It was then, Julia’s breath hitched painfully too, the ache in her chest that she had been enduring for months broke open, searing her soul.
She could take it no longer and rushed forward, pulling the children with her. Once she arrived at Douglas’s side, she carefully reached for Ruby. Without comment, Douglas moved the girl into Julia’s arms and Ruby slid her body around Julia with such fierceness that it made Julia’s broken heart shatter into a million more pieces.
“Shh, Ruby-girl,” she hushed her, absorbing the girl’s wracking sobs into her body and holding her firmly as she hiccupped wetly into Julia’s neck. “We’ve got you,” she promised.
After several long, tense minutes, Ruby finally controlled her emotion and the little girl asked quietly, “Auntie Jewel?”
“Yes, baby?”
“Do you think the man and his lady can see Mummy and Daddy?”
Julia couldn’t help herself, her throat emitted a noise of pure grief.
With great effort, she composed herself. “No, Ruby-girl, your Mummy and Daddy are in a much nicer place than Sommersgate.”
Ruby’s head came up and Julia looked into her tear-streaked eyes.
“There’s someplace nicer than Sommersgate?” she asked as if she couldn’t imagine it.
Julia nodded and gave her a tremulous smile. “Much, much nicer, honey. And they’re there.”
Ruby studied her aunt for a moment soberly before she laid her cheek on Julia’s shoulder and when Julia finally looked at Douglas, Lizzie was holding on to him like she’d never let him go. Her face was pressed into his side and his arms were wrapped tightly around her. Julia watched in fascination as he bent low to kiss Lizzie on the top of her head.
Willie was standing to the side but he moved forward.
“Auntie Jewel, I’ll take care of this now,” her ten year old nephew said, his hand on Ruby’s back indicating he wanted Julia to put the girl down.
Julia looked into her brother Gavin’s eyes that just happened to be in an altogether different being’s face, and, without a word of protest, she bent down and put Ruby on the floor.
Willie gathered Ruby to him and then gently moved to Lizzie, taking charge of her and leading them all to the bed where he sat them down, one, two, three.
Douglas moved to Julia and Willie raised his eyes to them.
“I’ll take care of this now,” he repeated.
His meaning was clear, or at least it was to Douglas.
Douglas leaned close to her.
“Julia he wants us to go,” he murmured.
“I can’t –” Julia started but Douglas wasn’t listening. He took her hand firmly and led her out. She resisted but she was no match for Douglas and now was no time to make a scene.
When they were out the door, Douglas closed it. Julia turned on him and opened her mouth to speak but he put his finger to her lips, this tender action effectively silencing her.
Then he pulled her vaguely resisting, stiff body into his arms.
“The three of them need time alone,” he stated over the top of her head. “You have to respect Will enough to let him take care of it.”
She knew he was right. She hated it, but she knew he was right.
She nodded jerkily against his shoulder and pulled out of his arms. Then, resting her back on the wall next to the door, she slid down to sit on the floor close by just in case they called out to her.
She didn’t look at Douglas, she didn’t want him to try to talk her out of her silent vigil which she would completely refuse to let go.
He didn’t.
He sat next to her, rested his back against the wall, one leg straight, one knee bent, he pulled her close to him with an arm around her and forced her head on his shoulder.
Because she needed to, needed it more than anything in the world at that moment, she relaxed against him and her arms stole around his middle. In return, his other arm curled around her, holding her close.
They didn’t speak. She (to her everlasting surprise) didn’t burst into a fresh round of tears. She just sat in Douglas’s arms for what could have been minutes or hours. Then, when her body was stiff and protesting, as if Douglas knew she could take no more, he lithely surged to his feet and bent over to take her hand and pull her up.
Together, they silently opened the door and snuck into the room which was still lit by Ruby’s pink daisy nightlight.
Lizzie and Ruby were lying together in Ruby’s bed, tucked up and sleeping.
Willie was asleep in the chair opposite.
“We have to make him more comfortable,” Julia whispered to Douglas, the boy’s position would mean a crick in his neck tomorrow.
“Leave him,” Douglas ordered.
She opened her mouth to disagree but saw Douglas shake his head. “He won’t thank us. Julia, darling, you have to let him to do this.”
She knew he was right.
And anyway, he’d called her “darling” in his deep, rich voice. She would have done anything he said at that point.
She nodded.
She did, however, grab a pink throw from the end of Ruby’s bed and very gently, so as not to disturb him, threw it over Willie’s body.
When they’d closed the door again, Julia started to go to her rooms but Douglas caught her hand.
She turned to him and started to speak. “Douglas, tonight, I have to –”
“I know,” he interrupted her and lifted his finger to trace a path from her temple slowly down then along her jaw to her chin. He watched his finger as it went and then his eyes shifted to hers. “You did well today.” His voice was soft with meaning.
She nodded, not trusting herself to speak, not trusting herself to blurt out that she loved him. She loved it that he called her “darling” and loved it that he called Ruby “sweetheart” and loved it that he held Lizzie tightly in his arms when she needed him.
Most of all, tonight, she loved it that he knew what Willie needed to do.
While she was thinking about how much she loved him, she watched him and his eyes changed, burning with a light she’d never noticed before.
He then did something that completely took her breath away.
He kissed her nose.
And if she had gotten her breath back it would have again been stolen.
Because he turned on his heel and he left, just as she needed him to do.
She went immediately to her room, to her phone and called her mother to tell her about the events of the evening with the children.
And she didn’t leave out Douglas’s part in it.
Chapter Twenty-One