“No’ ever,” Angus replied, shaking his head then concluded, “Best part of the job. Can have years in it and still be surprised.”
Cassandra looked back at Jack, Belle and the children, murmuring, “This is going to be the talk of the winterfest coven meeting, seriously.”
Jack cut in at this point and Angus’s eyes moved to him to see his on Angus.
“I know you but I do not. I do not understand this. I also do not care. Caleb Caldwell is in my home. I was able to incapacitate him to get my children to safety although I doubt he will be unconscious for long. I also doubt he has left this house. He is still here. He is, as usual, intent to do mischief. And we cannot delay in finding him and dealing with him.”
“There is a woman,” Belle put in quickly, she was now at Jack’s side, one of her arms curling Lewis close, the other arm holding Jack and Myrtle. “She’s in the west wing. One of the bedrooms.” Her head tipped back and she looked at Jack. “My beloved, I fear she’s demented.”
“Caldwell and his partner,” Cassandra said and moved into the room, pulling Yasmin with her and closing the doors behind her. Then she turned to face the congregation that automatically gathered together. “Right, I had a vision,” she announced. “Past and future. Caldwell allied with a local witch. He did this on the hush-hush. No one knew about it. Unfortunately, he did this in the only way he knew how. He beat her into submission, forcing her to help him. From what I gather, she’s been reincarnated too. And to make unhappy matters unhappier, she’s been reincarnated into Calvin Cole’s wife.”
“Oh lordy,” Rachel whispered.
“Shit,” Jensen muttered.
“Great, just great,” Lila snapped.
“She’s also here,” Cassandra added. “Both of them are. The spell Caldwell forced her to cast was that Brenna and Joshua would never be together, never happy, never living their lives to their fullest. In order to do this, if they were to be reincarnated, it would happen at a time where Caldwell and his partner were also reincarnated so that they could stop Brenna and Joshua or, in our time, Jack and Belle from living happily ever after.”
“So how do we stop them?” Joy asked.
“They both have to be destroyed,” Cassandra answered. “If he’s taken out, he won’t come back. And if she’s banished to hell, that’s it for her. But there’s a complication just because Caleb Caldwell was a full blown ass. As we know, the children are ghosts, or um,” she eyed the wee ones before she went on, “they were. And this was at Caldwell’s behest because, seriously, this guy was one major dick. He forced the witch to put a spell on the children to tether their spirits here after she smothered them. They could appear before anyone except their father or any master of this house. If they did, Caldwell would return to this earth, alive and breathing, so he could have fun.” She eyed Jack and the kids and finished, “I’m guessing this happened.”
“Indeed,” Jack answered and pulled Belle and the children closer to him.
“This means, I’m afraid,” Cassandra went on, “that all that work I did protecting against magical mayhem was for nothing. We’re dealing with two humans here. And that means anything goes.”
“Shit,” Jensen muttered gain.
“So why are the children real and Jack and Belle are, um… not exactly Jack and Belle?” Lila asked.
Cassandra shook her head. “I’m not sure but my guess is, love’s a powerful thing.”
“What?” Belle whispered and Cassandra’s eyes went to her.
“Love’s a powerful thing, mate. It holds a magic all its own that no one can control. When there’s love, and a lot of it, anything can happen.”
“Oh my,” Joy whispered.
“So we must destroy Caldwell and this witch,” Jack brought the matter to hand.
“You got it, mate,” Cassandra answered.
“And how do you propose we do that?” Jack asked.
“Well, him, he’s not supposed to be here so we can do whatever we want with him. Her, she’s real, from this time but she’s got the reincarnated bitch witch attached to her soul. So we need to get it out.”
“Perform the same ceremony as you did on Miles?” Joy queried.
“Exactly,” Cassandra replied.
“Then that’s what we’ll do,” Jack stated, bending to put Myrtle on her feet.
“Uh, we kinda need the bitch that’s got the bitch witch in her to do it,” Cassandra informed him as Jack straightened then pinned his eyes to her.
And his voice was a low rumble when he replied, “Then let’s find her.”
Cassandra grinned.
Belle wet her lips.
Angus began to move to go get his whip.
The doors to the room opened and Lachlan and Lorna, dripping wet, strode in.
Upon arrival, Lorna announced, “Lach should give up the family business and become a race car driver.”
At the same time Lachlan spied the children, his red brows shot up and he muttered, “Bloody, fucking hell.”
* * * * *
Caleb
“As before, you take care of the children, I’ll deal with Brenna,” Caleb ordered.
She shook her head.
“I want Belle.”
“I get Brenna.”
“I want Belle.”
He raised his hand and brought it down hard on her cheekbone. So hard, her head whipped to the side and she staggered.
“I’ll deal with Brenna. Then I’ll dispatch Joshua. You take the children.”
Righting herself, hand to her cheek, instinct caused her to agree, “Oh… okay.”
“Let us go,” he stated, lifting his hand toward her.
Instinct again forced her to lift hers to him, he took hold and dragged her from the room.
* * * * *
Jack/Joshua
“I do not like this,” he growled.
“I do not like it either,” Brenna whispered and with his arm already around her, he pulled her closer.
“Trust us,” the Scot he did not know but still did, assured.
Joshua stopped at the door to the outside that was in the kitchen and locked eyes with the Scot. “My wife and I should be with our children.”
“We have to lure him out there and we also have to lure her to the children.” The Scot got close and his voice dipped low. “We’ll no’ steer you wrong, lad. Trust us.”
Joshua held his eyes but he already knew, though he didn’t, that he could.
Without time to unravel it, he nodded, turned to the pegs by the door and snatched up a rain slicker. He helped his wife into it then he turned her to face him and settled his hands at her neck.
“All will be well, my love,” he whispered.
“I hope so,” she whispered back.
He bent his head to touch his lips to hers, gave her neck a reassuring squeeze then he turned and led her into the stormy night with three men following.
* * * * *
The Other
She opened the door and saw the candlelight immediately just as she smelled the incense.
And she also instantly spied the children huddling together in the middle of the room.
The little girl let out a short, stifled scream before she turned her face into the boy’s neck and she watched the boy’s arms tighten around his sister as he stared at her defiantly.
She grinned her manic grin as she entered the room.
She got four feet in, noting the children didn’t retreat right before the doors swung shut behind her and five women jumped her.
She struggled but only briefly.
She’d long since learned when to give up a fight.
* * * * *
Joy and Rachel
Holding down one of the flailing woman’s legs, Joy turned her head to Rachel who was holding down the other one and whispered, “You didn’t have to pull her hair.”
Rachel looked to her friend. “Yeah I did.”
Joy fought back a grin, considering it might be rude, and continued, “We
ll, then you didn’t have to pull it so hard.”
“That’s debatable,” Rachel muttered and shifted aside but kept hold on the leg that Lorna had moved toward in order to tie it down.
“By the way,” Joy began and Rachel looked back at her, “have I told you your dress is lovely?”
Rachel grinned a big grin. “Hey, thanks. Belle designed it. And, also by the way, yours is too.”
“Bloody hell,” Lorna muttered, yanked the rope tight and the woman cried out.
Joy bit her lip but it was in another effort to try not to grin.
Rachel didn’t bother.
She just smiled.
* * * * *
Belle/Brenna
Arms tight around each other, they stood together on the cliff, the lightning and thunder gone, the fog surrounding them, the wind whipping at their hair and clothing.
“We must go home,” she whispered into his neck, pressing deeper and his arms got tighter.
“When this is done, we’ll get the children and go home,” Joshua whispered back.
“I’ve missed them.” Her voice was a throb and his arms got even tighter.
“And I too,” he murmured but the low sound was harsh.
Her head tipped back and she caught his beautiful, striking green eyes. Eyes Joshua Bennett shared down the line with his heir, James. “I’ve missed you too, my beloved.”
One of his hands came up to cup her jaw and his face dipped close, his voice was low and rumbly when he replied, “And I you, my love.”
Before he could do what she knew he was about to do, what she loved, what he did so very frequently in their time together, touch his mouth to hers, she felt him.
Joshua did too for the pads of his fingers tensed into her skin, his eyes narrowed angrily and his head came up.
She turned in the circle of her husband’s arms and watched as the figure formed through the fog.
Her heart clenched, her stomach lurched but her hand itched.
And, not knowing what came over her, she tore free of her husband’s hold, strode forward and, before he could begin to know her intention, she pulled back a hand and slapped her should be dead former husband across his face so hard his head snapped to the side.
His burning eyes slowly came back to her but she did not cower.
“Tonight,” she whispered, “you burn in hell.”
Then she put her hands to his chest and pushed, her feet moving, shoving him back, going with him, straight toward the cliff.
* * * * *
Myrtle and Lewis
Myrtle’s head snapped up and her eyes found Lewis’s.
“Momma,” she whispered.
“Poppa,” he whispered back.
The witch spirit tore free of the woman arched on the divan keening a mighty, frightening keen, and it exploded in bright white sparks that flew all over the room.
The children didn’t see it.
They were racing to the door.
Racing to their parents.
Racing to the cliff.
* * * * *
Lachlan
“Belle! Brenna! Whoever the fuck! Stop fighting!” Lachlan gritted in her ear as he struggled to keep hold of the madly fighting woman in his arms as the clash of Bennett and Caldwell played out on the edge of the cliff with two German Shepherds barking their encouragement.
“Let me go!” she cried, wrenching her body sharply but he held on.
“Guide him to the cliff, lad! Throw him over!” Angus boomed, he and Jensen both circling the combatants, keeping the arena small, shoving Caldwell back toward Bennett’s fists anytime he tried to escape.
“I’m…” Bennett grunted on a punch landed on Caldwell’s jaw. His fist curled in Caldwell’s shirt jerked Caldwell straight again and he went on in a grunt, “Having…” and he landed another brutal blow, this time on Caldwell’s cheekbone. “Fun!” he finished, delivered another vicious strike, Caldwell’s legs gave out from under him and Bennett let him crash to the ground.
“Dude, seriously, it’s cold, raining and I’m hungry and wearin’ this fuckin’ stupid suit. Can you just throw him over the cliff so we can get inside and I can fuckin’ eat?” Jensen requested just as Bennett pulled back his leg and landed a powerful kick to the prone man’s gut.
“Not done,” he replied.
“Laddie, your woman is also out in the cold and rain and hasn’t had dinner,” Angus reminded Bennett and Bennett’s head came up, his eyes going to Belle.
“Are you all right, poppet?” he asked considerately.
“Keep going,” she encouraged.
“Fuck me,” Lach muttered.
Bennett landed another kick.
“Momma! Poppa!” The cries carried through the night then the two children formed out of the fog, racing toward Belle.
Lach let her go so she could crouch, arms wide, and both of them slammed into her body. Her frame rocked with their colliding weight but her arms curled around the children and she stayed strong.
“It’s all right, my sweetlings. Everything is fine. Poppa is taking care of the bad man and then everything will be fine,” she assured them as Lorna, Cassandra, Lila, Rachel and Joy raced after the children and stopped at the cliff.
“The witch?” Bennett asked sharply, turning away from Caldwell who was prone and groaning on the cliff edge.
“Well, the bitch witch, dispelled and sent to hell,” Cassandra started her update. “The just plain bitch, tied to the divan in the drawing room and I zapped her with a sleeping spell so she’ll wake up, hmm… I’m guessing… Wednesday.”
“Excellent,” Bennett muttered at the same time Joy shrieked, “Jack!”
And all eyes turned to see Caldwell had pulled himself up, he had an arm reaching out toward Bennett and just when he would grab hold, out of nowhere, a huge, grey horse came galloping to the cliff, on its back was Miles Bennett and in front of him, Jack’s PA, Olive Mayfair.
Jack threw his body one way, Miles and Olive leaned forward, the horse reared back on its hind legs and struck out at Caldwell with its front hooves.
Caldwell reeled back, one step, two then he fell over the side of the cliff.
“Breeeeeeeeehhhhhhnnaaaaaaaahhhhh!” he shouted on his way down, the name stopping abruptly.
Everyone stood still, unmoving and not speaking.
And they did this until Lorna muttered, “Well, that was a bit of an anti-climax.”
At the same time, some man Lachlan had never seen came jogging up, stopped dead and stared at the two children in period clothing being held in Belle’s arms.
“Fucking hell,” the man Lachlan didn’t know was Mickey Dempsey whispered before his eyes shot to Bennett. “Jesus, mate. It’s true.”
And after the man uttered these stunned words, Miles, incongruously sitting bareback and drenched to the skin on top of an enormous grey steed with a middle aged woman held in his arm, said drolly to Jack, “Sorry we’re late.”
And at that, Lachlan burst out laughing.
* * * * *
Lila
“I’m not sure,” Rachel whispered, huddled with Lila and Jensen at the bottom of the stairs that Belle, Jack and the children just disappeared over the top of.
“It’ll be fine, baby,” Jensen soothed, holding her in his arms.
“But –”
“Rachel, my darling,” Lila stated, tearing her eyes from the top of the stairs and smiling at her beautiful, beloved daughter. “It’ll be fine.”
She watched her daughter draw in a breath.
Then she watched her nod.
Lila drew in her own breath.
Then she turned toward the drawing room, muttering, “I need a drink,” and thinking, as was her wont, dramatically, that not in all of history were truer words ever spoken.
* * * * *
Jack/Joshua
“Sleep,” he murmured to the three beings he held in his arms in the big bed.
“But –” Lewis started, lifting his head from Joshua’s ribs to
look at his father.
“Sleep, son,” Joshua whispered.
Lewis held his eyes. Then he nodded and settled in.
Joshua pulled his family closer.
The storm outside had settled. The rain now fell in gentle, calming patters as Joshua Bennett held his family close.
Lewis’s head grew heavy on his ribs and Joshua as well as Brenna felt their son drift to sleep. He knew his wife knew this when her head lifted from his shoulder, her neck arched back and her eyes found his.
Joshua bent his neck and touched his mouth to the sweet one of his wife. And when he did, he noted it tasted no less sweet than he remembered, even centuries later.
As he pulled away, he felt Myrtle’s head had come up from his stomach and he looked down at his daughter.
“I knew, I just knew I always loved you, Jack.”
Joshua smiled through the shadows and whispered, “Sleep, Myrtie Mine.”
He watched his daughter smile.
Then she whispered back, “All right,” and settled in.
His eyes went to Brenna and he also happily took in her smile.
Then she settled in too.
Their weight heavy and beautiful on his body, he felt his girls drift off, the youngest, first, the older, second.
Not long after, Joshua Bennett’s eyes closed.
Hours later, the sun shining bright against his eyelids, Jack opened his eyes and found himself and Belle alone in their bed, Belle snuggled close in his arms.
Dog tags jingled on Belle’s side of the bed and Belle stirred.
His arms tightened.
She lifted her head, looked down the length of his body then her head swung to him. He noted her eyes were sleepy but that didn’t mean they didn’t hold wonder along with sorrow.
“They’re home,” she whispered.
“Indeed, poppet,” Jack whispered back.
He watched the tears fill her eyes.
When the sob hitched in her throat, he pulled her over him and caged her tight in his arms as she burrowed her face in his neck and cried.
Jack sighed.
Last one down.
Epilogue
The Perfect Plan
Jack
Mostly as guard, Jack stood on the steps of his ancestral home beside the relatively attractive, definitely pale woman who stood at his side but she still appeared to be shrinking away.
Lucky Stars Page 51
