“Mr. Ramses, welcome to my home.”
“Rett, please,” he said with a dashing smile. “Your home is lovely.”
She spoke to Leon and Ian, “Please join us.”
Leon shook his head. “We’re fine, ma’am. If it’s all right with you, we’ll sit out here on the porch.”
“You’re welcome inside anytime.”
I took in the surroundings as Rett and I followed my mother inside and walked back to the kitchen. Nothing had changed since I was there before, but this was the first time I was able to admire all that she had.
“Edmée made us supper,” Jezebel said as we entered the kitchen, “but first, I have some lemonade if you’d like a glass.”
“May I help?” I asked.
Jezebel smiled. “I’m so happy you’re here. Let me enjoy having guests.”
Before Rett and I took a seat at the table, he finished removing his suit coat, unlatched his cuff links, and rolled up his sleeves.
Mother smiled as she set two glasses of lemonade on the table. “I apologize for the heat. I’m not a fan of cold air.”
After we all had our lemonade in front of us, Mother sat across from us. She turned to Rett. “I never properly thanked you.”
Rett shook his head. “It’s not—”
My curiosity was piqued. “For what?”
Mother’s lips curled as she looked at my husband. “Didn’t he tell you what happened?”
“Yes.”
She nodded. “He saved my life.”
I sat straight before turning toward Rett and back to my mother. “I must have missed that part of the story.”
Jezebel reached across the table. I offered her my hands. Similar to what she’d worn when I first met her, each finger had a ring with a different colored stone. Looking at our union, she turned our hands one way and the next. Her blue eyes met mine. “I think my hands were the first clue.”
Rett nodded.
“Clue?”
“I didn’t know how much your mother wanted you to know. That’s why I agreed to come here today, to bring you,” Rett was speaking to me. “This way you know exactly what happened.”
Jezebel released my hands and sat back. “Don’t let him be modest. Mr. Ramses did save me even if it wasn’t his intention.”
“You didn’t want to save her?”
Jezebel continued, “I left you and Edmée at the shop because” —she grinned at Rett— “I didn’t know who to trust. I’d made misjudgments and well, I wasn’t sure about Mr. Ramses. The shop was safe, and Daniel knew to bring you back here if I didn’t survive or if here was the safest option for you.” She exhaled. “You see, I had a plan. The spirits were loud, angry. The turmoil was not just in this realm. The answer was supposed to be clear, but I didn’t want to see it. I wanted the prophecy to be for both you and Kyle. Once you were with me, I knew I’d been wrong. I’d hoped if I worked with him... And then Damas came to me.” She paused. “He lives here. He and his wife have been here as long as I can remember. I think you spoke to them when you were here, on the back porch.”
I nodded. “I remember.”
“When someone doesn’t even try to communicate, to learn a language or understand it, they become arrogant.”
“Kyle?” I asked.
“William. He became careless about what he said in front of Damas and Cleo. Damas used William’s carelessness. He later told me the spirits told him to listen.” She smiled. “Even so, he apologized for eavesdropping. I’m grateful. What he did saved my children.” She took a breath. “William was working to take over what I’d prepared. He knew about my money, my investments, and he wanted control of everything.”
“What was your plan when you dropped us off?” I asked.