Read Online Angel Wings by Suzanne Stengl - Free Book Online Page A

Jessibelle woke up early, refreshed from a good night’s sleep. She showered and dressed and then came down the hall into the living room. The sight of her grandmother’s cherry wood table—set for breakfast—filled her with happiness. Not only because she was hungry, but because it meant Gabe was back.
    He walked out of the galley kitchen with the coffee pot in his hand. This morning he wore black jeans again and a black T-shirt with a pair of white wings, angel wings, over his heart.
    “Sleep well?”
    “Yes, I did. How about you?”
    “I don’t need to sleep,” he answered. “Not as long as I’m an angel.”
    Jessibelle looked at the table, at her plate filled with scrambled eggs, toast points and bacon, and she inhaled the smells. “I think I could fall in love with you.”
    “Not allowed,” he said, pouring the coffee. “But if I were human . . .” He shrugged, and didn’t finish the thought. “How did it go with Hanna?”
    As the radio played the Seraph Morning Show in the kitchen, they ate together and talked about Hanna’s visit. Or rather, Jessibelle talked about it. Gabe listened, asked a few questions and helped her to make sense of this new development.
    “I bet that Rodney’s father has some kind of ultimatum,” Gabe told her between bites of eggs.
    “Ultimatum? What are you talking about?”
    “It’s time for Rodney to take over his father’s business. It’s the largest dealership in New Breckenridge. His father probably wants to make sure his son is stable. Stable as in, married.”
    “So when he met me . . . and it all happened so quickly . . .”
    “Rodney was on a timetable. Then he met Hanna and he figured she was more suitable.”
    “Oh,” Jessibelle said, astounded by this news . . . but, oddly enough, not hurt.
    “That doesn’t mean you are not suitable. You’re just not suitable for Rodney.”
    In between talking, Gabe savored the eggs and bacon and toast and marmalade. Then he sipped his coffee like it was a fine wine and he wanted to enjoy every drop of it.
    Jessibelle took a last bite of eggs, finished her coffee and sighed, satisfied with breakfast and filled with peace. The world seemed completely normal—other than the fact that she was having breakfast with an angel.
    “I’ll walk you to work,” he said.
    “I’d like that.”
    On the sidewalk, he put his arm around her and she leaned into him, feeling the comfort of his closeness. Then a sudden thought flitted through her as she pictured the way she would look, walking and leaning with her arm around . . . nothing.
    “Don’t I look funny walking like this?”
    “Would you rather walk alone?”
    “No,” she told him, knowing this could be one of the last moments she spent with Gabe. Knowing he’d been sent on a mission to help her get through a wedding she didn’t want to attend. A wedding that most likely would not happen. “I don’t care how funny I look. I like you hugging me.”
    “Good for you.”
    “Good for me?”
    “You’re getting over that thing—where you care too much about what other people think.”
    “Yes,” she realized. “I am.”
    “And besides,” he said, “you don’t look like you’re walking funny.”
    “I don’t?”
    “No. You look like you’re walking with me.”
    But, how come—? She stopped walking and turned to look up at him. “I thought people couldn’t see you? You’re not grounded again, are you?”
    He smiled and laughter filled his eyes. “No, I’m not grounded.”
    “And people can still see you?”
    “They can, if I want them to.”
    She watched his eyes, the deep dark brown irises with the pattern of green lines, and she felt herself being drawn into his soul.
    “Come on,” he said, breaking the trance. “Let’s get you to work.” He scooped her to his side again.
    They walked along, through the quiet of the morning, and Jessibelle felt the potency of spring. “Sometimes, I can still hardly believe you’re real.”
    “I’m as