Lucky Stars (Ghosts and Reincarnation #5)(98)

It was then Jack realised she was no longer trembling, crying or pushing at him. Her hands were resting lightly on his chest and she was gazing up at him defiantly.

Because of this, the humour of her words suddenly hit Jack and he couldn’t stop himself from chuckling.

“What’s funny now?” she yelled, again pressing against his chest, now angrily, at the same time declaring, “This is not funny, James Bennett. If anything is not funny, this… is… not… funny!”

He dipped his head and gave her angry mouth a soft kiss before pulling a scant inch away, “Poppet, our child is not going to get kidnapped, smothered or drowned in a freak bus accident.”

“You can’t promise that,” she snapped.

All humour vanished from his voice and he watched the anger fade from her face and fear replace it when he replied, “No, you’re right. I can’t.” He lifted a hand to cup her jaw, his thumb moved to stroke her cheekbone and he went on before she could say a word, “I can’t promise he won’t sprain his ankle or burn his fingers or fall off his horse either.”

“Jack –” she started, her voice trembling but he kept talking.

“I can’t promise he’ll mind us when we tell him what to do or that he’ll get good marks in school or that he’ll bring home only girls we like or that he’ll listen to music that doesn’t drive us mad.”

As he spoke, he watched her face begin to grow soft and the storm started to shift out of her eyes.

After a moment, she whispered, “But I like all kinds of music.”

At her words, Jack grinned. “Odds are, he’ll find some you hate.”

She regarded him a moment and her eyes finally cleared.

“This is true,” she told him, the sweetness back in her voice and he saw her mouth form a small smile.

Jack rolled again to his side, moving her to hers and he held her close as his face got closer.

“What I can promise is we’ll do the best we can and we’ll keep him as safe as we can.” His hand tangled in her hair and he pulled her head gently back so he could get even closer before he finished, “And even when he’s pissing us off or we’re worried about him, I can promise you that we’ll be happy we took this risk.”

He felt a shudder move through her body and she pressed tighter to him before she asked softly, “Do you think Davey and Penny’s Mum and Dad were happy they took the risk?”

Jack’s reply was immediate, “Yes.”

She wet her lips before her eyes dropped to his throat and she whispered, “I suspect you’re right.”

He gave her hair a soft tug and her gaze came back to him.

“Are you all right now?” he asked and he watched her blink, her expression turning oddly startled before it cleared.

“I think I am,” she answered, sounding surprised by her own words.

He brushed her mouth with his and said, “Good.”

Then he moved to turn off the light but she moved with him, her hand coming up to grab his forearm and he turned back to her in enquiry.

“I think I am,” she repeated. “I think I’m all right.”

Jack stared at her a moment before he said, “I got that, poppet.”

She shook her head and came up on a forearm to look down at him. “You don’t get it, Jack. I said, I think I’m all right.”

Jack rose to his own forearm to look her in the eyes. “I’m sorry, love, but you’re going to have to explain to me what I don’t get.”

“I’m all right,” she repeated and when she did Jack smiled instead of laughing which he preferred to do but it would likely have annoyed her. Then he wrapped his fingers around the back of her neck, pulling her closer.

“Repeating it isn’t going to help me understand, Belle,” he explained.

“I remembered,” she whispered, her voice solemn. “I remembered something horrific, something I didn’t think I could handle.” She leaned closer, put her hand on his chest and looked directly into his eyes. “And I’m all right.”

His fingers at her neck gave her a squeeze. “I’m glad, my love.”

He started to move to switch off the light again but turned back when she said, “Jack, no.”

His eyes caught hers and he waited.

“I’m not strong,” she admitted softly. “You know that. I’ve never been strong. Never in my whole life. If I’d been alone, I wouldn’t have been able to handle that.” Her hand went to her belly as did her gaze before returning to him. “Or this,” she threw her arm out and went on, “or anything.”

“Belle –” he started to disagree but she finished what she intended to say, using words that tore through his system, searing a direct path straight to his soul.

“But I’m all right because I’m not alone. I’m all right because I’m with you. Tonight, you made me all right.”

Jack’s body went still, his eyes held hers for a long moment and he forgot about the light. He forgot about going back to sleep. He forgot about everything.

He forgot that he graduated top of his class.

He forgot that he’d been made captain of the rugby team not because of his name but because of his abilities.

He forgot that he’d turned his back on the family business and built his own company from nothing.