Page 66 of Broken Skulls

Jackson shakes his head chuckling. “He’s right, you know. It went from him to my mom, to Lily, to Willow, to Charlotte, to Kelsie, and then to you …” He looks at my girl, and reaches over to take her hand. “It led you right where you need to be. Here with us.”

Someone knocks on the door, and it opens without anyone answering. Fucking Dirk.

“I have orders from my old lady. You’re to have her over to the warehouse by two pm.” He points at Elizabeth before turning his finger on me.

“What the fuck for?”

He runs his gaze over Elizabeth. “The ladies are going shopping.”

When I begin to argue, he raises an eyebrow at me. “You want her wearing your sweats to the run tomorrow?”

“Oh fuck. Yeah, I guess …” I run my own eyes over her. “Do you want to go shopping with Jesse?”

She nods, her cheeks turning a pretty shade of pink.

“Alright, I’ll have her there.” I wave my hands. “Now, no offense brothers, but I got shit to do.”

Jackson starts to laugh, and Raffe kicks him under the table.

“Very funny. Now go on.” I wave everyone away.

Raffe puts his plate in the sink as Jackson shovels the last five bites on his in one mouthful. Dirk rolls his eyes and walks out, but not before flipping us all off.

Soon, it’s just the two of us.

“I love my brothers, but … I’m sorry if they offended you in any way,” I tell her.

“They didn’t. It’s just strange, you know? To be here and this.” She waves her fork between the two of us.

I nod, not arguing with her. It’s a little strange for me too, so it has to be crazy as fuck for her.

We finish and she helps me with the dishes. She’s quiet as she runs a dish towel over a plate. After the third one, I notice a small smile on her face. I wonder what’s she’s thinking.

As she’s finishing the last one, I pull the watering can from under the sink. After I fill it, I tip my head for her to follow me. “My plants are probably thirsty as fuck.”

She hovers by the door as I make my way around the room. “Mavis, Mavis baby, you need some pruning.”

I start plucking dead leaves, silently cheering when Elizabeth comes to stand by me. She watches me for a few moments, and then begins to go to work, helping me care for the plants.

Her finger dances over one of the yellowed sympathy cards still stuck in one of them. I wait for her to ask me about it, but she doesn’t. She rubs a green leaf between her finger and thumb, her gaze quietly assessing the room.

“They’re from my mom’s funeral. I’ve somehow managed to keep these fuckers alive for thirty years.”

I laugh at the way her eyebrows raise in surprise.

“Thirty years?”

“Yeah. Crazy, huh?”

Her focus goes back to the waxy leaf. “I don’t think it’s crazy at all.”

My shoulders fall, and I realize how scared I was to tell her about them. My ex laughed her ass off when I told her. I swore then I’d never let anyone in this room again. Well, except for Lily. She waters them occasionally for me.

“Do you like taking care of them?”

I chuckle. “When I was a kid, they terrified me. I didn’t want any of them to die.”

“How old were you?” She walks toward me with a handful of dead leaves, dumping them into the small trash can I’m using.

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