Surge (St. Martin Family Saga: Emergency Responders) Book 3: St. Martin Family Saga: Emergency Responders by Gina Watson Page B

to what you know to be the facts, dump the rest.”
    Facts. Dump the rest.
    Jackson’s finger twirled a curl at her nape as she sat and enjoyed that his touch was never far from her.
    “It will get you to great love.” Her hand rested on a card that resembled Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. “Love and sex, a union, and the strongest force of all—a relationship built on deep love, the highest of all unions.” Her hand was on the move again and settled over The Empress . “Extravagance, giving and receiving pleasure, health, and harmony.” The two of cups next. “Marriage, healing, peace, forgiveness.” Finally, she touched the ten of cups. “Joy and family.”
    She saw Clay and Eve approaching in the distance and Jackson made no effort to remove his hand from massaging her neck. She looked up at him to see if he was paying attention. He was looking directly at Clay. Closing her eyes she took a deep breath and exhaled it slowly. Claudia whispered so only she would hear, “It’s going to get rough before it gets better. Don’t give up even when he does.”
    Her jaw fell open and she inhaled a ragged breath. Her gut seized with the thought of Jackson giving up on their love. What else could she mean, it had to be that. Quickly she stood and met his deep blue gaze. “Jackson, promise me now, quickly, that it’s you and me together forever against the world.”
    His forehead creased. “Bug?” His stare was intense. “What’s wrong?”
    “Please hurry, tell me before they get here. Tell me no matter what happens we will always have each other.”
    His lips tightened into a thin line as his gaze shifted to Claudia and back to her. “You know how I feel. I can’t live apart from you. I’d say that’s pretty solidifying.” He tangled her fingers in his. “Always and forever. You and me against the world.” They walked hand in hand to meet Clay and Eve.
    Clay waved and they returned the greeting, each step bringing them closer to their destiny. Toe to toe now, Clay took in the locked fingers between their bodies and raised his brow.
    “How was the drive in?” Clay asked.
    His voice was low and soft, an unusual attribute for him. Clara tried to remember when he’d ever been so quiet, but she couldn’t. He continued to speak softly with Jackson about the traffic. Next to him, Eve toyed with her own confusion at their linked hands. Her gray eyes traveled from their hands to Jackson’s face and back to Clara.
    Their connection was severed when two kids playing a game of tag around the statue of Andrew Jackson ran through the space that linked their hands. Like magnets they reconnected once the space between them was cleared. All eyes were on their hands.
    The tension was getting palpable. Eve spoke up. “Clay is taking me to see the tomb of the Voodoo Queen.”
    “Clara, you in? You love that shit,” Clay asked with a crease in his brow.
    “Oh, yes. Somebody painted the tomb pink with latex paint, which is not good because it will trap in moisture and cause deterioration.”
    Clay chuckled. “I really would like to know where you get all this information.” He took a few steps forward, leading the way. “Jackson, we’ll catch you later. Thanks for safely bringing my baby sister to me.”
    “He’s coming with us.” Clara said. Clay shrugged and they all trekked down St. Peter Street.
    At the cemetery they broke away from the intense eyes of Clay and Eve and chased each other up and down the rows of tombs until Jackson caught and tickled her senseless.
    It was an overcast afternoon and a storm was approaching. The weather caused the cemetery to appear all the more eerie and gray. The cement was dark with absorbed moisture, adding to the grayish blue hues. Tombs of varying height towered like giant marble gods creating irregular shadows that settled over the cemetery. Few inches separated one above-the-ground tomb from another.
    Clara remembered her grandmother telling her when she’d misbehaved