Fantasyland 03 Fantastical (32 page)

“But I have to tell you, sweetheart, that if
you have to go through it, I’m pleased as punch you’re going
through it with that man in there.”

I blinked. “You are?”

She nodded. “That man in there would run
through fire for you.”

Oh my.

“Do you think?” I whispered.

Her head tipped to the side again. “Don’t
you?”

“I –”

“Let that go,” Mom interrupted me on a shake
of my hand. “Cora, you could close your eyes tonight and be
anywhere tomorrow. The only way I’m going to be able to live with
this is to hope to all that is holy that wherever you wake up
tomorrow, that man is with you.”

I felt my nose stinging (yes, again!) and
whispered, “Mom.”

“I’m being straight with you. I could… I
could… hell, I
did
lose you for two months and…” she trailed
off and her eyes filled with tears.

“Mom,” I whispered again and pulled her into
my arms, her arms went around me tight and we both held on as we
cried.

Then she suddenly let me go but her hands
came up, she grabbed both my cheeks and she got right in my face.
Her eyes were bright and intense and at the sight of them, my
breath hitched.

“I could lose you tomorrow and never see you
again,” she told me fiercely and my breath hitched again. “And the
only thing I can hold onto to be able to rest my head on the pillow
at night is the thought that wherever you are, you’re with him and
he’s riding his horse or driving his car or flying his spaceship, I
don’t care, but he’s doing it with you, he’s not letting you go and
he won’t let any harm come to you. That’s the only thing I have.
And right now, that is what your man is giving your father. So, I
think it is
very
wise to let your father have as much peace
of mind as your man can give him before whatever happens next,
happens.” Her thumbs swept my cheeks and she finished on a whisper,
“Do you get me?”

I nodded and my fingers came up and curled
around her wrists. “I get you, Mom.”

“Promise, whatever happens, you’ll be safe,”
she demanded fervently.

“I promise,” I promised on another hitch of
breath.

“No more wielding daggers,” she ordered and
I pressed my lips together because who knew what could happen? I
couldn’t promise that.

“How about, I promise not to wield daggers
unless absolutely necessary?” I replied, she stared at me a second
then she burst out laughing and wrapped her arms tight around me
again.

I shoved my face in her neck and when her
hilarity calmed, I said into her skin, “I love you, Mom and when I
was gone, I missed you and the worst thing about being gone was
thinking I’d never see you and Dad again and I didn’t have the
chance to say good-bye.”

Her arms gave me a squeeze and she
whispered, “Oh sweetie.”

My arms gave her a squeeze and I whispered
back, “So, if we go again, I want you to know, and never forget,
that I’ll miss you and I’ll always love you. Always.”

She shoved her face even further in my neck
and held on even tighter.

Moments passed as we held each other and
just when I was about to let go, she said, “One more promise,
Cora.”

“Anything, Mom,” I replied and her head went
back but her arms stayed around me.

“Hold onto him tight. Don’t let that man go.
For me, for your Dad and mostly… mostly, my beautiful, funny girl,”
her hand came up to cup my cheek and her eyes stared deep into
mine, “for
you
. Yeah?”

I bit my lips and even between my lips, they
trembled.

I let them go and said quietly, “He could be
lost to me.”

“Then hold on tight.”

“It might not –”

Her arm gave me a squeeze. “Hold on
tight.”

“He –”

“Cora, learn this from your mother. There
are not many men like him in this world or his, I’d guess. Men like
him don’t come around very often. Men like him who look at my girl
like she holds the other half to his soul and he couldn’t exist
without her are even more rare.” I held my breath at her words, a
part of both Tor and Rosa’s story I did not share, but words she
used anyway while she concluded, “So hold… on…
tight.
”

“Okay,” I whispered.

Seriously, what else could I do?

“Promise?” she pushed.

“Promise,” I gave in.

Mom smiled.

Boy, I was screwed.

Mom let me go and turned back to the sink,
wiping her face and saying, “Okay, let’s get this done and get back
in there. It’s good they’re bonding but they’re doing it with
whisky. Whisky makes your father talkative. Talkative means he
might get out photo albums. And you went through that unfortunate
punk phase when you were fifteen. We don’t want Tor seeing
that
.”

Oh crap.

No. Agreed. We absolutely, definitely did
not want Tor seeing photos of me with ratted out hair, too much
black eyeliner and torn clothes held together with safety pins.

I snatched a plate out of the drainer and
dried it, urging, “Hurry, Mom. Dad had three before we even cleared
the table.”

“Right,” Mom muttered and started wiping
silverware.

And I finished the dishes with my Mom and
while I did it I memorized every freaking second.

Something to Celebrate

I was silent on the ride home mostly because
I was thinking of all my mother had said, all that had happened
between Tor and me and about the words to “Crash into Me”.

It wasn’t until Tor unlocked the door to my
apartment that it hit me Tor had been silent all the ride home
too.

He opened the door for me, I preceded him,
he closed it, locked it and stalked, yes,
stalked
to the
kitchen.

Hmm. It seemed I’d missed something.

I saw the light go on there, I switched on a
few lamps in the living room then I followed him and stopped in the
doorway to see he was opening and closing cupboards.

“Can I get you something?” I asked quietly
and his eyes sliced to me.

They were broody and intense.

Oh boy.

“Do you have spirits?” he asked back.

Oh boy!

“Um… you had whisky with my Dad,” I pointed
out.

“Yes, and I knew I would be operating that
vehicle, undoubtedly in the rain, which it does all the bloody time
here, so I did not have as much as I would have liked for operating
that vehicle inebriated would not be wise,” he returned.

He was right about that.

“In the cupboard by the wall,” I belatedly
answered his question.

He went to the cupboard, sorted through my
myriad of bottles, pulled out some bourbon, opened it, sniffed it
and went to the cupboard that held my glasses.

I watched him pour himself a rather healthy
dose as I grew uncomfortable.

Tor was being broody, something he could be
but he was usually kind of…
openly
broody. As in, it was
rare he didn’t tell me what was on his mind.

And he’d just had an emotional dinner with
my parents and he wasn’t telling me what was on his mind.

“Is something on your mind?” I asked after
he swallowed a large swig.

He looked at me and declared weirdly,
“Things here, in your world, are more advanced.”

“Well… yeah,” I replied.

“Is this true with medicine?”

My head tipped to the side. “Medicine?”

“Do you not call it medicine?” he asked,
didn’t wait for me to answer and he went on to explain using the
word, “Healing.”

“Yes, we call it medicine and yes, it’s more
advanced.”

He scowled at me a second then drained his
glass. Then he poured another healthy measure.

“Tor,” I started hesitantly, not sure what
to do with him in this mood, “has something upset you?”

He answered immediately, “While you were
with your mother in the kitchen, your father was verbose.”

Uh-oh.

Dad could have told him anything. About my
punk phase, or worse, my militant vegetarian phase, or worse, the
excruciatingly uncomfortable time he found Tad Millstrom getting to
second base with me in our basement.

“And?” I whispered.

“And, he told me about Rosa, your Rosa, the
sister you did not have.”

“Seriously?” I asked softly, surprised by
this. Dad could get chatty while smashed but that was an overshare,
even for Dad. I knew this because I’d been around Dad while he was
hammered a bunch of times and he’d (obviously)
never
mentioned Rosa.

“Seriously,” Tor replied then sucked back
another large swallow.

“Tor, I don’t –”

His eyes sliced to mine and the look in them
made me snap my mouth shut.

Then he announced, “You’re carrying my
child.”

My body went statue-still except my eyes.
They blinked.

God, I forgot about the pregnancy test. How
could I forget something like that?

“I –” I started, that one syllable
trembling.

“You’ve been in my bed every night for six
weeks and I’ve been in
you
every night for six weeks and
we’ve been together day in, day out for even longer. You have not
once had your cycle.”

Oh God.

“Tor –”

“Your mother nearly died having your sister
who
did
die.”

My stomach dropped. “She did?” he glared at
me. “My mother almost died, I mean.”

“Indeed,” he clipped and threw back more
bourbon.

Although this news upset me, greatly, I felt
the need to stay focused on whatever was bothering Tor.

“Tor, I don’t –”

He gave me his eyes again and I again
snapped my mouth shut. “Women in my world regularly die during
childbirth. It happens so often, the midwives petitioned my father,
in his kingdom, and myself, in Bellebryn, to make a law as the
situation is fraught and the decision, save mother or child, is
emotional. They felt the man was in no state during this time to
make such a grave decision. And those around him could give
thoughtful advice or this advice could be selfish or misguided.
After much weighing of the matter and debate, and you can well
imagine, considering my father’s history with his wives, that there
was
much
weighing of the matter and debate, my father and I
agreed that the midwife should always save the mother. So this was
made law.”

My heart clutched and I knew why he was
broody and struggling with his mood.

I also understood why he was being so
romantic and wonderful and protective and… and… all of it.

Because he thought I was pregnant with his
heir and he was trying to win me and take me back to his world not
for
me
but to keep me sweet so he could have what he wanted
most in the world.

And now he was thinking that if I were to
carry that heir and we were transported to his world, he himself
had created a law that, should I have difficulties, they would have
to save me not his bloody precious heir.

My hand lifted and my fingers curled around
the doorframe as I stared at him wondering why I kept searching for
hope with this guy and always getting kicked in the stomach.

“I just don’t believe you,” I whispered, my
voice trembling now for a different reason.

His brows drew together. “Pardon?”

I glared at him.

Then I shouted, “I don’t believe you! You’re
not a jerk or a dick or an asshole. You’re a
pig!
”

Then I turned on my foot and stomped to my
bedroom. I was halfway to the bathroom when I was halted with an
arm around my waist and turned to face Tor.

“Would you
stop
doing that!” I
yelled. “If I want to go somewhere, I should just be able to
go!
”

“Cora, what the bloody hell has you in this
state?” Tor growled, he was angry, clear to see, and mystified too,
equally clear to see, the pig.

“You!” I snapped then flung at him. “But
you’re also lucky, seeing as you’re the big man in Bellebryn.
If
we go back, then along with annulling your marriage to
the other Cora, you can quickly change the law so it’s the child
that’s saved, not the mother. So, if I have a difficult childbirth,
you’ll be certain not to lose your precious heir!”

His head jerked like I slapped him then his
eyes burned into mine before he said in a low voice, “Please tell
me you did not just say that.”

“I bloody did!” I shot back. “We both know I
am and always have had one purpose for you. To be the vessel that
safely delivers your successor.”

“Now I need you to tell me you did not just
say that,” he ground out.

“Don’t pretend it isn’t true,” I hissed and
he let me go like touching me was akin to getting burned with acid
and he took a step back.

Then he said softly, his eyes locked on
mine, “You’ve convinced yourself about me so you’ll not believe
this but given the choice, both then and especially now, to save
our child or to save you, I wouldn’t have to think about it even
for a second. I would save you.”

I sucked in breath, my head got light and
the only reason I didn’t go down was that I stayed focused on
him.

He went on, “Then, because I could pretend
during the days when you were away from me but especially during
the nights when I had you that you were the Cora I needed you to
be. And, my sweet, you’ll not believe this either but the truth of
the matter is, I enjoyed every
fucking
second of it. And
now, because I know you are.”

Oh my God.

“Tor –”

He lifted a hand. “You’ve said enough.”

Then he turned on his boot and stalked out
of my room. I blinked at the doorway, frozen in shock at what he’d
said. I heard the outside door open, close and the lock turn. Then
I came unstuck way too late, ran through the bedroom and living
room, unlocked the door and rushed into the hall.

Tor was gone.

I ran to the stairwell and down the two
flights of steps (too slowly, drat my high-heeled sandals), through
the foyer and out the front doors of my building.