Southern Spirits

by Shelley Stringer

  “Hey, Doodle-Bug! Come here and see me,” I urged her, recognition finally registering in her wide, saucer-like eyes.

  “An Andler! Wherw did you come fwom?” She flew across the room and up on the bed. I winced as she bounced into my arms.

  “Shhh, Bug, can you keep a secret?” I asked, pulling her hair back and kissing her forehead. She nodded at me enthusiastically.

  “Don’t tell anyone I’m here. I’m hiding. It will be our secret.”

  With a smile I placed my finger on her lips. She snuggled down against me as I stroked her hair.

  “An Andler, no one would tell me wherw you were,” she pouted up at me. “I heard An ‘Stance say those mean men had you and my babies, an I cwied,” she continued.

  “Sweet girl, I’m home now and I’m safe. You don’t have to worry,” I assured her as she continued to gaze at my face.

  “Does it huwt?” She reached up and gently touched my eyebrow. It occurred to me that my bruises were alarming her.

  “Not too much, Doodle-Bug. I’m getting so much better, and with you to take care of me I will be healed in no time,” I assured her. She reached to kiss each bruise on my face.

  “Well, I see somebody found us,” Banton remarked, quietly closing the door behind him.

  “Unca Banin!” Ava pushed up and jumped off the bed to run to him.

  “Shh, quiet now, Ava. We want to hide out right now, okay?” Banton asked as he swung her up into his arms.

  “I’ll be quiewet,” she answered in her little girl southern drawl, her eyes wide.

  “Good girl. I’ll bet Aunt Chandler would love for you to snuggle with her while I get everything put away.”

  Ava nodded as Banton crossed the space between us and deposited her back on the bed.

  “Gently, now. Be careful, Aunt Chandler has some broken bones, and she’s really sore,” he cautioned. She carefully snuggled down beside me as I placed a kiss on top of her head. My heart warmed as she gently rubbed her little hand back and forth across my arm as if to comfort me. I loved this little girl so much, and felt so blessed that she’d come into our lives like she had. I couldn’t love her more if she was my own child.

  “Pweese, An Andler, no more,” she whispered as Banton came back into the room and sat down on the bed beside us.

  “No more what, sweetie?” I asked as I gazed down at her huge brown eyes.

  “No more cwying. I don’t wike it when you and my Unca Banin weave. Pweese, don’t go again,” she whispered. She continued to trail her little fingers on my arm.

  Banton stretched out beside her and drew both of us into his side.

  “Little one, neither one of us has any intention of going anywhere. Everything is going to be okay now, I promise. You have my word,” Banton assured her, leaning over and kissing her little forehead. After a time, he moved his face up to meet my gaze. His eyes were warm and beautiful as he smiled.

  “I love you so much,” he whispered, his face only inches from mine.

  “I love you,” I whispered back. Snuggling down against Ava, I placed my head closer to him as he pressed his lips into my hair. I closed my eyes and napped, feeling like I was finally home.

  * * *

  I woke and turned to find the daylight fading in the large window of our room. I looked down beside me, finding Ava was still curled against my side. Banton was gone and the door was ajar. I could hear him talking to Claudia in the hallway.

  “I just didn’t want to tell everyone and have them make a fuss. I sneaked her upstairs a couple of hours ago. Ava found us, she’s napping beside Chandler.”

  “I thought she was with Mother, and when Mother came downstairs just now, I panicked,”

  “I know. I’m sorry, I should have told you where Ava was. All I’ve been thinking about is Chandler.”

  My heart clenched, feeling as if it was in my throat. Banton was consumed with trying to help me adjust.

  “How is she?’

  “Fragile. She’s trying to put on a brave front, but she’s suffered through so much unimaginable…” he trailed off as Claudia murmured something unintelligible. “That’s why I wanted to try to shelter her, to let her rest. She doesn’t need a big scene, and I’m not sure about visitors, not just yet.”

  “I’ll talk to everyone downstairs. Mrs. Sue is going to want to see her, though. She was so upset when Constance put her off at the hospital yesterday.”

  “I know. And I think Chandler will want to see Ev too. Maybe just the two of them tonight,” Banton suggested. “Hey, how are you doing? I feel like we all abandoned you,” he said guiltily.

  “Don’t be ridiculous, baby brother. You did what you had to do. Besides, the alone time I’ve spent with Ava, and with Momma and Daddy has been very special. We’re all here for each other, now. I’m so glad you are all home and in one piece,” she breathed, expressing her relief.

  “I’ll bring Ava down when she wakes,” Banton said as I heard Claudia’s footsteps descend the staircase.

  A moment later, Banton opened the door and slipped back into our room. Finding my eyes on him, he crossed the room to the bed.

  “Hey, beautiful, did you have a good nap?”

  “Yes, I did,” I breathed, pushing up in bed. I winced as my ribs protested, and Banton reached to grab some pillows to help me prop up.

  “Do you want me to call Dr. Renault about pain meds?” Banton asked as he handed me a glass of tea.

  “No, I’m fine. I will take some Tylenol, though.”

  He watched me for a moment as I reached to slide Ava Grace down from my shoulder.

  “Chandler Ann, I know you are hurting. You’ve been moaning in your sleep. Why are you being so obstinate? Why are you so against taking something?”

  “I promise I’ll take something stronger if I need to. I’m fine, really.”

  He studied me for a moment, and then glanced down at Ava. She’d opened her big brown eyes when I’d moved her a moment earlier.

  “Doodle-Bug, your mommy was worried about you just now. Can I take you down to her?’

  Ava sat up and nodded as she rubbed her eyes. He reached down and swung her up on his shoulder.

  “I’ll be back as soon as I run her downstairs to Claudia. If the twins are awake, I’ll bring them to you,” he said, leaning down to kiss me. I raised my lips to meet his, and he softly stroked my cheek with the back of his hand.

  As soon as I heard his footsteps descend the staircase, there was a knock on my door.

  “Sweetheart, are you awake?” Aunt Sue’s voice drifted through the door.

  “Yes Ma’am, please come in,” I called back.

  Aunt Sue opened the door slowly and slipped in.

  “Oh, Chandler Ann! What have they done to you?” she gasped as she saw me for the first time. She crossed the room to the bed and then sank down beside me. “I want to hold you, but I’m afraid to touch you! Constance told us you were terribly bruised, but I had no idea it was this bad!

  “And here I was thinking I looked so much better today,” I murmured as I smiled at her. She began to cry as she held her hand out to my cheek.

  “I can’t believe what those monsters did to you! Constance has told us a little, but it was sketchy. Thank heavens the babies are okay. They seem to have been untouched by all of this,” she said as she fought to keep her emotions in check. “What did the Doctor say??”

  “I’m healing fast. I still have trouble raising my arms, and I’m sore, but I’m going to be fine,” I whispered. She reached out and touched the sling around my neck that held my right arm.

  “That’s for my broken shoulder. Banton and Ty had to dislocate my shoulders when they pulled me from the ship, and the right one is broken,” I explained as her eyes widened.

  “Mrs. Elaine said Banton was so tortured about hurting you when they rescued you. She said he cried in the waiting room at Dr. Renault’s when they kept him from seeing you. He told them he almost lost you, that you drowned in that cargo hold, and they had t
o do CPR on you in the helicopter to get you back,” she whispered, continuing to cry. “Banton thinks the CPR is what caused the rib to puncture your lung.”

  “He shouldn’t feel guilty about any of that. He saved my life,” I assured her as she nodded.

  “I know, sweetheart. He loves you so much, and he is so worried about you. Is there anything else…that you need help with? Anything at all you need to talk to me about? Constance said there were other things that happened that you didn’t want to talk about,” she whispered as she stroked my cheek.

  “Not yet, Aunt Sue. Maybe someday,” I shook my head as my voice broke. I didn’t want to shed anymore tears over the attack. “I just want to put it behind me,” I finished as she nodded. She almost looked relieved I didn’t want to confide in her. I realized at that moment, watching the pain in her own eyes, an attack of this magnitude affected far more than just Banton and me. “Well, I’m going to let you rest for now. Banton should be back up here any minute, and I know you need your alone time. Everyone wants to help, but we understand your need for privacy right now. Everett just arrived and he and Constance are visiting. She said she will send him in later.”

  She rose and placed a kiss on my forehead. After she left the room, I lay back into the pillows. I could hear everyone talking downstairs. As I closed my eyes and sighed, I heard a car arrive in the driveway.

  “Not so fast, come here, baby,” Cade called out. I heard a car door slam, and then silence. Curiosity got the best of me, and I pushed off the bed and walked carefully over to the window overlooking the drive. Cade stood with his back to me, his arms around someone as he passionately kissed her. My eyes widened as I watched…who could it be? I wasn’t aware he was even dating anyone. A slim boot-clad leg wrapped around his legs as he deepened the kiss. As he pulled away, I gasped.

  Julia smoothed her hair, tucking some stray strands back into her pony-tail as she flushed. She gazed up into his eyes, and as he took her hand in his, he tucked it into his back pocket as they moved toward the back patio.

  I shook my head, not believing what I’d just seen. Julia and Cade?

  “Hey, you’re up,” Banton observed as he slipped back into the room with a tray of food. “I fixed you something downstairs.” He walked over and sat the tray down on the ottoman beside the chairs and then turned to me. “Is something wrong?”

  I looked at him. I was sure I still had that ‘you could slap me down with a feather’ look about me.

  “I’m not sure…I’m not really sure if what I just saw was right,” I shook my head as I sank back down on the bed.

  “What did you just see?” he asked as he crossed to the window. He spied Cade’s car, and then turned to me with his eyebrow cocked. “Hmmm, I suppose you just saw my sister,” he chuckled as he sat down beside me.

  “Umm… yeah, when were you going to tell me about that? Is that what Constance meant this afternoon when she said Uncle Lon had twenty five new grey hairs?”

  “Here, lie back with me, and I’ll fill you in,” he commanded, gently pulling me back onto the bed. After he’d folded his hands under his head, I moved my head over on his chest. As his heart beat softly under my ear, I felt more relaxed than I’d felt since the attack.

  “Are you ready for some shocks?’ he asked as I nodded. “Well, for one, Drew came home while we were looking for you, and announced to your Aunt and Uncle that he’d enlisted with the Navy. He’s dropped out of college.”

  He paused, letting me soak the information in.

  “I’ll bet Uncle Lon had a fit!” I exclaimed. I turned my head to look up at him.

  Banton grinned his famous dimpled grin. “Yep, and Mrs. Sue said it was probably a good thing Ty and I were away, because he said a few choice words about the influence of some certain SEALs.”

  I shook my head and kissed his chest. “Drew could do a whole lot worse than to follow in your footsteps,” I retorted.

  “While they were still reeling from that one, Drew and Cade got into an argument, apparently over my little sister. They’d all been staying here at Claudia’s, waiting for news about us. One night, Julia broke down and cried about Will and about losing Ben. Cade offered to take her out riding in his car, and as he was comforting her about your capture and her fears about losing me, well, things warmed up between them. When they got back here, Drew saw them kissing outside and he flew into a rage. Evidently, he’d already told Cade he liked Julia, and he felt Cade had betrayed him. The boys ended up in a little fist-fight in Claudia’s kitchen. My daddy had to break them up,” he finished as I stared at him incredulously.

  “Wow, Constance wasn’t kidding. Cade and Julia…it never occurred to me,” I said as I eyed him. “How do you feel about them being together?” I asked warily.

  “I think it’s fine. Cade seems really crazy about Julia, and he’s only three years older than she is. He’s finished school, and he already has a job lined up here in N’awlins.”

  I sighed in relief.

  “Were you worried about how I would feel?”

  “You were just so protective of her when she was interested in Ben.”

  He stroked my arm lightly with his thumb. “I probably overreacted. I’d served with Ben, and he was so worldly, and I’d witnessed he’d lived a rather fast life with the girls,” he murmured. “Anyway, Cade is different altogether. He comes from good stock,” he said as he hugged me gently.

  I giggled. “Now you sound like Dan,” I sighed snuggling into his chest. “Speaking of, I guess I should call Laurilee. She’s probably been trying to call me,” I said wistfully.

  “I talked to her yesterday. She called me to thank us for the honeymoon trip we gave them. I told her we’d had an incident, and I’d almost lost you. She wants you to call her as soon as you feel up to it.”

  I nodded, taking a deep breath. Banton smelled so good I buried my nose in his shirt.

  He chuckled. “Baby, what are you doing?”

  “Mmm. I’m just enjoying your scent. You smell so clean, my earthy, clean Banton smell. I love this smell,” I said as I breathed in again.

  “You never cease to amaze me. Now, are you ready to eat something?”

  “Not just yet. I want to shock you for a change,” I replied as I nuzzled his chest.

  “Don’t think you can top anything I’ve dropped on you tonight,” he said playfully.

  “Well, let’s see. You know on my birthday, when you found me in the shower after I’d started my period…you asked me if I wanted you to start using something.”

  “Yes,” he said as he continued to stroke my arm.

  “Well as it turns out, it was already too late.”

  After a few moments, his thumb stilled on my arm. When he didn’t say anything, I turned to look up at him. His beautiful brown eyes were wide as they searched mine.

  “Andie, are you saying…are you trying to tell me…” he stammered.

  I nodded as my eyes filled with tears. Banton sat up and held me cradled in the crook of his arm as he gazed down at me.

  “We’re going to have another baby?” he whispered.

  I nodded. “Yes. Baby Collins will be here sometime next summer,” I whispered as he continued to stare at me, open mouthed. “You’re going to have another daughter, Lieutenant Gastaneau.” I reached up to touch the dimple peeking down at me as he began to smile.

  “How long have you known?”

  And with that question, I knew I was going to have to talk about everything with him. I took a deep breath and shut my eyes. I could do this. I loved this man with all my heart, and I knew he could shoulder anything I shared with him.

  “Chandler? Have you already had an ultrasound?” His voice took a worried pitch.

  “Yes,” I whispered softly, trying to decide the best way to explain everything. “Dr. Delsant told me I was pregnant when he asked you to leave the room the first night I woke,” I began.

  His brows creased as he processed what I was telling him. He tightened his arms around
me.

  “Is that why you became so hysterical? You were so distraught,” he murmured as he brushed my cheek with his thumb.

  “Yes. I was confused, and I had no idea I was pregnant. All I could think about was the attack, and when he said I was pregnant,” I began to choke as I remembered how I’d felt.

  “Oh, baby, no…you were afraid you were pregnant because of Dante’s attack?” Banton’s tone dropped to a dark, menacing level. I could see his eyes darken as his rage surfaced.

  I nodded as tears formed and threatened to spill over. “I was terrified…sick with the thought I might…that he might have,” I sobbed as Banton pulled me up against his chest.

  “God, no…Chandler! Why didn’t you let the Doctor tell me? Why did you go through all of that alone?”

  “I couldn’t bear the thought of having…of carrying a child from those circumstances. I was terrified, and I didn’t want you to know anything about it. Dr. Delsant asked me several questions, and he thought from the start it had to be yours. I had to be further along than a few days. I had to wait until he got me to Dr. Renault’s before they could run more tests.

  “That’s why they called Brie in, she knew?” he asked, seeming to be hurt by the fact I’d confided in Brie.

  “Banton, she knew when she sat with me the first night. She sensed, just from my emotions, that I’d been raped.”

  Banton shut his eyes as though my words were too painful to hear.

  “I had to tell her why I was so distraught, and to help me, she confided in me. She told me before the Aldon got to her the night she was attacked that Lucien had raped her. She knew the pain I was going through.”

  Banton opened his eyes and gazed down at me.

  “When we got to Renault’s, I thought they would do a regular ultra-sound, but they insisted on doing it vaginally. They called Brie in, to calm me down…it was painful, more emotionally than anything else. Dr. Renault told me immediately he thought I was at least two months along, and the cycle I thought I’d had must have been break-through bleeding. I was already pregnant then. I insisted on an amnio. I wanted to make sure the baby was yours,” I whispered as I touched his cheek.