Chapter Twenty-Seven

“They should be here in a few minutes.”

Jillian didn’t need to turn to find Justine. She appeared in front of her, sitting on the railing to the porch, her back to the front yard.

“I know, I can hear his car.” She kicked her feet against the floorboards, setting the rocking chair into motion. “I’m still mad at you.”

“I know. I just didn’t know how to tell you and you were already upset over me. I didn’t want to add to it.”

“I know you didn’t, but that’s not the point. Cade might have been your husband but he was my brother. You should have told me right away.”

“You’re right, I’m sorry.” Justine gave her a wary look. “Are you going to be okay?”

“Stop worrying.” She waved her hand. “I’ll be fine.”

Justine hopped off the railing and sat in the chair next to her. “No back talk, missy. It’s my right as the older sister to worry.”

Justine snorted. “Four minutes hardly counts.”

“Seriously. It might be weird for you to see Cade when you now know he’s dead.”

She felt her chest squeeze again. She still couldn’t believe Cade was gone too. She had come to think of him as a brother, she had really enjoyed his company. He was so nice and sweet and he’d loved her sister. But they were together and, in the end, that was all that mattered. Now she just had to wrap her head around the idea of Alex showing up in Cade’s body. “Yah it will! But I’ll make sure Alex reminds me who he really is every once in a while.” She rubbed the left side of her belly when the baby gave her a good kick.

“I doubt he’ll have to do that. Eve calls him Alex.” Justine studied her. “You haven’t forgotten that Eve and Alex are…”

“Getting down and dirty?” Jillian supplied with a grin. “No, I haven’t forgotten.”

“That may be weird too. But remember Cade is with me.”

Justine gave her a smirk. “Are you worried that I might go don’t-yah-be-cheatin’-on my-sista crazy?” She ended with a snap of her fingers.

“Totally.” Both sisters laughed out loud.

“I’ll be okay.” They both watched the Jeep as it pulled into the clearing. It was still a good distance away.

“I should probably get going. Eve is nervous of us ghostly folks.” She stood and stopped at the top of the steps with a mischievous smile that Jillian had seen all her life. “But I think I’ll just wait here.” A familiar silence fell between them. “Are you going to tell him about the baby?”

Justine sighed, patting her stomach a nervous knot forming in her belly. “Not if I don’t need to.”

“You should, he deserves to know the truth.” Justine turned back.

“What if he changes his mind and walks away from us?” Jillian stood next to Justine. She rubbed slow circles on her stomach, trying to sooth the baby who was suddenly kicking up a storm.

“Alex would never do that.”

They both watched as the Jeep drove past the front of the house to the shed at the back. Justine turned back. “I’ll check on you tonight.”

A sudden fear caused the muscles in her throat to ache. “Justine.”

“Yes?”

“When this all over, will you keep coming to see me?” The thought of Justine dead and buried was painful enough but to never see her again was worse. If the only way she could be with her sister was like this, then she would take it. The idea of Justine and her mischievous smile, being gone completely from her life, was downright depressing.

“Jilly, I’m not supposed to be here now. So you tell me if I’m going to keep coming to see you.”

Jillian sighed inwardly. “Are you going to get in trouble for coming here?”

Justine shrugged. “What’s the worst they can do me? I’m already dead. Besides, they said they need my help with others.”

“What does that mean?”

“I’m not sure. Something about me having a good rapport with other souls. I don’t know, sounds like a load of crap to me. We’ll have to see. But no matter what those guys are having me do, I will always come to see you.” Tears shimmered in Justine’s eyes. “You’re my sister. I love you.”

* * * *

“Who was that?” Eve asked turning back to the house.

“That’s Jillian.” Alex geared the Jeep down and came to a stop in front of the shed.

“No. The other woman who was next to her.”

What the hell! Alex stilled, giving her a sideways glance. He had to fight to keep from showing his surprise. Eve had seen Justine. He didn’t know what to say without scaring her so he raised his eyebrows questioningly.

She made a face and placed her hand on her head. “It must have been all that bouncing down this road. All those pot holes gave me a concussion.”

He smiled, hoping his worry didn’t show. “I’d sue the owner if I were you.”

“I might just do that.” She chuckled, opening the door.

He wasn’t sure what to do, should he tell her she had just seen a ghost or wait to see if it happened again? He quickly decided on the waiting approach. This could be a one-time thing, and he didn’t need her jumpy. If it happened again, he would help her to learn to deal with it. He reached out and caught her by the back of the neck and drew her close. “Are you ready?”

She nodded up at him with big eyes. He gave her a hard kiss that turned soft when she ran her tongue along the seam of his lips, leaving him wanting more.

With her purse hanging over her shoulder and her old medical bag in her hand, Eve walked towards the house with Alex at her side. She was nervous. What would this woman be like? Did she have any idea what Alex had been through for her? Would she suddenly find out there was more between Alex and this Jillian? She closed her eyes when her heart dropped into her stomach. Where had that come from? No. Alex had said he didn’t even know this woman; he had no reason to lie to her about it. Her new found jealously was ridiculous.

With his bag slung over his shoulder, Alex pulled her to his side. “Remember,” he spoke low. “Jillian might think I’m Cade. If that’s the case, let’s go with it. I don’t want her going into shock.”

He suddenly released her and forced her to step away from his side before they walked around to the front of the house.

Jillian was still standing on the front steps, her hands twisting the sweater she was wearing, as they approached her. Eve stopped, keeping her distance, and watched as Alex approached the woman. “Any problems?” he asked lightly.

Jillian shook her head, her eyes blinking rapidly as she scanned his face. “I think something might be up with the water heater and the door to my…I mean, to the room, I’m staying in doesn’t always stay closed.”

Eve watched Jillian as she spoke to Alex. It was hard to tell if Jillian knew that Alex was using Cade’s body. She appeared okay, but seemed startled by Alex’s presence too. Alex must have picked up on it too because he continued to keep his voice low, “How about you, anything I need to know?”

She placed a hand on her swollen belly. “I’m…big. But I feel okay.”

Alex nodded. Then looking over his shoulder back at her, he motioned with his head for Eve to step closer. She raised her eyebrows, not impressed by the manner in which he asked. Eve forced a smile when she stood next to Alex. “Hi.”

“This is my friend Eve. She used to be a nurse and she is a damn good physiotherapist. I brought her in case you need any help with the baby.”

Jillian smiled back at Eve. “I know. Thank you for coming. I hope this is over soon so you can get back to your daughter.”

Eve straightened. “How do you know about my daughter?”

Jillian’s eyes suddenly darted back and forth between her and Alex. She opened her mouth then closed it.

Alex curled his arm around her shoulder and pulled her up next to him, his heat suddenly seeped into her. “Justine?” He asked Jillian.

Jillian looked back to Eve and confirmed her fear.

Justine! The dead sister!

Fear made her back stiffen and her muscles became painfully tight. She looked around the front yard nervously. “How…d-does she know a-about…”

“Shhh.” Alex pressed his mouth to her temple. “I’ll tell you later.”

“No.” She pushed away. Her eyes darted back and forth. “Tell me now. H-how does she know about Noelle?” Alex dropped the bags and reached for her. She stepped back. “No.”

Alex let his hands fall to his sides. “I can see Justine. She has been letting me know how Jillian has been doing.”

Eve felt her eyes grow wide. No, she must have misunderstood. “You mean when you were…” She stopped and stared at Jillian.

“Yes, then.” Alex gained her attention, taking a step towards her. “But now too.” He quickly reached out and grabbed her by the arms, hauling her up against his body. Her mind began to spin. How was it possible? How could he still see her?

“How can…?” She trembled as his arms tightened around her.

“I don’t know. But I can.” He answered her question before she had a chance to ask it.

“Was she in the house, Alex?” The idea terrified her. A dead soul in her house, close to her baby.

He rubbed his chin on her head. “No. I told her about Noelle. So you can stop shaking now.”

She took a deep breath and relaxed against him. “Good.”

“Better?”

“Yes,” she exhaled slowly. “Guess I didn’t do a good job keeping your secret identity.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll handle it.” He pushed her away and walked to the bottom of the steps, closer to Jillian. She wrung her hands, a distraught look on her face.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you,” she apologised sincerely.

Eve felt her face flush. She didn’t know what to say. Her fear of the dead was so overwhelming at times that she seemed to just come apart. She felt bad that she had blown Alex’s plan about keeping his true soul from Jillian, but she was glad to know Justine hadn’t been near Noelle.

“Can I assume you know who I am?” Alex asked carefully.

“Yes, I know who you are…Alex.” Jillian nodded. “Justine told me.” She blinked her large brown eyes.

“Good.” He reached down to pick up the bags and teased, “I was worried you’d pass out or something.”

Jillian placed her hands on her belly and snorted, “Don’t let the belly fool you. It’d take a lot more than that to make me pass out.”

Eve smiled at her sudden indignant tone.

“Oh shit. You’re just like your sister aren’t you?”

“I’m nowhere near as bad. But I do have my moments.” Jillian stepped to the side as he climbed the front porch.

“Great,” he said drily.

Jillian looked up, studying his face intently. “This is really weird though. You in Cade’s body. How do you feel in there?”

Shrugging, Alex looked down. “A little taller.”

Eve shook her head as she listened to Alex and Jillian joke about bodies and dead women. They had a bond, beside Cade’s body and the obvious one of Miles wanting to kill Jillian. The same dead soul appeared to both of them. It was a bond she didn’t understand and wanted no part of. Didn’t they realise she was dead? Dealing with the dead was never good, bad things always happened.

Both Alex and Jillian turned to her. “Eve?” Alex asked. He studied her for a moment and, as though he knew she was still feeling nervous, his true face emerged along with a sexy grin. Then as quickly as his face appeared, it vanished and returned to the tanned face that was Cade’s.

Eve sighed, walking up the steps of the wide front porch. Everything was okay. Alex was still here. For now.

* * * *

After taking Eve’s bag up to the spare room, Alex fixed Jillian’s door and had a look at the water heater. Both were an easy fix. He wandered back into the house and found the bottom floor empty. After washing his hands he went upstairs to find Eve. He still felt guilty about lying to her about Justine. But when she turned white and began to shake, he went into protection mode and did the only thing that would get the result he wanted, he lied. It bothered him that he had to do it, but he’d do it again. He’d do anything to protect her, he realised, absolutely anything.

He stopped at the top of the stairs when he heard the two women talking. They were in Jillian’s room with the door closed.

“How long were you a nurse?”

“Quite a few years. And don’t worry, I did my time in obstetrics and gynaecology.” Alex took a deep breath when he heard the velvety lilt to Eve’s voice. He loved listening to her voice even though she wasn’t talking to him. He propped himself against the wall and listened as Eve asked Jillian a series of questions relating to the baby and her general health. He rested his head back, Eve’s soothing voice, compelled him to close his eyes and breathe. He was going to miss her. Miss her smile, miss her cheeky attitude, and miss her body. His chest suddenly became tight when he thought about his life without her in it.

He hung his head and rubbed at his face. Jesus, he was in deep. What the hell was he going to do? He had to go. He couldn’t take the chance of her becoming hurt because of his life. But how the fuck was he going to find the strength do that?

He honestly didn’t know if he could let her go and was unsure if he should even bother trying. The idea of having her and Noelle in his life was such a huge temptation, even with all their extra abilities and strange family medallions and lifespan... A thought suddenly occurred to him. If he and Eve were to live together or got married, he would grow old, while she and Noelle would barely age. And what would happen when he died? His chest tightened again. Eve would end up being alone. It was something that hadn’t occurred to him before, but now that it had, he felt his confusion grow.

He swore to himself, fighting mixed emotions, but remained next to the door. He wanted to listen to Eve’s voice, memorise that beautiful lilt, because it might have to last him the rest of his life.

* * * *

“Well. You look pretty good to me, and that baby’s heart sure sounds strong.” Eve closed her bag and looked seriously at Jillian. “But I would feel a lot better if we could get you to see a doc just to be sure.”

Jillian rolled to her side and Eve helped her to sit up. “But you said I look good and the baby’s heart is strong.”

“True and I don’t believe you have anything to be concerned about”—Eve could hear and see Jillian’s sudden concern. She adjusted her voice—“But what I just checked is bare minimum pre-natal stuff. It’s no substitute for seeing a specialist,” Eve counselled, then asked, “Do you have a doc that you have been seeing?”

“No. I couldn’t find one.” Jillian lowered her head. “I’ve been going to the clinic around the corner from my apartment.”

Eve patted her hand. “That’s okay,” she reassured. “I know a few good docs. When all of this is over I’ll give them a call and see who has room for you,” she soothed.

“Thank you.” Jillian took a deep breath. “It’s nice to have someone to talk to about this stuff.”

“You didn’t talk to your…” Eve swallowed. “Sister about this, or the baby’s father?”

Jillian stiffened. “Justine listens but there is nothing she can do now.”

“And the baby’s father,” Eve pressed. She watched as Jillian stiffened again. Eve fully understood. “He’s not in the picture.”

“I thought yes, but then…” She lowered her head as tears filled her eyes. “Not anymore.”

Eve gently clasped her hand. “Would it make you feel better if I was to tell you, I went through the same as you?”

Jillian’s head shot up. “Your daughter’s father tried to kill you too?”