Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 67263 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 336(@200wpm)___ 269(@250wpm)___ 224(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67263 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 336(@200wpm)___ 269(@250wpm)___ 224(@300wpm)
I moved my view to her.
“When my grandma’s younger sister became an adult she went up to New York to get better work and to see if she could maybe find her brother, Raeford and Cousin Maribel. Grand Aunt Jackie was too young to really know Raeford, but by then they had become a haunted legend in our family.”
“Aunt Jackie?”
“Yes.”
I quirked my brows. “Jackie Jones?”
Gwen nodded.
“Ava Jones’s grandmother?”
“That’s right.”
“Ava Jones, the first black Prima Ballerina of Russia?”
Gwen opened her mouth. “Y-eah. You. . .know her?”
I bobbed my head.
Gwen raised her eyebrows. “How?”
“She’s dating a Russian that I’m cool with.”
“Ava is dating a Russian?”
“Yeah.”
“Is he. . .a nice guy?”
“Misha is nice as long as no one messes with him or Ava.”
She rubbed her head with her free hand. “So. . .you have been around Ava and didn’t know that she was your distant cousin.”
“I still don’t know that.”
“You don’t think that’s a little weird that—”
“I think it’s all weird.”
“But—”
“Look. I didn’t know my grandparents. By the time I was born, my father didn’t talk with them. He called them bad people. I’m not sure if they were even alive or not.”
“And where is your father?”
“He’s dead.”
“How?”
“Someone killed him?”
Gwen blinked. “Do you. . .know who killed him?”
“I do know who killed him. And I consider her more family than you and all these people in these pictures.” I gestured at the photos.
“I have so many questions.”
I checked my watch. “I don’t have the time to answer any of them.”
“Why not?”
“Because my head hurts and I have a few hours with a beautiful woman that is giving me some sense of relief.”
Without saying anything, she walked up and hugged me, wrapping her arms around my waist.
“Gwen. . .” I held my hands up.
She leaned her head against my chest. “I’m sorry if you’ve been through a lot, but I think grandma is right. You’re family. I can feel it deep in my heart.”
I let out an exasperated breath and hugged her back. “Gwen. . .”
“Yes?” She tightened her hold on me.
My eyes watered. “I don’t want them to be my grandparents.”
“I understand. Do you think my grandma is easy to deal with?”
“At least your grandmother isn’t a victim of rape and probably. . .”
Gwen looked up at me. “What?”
“If she is my grandmother, then she probably made other’s her victim too.”
“Why do you think so?”
“Because my father wasn’t right in the head. Someone touched him that wasn’t supposed to. Maybe now. . .I might know. It was either my grandfather or grandmother. I don’t even want to think about it.”
Gwen leaned her head back against my chest. “We can’t clean up the past, Maxwell, but we can polish up the future. We can do better than those before us.”
Rafael’s voice sounded next to us. “But can we do it without hugging?”
Gwen and I turned his way.
Anger covered his face. “Can I ask why you both are hugging each other?”
Gwen let me go and rolled her eyes. “Rafael, this is my cousin.”
“Hey.” I held my hands back up. “I’m not sure about all of that—”
“You look like us.” Gwen tried to hand me the pictures. “Take these.”
“Man, I don’t want to take those.”
She leaned her head to the side. “Will you see Ava again?”
Lowering my hands, I frowned. “Most likely.”
“Then, give the images to her.”
“Her grandmother is with her. She probably has copies or something.”
“I doubt it. Grandma and Grand Aunt Jackie don’t get along.”
“What?”
“I told you that sisters are cursed in our family. However, I’m hoping to make sure that doesn’t happen in our generation.” Gwen tried to give me those damn pictures again. “Take them. Aunt Jackie would love to see herself.”
“Mrs. Jackie is in the picture?”
“Oh yeah.” Gwen pointed to the baby eating mudpies. “That’s her.”
“Man.” I shook my head. “And I was trying to fuck Mrs. Jones.”
Confusion covered Gwen’s face. “What?”
“Long story.” I took the pictures from her. “As usual a white dude cock blocked.”
“Wow.” Without asking, Gwen grabbed my joint and took a hit. “Sorry. This is all a lot to digest.”
Rafael looked back and forth at us. “So. . .you both are family?”
I stuffed the photos in the envelope. “Man, I’m not trying to take your woman to bed, so relax.”
Gwen blew out smoke. “Rafael and I are not together.”
Rafael snorted.
Gwen gave me the joint back. “We should exchange information. I want to send you a blood test so that we can confirm this.”
“I don’t know—”
“We’re doing it, Maxwell.” She smiled. “We have to. We’re a good-looking family. You don’t want to end up sleeping with your cousin and not—”
“Eh.” I shook my head. “Chill out with that.”
Gwen shrugged. “Actually, if I were you, I wouldn’t even sleep with anybody in New Orleans or around the state. The men in our family get around.”
Man. . .I need to get my ass back to Italy.