He hangs up and sighs deeply. “My mom passed away today.”
“Yeah.” I lean in to kiss his shoulder. “I know.”
He frowns down at me. “How do you know?”
“I, uh—”
“Right.” He nods once and scratches the back of his neck. “Is she here now?”
“She is. I can’t see her face, she’s just a shadow. But I can tell it’s her.”
He bites his lip and then stands to pace the living room.
“Mom, I have some things to tell you. First of all, I’m sorry that I wasn’t there these past few weeks. I know you enjoyed having Felicia with you, and she loves you a lot, but it should have been me, and I apologize for that.”
“She’s shaking her head at you.”
Cash laughs. “Yeah, she would.” He turns to me, his green eyes suddenly alight with humor. “Mom, I have to tell you about something else. I met this girl, and you’d like her a lot. She’s funny. She’s close to her family, so that’s nice, and she has some quirks, but hell, who doesn’t, right?
“She has blue eyes that just reach in and grab hold of your heart. I was hoping to introduce you to her in Savannah, but this’ll do, I guess. Because you see, Mom, I love Brielle, and I’m going to ask her to marry me.”
My heart stills in my chest, but I don’t say anything. I just watch him as he tells his mom all about me.
“She doesn’t know yet, of course. I know it means that some things will have to change with my job, and where my home base is, but I like it in New Orleans, and it’ll be nice to be close to Andy most of the time. I think you’d approve of that.”
I clear my throat. “She nodded.”
“I just don’t think I can go through life without her, Mom. She’s incredible. So, I’m going to stay here, marry her, and have some babies. Who would have thought? I certainly didn’t.”
“She just raised her hand.” I can’t help but laugh.
“Of course, you knew.” His eyes fill with sorrow now. “Man, I’m going to miss you, Mom. I wish I’d said these things when you were still here, but I guess this’ll have to do. I’ll take care of Andy and Felicia. And Brielle, too. You don’t have to worry about anything. I love you, Mom.”
I brush at a tear on my cheek. “She blew you a kiss, and she’s gone.”
He nods. “Wow, this is weird. But good. Thank you for that.”
“You’re welcome.”
“I meant it. Every word of it.”
He scoops me into his lap and buries his face in my neck. “You’re my home, Brielle. You have been since the first moment I laid eyes on you. Marry me. Have a family with me.”
“Yeah.” I kiss his cheek. “I think that’s a good idea.”
He grins.
“It’s a damn good idea.”
“I can’t wait to tell my sisters. We get to plan a wedding!”
“Let’s keep it just between us for a little while.”
“For how long?”
“Just an hour.” He grins and lifts me, headed for the bedroom. “Maybe two.”EpilogueMillie“A spring wedding.” I take a deep breath and let it out slowly, grinning like a loon. “Oh, that sounds so lovely.”
“Especially in New Orleans,” Daphne agrees. “Do you have a venue yet?”
“I haven’t even started thinking about it,” Brielle replies. “I mean, he just asked me yesterday.”
“I’m sure sorry about his mama,” I say. “That’s so sad. But you gave him an awesome gift of getting to talk to her before she moved on.”
“He seems pretty at peace with it all,” Brielle says. “Sure, he’s sad, but that’s to be expected. I think she was sick for quite a while. That’s why his sister-in-law was out to check on her.”
“That makes sense,” I say. “Still sad, though. I’ll whip them up a soothing potion to help them feel better.”
“You’re sweet,” Brielle says. “Thank you.”
“Well, they’re family now,” I remind her. “What kind of flowers are you going to have? I think you should have some wisteria. And lilacs. Camelia is a must.”
“No roses,” Daphne says, shaking her head. “If I never see a rose again, it’ll be too soon.”
“I always meant to ask and kept forgetting,” Brielle says to our sister. “What did you see when you touched the rose at Mama’s house that day.”
Daphne frowns and swallows hard. “Nothing.”
“Lies,” Brielle and I say in unison.
“We’re talking about your wedding,” Daphne says. “I don’t want to talk about creepy, horrible things. I’ll just confirm that the man who fathered us is buried in that spot. And it was his spirit that haunted the hell out of us for years.”
“Well, we knew that.” I bite my thumbnail the way I always do when I’m deep in thought. “Do you think the evil spirits in that house made him mean? Or do you think he started out that way, and the spirits fed on his cruelty?”