Reaching over, I pulled her onto my lap. “My publishers want me to come there and meet with them. Do a couple interviews about the new books. I’ve been stalling them but I could make the arrangements …” my voice trailed off. I refused to pressure her. This had to be her decision. And, whatever she decided, I would support her. I didn’t care what anyone else thought or said. Rabbit’s comfort and opinion were the only things that mattered.
“Then talk to them, Joshua,” she sighed quietly. “We’ll do it together.”
I lifted her face and studied her expressive eyes, which always told me what she was thinking. They stared back, nervous, but resolved.
I nodded. “I’ll make the arrangements, Rabbit.”
She burrowed into my chest and my arms tightened around her. “Just promise me you’ll stay close, Joshua.”
“I won’t let you out of my sight,” I promised.
“Good to know,” she whispered as she leaned up and kissed me.
I startled as I felt Rabbit’s arms wrap around me. “Come to bed, sweetheart.”
Turning, I wrapped her in my arms tightly. “I was just watching them sleep.”
“And thinking about tomorrow?”
I nodded.
Her arms tightened. “They’ll be fine. Cecilia and Trevor will take good care of them. We’re only a couple hours away. John can have us home fast if we have to get here.”
“I’m more worried I won’t be able to handle this, Rabbit,” I confessed sadly, thinking of the goals Trina wanted me to achieve, or at least attempt to achieve. “I feel totally overwhelmed right now at the thought of all we are going to do in the next couple days.”
She tilted her head up toward me, frowning. “Then stop thinking about the whole picture, Joshua. We’ll take it one goal, one new experience at a time. Together. Just one thing at a time, okay?”
Leaning down, I captured her lips with mine. “You are so smart,” I whispered, as I dragged my lips up to her ear and nibbled on her soft lobe.
She chuckled quietly. “First step is coming back to bed.”
“Not much point to that, really. I’m not sure I can sleep.”
Her hands wound into my hair, pulling me back to her lips. “Pretty sure I can figure out a way of tiring you out, sweetheart. But you have to come back to bed first.”
I smiled at her playful tone and leaning down, lifted her up into my arms. “Lead the way, Mrs. Bennett.”
The sound of the helicopter approaching the next morning kicked my nerves from frayed into overdrive. Goal number one: leave the property. Although I could do it most of the time without a reaction, today was different. Travelling by helicopter meant I was farther away than I had been in a long time. Bear, who hated the sound, slunk down the hallway to the bedroom, where I knew he would hide until after we had left and the sound of the chopper had faded away. Part of me wanted to join him in his escape. My eyes flew to Rabbit, who was holding Elly as she chatted quietly with Trevor and Cecilia. My own arms tightened slightly on Jack, who slept peacefully in my arms, replete after his morning meal.
How would he and Elly react when they woke up and we weren’t here? What if Cecilia couldn’t get them to settle? My mind raced as I tried to remember if I had listed all the ways of distracting them when they fussed. I stood up, intent on making sure the pacifiers were on the counter, when Rabbit’s voice broke through my thoughts. “Joshua.”
I looked over at her. “They’ll be fine. Let’s go put them in their cribs and then we have to go.” She regarded me quietly for a moment and came over to where I was standing. Her hand came up and caressed my cheek. “One step at a time, Joshua. Now, breathe for me. Deep, calming breaths. You can do this.”
Nodding, I focused on her breathing and matched it. After a minute, I opened my eyes and smiled at her. Silently, I followed her down the hall, and together we kissed our children, tucked them safely into their beds and returned to the kitchen. I could feel her slight tremor as we walked away, and I drew her into my side tightly in silent support.
Cecilia smiled at us. “Trevor took your bags out.” She handed me a folder. “This has everything in it, Joshua: your itinerary, meeting schedules and some notes I made for you. Adam is meeting you at the airport.”
I looked at her surprised. “Why?”
She smiled. “We thought a friendly face would make you both feel better. You’re having dinner with him, Heather, Tracy and Frank tonight, once you finish your meetings with the publisher. Your interviews are tomorrow. We are going to be fine. Daniel and Ellen are coming out later today so, between all of us, your babies are in capable hands.”
Lizzy smiled. “We know that. Thanks, Cecilia.”
I looked down at my wife. “Ready to do this?”
She took in a deep breath. “Right beside you, Joshua.”
Leaning down, I kissed her forehead gently. “Good to know, Rabbit.”