Spirit (Blackwood Security, #10.5) - Elise Noble Page 0,38
fingerless gloves. Gwendolyn was a rainbow patchwork of yarn.
“That’s ever so kind of you, dear. Are you joining us for lunch?”
“We might have a few mouthfuls.”
“Please do. There’s an extra space at the table since José got his Christmas miracle. Did you hear? The president pardoned José’s father, and he got released from prison first thing this morning.”
“I thought the name on the news sounded familiar.”
Valerie sat down beside the older woman. “Before we head to the dining room, we have a small piece of news for you too. It’s about your sister.”
Gwendolyn stiffened in an instant, leaning forward an inch or two as she gripped the arms of her chair.
“You found something?”
“A little more than we’d hoped for, actually. We didn’t only find your sister; we found your niece and your birth mother too. They’d very much like to meet you if you want that.”
“My birth mother? Oh, no. No, no, no. I don’t want to meet her, not when she abandoned me.”
“She didn’t abandon you.”
“She left me in a church without so much as a note.”
“It’s a long and complicated story, but she was told you’d died. Another family member took you to the church—your grandma—and although it might be hard to believe, she had your best interests at heart. Your mother was just a child herself when you were born, and your father… He wasn’t a good man.”
Gwendolyn was silent for a long while as she stared at the birds fighting over bread on the bird table. What was she thinking? She’d spent her life wondering about her origins, and now that she knew the bare bones of the story, would she want to find out more? I thought she would. After all, her curiosity had been the catalyst for our trip to Alaska.
Finally, she spoke. “That’s the truth?”
“It is.”
“Then I think if I didn’t meet her, I’d always regret it.”
Thank goodness.
Valerie smiled. She did that more and more often now. “Would you like them to come here today?”
“They’re in Virginia?”
“Yes. Your birth mother—Rhoda—and your sister, Meriah, both live in Alaska, and your niece works in Las Vegas, but they all flew in hoping to see you.”
A spark lit in Gwendolyn’s eyes, a tiny sign that she was getting used to the idea of having a family again.
“Then I’d love them to come here. But goodness, I should have had my hair done. And I need to find my lipstick.”
The hair was a problem easily solved by Bradley.
“Don’t worry; I know just the person to help you out.”
I found Black in the residents’ dining room with Doris Hayes sitting on his lap. When he saw me coming, he tried to lift her onto the empty seat next to them, but she clung onto his neck with one arm while the other hand clutched a glass of sherry in a death grip.
Black shot me an apologetic grimace, and I had to laugh.
“Still got it, Chuck.”
“Doris, meet my wife.” When she turned to look at me, he mouthed, “Get me out of here.”
Aw, poor guy.
Doris kept hold of her sherry but let go of Black—priorities—and squeezed my hand.
“You’re a very lucky young lady. He’s a real hottie.”
“Yes, I know.”
“I suppose you’ll be wanting to take him home now?”
“I’m afraid so.”
“Ah, well.” She sighed wistfully. “We’re all disappointed they didn’t do the full monty.”
I wasn’t, because if Black had been forced to remove more than his shirt, Bradley would be a dead man, and I hated interviewing for household staff.
“Perhaps next time you could hire strippers. You know, for a treat?”
“Ooh!” Doris’s eyes lit up. “What a fabulous idea! Joan!” She scrambled off Black’s lap. “Joan! I’ve got a plan for our New Year’s Eve party.”
Black practically carried me out of the room, past Mal, Jed, and Slater, who were taking selfies with a group of octogenarians. Just another day in our totally normal lives.
“Thank fuck for that,” he murmured. “It was like the zombie apocalypse in there. Every time I got rid of one woman, five more took her place.”
“You seemed to be doing okay by the end.”
“I offered Mal, Jed, and Slater five thousand bucks each to distract them.”
“So you’re ready to go home, then?”
“How do you feel about a trip to Outer Mongolia?”
Black might have been kidding, but I wasn’t with my reply. “That sounds like an excellent idea. Want me to get the jet fuelled?”
“Or we could go for a sail on one of the yachts, just the two of us. Perhaps I’ll buy another island,