Lucky Stars (Ghosts and Reincarnation #5)(100)

It made for a brilliant day.

It also helped knowing she’d be going home to the criminally handsome Jack Bennett, the father of her child and, apparently, the real-life, walking, talking, breathing, kissing, making love, showering together and holding hands man of her dreams.

She only had two moments that caused blips in her day and they came back to back.

The first was when she was alone in the workroom, Nola off to get sandwiches, Carol downstairs to help with the crush.

Belle was drawing a pattern for a new blouse she was going to introduce when the vision of Davey and Penny, sightless and lifeless, their limbs floating eerily in the water, seared through her brain.

At the memory, she pulled in a deep, horrified breath at the same exact moment her mobile rang.

The display said, “Jack Calling”.

Belle stared at the phone, stunned for a second then picked it up and hit the green button on the screen answering it in a quiet voice by asking, “How did you know?”

There was silence then Jack queried, “Belle?”

She didn’t respond to his call, instead she repeated, “How did you know I needed you to call?”

Jack’s voice no longer sounded questioning. It sounded alert when he enquired, “What’s happened?”

She shook her head, realised he couldn’t see her and answered, “Nothing. I just, two seconds ago, remembered Davey and Penny. Then you called as if you knew I needed you to call. How did you know?”

“Poppet,” he replied, his voice soft and warm, “I wish I could tell you I knew you needed me but I didn’t. I was calling to tell you I wouldn’t be home for dinner.”

“Oh,” Belle murmured.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“Yes.”

More silence then, “Belle.”

“Really, Jack, I’m fine,” she assured him, though she wasn’t.

She couldn’t shake the feeling that it was uncanny, the minute her mind had filled with terrible, frightening images and, even though she didn’t consciously think it, unconsciously, she needed him and all of a sudden he called.

There was something weird about that.

Wonderful but weird.

“Poppet –” she heard him call softly in her ear.

“Jack, I’m fine,” she repeated, stronger this time.

There was silence a moment then he asked, “Will you walk the dogs?”

Belle didn’t like the sound of that and enquired, “How late are you going to be?”

“You’ll wake up next to me.”

Holy heck.

“That sounds like it means you’ll be really late,” she whispered tentatively.

“Yes, my love,” he replied cautiously.

“Does that mean you’ll be…” she paused, her heart clenching, she swallowed and then asked in a rush, “flying in the dark?”

He didn’t answer her question instead he declared, “I’ll be safe.”

“Will you be flying in the dark?” she asked again.

“Maybe,” he answered, his tone still cautious.

“Oh my goodness gracious,” she breathed.

“Poppet, I’ve flown in the dark before.”

“Okay,” she replied swiftly, thinking it best that she didn’t think at all about him flying in the dark. It was hard enough driving in the dark when you had headlights and even high beams.

But dark sky was just dark.

Did they have lights on planes?

And, if they didn’t (and even if they did!), how would he know his way? How would he see if something was flying at him, a bird, another plane?

Belle knew there were instruments and all that kind of stuff, still her heart skipped a beat.

“Lots of times, my love,” he continued to try and reassure her.

“Okay,” she lied.

“I’ll be fine.”

Belle could take no more and therefore, as ridiculous as it sounded and as crazy as she knew he’d think she was, to protect her fragile sanity she started chanting, “La la la, I’m not involved in this conversation, la la la.”

She heard him chuckle before he changed the subject and prompted, “Baron and Gretl?”

Happy to be on a much safer topic, she replied, “Of course I’ll walk them.”

“If it rains, ask Lila to do it,” he ordered.

Belle walked from her drafting board to the window and looked out, unseeing.

“Oh, so it’s okay if Gram slips on the wet, treacherous cliff path but not me?” Belle tried to tease, slightly embarrassed about her chanting and wondering vaguely how long it would take for him to grow tired of her neuroses. It took Calvin, if memory served (and it did), two weeks and three days after their honeymoon to grow tired of it.

“She’s lived a full life,” Jack teased back audaciously, pulling her from her thoughts and startling a giggle from Belle but she stopped laughing when she heard him murmur in his low and rumbly voice, “Jesus, I love that sound.”

“What sound?” Belle whispered, caught up in his voice.

“The sound of you,” he replied and finished, “happy.”

That trill went up her spine straight into her scalp and she felt her belly dip and he wasn’t even looking at her. He wasn’t even in the same town as her.