Hidden Jewel Read online

  “I do, Jack. Yes.”

  I took a deep breath and looked down the canal to where it turned into the deeper swamps. Jack saw the direction my eyes had taken.

  “You can get to Cypress Woods from here in a pirogue,” he said. “I’ll take you for a ride next time.”

  “My uncle Paul used to take my mother that way,” I said. “She told me so. You think there’s some power that makes us want to retrace the steps our parents took?”

  “Power? I don’t know. Maybe. I don’t worry about it. I do what feels right, feels good,” he said. “Is that too simple for you?”

  “No.” I laughed. “You still think I’m too brainy, don’t you?”

  “Well … you’re getting better,” he teased. “And growing more beautiful with every passing day.”

  I looked at him for a moment and then we kissed. On the front gallery, Mommy was sitting in Great-Grandmere Catherine’s restored rocker, drifting back through time and reliving her youth. I was sure she heard and saw again the people she had loved.

  And I realized how important it was not to lose the precious moment when it came.

  “For a while, Jack Clovis, you had me wondering where I belonged.”

  “Oh. Where do you belong?” he asked, his dark eyes searching mine.

  “In your arms.”

  “Even here?”

  “Especially here,” I said. He put his arm around me. A flock of rice birds rose from the marsh and flew past us, so close we could feel the breeze from their flapping wings. It was just the way it had always been in my old nightmare.

  Only now the demons were gone.

  And I was truly safe.

  From bestselling author

  V.C. Andrews,

  comes the second book

  in the exciting Logan series.

  V.C ANDREWS ®

  Heart

  Song

  AVAILABLE FROM POCKET BOOKS

  1253-01

  Find

  V.C. Andrews®

  on the Web!

  at

  www.SimonSays.com/vcandrews

  where you can read

  book excerpts,

  find a listing of

  future titles, and learn

  more about the author!

  Pocket Books

  2364

  The Eagerly Awaited Prequel to the Captivating Landry Series!

  V.C. ANDREWS®

  Her high school graduation just days away, Gabriel is blissfully happy, despite the ever-widening rift between her Mama and her conniving, whiskey-drinking Daddy. Then rich cannery owner Octavious Tate surprises her near a secluded pond and shatters her sweet innocence, forever...

  Tarnished Gold

  Available from Pocket Books

  1172-01

  Read all the books in the Wildflowers series by V.C. Andrews®

  Misty

  Star

  Jade

  Cat

  Pocket Books

  2363

  V.C. ANDREWS®

  THE BESTSELLING SERIES OF NOVELS THAT HAVE CAPTIVATED MILLIONS OF READERS AROUND THE WORLD!

  Be sure to read the shocking story of the Dollanganger Family: FLOWERS IN THE ATTIC PETALS ON THE WIND • IF THERE BE THORNS SEEDS OF YESTERDAY •GARDEN OF SHADOWS

  Look for the spellbinding Casteel series: HEAVEN •DARK ANGEL •FALLEN HEARTS GATES OF PARADISE •WEB OF DREAMS

  Don’t miss the haunting tale of: MY SWEET AUDRINA

  And the dazzling Cutler Family series: DAWN •SECRETS OF THE MORNING TWILIGHT’S CHILD MIDNIGHT WHISPERS •DARKEST HOUR

  Discover the enthralling world of the Landry series: RUBY •PEARL IN THE MIST ALL THAT GLLITTERS HIDDEN JEWEL •TARNISHED GOLD

  The dark secrets of the Logan Family: MELODY •HEART SONG UNFINISHED SYMPHONY MUSIC IN THE NIGHT •OLIVIA

  The runaway chills of the Orphans miniseries: BUTTERFLY • CRYSTAL BROOKE • RAVEN • RUNAWAYS

  And the enticing embrace of the Wildflowers miniseries: MISTY • STAR • JADE • CAT INTO THE GARDEN