was hungry and it was

stupid to permit Uncle Jacob to make me suffer. I rose

from the bed and went to the desk. The aroma of the meat loaf was enticing and I had to admit, it tasted wonderful and succulent, all the flavors just perfectly

mixed. Cary sat watching me.

"I think your mother became a wonderful cook

just so she would have some place in the house where

she could be away from your father much of the

time," I said.

"They were different before Laura died," Cary

revealed. "We were all different. We did more things

as a family. Dad wasn't as uptight about everything.

We went for rides, went to restaurants, took walks on

Sunday. During the cranberry harvest, we were all out

there working, and then there would be a big feast and

celebration. Dad even danced with Ma."

"I don't believe it. Dancing is surely sinful," I

said between mouthfuls.

"Everything became sinful after Laura's

drowning. I told you. He blamed himself."

"Why was that, Cary? You've told me that, yes,

but I don't understand. If your father lived such a

moral life, read the Bible every night, made sure you

were all so prim and proper, why would he feel

responsible for an accident?"

Cary shook his head.

"That's between him and his own conscience, I

suppose. I never asked him," he admitted.

"Maybe you should. If he's going to make

everyone else suffer, he should at least explain why,"