Page 47 of Ghost Hunted

“Pizza?” I wrinkle my nose. “I don’t really want...”

But he’s already out the door, talking to Piper and Quill. I get up too, my head pounding, my throat dry. I nearly fall but manage to stumble over to Logan, who turns around just in time to catch me.

“You okay, baby?” he murmurs. “You don’t look too good.”

I don’t feel too good, either. “I’m... hungry.”

He stares at me for a moment, as if trying to guess at what’s really going on, then turns back to Piper and Quill. “Stay with the girls, Quill. I’ll go out and—”

“No,” Piper interjects. She crosses her arms and looks angrily at Logan. “No, you can’t leave her with Quill. That’s not fair. We don’t know what she’s capable of, and...”

I gape at Piper, then at Logan who’s stalking across the room toward her. And then my eyes fall on Quill, who’s sporting a fat lip and is watching the scene in mild amusement.

“Let go of me!” squeaks Piper, lifting her arm before Logan can put his hand around it. “And don’t tell me she’s my mother! I know she is, but she... she...”

“You need to be quiet,” says Logan, his voice low. “Please stop speaking, Piper.”

She wipes tears from her eyes. “No, I won’t. I can’t. Logan, she almost hurt you. Maybe she’d hurt Quill next. I love her so much, but Quill comes first for me. You understand that, don’t you? That’s how it is with you and Lia. She’ll always come first, won’t she?”

He smiles sadly. “I used to think so, sweetie. But when push came to shove, I chose to protect you.” He clears his throat. “Don’t worry, Piper. I can handle myself, and so can Quill. Lia just had a short episode, but she’s okay now. Everything’s fine. Don’t let a little thing keep you from forming the relationship you’ve been hungering for. Okay?”

Piper glares at him. “Well, I wouldn’t call a bazooka a little thing...”

But she’s already walking timidly toward me. “I’m sorry... mama. I love you.”

Logan smiles at both of us. “That’s right. You girls have a chat while I get the food. Quill, stay with them, okay?”

“Sure, I’ll babysit,” he answers from his sprawled position on a chair.

Rolling her eyes at him, Piper gently puts a hand on my arm and guides me toward the couch. “I hope you weren’t upset by what I said, mama. You just scared me a little. You’re really okay, though? You won’t do it again? What’s wrong? You look kind of out of it.”

“I...” I pass a hand over my eyes, trying to emerge fully from my haze. “What did I do? How did I scare you, baby?”

She frowns. “Oh... you don’t remember?”

“No, I do. I think. I mean...”

“Why don’t you girls talk about something else?” suggests Logan as he opens the front door. “You have eighteen years to catch up on. Almost nineteen.”

“Okay.” Piper’s strained smile makes my heart hurt. The front door shuts and her expression grows sheepish. “I don’t really know what to ask, actually.”

I take a deep breath, because I don’t know where to start either. “So tell me, baby,” I say at last. “You’re how old now... twenty-two? Are you still in college?”

She sighs. “I was. I got all the way to Christmas break of senior year before finding my adoptive parents, well...” She interrupts herself. “Well, they passed, and then a lot of crap happened to me. I guess I dropped out.” She grimaces and I take her hand in mine, hunting for a less painful subject while making a mental note to ask Logan what happened.

“How long have the two of you been together?”

“Five years,” grunts Quill.

“One year,” says Piper at the same time. She looks at him. “I already told you, we are not counting the years we weren’t together because you dumped me...”

“I didn’t dump you.”

“You told me you’d kill me if you ever saw me again.”

“Well, that’s not dumping, is it? And anyway, it was obviously not true. I saw you every day.”

“Yeah, because you stalked me.”