"I love you, Bets."
"I love you too, my boy. Now let's give this a try, should we?" She started humming again.
Angus prepared himself for anything. His spirit could feel movement, almost like a soft breeze blowing against him, then he saw Betty's aura slowly float away from where she'd been nesting against him.
"So far so good." Betty continued to move. "Looks like your cord healed. Hurry back to us, my boy."
Angus didn't have time to respond before he lost sight of Betty's light and knew she'd left him alone.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
"When do you see the doctor again?" Lance asked Lizzy as he sat with her and Martin around Angus's bed.
"Next week. I'm healing nicely, but due to my age they want me to take it… Betty?" Lizzy's eyes went wide.
Lance stood up the moment he saw her appear to float out of Angus's body. "Betty!"
Betty smiled as she settled beside Lizzy. "It's so good to see you again." She grinned at Lizzy. "You didn't think I'd leave you, did you?"
"How? Where were you?" Lance asked.
"I was with Angus." She held up a hand. "Don't worry. I think he's going to be just fine. We just had to give his spirit time to heal. He loves you and is fighting to get better so he can come back to you."
"Come back? You mean he's not in there?" Lance gripped Angus's hand.
"Easy, he's in there. Let me explain. When the explosion happened, I saw Angus start to leave his body. I wasn't sure if it would work, but I tackled him. I knew from experimenting with Ray and Bethany that I could manipulate energy around spirits a little, but I wasn't sure I had enough power to hold him in his body. Luckily, I did. I saw his cord start to tear apart and I wrapped my energy around it and held it together. He settled back into his body, but I didn't dare let go until I felt he was strong enough and his cord healed so he wouldn't float out again." Betty stared at Angus's body. "So far so good, but I promised him I'd stick close until we are sure."
Lance shook with emotion. He'd been so worried that Angus wasn't still in his body. To hear Betty say he was alive and healing was the best news. His hand trembled as he stared atAngus. "Thank you. God, thank you for saving him for me." Tears rolled down Lance's cheeks. "I saw him. I thought we'd lost him, but then his body was alive. I feared there was some kind of mistake and his spirit might have moved on. I owe you everything, Betty."
"You owe me nothing. I did what I could. Thankfully, it looks like it worked. The spirit heals quickly. It's going to take a bit of time for the physical body to catch up." Betty smiled at Lizzy. "You had to know I wouldn't just leave you."
"You flew at Angus's body and were gone. I wasn't sure. I thought maybe you two fell into the light." Lizzy wiped at her tears.
"Will someone please explain?" Martin finally asked.
Lance let Lizzy explain. He couldn't stop staring at Angus. He was really in there. He was alive. He would be okay. The tension in his body gave way to relief and exhaustion. He'd been so worried. He trusted Betty. If she said Angus was there, he was. He would wake up, open his eyes, and be okay. As long as that would happen eventually, Lance could wait. It was the not knowing that had had him so worried. He bent and kissed the back of Angus's hand. "Can he hear me?" he asked once Lizzy had explained everything to Martin.
"Sometimes. He's still learning how to manage his spiritual skills and as he heals, he rests a lot. He's been resting almost the whole time I was with him. Still, keep talking to him. He does hear. He knew who was in the room today. It's why I decided it was a good time for me to reappear." Betty smiled at Lizzy. "I'm so sorry I scared you, but I didn't have time to do anything but act."
Lizzy cried openly. "You did the right thing. You protected my son. You kept him alive for me. That's something I'll never be able to repay you for."
"I don't want anything for doing it. You know he's like a son to me as well. I would have done anything to protect him. I just wish I could have kept him from being injured." She looked at Martin and Lizzy's injuries. "What happened that night?"
"We don't know really. There was an explosion, but they're still trying to work out how and why it happened. If they know, they aren't sharing it on the news. Franks is working on the case, but he hasn't shared much with me." Lizzy glanced at Lance. "Do you know anything?"
"Not really. I heard it might have started in the bakery next door, but that wasn't official. Last I heard, eight people died and there were a ton of injuries. The news says people are spooked and wondering if it's safe anywhere." Lance still held Angus's hand. "I don't know what to think, but I want answers. I want to know why he got hurt. Why all of us were hurt." He sighed. "Could you tell how his physical body is?"
Betty shook her head. "No. I was focused on keeping that cord together. He's not in pain. I could tell that from his aura. He's strong. I'm sure he's healing. I don't think his cord would heal if it was really meant to be his time. The fact it only took a few days for his cord to heal is good news. I had no idea what I was doing, but thankfully it worked."
"If I could hug you, I would." Lance smiled at her, filled with so much love for the woman that he fought back tears of gratefulness for what she'd done for Angus. "Will he remember you being with him?"
"That is the question, isn't it? I'm not sure. I hope so. We had some good conversations. I hate the reason I had to stay with him, but I'll never regret the time together. It was so sweet to be able to speak with him and have him hear me." Betty smiled. "Even if he doesn't remember, I always will." She glanced at Martin, then at Lizzy. "Tell me about your injuries."
Lizzy sighed. "Martin broke his leg and I had some pretty bad cuts to my legs. We're both healing. We'll both be taking it slowly for a few weeks, but we'll be okay. Lance dislocated his shoulder and had some severe cuts, but again, he's healing. We honestly got lucky compared to Angus."
"Jackson and Megan?" Betty asked.
"Cuts, but they were fine. They've been taking care of Haunt and the house while Lance is here. The ghosts drop by to visit often. Everyone has been worried we'd lost you." Lizzy narrowed her eyes at Betty. "If you hadn't been saving my son, I might have a mighty big bone to pick with you."
