Jasper (33 page)

Jasper
didn’t sit. He couldn’t stop staring at the sparse interior. Trevor did sit,
but he popped right back up. When Jasper looked his way, Trevor mouthed, “Loose
spring.”

His
mom returned from the back of the house with a small bundle in her arms.
“Phelam, this is Cailín.” She passed the baby to Jasper, and he held her close
to his chest. A shock of red hair peeked out from beneath a pink blanket. Eyes
the same blue as Jasper’s stared back at him.

Both
he and Trevor cooed and baby talked to his little sister. “I have to ask, and
please forgive me if I offend you, but is she Colm’s offspring?”

“Yes,
your sister is a full-blooded Gargoyle.” She sat down in the chair and closed
her eyes.

An
older woman came out of the back room and stopped short when she saw Jasper. “You
warned me, but I still can’t believe how much he looks like Colm.”

“Phelam,
this is Ida, my oldest friend in the world. Ida, my son Phelam and his husband
Trevor.”

“It’s
a pleasure to meet you,” Jasper said. He should have asked Trevor’s opinion,
but he blurted out, “
Máthair,
why don’t you move to the States with us? I mean, you would have your own
place, of course. But I could take care of you.”

Her eyes opened, and she smiled at him. “My good boy,
Ireland is the only home I’ve ever known. I’m only hanging on for your sister.
Colm might not have been a good mate, but he was my mate nonetheless.”

Jasper felt like the worst person in the world. The
worst son, anyway. Why hadn’t he sought his family out sooner? If he had, his Máthair
wouldn’t be in such dire straits.

Ida spoke up, shocking them all. “Phelam, you should
take your sister. Let your mother cross over to the other side peacefully.”

“I can’t ask him to do that,” his mother said at the
same time he said, “I don’t know anything about raising a girl.”

The loud voices startled
Cailín,
and Trevor took her from Jasper,
rocking her in his arms while he softly sang a Cyanide Sweetness ballad to her.
She immediately quieted. If the situation wasn’t so dire, Jasper would have
laughed at his mate’s choice of song. It wasn’t lost on Jasper that he and
Trevor had days before agreed to start a family. What would be wrong with
starting one with his own flesh and blood? Maybe the fact that his mother would
completely give up on life if
Cailín were to go live in the
States. “If you won’t move, then I’ll make sure you have the best of everything
here. There’s no need for you to work at the restaurant. We’ll get you a nicer
place to live, and you can stay home and take care of the baby.”

Aibhlinn
sighed and nodded. “I can hang on a little while longer, I suppose. But won’t
you at least think about it? You look like you’re doing well for yourself. Do
you have a good Clan? Family that could help you raise a Gargoyle? Phelam, you
were my last living child before I had her. I’m too old to care for a baby.”

Jasper
was tormented. “If I do that, you won’t have anything to live for. I can’t
willingly take away your only motivation to live.”

“My
motivation died alongside your Athair. Think for a minute, my son. If something
were to happen to your Trevor, would you want to continue on without him?”

Jasper
didn’t have to think. He knew there was no way he could live without Trevor by
his side, kids or no kids. This wasn’t a decision he could make alone. He and
Trevor were partners in every sense of the word. If he promised his mother to
take care of his sister eventually, wouldn’t it be better to take her now
instead of later? Uprooting her from a totally different environment? Trevor
was smiling at the now sleeping child. When he looked up at Jasper, his slight
nod was all the confirmation he needed that his mate was okay with whatever he
decided.

“Are
you sure about this?” His mother and Trevor said “yes” at the same time. He had
been asking his mother, but it was good to know where Trevor stood.

“I
feel like I’m signing your death certificate.”

Aibhlinn
stood and reached for Jasper’s hands. “You are giving me the best present a
mother could ask for. You are giving me the peace of mind knowing my baby will
have a good family. You are her blood, Phelam. I knew you were a good boy, and
it broke my heart when your father sold you. But I would rather he sold you to
an honorable man like the O’Donnell than to have taken your head as ordered. It
was the only noble thing Colm ever did.”

Jasper
visited with his mother until well into the night. Ida gave them a crash course
on preparing a bottle and changing a diaper. When Jasper noticed his mother
fighting to keep her eyes opened, he asked Ida to help gather the baby’s
things. They loaded clothes, toys, formula, food, and diapers in the rental
car. Jasper assured his mother he would see to it her bank account was filled
with enough money to live comfortably for the rest of her days. She would no
longer need to work. He left his phone number with her and made her promise to
call if she needed anything at all, or if she just wanted to check on the baby.

Finally,
they said goodbye to Aibhlinn and made their way south to the airport where the
Stone Society jet waited to take the three of them home. Jasper called Kaya and
told her the news. He enlisted her help in finding items they would need for
Cailín. His Queen readily agreed, promising to enlist the other female mates’
help as well.

As
Trevor held Cailín and fussed over her, Jasper’s eyes filled with tears. He’d
hoped to find his family for closure. In a way, saying goodbye to his mother
was closure of a sort. It was also the beginning of a new chapter in his
journey through life with Trevor. Now, they just had to figure out how to raise
one of the last Gargoyle females in existence.

Gargoyles (Mate and Family)

Rafael
Stone - King (Kaya Kane)                               

Rafael's
Brothers
                              

Gregor
Stone (Tessa Blackmore)                                

Dante
Di Pietro (Isabelle, Connor)      

Sinclair
Stone                          

Rafael's
Cousins*
                              

Geoffrey
Hartley (Abbi, Matthew, Amelia)

Nikolas
Stone (Sophia Brooks)                                   

Julian
Stone (Katherine Fox)                          

*Nik,
Julian, & Frey are brothers                                

Other
Cousins or Unrelated Gargoyles
                                

Jasper
Jenkins (Trevor McKenzie)

Michael
“Sixx” Gentry (Rae Rothchild, Desi Rothchild)                    

Dane
Abbott (Marley Sperry)                         

Urijah
Aldobrand

Lorenzo
Campanelli                           

Deacon
Wright

Mason
Steele (Willow Bridges)                       

Dominic
Dubois (Lilly St. James)                               

Finley
MacNevin                                

Malakai
Palamo                                  

Donovan
Lindholm                            

Carter
(Castor) Thomason                               

Hunter
(Hector) Thomason                             

Quinten
Davis                         

Other
Players

Jonas Montague            Gargoyle/scientist

    aka
Joseph Mooneyham     

Caroline
Wexler            Jonas' mate                

Xavier
Montagnon        Tessa's biological father

Priscilla
Holt                Rafael's housekeeper

Jonathan
Holt              Rafael's butler                        

Tamian
St. Claire         Tessa's cloned brother           

Travis
McKenzie         Trevor's brother

Elizabeth
Flanagan       Tessa's mother, Xavier's mate            

Edmondo Di
Pietro      Rafael's father                       

Athena
Di Pietro          Rafael's mother          

Alistair
Gianopoulos     Rafael's Uncle (Athena's brother)

Theron
Gianopoulos     Alistair's son              

Robert
Di Pietro            Frey, Nik, and Julian's father

Gordon
Flanagan         Tessa's "father"/stalker                       

Jonas
and Caroline's Children (named so far)                                 

Dane
Abbott                           

Isabelle
Sarantos                                 

Samuel
Brooks           

Ezekiel
Seymour                                 

Gabriel
aka Vincent Alexander                                   

Lilly
St. James                        

Xenia
Carmichael                               

Cordelia
McAdams     

Sixx

Stone
Society Book 7

Dear
Reader: The best way you can help an author is to leave a review where you
bought the book. It doesn’t have to be long, just honest and heartfelt. If you
liked this story, please consider leaving a review.

Winds of Change – Weavers of the
Tartan

House of Chains – Apocalyptica

Weathered – Creed

Silence in the Snow – Trivium

You’re a God – Vertical Horizon

Burn – The Pretty Reckless

Follow You Down – Shinedown

Paralyzed – Failure Anthem

The Light – Disturbed

This is War – 30 Seconds to Mars

Breathe Me In – Candlebox

Faith Gibson is a multi-genre author who lives
outside Nashville, Tennessee with the love of her life, and her four-legged
best friends. She strongly believes that love is love, and there's not enough
love in the world.
She began writing in high school and over the
years, penned many stories and poems. When her dreams continued to get crazier
than the one before, she decided to keep a dream journal. Many of these
night-time escapades have led to a line, a chapter, and even a complete story.
You won't find her books in only one genre, but they will all have one thing in
common: a happy ending.
When asked what her purpose in life is, she will
say to entertain the masses. Even if it's one person at a time. When Faith
isn't hard at work on her next story, she can be found playing trivia while
enjoying craft beer, reading, or riding her Harley.

Connect
with Faith via the following social media sites:

https://www.facebook.com/faithgibsonauthor

https://www.twitter.com/authorfgibson

Sign up for her newsletter:

http://www.faithgibsonauthor.com/newsletter.html

Send
her an email: 
[email protected]