Angels at the Table (Angels Everywhere #7)(11)

“New Year’s Eve, to be precise,” Shirley supplied and raised her index finger. “I want it on the record that I was against the idea from the beginning. I wanted no part of this scheme, and—”

“But you joined in,” Gabriel said, cutting her off.

“Well, yes, I realize it probably looks bad but I felt having someone sensible tag along was absolutely necessary. There was no telling what trouble Goodness and Mercy could get into without me there to watch over them.”

“We didn’t—”

Gabriel cut Goodness off. “I want to know who was responsible for the fiasco involving Lucie Ferrara and Aren Fairchild?”

Shirley, Goodness, and Mercy all found it necessary to look elsewhere with their lips tightly pinched together.

“That would be me,” Will murmured. He, too, had trouble meeting Gabriel’s gaze.

“Explain what happened.” Gabriel used his sternest voice.

Will stepped forward and stared straight ahead. “To be fair to my mentors I was warned not to get involved with humans, but I—”

“You mean to say you actually mingled with humans?”

Will’s slow nod revealed his reluctance. “Mercy explained only those with spiritual eyes could see us.”

“Did anyone notice you?”

“No.”

“You’re sure?” Gabriel pressed.

“Not entirely, but if I was recognized no one said anything.”

Gabriel walked around his desk. “You’d best tell me everything.” His gaze connected with Mercy, who sighed and moved to stand with Will. “I accept responsibility. I lost sight of Shirley and while I was searching for her, Will disappeared.”

“In other words this trouble is a direct result of your disobedience.” He pinned her with his eyes. He was silently pleased she was willing to step forward and admit her mistake, although he had a sneaky suspicion all three were involved in this debacle.

Mercy squirmed uncomfortably under his intense scrutiny. “I’d like to think of our short sojourn to Earth as an unplanned training exercise.”

Gabriel directed his next question to Will. “And what did you learn, young man?”

“Ah …” Will seemed to go speechless and looked to his mentors for help.

“Well, for one thing,” Shirley said, coming to her charge’s rescue, “I learned not to allow cranky toddlers to distract me.”

“And then Goodness got lured away by those network cameras and I had to distract her before she showed up on the Jumbotron again …”

“And that’s when the bell struck midnight and all those humans started kissing and singing,” Will chimed in.

“And …” Gabriel wanted the full story.

“And I introduced these two people,” the apprentice angel admitted, looking down at his feet.

“Lucie and Aren?”

“I didn’t get their names.”

“Lucie and Aren,” Gabriel said a bit louder.

“They kissed,” Will said excitedly. “I saw them.”

“And you interfered with God’s plan for them to meet,” Gabriel muttered, shaking his head as though thoroughly discouraged.

“You mean God intended for them to meet all along?” Mercy asked, her voice slightly elevated with excitement.

“Yes, but their meeting wasn’t scheduled to happen for several months and now everything is askew.”

“Is there anything I can do to set matters right?” Will asked. “Because I’d be willing to volunteer to return to Earth and do whatever is necessary to make amends.”

I just bet you would, Gabriel thought. It was already apparent that Will had caught the enthusiasm for Earth as badly as his mentors.

“That is,” Will continued, “if you were willing to trust me again.”

To his credit the apprentice looked appropriately chagrined and repentant. Gabriel mused over the question as he rubbed his chin, wondering if there was a simple way around this problem. “Well, with some effort you might be able to untangle this mess.”

“Does this mean it’ll be necessary to return to Earth?” Goodness asked breathlessly, hopefully.

“And naturally as Will’s mentors we would need to accompany him,” Shirley added as though it was understood Will couldn’t possibly handle this awkward situation without their assistance.

“Well …”

“At great personal sacrifice, I’ll personally volunteer to accompany Will without the others,” Mercy offered.

Gabriel watched as Mercy’s two friends glared at her in undisguised outrage. Several feathers broke loose and floated to the floor, a sure indication that they were perturbed by Mercy’s willingness to leave them behind.

“Seeing that the three of you were in this together I feel it’s only fair that you all accompany Will and straighten this out.”

“We’ll leave right this minute.” Shirley didn’t bother to disguise her zeal to take on the project.

“Hold on,” Gabriel said, stopping them. “There have been a number of significant changes.”

“Oh.”

“In order for you to understand the complexity of the situation, you’ll need to take a look at Lucie’s and Aren’s lives now, all these months later.”