by R. J. Blain
It was ten in the morning. “I was out for three hours?” I exclaimed, feeling the blood drain out of my face.
“After we told him about your circumstances, Bishop Carlisle suggested that we let you rest. This is his office. If you didn’t come around on your own by eleven, he was going to call in a doctor. It should come as no surprise that I wasn’t going to let anyone else watch over you. Still, I should let them know you’re up. I’ll have them bring in just Jacqueline, okay?”
Drawing a deep breath to steady my nerves, I nodded.
Evelyn pulled out her cell. “I love this thing,” she announced before dialing a number and holding it to her ear. “He’s awake. Why don’t you send Jackie in alone? Okay.” She hung up and stashed her phone in her pocket. “Won’t be long.”
When the door cracked open, Jacqueline peeked into the room. When she saw me, she froze, her eyes widening. I heard my brother murmur something before giving her a gentle push in my direction. The door closed behind her.
I swallowed, once again trembling as I took her in. Someone had tried to contain her unruly hair in a frizzled ponytail, although several strands had already escaped from their ribbon prison. “Jacqueline,” I whispered.
My daughter’s gaze turned to Evelyn. The Fenerec chuckled, a low throaty sound. “It’s okay. Just be gentle with him.”
Little girls could move fast. She crossed the room, and without any care for her personal safety, lunged for my lap. I caught her and pulled her up so she wouldn’t crack her chin on my knees.
When standing on my legs, she was a little taller than me. Without a word, she flung her arms around my neck and pressed her face to my shoulder. I shook as I hugged her. My eyes burned. I had no idea what to say to her or do. I looked at Evelyn helplessly.
“You’re hopeless,” Evelyn murmured, reaching over to flick my forehead. “Wait until you hear what she told your father this morning. Also, you should have seen his face when he saw your note. I thought he was going to rupture something in his head.”
It felt awkward, but I patted my daughter’s back, amazed at how tiny she was. “What did you tell my father?” I asked, wincing a little at the tremble in my voice.
Jacqueline pulled away from me, looked me in the eye, and replied, “I said he needed to stop being an asshole to Daddy, and that if Mommy knew what sort of bullshit he’d pulled, he’d get a spanking.”
Evelyn howled her laughter, falling off the edge of the couch to curl on the floor hugging her sides. “That’s—that’s it,” she gasped.
I flushed, wondering who had taught her that sort of language. Torn between horror and shocked amusement, I drew in a breath, went to say something, thought better of it, and wondered what to do. Clearing my throat, I chided, “Young ladies shouldn’t use that sort of language in a church.”
Jacqueline blinked at me. “What’s wrong with my language?”
Laughing even harder, Evelyn reached out to tug at my jeans. Panting to catch her breath, she gasped out, “She has a very broad vocabulary and no idea which words are bad.”
I closed my eyes and groaned. “Asshole and bullshit are bad words and shouldn’t be used in polite company, Jacqueline.”
“Why?”
Taking a moment to compose myself, I explained, “Bad words are mean and usually hurtful. What you’re saying might be true, but it’s still mean, and we do not speak to other people like that in a polite setting. A church is a polite setting.”
“Your father is old fashioned and a bit of prude,” Evelyn added.
“He was mean to you,” Jacqueline protested, leaning back while standing on my knees, forcing me to support her back so she wouldn’t fall to the floor. She crossed her arms over her chest. “He needs to apologize.”
I stared at my little girl incredulously. “How do you know that?”
Her lips curved into a trembling frown and she sniffled. “The bad witch told me.”
I sucked in a breath, wondering how I was going to tell her that her mother was dead—and worse, that I had been the one who had killed her. “Well, Jacqueline, you’ll be happy to know he already apologized, as has my mother.” While it wasn’t exactly true, I didn’t need a direct apology to get the message.
When I had needed them, they had come. When Evelyn was searching for my daughter, they had, however much it annoyed me, helped my mate.
No words of apology could compare to that.
Jacqueline’s eyes widened. “They apologized?”
“It’s true. Look at the pretty ring they gave Evelyn,” I said, pointing down at my mate, who was still chortling on the floor. “Well, maybe later, once she has regained her dignity.”
“Why is she laughing?”
I snorted, relaxing at the question. “Evelyn is laughing because she thinks me saying bad words is funny.”
Still giggling, Evelyn said, “Daddy doesn’t like saying bad words.”
“You don’t?”
I shook my head. “I try to avoid it. Sometimes I get angry and say them, though.”
“I’m angry at your father for being mean to you,” Jacqueline announced, wrinkling her nose.
“Have you told him why you are angry without calling him names and bad words?” I asked.
Jacqueline lowered her eyes and shook her head.
“Maybe you should talk to him before you start calling him names and bad words. You also owe him an apology for biting him. Young ladies do not bite people,” I said, careful to keep my tone gentle. “Can you do that for me?”
While she didn’t say a word, she nodded.
I sighed, looking at her hair and shaking my head. “You definitely have my hair. Leave it alone for a second, and it looks like something nested in it. Evelyn, do you have a brush?”
Evelyn burst out into laughter, crawled to her purse, and pulled out a comb. “Yours is a bit of a mess, I have to admit.”
I huffed at her, taking the comb. “Sit,” I told my daughter, patting the couch next to me. She obeyed, watching me with wide eyes. While I had meant for her to turn with her back facing me, I went to work, careful not to pull on her hair as I attacked the tangled mess. “When was the last time this was brushed?”
She looked down at her lap and sniffled, but didn’t reply.
“You’re not in trouble, Jacqueline. I might have to pull on your hair a little as I do this, okay? Just tell me if it hurts too much.”
Even when I knew it had to hurt, she didn’t complain or cry, which both made me proud and broke my heart at the same time. Evelyn watched me with amusement as I picked my daughter up and turned her around so I could braid her hair.
“You’re pretty good at that,” Evelyn complimented me when I finished tying the ribbon into place.
I didn’t have the courage to tell Evelyn I used to, when it had been long enough, took care of Suzanne’s hair for her. I forced a smile and said, “Practice.”
Judging by the way she sucked in a breath and widened her eyes, Evelyn understood.
~~*~~
Evelyn ruled as a queen with her cell phone, summoning my parents, my brother, and Bishop Carlisle with a single call. To my dismay, they weren’t alone. Richard followed in their wake, leveling a glare at me as he closed the door behind him.
Jacqueline tried to worm her way behind me on the couch with limited success. While she did manage to cram her head behind my back, the rest of her stuck out. I sighed, a headache brewing behind my eyes.
“Welcome to parenthood,” my father said, smirking at me.
I drew a deep breath, reminded myself that cursing at my father in front of a bishop wouldn’t reinforce what I wanted to teach Jacqueline, and swallowed back my urge to sigh. “Jacqueline.”
“I’m sorry,” she mumbled.
“Why are you sorry?” I prompted.
“I’m sorry I called you mean and bad names and bit you,” she whispered, and I worried she was too quiet for my father to hear.
He must have, because he closed the distance betwee
n us, and knelt next to the couch. “I already forgave you, baby. I’m not angry. Thank you for your apology.”
Whether it was because she was encouraged by my father’s words or decided trying to merge with my spine was as uncomfortable for her as it was for me, she emerged from hiding, sniffling a bit. I held my breath as she regarded my father with narrowed eyes, her expression thoughtful. With another sniffle, which I decided was entirely faked in order to manipulate my father, she held out her hands to be picked up.
My father fell for it, hook, line, and sinker, scooping my daughter up to hold her. With a smirk, she twisted around and stuck her tongue out at me.
I wrinkled my nose and mirrored her, eliciting a giggle from Jacqueline.
“How old are you?” my mother scolded, putting her hands on her hips. “You’re in a church, young man. You know better than that.”
“I can’t win,” I complained to Evelyn.
“Don’t you drag me into this,” my mate replied.
Bishop Carlisle chuckled. “It seems I owe you a tour through the cathedral, Jackson—or should I say, Mr. Anderson.”
I widened my eyes at Anthony. “Jackson is really my name. It’s on my birth certificate.”
“It’s true,” my mother added with a shake of her head. “I think it’s ridiculous, but his father absolutely insisted.”
“Perhaps you will want to accept a postponement, all things considered? I won’t be offended.”
I turned my attention. “Jacqueline, do you want to see all of the cathedral?”
“Okay.”
I decided okay meant yes. “She wants to see the cathedral, if it isn’t a burden on you.”
“Not at all. You won the wager, fair and square. It’s an honor to keep my end of the bargain. I never make a promise I can’t keep.” He smiled at me. “I suppose we’ll begin here, with my office.”
Anthony showed us the cathedral, including the bell tower. With the patience of a saint, Anthony answered Jacqueline’s endless stream of questions. I suspected my daughter was somehow siphoning away all of my energy, because by the time the tour ended, she was energized and I was exhausted.
I was too grateful she was alive and with me to ruin her enjoyment of the cathedral because I was tired.
Chapter Twenty-Five
In the shade of the trees behind the cathedral, the discussion of what to have for lunch was lively enough to disgust me. All I wanted was to find a dark, quiet place to curl up and sleep while under the influence of the largest dose of painkillers my prescriptions allowed. My efforts to interrupt the debate, which had been whittled down to a choice of pizza, rotisserie, and Mexican, were ignored.
Jacqueline came to my rescue by slapping her hands against her hips, stomping her foot, and declaring, “No.”
The discussion of where to eat ground to a halt. It was Richard who finally asked, “Why not?”
“Daddy’s tired.”
“Fu—”
I voiced a wordless snarl at Richard, and he shut his mouth with a clack of his teeth. “Sorry.”
Grunting an acceptance of his apology, I rested my chin on Evelyn’s shoulder.
My mate took pity on me by saying, “I think Jacqueline is right. Therefore, we will continue our discussion at the hotel. I hear they have this newfangled thing called delivery in this city.”
“How fancy,” my father murmured, his expression neutral. My mother elbowed him.
“You’re not funny,” my daughter proclaimed, glaring at her grandfather.
“She learned that one from you,” Evelyn whispered in my ear.
I held my breath, wondering just how that was possible. Richard likewise gawked at my daughter before staring at me in silent questioning. I held my hands up, at a loss of how my daughter had learned the phrase. It wasn’t something Suzanne had ever said. She had hated it with a passion, scolding me whenever I uttered it, even when I had been on a call with Richard.
“It’s bad enough that you have a twin, Dante. You did not need to produce a clone,” my father scolded.
“Dad!” Elliot protested.
“You’re really not funny,” Jacqueline hissed, turning to me and hugging my legs. “Don’t listen to him, Daddy.”
“I have it on the highest authority that I shouldn’t listen to you,” I replied, and despite the throbbing in my chest and my exhaustion, I bent over and picked my daughter up. “Good girl.”
“Let me take her,” Evelyn said, holding out her arms for Jacqueline. I was abandoned for my mate, who smiled smugly at me. “Let’s get Jackson back to the hotel before he falls over again.”
“You’re not funny,” I grumbled under my breath.
Evelyn elbowed me and stuck out her tongue.
~~*~~
When Jacqueline ended up asleep in Evelyn’s arms before we made it back to the hotel, I huffed my triumph, which earned me a glare from Evelyn and my mother.
“If you wake her up, you’re a dead man,” my mate promised me.
“I think he’s had enough close brushes with death this month,” Richard grumbled, glaring at me. “Stop it. Just stop it.”
I had a feeling the Fenerec wouldn’t wait much longer before taking me aside for a terse heart to heart, which likely included a close-up inspection of my aching chest. “I’ll try.”
“Try?” Richard’s tone rose in pitch.
“Don’t you wake her either, Mr. Murphy,” Evelyn hissed.
We rode the elevator in silence, and I spent the time engaging Richard in a glaring contest. I wasn’t sure which one of us was the victor when we reached the top floor. He growled at me, a wordless rumble in his chest, which I answered with a huff, since there was no way I could match his deep tones. Smirking in response, he led the way to the suite I shared with my parents.
I reached out a hand at his back, curling my fingers into claws despite knowing he couldn’t see me.
“Your daughter is more mature than you are,” Elliot chided, shaking his head at me.
“I’m still your older brother, and I’m not above dunking your head in the toilet.”
He snorted. “You have never dunked anyone’s head in a toilet in your life.”
“That doesn’t mean I can’t start with you.”
“Give it up, Jackson. They’ll win eventually. They’ll join forces, and you’ll be powerless to fight them off,” Evelyn said, clucking her tongue at me.
“Don’t give them ideas, please,” I begged.
“Too late, we’ve been planning it since we arrived,” Richard said, waiting at the door.
I pulled the key card out of my pocket and swiped it, shaking my head. Alex, Nicole, Amber, and Vicky were seated at the couch, playing a card game.
“You look like hell,” Vicky said in way of greeting.
“Thanks,” I replied, beelining for the kitchenette, its coffeemaker, and my medications. Richard grabbed the back of my shirt, succeeding in choking me before I halted. “Let go.”
“Food first, then medicine,” the Alpha Fenerec growled in reply.
“Seconded,” Vicky said. “I took the liberty of looking through them while you were gone, and the only one you’re allowed to take without food or lots of water is in the pink box. You can have one of those.”
“Dictators, all of you,” I muttered. “Give me coffee or give me death.”
“I’ll just go put her in bed while the grumpy beast has his coffee,” Evelyn said, pausing to kiss my cheek. “Behave.”
I changed direction to follow after Evelyn. “Grumpy beast help put child to bed before coffee.”
Richard tugged on my shirt again. “All you’ll do is wake her up with your bumbling. There’ll be plenty of time for you to spoil your little girl once you’re capable of constructing complete sentences.”
“Get. Coffee.” Evelyn paused to glare at me before disappearing into the bedroom.
“Go sit, I’ll make the coffee. I heard stories about what you produced at Gerald’s house and dared to call coffee,” Rich
ard said, pushing me towards the couch and armchair. “Nicole, zap him if he gives you any trouble.”
“Jackson is never any trouble,” Nicole said, flashing a smile at me. “Look, he didn’t even need told that he has daddy duties he should attend to, including assisting in putting the baby to sleep. That’s pretty good for someone who decided it was a good idea to leave his hotel room in the wee hours of the morning to go have coffee with a Catholic priest. It’s like a bad joke without a punchline, mainly because it’s unfair to punch the heavily medicated for making stupid decisions.”
“Ouch.” I circled the coffee table, careful to keep well out of Nicole’s reach. “I’m sorry.”
“I can’t say I can blame him for deciding to get some fresh air,” my brother said, shaking his head. “You can’t cage a wolf.”
“No, they’re the wolves,” I corrected. “I’m just a witch.”
Shaking his head at me, my twin replied, “Witch or wolf, when it comes to you, there’s no difference.”
“I don’t have fleas, howl at the moon, or have fur.”
“You don’t, but you’re excessively protective, headstrong, stubborn, and you snarl when cranky.” Richard smirked at me, handing me a mug of coffee as I settled on the armchair, along with the little pink pill I recognized as the anti-nausea medication. “Those are all notable Fenerec traits, so therefore I say, ‘Close enough’.”
“Stop taunting my mate,” Evelyn scolded, closing the bedroom door behind her. “I’m pleased to report my mission is accomplished.”
I stared at the door, wondering what my little girl looked like when asleep.
“Oh, for Christ’s sake, just go have a look,” Evelyn muttered, shaking her head. “From the doorway, and keep quiet. Nap time is a sacred luxury. Children have two modes of operation: on and off.”
“Language,” my mother scolded.
“Not sorry,” my mate replied, flipping a rude gesture in my mother’s direction.
I froze, holding my breath.
“No fighting,” Richard ordered. “Territory disputes in the hallway or not at all. First, there is a very tired and traumatized little girl sleeping in the other room. Second, there is a very tired, easily provoked, and traumatized Jackson in this room.”