After the Fall (Broken Angel #2) (13 page)

Naomi’s breath hitched as she watched Chuy’s brown eyes darken and his nostrils flare. His voice was low and steady as he looked intently at Megan. “I lost my uncle when Jane Sutherland killed him in a car accident. My cousin tried fighting back, and days later, she disappeared.”

“Oh, Chuy,” Naomi whispered as she felt tears stinging her eyes.

“I know she’s dead. I felt it the moment it happened. It was like a part of me disappeared that day.” His voice was thick. “I can’t help but think that somehow Luke Prescott was involved in all of it.”

Megan placed a hand on his arm, speaking softly. “Then how can you still work for them?”

“I have no choice!” He spun around and headed toward the window. Looking out with his back to her, he said, “They took everything away from us. Everything! I couldn’t get a job anywhere.”

Megan went to him and placed a hand on his back. “I’m so sorry.”

He turned to face her. “Believe me, I tried. I got a lot of interviews, but every time I showed up, it was like suddenly the job was no longer available. The only one who offered me work was the Prescott Oil training program. I didn’t even apply for it! I got a letter offering me a job. Lalo got the same letter two days later. We thought it was offered to everyone who lived in the neighborhoods that were bought out by the company.”

Chuy sank into the chair under the windowsill and dropped his head into his hands. “I sold out. I didn’t know what to do. I’m sorry, Naomi. I’m so sorry. I didn’t know what to do. God, I wish I had her strength.”

Tears streamed down Naomi’s face as she went to Chuy. She placed a hand on his head, wishing he could feel her. “It’s okay, Chuy. I’m sorry I wasn’t there to help. I’m here for you now.”

Chuy lifted his head and looked around.

“What is it?” Megan asked.

He tilted his head as if listening.

Naomi’s eyes widened, and she looked to Jeremy. “Can he hear me?”

“It’s doubtful, but I think he can sense you,” he replied.

After a moment, Chuy shook his head. “Never mind.” He took a deep breath and reached for Megan’s hand. “Look, I know if Naomi were still here, she’d want me to help you.”

Her face lit up. “Will you?”

“Yeah, but we only have a brief window to do this. All Prescott Oil employees were given time off to attend the senator’s presidential campaign announcement Friday. You can get national media coverage there.”

“I don’t have any proof to expose them, or anything that will at least get the feds to investigate them.”

Chuy stood and reached for his cell phone. “Yeah, let me give Lalo a call.”

“Lalo?” Megan and Naomi voiced at the same time.

“They have him doing janitorial work in the offices where they keep confidential information. He can get into their servers and dig up some information for us.”

“He can?” Megan and Naomi said in unison.

Chuy grinned. “Lalo has mad computer skills that would make even Mark Zuckerberg drool.”

N
aomi stood at the entrance of Sunrise Haven. She couldn’t believe that in a few minutes, she would be with Welita again.

“Nervous?”

Jeremy looked down at her with the same tender expression that he had at the hospital. She didn’t know what to do about it, especially now, when he was going against protocol and allowing her to see Welita. She owed him so much. She didn’t want to hurt him.

“A little.”

She felt a quiet calm when he placed a hand on her cheek. “Want me to go in there with you?”

She gazed into his eyes and saw the love he had for her. He cared...too much. She turned her head and took a step back, feeling a stab of pain when she did so. She hated hurting him this way after he’d been so kind to her.

“No. I’ll be fine.”

“It doesn’t look like Megan will be leaving the hospital anytime soon, and Chuy is with Lalo. I’ll watch over Megan for you, so take your time.”

He turned and started to walk away.

“Jeremy.” She grasped hold of his arm before he could leave. “Thanks for letting me do this.”

She watched his broad shoulders stiffen at her touch. When he turned back to face her, his face was somber. His eyes held hers for a moment, and he swallowed. Then his face shifted, erasing the pained expression and putting on his normal, flirtatious twinkle. “Let’s just call it my gift to my future sister.”

He winked, and then he was gone.

Naomi closed her eyes and sighed. It was going to be more difficult than she thought, working so closely with Jeremy. She loved Jeremy; he was so sweet and caring. She wanted so much to be close to him, like a true sister. Maybe if she had a talk with him, aired it all out in the open, they could find a way to be like family, without all the awkwardness.

I’ll have a talk with him when the assignment is over.
Now, she needed to see Welita.

She headed toward the glass doors, and they slid open as she approached. She really didn’t have to use the entrance. It was a habit. She still couldn’t get used to being an angel. She could’ve easily just made herself appear anywhere in the building, although she didn’t know exactly which room Welita was in.

She glided down the halls, listening carefully for any signs of where Welita might be. She heard the muffled sounds of women talking to each other and dishes clattering. In one room, she heard an older woman cooing and the sounds of a baby giggling, making her smile. She thought about going into the room so she could see, but then thought against it, reminding herself that she shouldn’t abuse her angelic abilities. The family in the room that the happy noises were coming from deserved their privacy.

In that moment, she realized Welita would never have a chance to hold her child, and the thought saddened her.

Then she heard a loud and familiar voice that chased the thought away.

“Ay, Dios mio! No, Pablo! Don’t listen to her. She’s lying to you. Maria slept with your brother. She’s carrying his child, not yours.”

Naomi chuckled at Welita, yelling at the television. She always did that when she was watching her favorite show—a telenovela about Pablo Rivera, the handsome ranch owner, and Maria, his maid turned movie actress.

She followed Welita’s voice until she found the place it was coming from. She stepped into the room, and her hand flew to her mouth, stifling a cry, when she saw Welita sitting on a small sofa. Her brown wrinkled hands stroked Bear’s fur while she stared intently at the TV screen.

“Oh, Welita,” Naomi sobbed. “What’s happened to you?”

Welita’s raven hair was now almost entirely white. Her once-strong hands were like brown toothpicks, ready to break at the slightest touch. She was so frail. It was as if the life in her that made her rock solid had been zapped away, leaving her a shell of who she once was.

Naomi’s eyes shifted to the walker beside the chair. She must’ve been really bad off to even allow something like that in her presence. Welita had always been so proud to be independent and to use her own two feet to get around.

I did this to her.
If she had been there, she could have helped Chuy get Welita the best health care so that she would’ve never needed the walker in the first place.

Better yet, if she had stayed with her and never left with Lash, Welita would’ve never had a heart attack. She would still have her home. She’d be watching Pablo and Maria in her own living room in Houston, not in some one-bedroom apartment in an assisted-living home in North Texas.

Naomi took a step closer. Bear’s head jolted up; her ears perked straight up like two furry antennae, and she barked.

“Not now, Bear.” Welita patted Bear’s head. “Wait for the commercial.”

Bear’s brown eyes looked straight at Naomi.

“Can you see me, Girl?” Maybe she could. She recalled Lash saying that sometimes animals could see angels.

Bear sniffed the air and then leapt off Welita’s lap, yapping. She ran in circles around Naomi’s feet, whining, as if she were crying. Her tail wagged so fast, it was a blur.

“Oh my God! You can see me! I missed you too.” She laughed as she reached down to pet her. Her hand went through Bear’s body, and Bear shivered. “I’m sorry, Girl. I wish I could touch you.”

“Ay, Bear! Why are you crying? I’ll let you out during the commer—”

Naomi watched as Welita turned slowly in the direction where she stood. “Who’s there?”

“It’s me, Welita. Can you see me?” Of course she couldn’t. Why should she? Welita was able to see Rebecca, but that was because she had shown herself to Welita. Rebecca was her guardian angel. Naomi wasn’t. “I wish you could see me.”

Welita closed her eyes and reached up for something on her chest. Naomi went over to her and looked down, wondering what she was doing.

Her hand flew up to her mouth, and she sobbed. It was her necklace. Welita was wearing the necklace Naomi’s father had given to her on her graduation night. “Oh Welita, I miss you so much.”

Welita opened her eyes. Looking up, she smiled. “Naomi,” she breathed.

She knows! She knows I’m here.
Tears streamed down Naomi’s cheeks.

Naomi knelt in front of the sofa, placing her hands over Welita’s. If only she could feel her touch, feel the strength of her hands, the hands that always guided her when she was lost, the hands that soothed her when she was in pain, the hands that always reached out to her with unconditional love. “Oh, Welita, there’s so much I wish I could tell you. If only...if only...”

The air became a buzz of energy, and she felt a warmth rush through her body. A tingle deep within her started to grow. It began in the pit of her stomach and slowly spread up to her chest, making her heart pound faster. Then her arms and hands began to tingle as if they’d been asleep. The sensation intensified and spread to her legs. It felt like a thousand needles pricking her all over her body.

Then she felt her knees hitting against something hard, and she looked down.

The floor! I can feel the floor!

She felt soft fur rub against her forearms, followed by a wet lick.

She looked down to see Bear licking her arm.
She can feel me!

“Mijita!”

Naomi looked up, and Welita’s hands flew out and cupped her face. “I can see you! Mejita, I can see you!” She sobbed.

“Welita!” She threw herself into her arms. She didn’t know how she was able to make herself appear in human form to Welita. She was never shown how to do that. It didn’t matter. For now, she wanted to cherish the moment.

After a few minutes, Naomi pulled back, sniffling and brushing off tears with the back of her hand. She went to the corner of the room where there was a portable table covered in a cheap plastic yellow table cover, and took a chair. Placing it next to Welita, she sat down and scooped up Bear.

“I miss this.” She laughed as Bear went wild licking her face.

Welita reached out and held Naomi’s hand. “I’ve prayed to see you one last time. Thank you, Lord, for answering my prayers. I didn’t think I would ever have a chance. After you left, I didn’t see Rebecca anymore. I sensed her presence once in a while, but she never appeared to me again.”

“Uh, Welita. I wasn’t really sent here.” She squirmed in her seat under Welita’s scrutiny. “I’m supposed to be watching someone else. I’m really not supposed to be here.”

“Naomi!” Welita took out a handkerchief from the pocket of her pale blue housedress and fanned herself. “You were not raised like that. We raised you to be a good girl.”

“I know, Welita. But I just had to see you. Besides, Jeremy said it was okay.”

She stopped fanning. “Who’s Jeremy?”

“He’s an archangel. He’s here with me.”

Welita looked around. “Right now?”

“Not
here
here. He’s looking over the person I’m supposed to be watching over.”

Welita gave her ‘the look,’ and she shrank back. It was a look that could put the fear of God in full-grown men. Welita may have looked older and frailer, but that look of hers could still scare the crap out of anyone.

“He’s doing your work for you?”

“Just for a while. It’s a favor, really.”

“And Lash? Where is he?”

Her heart lurched at the sound his name. She gazed down, studying Bear’s fur as she brushed her hand over it. “He’s still in Heaven.”

“Look at me.” Welita’s voice was firm. “Tell me what happened.”

Slowly, she lifted her eyes to meet Welita’s. How could she tell her what happened? Welita would be devastated if she knew what Lash had done.

“I-I can’t.”

“You love him?”

“Yes, but it’s more complicated than that.”

“What’s complicated about love?”

She sighed. She wanted so badly to tell her, to take the weight she was feeling off her chest.

“I can’t explain, Welita. It’s just...complicated.”

“Yes, you can explain.” She leaned over and cupped her cheek. “Don’t be afraid.”

Naomi felt Welita’s strength from that simple touch as if she were passing it to her.

She placed Bear on the floor, and taking a deep breath she blurted, “I know how dad died.”

Welita inhaled sharply. “He was hit by that senator woman... Jane Sutherland. She was driving drunk. We all know that.”

“Do you remember when dad was little and was in the plane crash and the girl who survived the crash too?”

“How could I forget? I remember thinking that the angels were looking after God’s children.”

“Well, the little girl who survived was Jane Sutherland.”

“Really?”

“And, well, she wasn’t supposed to survive that accident.” She stopped, unable to continue.

“Naomi, tell me.” Welita reached over and placed a hand over hers. “Tell me.”

She couldn’t hold it in anymore. Tears ran down her face as the words rushed out in one breath. “It was Lash. Lash saved Jane. Oh Welita, he didn’t know this would happen. I know he did it because he cares so much for people, I just know it. But, if he’d just done what he was supposed to do, dad would still be here, and, and...” She took a gulp of air. “...and maybe I would still be here, too. And we’d still be in Houston, and...and Chuy and Lalo wouldn’t have lost their jobs, and there wouldn’t be stupid bulldozers tearing down the neighborhood.”