Page 29 of When the Angel Falls First

“Are you ready for this?” she asked, breaking the silence. Her knuckles were white with her grip on the steering wheel, and her aura was all prickly edges from the nerves.

“I’m ready. I know that Fred reports everything back to your father. I know that Emily and Lena are your actual friends, not just cousins. I know about Uncle Jim’s cancer and prosthetic leg and to avoid all topics of hiking—even though Nana Geraldine’s house is perfectly located for it. Every single thing you’ve shared, I remember.”

“That’s… impressive. Do you have some sort of angelic super-memory?”

“Something like that.” I winked, and she swerved a little but quickly pulled the car back into the center of the one-lane road we’d pulled onto.

I shouldn’t have found it satisfying to know I affected her that much, but I did. I was a masochistic bastard, because I loved every second of the pain.

“Well, we’re going to put it to use tonight. And I hope you’re ready because we’re here.”

She put on her blinker and turned onto a curving gravel driveway. A lovely log home came into view a few seconds later, its large frame casting a cheerful glow out into the gloomy weather. She parked off to the right side of the porch, at least a dozen other cars already taking up the prime parking spots.

“I haven’t said it yet, but thank you. Thank you for doing this, for pretending. I’m sure it probably violates some angelic code. Limitation? Whatever you call it. I appreciate you beinghere. And I’m sorry in advance, for anything awkward my family may say?—”

I pressed a finger to her lips, gently stopping her. “You don’t owe me any apologies, not for anything today, or any day. I’m the one with all the making up to do in this relationship, and I’m more than happy to be here. I promise.”

I let my finger drop, gently tracing the edge of her mouth down to her chin before completely dropping the contact. Her aura turned a deep plum, desire lighting her up. Her eyes were wide, pupils blown as she stared up at me in the dim car interior. We swayed together, drawn like moths to the flame that would surely burn us both up. So why was I hell-bent on making that leap anyway?

“Well, well, well. What do we have here?” A cocky male voice had us springing apart like shrapnel, and I pushed out my senses to see who it was.

Fred. Right off the bat, we were in the deep end.

She sucked in a fortifying breath, shot me one last look, and cracked open the car door. I hurried to follow suit.

“So, your boyfriend is real after all.” His condescending tone made me bristle as he brushed past Josie, circling the car to extend his hand.

I shook it, using the contact to get a more in-depth read on the man.

What I found shocked me.

Jealousy, hot and prickling.

Suddenly, everything she’d told me about him clicked into place. He wasn’t antagonistic because shewasn’tin the family business. It was because hewas.

“Fred, I’ve heard so much about you. It feels like we’ve known each other for years.”

He looked surprised, casting a glance quickly at Josie beforehoming back in on me. “Is that so? Well, I can’t say the same. My dear baby sister hasn’t told me a thing about you, besides your name. I can’twaitto catch up.”

His smile was half-predatory, and if I hadn’t sensed his one-hundred percent humanity, I’d have sworn he was a shifter. But no, just a run-of-the-mill overbearing brother. Those were feral enough, apparently.

I looped my arm around Josie’s shoulders, reveling in the heat of her as we ascended the wide, sawn steps of the porch, doing my best to read the inhabitants quickly, in case anything else jumped out at me that would be useful in easing the way for her.

It was a wicked tangle of emotions, and as Fred threw the door wide, I knew one thing for certain—these people needed me, desperately.

THIRTEEN

Josie

Navigatingthe gravel driveway of Nana Geraldine’s log house, I gripped Caleb’s hand, steeling myself for the inevitable awkward encounters. Fred was only the beginning, and I knew it.

The house was a veritable hive of activity, the chatter and laughter of around seventy-five people spilling out onto the lawn. Despite the drizzly weather, people huddled under the shelter of gazebos erected especially for the event. A harpist was playing, and given the sheer number of wrinkles on her face, she must have been one of Nana’s schoolmates.

The scent of damp earth and the subtle perfume of evergreens mixed with the fragrant aroma of home-cooked food. The large log house, with its stone chimney billowing smoke and windows aglow with warmth, was a picturesque backdrop to the gathering.

And then I saw them.

Caleb squeezed my hand reassuringly as we approached my parents. They were standing near one of the long, food-ladentables under a banquet tent, deep in conversation. When they saw me, their expressions shifted into smiles that didn’t quite reach their eyes. It was going to be as awkward as I’d expected. My mother’s gaze flitted between me and Caleb, her curious scrutiny unhidden. Dad was a bit more subtle, but the slight crease of his forehead gave him away.

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