Page 52 of Hot Irish Halloween

Jack shook his head. “I think I can dredge up enough to keep her. The queen ofthiscastle won’t have to do more than those dishes if she doesn’t want to.”

“You had me at queen. I’ll move in. Officially. Satisfied?” she huffed. She flicked a dish towel at him, then turned back to keep scrubbing vigorously, her shoulders shaking with the effort.

He got up from the island and wrapped his arms around her luscious frame, hugging on her until she relaxed into his body. Jack pressed his chin against the cute, springy twists she’d made in her just-washed hair and scratched her temple with his stubble. He’d discovered early on she rather liked it when he grew it out a bit — called him her silver fox zaddy or some such thing.

“Okay. Whenever you’re ready, we’ll haul your stuff. But I have to wonder if not finishing the book is also your way to put off…moving on. Really moving on. Deciding what you’re going to do with the next ten years of your life.”

Penny hunched her shoulders again, the tension tightening her back. “Oh. My. God. Erica Mayfield, please remove your spirit from the body of my boyfriend.” She turned and flicked water on his forehead with her fingers. “I cast thee out, demon!”

Jack exhaled. “I’m just trying to understand you, angel. If you’re feeling stuck somehow, you can talk to me. Maybe I can help.”

Twisting around to face him, Penny wound her arms around his shoulders and laced her hands behind his neck. Frustration still burned in her gaze, but she sighed in resignation.

“I’m not stuck, Jack. I’m not.” She might have believed she was being honest, but Jack didn’t think so. “I’m going to finish the book. Whatever comes next, I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it.”

Two more weeks passed. In that time, Penny had slowly moved her things in from the Pink House, as they’d been calling her place. Jack offered to bring his truck to do it, the one he had stashed in the private lot along with his other prized vehicles, but she’d declined, and he didn’t push. Ecstatic that she was coming, however slowly, he eased down and enjoyed the process of waking up every morning to see one more item of hers in his home. He enjoyed merely waking up and seeing her in his bed, all sweet and warm. It was the best part of his day, followed by the second-best part when she was wrapped in his arms at night.

Then one morning, he woke to find Penny already up before him. That almost never happened. He yawned, went to have his first piss of the day, and shuffled into the kitchen. Penny was at the island with a steaming cup in front of her, but it didn’t smell like her usual first thousand volts of caffeinated coffee. Shebeamed at him over the rim of her mug. The aroma was light yet unmistakable. She was having a cup of Barry’s.

“What are you doing up so early?” Jack asked with a yawn. He went to get his morning protein shake started when Penny nudged his leg with her slipper-clad foot.

“I had to pee.”

“Why didn’t you come back to bed?” He glanced at her blearily. “And why are you drinking…tea?” Eyes widening, he turned back to stare at her. “Penny?”

“Well. Looks like I do know what I’ll be doing for the next ten years after all. And the next ten after that. And so on.”

18

BEIN' MYSELF

JACK

With an almost shy smile, she pulled out a piece of paper from an envelope. Slid it across the clean surface of the island so he could have a look. It was an ultrasound picture with what looked like a black hole containing an indistinct blob.

He’d never been KO’d before but looking at this picture, Jack almost got knocked the fuck down. On unsteady legs, he gripped the edge of the island and got himself seated just in time. Was this for real? He flipped the paper over as if the image would somehow change. Flipped it back.

It didn’t look like the pictures he’d seen on TV of a tiny human with a big head and a thumb in its mouth, but this was it. Their baby. Their hope. Sneaking onto the scene when he thought it might take longer or possibly not even happen like this at all.

“I think it was that night in the maze. Our first time. Or sometime that weekend. At least that’s what the doctor says based on the development, and I agree with her.”

“When did you see a doctor? When did...?” Overcome, he rubbed his jaw and stared at the pic.

“Around the time I agreed to start moving in. I’d been feeling kinda off. My boobs hurt, which isn’t unusual when I get my period, except…it didn’t show up. I wanted to be sure before I said anything in case I was wrong or there was an issue. But the doctor said the baby’s doing good, considering I’m officially a ‘geriatric mom.’ Can you believe those two words together? Geriatric mom. It’s got to be an oxymoron of some kind.” Talking fast, her eyes flickered from the image to his face as if she was suddenly unsure about how he was taking the news. Quietly, hesitantly, she asked, “H-how do you feel about it?”

How did he feel? Like he’d won a secret lottery, like he’d been gifted a castle full of diamonds and pearls, like someone had handed him a picture of a dream. All at the same time.

His heart hurt. No, maybe hurt wasn’t the right word. His chest was cracking open; that’s what this was. Cracking wide open with love. For her, for the second chance at a life he hadn’t dared to believe would ever be his. With his eyes suddenly wet, Jack got up from his stool, wrapped her in his arms, and held on tight for a long, long time.

Despite Jack’s overwhelming desire to let everybody and their mama know about the impending addition to their families, as Penny would put it, he was instructed not to say a word to anyone.

“Until it’s safe,” Penny said every time he brought it up.

He wanted to run out and buy up the best of the best for the nursery, but she put a halt on that, too.

“It’s a jinx. Don’t do it,” Penny warned.

Grumbling but understanding her concern that it was still really early in the pregnancy to blast the news or fill the empty room with baby gear, he settled instead for adding pregnancy and baby lit to the mantle where he kept his favorite reads. Penny obviously thought it was very amusing to find him on the couch reading one of the books while Trixie had her head on his lap.

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