Page 45 of The Beast's Heart

“Lucky guess.”

He comes level with me. In the moonlight, his pale skin is luminescent. He’s not wearing his specs and without them he looks soft and vulnerable.

“Do you make a habit of roaming the halls in the middle of the night frightening your staff?” Belle asks. “Because that could explain some things I’ve heard.”

“Ah, the ghost stories.”

He drops his gaze to his feet. “I tried to reassure Mal that there’s no truth to them.”

“What’s keeping you up?” I ask, changing the subject from my husband’s ghost.

He chews on his bottom lip. “Just restless. I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s because it’s not raining and the windows aren’t rattling. I’m not used to the quiet anymore.” He smiles. “You?”

With effort, I drag my eyes from his mouth to meet his gaze. “I’m glad I ran into you actually,” I dodge his question. “I had an idea I wanted to pitch to you.”

His smile broadens. “I’m all ears.”

“Well, May Day’s coming up. Spring Day. I thought, well, since we missed Easter, maybe we could make a day of it? With the children? Go exploring the woods, have a picnic? Weather permitting of course.”

Now he’s positively grinning and my belly flips. “That’s a wonderful idea! Yes. Yes, let’s do that. It will be an excellent chance for you to bond with them.”

“Good. All right then.”

“All right. Yes. Good.”

There’s a beat of silence and I struggle to find some way to fill it, some way to keep him there longer.

“Well, goodnight,” he says.

“Goodnight Belle. Don’t let the ghosts and beasties get you.”

As I pass him, my nostrils flood with the scent of lilies and vanilla.

“You mean besides you?” he says softly.

I push away the flood of images of ways I’d like to get him and don’t look back as he wishes me good night.

20

JONATHAN

The sun is out for a change, as if aware of the holiday in its honor, and bright puddles of light spill across the path in front of us.

Mal and Ben race ahead, whooping. Alisha follows as fast as she can while holding Enrique’s hand, calling out for them to be careful.

Adam and I fall into step at a more leisurely pace. It’s a beautiful crisp day—everything fresh and clean from the recent rains. Birds hop from branch to branch overhead and the air smells like spring.

“Thank you for doing this,” I say, breaking the silence that’s settled between us.

“I may have had additional motives,” he says. My heart stutters and my surprise must show on my face because he chuckles. “Don’t look so shocked. It’s your anniversary— month-versery. You’ve been here a month.”

It can’t be. And yet, in some ways it seems like it’s been much longer.One month to do it your way. But you better not be wasting my time.That fight feels like a lifetime ago.

“I guess this is when I find out if I’ve passed probation?” I ask him.

He gives me a small, furtive smile. He opens his mouth to say something but there’s a huge thwack from up ahead. We both rush forward to see who’s hurt. Mal is laughing maniacally. There’s a big broken tree trunk across the path.

“What happened?” I ask, before Adam can do anything scary.

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