Feeling like an idiot, I flushed and took a step back.
Herne blinked, looking startled. “Just me. I come bearing gifts. I hope that they help. I know you suffered a great loss.” He set the bag on the coffee table in the living room.
“I’m just finishing up dinner. Would you like to stay and eat with us? There’s enough.”
I tried to flash her the message of Don’t ask him don’t ask him, but apparently she was ignoring me.
“Don’t mind if I do. I’m pretty hungry, and we never did get the pizza at work.”
As he settled onto the sofa, I gave Angel another look, this one saying, I’m going to kill you later. Wrinkling her nose at me, she smiled and motioned for me to join her.
“Why don’t you give me a hand in the kitchen, Ember?” As she headed back into the kitchen, I followed, swearing that I’d get even with her later.
Chapter 9
THE NACHOS WERE good, as usual. One thing Angel had inherited from her mother was the ability to work a stove. Mama J. had been an incredible cook, and she had made the best pie in the world. Everybody had come to her diner, first out of hunger, then the food kept them coming back. During dinner, Angel kept looking over at the bag that Herne had brought, and I could see that her thoughts were focused on whatever lay within.
“Are you sure you don’t want to open it now? We can eat afterward.”
I was over my snit about her inviting Herne to stay. It felt comforting to have him there, actually, once I got my hormones under control. I was amazed that Angel didn’t have the same reaction to him that I did. A lot of times we tended to gravitate toward the same type of men. It hadn’t proved an issue, however, given Angel only dated men who were taller than she was. I was short enough that it was never a problem.
“I’m almost afraid to,” she said. “When I think about everything that went up in flames, it breaks my heart. It’s like, there’s this hope that maybe something survived—my photos or DJ’s baby blanket, or something important. If I look, and they aren’t there, then I know they’re gone forever.”
I could understand her fear. Sometimes it was easier to hold onto the hope of what might be, rather than face the reality of what was.
I glanced over at Herne. He had a sober look on his face, as he set down his plate. He had practically licked it clean, and now he wiped his hands on his napkin.
“If you want, I can open it for you, and Ember and I can bring out what survived. It might be easier to watch us unpack it.” He stood up, motioning for me to join him.
Angel nodded, biting her lip. She was holding her stomach as we walked over to the bag. She looked like she might throw up. I nodded for Herne to move out of the way as I sat cross-legged on the floor beside the bag. It would be easier for her to watch me unpack it than a stranger.
“Ready?” I asked.
She nodded.
I slowly opened the large garbage sack. As I peeked inside, the scent of soot and ash blew up in my face. My nose tingled and I coughed. I rolled the plastic down, gingerly reaching in to pull out the first object I could find. As I lifted it out of the bag, a fine layer of ash covered everything, falling to the floor as I shook it off.
“The carpet—” Angel began.
“That’s what vacuums and carpet shampooers are for.” My hands black from the soot, I realized that I was holding a photo album. “Look! Pictures!”
Angel had squeezed her eyes tight and now they flew open. I motioned for Herne to hand me the paper towels, and I wiped the cover of the photo album off, cleaning it as best as I could. I handed it to Angel and she laid it on her lap, opening the cover. She gave a cry of relief.
“They’re intact. Mama J. had three photo albums, and this is the one that has a lot of DJ’s baby pictures in it. Thank you, thank you so much for finding this.” She looked over at Herne, tears in her eyes.
“I just hope I found other things of value as well. I’m so glad that I was able to sift through the rubble. The cops didn’t like it, but I told them to back off.”
“You’re a good man,” I said under my breath. But he caught my words and flashed me a genuine smile.
I dug deeper into the contents of the bag. Another photo album containing pictures of Angel when she was young, and of Mama J. and her relatives, had survived the fire. Two rather ratty stuffed animals—both bears—and a few outfits had also made it through. There were also some pots and pans, and about thirty books that had somehow escaped the flames, along with Angel’s jewelry box, which held her mother’s wedding ring and her grandma’s necklace.
“I wish we could have found more, but everything was pretty much burnt to the ground. The entire house is gone. I talked to the landlord while I was there and he said that he’s just grateful you and your brother weren’t at home. There was a smell of gas in the air, and I think it’s likely the fire marshal will blame a gas leak for the fire. But don’t believe it,” Herne said. “I’m pretty sure the Light Fae were up to no good.”
“What will they do when they realize they didn’t kill her and her brother? It’ll come out that they survived.”
“By then, word will have filtered through that Angel and her brother are under our protection, so it should be all right. But we need to keep DJ safe and out of the way, just in case.”
“If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to take these things into my room. I’ll be back in a few minutes. There’s dessert if you want—I found some more cookies in Ember’s cupboard.”
As she dragged the bag into the guest room, I let out a long breath. Grateful that Herne and Viktor had managed to find enough of her sentimental belongings to make a real difference, I dropped onto the sofa, leaning back against the seat as I closed my eyes. A moment later I felt someone next to me and when I opened my eyes, Herne was sitting there, curled up beside me, staring at me. I slowly blinked, and once again, felt my breath quicken.
“You and Angel are tighter than sisters, aren’t you?” His voice was soft, and he was too close for comfort, but I didn’t want to scoot away.
“Angel and I have been soul mates since we were kids. I think we’ve been around several times on the wheel before.”
“Sometimes, you just know when you’ve lived lifetimes together.” He reached out slowly and pushed my hair back away from my face. “I hope that you enjoy working with us. If you ever need anything, just say so. I’ll do my best to help out. I know this is a difficult transition, but I’m glad that I’m part of it.”
I could barely breathe. The feel of his fingers on my face sent ripples through my body, quickening my pulse. I wanted his hand to drop down, to trace along my breasts, new boss and stranger or not. But it felt like I knew him from somewhere, like our energies meshed together in a way that was familiar and soothing. His lips bowed with a gentle sway, making me want to lean in and press my own lips to them. But I caught myself before I could blunder, and—shaking —straightened.
“I’ll remember that.” I felt like my words were hanging in midair, but then Angel returned and I abruptly pulled away. I pushed myself to my feet, almost tripping. Angel flashed me a knowing grin, but I looked away, not wanting to display my emotions on my face.
“I suppose I’d better go,” Herne said. He stood and put on his leather jacket, zipping it up against the rain. “See you both at eight tomorrow morning.”
As he headed for the door, he caught my gaze and held it for a moment. I stared back at him. There was so much going on unspoken between us, but I didn’t want to assume anything, and so I just showed him to the door, giving him a little wave as he headed toward the elevator. Shutting the door behind me, I leaned against it, letting out a soft groan.