Jack had gone somewhere. He told her he’d return shortly but didn’t tell her where he was going.
Belle only hoped it wasn’t to break his mother’s fingers though she couldn’t imagine Jack would do that even though he sounded like he very much wanted to.
She was contemplating how she felt about her day with Jack (indeed, her last three days with Jack) and everything that had happened.
In other words, she was trying to figure out how she felt about the fact that Jack clearly didn’t dislike her frequent, quiet reveries. This was something Calvin hated and thought was weird and shared these thoughts frequently. Frequently enough for Belle to stop doing it when he was around.
In fact, Jack seemed not only to accept them but, on some strange level, to enjoy them. After Calvin’s persistent avowals of hatred for them, Belle couldn’t believe this was true. Nevertheless, the more she fell into them around Jack, the more she sensed Jack’s contentment when they happened.
She was also trying to figure out how she felt about Jack hiring a shop assistant for her, driving her to work and spending a day in her store not because he wanted to but because (she was certain) he was protecting her from the media.
This was beyond nice, polite, simply protecting the mother of my unborn child thoughtfulness. It was something else, something more.
Much more.
Additionally, she was trying to figure out how she felt about the fact that it was very clear…
No.
It was vehemently clear that Jack was thrilled he had fathered a child during a one night stand. Belle thought that was every man’s worst nightmare.
Not Jack’s.
But further, he seemed just as thrilled (if not more so) that he’d fathered that child through Belle.
Most men would not be thrilled about this in any way, shape or form.
Jack seemed delighted.
Belle found this weird though, she had to admit, it also made her secretly happy. Not only for herself but also for their child.
And she was trying to figure out what Jack meant when he told her she’d meet his PA, Olive, saying this in a way that inferred Belle would be around for a while. Not the while it would take for her successfully to birth their child but the kind of while that said she’d not only meet Olive, she’d get to know her.
Which would mean Belle would be a fixture in Jack’s life and not the kind of fixture that he’d see when dropping off their son at her cottage or picking him up or speaking with her on the phone to discuss his grades.
A different, extremely more fixed, fixture.
She was also trying to figure out how she felt about the fact that she was letting him sleep with her and she’d allowed him do the delicious things he’d done to her on the couch.
But mostly, she was trying to figure out how she felt about him not thinking she was the brazen hussy she thought she was behaving like but instead that he was a “very lucky man” that she behaved this way with him.
The memory of him saying that (and calling her “my love” while doing it), made her scalp tingle and her belly curl in a way that was nearly (but not quite) as nice as the amazing orgasm he’d given her. Something which didn’t embarrass her in the least (well, not after he’d said the things he’d said and held her so tenderly after she’d had it).
She was further trying to figure out how she felt about living in a haunted castle. Something that seriously weirded her out but something she seemed to be able to do (with Jack around, that was).
And, lastly, Belle was trying to figure out what her next move was.
She could either trust Jack would keep her safe and believe in all the things he was saying not to mention the way he was behaving.
Or she could flee to the wilds of South America and live in a tree house in the rainforest.
She was coming to no conclusions but considering the many dramas that seemed to befall her moment to moment and thus befall the baby she was carrying, she felt it important to reassure her child.
So she pressed her hands closer to her belly, looked down and said, with more hope than certainty, “Okay, sweets, it all seems very crazy right now, there’s a lot happening but I promise it won’t be like this forever. It’ll calm down and life will be normal and boring.”
On her last word, her body gave a small jolt and her head came up as she felt Jack behind her.
His arms went around her, one hand joining hers at her belly, his other arm wrapping around her upper chest to pull her against his tall, hard body.
She was so engrossed in her thoughts she hadn’t heard him approach and was completely still when his mouth went to her ear and he said low, “I’m not sure it’s a good idea to start lying to our child at this early stage. With your mother and grandmother, I doubt things will ever be normal and boring.”
Belle turned her head to look at him, he lifted his own and their eyes caught.
“Your mother isn’t exactly sedate and unassuming,” Belle reminded him with no disapproval in her tone whatsoever.
Jack grinned and Belle’s belly did a flip.
“This is true,” he agreed good-naturedly.
As if to prove this fact to them, Joy swept into the room, a bottle of tequila held aloft, announcing grandly, “I’ve got the tequila!”
Jack and Belle shifted slightly to watch her entrance.
Though Jack turned them, he hadn’t let Belle go.
Joy slammed the bottle down on the coffee table, straightened and looked at the couple in the window.
Her eyes did a sweep of them, they got bright then she went on, “I’ve called Yasmin. She says she’s dropping everything and will be here in ten minutes. That was five minutes ago.”
“Mum,” Jack’s voice was low and rumbly. Not the happy shiver causing low and rumbly but the oh so scary low and rumbly.
Joy ignored him. “I’ve ordered a late lunch to be brought in so we can all have a bite to eat while we’re chatting.”
“This isn’t a party,” Jack informed his mother, turning Belle fully to face Joy but still not letting her go. His hand moved from her belly and both arms wrapped around Belle’s upper chest, keeping her back close to the heat of his front.
She’d never been held that way in her life.
It felt nice.
So nice, of their own volition, her hands lifted to curve her fingers around one of his strong forearms and she held on.
“With a little effort, anything can be made into a party,” Joy replied breezily, her eyes dropped to Jack’s arms and Belle’s hands and she continued in a softer voice. “And these days, it seems we have more and more to celebrate.”
Before Belle could process this statement, Yasmin stormed in and Belle stared.
She looked entirely normal except for the fact that she was barefoot, there were toe separators between her toes and three toes on her left foot had not been coated with the bright, iridescent tangerine the others sported.
She looked around and then her eyes locked on Joy. “Did I miss it?”
“No, darling, you didn’t miss it,” Joy assured her, her eyes on Yasmin’s toes. “Did I catch you in the middle of a pedicure?”
Yasmin walked into the room, toes curled to the ceiling, her gaze moving to Jack and Belle. “I dropped everything and got in the car. I think I may have broken the land speed record to get here.” She looked to Belle. “I’ve been waiting years to see Myrtle and Lewis. If they’re appearing more often, I’m considering moving in.”
Belle began to wonder if maybe Yasmin wasn’t a little mad too but she didn’t get to process this either.
Suddenly, Yasmin rocked back on her heels, her arms crossed on her chest and she grinned a mischievous grin. “You two look cosy. We know we’ll soon be hearing the pitter-patter of little feet but are we expecting wedding bells too?”
Belle’s body went statue-still.
So did Jack’s.
Belle wanted to run from the room, from the castle, maybe even find a spaceship an
d ask the astronauts to take her to the moon.
Jack, as if sensing this, tensed his arms.
“Yasmin,” he said in that oh so scary low and rumbly voice that was even more oh so scary than ever before.
“What?” Yasmin asked with feigned innocence, her grin never slipping. “I need to be prepared. I have to have an outfit and a big hat. Huge,” she emphasised. “The hat has to be enormous.” Her gaze shifted to Belle. “Do you design hats?”
“No,” Belle replied in a small voice.
“You should,” Yasmin told her. “I bet you’d be good at it.”
Before any more could be said, Gram and Mom entered the room and, not surprisingly, they did it far more flamboyantly than either Joy or Yasmin.
Or at least Mom did.
“You!” Mom shouted, clearly in a state, her hand up, finger pointing at Jack then she demanded, “How dare you move my daughter into a haunted castle?”
“Oh dear,” Joy muttered.
“Oh dear is right,” Mom yelled at Joy. “I do not believe this. Ghosts. Creepy child ghosts. See-through creepy child ghosts.” Her eyes shifted to Jack and she screeched, “Child ghosts! Everyone knows nothing is creepier than child ghosts!”
Although Belle found nothing whatsoever funny about the current moment, Jack, of course, did. She knew this because she not only heard his chuckle but she felt his body shaking with laughter.
“This is not funny!” Rachel shrieked.
“Rachel Leonora, calm down,” Gram demanded.
Mom turned on Gram. “I will not calm down. We’re moving out, this instant.”
“You’re not moving out,” Jack stated, all humour gone from his voice and Mom whirled back to him.
She opened her mouth to speak then she stopped and her eyes moved over Jack and Belle. They rested on Jack’s arms and Belle’s hands then they lifted to Belle’s face.
Then they narrowed.
Belle didn’t know why they narrowed. All she knew, through a vast amount of experience, was this was not good.
“Oh my God!” Rachel shouted. “You two have been fooling around!”
Belle’s body gave a surprised jerk as she felt Jack’s go solid behind her.
Mom wasn’t finished.
“You’re fooling around with my daughter while there are ghosts in the house!” she accused Jack as if this was an act akin to rounding up innocent citizens randomly in order to torture them just for kicks. Then, bizarrely, she backtracked, “Not that I frown on fooling around, because, you know, everyone needs a bit of nookie. Especially on a Sunday afternoon.” Mom turned to Yasmin and shared, “Best time of the week, Sunday afternoon.”
Mortified beyond any mortification Belle had felt in her life (and that was saying something), Belle found her voice and snapped, “Mom! Shut up!”
Her mother looked back at Belle. “I’m just saying.”
Lila started laughing, Joy was biting her lip and Yasmin was grinning ear-to-ear but, although she couldn’t see Jack, Belle knew he was done.
She knew this because, in his oh so scary low and rumbly voice, he declared, “Enough.”
Belle saw Mom’s body give a small twitch and her eyes went to Jack.
Then Jack went on and she realised he was not just done, he was done and he was angry.
“Rachel, enough,” Jack repeated, the words vibrating with fury. “I cannot imagine, since you bore and raised Belle, that you and your mother have no idea how much you embarrass her. You are who you are and you behave as you behave, which is a credit to you both as you clearly don’t give a damn what people think of you and that’s commendable. Further, your behaviour is mostly interesting and often quite humorous. That said, from this point forward, you’ll consider your daughter’s feelings and control it when it might cause her discomfort.” While Jack was making this speech, Mom’s mouth had dropped open as had Gram’s but Jack wasn’t quite done. “Am I understood?”
“See here –” Gram snapped, moving forward.
Jack’s arms tensed on Belle’s chest and he leaned forward, only slightly, but very threateningly (she didn’t see it, she felt it), taking Belle with him and Gram halted.
“Am I understood?” he asked, his tone so far past low and rumbly, it was not funny.
“She’s my daughter,” Mom noted in a far quieter tone.
“She is,” Jack replied, his voice less menacing. “But there’s a time to discuss personal things and Belle isn’t comfortable doing it with an audience. I’m simply asking that you consider her feelings. Something I’m sure you’ll have every desire to do.”
Belle decided it was time to intervene and she looked up at Jack’s jaw.
“I really don’t mind,” she lied softly.
Jack moved back a few inches so he could catch her eyes.
“You do, poppet. I feel it, I see it but you’re too kind to say it.”
He was right.
“Is this true?” Mom asked and Belle looked at her as Jack shifted to her side, his arm around her waist keeping her close.
“Kind of,” Belle answered.
“Honeypot, you should have said something,” Mom said softly.
Belle shrugged, about as comfortable having this conversation as she was when her Mom was announcing to everyone that she and Jack had been fooling around (okay, so, she was more comfortable with this conversation but still).
Jack, somehow, felt that too and announced, “We’re moving on.”
Then Jack led Belle toward the couch and Belle saw Gram was studying Jack, a thoughtful look on her face but there was a smile playing about her lips.
Belle thought this was slightly more ominous than Jack’s tone earlier (and this was also saying something) but she decided to ignore it.
She had other things to worry about.
Lots of them.
Jack sat in the corner of the couch bringing Belle down by his side. His arm curved around her shoulders and he tucked her body into his.
The others settled too. Mom and Yasmin dragging chairs across the room and, Belle noticed belatedly, one of the chairs from in front of Jack’s desk somewhere between her falling asleep and waking up had been angled toward the couch.
Belle had no time to question this. Joy sat on the opposite end of the couch to Jack and Belle and Jack spoke.
“Lila tells us you drink tequila,” Jack said to Mom and Mom looked at him.
“I drink everything,” she replied honestly.
“I recommend you take something to calm your nerves,” Jack suggested. “At Lila’s advice, Mum has brought tequila.”
“Oo, I love tequila, especially at two o’clock in the afternoon. I’ll get the glasses,” Yasmin offered, jumped up and walked to a standing chest, the top of which she opened and there unfolded a veritable bar, including decanters filled with different coloured liquors and shiny, expensive-looking glasses of all shapes and sizes.
“Cool,” Belle whispered and felt Jack’s fingers give her shoulder a squeeze.
She decided not to look at him.
He would probably be smiling at her which would make her scalp tingle or her belly dip and Belle was pretty sure she’d had her quota of both of those for one day (in spades).
As Yasmin was pouring tequilas all around, though she poured something else for Joy, Jack declined and Belle, obviously, couldn’t partake, Elaine came in. She was rolling tray filled with sandwiches, bowls of potato chips, another bowl of salad, small glass pitchers filled with dressing, a large glass pitcher filled with iced water, a teapot, a coffee pot and a tray of cakes.
Belle was slowly but uncomfortably getting used to being waited on hand and foot. It made her feel weird especially when she went back to her room after breakfast to find her bed made, her dirty clothes carried away (only to be returned, cleaned and, if needed, pressed) and, quite often, fresh towels in her bathroom.
She had thought of talking to Jack about it.
Then she thought better of it and kept her peace.
They
all dug into the food and drank their beverages and things calmed down considerably as partaking of food and beverages was wont to achieve.
Once Joy’s plate was clean, Jack ordered, “Mum, tell the story.” He paused, Joy opened her mouth to speak and Jack went on, “No embellishments.”
“The embellishments are the best part!” Yasmin protested.
“No embellishments,” Jack asserted.
“I don’t think I can do it without the embellishments,” Joy told Jack.
“Yes you can,” Jack told Joy.
“It’ll be boring,” Yasmin told Jack.
“Precisely,” Jack told Yasmin.
“Will someone please tell us something?” Lila demanded. “The weather is turning and I want to get to the hayloft to take some snapshots of The Point during a thunderstorm, if we get one, which it looks like we will.”
Everyone looked to the windows and saw that the sun was struggling against the thickening cloud cover. The clouds were no longer white but a threatening dark grey.
Belle loved sun and she loved snow and she loved rain but she especially loved thunderstorms.
She always had.
Belle so loved them, Lila always did one landscape in each series she painted during a thunderstorm or a fierce downpour. These she never sold but gave to Belle and most of them hung at the cottage while some of them Gram and Mom carted around from place to place because Belle’s cottage wasn’t that big.
They were even more famous than her other works because their existence was known but they weren’t sold, never viewed and, therefore, had acquired a mystique.
No one knew she painted them for Belle and no one knew Belle had most of them. Therefore no one knew they were, by far and away (in Belle’s mind), her grandmother’s best work.
Something emanating from Jack captured Belle’s attention and her eyes moved to him.
She saw he was studying her grandmother contemplatively. Belle remembered that he owned one of her pieces and he likely was interested in her grandmother’s remark.
It was then Belle decided she’d show him the pictures. She never showed them to anyone, unless her friends came to the cottage and most of her friends had no idea they were in the presence of famous but secret masterpieces and Belle didn’t tell them.
Lucky Stars Page 21
