The Goddess Gets Her Guy

by Ashlyn Chase

  Gaia smiled. “Good. We’ll be on our way now.”

  The two of them walked out of the observatory, and as soon as Fate closed the door, she whirled on Gaia. “I guess that truth spell Pan placed on you is gone now.”

  “Thank goodness. Truth sucks. I had no idea the truth hurts so much.”

  Fate rolled her eyes. “Now do you see what you do to others all the friggin’ time?”

  Gaia hung her head and looked contrite. “Yes. Fine. That’s all true. But I’ll have to contemplate that later. We need to get out of here.”

  “Agreed. Let’s go back to that villa in Tuscany and finish our wine.”

  “Sounds like a good idea,” Gaia said.

  But before the two of them disappeared off the California hilltop, Karma returned.

  “What did you do with Pan?” Gaia asked.

  Karma snickered. “I turned him full goat, and now he’s the mascot of a college football team called the Rams.”

  Chapter 10

  “She’s getting out,” Dawn yelled.

  Luca rushed into the kitchen from the backyard. Glancing around the kitchen, he asked, “What? Where?”

  “My mother’s getting out of prison!” She waved a letter.

  “Oh.” He smiled. “I thought you’d trapped a mouse in a jar or something.”

  She laughed as Luca threw his arms around her, giving her a warm hug.

  “Really? Your mom is getting out of prison? When?”

  “It will be in time for our wedding!” Dawn said. “She’s getting out in a couple of days.”

  “If it’s an early release, she’ll probably be on probation in Boston. Sorry, babe. I don’t think she’ll be able to attend.”

  Dawn stepped back and rested her hands on her hips. “She was released for good behavior, and she’s going to a halfway house—not back to the old neighborhood. How can you just dismiss the possibility? She’s my mother, and I want her at our wedding. If there’s any way…”

  Looking at the ground, Luca shook his head. “I’m sorry, babe. I don’t think there is. Probation is all up to the judge. They can pretty much set the conditions any way they want. I doubt many of them would let her leave the state, never mind the mainland.”

  “Then I’ll have to talk to the judge.”

  “You’re going to call the judge in Boston from Puerto Rico and ask him to let your mother take a plane to a tropical island and promise to come back?”

  Dawn gritted her teeth and tried not to spit out the angry words she was thinking. How could he not understand? She would do anything short of moving heaven and earth, and only because she didn’t have that power—but she knew people who did. “I’ve heard of convicts allowed to attend funerals. She’s out on good behavior. There must be some precedent? I know it sounds far-fetched, but I have to try.”

  Luca looked at her gloomily. “Of course you can try. I just don’t want you to get your hopes up.”

  “I can do my best. And if that doesn’t work, what if maybe you and I have our wedding in Boston? I would have waited to move here if I’d thought she could attend. My mom has been in prison for three years. I thought she was going to be there for five. Now she’ll be out in time.”

  “I don’t know, babe. This is sort of a last-minute wrinkle. I’m not sure who to talk to about it. My brother wouldn’t be able to attend if it were in Boston, since everyone there thinks he’s dead. Maybe I can call up one of my old buddies in the Boston Police Department—not that I have a lot of them. Captain Moore was pretty cool. Maybe I can ask her what to do to get your mom down here.”

  Dawn calmed down. She plodded over to their kitchen table and slumped down into a chair. “I know you’re right. I didn’t think it would be easy, but it would be so cool if we could have her here. Trying to relocate the whole wedding up to Boston at the last minute would be ridiculous. Unless…” Her face brightened.

  “Uh-oh. I know that gleam in your eye. You’re getting some kind of idea.”

  Dawn smiled sweetly at her fiancé. “What if we had two weddings? One up there and one down here?”

  Luca scratched his head. “I don’t know… One of the weddings would be legal and one would just be for show. We only have one marriage license. And we’ll only be issued one marriage certificate.”

  “I want to talk to Gran about this. Are you okay with my doing that?”

  “Of course, be my guest. I may want to talk to my dad too.”

  “Fine. You go talk to your dad, and I’ll talk to my grandmother. They live in the same house anyway, so that’s handy. Do you have time now?”

  Lucas brows lifted. “Now? Like right now?”

  “Yeah. Do you have anything going on?”

  Luca checked his watch. “I have a client to meet in a half hour. You go ahead and talk to your grandmother. In fact, that might be better than us talking to different people. I honestly don’t know what my dad would think, but you can bet he’ll state his opinion and insist he’s right. It’s what you and I decide that’s most important. If you need to talk to you grandmother to figure it out, fine. You two know your mother a lot better than I do.”

  Dawn nodded. “That’s true. And Gran’s a savvy woman who won’t lie to me in any way.”

  “That’s what I like about her.” Luca smiled. “Whatever you and your grandmother decide, I’m fine with it, as long as all my brothers can attend.”

  “Okay, it’s a deal. Everything goes off as planned, but we either get my mother here or have another wedding up there.”

  Luca nodded. “Yep. I can deal with either of those things. Just tell me where to show up and when to say ‘I do.’”

  Dawn kissed Luca and grabbed her purse, stuffing the letter inside on her way out the door. All she had to do was walk up the hill to see her grandmother and Luca’s parents in their solid, cinder-block home. She just hoped her Gran was home and not off with the new man in her life. It would be nice if she was out with him, but Dawn selfishly hoped she would be seeing him tonight and not today.

  When Dawn knocked on the door, Gabriella opened it. “Dawn, honey! Come in, come in. You don’t need to knock.”

  “Well, I don’t want to barge in on you and the others. I mean, what if you were having a big orgy or something?”

  Gabriella burst out laughing. “Oh sure. That happens all the time. Come here, you.” They shared a tight hug.

  “Is Gran here?”

  “Yes, she is. Let me go get her.”

  Gabriella strode toward the back of the house, and soon Dawn’s grandmother, Annette, came bustling around the corner. She opened her arms wide.

  “Dawnie!”

  Dawn walked into her grandmother’s embrace, and they hugged hard as if they hadn’t seen each other for weeks when it had been maybe two days.

  “To what do I owe the honor of this visit?” her grandmother asked.

  “Oh, Gran. You’re being silly. Although I do have some news, and I need to talk to you about it.”

  Her grandmother took her hand and walked her into the kitchen. “Have a seat, sweetie.”

  Dawn took an empty chair at the kitchen island and wondered where Mr. Fierro was. Chances were good he was out helping his sons rebuild homes on the island. If Gabriella was trying to stay out of the way so they could talk, it wouldn’t surprise her.

  “Can I get you a cup of tea or coffee?” Annette asked.

  “Sure. Tea, please.” As Annette put some bottled water into the teapot to boil, Dawn asked, “Did you get a letter from my mom?”

  “No. Should I have?”

  Dawn pulled the letter out of her purse and handed it to her grandmother.

  Annette scanned it, and her jaw dropped. “Lissie’s getting out early?”

  Dawn grinned and nodded enthusiastically.

  Annette read the rest of the letter and then p
laced an arm around Dawn’s shoulders, squeezing her sideways. “This is good news.”

  Dawn leaned back and scrutinized her grandmother’s face. “This is great news! You don’t seem very excited.”

  “Oh, I am. I love and miss my daughter. I just worry that it may be another one of those times when she’ll break my heart.”

  Dawn took a deep breath and reminded herself that her grandmother had picked up the pieces whenever her mother had let them down. Gran had basically raised her. Her mother had been pretty unreliable, even when she wasn’t in prison. “I know, Gran. I was hoping she could come to the wedding. Luca said he’d be cool with it, but that she’d be on probation and unable to leave the state.”

  Dawn’s grandmother sighed. “That’s probably true. However, judges have been known to allow unusual visits, and since she’s been on such good behavior, perhaps her probation officer can ask the judge’s permission for her to attend your wedding.”

  “That’s what I was hoping. Is there any way we can help make that happen?”

  Annette shook her head slowly. “I wouldn’t interfere if I were you. But I would suggest you write her back as soon as possible and tell her she’s invited. Don’t give her too many details, and tell her you’d love to have her visit and attend the wedding if she can get her probation officer to agree. We don’t want to do anything to get her into more trouble.”

  Dawn’s bubble burst. “You don’t think she would just take off and come here, violating her probation, do you?”

  “Lord, I hope not.”

  “We do want her to move down here eventually, right? That’s what we’ve been saying all along. And it sounded like she wanted that too.”

  “Oh yes. I want your mother to have the fresh start she deserves. She’s worked really hard for that early release, and she’s been clean and sober, attending the AA and NA meetings they have there.”

  “Yes, that’s what she told us. Apparently, it’s true, if she’s getting out early.”

  Annette nodded. “I would like to see her get a fresh start here as much as you. But things have to be planned, and she’s not been the most patient person when it comes to planning, waiting, and doing things one step at a time.”

  “Don’t assume she can’t do it without giving her the chance to try,” Dawn said.

  “I’m not saying that at all.”

  The teapot whistled.

  “I have some instant coffee, if you’d rather have that. There’s not a lot of milk to put in coffee. Can you drink it black?” Annette asked.

  “I’d rather have tea. Unless I can put lots of cream and sugar in my coffee, it just tastes bitter.”

  “I know what you mean. In a way, I’m glad you’re getting this experience.”

  “What experience is that?”

  “Not having everything available that you’re used to. I think kids—I mean, young people of your generation—can get a little spoiled. You have at least a dozen choices of brands and flavors of everything on the grocery store shelves. Down here, you’re lucky if there’s two of something.”

  Dawn smiled. “Well, I guess. But it hasn’t really bothered me. I understand the island has experienced a lot of losses. We’re lucky to have a few well-stocked stores.”

  “I think I can better understand what my daughter’s been through for the last few years,” Annette said. “I’m sure there were plenty of things she wished she could get even one of.”

  “That’s true. Maybe she won’t have as difficult a time adjusting to Puerto Rico as we did. But who knows if she’ll be able to come here to stay soon or if she’ll have to spend another two years serving probation in Boston? I worry about her getting into trouble again up there. A lot of gang members were sentenced to twenty years or more for little Mandy’s kidnapping, but there were some that had nothing to do with it. They’re still out there and—unless I’m very wrong—still dealing drugs.”

  “Let’s draft a letter together, Dawnie. We can let her know we’re both excited about her progress and would love to see her, either up there or down here, whatever she’s allowed to do. We’ll make a visit happen either way.”

  “That’s a great idea.”

  “I’ll be right back with a pen and paper,” Annette said.

  Dawn sat at the table, letting her tea steep, wondering if she would see her mom before or after the big day. It would be nice to have her in attendance, but Luca was right. She shouldn’t count on anything.

  She sat bolt upright. Wait! Maybe there was a way!

  * * *

  “I’m done dating humans! Can you believe he fainted just because of a little truth spell?”

  Fate sighed. “You did tell him you were Mother Nature. And when you proved it, well, what did you expect?”

  Gaia took a sip of her wine and looked out over the vineyards from the villa’s terrace. “Look, my point is humans are too frail. They couldn’t possibly handle me. So I’m done with dating.”

  Fate threw up her hands. “Karma! Karma, come here.”

  Their redheaded sister appeared, wearing spike-heeled black boots, a black leather miniskirt, and some kind of animal-print top, not real, of course. “Now what do you want?” She folded her arms and looked upset.

  “Are we interrupting something?” Gaia asked. “We don’t really need you for this conversation.”

  Fate slapped her hand on the lounge chair arm and said, “Oh yes, we do.”

  Karma muttered something under her breath and pulled up a lounge chair. Settling into it, she said, “Okay, lay it on me. The latest bit of karma I have to dole out can wait. Sheesh, I hate mean girls.”

  “I don’t blame you,” Fate said. “There seems to be so many of them these days.”

  “Thanks to the internet,” Gaia added. “Or so I’ve heard.”

  “Yes, but there’s still hope. I’ve seen bumper stickers that say Mean people suck.” Fate chuckled. “But let’s get to the reason I called you.”

  “Yes, I’m curious about that too.” The goddess of all ran her fingers through her long white hair and feigned disinterest.

  “Gaia has sworn off humans. And I understand why. However, I do not want her to give up completely, so it seems as if we’re going to have to talk her into dating paranormals.”

  Gaia leaned over and placed her head in her hands, then shook her head vehemently. “No. No. No. That’s not a good idea.”

  “Why?” Karma asked. “It seems like the perfect solution. They’re all aware of you, or most of them are. So why wouldn’t that be an obvious solution?”

  Gaia raised her head, frowning. “I’ve been so hard on them. Expected too much of them. I just know they think I’m an ass and I never apologize.”

  Karma laughed. “Well, it’s about time you learned how.”

  “I don’t think so. I’ll lose all my authority, and some of them have some pretty serious powers. I must keep them in line. It’s for their own protection!”

  Fate smiled. “If that’s all you’re worried about, I’m sure we can work around it. They will still respect you. In fact, I think they’ll respect you more. If you have something to apologize for and you do it sincerely, I really think they’ll appreciate it and they won’t take advantage of you because of it.”

  “Honestly, I believe that will inspire more loyalty if anything,” Karma added.

  “I’ll think about it.”

  Karma rolled her eyes. “We know what you really mean when you say ‘I’ll think about it.’ It means you won’t consider it, but you just don’t want to appear like a butthole.”

  “That’s not true. Well, okay, maybe it is a little true or was in the past. I’m doing things differently now.”

  “Like what?” Fate asked.

  “Are you kidding me? This whole dating thing is new and different for me.”

  “And you just said
you’re not going to do it anymore. So how are you doing things any differently?” Karma asked.

  Gaia was silent. She rotated her glass and watched the wine swirl around.

  Karma cleared her throat. “Gaia, you know we love you. You know we wouldn’t steer you wrong…on purpose. Fate is right. You owe the paranormals an apology for being too harsh. That kangaroo court thing you did, that was something you can apologize for. Start with that.”

  “Are you kidding me?” Gaia shot to her feet. “That’s not something I did wrong. They violated my only rule! Never expose their powers to humans.”

  “Which is what you did with the astronomer,” Fate reminded her.

  “That wasn’t my fault. I was under a spell.”

  Karma rose. “Think about it. How would you feel if you were yanked into a courtroom and put on trial for falling in love? That’s all they did. They happened to fall in love with humans, and only after they knew they could trust them completely did they share their paranormal status. Nothing bad happened.”

  Gaia scratched her head. “I hadn’t thought of it like that. Okay, okay. I’ll think about apologizing. I’m not guaranteeing I will. But I promise I’ll consider it.”

  “That’s a start,” Fate said. “I think you are changing for the better.”

  “Now, if only human beings would change for the better and treat my beautiful planet the way it should be treated, a lot of my anger would dissipate.”

  Karma put her arm around Gaia. “I know what you mean. We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. And we’ll do it together.”

  * * *

  Gaia thought and thought about it. She sat on a rock overlooking one of her favorite spots in Maui. The water was warm and softly lapping at her feet. She was trying to ignore the volcano on the next island. So she went to the other side. “I had nothing to do with that,” she mumbled under her breath. “That was all Pele.”

  Gaia was wondering if she should confront Pele or if the goddess had a good reason for blowing her top. Either way, she was tired of confronting everyone, especially now that she had done it badly and had to think about apologizing. It was something she had never done before. Of course, she hadn’t lost it like that before either. She had never yanked a bunch of her special children into a courtroom, set them on bleachers in midair, and then unleashed a frightening tirade.