That couldn’t be it.
She’d seen the pain in his eyes.
No, something was up.
It was a mystery, and she was going to solve it no matter what. When they got home, it was on.
“I have to say something to him,” Tori said, glancing over at her husband, “but it’s going to have to wait.”
“Why? That’s so unlike you to not go rushing into something to stir the pot.”
Oh, she had a very good reason.
Julian was about to lose his mind. “I have to wait because my water just broke.”
He glanced over. “WHAT?”
“Uh, do you really need me to say it again?” she asked. “We’re about to have a baby.”
Julian pulled over. “Are you shitting me?”
His heart was pounding in his chest.
“Julian, this is where you drive me to the nearest hospital as fast as you can. You really can’t pull over here!” Tori stated. “I think I’m going to give birth.”
His eyes went huge. “Okay! Don’t give birth in the car!”
She stared at him. “Seriously? We’re eight weeks early. This baby is going to slide out. Drive it like you freaking stole it!”
That was all she had to say.
He did just that.
In fact, Julian made it to the hospital with time to spare. As he raced around the front of the SUV, he fought to get her door open. Once he did, he picked her up and carried her into the ER.
In his head, he was going to be calm.
Unfortunately, it got lost somewhere between his brain and mouth.
“She’s having a baby!” he shouted, getting everyone’s attention. “The baby is coming! NOW!”
The whole emergency room jumped into action.
As they wheeled her away, Julian could only think about one thing.
He was going to be a daddy.
Finally.
* * * L i t t l e m o o n * * *
Nyx and Beau were the last to leave. Honestly, they wanted to make sure that Lennox was fine. When she locked herself in her studio, they knew it was time head home. She was refusing to talk about it.
To her, her life was over. She was just going through the motions. She’d made her choice.
Without Hart, she didn’t want to face the world.
They couldn’t force her.
Heading down to the car, Nyx stopped on the stairs and touched Beau’s arm.
“Crap! I forgot my one bag. I’ll run back up and then meet you at the car,” she offered.
“I’ll get it for you,” Beau offered. “I don’t mind playing pack mule for my beautiful girl.”
She gave him a kiss. “You are too sweet, Beau. I know right where it is, so I’ll grab it,” she said, hustling up the stairs.
When she got to the room, she closed the door.
“Evangeline.”
The room got cold.
“Come back with me. You can use me.”
Yes, she was offering herself up to the dead woman. Nyx knew she didn’t cross. She could hear her in her head, begging for permission.
While the case was solved, the woman didn’t leave, and Nyx felt bad for her. She’d been much like that before she’d found Beau.
“If you stay, you can’t let them know you’re here. I have to figure out a way to tell them.”
The room got cold.
On the mirror, there were words.
‘I’ll behave. I promise.’
Nyx smiled. “Then let’s go.”
She was so glad to have her gift back, and a spirit who she could talk to that she didn’t see the mirror after she left.
The letters had turned to blood.
* * * L i t t l e m o o n * * *
The whole family got the frantic call from Julian. They were at the office doing some cleanup work when word hit.
Tori was having the baby.
There was anticipation and fear.
She was early.
Little Veronica was only around thirty-two weeks, and she really had more time to grow.
Unfortunately, as Clarissa stated, her kids were all early too. The Littlemoons set their own pace, and they didn’t like hanging out in the uterus any longer than THEY wanted.
It looked like Veronica got that from her dad.
When they arrived at the hospital, it was one hell of a commotion. Not only was it Justin, Vivian, Beau, Nyx, Clarissa, Beckett, Claire, Roman and Mattie, but the media who followed them too.
The place was a madhouse.
The family tried to stay calm, but it was getting hard. Keeping Clarissa from her grandchild was not an easy task. She was ready to knock out the first scrub-clad doctor she could find and hijack his gear.
She probably could do it too. Clarissa had a mean right hook.
When the doors opened, Julian came out, and it was clear that he’d been crying.
He was rubbing his eyes on his scrubs, and that scared the family to death. They’d all begun holding their breath in anticipation of him breaking his silence.
Honestly, they expected the worst.
They’d lost Justin and Vivian’s baby, and this one meant so very much to the family.
“Jules?” Justin said anxiously.
“Today, twenty minutes ago, Veronica Clarissa Littlemoon came into the world, screaming like a wild woman.”
He pulled out his phone and handed it to his mother. “She’s absolutely beautiful. She’s little, but she’s doing well, and she’s been a fighter from the second she was born.”
They all crowed around the phone, and there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. The baby had bright blue eyes and lots of red hair like her mother.
“And Tori?” Clarissa said.
“She did amazing. I can honestly say that after watching that go down, I’m on Team Army. My wife is totally badass, and she gets whatever the hell she wants from this day on.”
And he meant it.
She gave him his child. Julian’s heart was complete.
Clarissa wept over the phone. “She named her baby after me. I knew she was my favorite. That’s my girl.”
Julian’s phone chirped to life.
“It. Was. Beautiful. We. Had. Front. Row. Seats!”
“Really?” Justin said. “Tori’s brother got to watch? Is that fair?”
Julian and Beau started laughing.
This tribe was insane.
“I’m not dignifying that with an answer. If Trey wants to be a perv and check out his sister…”
The phone chirped again. “HEY! That’s. A. Lie!”
“Well, that’s on him,” Julian stated, ignoring Trey.
Julian got a hug from each one of them.
“When can we see her?” Claire said, hugging her brother. She was so glad they made it back from their honeymoon.
“Give Tori a little time. She’s being gleaned up. Childbirth is like a bloodbath.”
“What?” Vivian stated.
He started laughing. “I mean it’s a walk in the park.”
She started laughing.
Justin, not so much.
“I’ll come get you. I’m going to make sure my wife is okay, and that my daughter has a pony.”
The family started laughing.
Only he wasn’t kidding. He was buying his daughter a horse, and when she was old enough, they were going riding.
Together.
Like he’d always dreamed.
As Julian headed back into the maternity ward, he felt an icy kiss to his cheek.
He knew who it was, and he was grateful. He owed the dead woman everything. Without her help, they wouldn’t have gotten pregnant, and he wouldn’t have Veronica.
This ghost was his hero.
“Thank you, Bethany. You get to be the godmother. Without you, I wouldn’t be a father. We can never repay you.”
His phone chirped again.
“We. Love. You. Both. We. Are. So. Happy. For. You. Kiss. Victoria. For. Us.”
And he w
ould.
Julian had a new perspective on life. Before, the dead were a pain in his ass.
Now…
The dead mattered.
To the Littlemoons, they were a way of life, and he was more than okay with that.
* * * L i t t l e m o o n * * *
Saturday
Almost One
Week Later
Hart was as miserable as sin.
When he left Lennox, he tried to pretend he didn’t care, but it didn’t work. The second he came home, saw his child, slept in his bed, or visited Tori at the hospital, Lennox was everywhere.
He couldn’t stop thinking about her.
His heart was broken.
Even Ivy couldn’t cheer him up, and that was saying a hell of a lot. He was lost to a woman who broke his heart.
Nothing would ever be the same, and he knew it.
As Ivy played on the floor, Hart sat on the couch thinking about her. He wanted to call her. He wanted to go to Lennox, but she didn’t reach out to him either, and he couldn’t blame her.
He’d left her.
She’d been tied to that table, and it killed him to see her scared, hurt, and weeping, but he still walked away.
Now he was thinking it was a huge mistake.
New York wouldn’t be so bad.
Had she insisted on going, he would have followed her there. His heart realized it now.
He missed her.
Hart could have gotten a job there as a cop. It was a city full of crime, and he could have easily gotten onto the police force.
Hell!
He would have worn a uniform for her again. Hart would have risked his life to have her in his. Now he knew the truth. He couldn’t move forward without her.
Love had taken him to his knees.
At the knock on his door, he peeked outside. It was Tori, and she appeared to be alone.
“Hey! Can I come in?”
“How’s Veronica?” he asked, motioning for her to enter his place. Immediately, Ivy raced at her.
Before Ivy could ask, Tori made a pop appear. Apparently, Tori was going to rock at the mother gig. She was already anticipating just about everything.
The little girl took it and left.
“Something came to the office for you, and I figured I’d have it delivered.”
“What?” he asked.
Tori walked to the door, and she peeked out. Beckett and Claire were there carrying a huge canvas. As soon as he saw it, he knew what it was.
It was his starry night.
It was the first painting he’d ever done, and it was special because it was made by him and Lennox.
“I thought you’d want this.”
He stared at it as Beckett and Claire placed it down against the wall. Immediately, Ivy was there, looking at it.
“Pretty.”
Yeah, it was.
Tori patted him on the arm. “Want to talk about it?” she asked. “I have some time.”
He shrugged. “She took that art job in New York. We were lying in bed, and I was about tell her I loved her, and she took the call. It was her dream. How can I stop her from living it?” he asked.
Well that explained why he’d tried to be cold. Once you got to know Everhart Rose, you immediately found out two things.
He loved his child.
He was the sweetest puddle of mush beneath the tough exterior.
“Hart.”
“I can’t,” he said, cutting her off. “She had her tubes tied to avoid being a mother. I have a kid, Tori. What can I give her? This isn’t the life she wanted, and how am I supposed to shove it down her throat?”
As predicted, he was overthinking it, and he was missing the big picture. Lennox was madly in love with him, and she needed him just as much.
“I think you should read this,” she stated. “Lennox sent me a painting when she heard Veronica was born. This came with both of ours. It’s pretty important.”
He took it and unfolded the note.
‘Dearest Tori,
Congrats on your miracle. I am so happy for you. My whole life, I feared the unknown. I feared what was coming, and thanks to you guys, I’m free. Life is funny. I didn’t want kids, I didn’t want a husband, and I only wanted my art. Now I see why. I was afraid to hurt. I was an idiot. Having Everhart walk away taught me that. I don’t have him in my life, but I have the memories. I can see his smile, and hear his daughter’s laugh, and I was a fool. I had nothing to fear. I at least got to taste love once.
Thank you for saving me. I painted this for Veronica for her room. Kids love bright colors. Please get this other painting to Everhart, and when you see him, tell him I hope the sky is still one of his favorite memories. It’s now mine too. In fact, it’s something I look at every night and I always think about him. Meeting him changed me.
I’m lost without him, but I’ll keep fighting. Maybe one day, we’ll cross paths again. Maybe one day, he’ll feel the same about me. If not, I at least had that moment.
I had him for a while.
If you ever need anything, you know where to find me. I’m hiding out at the estate until this whole ‘murdering parents’ thing dies down.
Kisses to your new daughter. You’re so very lucky and I’m jealous.
Love,
Lennox.’
He didn’t understand. “She didn’t take the art show? Why?”
“I called her after I got the painting to tell her thank you. It seems like you two made a mess. She told Milo Perkins that she wasn’t taking it. She told him right when he called. She was going to tell you she loved you, but you were angry.”
He sat down and placed his face in his hands. What the hell was his problem? Why was he a disaster with the opposite sex? If he ever questioned it, this was the proof.
“I didn’t know.”
“And she didn’t know. You were mad…”
He cut her off. “I didn’t want to hold her back. I wanted her to be happy, and if that meant going to New York to display her art, then so be it. I couldn’t make her stay.”
“It wasn’t your choice, Hart. You should have let her choose. She would have picked you.”
He wanted to be sick.
“What do I do?” he asked.
“I think you should get changed, get Ivy in her best art show gala dress, and take a little ride back to that gallery. I think you should make it count because you’re only going to get one shot at this.”
His heart kicked in his chest.
“If you love her, then tell her.”
“I do love her.”
“I’ll get Ivy changed, and you go shave. You’re a hot mess, Everhart Rose. For two people born on Valentine’s Day, you both jacked this up.”
Tori picked up Ivy and carried her to her room. She knew that the man would fix it. She trusted her friend.
As soon as Tori was gone, Hart began planning.
He needed to make this count.
There was one stop he had to make before they left to find Lennox. It was time.
Tonight, he’d make it count.
* * * L i t t l e m o o n * * *
Saturday Night
Perkin’s Gallery
She went from painting to painting, checking on the guests there. While she was smiling on the outside, she wasn’t on the inside.
She was dead inside.
God!
She missed him so much.
Sleeping tormented her because she’d think about him. Being awake was a bitch, because she’d see him all around her home. Lennox even fired the maid who changed the linens on her bed, because it was the last thing she had to remember him. Now his scent was gone, and she was alone.
Oddly, Everhart was everywhere.
When she’d look at a flower, she saw Ivy. When she stared at her pool, she recalled him saving her.
Life had lost all color.
She couldn’t eat, sleep, or paint.
And tonight?
This night was the longest o
f her life. All she wanted was to sell some paintings, make money for the charity, and never leave her home again. The family money would take care of her, and she was going to become the recluse everyone called her.
Without Everhart, why bother painting?
Yes, the media had made her showing a huge success, simply because of the case, but she didn’t care.
He was gone.
As she stood there, sipping champagne and praying it would be over soon, Milo rushed over.
“We have a problem. You know that painting you said I wasn’t to sell?” he asked.
Oh, she knew exactly the one.
It had been the one she and Hart created when they made love on the canvas. She was never giving that one up. A part of her didn’t want to put it in the show, but she did.
Why?
So she could look at it all night and find some peace. It was all she had left. The smears of purple paint were all that were left of that moment in time.
It wouldn’t even be there if Milo hadn’t told her it was spectacular.
“Unsell it.”
“I can’t. He’s already paid for it, and he won’t let me buy it back. The cashier took his money. He is refusing to return it. In fact, he’s demanded to see the artist.”
She couldn’t believe this. “I’ll buy it back. That painting isn’t for sale. It’s all I have left of…”
Lennox couldn’t say his name.
As she headed toward where the painting was hung, she was so upset she wasn’t paying attention. In her head, she was trying to figure out how much money it would take to get it back. As she approached him, she hoped he didn’t fight her on it.
Milo got the man’s attention. “Sir, this is the artist. She’ll explain…”
Lennox looked up when he turned.
She almost fell over.
“I own this painting,” Hart said. “Half of it is mine.”
Forbidden Secrets Page 40