The Goddess Gets Her Guy

by Ashlyn Chase

  “She’s great. Her broken hip is all healed. You’d never know she broke it. And guess what? She’s actually dating a wonderful man. She loves Puerto Rico.”

  “I was surprised to hear she wasn’t coming back. I never thought you’d get her to leave her house.”

  Dawn laughed. “I know. It was the Fierro family who convinced her. And I refused to go without her. That would’ve kept Luca away from his family, because he wouldn’t go without me. I think Gran knew how close he was to his family. She didn’t want to be the cause of any rift there, and they’ve been so good to her. When she broke her hip and we had to take her out of the hospital, they took her in, and Gabriella fussed over her while she healed.”

  Someone interrupted by clearing her throat. Dawn and Lissie looked up, and Dawn recognized her karma officer, Lynda. She jumped up and ran into her open arms. “Lynda! I didn’t know you were coming.”

  “You know my probation officer?” Lissie asked.

  Dawn grinned. “Yeah. In a way, she was mine too.” She pulled Lynda aside. “Does my mother know about your other job?”

  “Yes. She’s a client.”

  Dawn squealed and pulled Lynda into the living room. They sat on the couches near each other, but Dawn took a seat next to her mom.

  Lynda beamed. “You look wonderful, Dawn. I just knew Luca would take good care of you.”

  “We take good care of each other.” Dawn took her mother’s hand and squeezed it. “I wish I could introduce him to you. You would love him.”

  “Actually,” Lynda said, “that might be possible. I pulled a few strings and got special permission for your mom to attend your wedding.”

  “You did?” Dawn jumped up and hugged Lynda, then returned to her spot on the couch and hugged a stunned Lissie.

  “How did you manage that?” Lissie asked.

  Lynda winked. “Karma and I have our ways. Plus, your hard work and great attitude helped!”

  “I haven’t always had the best attitude.”

  “We’re not talking about the past. We’re watching you demonstrate a genuine psychic change now. That’s what second chances are for.”

  * * *

  Luca Fierro and Dawn Forrest had picked their wedding venue carefully. It was on a beach at the foot of an old fort. The mood was casual. Their guests were able to sit on a concrete wall overlooking the small beach. The couple stood on the sand, wearing their new wedding clothes. Dawn was stunning.

  Both wore white. “Virgins don’t have a monopoly on bright white,” Gabriella had said, and Annette agreed. Leave it to those two to be appropriately inappropriate.

  Dawn’s short, strapless dress boasted loads of lace and tulle, adding some volume to her slim body. She had complained that women envied her fast metabolism and hated that she could eat as much as a man without gaining an ounce. She was a little self-conscious of her small breasts and would have liked to put on a few pounds, but Luca thought she looked perfect.

  They had no maid of honor or best man because there were too many brothers and sisters-in-law to choose from. They were each other’s best friends, so they’d decided to do away with one more tradition. It was just the two of them and the officiant standing on the sandy beach.

  The preacher wore a long, black robe over his clothes and stood nearest to the shore—about four feet away from the gentle waves lapping at the sand. Luca hoped he didn’t stumble backward.

  Luca gazed at his beautiful bride, who took his breath away. Dawn’s brown hair had grown out from the initial spiky hairdo she had sported when they met to a short Audrey Hepburn kind of look, with her bangs scrolling to one side, by the time they had their first official date. Now, she had enough length to actually make an updo. A few strands had escaped and blew in the wind, but that was Dawn. Her energy could not be contained, and he loved that about her.

  “Is everyone here?” the reverend asked. Dawn and Luca glanced at the guests sitting on the wall, making a semicircle around their spot, and agreed that yes, everyone they were expecting had arrived.

  So many people were not only family but friends to both of them. They had decided early on that no matter where they had their ceremony, they didn’t want aisles with a bride’s side and a groom’s side. Dawn’s side would have been nearly empty and Luca’s overflowing.

  Dawn’s mother sat with her grandmother right in the center. They were already weeping tears of joy. Diego handed Annette his handkerchief.

  Luca’s mother and father were sitting next to Lissie. His brothers and their wives filled in the rest of the spots on either side. Dante and Mallory, Jayce and Kristine, Miguel and Sandra. Gabe and a very pregnant Misty chose to stand on the walkway immediately behind the wall, their son, Tony, sitting atop Gabe’s shoulders. Most were sitting on the edge of the wall, feet dangling.

  At one far end sat Luca’s eldest brother, Ryan, and sister-in-law Chloe, all the way from Ireland.

  And at the opposite end, Luca saw Noah and Kizzy and her sister, Ruth, holding her baby girl, and Ruth’s new beau, José, plus Dr. Samuels and a woman he didn’t recognize.

  Then realization struck. Oh my God…dess! It was Mother Nature herself!

  She held hands with Aaron Samuels, Ruth and Kizzy’s father. How on earth did they get her to come? Luca glanced at Dawn and wondered if he should tell her. Would that make her more nervous?

  “Go ahead, Padre,” Antonio called out from the attendees. “Nobody’s getting any younger up here.” A few chuckles followed Antonio’s inside joke.

  The minister nodded. “Dearly beloved…” He started in the usual manner and spoke the familiar words of a traditional wedding, but what Luca and Dawn had planned right after the ceremony was anything but traditional.

  They faced each other, holding hands, and he couldn’t help grinning at her from time to time. She always returned his grin with one of her own plus a giggle or two.

  The minister had a message long before the I dos, and Luca liked what he heard.

  “Love is endless forgiveness,” the reverend said. “This I say because you’re human and will make mistakes.”

  Luca raised one eyebrow at Dawn, who bit her lower lip and looked like she was trying to stifle a laugh. They were not exactly human, but yes, they would still make mistakes.

  “When you make those mistakes, be it forgetting to do something or doing something you hadn’t intended to do, don’t let it divide you. Face all situations together. Work it out together. Compromise when you should. And always, always forgive and love each other.” He droned on with a few more bits of advice for couples in love, and Luca couldn’t help glancing over at Gaia. She was staring at the officiant with rapt attention.

  She and Aaron holding hands wasn’t news but still struck him as amazing. A lot of the other couples were holding hands too, of course. His parents, his brothers and their wives, even Dawn’s grandmother held hands on both sides. Her left hand curled around Lissie’s, and her right was enveloped in Diego’s. He was glad the older woman had found happiness. She deserved it after doing such a wonderful job raising Dawn when her mother couldn’t.

  The reverend eventually got to the vows.

  Finally! Luca didn’t think he and Dawn could wait much longer for their surprise. The vows were simple but personal, promising to love and respect each other, to help each other grow, and to support each other as they reached for their dreams.

  The reverend turned to Luca and asked if he had the rings. Luca took the rings out of his pocket, handed his larger one to Dawn, and held onto her smaller one. “Ready when you are, Padre.”

  The officiant said, “Do you, Dawn, take Luca to be your lawfully wedded husband, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, for as long as you both shall live?”

  “I do,” Dawn said. She placed Luca’s ring on his finger without waiting to be told to do so.

  The reveren
d smiled.

  “Do you, Luca, take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?”

  “I sure do—unconditionally,” Luca said, not even waiting to hear the “for richer or poorer” part. Everyone chuckled. Luca didn’t think it was necessary when talking about unconditional love. Happily, the reverend just went with it and didn’t back up or correct him.

  “Place the ring on her finger.”

  He slid the simple gold band on Dawn’s ring finger. It looked perfect, even with the diamond ring that was already there—just like how the two of them suited each other despite their wildly different backgrounds.

  The reverend pronounced them husband and wife, and after a long kiss and enthusiastic applause from their guests, they were ready for their surprise.

  As soon as their lips parted, Dawn whirled around, letting Luca unzip her wedding dress, which fell to the ground while everyone gasped. The crowd giggled or groaned when they saw she was wearing a white strapless bathing suit beneath.

  Then Luca threw off his tie, and rather than unbuttoning his shirt, which would take too long, he just ripped it open, then unzipped his white pants and stepped out of them. He too was wearing a white bathing suit beneath. The two of them held hands and ran into the ocean.

  Laughter and applause followed them as they swam out to deeper water. As they bobbed in the waves, Luca looked up, as did Dawn, and saw the entire guest list standing along the wall laughing and waving. They grinned and waved back.

  Antonio called down, “Did you two feel like you needed to be baptized on the same day?”

  Then a speedboat appeared from the other side of the rocky shore, slowing the engine and maneuvering to pick up the couple. Luca helped Dawn onto the boat’s ladder, then jumped up and followed her.

  “No, Dad,” he called, finally answering the elder’s question. “We just couldn’t wait to get started on our honeymoon.”

  Dawn pointed to two carry-on bags. “We’re all packed and ready to go!”

  He sat next to Dawn and kissed her with all the passion he could safely unleash. Then he put his arm around her, and they sped off into the sunset.

  * * *

  Gaia picked up some unusual energy, then she looked over at Gabriella’s red face and realized she was livid.

  “Don’t they realize we have a party planned for them?”

  “You’re the one who wanted to surprise them with a big thing.” Antonio just shook his head and laughed. “I think the surprise is on you!”

  Gabriella threw her hands in the air.

  Antonio put his arm around her. “The boy has always done things his own way, hon. Why should his wedding be any different?”

  Gabriella sighed, then faced the attendees and announced, “There’s still a party back at our house, without the bride and groom unfortunately. But that doesn’t mean we can’t have a lot of fun with good food, music, and dancing. There’s even a flamenco dancer waiting to teach us some moves!”

  Lots of the attendees seemed excited about the party and grabbed each other’s hands, racing off to their various vehicles.

  “When is this going to take place?” Gaia asked their hostess.

  “Right now,” Gabriella said.

  “We’d better get going, or everyone will beat us back there,” Antonio called out. Then he and Gabriella ran for their car too.

  Gaia looked toward Aaron. “Is this something you want to attend?”

  “I think I should. And I would like to bring you too, if you’re available.”

  “But I wasn’t invited.”

  Aaron chuckled. “I don’t think anyone received formal invitations. You’re here at the ceremony and heard them invite everyone to their house for a party. I don’t think it’s a very formal, sit-down thing where the number of guests matters.” Then Aaron placed his hands on both her shoulders. “But first, I have a surprise for you. Wait right here. I’ve hidden it in the fort.”

  “A surprise, for me?”

  Aaron grinned. “I didn’t know if I could pull off a surprise, but I figured I’d try. I’m glad you don’t know everything I’m going to do so I still can surprise you once in a while.”

  “Is it a nice surprise?”

  “I hope so.” He placed a finger under her chin and looked deep into her eyes. “I hope to have only nice surprises for you.” He leaned over and gave her a gentle peck on her cheek. Because they had an audience, he didn’t follow up with the passion that shone in his eyes.

  He stepped away and said, “Okay, I’ll be back in a few minutes. Wait right here.”

  As everyone else was getting into their vehicles, he jogged across the street and up the hill until he disappeared into the fort. Gaia sat on the wall and wondered what he could have hidden to surprise her with.

  As the guests were driving off toward Antonio and Gabriella’s house, she couldn’t help wondering if she was really welcome or not. She had been so bitchy… She wouldn’t be surprised if most paranormals wanted to avoid her. Humans who knew who she was also feared her. Most of the time they didn’t have a clue so it didn’t matter, but most of these people, except maybe one or two, knew exactly who she was.

  Ruth had finished strapping her baby into the car seat in the back of José’s car and was just about to get in when she noticed Gaia still sitting there by herself. She bent down and said something to José and then closed the car door and walked over to Mother Nature.

  “Aren’t you coming?”

  “I…I don’t know if I’m invited or not. Your father said to wait here. Apparently, he has some kind of surprise, and he hid it in the fort. We might stop by later.”

  Ruth grinned. “That is so unlike my dad. You must be very good for him. I don’t think I’ve seen him this happy in a long time.”

  Gaia nodded. “I’m more relaxed too because of him. I guess we’re good for each other.”

  Ruth surprised her by leaning over and kissing her on the cheek. “Thank you.”

  Gaia leaned back and looked at her with surprise. “What are you thanking me for?”

  “For making my father happy. Like I said, I haven’t seen him this happy and relaxed in years. I was too young to remember much about the time when my mom was alive, but I seem to remember he was pretty happy then. For most of my life he’s seemed a little sad and withdrawn. He’s finally acting like his younger self again. I think some men are just lonely without realizing it.”

  Mother Nature nodded and let her eyes wander off toward the fort. Was Aaron like that? Lonely without even knowing it? Had he never had another woman since Ruth and Kizzy’s mother died? She didn’t want to bring that up right now. Ruth was on her way to a party, and it wouldn’t be a good idea to bring up her deceased mother. Besides, she could always ask Aaron when they had a few moments alone.

  “Well, I’ll see you at the party,” Ruth said.

  “I guess so.” Gaia smiled and waved.

  She watched as Ruth and her date drove away. Ruth’s baby in the car seat just completed the happy family picture. Even though the relationship was new, Gaia knew it would grow and flourish.

  She leaned back and let the sun beat down on her face. It was another one of her beautiful days. She was able to do a few things for this devastated island. She made it sunny during the day and let the gentle rains fall at night. People didn’t usually notice things going well, but that was good. She hoped nobody noticed her little blessings. It was better if they didn’t.

  After waiting nearly half an hour, she became concerned. Where had Aaron gone? She closed her eyes and tried to zero in on his energy. Tried to being the operative words. She couldn’t feel him. Anywhere! He wasn’t hiding. Even if invisible, he didn’t have the power to hide his energy.

  Suddenly realizing something was very wrong, she charged off into the fort to look for him. Retracing what was left of his energy signature, she came
upon a small potted plant hidden behind a large stone. Picking it up, she recognized the little heart plant, but there were two of them, growing out of the same stem. Odd. Did he discover the anomaly and think of them? Two hearts sharing the same nutrients?

  She cradled the plant to her breast as tears sprang to her eyes.

  Chapter 17

  Aaron came to, tied to a tree. As he looked around, his vision cleared, but he wasn’t sure he was seeing properly yet. Amid an Alpine forest, a furry figure that couldn’t actually exist smirked at him.

  “Who the hell are you?” Aaron demanded of the strange half goat/half man.

  “You’ve never heard of the god Pan?”

  Aaron frowned. “Are you telling me you’re a god?”

  “Yes. What’s so hard to believe?”

  “Gaia told me you were causing problems for her, but that was quite a while ago. I thought you had probably come to your senses and moved on.”

  Pan laughed. “Come to my senses? If anyone needs a reality check, it’s you, mortal. You think you’re good enough for the goddess of all?”

  “She seems to like me.”

  “For now. She will get tired of your limitations before long.”

  “How do you know?” Aaron pulled at the ropes binding him to the tree. They held fast. “Gaia?” he called out. “Gaia!”

  “Aww. You need her to rescue you, don’t you? What a shame that you’re so helpless and she doesn’t know where you are.”

  “Where am I then?”

  “I brought you to my own personal forest. It doesn’t exist on earth, so she’ll never be able to find you.” He laughed maniacally.

  “If I’m not on earth, where am I?”

  “We’re in a galaxy far, far away.” He giggled.

  “Okaaaay… If there’s no one around to help me, why do you have me tied up?”

  “It’s for your own protection. If I untied you, you’d run away, and you could fall right off the edge of my planet.”

  Aaron almost laughed. He’d heard of flat-earthers. They were people who insisted the earth was flat, took things literally—and if they couldn’t see something with their own eyes, they refused to believe its existence, and that was that.