by West, S. J.
Mama Lynn, Faison, Leah, and JoJo fuss over me until the very last moment. Faison is my maid of honor and is wearing a periwinkle colored sheath dress with a slit up the side. I realize I have no idea who Mason’s best man is supposed to be. It’s not something we talked about.
The girls help maneuver me and my dress down the grand staircase of my grandfather’s house and into the atrium where my father and grandfather are waiting for us. I am meant to walk out the French doors of the atrium to where Mason is waiting for me under the curved-top, white pergola which we decorated with white organza and a mixture of pink and white rose arrangements.
My dad and grandfather smile when they see me.
“You look beautiful, Jessi,” my dad tells me as I come to stand by him.
“She does, doesn’t she?” Mama Lynn says, dabbing at tears in the corners of her eyes.
“Absolutely gorgeous,” my grandfather agrees.
“You’re making me blush,” I say to them all, waving a hand in my face to cool myself down. “But thank you.”
“Uh, Jess,” my grandfather says, looking out the atrium French doors to where Mason is waiting for me, “who is that man officiating the wedding?”
“Oh, that’s Mason’s father,” I say, having completely forgotten to tell my grandfather that God would be marrying us. Mama Lynn knew, of course. I told her early because I didn’t want her fainting during the ceremony. It can be overwhelming to meet your deity in the flesh.
“God?” My grandfather asks.
“Yes.”
My grandpa smiles. “That’s the man who came to me and told me where to find you.”
Now I’m the one left in shock.
“He never told me he was the one who did that,” I say.
My grandpa leans in and gives me a kiss on the cheek.
“I guess he knew you would need your grandpa one day.”
I nod in agreement.
“Mr. Taylor,” Faison says to my grandfather, “would you mind escorting Mama Lynn, JoJo, and Leah to their seats?”
After they leave, my dad whispers, “Ready to float?”
I push off the tiniest bit from the floor until I’m floating comfortably.
“Did I say how brilliant you are?” I ask my dad.
He chuckles. “Yes, but I’ll take the compliment again.”
When Faison hears the start of the wedding march, she opens up the doors for us.
“Here we go,” she says, smiling at me before she starts to walk down the white rug which leads from the doors to the pergola.
“Ready?” My dad asks, his left hand at the small of my back and his right one holding my elbow.
I nod and he pushes me and my behemoth dress out the door and down the aisle.
My eyes instantly focus on Mason waiting for me beside his father. Standing beside him acting as his best man is Malcolm. To my surprise, the shirt of his tuxedo is buttoned up all the way. I vaguely wonder how long that will last after the ceremony is over.
My attention is quickly returned to my husband, and I smile because only the four of us know that we’re already married. I watch as Mason’s eyes take in the dress and see him mouth the word ‘marshmallow’ to me with a wink. I giggle.
The ceremony is quick and sweet just like Mason promised me it would be. After we take the perfunctory pictures, Mama Lynn whisks us into the large white tent which is the location of the reception.
“Jess!”
I turn to see JoJo and one of her assistants make their way to me as we get ready to sit at the head table meant for the bridal party and their family.
“I need to do something before you sit down, mon cheri,” she tells me, putting her hands on my waist and unsnapping something.
Instantly, the dresses train is detached leaving me with a simple gown to wear for the rest of the evening.
“You mean to tell me that thing has been detachable this whole time?” I ask, completely dumbfounded.
“Oui, oui. It would be impossible for you to dance in it otherwise,” JoJo says, handing the train to her helper. The lady immediately takes it out of the tent, and I hope to never have to see it again.
From my vantage point of the crowd as I sit at the head table, I become amused by the reactions of the ladies from Cypress Hollow. Being in a tent full of Watchers seems to have quite a few of them in a tizzy. I can’t say I blame them. Every single one of the Watchers is gorgeous, but none of them can match the beauty of the man I can now call my husband.
I see Lilly, Brand, Tara, Malik, and all their children sitting at a table near the front. Lilly waves and mouths the word ‘beautiful’ to me. I wink at her letting her know I got her message.
When it’s time for Mason and me to dance the first dance, he escorts me to the area set up for it and twirls me around effortlessly along the tiled floor. I don’t feel like anything can spoil my happiness… until I see him.
Most everyone is watching me and Mason dance from the side of the dance floor. Mama Lynn is watching us, not realizing Amon is standing right behind her. I see him tap her on the shoulder and hand her a white envelope before quickly phasing away. Mama Lynn looks at the envelope hesitant to open it but then she does. She pulls out what looks like a letter and reads it.
I see her lift a trembling hand to her lips as tears form in her eyes. She turns away from the dance floor, making her way through the crowd to the outside.
I stop dancing.
“Something’s wrong,” I tell Mason, making my way out of the tent to follow Mama Lynn.
Mason follows close behind me.
I find Mama Lynn in the atrium sitting on one of the sofas crying.
“Mama Lynn,” I say coming to sit beside her. “What did he give you?”
“Who Jess?” Mason asks.
“Amon,” I tell him.
Mama Lynn hands me the letter with a trembling hand.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” She asks between her sobs.
I read the letter and end up cursing Lucifer for all he’s worth and then some. I hand the letter to Mason not wanting to have to explain its contents. It brings into focus what Lucifer said to Michael about emotional pain lasting longer than physical pain. The dead look in Mama Lynn’s eyes says everything.
“Is it true?” she asks. “Did Dan do those things to you?”
I feel a need to lie to her and make her believe that nothing happened. Then things would just go back to the way they were. But she doesn’t need me to lie to her anymore. She simply wants the truth.
“Yes,” I hear myself say, “it’s true.”
“Why didn’t you tell me, Jess?”
I shrug my shoulders, not having a good answer for her and feeling like that lost little seven year old girl who didn’t understand what was happening to her at the time.
“Children of abuse almost never tell,” I hear Mason say to Mama Lynn. “Most of the time they feel ashamed that it happened to them. They feel isolated because they think they’re the only ones in the world who have to endure such a horrible nightmare. And most parents raise their children to respect the adults around them and not question what they tell them to do. You placed faith in a man who was a monster behind your back. It’s not your fault. It’s not Jess’ fault. It was that monster’s fault for forcing himself on a child who didn’t know how to defend herself. At the age it started, she wouldn’t have been able to understand what was really happening. And by the time she came to an age where she did understand it was wrong, he probably shamed her into staying quiet by telling her she must have liked it because she never told anyone about it. It’s what they do. It’s how they remain hidden.”
“I should have prepared you better,” Mama Lynn says. “I should have told you to tell me that if anyone ever touched you to come and tell me.”
I place one of my hands on Mama Lynn’s folded hands on her lap.
“It was a long time ago.”
“That’s why you never dated isn’t it?” Mama Lynn asks, some of my pa
st falling into place for her.
“Yes, it was part of the reason,” I say, not feeling a need to hide anything anymore.
“I should have seen something,” she says, continuing to blame herself.
“He was careful to hide it,” I tell her.
Mama Lynn shakes her head. “No, I should have known something was wrong. You never wanted to go over to his house when I asked you to take him his suppers. And you never let Faison go there by herself. Did he do that to Faison too?”
“No,” I tell her. “He never touched her.”
“Just you.”
I remain silent because I don’t believe she needs to hear me say yes.
Mama Lynn stands up and I stand too.
“I think I’m going to go to my room for a while,” she says. “I need to be alone and think about this.”
“Are you sure?” I ask. “I don’t want you to be alone right now.”
“I need some time by myself,” Mama Lynn insists. “I just need to think, Jess.”
She leans in towards me and kisses my cheek. I see her eyes tear up before she turns away and I can only imagine she’s seeing the seven year old me in the hands of a brother she thought she could trust.
I feel Mason come up behind me and put his arms around my waist.
“Just give her some time,” he tells me. “You’ve lived with this all your life. She’s just finding out about it. Its going to take her a while to get over the guilt she feels.”
“It wasn’t her fault.”
“To her it was. She’s your mother. She feels like she should have protected you better. The best thing you can do for her is to just be there when she’s ready to talk to you about it.”
I turn in Mason’s arms and lay my head on his chest.
“I’m going to make him pay for doing this to her,” I say. “I swear to you I’ll make Lucifer pay.”
“Make him pay by winning the fight,” Mason tells me.
“I will win,” I vow. “I don’t have any choice.”
Chapter 19
When we return to the reception, I try to put on a happy face but find it almost impossible. Faison finally badgers me into telling her what’s wrong and immediately goes to the house to see if she can comfort Mama Lynn. I end up telling my dad because I ask him to take care of the guests for me. I just need to leave. I need to get away and simply be with Mason for a while.
Once Mason phases us to the beach house, I have him help me remove my dress. We crawl under the covers of the bed together, and he holds me while I cry for the pain my mother is in. A pain I know I can’t take away from her with a simple word or hug. Only time will be able to heal her wound.
For the next two days, Mason and I try to spend as much time as we can together. Each day we gather all of the vessels together so we can travel to the inner realm and practice for our fight against the princes. We still haven’t figured out when the fight will be, and I promise Mason that after everything is over we will take a real honeymoon. Hopefully, it’s one where we can spend a month together in private.
Once Valentine’s Day rolls around, we decide to give everyone a break from practicing. Plus, Mason and I have to go to Denver for Chandler’s concert. I may be married in my private life, but the world still thinks Chandler and I are engaged. Plus, it was supposed to be Joshua and Caylin’s first official date together, and I wanted to make sure Malcolm didn’t ruin it for them by being his over protective self.
As far as how my first Valentine’s Day with Mason was spent? Well, let’s see. He woke me up. We made love. He made me breakfast in bed. We made love. We got up and took a shower together. We made love. We got dressed determined to go out for lunch in a public place but ended up shedding those clothes and spending the rest of the day in bed until we absolutely had to get ready to go pick up Caylin and Joshua.
It was a perfect day.
“Joshua is having trouble with something at headquarters,” Mason tells me. “I’ve asked Aiden to take you over to Brand and Lilly’s home in Lakewood while I go help him. We’ll meet you at the concert.”
I wait for Aiden in the living room of the beach house. When he arrives, I have to admit he looks more relaxed than I’ve ever seen him and very rock n roll. His jet black hair is messy cool and he’s wearing a pair of tight black jeans, black v-neck T-shirt, and black military style long coat. I feel a bit under-dressed in my jeans, sweater and purple jacket. I’m sure Deon will be disappointed in my choice of apparel, but rock sexy just wasn’t what I was going for that night.
“Missed you at the wedding,” I tell him. “But Mason said you had other plans. Mind me asking what their names were this time?”
Aiden grins like he’s embarrassed. “Josephine, Odette and Margareta.”
I shake my head at Aiden. “Ok, let’s keep in mind we’re going to a PG home this evening full of little humans.”
“I’m fine,” Aiden assures me. “I’ll behave myself, Jess. Don’t worry.”
“Ok,” I say, holding out my hand to him. “Do you know where we need to go?”
“Yes, Malcolm showed me Lilly’s homes in case I ever needed to take you to one of them. I’ve only met her a couple of times. I’m not sure she’ll remember me.”
“Well, let’s go. I don’t want to be late.”
Aiden phases us to the front door of Lilly and Brand’s Lakewood home.
I knock on the door and Malcolm answers it.
“Ahh, so you’re the designated phaser this evening,” Malcolm says, crossing his arms in front of him. “Apparently, I’ve been grounded for the night.”
“Come on in, Jess,” I hear Lilly call from somewhere inside the house. “Don’t mind the ogre at the door.”
Malcolm rolls his eyes and steps away from the entrance so we can walk into the house.
Lilly gets up from her stool at the kitchen bar and walks over to us.
“Aiden,” Lilly says in greeting, proving that she does indeed remember this particular Watcher, “how nice to see you again. It’s been a while since I last saw you.”
Lilly gives me a hug and Aiden a smile.
“Nice to see you too, Lilly. It’s been too long.”
“How are you doing?” Lilly asks Aiden, her real question obvious to anyone who knows Aiden’s problem.
“I’m dealing with it,” he tells her. “As soon as Jess and her group seal the Tear, I should be able to have what I’ve been working for.”
Lilly nods. “Good. I’m glad you took Him up on His offer, very few did.”
The front door opens and I hear Caylin’s laughter fill the house as she and Brand walk inside arm in arm.
It’s the first time I’ve seen Caylin dressed up and wearing make-up. I know she can only be about fourteen and a half years old but wearing the red chiffon double tiered dress, white half-sweater and high heels makes her look like she’s at least seventeen. It’s a glimpse into the gorgeous woman she will become in just a few years time.
When Caylin crosses the threshold, I feel a tension fill the air that wasn’t there before. When I look over at Aiden, I notice the tension I feel is coming from him. His eyes are locked on Caylin like she’s the only person in the room, and I instantly wonder if he’s about to attack her and drink her blood. Then I realize the way he’s looking at her is the way Mason sometimes looks at me.
Malcolm steps in front of Aiden blocking his view of Caylin.
“No,” Malcolm growls in a low, menacing voice.
Aiden simply looks over Malcolm’s shoulder to find Caylin again.
Brand seems to notice what’s going on.
“Caylin,” he says to his daughter, “I think we left your roses in the car. Why don’t you go get them, sweetie?”
“Ok, Daddy,” Caylin says, completely oblivious to what’s going on just a few feet away from her.
The sweet smile Brand gave his daughter changes into a threatening scowl as he looks over at Aiden.
“My daughter is off limits to you,” Brand says
to Aiden in no uncertain terms. “Is that understood?”
Aiden remains silent as he looks at Brand.
“I would never do anything to harm her,” Aiden finally tells him. “I would die for her.”
Malcolm grabs Aiden by the front of his jacket and lifts him up easily, throwing him against the far wall making the house shake.
“She is too good for someone like you,” Malcolm thunders. “So get her out of your head….now!”
Aiden stands up from the floor but doesn’t say anything.
“Aiden,” I say, “maybe you should leave. Mason can come get us and take us to the concert.”
Aiden doesn’t look like he wants to leave but he nods to me and phases.
I turn to Malcolm. “Ok, what the hell just happened?”
Malcolm ignores my question to ask Brand one of his own.
“Caylin can’t be his, can she?”
Brand looks worried, more worried than I’ve ever seen him.
“I don’t know,” he answers. “God help us if she is because he won’t be able to stop himself from wanting to be with her and vice versa.”
“His what?” I ask, completely exasperated.
“His soul mate,” Lilly answers, showing concern herself for Aiden’s reaction to her eldest child. “If they are, there’s no way we’ll be able to keep them apart, Brand.”
“I could kill him,” Malcolm says confidently. “I have no problem doing that.”
“And ruin Caylin’s life?” Lilly asks in exasperation. “If he is meant for her, I will not deny her that kind of happiness.” Lilly turns to me. “Jess, when you have time, speak with Aiden and ask him what he felt when he saw Caylin. If they are meant to be together, I need to know.”
I nod. “Ok, I’ll speak with him. He’s not ready for her anyway. He has his own problems to deal with first. And trust me,” I promise Lilly, “I won’t let him near her until I know she’ll be safe around him. You have my word on that.”
“I know you’ll protect her,” Lilly says. “I know I can trust your judgment.”