KEIFER POV
Jay-Jay was shivering in my lap, her arms wrapped around my neck so tight I could barely breathe. She wouldn't stop crying, and every sob felt like a knife to my chest.
"Hey, hey... stay with me. What happened?" I asked again, my eyes scanning the dark corners of the room for a threat I was ready to kill.
"Our house is haunted, Keifer! Let's just get out of here!" she cried, scrambling up from my lap and pulling at my arm to make me stand.
I looked at her, completely bewildered. "Haunted? Jay, what are you talking about?"
She started wiping at her tears, her words coming out in a frantic rush. "When you left, I was wandering the house because I was bored. I found that room—the one with all your childhood photos—and the second I stepped in, the lights died. Then the guards said it was just a glitch, but when the power came back on, the theater started playing by itself! I came in to turn it off, but the screen just roared back to life with these... these horrible things! It wouldn't stop, Keifer!"
I stared at her for a second, then looked at the darkened theater screen, and finally back at my terrified, very pregnant wife.
A realization hit me, and I felt the tension in my chest snap—not with anger, but with the sudden, desperate urge to laugh. I forced it down, rubbing the back of my neck as I tried to find the right words.
"Jay... baby... the theater room," I started, reaching out to steady her. "Remember a few weeks ago when the guys and I had that party while you were at Mia's? We kind of... well, we broke the main control sensor."
I let out a heavy sigh, pulling her close into my chest so she could hear my heart rate slowing down. "It's not haunted. The wiring is shot. When the power surges or the grid resets, the system defaults to whatever was last played and gets stuck in a loop. We were watching a horror movies in here last night. It wasn't a ghost, Jay—it was just bad electrical work"
I looked at Jay-Jay, and the fear in her eyes was rapidly being replaced by a sharp, dangerous glare. Her bottom lip came out in a full pout, her arms crossed over her six-month bump.
"No. It's haunted," she insisted, her voice trembling slightly but her tone defiant. "The timing was too perfect, Keifer. The lights, the screaming, the creepy crawling thing... that wasn't a 'glitch.' Your house has ghosts."
I bit the inside of my cheek so hard I tasted copper. I desperately wanted to laugh—the image of the feared Jay Jay being bullied by a faulty HDMI cable and a jump-scare was almost too much—but I knew better. If I laughed now, I'd be sleeping in the guest wing until the baby was born.
And more than that, I could see the lingering tremors in her hands. She had been genuinely terrified, alone in the dark while I was at the docks dealing with idiots.
"Okay," I said, my voice dropping into my most serious,
tone as I stepped closer and wrapped my arms around her waist, pulling her flush against me. "You're right. If the Queen says it's haunted, it's haunted."
"Exactly," she huffed, though she leaned her head against my shoulder.
"I'll tell you what," I murmured into her hair. "I'll have the 'ghosts' evicted first thing tomorrow. I'll call the tech team—or a priest, whichever works faster—and they'll rip out every single wire in this room and replace the whole system. And until then..." I kissed the top of her head. "No one leaves you alone in this house again. Not for an hour. Not for a minute."
Jay-Jay looked up at me, her eyes still a little red from crying. "You promise? No more 'urgent business' at the docks?"
"I promise," I said, resting my hand over hers on her stomach. "From now on, if I have to go to the docks, the docks come to me. I'm staying right here with my two favorite people."
She finally let out a small, shaky breath and relaxed into my arms. "Good. Because if that screen turns on again, I'm burning this theater down."
"I'll buy the gasoline myself," I joked, finally letting a small smirk slip. "Now, let's get you upstairs. I think I saw some spicy pickles in the kitchen on my way in."
"And Nutella?" she asked hopefully.
"And Nutella," I confirmed, guiding her toward the door. I took one last look at the dark screen.
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2 MONTHS LATER
KEIFER POV
Two months had passed, and Jay-Jay was now eight months along. The house was no longer "haunted," but it was definitely filled with the sounds of a very pregnant woman trying to get comfortable. Her bump was huge now, a beautiful, heavy reminder that we were only weeks away from meeting our son.
"Keifer, can you please massage my feet?" Jay-Jay asked, her voice sounding exhausted. She was propped up on a mountain of pillows on our bed, looking like a literal queen amidst the silk.
I didn't even hesitate. I moved to the foot of the bed, nodding as I gently lifted her legs and settled them across my lap. Her ankles were swollen, and I knew she was in a lot of pain, even if she tried to play it tough most of the time.
As I began to rub her feet, using the slow, firm pressure that Keigan had shown me (after much lecturing), I watched her. Her eyes drifted shut, and a soft sigh of relief escaped her lips.
"Better?" I asked softly.
"Mmm... so much better," she murmured. "You're getting good at this Keifer. Maybe you have a second career in physical therapy."
I let out a low chuckle, my thumbs working circles into her arches. "I think I'll stick to my current day job. It pays better, and the boss is much cuter."
I looked down at her stomach, watching as the fabric of her silk gown shifted. Our son was active tonight, moving restlessly. I rested one hand on her shin while the other continued the massage.
"He's kicking again," I noted, my voice softening.
"He's been doing that all afternoon," Jay-Jay said, Opening one eye to look at me. "I think he's practicing his soccer moves. Or he's just as impatient as his father to get out here."
I smiled, my heart doing that strange, fluttering thing it only did when I was with her. "He can take all the time he needs. As long as he arrives safe, and as long as you're okay."
I looked at her, really looked at her, and the gravity of the last few months hit me. From the kidnapping attempt to the "haunted" theater, we had been through hell and back. But seeing her here, safe in our home, glowing with the life we created... it made every war I'd ever fought worth it.
"Keifer?" she whispered, sensing my stare.
"Yeah?"
"I love you. Even when I'm being a hormonal mess who thinks the house is haunted."
I leaned forward, kissing the top of her foot before moving up to press a kiss to her forehead. "I love you too, Jay-Jay. Haunted houses and all."
Just then, my phone buzzed on the nightstand. I glanced at it—a message from Jare. Everything quiet on the perimeter. Dock shipments resolved.
I put the phone face down. The world could wait. Right now, I had more important business right here.
The deep, peaceful sleep of a man who thought his perimeter was secure was shattered in less than a second.
"KEIFER wake up!"
I groaned, barely opening an eye. The clock on the nightstand shifted into focus: 2:14 AM. My brain was still half-stuck in a dream about shipping manifests and nursery paint colors.
"Jay... five more minutes," I mured, reaching out blindly to pull her back toward me. I figured she probably just had a craving for pancakes or another leg cramp.
"Keifer, you asshole, WAKE UP! My water broke!"
That did it. It was like a bucket of ice water had been dumped over my head. I sat bolt upright, my heart jumping from zero to a hundred in a heartbeat. I fumbled for the lamp, nearly knocking it over before the room flooded with light.
I looked over at Jay-Jay. She was sitting up, clutching the sheets, her face a mix of pain and "if-you-don't-move-I-will-kill-you" fury. I looked down. The bed was soaked.
"Oh... oh God. Okay. It's happening," I stammered, scrambling out of bed. I tripped on the rug, regained my footing, and started spinning in a circle. "Okay. Clothes. Bag. Hospital. No, wait... Keigan!"
"Keifer! Stop spinning and help me up!" Jay-Jay barked, her voice tight as another contraction ripped through her.
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