Vision in Faith (Legends of the North Book 3) (20 page)

Matt plunged his sword into the creature before Rob ran around the other side and stabbed the beast too.

The beast faltered and staggered to the ground. With a final cry, the man lay on the ground before them, green liquid oozing from where the swords protruded. Its skin seemed to melt off it until just bones lay on the ground before a green smoke enveloped them.

 
When it cleared, the only thing that remained was a scorched patch of land and their swords.

Vicky turned and dropped beside James. "James. Oh, God, can you hear me? James!"

His eyes fluttered open and his lip twitched up on one side. "Hey, snips."

She let out a sob and clutched his hand to her heart.
 

"I love you," he whispered as his eyes slowly rolled back in his head and his eyelids lowered.

"No!" she screamed. "Don't you do that. Don't you say goodbye." As her sobs overcame her, Emma dragged her back from him. Vicky almost lashed out at her until she realised Matt and Rob were moving him.

The tail of the monster was still lodged in his side and had started slowly turning black.

***

The doctor came out of James's room and Vicky practically jumped on him. "Is he going to be okay?"

The doctor removed his latex gloves with a snap and pursed his lips. "I've removed the foreign object and stitched up the wound. The IV should help, but I don't know what the infection is, so…"

"Is he going to be okay?"

"Honestly? I don't know. The next twenty-four hours will be critical. Keep a close eye on him, but there's nothing else I can do. Call me if his condition changes."

The doctor blurred before her eyes and her stomach clenched as she fought the tears threatening to fall. Blinking them away, she opened the door to James's bedroom, and quietly closed it behind her.

Wandering over to his bed, she carefully lay beside him, avoiding his wound and the IV line. She wrapped an arm around him and rested her head on his shoulder. "You can't die," she whispered. "I need you. I love you. You can't die."

With her words, she let the tears fall, not bothering to wipe them away as they were just replaced by more.

I had faith in you, James. I had faith.

Epilogue

One month later

Vicky took a glass of champagne from the tray in Matt's hand. Looking around the salon, the faces of her friends and family, it was a bittersweet moment. She had achieved her dream of opening her own salon, Snips! She just wished James could have been there to share the moment.

Emma lifted her glass in Vicky's direction, and she tipped hers in response.

"To Vicky. I'm so very proud to be able to call you my friend, especially if it means I get a 'friends and family discount' on haircuts." A murmur of laughter went around the room and Vicky smiled.

"Here, here," her mum shouted, and Vicky shook her head.

Emma and Matt made their way over to her and Emma enveloped her in a hug. "We're both so proud of you Vicky."

"Thanks, guys," she replied, feeling her eyes fill up for about the hundredth time that day.

"I'll be back in half an hour so I can be your first haircut."

She nodded and watched them leave.

***

Emma headed down Main Street towards the river and Matt grabbed her hand.
 

They stopped at the riverbank and Emma wrapped her fingers around the railing. He wrapped his arms around her, his hands resting on her stomach, thumbs gently stroking over her skin underneath her T-shirt.

"I can't believe it's all over."

"I can't believe I stood here months ago as you had a vision and all this began."
 

He also remembered standing there as his world turned upside down at the thought of Emma with another man, but that was all in the past.

"I can't believe I'm going to be a dad," he whispered in her ear. He felt her smile at his words.

"You're going to make a great dad, Matt."

"When can we tell everyone?"

"Once I'm three months gone. Until then, it's just between us."

"Looks like we better start planning a wedding then."

Emma gasped and turned in his arms. "Do you know how long they take to plan?"

He smiled. "I don't need anything fancy, Ems, unless you do? Just family and friends. I'm not sure my parents even need to be there. They would probably prefer not to be. Maybe in the gardens of the museum, seeing as we first met in the museum."

"I like that idea," Emma said as she laid her head against his chest, listening to his steady heartbeat.

"How about December? A winter wedding would be nice."

Emma nodded, because what was the point in waiting.

He wasn't sure how long they'd stood that way as he stared at the river rushing past them.

"I should get back to the salon before Vicky decides to cut someone else's hair first. I want to be her first customer."

Matt pressed a kiss to her forehead before he let her go, watching her walk back towards the salon.

***

"Congrats, Vicky," Rob said as he bent over to kiss Jess on the cheek. "I'll see you this afternoon."

Jess looked at him in the mirror. "Where are you going?"

"I just have a few things to sort out. Nothing important." And with that, he walked away before she could ask any more questions.

Emma waved as she saw Rob climbing into his car and pushed open the door to the salon. There were still quite a few people milling around, enjoying the champagne and nibbles. She really hoped Vicky had managed to get some bookings from the day.

Spotting Vicky and Jess near the back of the salon, she made her way over to them.

"What's with the cheesy grin? I know it's not for my opening day."

Damn. Emma had thought she'd done a better job of hiding her excitement. She didn't want to steal Vicky's thunder. "It's nothing," she said, shaking her head at Jess as she offered her a glass of champagne. She'd only taken a sip of the first glass she'd had earlier.

 
Emma saw Jess's eyebrow lift but just turned to look at the salon. "I'm so proud of you, Vicky. It's a huge achievement. I hope you're proud of yourself."

Vicky wrapped an arm around her waist. "Thanks, Emma, I am. But spill."

"No, this is your day."

"Emma."

"Okay, okay. We set a date for the wedding." Emma cringed at Jess's shriek before she flung her arms around her.

"When? Oh, my God. Can I be a bridesmaid? We're going to be sisters!"
 

Emma laughed at Jess's enthusiasm. "December. At the museum, and yes, of course, you can be a bridesmaid. Will you too, Vicky?"

Vicky hugged her as well. "Of course. Why so soon?"

Emma looked between the two of them, shrugged, and then simply said, "Why wait?"

***

Rob climbed into his car and lightly gripped the steering wheel. He couldn't quite believe it was all over. He struggled to remember what his life had been like before Jess. He knew he never wanted to go back to that life, one that had no family in it. With a smile, he threw the car into gear and drove off to pick up the ring that would ensure he wouldn't have to go back to that life. Well, hopefully, if she said yes.

When he got back to Vicky's salon, the ring box seemed to be burning a hole in his trouser pocket. It felt like he was wearing a sign advertising what he had been doing. As he loitered outside the shop window, there were still a lot of people inside.

"What are you up to? You're looking very dodgy just waiting outside."

Rob smiled at Jess's words and knew there was no way he would be able to keep this from her. "Come take a walk with me," he said as he held out his hand.

They walked towards the river as he tried to come up with the right words, but suddenly nothing seemed to express how much she meant to him.
 

Then an idea struck him as he pulled her to sit next to him on the bench.

Looking across the river to the rolling hills in the distance, it all paled to how beautiful Jess was. He turned to her and, with a serious face, said, "I'm going to ask Vicky to dye my hair purple."
 

He watched as Jess's eyebrows lowered and scrunched together in confusion. "I'm going to swim the river naked for charity."

"What?"

He smiled at her then and dropped to one knee. "You're the family I've always wanted, Jess. I love you. Will you marry me?" He held the open box out to her as she covered her mouth with both hands and her eyes filled with tears.
Please let those be happy tears.

Taking the ring from the box, he held it out and she dropped her left hand. He slipped the ring on before she could answer, but he still let out the breath he'd been holding when she said, "Yes, of course I will. Yes, yes."

Sitting back, he pulled her in to his arms and kissed her. Until she drew back and said, "The first two better have been lies."

Rob just smiled and wrapped his arms around her tighter. Kissing his fiancée.

Fiancée.
 

That would take some getting used to. He took a seat on the bench and pulled her against his side.

"You know my mother will want a huge wedding, don't you?"

"I don't care. What do you want? That's all I care about. You can have whatever you want."

"I'm not sure."

Rob took her hand and rubbed his thumb over the ring. "There's no rush. Whatever and whenever you want."

They sat wrapped up in each other until Jess shivered. Running a hand down her back, he said, "Come on. Vicky will probably be closing up the salon."

Jess stood and gave him a grin. "Matt and Emma set a date for the wedding."

"Really?"

She nodded. "Mmhmm, in December."

"That's quick."

Jess leaned into him and quietly said, "I think she's pregnant, but don't say I said that."

"What makes you think that?"

Jess just smiled at him. "Call it women's intuition."

***

Vicky flipped the sign over on the salon door, and Teazle's head lifted from the cushion in the corner. She'd only had two customers, including Emma, but it was a start.
 

Giving everything a last check, she clipped Teazle's lead to her collar. "Come on, girl. Let's go."

Locking up behind her as Jess and Rob appeared, she heard Emma scream.

"What's wrong?" Vicky asked as she whirled around to see why Emma was screaming. It was pretty obvious when she saw Jess's hand in Emma's, a diamond ring sparkling on her finger.

"Congratulations. I'm so happy for you both," Emma said as she dragged Jess into a hug.

"Congratulations," Vicky seconded, giving Jess a hug after Emma had finally released her. She watched as Matt and Rob gave each other a man hug, complete with backslapping, before Emma gave Rob a hug too.
 

Vicky took Jess's hand to look at the ring. It was beautiful. The band was lined with diamonds, and in the centre was a larger diamond surrounded by smaller ones. It was classy and very Jess-like. Vicky felt a little pang of emotion—
jealousy
—but she shook her head and pushed the feeling away.

 
After the congratulating had quieted down, they all strolled towards Altenbury Hall. It had been a year since Emma had moved back and this had all started, but it was finally over.

Vicky felt like they should say something to mark the occasion, but words failed her. As they neared what she would always think of as James's cottage, she couldn't help but look in that direction before they faced the blackened earth that was the only sign of what had happened on that spot.

Matt moved behind Emma and wrapped his arms around her as Rob did the same to Jess. As they did, the sky darkened as clouds blew in, and something brushed against her waist. She gasped at the contact before she smelled the familiar coffee. "Should you be drinking coffee? Or be out here at all? The doctor said complete bed rest."

James laughed before he whispered in her ear. "Shh. I've got this really strict nurse who's just moved in with me in order to look after me twenty-four-seven."

Vicky laughed. "You think that's why I moved in?"

"I don't care why you moved in. Just that you did. I love you, snips." And then he silenced her with a kiss.

Resting her head back against his chest, carefully avoiding his wound, she looked up at the sky. The ripe animal smell from the nearby farm stung her nostrils as she took a deep breath.
 

The emotions of standing there, alive with all the others, overwhelmed her. The pungent odour surrounded her, leaving its bitter taste in her mouth as it was carried by the wind funnelling between the hedgerows.

As the sky darkened further, she noticed the vibrant bursts of colour from the trees that were turning from greens and browns to rich reds and oranges.

A low rumble of thunder erupted around them. She smiled as the sky was lit up by a white flash of forked lightning and hit the spot where the oak tree once stood.

Looking over at the others, she finally had everything she ever wanted.
 

Her own salon.

A family.
 

Because that was what the six of them were. They might not all be related, but they were there for each other. Protected each other, could rely on each other, and that's what families did.
 

A new generation of Altenburys, one that would be safe from the evil that had plagued those before.
 

They were safe. It was finally over.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Over the last ten years Liz has lived in three different countries but she is a Lancashire girl at heart.

She writes contemporary romance about people finding their own happily ever after.
 

The rest of her time is spent drinking too much coffee, searching for the next HEA to read or walking her dog.

 
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