Page 156 of Cain
A tiny, emerald-green hummingbird flies toward us. It heads straight for the gravestone, levitating over my mother’s name like it’s reading it. Then, it turns and moves closer to Katerina.
It hovers in front of her, its wings beating like a machine, staring straight at her. She smiles brightly at the scene.
The hummingbird lingers for a second longer, then darts into the sky and disappears.
She doesn’t know that my mother talked to me about them, but I could never forget her words.
“Hummingbirds never forget love,” I mumble.
She takes off her sunglasses, and her gaze rises and lands on mine. “What did you say?”
“That’s something she used to say.”
Her expression softens, and she leans against me in my arms. She’s quiet again, as if she can read my mind and understands what I’m thinking. I wrap my arm around her and pull her closer.
“Thank you for being here with me today, Katerina.”
“Thank you for letting me, Cain.”
I look into her cool eyes, and my heart pounds faster. What is she doing to me?
God, it’s impossible to feel this way.
I would love to stay here, looking at her forever.
However, something even weirder happens.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see him. He’s walking toward us—black shirt, white collar.
Took him long enough.
“Hello, Cain,” he says, folding his hands in front of him.
“Father Gabriel,” I say, raising a brow. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”
“I went by your place, and Grayson told me where you are.”
“Couldn’t you have called?”
He glances at me, then at the gravestone. His eyes squint against the sun. “I wanted to visit her grave, too.”
“Why did you come?”
His gaze returns to me. “I guess you were right. Some things can’t be forgotten.”
Ah. There it is. Took him a while, but he got there.
I give a half-smile. “I’m glad you see it, too.”
“I’ll stand by your side,” he says, his gaze straight into my eyes. “But this will be the last time.”
“And then? What’s God’s plan for a sinner like you?”
“Then I’ll ask for forgiveness and pretend I still believe in something.”
I smile brightly.
“Welcome back, Judas Manson.”
