AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“That’s true. Well, what else did you learn about the raven, since you’re such an expert?” I crossed my arms over my chest.
“Well, I hate to tell you, but they usually mate for life. I assume that’s why you put a second bird in the background of your painting. They prefer one partner, and they stay together for the span of their lives. So, I’m guessing that other bird is not Wes.”
I sighed. Of course, this was a dig about me getting divorced.
“Luckily, I’m not an actual raven. I’m a human being. With real feelings. And I wasn’t happy in my marriage, so I made a change.”
She narrowed her gaze and shocked the shit out of me when she reached for my hand. “I think you are a raven in spirit. I think you just settled for the wrong partner, so maybe that means your soulmate is out there waiting for you. You’re still young, Presley. There’s still time for you to be happy.”
My jaw dropped as I gaped at her.
Who the hell is this woman and what has she done with my mother?
Lola came walking back into the room and gave us a curious look. “What did I miss?”
“Nothing. And close your mouth, Presley. It’s very unbecoming to gape at people,” my mother quipped.
There she is.
But it didn’t even matter because she’d shown me a bit of compassion at a time in my life when I needed it desperately.
I leaned forward and hugged her.
She was completely stiff, but then her body relaxed, and her hand came up to pat me on the shoulder.
It wasn’t the most natural hug, and we might not be perfect, but this was a start.
twenty-two
Cage
“I haven’t seenyour cousins in years,” Presley said as we drove toward the city.
I had the afternoon cleared on my schedule so I could head to the city to meet Dylan and Wolf, who were having a disagreement over a dog, of all things. She’d sounded frantic on the phone, so of course, I said I’d get there as soon as I could. Gracie was in school, and I’d invited Presley along because our time was winding down, and I thought she might want to take a drive.
“She’ll be happy to see you. She has a little boy now, so you’ll get to meet the baby. And you remember my uncle Jack. He’s staying with them right now, so he’ll be there, as well.”
“I can’t wait to meet the man who got Dilly to settle down,” Presley said with a laugh. “She was always so much fun.”
I spent the next forty minutes filling her in on all the cousins and their husbands and babies. Presley had spent a lot of time with them when they’d come to visit in the summers.
We pulled up to the fancy high-rise and parked in the spot underground where Dylan’s husband, Wolf, had told me to park my truck. As we took the elevator up to the penthouse, it dawned on me that this was probably similar to the kind of place where Presley lived.
“Is this what your building is like in New York?”
“Yeah, pretty much. It’s on the top floor. Underground parking. Nice views of the city.” She studied me. “You and Gracie should come visit sometime.”
We hadn’t discussed seeing each other after she left, but I knew better than to pretend I could handle seeing her once a year when she flew back to visit. I had my practice, and Gracie had school, and I knew it wasn’t realistic to fly across the country for a weekend.
“We tried that once before and made a mess of things, didn’t we?” I said, waiting for her to give me a reason why this time would be different.
“Yeah. But we can still keep in touch, right?”
Keep in fucking touch, my ass. How would that work? I couldn’t be friends with this woman from a distance. Look what happened when we tried being friends here.
We were all or nothing—always had been.
I didn’t want to hear about her going on dates with other men.
