Page 76 of Angels and Skulls
“So, you’re good?” I ask.
He leans down and kisses me softly. “I’m more than good with it. Mom has been gone for a long time. I don’t like seeing him alone. He deserves happiness.”
Aspen gasps. “Papa is kissing Nana!” she squeals.
We all turn to look at the same time. Holy shit, she’s right.
When the kiss doesn’t end and it deepens, the three of us all turn around abruptly.
Brody covers Aspen’s eyes as he spins them around, making her laugh. “I think we’ve seen enough,” he tells her.
“Well, shit. What do we do now?” Jackson asks.
“I don’t know, but I’m starving,” Brody whines.
“You’re always starving,” I say.
The door opens behind us. “Get your asses in here, and let’s get supper on the table,” Raffe orders.
Brody immediately heads inside. “Say no more, boss.” He salutes Raffe on his way past him.
Raffe steps in front of us before we follow. He places his hand on Jackson’s chest. “Are you good with this?”
“It doesn’t matter what I think. Is she good with it?” He points inside.
His dad looks away. “I don’t know, but I can’t let her go again.”
Jackson grabs him by the shoulders and shakes him lightly. “Me either, Dad.”
They stare at each other with tears in their eyes.
“I can’t explain what I’m feeling,” Raffe says.
“Good thing you don’t have to.” Jackson grins and places his arm over his shoulders. “Come on, old man. I’m getting hungry.”
When we get inside, Jenny is sitting at the table with Aspen on her lap. Brody is at the stove. I lower myself down beside her.
“I’m sorry,” she says without looking at me. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“You didn’t,” I assure her.
Raffe and Jackson join Brody, helping finish what Jenny and I had started for supper.
“This was just a dream a few weeks ago, and now to have you all here in my home …” She pauses, her gaze going to Raffe. “I don’t know if I’ll ever truly believe it’s really happening.”
“I felt the same way when I met your son and his family. After what I’d been through, I was sure it was too good to be true.”
Her gaze bounces over my face, and I see her hesitation. “I … I don’t want to lose Jackson.”
“That’s never going to happen.”
“I hope he knows that if he’s uncomfortable with his dad and I being friends ...”
I stop her there. “Jackson loves you both. He wants you two to be happy. However that might look, that’s between you and Raffe.”
Aspen joins our conversation. “We saw Papa kiss you,” she says sweetly.
Jenny’s cheeks turn bright red. “Please tell me you didn’t.”
