Page 90 of Jester

“That’s right. You know them.”

“Where am I going now?” she asks, seeming confused again.

My fingers brush across her forehead, drawing her gaze to me. “We’re going to our new house. You can take a shower in your bathroom and cool off. CC will want cuddles. Ghost and I will stay home today to make sure you don’t get scared.”

“Luca,” she says as her hazel eyes sharpen. “You keep leaving.”

“I had bad guys to kill, but I’m done with that now. I’m going to stay home. Do you remember us talking about that?”

Hope stares at me for a minute before finally nodding. “You’re trying to make a baby.”

Seeming more alert now, Hope tries to stand, but her legs won’t hold her up. I lift her to her feet and gesture for Ghost to approach. He moves soundlessly through the brush.

“Can Ghost carry you?”

“I’m so tired.”

“You ran for a long time, but it’s time to rest.”

Hope tenses when Ghost takes her into his arms. She stares at him like he’s a stranger before exhaling deeply and relaxing. We walk back to the road. The others follow behind. Soon, they ride away while we take our time getting back to the house.

Ghost wears a dark frown for the entire walk. He doesn’t lose it while Hope showers. Or even after she’s sitting on the couch with her cat and I apply ointment to her scratches.

Finally, after she’s settled, I drag him into the shower to clean off and calm down.

“She’s ruined,” Ghost mumbles under the water. “She’ll never be okay. There’s no therapy in the world to fix her. She’ll never get someone like you to love.”

“You don’t know that,” I remind him as I slide my wet body against his. “You and I were alone for a long time before we found each other. Hope might be my age before she meets the perfect guy. You can’t assume the worst.”

“I can and always will.”

Despite his snarly words, I know Ghost understands how he wasn’t ready for me long ago. I don’t think I could have let him close when I was in my twenties. We were too fucked up to love each other like we do now.

And Hope’s only had therapy for a year. She’s also moved around a lot since arriving at the Sanctuary—first staying at the Stockade before moving to Ghost’s townhome and now our house. It’s way too soon to know what she might enjoy one day.

“Even if she never finds romantic love, Hope can be happy,” I promise him. “But I think our trip to Vegas will need to wait for a while.”

Ghost doesn’t want to settle down. Like Hope, he’s been agitated since we got back. He wants to lose his shit, storm off, and push people away. However, he also wants to protect Hope and me. That’s why he finishes the shower and gets us back downstairs.

I settle in between them on the couch and grab for the remote. Ghost wraps an arm around my shoulders and tussles Hope’s hair. She gives him a weak smile. The cat purrs louder at the presence of his other humans.

I find a comedy—There's Something About Mary—to watch. Hope smiles as soon as she sees Ben Stiller with braces. Ghost fights the urge to laugh. Once the main character gets his dick stuck in his zipper, his resolve cracks.

With our minds on something lighthearted, I message the friends who came to the rescue today. After spending most of my life feeling alone or insecure about my relationships, I’ve finally found a home where I can lower my guard and ask for help.

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