“You keep behaving like a man with a dozen screws loose, I’ll stop telling you what to do when they’re shovelling dirt on my coffin,” Mrs. Truman replied.
They entered a glaring contest. Unsurprisingly Mrs. Truman won.
Angus stomped to Cash and Abby’s circle and Cash dropped one arm, holding Abby to him with the other.
Angus’s face had gentled when he looked at Abby. “How’re things, lass?”
“Not good,” Abby replied softly and Angus’s worried eyes moved to Cash.
Angus was not exactly a fixture in their lives. He’d come and he’d go. He was, he explained to them, quite busy with expunging the vast number of malevolent spirits that infected the British Isles. Nevertheless his visits, although not common, were regular.
Fortunately for Abby and Jenny who, at that present time, needed their friends close, Angus was working “a job” in the vicinity and using Penmort as what he referred to as his “headquarters”.
He’d told them over dinner the night before, the job was proving difficult.
“Well, I’ll give you something else to think about.” Angus moved close to Abby and his voice had grown quietly conspiratorial. “See, my new wee ghosty has a thing against blondes. She doesn’t like anyone particularly but she really doesn’t like blondes. I thought you could –”
Cash, his voice firm and inflexible, cut in with one word.
“No.”
Angus’s gaze came to him. “She’ll no’ be in any danger.”
“No,” Cash repeated.
“You know I know what I’m doing,” Angus kept trying.
Cash clenched his jaw then repeated yet again but even more firm and far more inflexible, “No.”
“Fraser –” Angus started but Cash interrupted.
“First, Abby’s pregnant. Second, even if she wasn’t, there is no f**king way in hell I’d allow her to get caught up in another of your hunts.”
“Cash,” Abby murmured soothingly but it was Cash’s turn to ignore her.
Angus took a step back, muttering, “No harm asking.”
“Except for the fact you sent my blood pressure through the roof. I’d rather not suffer a stroke five months before my child is born,” Cash clipped.
Abby went rigid at his side and Cash realised his mistake instantly.
His head tilted down to her. “Darling –”
She curled into him and her hand came to his stomach. “It’s okay. I’m sorry. It’s the circumstances. I’m just being stupid.”
“Don’t apologise,” Cash bit out with irritation at himself. “What I said was thoughtless.”
“What you said was in anger,” she told him, leaned in, tipped her head back and gave him a small smile. “Cash, you can’t guard against everything you say just because I’m an overly-sensitive idiot.”
“I can try,” Cash returned and she gave it to him, the look he saw often, the look he had mistaken as awe the first time he saw it.
Then, it was her burgeoning understanding that she loved him and what they had growing between them was what she deemed “magical”.
Now, it was the shining knowledge of the same thing.
He dipped his head and touched his mouth to hers as her arms stole around him. When he was done, he brushed his nose alongside hers and he watched close up the brightness of love turn to the warmth of contentedness.
She could wear his diamonds and the seven hundred pound boots his money bought her.
But Cash knew the best thing he’d ever given her was the same peace she’d given him.
“Conner!” he heard Mrs. Truman call (once she’d learned his real name, she never used anything but and also, when she was annoyed which meant quite frequently, she addressed him by all three of his names).
Cash’s head came up and he looked at the door.
Angus moved out of the way and in his arms he felt Abby’s body grow solid.
Kieran stood there looking alarmingly haggard.
Then he grinned.
“It’s a boy. Ten fingers, ten toes and thankfully breathing on his own,” his relieved eyes moved to Abby, “Jenny’s fine.”
Cash took the entirety of Abby’s weight as she sagged against him.
Then she buried her face in his chest and he felt her body tremble with silent tears.
Angus let out what could only be described as a very loud “whoop”.
Cassandra shouted, “Hurrah!”
“I need to call Fenella and Honor,” Nicola mumbled, moving to the chair that held her purse.
Suzanne, Mrs. Truman and James were all standing. Mrs. Truman, to Cash’s surprise, allowed Suzanne to hug her. Then Suzanne walked into James’s arms which closed around her tight and she pressed her face in his neck. James turned his head and kissed Suzanne’s temple.
Cash’s own arms tightened around his wife.
She leaned back and looked at him, tears wet on her cheeks. She came to her toes and touched her mouth to his, her arms giving him a squeeze. Then she gently pulled away, swiping at her face and moved to Kieran who was disengaging from his own surprising hug from Mrs. Truman.
Then Abby stood by Kieran’s side as he accepted congratulations.
Then she walked with him hand-in-hand, gracefully moving away in her elegant high-heeled boots to go see her friend.
Cash watched his wife’s departure, his eyes riveted openly and without even a hint of shame, on her exquisite ass.
* * * * *
Edith Truman sat in the corner of Jennifer’s hospital room, her arms curved protectively about a tiny, blanketed bundle. Her head was tilted low, her eyes on the scrunched up, sleeping face, her mind marvelling at the miracle.
Conner was sitting by Jennifer’s bedside. Abigail had somewhat forcefully declared that she was taking Kieran to get him some dinner. Kieran had not wanted to leave and only did so when Conner assured him he’d look after his wife.
And that was precisely what Conner did, not leaving her side for an instant.
“Cash,” Edith’s sharp ears heard Jennifer whisper softly.
Edith didn’t move anything but her eyes. They’d never know she was watching them. She saw that Conner’s head was turned to Jennifer. His hand was resting on the bed beside hers.
From the beginning Edith had liked Conner’s hands. They had long, tapered fingers and were nicely veined. You could tell a lot by a man’s hands and his were strong, capable and handsome. Three words, Edith thought, that quite aptly defined Conner Ewan Fraser.