Addie hoped he was right. She loved them both, and certainly felt more closeness to Charlie than she did anyone else. There was something profoundly unforgiving about her that made Addie think Charlie would have been a hit man like she was. Also, she’d never admit this to anyone but Xander, she was jealous of the older woman’s beauty and poise.
At six they were at Kelley and Sara’s house. Sara had been able to get in touch with Dominic, so he and Charlie were going to make it. However, they would be late, as they had to find out about the babies. The last she’d heard they were in the hospital being checked out. So far they were fine, but no one was taking any chances. Which reminded her, she needed to contact Roger to thank him for his help with them.
At just a little after seven, Dominic came to the house. Charlie was coming, but was awaiting to hear from the hospital about the little boy. He was all right, but there was a mark on him that, while it didn’t scare them, it did concern them a little. Addie asked him what it looked like.
“Believe it or not, it’s a heart. It has a gold circle around it too.” Addie looked at Xander, and Dominic looked at them both. “What is it? You know what this might be?”
“I don’t know anything for sure. But we figured out the stones and the rope. It needs to be finished up, by you, but I think it might be just what is on the boy. Where is it?” Dominic told him it was on his chest, but it only looked like half a heart. “Does the little girl have one?”
“I didn’t think to ask. You think it has to do with them?” Addie told him she had no idea. She’d only been asked to put it together. “I’ll ask Charlie to look for us. Perhaps it’s only what they told me, just a mark that he got at birth.”
Charlie came to the house about half an hour later. Since both babies had been released, she had them with her. Addie could see that she was overwhelmed, but she looked happy. When Sara took the little girl to undress, Addie watched as Dominic and Charlie sat down to work on the puzzle. Kelley rocked the little boy and gave him a bottle.
“You need to think up names for the two of them. Have you any thoughts on that?” Kelley was speaking in a low voice, but he had a tone that said he wasn’t happy just calling them boy and girl baby. “Your sister and uncle—is that right? Well, they need to be a fixing you up. Nobody wants to call you boy for your life. You’ll be like that tree swinging man, what’s his name? Tarzan. You leave it to Grandpa. I’ll make sure you have one by the end of the day.”
Addie was sure that Kelley would, too. There was something so charmingly stern about him that you couldn’t help but do what he wanted when he wanted. Charlie went to him and kissed Kelley on the head. She then smacked him too. While he was fussing at her, she told him that she loved him.
“But, I’m thinking I have enough on my platter right now that to be dealing with a good strong name is low on the list. Call him boy for now until we get these marks taken care of. Please?” He said that he’d think on some names to help her out. “That would be good too. Please don’t think of one that will get them a kick me sign on their back when they go to school.”
Addie was laughing when Sara found the other half of the heart on the little girl’s chest. It too was golden around it. No one knew what to say so, Addie supposed, they agreed to say nothing. Dominic picked up the last piece. Xander told him where it went. Dominic held the piece in his hand and sat there.
“I don’t want them hurt. None of us either, but especially them. I think they’ve been through enough.” Charlie agreed with him as she sat with him at the table. “I know that we’re immortal, and I have an idea they might be as well. But should anything happen to us, please take care of them for us.”
Before anyone could agree or disagree, he shoved the piece to where it belonged. Nothing happened right away. Then a hum started, like a musical note that was somehow stuck playing. Even as they waited, Addie holding her breath, she could feel that something was about to happen. Something grand.
The rope changed then, becoming a long thin strip of gold instead of the woven rope that it had been. When it lifted to about a foot from the table, moving and shaping itself until it too was heart shaped, it released stars, sparks of lights, as it turned over and over upon itself.
When it lowered to the stones, much larger than they were, it shaped itself again until it was a perfect circle around the stones. They smoothed out then. Becoming one, the stones wrapped into a heart shaped gold pendant. It morphed again then, shaping and sizing itself until it was two small hearts of jade and gold. The chain that had been the rope also lengthened until it became a necklace for the hearts.
They hovered again above the table. No one moved when Dominic touched his fingers to the stones. With a sudden movement they disappeared into a puff of gold dust.
When the boy cried out, so did the girl. Both of them settled down quickly, as if something had startled them. It wasn’t until Charlie got up to check that they realized that both children were now marked with the golden hearts over their own hearts.
The hearts were fully formed, jade colored, and trimmed in the gold. Not sure what it was supposed to signify, no one cared as the children didn’t seem to be harmed by it. At least Addie wasn’t worried. Whatever it was, it would surely show itself sometime.
~*~
Dominic walked around with the inspector as he made notes on the upgrades of the retreat. Dominic was impressed with the craftsmanship of this one. It was in Canada, and he thought that it was the most functional building he’d seen so far. Someone had even painted murals on the walls. Taking pictures of the ones he liked the most, which was nearly all of them, he thought about asking Clare to help him out with incorporating the designs in all the buildings.
“If I were you, young man, I’d think about hiring the crew here to do the other building you have planned for this country. I’ve found nothing wrong that cannot be fixed for less than a couple of bucks.” Dominic looked at the sheet when it was handed to him, and laughed at the notes on the sleeping quarters he’d made. “I love the idea of having the blankets you use for them to go home with them. I’m sure that after leaving, they enjoy having something from the place.”
Dominic didn’t tell him that a great many of the kids that came to the retreat had only this to look forward to. Quite a few of the people, like Conrad and Harley, had gotten a great deal of care from the start of their life and could function. Others were put into homes and forgotten for the most part. Not all, but enough that it broke his heart when he thought about them.
“I’ve actually thought of that myself. I think this is the best so far.” The inspector agreed with him. “Will you be traveling to all the buildings and retreats as they’re finished? I was surprised to see you here, to be honest.”
“Since these retreats are wholly funded from one place, yes, I will inspect them. Mostly because I’m excited for this to come around. Also, I had a son that would have benefited greatly from a place like this when he was alive.” Dominic told him he was sorry for his loss. “Yes, well, I never would have expected him to commit suicide. Harold was such a fun and happy person. But he’d been bullied, you see. And it had taken its toll on him.”
Telling him how profoundly sorry he was again, they went back over the building once again, this time with Dominic pointing out some of the other things they were going to be doing in the craft rooms.
“On Monday, a second crew will come in and put together all the rest of the beds, and move the dressers to the rooms as well. While that is being done, the kitchen will be stocked up, as well as the dining tables put in place. We only put out what you said you’d need to inspect.” The man, he said that his name was Mark, said that he’d noticed the boxes. “By the end of April we should have nineteen of the retreats ready for guests. Food stuffs and other things such as the medical supplies will be brought in the week before we open. There will be staff on duty to keep an eye on the places so that not
hing happens.”
Each retreat would have a permanent staff on duty, even when there was a week when nothing was going on. It wasn’t often that they weren’t full. The retreats that weren’t open yet already had a waiting list. Whenever he thought about that, Dominic would get a little ill. He didn’t want to fail the people that were depending on him.
Hello there, handsome. Dominic smiled when Charlie spoke to him through their link. I don’t know if you’ve realized this or not, but O’Reilly is a moron. He is showing me around the realm like I haven’t lived there for most of my fucking life. He’s even pointing out where Sham and his wife found me. If I have to do this for much longer, I might be either made into a saint for putting up with him, or put in jail. However, I don’t see that happening. He has been around for some time and shown people what sort of person he is. How’s the inspection going?
We’ve just finished up. I think I might be home sometime tomorrow.
She asked him where he was. After telling her, he leaned back in his chair to wait when she asked him to. Dominic loved being married. Charlie was not just his heart, but she made him laugh more than he’d ever done before.
Okay, there is an entry to this realm about a mile from where you are, believe it or not. I should have remembered that when you left and you could have been there and back in one day. Damn it. I missed sleeping with you, and I could have avoided being all alone. Of course, I did have the kids. Did you tell your parents that we finally named them? He told her that he’d not. He wanted her there with him when he did. They’re babysitting tomorrow for us. We can tell them then. So much to do here. I have to take care of the castle, and then see to the supplies here for the coming holiday. Are you sure you want to be here on St Paddy’s Day? It’s a lot to take for someone new.
They’d talked it over, and Charlie was going to run the realm as queen. He would support her, of course, but he had this going on, and didn’t want to leave things undone when it came to the retreats. Now that he knew that he could come and go as he pleased through different portals, it might make it so that he could help her more instead of traveling all the time. Christmas, then the New Year celebrations had been cut short when there had been an issue with one of the buildings being built, and an intruder in the leprechaun’s realm that had stumbled in by mistake.
Not that it happened all that much, but when it did it was something that had to be dealt with immediately. The man in this case had been drunk out of his mind, and had been mistaken for someone else. Dominic thought it was because he’d been drunk that the magic had allowed him through, but he kept that thought to himself.
Dominic was glad to be home. The holidays were about over, and he was actually sort of happy for it. Not that he’d not had a great holiday, but it had been hectic for him and Charlie, what with being changed and then having the infants too. Picking up Abigail, he kissed her on the head and then picked up her brother Daniel.
“Did you know that you guys already have a college fund started? I do expect you both to go to college. I don’t care what it is you do, but it would be nice if one of you took after me and became a teacher.” It had been a while since he’d taught anyone, but he was helping in a way that he’d never thought he could as a teacher. “I knew this man once. His name was Mr. Cartwright. A very special man that I plan to tell you all about when you’re older. But I think that the man was a genius. Not to mention some sort of wizard. He made it so that my entire family was happy. And loved.”
Rocking the two of them, he told them stories of Mr. Cartwright. Also some of his brothers, and his mom and dad. He knew that they didn’t know what he was saying, but it felt good to him to be able to share such things with the two youngest people he knew. Charlie joined him a little bit later, and took Reilly with her to the other rocking chair.
She started talking in the same low tones he’d been speaking to the babies with, and didn’t curse as much as she normally did. Not mentioning it to her, he frowned when she told him about the castle.
“I think that someone has been keeping it up. The lawns are in good shape, believe it or not. I did have a look around, and I didn’t see anyone living in the place, but we might have to keep a better eye on it from now on.” He asked her what she’d found. “A great many things that to me, should have burned up in the fire. But then the walls are still standing, so perhaps it wasn’t as devastating as we’d been told. Either that, or some kind of magic is holding it together.”
“What is it you’ve found?” Charlie told him of the few things she’d found. “I wouldn’t think a painting would have survived either. And you said the kitchen is in good shape as well? I thought that was where it started.”
“I thought so as well. I have a feeling that Sasha and the other people of the dale where it is have been using a little of their magic to make it look better for us. Not enough to have someone come in and live there, but enough to keep the thing in good enough shape that we could move in anytime we wish. I’ve taken care that it has furniture.” He asked her if she wanted to live there while in the other realm. “I do. I might not have liked the place if I didn’t have Reilly and Daniel to hand it over to someday. It’s theirs, and I’d like to have them make a few memories of their own as children when they live there someday on their own.”
He liked that idea and told her so. “I’ve been thinking of something else about having the kids. We should make sure that they’re a part of what we do to help the people at the retreat. I was thinking that we should, as a family, spend summers at one of the places so long as we can do like I did today and come home when it’s necessary. I know that they have their two uncles around all the time, but I’d like to have them know how to handle and be around different people. Not just the handicapped, but all sorts of people.”
“I love that idea.” She sat there for several minutes, just rocking the baby before she spoke again. “I hope you don’t mind, but I invited your family over for dinner tomorrow night, not just your parents. I had to go by and pick out a burial place for the kids’ parents.”
Dominic told her that he didn’t mind at all. Just since they’d taken in the kids had she been referring to her parents as only the kids’ mom and dad. He didn’t mind. If it was what she needed, then he was fine with it. Dealing with what she’d been told and what she’d come to realize, Dominic thought, would have killed a lesser woman.
“Did O’Reilly or Mildred know what the marks meant? I asked Sasha when I was going through the realm earlier, and she said that she’d ask around. She also suggested that we find us a grand witch and see what she could tell us.” Charlie told him that she’d do that as well. More than one answer might be better anyway. “I agree. If they’re all the same answer then we can figure out what we need to expect. If there is anything we can do as well.”
After they gave both babies their bottles, Dominic put them to bed. Charlie said that she needed a few minutes, and he was all right with that. There was something so calming about putting them to bed that he would do it by himself all the time if he was given the opportunity to do so.
Going down the hall toward their room, he looked into the rooms that were going to be for the babies. It was coming along nicely, he thought. Conrad had wanted to paint the walls himself, and Dominic had been just fine with that. He was a good man, and his paintings were fast becoming as popular as his sister Clare’s were. Clare was a renowned artist that had large showings all over the world. Dominic made another mental note to ask her about the walls, and if she could paint them for him.
Going into the bedroom, he started talking to Charlie as soon as he closed the door behind him. Not only did he tell her about the paintings, but how good he thought the nursery was looking. However, as soon as she came out of the bathroom, naked, all other thoughts left his mind like a fart in the wind, as his dad was so fond of saying.
“I thought that you could use a distraction. I know that I coul
d.” He nodded. “Also, I don’t know if you realize this or not, but we’re supposed to meet your parents at the courthouse tomorrow to be married.”
All he could do was nod. This was the first time since they’d been marked that he’d seen all of her at once. He’d thought that her being marked the way he’d been would have made her skin look hard. But on the contrary, Charlie looked like a vision. A beautiful vision of loveliness. And she was all his.
Chapter 7
Charlie had needed Dominic for days now, it seemed. Not that they didn’t make love every night, but this…this wasn’t going to be rushed. There wasn’t a time constraint on their time either.
The children were fed and in bed. The nanny that came by at ten had already arrived too. Charlie was going to make this something special, even if it took her all night to do so. From the look on his face, Charlie was positive that it wouldn’t take nearly that long.
“I’ve thought of very little else but having you to myself.” Dominic simply nodded at her, his eyes devouring her much like she planned to do to him. “You’re very overdressed, don’t you think? I mean, unless this is your way of telling me that you have no desire to make love to me. Is that—?”
He was naked and stone hard before she could finish teasing him. Walking to him slowly, trying her best not to jump him from where she stood, Charlie told him of all the things that she’d thought about doing to him since the idea about tonight entered her mind.
“The time we made love out in the forest for the first time, it’s been something that I think of often. There wasn’t any kind of ritual that brought us together. Just a need that was so profound that it was too much for either of us to deny.” Dominic touched his finger to her hardened nipple as soon as she was within touching distance. “Your touch brings out so much in me. Not just a beast of need, but how much I love you. How you make me feel every time I look at you. Did you know that when we’re with other people, I can feel your eyes touching me like a caress? I love that feeling.”
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