Spirit [New Crescent 2] (BookStrand Publishing Romance) (30 page)

Confused Chase looked around the room. The smell was gone, the cold was gone, but he could still hear the faint sounds of hissing.

In a commanding voice, Reggie said, “Vincent Bennett, you are vanquished. This world is not for you. You are forbidden to return.” In an ear-shattering scream, he was gone.

The room changed. The mahogany wood gleamed, and that strange greasy residue had vanished. Despite its years of abuse, the library looked beautiful in that moment. Joy bubbled up inside Reggie, and she hugged herself and laughed.

Chase made a small noise and alarmed, Reggie turned just in time to see him wince.

“Come on Poindexter, it’s the hospital for you.” She stroked Pita’s head and said, “And you too.”

They recognized the emergency room doctor. He greeted them as friends. He smiled and said, “I was wondering when you guys were going to show up. It’s been days.”

Chase did in fact have two broken ribs. But otherwise he was fine. The doctor still insisted he spend the night. This time Reggie stayed too. She wasn’t giving him the opportunity to bolt like the last time she put him in the hospital.

She’d called Sam and told him what had happened and that she and Chase were okay. He promised to get Travis to help him remove the remains in the secret room, to bury the child’s and burn the man’s. She also asked him to come and get Pita.

He laughed and, in a very mild tone, said, “Sure I’d love to, but, Reggie, where is my car?”

The next day dawned bright and sunny as if in apology for its foul mood the day before. Reggie watched the sun rise from Chase’s hospital room. She fit right into the atmosphere of the place since she hadn’t taken the time to change out of her Halloween costume. Finally, she divested herself of most of the bandages. She still had traces of fake blood and smears of fake stitches all over her, but she didn’t care.

She hadn’t left Chase’s side since he’d succumbed to the pain killer the doctor had prescribed. Reggie wasn’t giving him the opportunity to leave against his doctor’s orders. She’d sit on him if she had to. A hospital room may not have been the most suitable location for their discussion, but Reggie was long past caring. She’d lived in limbo and didn’t like it much. They needed to clear the air. Besides, she had to tell him about the baby. She touched her abdomen. She felt so much love that her chest swelled and her eyes teared up.

She heard a noise behind her and turned from the window to see a pale Chase smiling at her. They said nothing for a moment and Reggie was afraid that she’d lost her courage. Relying on old favorites, she started to talk.

“Chase, I’m glad you’re awake. Sam and Travis have taken care of the remains in the secret room. Pita is fine. You have two broken ribs, but there isn’t much they can do for ribs, so you just have to be very careful for the next six weeks. Aidan doesn’t remember a thing about Halloween night, but Travis is going to have a talk with his parents, just in case. Gillian will be a great help to the kid if they let her. Vincent is gone. We did it!”

She stopped talking only long enough to take another breath. Chase waited for her to go on because she always did.

“I’m pregnant.” Reggie said. Chase was dumbstruck. “And the baby is yours.”

Chase responded with spirit. “Of course the baby is mine! As soon as I can get released from this place we’ll find a justice of the peace and get married.” He pushed the button for the nurse.

Reggie sat in the chair close to his bed and shook her head. Chase frowned and waited.

“I can’t marry you, Chase.”

“Why the hell not?” He spoke so explosively that he could be heard in the hallway. A passing nurse turned her head in surprise, then kept walking.

Reggie stood her ground. “I can’t marry you just because I’m having your baby. I won’t start a marriage that way. A child deserves two parents who love him and each other.”

Chase looked beaten and said, “Reggie, I can make you love me. Look, we’re already good friends, and the sex is amazing for us.” He took one of the hands she had clasped in her lap and brought it to his lips. “Just give me a chance, Crash. I love you so much. I think I’ve loved you forever. I just always seemed to miss my chance with you. I’ll make it enough for both of us for now. Please, Reggie, I beg you, just give me a chance.”

Reggie was speechless. She started to sob. Chase threw the covers aside and pulled her onto the bed beside him. “Please don’t cry, Crash. I’ll make it right.” He pulled back to look at her face when her shoulders started to shake.

He frowned at her in confusion. Sure she was crying although not with regret or sorrow, but with joy. Her shoulders were shaking with laughter.

“You love me!” she cried. Her tears mixed with her hardy laughter. Chase’s frown deepened.

He shook her and yelled, “Are you on drugs? Yes, damn it, I love you! I love you! I’m in love with you! I don’t see what’s so funny about that. I swear, sometimes, Reggie, you can be so dense that you elevate it to an art form. Of course I love you! What do you think all of this was about?”

The nurse poked her head around the door. She raised her eyebrows when she saw Reggie stretched alongside Chase in the tiny bed. “Is something wrong here?”

Both Reggie and Chase looked at her and yelled, “Go away!”

The nurse gave them a knowing look and shut the door, leaving them alone.

Reggie pulled away from him and rested on a forearm savoring the look on his face. His eyes showed, love, frustration, desire, hope and an irritation that Reggie found irresistible. She started to enjoy herself. “Are you saying you’ll make me marry you?”

He narrowed his blue eyes at her. The color had returned to his face. “If I have to.”

She shrugged and said, “Well, okay then.”

He looked at her with disbelief. “What did you just say?”

She smiled and brightened the room up with her joy. Taking his beloved face in her hands, she said, “I love you Chase. I’m not sure when it started but it’s real, and strong and endless. You are everything I want in life, a friend, a sparring partner, a lover…you are my mate, the father of all my children. Let’s have six.”

He hugged her so tightly he winced. She giggled and hugged him back ignoring his grunt of pain. He could take it.

Chase closed his eyes tightly. When he opened them, again there were tears at the corners of his eyes. “That night at Ernestine’s birthday party so many years ago. I thought you knew how I felt. You’d just broken up with your boyfriend, and you were vulnerable. I’ll never forgive myself for taking advantage. You needed a friend that night, and I failed you. I hated myself, and I had to get away from you before I lost all control. I left you there on the dance floor all alone. I’m sorry. I had hoped to explain, but then my mother died and my world changed forever.”

She nodded. “When you kissed me that night, I didn’t want you to stop. You made me feel something I’d never felt before or since…or at least since you kissed me again. Last summer, when I saw that gun pointed at your chest, I knew I didn’t want to live in a world that didn’t include you. When I saw you sneak into the farmhouse to rescue me, I thought I’d explode with joy.”

She frowned and punched him in the arm. “Why the hell did you leave the hospital before we could talk last summer, you big dope?”

“Jade’s father died, and for the first time ever, she called and told me that she needed me. I can’t go into the details right now, but her father had died rather unexpectedly. As you know, he was an unsavory character to say the least. I came back as soon as I could, but you were gone. I cursed myself a million times for letting you get away.”

Reggie smiled. “I cursed you two million times. It’s a wonder you’re still in one piece. I thought for sure some part of your anatomy would have fallen off or something.” She kissed him. “Now I’m so glad I’m lousy at magic.”

He smiled and said, “You think?”

Tears ran like wavy little streams down her cheeks. “Chase, we’re having a baby. We conceived the very first night we made love. I think Constance knew it would happen. Everyone kept telling me to look inside myself to find my strength. When our lives depended on it, I did and found our child there. You and I alone couldn’t defeat Vincent. We needed the baby to help us do it.” She touched her belly and kissed him softly. “He’s strong, Chase, a miracle. For so many years, I despaired that I hadn’t inherited the gift. Well, Chase, you are my gift. You give me my power. I could feel it pulsing through me yesterday.”

Chase was silent. Reggie was used to it, so she just rested her head on his chest and reveled in her love for him and his for her. When he spoke, she heard it first from his chest, and she looked up at him with a frown.

“I haven’t been exactly honest with you.” He heart jumped into her throat, and her stomach clenched as she waited for his explanation. He took a deep breath. “I don’t know how to say this but, I bought Bennett House.”

She looked confused. “From Pat Somers? Why would she sell? She just bought the place. How did you…”

Chase took another deep breath, squeezed his eyes closed, and said, “I’m Pat Somers.” He opened one eye and waited for her reaction.

This time, Reggie was silent. She tested his words in her mind.
Chase is Pat Somers, and he’s kept it from me all this time. Should I be angry? It is a betrayal in a way…Oh, what the hell, the man loves me, who cares?

She smiled at him. “Care to explain that tasty little tidbit?”

“My stepfather left my mother’s estate in such a mess that I had to find a way to fix things. I couldn’t continue living in this town knowing that I owed money to so many. You’d gone on to college as had Sam and Travis. I missed you so much, Reggie.” He kissed her forehead. “I have a good imagination. What do you think I’m doing when I’m so quiet at times? I had such outrageous fantasies about you that I finally put them on paper. I sent my first novel to a literary agent, Jackie Blake.” He smiled at Reggie’s cross expression when he mentioned the name. “She liked it and sold it. I’ve been writing ever since. Now you and Jackie are the only people who know.”

Reggie punched him on the arm again. “Damn, Poindexter, but you can write!”

He laughed. “Thanks. Last summer when I almost lost you, I swore that I’d never let you go again, but I did. I knew in time, you’d be back. This is New Crescent. You belonged here, so I tracked down the Bennett who still owned the house and bought it. Jackie helped me stay distanced from the sale, and I asked her to hire you. Sorry for the subterfuge, but I couldn’t think of anything else to do. I wanted you to make the house over the way you wanted, but I wasn’t sure how to tell you how I felt. I had no idea how you’d react.”

He hugged her again and grunted when his ribs protested, but he kept talking. “That house is my wedding present to you, Reggie. It’s yours, it always has been, and it always will be. Can I live in it with you and our children?”

“Yeah, but let’s make it legal as soon as possible. I’d like to beat Travis to the altar.”

“Good idea.” He nuzzled her neck and she melted. Pressing against him, she could feel his arousal. He groaned but not with pain this time.

“Crash, I know that with you, I’m a sexual god, but don’t forget I have broken bones here.” In a pathetically wimpy voice, he said, “Be gentle with me.”

She wasn’t, but he didn’t seem to mind.

* * * *

Later that day, Reggie hosted her first party at Bennett House. It was ad hoc and informal, the very best kind. Her parents, Travis’s parents, Ernestine, Sam, Travis, and Gillian attended. They were all impressed with the work Reggie and Chase had done transforming the place.

Chase waited until they were all gathered around the dining room table before he made the announcement.

He stood up with care, favoring his broken ribs. His six-feet-seven inch frame was enough to command attention anywhere, and this was no exception. All eyes turned to him in anticipation.

“It’s wonderful to finally have you all here in this house, but nothing makes me happier than to tell you that Reggie and I are in love, and we’re getting married.”

His audience burst into laughter. Chase and Reggie exchanged confused glances. That wasn’t quite the reaction they’d expected.

Taking pity on them, Gillian spoke up. “Guys, it comes as no surprise to us. We’ve known for ages how you feel about each other. Sorry, but you were the last to know.” This time Reggie and Chase joined their laughter.

After they’d eaten, they adjourned to the living room. Reggie checked to make sure all her guests were comfortable before she slipped outside. She walked to the little iron gate and thought about Constance.

After about thirty seconds, the air changed and Reggie looked around in anticipation.

“Congratulations on the coming nuptials.”

“Thanks, Constance. None of this would have happened without you,” Reggie said with humble gratitude

Constance nodded. “True, but what choice did I have? It was my destiny.”

Reggie heard a noise and turned. Ernestine and Gillian had joined her. They smiled at Constance like they would an old friend. They could see her. Gillian said, “Have you told her yet?”

Constance shook her head. “No. I was waiting for you to get here.”