“Please,” he said softly, his eyes looking concerned, and she nodded.
“Emergencies,” she agreed.
He pulled her back into his arms, not bothering to put away his wallet, and hugged her desperately. She squeezed him tightly, needing to feel him, memorize him, and knowing that their time was almost up.
“I love you,” she said softly, leaning up to kiss him tenderly.
“I love you, too,” he murmured, his voice thick with tears.
“Hey Ghost, buddy, we are going to need to head out…” Romeo interrupted quietly from a distance.
Mary took a deep shaky breath and knew this was exactly what Glory had meant, glancing towards the woman and seeing her nod of understanding from where she stood in the distance, next to her husband, Alpo, who had a hand on her shoulder.
She stepped back from Jax and smiled at him tearfully, straightening his uniform and pretending to pick a piece of lint off the front.
“You look perfect and so incredibly handsome. Just call me when you land or send me an email. We’ll plan that next get-together, and it will be wonderful.”
“Mary…”
“I know,” she said thickly, trying to be strong. “This completely stinks, but the reunion will be incredible, and I’m going to focus on that. Besides, they are not going to let me mope around. I’m already having dinner at Valkyrie’s house Friday night, and Glory said it’s a girls’ coffee date on Saturday. I’m supposed to meet a few other people. I will stay busy and…”
She stepped forward to cup his cheek.
“If there’s going to be a baby,” she whispered tenderly, searching his eyes. “You’ll be the first to know, my love… and we’ll make plans.”
“I love you,” he said hoarsely. “You are the best thing that has ever happened to me.”
“I feel the same, my beloved Ghost,” she smiled, winking at him. “I love you – and you are going to need to go. I don’t want you to get in trouble.”
Jax nodded tightly, leaning forward to kiss her softly, whispering to her, before pulling back. As he walked to the Jeep, she saw the two men climb in. Romeo started the vehicle up and began to roll forward as Mary waved.
“I love you,” she hollered, fighting back tears, as she realized he was going to be gone for an unknown length of time, and there was nothing she could do about it.
This wonderful dream, these moments, were gone like the wisps he’d teased her about watching for above the ocean waters when he’d thrown the bottle.
Mary stood there, her arms crossed protectively, until the Jeep was out of sight – before collapsing onto the ground, sobbing wretchedly as Glory and Harley came rushing over to comfort her.
Her heart was breaking… and nothing anyone could say would bring him back.
“Shhh… sweetie,” Glory crooned tearfully. “I am so sorry you are having to go through this, but it will be okay. I promise.”
“He’ll be back before you know it,” Harley volunteered, holding her as she cried. “And until then, we are going to fill your time up with so much of us that you’ll be sick of us. Why don’t you come have dinner with us tonight?”
“And you can have dinner at our home tomorrow night,” Glory volunteered. “I don’t want you alone while it’s so raw and new. You need to hear stories, know he’s going to be okay, and stay busy. Alright?”
“I just want to be alone…”
“Nope,” Alpo said bluntly, interrupting. “Ghost would not want to see you crying and moping like this. It would tear him up. Go to my sister’s house for dinner tonight and play with little Samantha. She’s an incredible cook, and would probably love the company, because her stooge-of-a-husband was my wingman. I adore the guy, but it’s like talking to a wall sometimes. You can come over and cuddle my two bundles of energy tomorrow night.”
“Just when you are around, Hunter,” Harley laughed easily. “Jackson actually does talk to me – a lot.”
As they were standing there, Mary was stunned to see another car come flying into the gravel drive, kicking up rocks everywhere before skidding to a stop.
“Darn fool is going to run over someone…” Alpo muttered angrily – only to see Houdini come flying out of the car, slamming the door shut angrily. The man strode towards the four of them standing there… looking at Mary with such a venomous, hostile glare that she immediately shied away as he spat out a single word.
“Congratulations,” Houdini said hotly.
“What’s his problem?” Glory said angrily. “Jealous, much?”