Page 38 of Treasure and Tarot (Echoes of Secret Springs #1)

Chapter

Twenty-Nine

S ebastian stood on tiptoe, but he couldn’t quite reach…

“Dammit!”

“Daddy, you said a cuss.”

“I know, baby girl. I’m sorry, but I need to reach this thing.

” There was something new on the built-in bookshelf in the parlor.

Something he’d never seen before. It looked like a Victorian-era album, one of those velvet-wrapped wonders that had such gorgeous old script on the cover that said, “Memories.”

But it was just out of reach of his fingers now that he really couldn’t stand on his toes anymore. His belly was just too weird and off balance and heavy.

“Ask the ghosties,” she said, totally off-handedly.

Oh. That was a thought. He could wait for Colton, he supposed, but his husband was over at the big house Gent had gotten for the production center, where the guys were living right now.

He and Gent were working on the final cut of the show featuring their house.

Finally.

So he sighed, blowing his hair out of his face. He needed a haircut. “Okay, folks. I could really use a hand. I think you all put that up there, so can I see it? Please?”

He waited, stepping back in case things started flying, but the album slid neatly from between a couple of old leatherbound classics and floated right down into his hands.

“Thanks.” Surprised but pleased, he took the album, waddling over to the coffee table. He laid out the album carefully. He held Abby back when she would have leaned over it, holding her juice cup. “Careful, baby. This is really old. We don’t want to get it wet.”

“Okay, Daddy.” She set her juice down on the side table, then moved to sit next to him. “Can I look?”

“As long as you don’t touch.”

“I’ll be careful.” She didn’t even kick her legs, sitting very still.

So he opened the album, wondering if he shouldn’t be using gloves or something. But he looked at the frontispiece, and it was labeled, “The Family, 1888.”

“Wow, kiddo. This is super cool. It’s from almost a hundred and fifty years ago.”

“Is that long?”

“Well, it’s older than Mr. Maroney.”

Her eyes went very wide. “Wow. That’s old.”

He bit back a grin. “I know!” He started turning pages, ignoring the twinges in his back and the rippling in his belly. It was happening a lot these days, and he was so close to his due date.

The first bunch of pages were full of old postcard greeting cards. Not like travel postcards. But the flowery, gorgeous old Christmas and Valentine’s and Easter cards.

Then the pictures started. Page after page of pictures with white borders, so many of them labeled things like Mama, 1912 and Auguste, 1918. He loved the clothes, and Abby even stayed riveted by the people that neither of them knew.

But Sebastian felt it. These were his people.

“This is our family from a long time ago, baby girl.”

“Your parents?”

“No. No, this is their great grandparents and stuff.” Or maybe older? He counted back generations. Great-great? That was awesome.

He was looking at the 1920s when a knock sounded at the door, and he frowned. He started to lever to his feet, but someone pushed him back down.

“Hey! Stop that. I need to go get the door.” He stood, but his phone flew off the table and landed on his foot. “Ow! Abby, can you pick that up?”

“Uh-huh.” She hopped down to grab it. “Are you calling Papa?”

“You know what, my amazing girl? I think that that’s a perfect idea. Can you hold Daddy’s phone?” Colton was absolutely the right person to call.

The knocking came again, sharper this time, more demanding.

“Siri, call Colton and put it on speaker.” He managed to get to his feet, but it was like he was moving through molasses.

“Hey, babe, what’s up?”

“Papa, I have the phone.”

Colton’s voice automatically went sharp. “Abby, what’s wrong with your daddy?”

“Somebody’s banging at the door, Papa. Somebody’s hitting the door really hard!”

He raised his voice over the din. “I’m fine, but the ghosts are not happy that someone’s at the door. Like seriously. Can you come home now?”

“I’m on my way.”

“Stay on the line, okay? Abby’s got the phone. I’m going to the door.”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

“No.” As he got to the door, an apparition appeared before him, just clear as a bell.

Or, more likely, a Belle.

The man wore a long white nightshirt, and he was frowning as he shook his head.

“Just leave the door, baby. I’ll be there in two shakes. Whoever it is, tell him to leave us alone.”

“Open the door. Open the door, you little slut. Money-grubbing gold digger.”

Abby’s eyes went wide and worried, and she started to cry. “They’re being loud, they’re yelling, Papa. Help!”

“I think it’s your parents, Colton.”

“Don’t answer the door. I’ll deal with it.”

Maybe he was supposed to deal with it. Sebastian didn’t know. He did know that he was aggravated though.

The ghost shook his head again.

“Okay, all right. I won’t answer the door. That’s cool.” Sebastian winced as his back cramped, and he wiggled, trying to ease the ache.

“Daddy!” Abby gasped, her eyes wide. “Daddy, you peed your pants.”

“I did what?” He looked down and groaned. “Dammit, my water just broke. Colton, I need you.”

That damn banging just kept going on and on, and it was driving him crazy.

“I didn’t pee myself, baby. My water just broke.”

“Not broke. Papa, come home.” She started to cry hard, and Sebastian was developing an amazing headache with the constant banging.

He grabbed the doorknob and yanked the door open and screamed, “Will you fucking stop it? I’m in labor!”

Possibly not the smartest idea in the entire world.

But not the worst, because the man standing there along with a woman looked absolutely shocked to be screamed at by a wet pregnant guy.

Took a couple of heartbeats for the guy to figure out what to do, and then he stepped forward, trying to get into the house.

That was when he just sort of bounced back.

Okay, that was a handy trick.

“They say no, Daddy.”

He nodded to her, because that was absolutely one hundred percent the truth. “They totally do. Papa’s still on the phone?”

“Uh-huh. Hims coming with Uncle Gent.”

“Excellent.”

He would shut the door, but it was really kind of funny watching Colton’s people try to muscle their way in the house. Every time they did, they just bounced back into play.

And there came the cavalry.

Like the entire crew.

“Look at all those people coming to help us.”

Abby nodded, then she whispered, “Daddy, I think you should go change your pants. You’re wet.”

“I know, but I have to walk upstairs. I think I’m gonna have to wait for your papa to help.” Because he was actually in labor, and it was starting to hurt a little bit, and he was getting a little grumpy. This was not how this was supposed to work.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” Colton snapped. “Guys, can you go in and help my husband? I have to deal with this garbage.”

“Garbage? You watch your mouth,” Colton’s father snarled.

“I don’t think so, old man.”

“Come on, honey, let’s all go upstairs. Let’s all go inside and shut the door.” Iago hustled them in, Mason and Gent staying closer to the door. “Oh, your water broke.”

“Uh-huh. Like whoa, I’m starting to really cramp. I think I need to go down to the birthing center in the next couple hours.”

“Oh, that can totally happen.” Iago grinned at him. “Should I run upstairs and get you some pants? Abby, you want to come help me pick out some comfy soft clothes for Daddy and get some towels?”

She nodded, her eyes a little bit panicked. “Yeah, I don’t like the yelling.”

“Me either. Let’s go upstairs, so we don’t have to listen to it. It looks like Daddy’s gonna have your little sister.”

“I know.”

He looked at Law as they left. “Really? This had to happen today.”

“It’ll be a great story later. Don’t stress it. Colton’s got this. He’s got Gent, Mason, too. You’ve got us, not to mention Xavi and Xander will be there as soon as they can. You know that.”

He chuckled softly. “I guess it does take a village.”

“It totally does.”

“You should have your camera,” Sebastian told him.

“Nah. I mean, I would love to record any ghost stuff, sure, but you’re about to have a baby. I don’t want to make it weird.”

Sebastian laughed with him. “I did mean for the ghost stuff. They were pushing Colton’s parents out the door. Boom. He’d force his way in. The ghosts would push him out.”

“Wait. He actually trespassed the house?” Law scowled. “We need to call the cops.”

“Only if they come back,” Sebastian said. “I don’t want to deal with that and have it delay us getting to the birth center because the sheriff wanted a statement. It can take him an hour to get here.”

“Fair point. Did you need to sit down?”

“Please.” He could hear raised voices, Gent and Colton shouting down the parents, and he closed his eyes. God, he hated this.

“Come on.” Law took him to the powder room instead, helping him get out of his wet things, and then Iago was back, getting him into his clean pants and a soft summer shirt.

“That’s a pretty color, Daddy,” Abby told him.

“Thanks, baby.”

Mason came when he was back in the front room. “It’ll just be a moment, Sebastian. Then we’ll be on our way to the birthing center.”

“I have a bag and clean clothes now,” he said with a shrug. He sat, and immediately he felt a hug around his shoulders, like someone had put an arm around him.

One of the ghosts was comforting him.

“There’s a very pretty man next to you, Daddy.”

“Is there? Can you see him?”

“Uh-huh. He’s got on a white dress.”

Ah, the nightshirt that Jeremiah was wearing. “He’s a good man. He loves us, I think.”

He was a great-great-great-something grandson, after all.

“He seems nice.” She shrugged, so matter of fact.

The front door banged open. “Sebastian? Are you okay?” Colton stormed in like a hurricane.

“Are they gone?” He nodded. He was, basically, fine. “My water broke, Papa.”

“Daddy peed his pants!”

Iago snorted.

“They’re gone. Gent will make sure. He’s following them back to the airport in Montrose. Are you ready to go into Secret Springs?” Those violet-gray eyes studied him intently.

“Is she…” Safe? Is Abby safe? He needed to know that Abby was going to be okay before they went to have Danielle.

“She is.” Colton touched his cheek. “Utterly. Right, guys?”

“Yep.” Mason grinned at him, more a baring of teeth. “No one touches our girl. You just focus on having that baby.”

“Right. Right.” He met the guys’ eyes, one by one. “I trust you all.”

“You can.” Law handed him back over to Colton. “Come on, Abby girl. Should we go visit our friends in Secret Springs?”

“Uh-huh!”

Xavi charged into the house, looking around wildly. “Who do I kick?”

“My water broke. You and Law are in charge of Abby. Mason is going to drive us to the springs. Iago and Xander can make sure we have everything here for when Dani comes home tomorrow. Okay?”

“You got it.” Xavi grinned, fist pumping. “Yay, baby!”

“What’s my job?” Colton teased.

“You are the father. I deserve this amazing moment with you. Abby, come kiss me.”

“Luff you, Daddy! Go have my sister!” She smacked a kiss on his cheek when Law held her up.

“I will, baby girl. Okay, let’s go.”

Colton took his arm and led him out to their car, while Mason slipped behind the wheel. Looked like one of the guys had taken out Abby’s car seat and put it in the crew’s SUV.

There was no sign of Colton’s parents.

“They’re gone? Really gone?”

“Yeah.” Colton chuckled, taking his hand. “The ghosts wigged them out.”

“Good. They aren’t welcome at the Belle house.” That had been made crystal clear.

“Nope. Not now, not ever. I told them if they needed to talk to me for any reason to call my lawyer. Who is on his way here anyway. He’ll slap them with a restraining order in this county too.”

“All right. Good. I need… I need to know you and our girls are safe.” It was the most important thing ever.

“That’s what I need to know, too,” Colton told him, kissing his hand.

Mason made gagging noises. “God help me, I need you two to have this baby so we can get back to work. Colton gets any more maudlin, I’m feeding him to the ghosts.”

They all laughed, and he gasped a little as a cramp took him. Yeah, he was ready for this baby to come too.

And soon.