Chapter 39
Every cell in Jasper’s body convulsed, threatening to burst with the violence of his despair. But a thin sliver of logic thumped behind his eyes—I must care for our son. I cannot leave him alone in this world. Regardless the tears flowed nonstop, and his body shook with the weight of his grief.
He vaguely recalled Maeve taking the child from his arms. The baby hadn’t so much as whimpered since they’d been thrown back into this world. Thomas’s presence loomed just to his right in silence. Neither had dared to speak while Jasper sobbed like a small lost child. For that’s what he was without Savannah… Lost.
Every second that ticked by on the old grandfather clock in the foyer was an eternity. Would it always be like this?
The air crackled behind him, in the direction of the fireplace. Electricity singed the air, effusing it with a pungent ozone odor. Both Thomas and Maeve gasped, but Jasper could not bring himself to turn around. It was probably the goddess again with nonsensical words of comfort that would never appease his broken heart. It was best for everyone if she didn’t even try because the liquid hot fury boiling in his chest threatened to catapult Jasper off the sofa to destroy everything and everyone in his sight.
A hand landed on his shoulder. Still, he resisted the urge to turn around. Too afraid of disappointment. He knew all too well how false hope destroyed a person. He was in no state to deal with another assault on his heart and soul.
The ozone odor vanished with an electric buzz to be replaced by the fragrance of honeysuckles and early morning dew.
His vision clouded with tears, Jasper blinked rapidly and took a long inhale of breath before releasing it slowly. Still, fear rendered him paralyzed. He wanted to turn around now. He wanted to jump up. He wanted so many things, but his body refused his commands.
Fingers brushed his mane of hair that had been hanging down his face, followed by soft lips planting a kiss on his temple. “Jasper.”
His paralysis broke at the sound of his name on her lips. Savannah’s lips! Jasper jumped over the sofa, sinking to his knees while his arms wrapped around her waist. Pressing his face into her now-flat abdomen, he allowed the sobs to rack his body. He’d never let go of her again. Never!
Her fingers played with his hair, and she made quiet shushing sounds. “It’s all right now, my love. I’m here. I’ll never leave you again.”
Freed of the grief that had ransacked his body, heart, and soul, Jasper lifted a prayer of gratitude for this blessed gift.
After a long while of squeezing Savannah until it felt as if their bodies had merged into one, she pulled back just a little. He gripped her tighter on pure basic instinct, but she became insistent. “Jasper. I’d like to be introduced to our son, if you don’t mind.”
He’d remained on his knees, still resistant to breaking the spell he was in. A small part of him feared if he let go, and looked up to see her face, she’d vanish like a puff of smoke in a violent breeze.
“Jasper. It’s okay. I’m not going anywhere.”
He summoned his courage through a heroic effort of will to crane his neck and look up, to verify it was his Savannah, his love. He was rewarded with the most beautiful smile.
She was beautiful! But no… This was different. She was radiance itself. The moon and stars would pale in comparison to the illumination that was Savannah. She took his breath away.
“Are you…really here?” His heart ceased to beat while he waited for her reply. Was she an angel now? The way she glowed with divine light had him doubting she was corporeal. And that doubt rekindled his fear he’d lost her.
“Of course, silly.” She grabbed his arm and yanked him to his feet. “Now kiss me and let me prove it to you.”
He didn’t need her to request twice. Gently cupping her face in his palms, he bent over to place a soft chaste kiss on her lips. They’d kissed many times before, but this kiss…was the stuff of legends. A wave of warm light sparked at the touch of their lips, then swept to the rest of his body before bursting forth from his aura like a star being born.
When she pulled away, her eyes shone with tears. “We’ll catch up more later, but now I believe our son needs to meet his mother and needs to feed.”
At her words, their son—who Jasper had completely forgotten while entrenched in the bliss of Savannah being alive—released a high-pitched wail.
***
Watching Savannah nursing their son, Jasper never imagined he’d ever experience such joy. Being a guardian angel for over six hundred years, he had witnessed so much heartache, so much war, so many horrific events that he’d grown callous and numb to all the follies of humanity. But now… He had everything he’d believed was off-limits to him. Love. A wonderful woman. A child! For all the glory of the heavens, he’d never believed himself worthy or capable of any of this!
Jasper shook his head. A grin spread his lips to their limit, and he didn’t care. He couldn’t stop smiling. Savannah swayed slightly while holding their son up to her breast. She was natural at this mothering thing. She sang a beautiful lullaby while stroking the baby’s blushed cheek. The melody seemed familiar, but Jasper couldn’t place it.
He glanced around. Thomas and Maeve were busy cleaning up the mess made during the attempted exorcism: scraping symbols off the wooden floor, nailing boards over the opening where the door had splintered, and sweeping up the debris from everything that had shattered. They were quiet while they went about the chores. So much so Jasper had thought they’d left until he’d caught sight of Thomas tapping a nail into a board so softly it’d take a century to get that nail to move through the wood and into the door frame.
Jasper didn’t care if it took forever for that one tiny nail. He was in complete bliss watching Savannah with their child. He had no intentions of ever letting either of them out of his sight… Ever.
“So…” Savannah glanced over at him through her thick eyelashes.
He was startled to attention. “Yes, my love.” Even the tone of his voice was that of a smitten schoolboy with his first crush.
“Don’t you think we should gift our son with a name?”
She had a point. It hadn’t been something they’d discussed. Everything had happened so fast; the topic had not occurred to him yet.
“I guess so. Do you have any preferences?” His mind drew a blank when it came to naming a child. It wasn’t something he’d imagined he would ever do. “Please,” he crossed his arms in front of his chest in a giant ‘X,’ “please don’t say Jasper Junior. That’s just all kinds of wrong. He’d be nicknamed JJ.”
Savannah giggled while detaching the baby from her breast and placing him over her shoulder to pat his back gently. “What’s wrong with JJ?”
“No. Just no.”
“All right then. What do you suggest?”
The tiniest burp came from the baby. Jasper realized the swaddling around him may need to be changed soon if they didn’t get him in a diaper. He’d need clothes and tons of diapers and bottles and teething rings and…
Jasper’s heart raced and his vision swam. He had nothing to offer his infant son! He wasn’t prepared! He was already a failure as a parent!
Savannah stood, with the baby now cradled in her arms, and walked over to Jasper. She bent over and kissed him on the forehead before placing the baby in Jasper’s arms. “He has everything he needs. He has his mother and his father. All the rest is just ‘window dressing.’”
Holding his son, Jasper understood what it was to love someone beyond belief, beyond reason. The baby opened his eyes and squinted at him. His eyes were a beautiful icy blue and he had a fine dusting of jet-black hair on top of his head. There was no questioning who his father was. And Jasper vowed to him, to Savannah, to the divine Creator, he would be the best father and would love, honor, and protect his family always.
“So,” Savannah sat on the arm of the chair, her hair brushing against Jasper’s cheek. “What are we going to name him?”
***
Hours later, Maeve and Thomas were on babysitting duty while the infant slept peacefully in his makeshift crib. They had run out for supplies, so all the necessities were in place. Now Savannah and Jasper were alone in a small meadow just down the hill from the cabin. Savannah had insisted they get out of the cabin and be alone while they discussed things and just be together. After all they’d endured, they needed a few moments to breathe.
Shortly after giving birth, a woman usually needed six weeks or more to recuperate, but Savannah was already whole again. Jasper hadn’t believed her initially, but after she’d explained that she had died to her human-self in order to rise as the goddess she now was… Well, it hadn’t taken a lot more convincing of her being willing and able to thoroughly enjoy being together again. Neither understood why Lucifer had been so interested in their child, but Savannah was confident that was over with. Diana had sworn it.
“So,” Jasper caressed her hair while they lay on the ground, snuggled in each other’s arms, “you’re a full-fledge goddess now? What does that mean exactly?”
Savannah giggled as his fingers glanced over her slim waist, then lower, while his lips traced a leisurely line over her shoulder and up her neck. “Hmmm,” she moaned. The same need that had been satiated only moments earlier sprang back to life. “Dunno. Right now, I don’t care.”
She twisted in his arms, pulling his face to hers. “All that matters is us. Here. Now. I have my sight back. We have our son, and he is healthy. All the other will work itself out.”
He crushed his lips to hers, his tongue probing her lips open to deepen the kiss.
Suddenly, a burst of colored lights streaked across the sky with the popping of fireworks. They glanced up to see sparkling shimmers of light pulse then fade out, followed by a chorus of ‘whoo hoo’ from the nearby tree line.
Jasper shrugged then returned his whole focus to Savannah. “Think that was Junior?”
***