Forgiven (Book 3, The Watchers Trilogy; Young Adult Paranormal Romance) (22 page)

“I just don’t want you
and Brand
spending too much money on me,” Utha Mae said.

I knew Utha Mae wasn’t one to spend money on herself very often.  All her life she struggled to keep a roof over her and
Tara
’s heads.  Letting herself indulge
in something she really wanted
by using other people
’
s money just wasn’t something she did.  I was thankful she was allowing Brand and I
to
gift her with a new home of her own.  But
honestly
i
t felt like we were being given the gift. 
H
er willingness to abandon a home she owned and allow
ing
us to spend
what
ever time she had near us
was priceless
.

Malcolm quickly drew up a picture of what he thought Utha Mae wanted and got her input on what needed to be added.  By the time we got ready to leave, they had pretty much decided on a plan.

While
Malcolm
was gathering up his drawing supplies,
Utha Mae asked
him
, “You think you could give me a ride in that fancy car of yours?”

Malcolm smiled
with genuine happiness
. 
“I was just waiting for you to ask,”
he told her
, taking Utha Mae by the arm and giving me a wink
as they walked out the door
.

Malcolm helped Utha Mae into his car and spun his tires as he raced out of the trailer park.  I made the sign of the cross on my body even though I wasn’t catholic.  I
sent up a silent prayer ensuring
Utha Mae didn’t have a heart attack
on her little excursion with Malcolm
.
  The way he drove almost always gave my heart palpitations.

When they made it back half an hour later, I could hear Utha Mae’s
joyful
laughter
through the open window of the car
as they pulled back up to her trailer.
  She sounded like a teenage girl who had just been taken on her first joyride.

“Have fun?” I asked her wh
ile Malcolm helped her exit the passenger side
.

“Oh, Lordy,
” she said, a smile so large on her face it dimpled her cheeks, “
I don’t think I’ve eve
r
been driven that fast in my whole entire life.  I’ll never forget it, that’s for sure.”

On our way back to
Lakewood
, I
decided to tell
Malcolm about the Touch I possessed
.  Brand had been so deeply affected by it I wanted to give my best friend a chance to experience it for himself.

“No thank you, dearest.”

“Why not?”

“I have a good idea what
H
e thinks of me and I would rather not have it confirmed.”

“
I think
H
e still loves you, Malcolm.”

“That’s because I’ve only let you see the good side of me.  If you knew
the culmination of things I’ve done in my past
, you wouldn’t so readily offer to sh
are
what He thinks of me.  I have a lot to atone for
,
f
ar more than Brand
and
Mason
put together
.”

“
I
think you might be surprised by what you find out
,
”
I told him.  “When you change your mind, just let me know.”

“Maybe one day,” Malcolm half promised, even though
I felt sure that one day might
never come.

The next day Brand and I attended our classes, trying ou
r
best to keep things as normal as possible.  I still kept my job as Dr. Barry’s teacher’s aide but told her I wouldn’t be able to help her the following semester.  Partly because I wasn’t a hundred percent
sure
I would still be alive.  She took my resignation in stride and said she
had already assumed
I would
probably be quitting
since I married Brand. 
She didn’t say it in so many words
,
but I could tell she knew Brand wasn’t exactly hurting for money. 

Tha
t night as Brand and I prepared to meet my
m
om and Lucifer at a restaurant in
Lakewood
, I asked Brand, “How do I test the ring on Lucifer without it looking like I am?”

“You’ll have to wait for an opportunity to present itself.
The most important thing is to f
ind a way to make sure he sees the ring.  His reaction to it might be a dead give
away
to how it affects him
.”

We were the first to arrive at the Purple Parrot restaurant.  It was one of the more upscale establishments in
Lakewood
with a master chef
who
had been
trained at the Cordon Bleu
in
Paris
.  The cuisine was touted as being the best in the s
tate.  The maitre d’ sat us at
a
private table
in the far corner of the room.  It was tastefully
decorated with the restaurants signature purple table cloth and candle lit centerpiece.

We had just ordered our drinks when I saw my
m
om and Lucifer walk in.

“Hey sweetie,” my
m
om said when she got to the table and bent down to kiss me on the cheek. 

Lucifer pulled out my mother’s chair for her
like it was the most natural thing in the world for him to be doing for her.

“How was your trip to Vegas?” I asked, trying to force a pleasant smile
even though I felt Lucifer’s eyes on me
.

Cora looked over at Lucifer and said, “Do you think I should tell her now?”

Lucifer smiled, a sight which sent a shiver down my
spine
.  “I don’t see why not.  She’ll need to know sooner or later
,
and I would rather not keep it a secret from anyone.”

My mother held out her left hand to me.  Wrapped around her ring finger was a beautiful diamond solitaire.

“You’re not the only one who just got married!”
  She said giddy with happiness.

I sat there stunned into silence.
  
I
distantly
heard Brand make the perfunctory congratulations, but I couldn’t bring myself to say
anything
.
  I just stared at the ring in disbelief.
  My heart
began to
pound so hard
inside my chest
all I could hear was the rush of blood inside my head. 
I suddenly felt as though I might hyperventilate.

“Lilly?”
M
y
m
om asked in a worried voice.  “Are you all right, sweetie?”

“I have to go to the bathroom,” I said, quickly getting up and making my way to the
ladies room
.  Once there I locked myself into a stall and leaned up against the door, taking in deep breaths to steady myself.

I heard someone come in.

“Lilly?” I heard my
m
om call.

I silently cursed to myself.

“Be right out, Mom.”

I flushed the toilet
to make it at least appear that I actually did need to use the bathroom
and took a deep breath before I walked out of the stall.

I found my mother leaned against the counter by the sinks waiting for me.

“Are you sure you’re all right?” She asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” I said, grinning for all I was worth as I walked up to one of the sinks to wash my hands.  “You just took me by surprise is all. Really, I’m happy for you.”

“I know it must be a shock,” my mother admitted.  “And I wanted to tell you sooner
,
but it just didn’t feel right saying it over the phone.  You know how hard it
’
s been
for
me to find a good man.  When Lucas asked me to marry him in Vegas, I couldn’t think of one reason I shouldn’t.  You
’
re married
now and will have a family of your own soon, and
I still have a long life ahead of me. 
Plus,
I’m still young enough to have another ch
il
d
if Lucas wants to have one.”

I felt grateful that would never have a chance of happening. 
All I needed was the spawn of Lucifer as a new sibling.

“In fact,” my mother said.  “I thought maybe you were experiencing some sort of sickness.” She hinted
to me in an insinuating voice.

“Mom, I wasn’t sick to my stomach, and we’ve only been married a couple of weeks. 
That’s n
ot really enough time to get pregnant.”

“It only took a few days with your father for me to get pregnant,” my mother reminded me.

“Could we please stop talking about
either of our
sex li
v
e
s
?” I pleaded.  “Or I might actually become sick.”

My mother laughed.  “All right.  Let’s get back to the men before they think we’ve run away from them.”

When we got back to the table, Brand and Lucifer stood like gentlemen should when their ladies return.  We placed our orders with the waiter
,
and I decided to show my mother my own newly acquired ring.

“Brand gave me a family heirloom the other day,” I told my mom
, showing her King
Solomon
’s ring still on my thumb
.
  I carefully watched Lucifer’s reaction as my mother examined the ring.  When he saw it, he looked slightly alarmed, a good sign.

“It looks really old,” my mother said.  “I can’t say it’s very attractive.”

“It’s meant to ward off bad spirits,” Brand explained.  “It’s an old family tradition to have the wife wear it the first year of marriage.  Like a good luck charm.”

“Oh,” my mother said knowingly, “is it supposed to make the woman more fertile?”

“Mom,” I said, completely embarrassed.

“Well, a grandbaby wouldn’t be so bad,” she said.  “
Everyone said y
ou were the most beautiful baby
they e
ver saw.  I can only imagine what a gorgeous baby the two of you will have one day.”

“Some people shouldn’t have children,” Lucifer
commente
d, looking pointedly at Brand while taking a sip from his wine glass.

The rudeness of his statement wasn’t missed by my mother but she still didn’t comment on it, just let it slide
by
like he hadn’t said anything at all.  I’m not sure why I expected
more from
her.

“Perhaps you should leave,” I said to Lucifer.

He stared at me for the space of five seconds before standing up and heading out of the restaurant
without saying another word
.  My mother mumbled some sort of excuse about jet lag and hurriedly walked out of the restaurant with her new husband.

“Was that me or did he just get up and leave on his own?”
I asked Brand.

Brand sat back in his chair and sighed.  “I wish I knew.”

My mother called me the next day to apologize for Lucifer’s behavior the night before.  I told her not to worry about it.  Things weren’t her fault and I didn’t want her to feel guilt over something she had no control over.  As it was, I felt guilt enough for the both of us.  I was allowing my mother to live with the devil himself.  If I’d been a better
daughter
, I would have made her leave him.  Yet, fear of giving her an ultimatum about it being me or him made me realize I felt sure she would choose him.

The next day Brand got a phone call from Horace.  He was finally able to track down the whereabouts of Faust.  We were to pick Horace up at his pawn shop and
he would direct us on where to go
from there.

The sight of Horace
as we entered
his establishment
threw me for a loop
. 
I
t
looked like he had actually taken a bath with his
clean shaven
face and
slicked back
hair
.  He wore a tailored black suit
, pristine white shirt and black
bow tie.