Chapter 5.

Abigail.

I DROVE TO THE SITEof the most recent angel sighting. Thankfully it was only forty-five minutes out of town. I'd had far longer drives in my time. I grabbed the angel first aid bag from the passenger seat and read through the messages from my mom. She'd already found the angel somewhere to stay for the week, which was excellent.

Sunshine Motel.

Hm. It wasn't super nice, but it was clean at least, and the clientele weren't too dangerous from what I'd seen in our time utilizing their services. I'd been there and dropped off angels many times before and the rooms had served their purpose well enough. It was only a temporary measure anyway, just somewhere for newly fallen angels to recover and find their human feet before they began the start of their journeys here on Earth.

As I got out of my car and looked around at the pretty park, a familiar car pulled up behind me. "Amery?" I called out, my brow furrowed in intrigue at the bizarre coincidence.

The beautiful ex-angel popped out of her car with a vibrant grin. "Hey, Abby!"

"What are you doing here?" I asked her.

Amery laughed as if the answer were obvious. "You asked for our help, remember?"

I had a vague recollection, but I'd been seriously distracted by other thoughts lately... "Well, I only mentioned it to you and Val in passing, but I didn't think we'd actually put anything into action yet."

She beamed as she shut the car door. "Well, Val and I think that you and your family have carried this burden long enough. I contacted your mom and gave her my number, and I've begun contacting other fallen angels so that we can set up a rotation roster as well. You know what they say, many hands make light work!"

I gaped at her, my heart swelling with sudden emotion. "I had no idea." My mother hadn't even mentioned anything.

Amery came forward and hugged me tightly. When she pulled back, I had tears pricking at my eyes.

Did that mean that my idea had worked? Could it really be that I wasn't going to spend the rest of my life alone because I had no choice but to work in some capacity every waking moment of every day for the rest of my life?

"I'll need some training, of course," Amery continued with a smile. "So, any tips and tricks you might have to offer would be greatly appreciated." She waited patiently for me to respond.

I had to practically pinch myself to continue. I hadn't realized just how much this would mean to me. For a moment I felt like I'd been run over by an emotional steam train and left splattered on the tracks.

I can't believe this.

"Oh yeah... of course!" I snapped myself back to reality with a wobbly smile. "I carry like, five of these in my car at all times." I held up the angel care package for her to see which included a basic first aid pack among other things. "And my mom organizes us. She sends us messages of who's fallen and where to find them. And of course, the details of where to take them to rest up during their first week."

"Oh yeah! The motel." Amery's eyes lit up with memories. "That was a fun week, actually." She tittered.

I chuckled too and shook my head playfully. "I don't want to know, girl! It's been way too long for me on that particular front."

With our mission in mind, together, we began walking across the manicured park.

I scanned the area, looking around for the tell-tale signs that the angel was nearby.

"You know... Pascale was very interested in you yesterday," Amery mentioned casually as she walked along beside me.

I twisted around to look straight at Amery, my insides twisting with nerves and desire.

Holy shit. She can't mean...

"What do you mean?" I asked, before clearing my throat and looking ahead.

She crossed her arms over her chest and stared back at me, one eyebrow cocked humorously. "You know exactly what I bloody well mean," she said.

"No, I don't," I reassured her, swallowing against the thick feeling in my throat. "Do you mean because I'm human and could see him? He did seem pretty upset by that."

She cackled like I'd lost my marbles. "He wasn't upset at all, Abby. He just... couldn't quite handle how attracted to you he was."

My face immediately burned with a hot blush, and at that moment I felt the angel moving about, rather than saw them. I turned back around and began to hurry in the direction that my senses were guiding me. And that's when I saw him, sitting in the dirt and looking about absently like he'd just been conked on the head with a cast-iron frying pan. "Danyel?" I called out, remembering the name mentioned in my messages, as I slowed my pace, so he wasn't frightened of our unexpected approach.

The angel's gaze came up and met mine, then he looked to my left, his eyes lighting up with immediate recognition. "Amery?" he breathed.

My angel friend walked around me, her smile bright. "Danyel!" she answered. "It's wonderful to see you again, my friend." She reached out a hand to the fallen angel and helped him to his feet. "Come meet, Abby," she invited, encouraging Danyel to take a wobbly step closer.

I put my hand out to him and grabbed his arm before he stumbled. "Just be careful," I warned him gently. "Without your wings it will take you a few hours to get used to how it feels to walk again. Your balance is all off at the moment."

Amery stood on his other side, offering her support and snorted. "Hours? It was more like a few weeks!"

Together, we helped Danyel into my car, gave him a whole lot of sugar and water, and drove him to the Sunshine Motel.

He didn't fall with anyone, which was relatively unusual in my experience. But I could sense that he was ready for his life to begin—to find love in the human realm. He wanted more out of life than service, which I could absolutely relate to. And the irony of that fact wasn't lost on me, either. "We'll be in touch in a few days, once we get a house sorted for you," I told him.

Amery perked her head up from investigating the mini fridge. "Actually, Val and I were thinking we would offer our spare room to the next angel for a few months, if that's okay? That way we can help Danyel learn the ropes of the human world much faster and the motel option is still available for another angel if it's needed."

My mouth fell open. Not only did that sound wonderful, but their offer would take a lot of the financial strain off my family in the long term. Constantly paying for weeks in a motel did not come cheap. "That would be so great, Amery. But we better check in with my mom, just in case. She might already have things rolling on her end."

Danyel collapsed onto the bed. "I feel like I've been hit by a truck."

I searched in the angel bag I'd given to him for Advil. "Take a few of these with water," I advised. "They'll help ease the pain. And for now, just get as much rest as you can, really. There's not much more to do for the next few days but hang in there. We'll be back sooner if every works out with the change of accommodation."

We made sure Danyel was set up and had everything he needed, before heading out. It felt a little strange to leave someone alone, with no one else, but that was the nature of choosing to fall alone. I could only hope Amery's friend found someone special to spend his new human life with. After all the love the cupids blessed the world with, they deserved to experience it for themselves.

Amery and I stopped by our cars to chat.

I wasn't sure how to find the right words, but I forced myself to try. "I need to thank you," I said. "For offering to help, both financially and time wise."

She grinned at me. "I think all of us fallen angels should pay back the money spent on us. On the motels, rent, and food; kind of like some sort of pay back loan situation. Or maybe even a pay it forward for the next angel system, so you and your family can stop floating us."

I laughed at her language. "You're really getting used to the lingo, aren't you?" It made my heart melt.

She shrugged. "I'm being deadly serious, Abby. If all the angels that you've helped paid you back for even just their set up costs, what would that do for your family?"

I gulped at the mere thought and my mind spun like a merry-go-round gone wild. "My mom could probably pay off her mortgage, if I'm being honest." We'd always lived on very little, prioritizing helping the angels over ourselves. It was our family's calling, after all. But it would be so incredible if my parents could finally settle down in peace, especially financially speaking. It would blow their minds to see that happiness and generosity returned to them.

Amery nodded once. "Then I'm going to make sure it happens. I'm sure none of the angels that you've helped have any real idea that you put your own money into setting us up. If they did, I have absolutely no doubt they would have paid you back long ago! They have good hearts, and we all appreciate what you've given up for us."

I opened my car door and fiddled with my keys. "How did you work it out Amery?" I asked.

She looked at me with a shrewd look in her eye. "I put things together pretty quickly. Once we had to start paying our rent and bills, I immediately wondered who paid for that first month. Then I asked your mom and Billy, and Billy told me the truth."

I groaned. "Of course he did."

"Hey, don't be mad at him. He told me the truth and I'm grateful. We're all so very grateful for everything, Abby, like I said. None of us would have this chance at life if it weren't for your family. I can't imagine what falling would be like with the kind of support you offer as angel agents. It would be... terrifying quite frankly. I honestly don't want to even think about it." The ex-cupid shuddered, before regaining her composure.

I leaned against the car, a smile tweaking my lips. "You're so welcome. I'd never want to let angels suffer. I'll always help, as long as I'm needed; but your offer to set up a networked team of angel rescuers is incredible beyond words. It means I might be able to actually live my life a little. Find my own happiness, you know?" I went to get back to the driver's side, but Amery stopped me.

"Speaking of which," she started. "How would you feel about me setting up a date or something, for you and Pascale?"

My jaw dropped as I stared at her, my heart galloping.

Did she just offer to cupid me?

"That is, unless the rabbit thing bothers you?" she asked, tilting her head to the side in question. "I can understand if it does."

"Oh God, no. It's not that!" I rushed to say, though when I paused to think about it, I definitely had some questions. "But he is technically another species, right? I mean, are we even allowed to date?" I asked. I couldn't believe I was even entertaining this and wasn't just jumping into my car and hitting the gas.

The Easter Bunny doesn't want to date me, does he? That just sounds... insane!

Amery gave me a placating smile, then slapped herself on the forehead. "Oh my gosh, I'm sorry. I just realized you don't even know that he's a shifter, do you? I forget about that sometimes too!"

"A shifter?" I'd heard of them in fairy tales of course, and I'd had my suspicions, but to know they were real was something else entirely. I glanced around nervously. Surely no one could hear us in this empty car park, but I was paranoid anyway.

"He's a shifter," Amery explained. "As in... he's human most the time, well, he looks like one anyway. He's obviously paranormal, or a magical as some of us say. And he can shift or change into that massive bunny form anytime he likes."

"So, he... can control it?" I asked, frowning. "Like putting on a suit or something?" I was struggling to wrap my head around quite how that worked in practice.

"Usually, sort of. But around Easter time he stays in bunny form constantly. He sort of doesn't have a choice on that front. The pull of the season and the stresses on him are obscenely strong at this time of year."

I stared at her with a newfound respect and smiled. "You really know a lot more than me, don't you?"

She chuckled loudly. "Well, I do have a few unfair advantages there. One being that I'm over two hundred years old, so I may have picked up a few things over the course of my angelic life. Don't worry, in time, you'll learn!"

I sighed, sobering once more. "So... what do I do, Amery?"

"About Pascale you mean?" she asked, raising an eyebrow again.

I nodded and chewed on my lower lip, so as not to reveal too much about the way I felt.

Amery grinned at me as though she knew what was going on in my head in real time. "You really like him, don't you, Abby?"

"I don't know him," I defended, licking my lips and averting my gaze.

She arched her other eyebrow at me. "But... you want him anyway, right?"

"Don't put it like that!" I said, staring down at my feet as I scuffed my shoes on the roadside.

"Don't be embarrassed!" she said quickly. "It's normal to want to connect with, and love another being. It's what makes life beautiful."

That was true. "Okay, yeah, but—"

"Not buts," Amery interrupted me. "I'll contact Pascale and I'll see what I can tee up. He doesn't have a cell phone, but the shifters all communicate with one another, and the Easter shifters have an internal telephone system, I think. I might be able to get a hold of their number."

"Where does he live?" I asked, hoping it wasn't somewhere as bogus as the North Pole.

"Not far from here, actually," she said, not meeting my gaze.

"Amery," I said her name sternly, forcing her to look at me. "Where does he live, exactly?"

"Um, you know... where most rabbits live," she answered with a hesitant smile. "In a burrow, of sorts. Underground. All nice and cozy."

I gulped. "Underground?" I didn't like the sound of that one bit. Amery suggested it was cozy, but all I could think of was dirt and darkness.

"I've never been," Amery rushed to add. "But the way Pascale explained it to me, the grounds seemed very similar to our barracks in the Clouds. Lots of bedrooms, all connected by a long hallway. There's working rooms, eating halls, space to socialize etc."

"And he lives there all year round?" I asked, my stomach twisting in knots. "Even in human form? If that's the way to say it?" I was still coming to grips with the terminology.

She nodded. "Yeah, I think so. But hey, I've been out of touch with Pascale for a while, so that's probably a question you could ask him. So... how about it? Can I set you two up? I've kind of missed the art of being a cupid."

I shook my head with a wry smile. "I knew it! You want to cupid me!" I accused.

"Oh please," Amery begged, putting her palms together in a prayer sort of stance. "Just one lunch, or whatever. If it doesn't work out, at least you'd have learned something special about the paranormal world! No harm, no foul."

I took my time thinking about her question. Instinctually, I knew I shouldn't do it. My gut twisted with something akin to worry and fear. But at the same time my breath caught in my throat, and I had to swallow hard to deal with the feelings that kept surging up and threatening to drown me like waves at sea.

"It's just lunch," Amery said again, her eyes twinkling with amusement. "You said you were okay with the rabbit thing, right?"

I nodded, my mind wandering hopelessly back to my dreams. My cheeks blazed with heat, and I felt an ache blossoming downstairs all over again. "Yeah... I am."

"Good! Then I'll set something up and call you, okay?" She barely let me nod in agreement before sliding into her new little car and zipping off—just your every day run of the mill ex-angel on a mission.

I watched her disappear into the distance and shook my head.

That woman is a force to be reckoned with!

Upon realizing that I was actually going on a date with the Easter Bunny, whether I liked it or not, happiness filled me up inside desperate to explode like a shaken can of pop. With a grin on my face, I slid into my own car, laughing at the absurdity of it all. With my heart bouncing in my chest, and my mood soaring above the clouds—higher than any angel ever could—I drove back home, singing along to my radio at the top of my lungs.