by Donna Raider
##
“Mom, I am riding to the street dance with Lucas,” Rachel informed her mother as the family gathered in the great room of the hacienda.
“That’s good,” Leah said. “Hannah and Mark are riding with Regina and Matt. The others will arrive in their own vehicles. Mika is already in town, meeting with the contractor. I will just materialize in my office and join her. She has her car.”
##
Lexi had pulled out all the stops. With only three days to revise and perfect the floorplans, she had worked night and day to make certain they were perfect.
The image of Leah’s disapproving face haunted her. She was determined the woman would never look at her that way again.
She had instructed her chief structural engineer and chief design engineer to meet her at eight a.m. to go over the completed plans. They had scrutinized the plans thoroughly before agreeing everything was as the Crosses wanted.
Mika daydreamed about her wife as she waited in her office for Lexi Cole. Leah was corralling their offspring and getting them ready to attend the street dance.
Mika had been amazed how much the street dance reminded her of the fanfare and boisterousness of the jousting competitions held during her time in Leah’s realm when she was queen.
There were vendors, hawking their wares. Food kiosks lined the streets, and Lucile’s had a huge banner strung across the front touting air conditioning for her customers.
A huge, flatbed trailer had been pulled across the street, effectively shutting it down. The trailer had square bales of hay across the back, forming a backdrop for the band that was setting up amplifiers and speakers. Mika had a feeling that once they cranked up, conversation would be impossible.
There were pony rides and several game booths for the children. People were already setting up lawn chairs and shade canopies. It was obvious they were settling in for the duration.
Although it was forbidden to sell alcohol in Godly, dancers could donate a hundred dollars to the mayor’s fund and receive tickets that could be exchanged for wine and beer at the vendors’ stands.
Mika wondered what the mayor’s fund was.
“Mika,” Trudy said as she opened her door, “Miss Cole is here.”
Mika stood as Lexi entered the room. At five-eight, Lexi rarely had to look up to another woman, but Mika Cross was tall. And devastatingly beautiful, she thought.
“Miss Cole.” Mika extended her hand to shake Lexi’s. “Thank you so much for taking care of this. Leah was extremely unhappy, and you know what they say about a happy wife.” Mika’s smile was earth-shattering.
“I’m sure things have not been good at your house.” Lexi tried to regain her composure. She was surprised to see Mika blush. She had a feeling that things were always good at Mika’s house.
Like Leah, Mika was dressed impeccably. Dark blue slacks and a light blue dress shirt with Italian loafers set her apart from the people she had just fought her way through to get to her office.
“Will Mrs. Cross be joining us?” Lexi asked hopefully.
“No, she’s getting our children ready for their first street dance.” Mika laughed. “It’s very interesting. I believe the children will love it.”
Lexi noticed two photos on her desk. She and Leah were in each of them with six children. Although the children had aged, Leah and Mika looked the same in both photos. They even wore the same clothes.
“Your children are beautiful.” She picked up the photo of the children as youngsters, then the one showing them as adults. “While the children have aged, you and your wife haven’t.”
“Different children in each photo.” Mika grinned. “This photo is our oldest and this is our youngest. Six sets of twins.”
“Twelve,” Lexi raised her eyebrows in amazement. “You must be Catholic.” The sentence escaped her mouth before she could stop it. What a stupid thing to say.
“Yes.” Mika smiled. “We are.”
“Do you have somewhere I can freshen up?” Lexi desperately wanted to get away from Mika Cross and regain her composure. “I had to park by the fire station and walk here. It is very hot.”
“Certainly.” Mika walked to the door. “I apologize for not offering when you arrived. Just down that hall, first door on the left.”
##
Lexi placed a wet, cold paper towel over her face. She was careful not to destroy her makeup. She had not been prepared for the charming beauty of Mika Cross.
She knew she had to maintain her wits about her if she was to keep this account. She inhaled deeply four or five times as she calmed herself and prepared to return to Mika’s office. By the time she stepped back into Mika’s office, she was all business.
“I believe you will find everything to your satisfaction.” She smiled as she unrolled the engineered plans.
Mika’s phone dinged a message from her wife. “We are in Lucile’s.”
She texted back. “Please join us.”
“Good news,” Mika said, “Leah is going to join us.”
“That is good news.” Lexi smiled. “She has a tremendous grasp of the plans and how everything should be.”
Leah entered the office. She was dressed in a pair of form-fitting slacks with a white silk blouse tucked in at the waist. Lexi wondered if she intentionally left the top two buttons unbuttoned. As she watched the look exchanged between Mika and her wife, she knew the answer was yes.
Mika walked to her wife and bent to kiss her. “I am so glad you could join us. Miss Cole has the revised plans.”
“Are they right this time?” Leah glared at the architect.
“I am certain they are.” Lexi nodded her head in deference to the woman.
“Mom.” Another woman entered the room. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you were busy.”
Lexi wished she could make her mouth close, but found she had no control over her muscles. Where did all these gorgeous people come from?
“Sweetheart, you have impeccable timing.” Leah smiled. “Miss Cole has the revised plans for us to check.”
“Lexi, I’m Rachel.” The dark goddess held out her hand to Lexi. “We have talked on the phone many times. I feel as if I have known you forever.”
As she slipped her hand into Rachel Cross’s, Lexi relaxed for the first time in a week. There was no doubt Rachel was the daughter of Leah and Mika Cross. She had all their best qualities and was stomach-churning beautiful.
“It is nice to finally put a face with the name.” Lexi smiled. What a gorgeous face it is.
“I’m dying to see the final plans.” Rachel moved toward the conference table. She took the plans from Lexi’s hands and unrolled them.
The four gathered around the plans and double-checked that all the corrections had been made. Rachel asked her mother’s advice on the ventilation for the underground laboratory. Leah assured her they had overbuilt for future expansion.
Rachel mumbled some numbers as if verifying the capacity of the system. She then smiled and nodded at her mother.
“It appears you have kept your word and delivered plans we can use to move forward,” Leah said. “Rachel, darling, if you will just sign off on these, our business with Miss Cole will be concluded.” Leah signed her name then handed the pen to Mika.
“I absolutely love your design for the facility.” Rachel linked her arm through Lexi’s and led her to the front of the offices. “I am looking forward to working with you.”
The closeness of the woman took Lexi’s breath away. She licked her lips, trying to make them work. “Thank you,” she finally managed.
“We are having dinner at Lucile’s.” Rachel grinned. “Please join us. You can meet my siblings, in-laws, and friends.”
“I would like that.” Lexi smiled shyly. She would like anything that let her linger longer in the woman’s presence.
“Do you boot scoot?” Rachel asked.
“Of course.” Lexi laughed. “I was born in Texas.”
“Good, maybe you can give us some p
ointers.” Rachel still had her arm linked with Lexi’s. “This is our first street dance.”
Lucile’s looked like a gathering of Who’s Who of Gorgeous People. Lexi had never seen so many magnificent creatures. They were warm and welcoming. She suddenly felt right at home with the Crosses.
An impressive man that was a carbon copy of Mika pulled out chairs for her and Rachel and asked if he could get them something to drink.
He leaned close to Lexi and whispered in her ear, “We have brought our own wine. Would you like some?”
She shuddered at the feel of his warm breath on her ear and nodded.
“Just so you know,” an equally beautiful blonde goddess said as she slid into the seat next to her, “he’s taken, but you are welcome to any of the others.”
The table roared with laughter as Amber staked her claim on Adam.
“I am Amber Stone. The Adonis that is getting your refreshments is my husband, Adam. This is Drs. Sara and Jennifer Jordon. They are married to each other. The others are single.”
Adam placed a glass of red wine in front of her and waited for her to taste it.
“This is incredible,” Lexi gasped. “Where did you get this?”
“From Queen Mommy’s private stock.” Rachel laughed. “She is very particular.”
“Queen Mommy would be…?” Lexi waited for someone to finish her sentence.
“Me.” Leah swept into the room amid hoots and wolf whistles from her children. She took the chair at the head of the table. Mika sat on her right. Lexi’s thoughts of Rachel were immediately replaced with thoughts of her mother.
Sara got her mother a glass of water and Mika a glass of wine.
“Why aren’t you having wine?” Lexi asked innocently.
“I would almost kill for a glass of wine,” Leah admitted, “but I’m afraid I have to abstain until after the babies are born.”
Another round of good-natured teasing rocked the table.
“Children, please,” Leah lightly chastised them, “use your inside voices. You will run off Lucile’s other customers.”
Lucile began taking orders around the table, ending with Mika. “And what can I get for you, Cupcake.” She openly flirted with Mika as Mika blushed and her children laughed out loud. A look of understanding passed between Leah and Lucile.
“Mika will have your Caribbean salad with grilled chicken,” Leah ordered for her wife.
“She scares me,” Mika whispered in her wife’s ear as Lucile walked toward the kitchen.
“She scares me, too, dear.” Leah laughed softly. “I really like her. She’s a good lady.”
Mika nodded as her wife slipped her hand more firmly into place on her thigh. Life was good.
“There’s that damn fool with that crazy stallion,” Lucile yelled as she watched a man ride a rearing white horse down Main Street. “There are kids everywhere. That is dangerous. Poor horse doesn’t know what to do. The idiot spurs him forward, while pulling back hard on the reins.”
Almost as if to prove Lucile right, the stallion threw his rider onto the pavement and began to rear and strike at anything close to him. A small, black-haired child fell in front of the terrified horse.
Leah was out the door in an instant. The stallion stood over the child and pawed at her with his hoof. He moved so the child was between his front legs. He jerked his head up as he sensed Leah moving slowly toward him. He threw his head back and trumpeted a shrill scream of fear.
Silence fell over the merrymakers as the dark-haired beauty slowly approached the horse. Her voice was low and soothing. She held out her hand so the horse could sniff it.
“What a good boy you are,” she cooed. “Yes, you are. You are a handsome, good boy.” Leah slowly reached out and touched the horse, gently stroking him with one hand, while sliding her other hand under his headset. She gradually backed him away from the little girl then walked him outside the crowd. She talked to him and stroked him all the way, calming him down.
“Mika, I want him,” Regina whispered to her other mother.
“Who owns this horse?” Leah looked around the crowd.
“I do.” An apoplectic man stormed from the crowd and reached for the horse’s reins. The animal tried to rear, backing away from the man, but Leah maintained control of him.
“I am certain the parents of that child will be suing you.” Leah smiled slightly. “This horse is dangerous and your handling of him is highly inappropriate.”
The man’s face blanched as he thought about a lawsuit. “I will be putting him down tomorrow.” He bristled. “I will make certain he never hurts anyone again.”
“I believe the way you handle him is more to blame for his actions than his nature.” Leah stared down the man. “Perhaps you should be put down.”
“I would like to buy him from you.” Mika stepped forward and began stroking the horse. “How much?”
“Five hundred cash and he is yours,” the man growled.
“If you will step into the diner,” Mika said, “we can conclude this transaction.”
Mika had the man scribble a bill of sale on a piece of paper provided by Lucile. She had Lucile witness her payment of cash to the man.
“Now they can sue you.” The man grinned maliciously as he pocketed the money and stomped from the diner. “I want my tack.”
“I will get a trailer from my place for him.” Lucas smiled as he caught Rachel’s hand. “Go with me?”
“Of course.” She nodded.
Lexi watched in disappointment as Rachel Cross walked out with a handsome, blond man.
##
By the time, Lucas and Rachel returned for the stallion, the street dance was well underway.
They easily loaded the horse into the trailer and Lucas removed his tack. Using the hose behind Lucile’s, he filled a water bucket. “I put some alfalfa and water in the trailer for him,” he said as he carried the tack through the back door of the diner.
As the couple walked onto Main Street, the crowd had lined the sidewalks as they watched the Cross family give a whole new meaning to the term “boot scootin’.”
“Shall we?” Lucas smiled as he slipped his arm around Rachel’s waist and pulled her close. As they joined the dancers in the street, the crowd began to clap, urging the seven couples to compete with one another.
Although Leah was dancing in high heels, she and Mika were hands down the winners.
“Join us.” Mika laughed at the crowd. “We came to dance with you, not for you.”
By the time the evening ended, the Cross family was an integral part of the Godly, Texas community.
Wait until these people learn about the millions they are pouring into this town, Lexi thought as she danced with Jacob. They will worship them.
As others flowed into the street, the Crosses moved back inside Lucile’s. Their table had been cleared, although none of them had eaten their dinner.
Lucile immediately served them fresh, hot meals. “I didn’t think you would want cold food, Sweet Cheeks.” She grinned at Mika.
“You didn’t have to do this.” Mika bowed her head shyly and looked up at Lucile through long lashes. Her sweet grin stole Lucile’s breath. Lucile smiled and walked away.
“You shouldn’t do that to anyone but me,” her wife chided her. As if to emphasize her words, Leah sent a bolt of electricity through Mika, who yelped then laughed.
“I didn’t mean to,” Mika whispered. “That hurt.”
“Just wait until I get you home. I’ll show you hurt.” Her predatory look let Mika know she was in for one hell of a night.
“May we leave now?” Mika grinned.
##
“Thank you so much, Lucas,” Rachel said as she and Lucas turned the white stallion into his own run.
“My pleasure.” Lucas smiled as he laced his fingers through Rachel’s fingers.
They walked back to the Hacienda, discussing the happenings at the street dance. Lucas tried not to breathe too deeply; the scent of her was
intoxicating.
“Is there something wrong with Mika?” Lucas asked.
“No, why do you ask?” Rachel said.
“She occasionally jerks and yelps as if something has stung her,” Lucas explained. “I thought maybe she had some strange disease.”
“Oh, that.” Rachael laughed. “She is just playing with my mom when she does that.”
“Oh.” Lucas frowned. “That is sort of strange.”
“They’ve done that all my life.” Rachel smiled. “I think it is endearing.”
They stood in the middle of the courtyard. The moon was reflecting off her long black hair and mirrored in her soul-searching blue eyes. Lucas had never seen a more beautiful woman. She was as spellbinding as her mother was. His eyes were drawn to her full, red lips. Before he could stop himself, he leaned down and kissed her lips gently.
Lucas’s kiss took Rachel by surprise. She didn’t pull away but leaned into it. He tasted as good as he looked.
“Good night, Lucas. Thank you, again.” She went inside.
Lucas stood in the courtyard, trying to clear his mind. Rachel’s lips had felt like no other he had ever kissed. He was certain he would relive that kiss all night.
##
“Baby, come look at this,” Leah called Mika into the sitting area of their bedroom.
All the local news stations were carrying the footage of the man’s dangerous behavior with the white horse. They ended the story with a gorgeous shot of Leah resting her head against the horse’s head.
“Looks like you are the heroine of the day.” Mika smiled as she leaned down to kiss her. “You’re remarkable with horses.”
“I love to ride.” Leah grinned salaciously. “Horses and my wife.”
“As I said, you are remarkable.” Mika turned toward her closet. “Have you seen my swimsuit?”
“Oh, Mika, baby! Come here.” Leah gasped.
“What is wrong? The babies?” Mika was immediately at her side, concern etched into her beautiful face.
“No, dear, I am fine.” She smiled demurely. “You, however, look as if you spent the night with a grizzly.”
Mika looked down her front—she looked fine—then she looked at her back in the full-length mirror. Every inch of her back was scratched and bitten. “I wondered why my back was stinging,” she said. “You really do need to check me all over when you finish with me. What would we tell our children if I had shown up at the swimming pool looking like this?”