When Ghost walked into my suite earlier, he was greeted by a classically beautiful woman, and he couldn’t hide his surprise when I proudly introduced her as my mother. She’s a woman who looks after herself. Tall, slender with shoulder length brown hair. She looks fortyish instead of the fifty-one years she has lived.
It’s just after eleven in the morning and snowflakes are lightly falling adding to what looks like a perfect Christmas scene. Ghost’s garden looks about as Christmas wonderland as it can get. They pulled out all the stops for Whisper. The lights are twinkling on trees and all over the outside of Ghost's large home, and pretty much everywhere you look, evidence how soft the tough biker men could be who went overboard to bring Whisper her first Christmas to remember. It encourages me to think positively about today. Secrets will be revealed, and I'm both nervous and excited. Because we could be gate-crashing their serenity and a blizzard of emotions could be hitting Ghost’s home.
I deliberately slow my breathing down; it helps with the tension that’s trying to strangle my every breath the closer we get to seeing Edge and Whisper.
We both walk in silence through to Ghost’s mudroom and start removing our coats and scarves and boots. Ghost doesn’t seem to be aware of the weight we are bringing into his home.
“You two can meet us all in the great room. Just follow the Christmas cheer,” he tells us both. “I’ve just got to put my Christmas present from Whisper back on,” his deep, smooth voice sounds amused. “I’ll be there shortly.”
I look over at my mother who has a thousand reasons to be a nervous ball of energy, because what she has to say today could go terribly wrong. I’m worried about her, but she seems to be holding up well… considering. We’ve both had a few days to let it all soak in, but still it’s a great shock on so many levels.
We've decided not to drop the emotional bomb straight away and get to know Edge and Whisper and then slowly crawl our way through the mind field. Maybe after lunch, we would start to unravel the life of Marla Jones.
Boxer had called me while I was on the shuttle on the way to meet my mother at the airport requesting her job skills and twenty-four hours later, it would appear I have a dead fucked-up father named William Dupré and a brother named Dallas Dupré.
Merry Christmas!
Priceless!
Boxer and the two of us are the only ones who know everything. Boxer enlightened us on enough of Whisper's past to make us feel sick for the girl. I know my mother feels very guilty, although she shouldn't, it doesn't stop that emotion from clawing at her mind.
Lily Schenk is not my mother's real name, Marla Jones is. She had it changed to keep herself separated from the life that leads to me being born and raised in Norway.
My mother never used to be the law-abiding woman she is now. She too has a past; one built from meeting a boy from the wrong side of the tracks, in much the same predicament as herself and that boy was a bad seed, he just hadn't shown how rotten he was on the inside until it was almost too late.
“You ready mom?”
“About as ready as I’ll ever be,” she replies, her words trembling. I ignore the tears glistening in her eyes.
“Remember, we ease into the news we come bearing sometime after lunch.”
“Yes. It’s going to be a great shock,” she agrees.
We walk through Ghost’s home, which is vast and very inviting. We pass a nicely decorated Christmas tree. I can hear voices and festive music playing as we near another room.
We turn into the great room, and my eyes instantly search out Whisper, because where she is, Edge will be too. She’s sitting on the couch with Edge’s arm resting protectively around her shoulders. She’s leaning into his side, her damaged hands resting in her lap. She looks happy and stunning in a pretty red cocktail dress. She's free to live her life now without any wolves baring their teeth, ready to pounce.
Edge is now murmuring to her, and it's enough to bring a big smile to her face.
He loves her already, I can tell.
Edge lifts his head, scans the room, his eyes settling on me. He gives me a nod of welcome.
Today is going to be a Christmas of epic proportions, or it will be a case of have-you-kept-the-receipt.
Refund issued.