Page 73 of Angels and Skulls
My mind goes back to my conversation with Dirk. Of course he was right. He’s always right. Seeing her for the first time again has seared itself deep into my soul.
I wrap my arm over my granddaughter and close my eyes. I hope Jenny won’t mind we’re on her bed. I’m sure it’s okay. I’ll just close my eyes for a minute or two.
When I wake, Jenny is kneeling at the foot of the bed and Aspen is crawling to her. She sits on the mattress, pulling our granddaughter onto her lap, and then she brushes her wild curls out of her face. “Did you have a good sleep?” she asks quietly.
Aspen rubs her eyes, yawns big, and then nods her head.
“Good. You want to help Nana and Mama make supper?”
This bit of news has Aspen jumping off of Jenny’s lap. “Mama!” she squeals excitedly as her little feet pad out of the room.
I chuckle and Jenny turns at the sound, her gaze falling to the picture frame I’m still hugging.
“I’m sorry. I hope we didn’t wake you,” she says shyly.
“Fuck,” I whisper, sitting up and quickly returning it to her nightstand.
“Aspen has a lot of energy,” Jenny continues.
I appreciate her attempt to ease my embarrassment. It seems she’s been doing a lot of that since I’ve arrived.
“Yeah.” I run my hands over my face, struggling with my normal brain fog. “She’s a lot like her daddy used to be.”
Jenny shifts on the bed, but she doesn’t leave. “Finding the two of you in here might have been the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.”
It makes me laugh, and I finally find the courage to face her. “Sometimes I wonder if the universe didn’t schedule our afternoon naps just to give me a chance at a little sleep.”
Her brows pull together. “Do you have a hard time sleeping at night?”
“Yeah.” I turn away from her. “But that’s not anything new. It’s been that way most of my life.”
She makes a humming noise and stands. “I better go help Willow with supper. The guys are probably getting pretty hungry out there.”
I run my hand over my head. “Yeah. Hey, I’m sorry about napping in your bed. Aspen kind of insisted.”
Her soft chuckle eases my anxiety. “No worries.” She pauses and looks at me over her shoulder. “You are staying for supper too, aren’t you?”
“Do you want me to stay?”
Jenny’s gaze bounces over the photo on her nightstand before returning to me. “I would love for you to join us.”
“Okay, then. I will.”
“Doyouwant to?”
I look at the photo of Rachel, and her words echo in my mind.Don’t stop living yours.
“I would love to stay,” I say more confidently than I’ve felt in a long time.
A slow, shy smile spreads across her face, and suddenly the girl who stood by my motorbike at age thirteen is standing in front of me.
“Do you want a ride?” I ask the new girl in town. She’s standing on the corner waiting for the bus to take her home from school.
She looks behind her. When she doesn’t find anyone, she spins back around. “Me?”
“Yeah you.” I laugh because I don’t know why she’s surprised. She’s the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen.
“Oh, I don’t know. Do you have a license to drive that thing?”
