Page 16 of Angels and Skulls
I take a breath and nod. “Yeah, I don’t think I’ve ever been as surprised as I am right now.”
“Okay then, we can figure this out.” Her entire demeanor shifts as she accepts what is happening. We’re in the same boat. “I’m sorry about my reaction. I worry every single day that I’m going to get bad news about Jackson. I hadn’t prepared myself for anything else.” She laughs lightly, rubbing her temple.
When I remain quiet, she runs her eyes over me again. “You’re Brody.”
My eyes shoot to my hairline, and she laughs. Her voice is as unique as she is.
“How do you know my name? Did Rachel tell you about me?”
She rubs her hand over her chest. “No.”
Okay, I’m so fucking lost here. Has she been spying on us?
“It looks like we have a lot to talk about. Would you like a cup of tea?” She doesn’t wait for me to answer. She stands from the couch, and her skirt billows around her bare ankles as she makes her way to the kitchen.
She really is the definition of barefoot and beautiful.
Jesus, this is crazy. I’m having tea with Jackson’s birth mother … his angel mom.
I glance around. You know, this is exactly how I pictured her when we’d talk about her. Except all of this was in Heaven, not the foothills of Nevada.
She’s already asked me not to tell him. How the hell am I going to do that? He’s my best friend, my brother.
The little cabin is filled with handmade items. Just like the fence. Did she do all of this by herself? The home looks solid. I stand up to inspect the handiwork. No way did she do all of this herself. Maybe she bought the place.
Her gaze follows me as I move around the room. “Do you like to work with your hands?”
I glance down at my palms. At all of the blisters and callouses I’ve accumulated over the past year while adding on to mygrandmother’s house. It wasn’t nearly big enough for the family I suddenly found myself with.
“I do.”
“Did Bill teach you?”
My heart completely stops, and I turn to look at her.
“The house was already built, but it needed a little work. Bill helped me,” she admits, pulling her shoulders to her ears. She smiles nervously as she takes in the space she calls home.
I fall back onto the couch. “I feel like somebody slipped shrooms into my fucking coffee this morning.”
She laughs. “I have some, if you’d think they might help.”
The look on her face tells me she’s not joking.
“Nature is the best medicine cabinet.” She sets a cup and saucer in front of me and then goes back to the kitchen, returning with a tin filled with cookies.
Now she’s talking. She just found the key to my heart. I take a bite and close my eyes. “These taste just like Grandma Maggie’s chocolate chip cookies.”
When I open my eyes, I instantly regret my words.
“I’ve tried to get it right over the years. This is as close as I’ve come.” Her head tips to the side, and she takes a deep breath. “Is my …” She chokes on her words.
“Maggie’s fine, too.”
Jenny releases the breath she’s been holding and looks away, blinking rapidly.
“Listen, I’m just going to give it to you straight, so you don’t have to keep torturing yourself. Rachel passed away, and I recently received a letter from her. It was given to me by someone in the club.”
“But she’s been gone so long …” Her words trail off.
