Page 13 of Cold Heir

Glenn nodded, and seeing Levi turn, preparing to leave me alone with him, my guard went up at warp-speed.

“Uh, need some help?” I was already on my feet before even finishing the question, readying myself to follow Levi out the back door.

“I won’t hear of it,” Glenn cut in, answering instead. “Digging around in the dirt isman’swork.”

Overlooking the sexist undertones of the statement, I assumed he meant it to be sweet. Close enough, I guessed.

I passed another desperate glance toward Levi.

“You’ve had a long night already,” he insisted. “I won’t be more than a minute.” I held his gaze, letting him know I wouldn’t give him a second longer. He disappeared through the door and then it was just us—Glenn and me.

The intensity when he stared was unnerving. He just had one of those looks set on his face, like he knew there was more to me and Levi’s story than we shared.

“Kinda late to be out diddling around, isn’t it?” he asked.

“I suppose you could say that.”

That penetrating look of his persisted. “So, how do you know Levi?”

Blinking, I composed myself. “I met him through Julian, actually. Did I hear Levi right? Julian’s your grandson?”

It was still insane to think that this man—living in the middle of nowhere, with so little to his name—was so closely related to the monarchs.

“That’s right,” he answered, settling into the seat across from me. “Although, you’d never guess it, seeing as how I haven’t seen him in years.” A long pause and a sigh punctuated what seemed to be growing frustration. “Is the boy still behaving like his father’s lapdog?”

The question confirmed the tension I suspected.

“Probably a lot less than you’d imagine,” was all I could say without saying too much.

“Poor kid didn’t stand a chance. And it wasn’t like any of them ever put much stock in anythingIhad to say about it, seeing as how they’ve all labeled me a kook and what have you.” He was thoughtful for a moment. “I suppose I shouldn’t complain. I’m at least grateful mydaughtermakes her way out here to the boondocks to visit her old man. Just saw her a few weeks ago, in fact.”

He’d barely gotten the words out when Levi stepped inside, carrying an armful of vegetables to the sink.

“She stuck around for nearly a week this time,” Glenn shared, wearing a warm smile as he revisited the memory. “She helped me wash some linens, brought a fresh supply of blood, and even sorted some old photos I’d been meaning to get into the albums. I was never good at the domestic stuff,” he chuckled. “I suppose her mother had me spoiled in that way, and now it seems she’s taken after my Charlotte more than I realized.”

“You’re speaking of the empress?” Levi joined our conversation with his back to us, running water as he rinsed a few stalks of celery.

Glenn rolled his eyes at the term. “Yeah, but to me she’s Laura.JustLaura,” he declared.

Levi was quiet again, and I watched his posture shift when he glanced over his shoulder to meet Glenn’s gaze.

“Was this recent?” he asked. “Because it was my understanding that she’d been north, in Wakeshire.”

“I’m old, but not senile,” Glenn replied defensively. “I think I know when my own daughter comes to see me.”

“I didn’t mean to suggest anything. I was simply confused by the timeline.”

Glenn fell silent, and I got the feeling his sanity was a sensitive subject for him. Especially after what he revealed about being deemed a kook.

Standing, he moved to the sink, forcing Levi aside. “You’re a guest here. Sit,” he insisted.

Levi raised his hands in surrender, smiling a bit as he came to rest beside me. When he leaned in, I listened intently.

“You’ll have to excuse him. I warned you he’s a bit different, but he’s harmless.”

While I’d seen for myself that Glenn sort of marched to the beat of his own drum, I still wasn’t sure he hadn’t told the truth. Maybe the empresshadbeen here. I wasn’t as convinced as Levi that Glenn was mistaken.

This raised a very interesting question.

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