The Hidden Grimoire by Karla Brandenburg (pride and prejudice read TXT) 📕

I thought again about my life before I’d come to Hillendale, how I’d had no one who cared about me, followed by the unexpected outpouring from everyone here. I’d never learned when or how to ask for help, or how to accept it gracefully, but one thing I knew for sure. I had to go see LeAnne and Georgia by myself.

“You can’t know how much it means to me that you’ve offered,” I told him. “Lisa offered, too.”

“Lisa doesn’t know the things I do.”

Which was true, especially the latest developments. “Aside from when Nora took me in, I have never felt so loved,” I whispered, my voice failing me. Tears welled in my eyes. I told him Lisa and Cassandra were taking me out to do wedding planning tomorrow, distracting him long enough to get a smile, then finished with, “I have to do this on my own.”

“At least give yourself backup,” he said. “If things get dicey, shoot me a text, a code in case you need back-up. How about ‘I’ll be home soon.’ Type it now. Have it ready, just in case.”

I did as Kyle asked, kissed him, and put on my coat. Ash came bounding across the sofa and pawed at her basket.

“Oh, you want to go, too?” I asked her. She purred and I lifted the lid. I smiled at Kyle. “Georgia will be happy to see her, I’m sure.”

“Be careful. Both of you.”

“We will.” I picked up the basket and left to find out if LeAnne was, in fact, hoping to embrace family, or if she had a hidden agenda. Either way, I needed to see Georgia.

Chapter 39

The first thing I noticed when LeAnne opened the door was she wasn’t wearing her glasses. The second thing that jumped out at me, in addition to the orange aura, was the glow in her eyes. My pulse ratcheted up a notch as I looked for Georgia while I guarded my thoughts, masked myself from LeAnne.

LeAnne was wearing sweats. Not unusual for a woman whose body was snapping back after a pregnancy, but the other times I’d met her, she’d been in a dress or ‘business casual’ type pants and tops. Then again, what did I know about maternity clothes? She had a right to be comfortable in her own home.

“You’re looking well.” My voice came out breathy. Would she notice? I shook my head. LeAnne had come to me in search of family. I chose to anticipate the best, rather than the worst from her. “You sure Jason won’t be upset you’ve invited me over?”

“What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him, and I’m determined to find out more about his family. There’s always a chance you might need information about a health issue, and I find it hard to believe his parents wouldn’t want to meet their grandchildren.”

I took her words at face value, declining to comment on what Aunt Theresa and Uncle Jerome would or wouldn’t want. I was the last person who would know. “I hope you don’t mind I brought my cat along. Georgia seems to love her.”

“I think she’d like that.”

I glanced around, no sign of Georgia or the baby. “Is the baby sleeping?”

Georgia came running from a hall I suspected led to the bedrooms and launched herself at my legs. “Aunt Bwinn.”

“Hey, little girl. I’ve missed you.” I swept her into my arms and hugged her. She clung to my neck. “And look, Ash came to visit, too.” I opened the basket and Ash leapt out, dropping to the floor to roll around.

Georgia snuggled closer, setting off more warning bells inside my head.

“Is Remy sleeping?” LeAnne asked Georgia.

“Yes, Mommy.” She pulled away and rubbed her eyes with her fists—eyes that looked bruised from lack of sleep.

“You look tired, too,” I said. “Is it nap time?”

“The baby doesn’t sleep through the night,” LeAnne said. “He’s keeping us all awake, I’m afraid.”

“Would you like a nap now?” I asked Georgia.

Georgia glanced at LeAnne, then nodded and burrowed closer. I carried her to the sofa and sat down, but she was in no hurry to leave my lap. Ash leapt up beside us, nuzzling Georgia’s legs.

LeAnne sat in a chair opposite. “I’m so pleased she’s taken to you,” she said. “Think how much the rest of Jason’s family would love her if they had the chance to meet her.”

The rest of the family. Like Jeannine? Not that Jeannine didn’t love her, more like she didn’t know how. Georgia represented what had been stolen from Jeannine. What would Aunt Theresa do when she discovered Jason had not one, but two children?

“Georgia has been a blessing,” LeAnne went on. “She’s such a help to me with Remy, and I can tell he already loves his big sister.”

I shifted while Georgia’s sweet, warm weight grew heavier. “I’m sure that’s true, but there’s only so much a three-year-old can do, right?” I eased her onto the sofa and Ash curled against her.

“She sings to him. And she likes to give him his bottle.” LeAnne tilted her head. “It’s the funniest thing. You remember that old Beatles song? Not Bluebird, the other one. I can’t think of it just now, but she sings it to him. I can’t imagine where she might have learned it.”

From me. Or had Jason sung Blackbird to her? He might have heard my mother sing it to me. Then again, Jason didn’t seem the type. Once again, I considered how little I knew about my cousin.

“I’m surprised your mother isn’t here to help you out while Jason’s gone,” I said. “Is your family in the area?”

“I suppose that’s one of the things Jason and I have in common, our strained relationships. My parents kicked me out when I was eighteen.”

Something we had in common, too—sort of. “I’m sorry to hear. You seem to have landed on your feet. How did you and Jason meet?”

“I had a health insurance claim the company was disputing,” she said. “They assigned Jason to my case. We