“You’ve taken care of Alistair?” he queried, eyes on Cash.
Cash nodded and Anthony nodded in return.
Quietly Anthony stated, “She’s different, you know, where she is now.”
Abby felt Cash’s body grow rigid at her side and she knew Anthony was talking about Cash’s mother.
“Healthy?” Cash asked.
Anthony nodded again. “And happy.”
Abby swallowed the tears crawling up her throat and pressed deeper into Cash.
“I don’t want you taking the Beaumaris name,” Anthony announced. “I want you to usher in the era of the Frasers. Your grandfather deserves that, as does your mother.”
Cash jerked his head in agreement and Anthony looked at Abby for a moment before training his eyes back on his son.
“This one’s going to be a handful,” he declared and Abby didn’t know what to make of that.
She heard amusement in his voice when Cash replied, “I’ve already figured that out.”
Anthony grinned and Abby caught her breath.
His grin melted the forbidding, somewhat scary look of his face and morphed him into an almost exact heart-stoppingly handsome replica of his son.
Anthony’s eyes went back to Abby and he noted roguishly, “The Beaumaris men have always had good taste.”
“I’ve heard that before,” Abby muttered.
He threw back his head and laughed, the same, rich, deep, beautiful laugh as Cash.
When he was done, he turned to Cassandra and gave her a sharp nod.
She lifted her wand and spoke again, the silver beam shot from her wand and hit Anthony.
His eyes went to Cash, his body glimmering and then fading away.
Before he was gone, Abby saw his mouth move, his body disappeared but the words shimmered in the air around them.
“I’m proud of you, son.”
Abby tried hard not to emit the hiccoughing sound of her sob but she didn’t quite achieve this feat. Cash turned to her, both his arms moving around her and he kissed her forehead.
Then Ben appeared before them and Cash pulled slightly, but only very slightly, away.
Abby held her breath then let it go to say, “Ben.”
“He’s freaking tall,” Ben commented, eyes shifting to Cash.
“Oh Ben,” Abby whispered, torn asunder, wanting to laugh and wanting to scream and lastly, but most especially, wanting to cry.
She also wanted to touch him, having lived for that opportunity for four years. But oddly, even as she wanted it with a desperation that was the definition of longing, at the same time she did not want it, but instead wanted to move on.
“And kind of bossy,” Ben continued, breaking into her confused thoughts.
“He is that,” Abby murmured and Ben grinned.
Cash showed no reaction at all.
Ben’s eyes came to Abby and he told her gently, “You gotta let yourself be happy, honey.”
“I –” she started but he shook his head, lifted his hand as if to touch her and Cash tensed.
Ben’s hand dropped away not because of Cash but because Ben couldn’t touch her and Abby saw the frustration slide through his expression before he hid it.
Then his face assumed the look she’d seen a million times. It was the look he got when he was being serious and trying to cut through her stupid, stupid, stupid stupidity.
“You gotta let yourself be happy.” His voice was fierce and demanding and it was at that moment that Abby realised she’d forgotten Ben could be pretty bossy too.
“Ben –” Abby started again only to be interrupted again.
“I don’t want to hear it, beautiful. This can’t go on, the way you’ve been.”
“But I –” Abby began again only to be interrupted again.
“I don’t want to hear it,” he leaned in, “let yourself be happy.”
Abby stared at him.
“Promise me, Abby,” Ben insisted.
As his gaze held hers, Abby felt the tears burning in her eyes.
Finally she whispered, “I promise.”
He watched her a moment then pulled back. He turned to Kieran and Jenny who were both standing in each other’s arms.
Jenny was silently crying.
Kieran’s face was white and his throat was moving convulsively.
Ben lifted his hand to them, a sob broke from Jenny and Kieran’s arms tightened around her.
Then Ben looked at Cassandra and nodded.
Cassandra lifted her wand and started speaking and Abby felt sudden, fierce anguish rip through her.
She pulled from Cash’s arms and got as close as she could to Ben’s glimmering form. She lifted her hands as if she could press them against his fading chest and tilted her head back.
“I love you,” she choked, tears clogging her throat.
Ben’s hand came toward her face but it was melting away as his voice floated through the air, “I know, baby, I love you too.”
Then he was gone.
A whimper of sorrow slid from Abby’s throat and she was turned into Cash’s arms. She wrapped her own arms around him and buried her face in his chest, the sobs tearing through her, her body trembling uncontrollably. Cash’s arm at her back tightened, his fingers digging into her side, his other hand slid up, fingers curled warmly around the back of her neck and through this, Abby sobbed.
Suddenly, fear sliced through her, she pulled back and her eyes cut to Cassandra.
“Tell me he went to a better place!” she demanded loudly.
Cassandra’s face was gentle when she replied, “He went to a better place, mate. I promise you, he went to a better place.”
Abby stared at her a moment, assessing her honesty then she turned away and pressed her forehead to Cash’s chest and took a deep breath to control her tears.
Then another emotion, this one anger, took hold of her, her head tipped back and she shouted at Cash, “I hate Vivianna! She’s a bitch!”
Cash’s hand moved from the back of her neck, his arm coming around so his fingers could curl at her neck at the side.
“She’s gone, darling.”
“Good!” Abby snapped. “She’s pissed me off. All this drama! For what? Seriously! What a bitch!”
Cash stared at her a moment with the look on his face that he got when he was openly wondering about Abby’s sanity when Jenny called out knowledgeably, “Don’t worry, Cash. Anger is good. You only have to worry when Abby gets quiet. If she’s blabbing and pissed, all’s well.”
Abby twisted to look at her friend and demanded, “Shut up, Jenny.”