Damon, Lee

by Again the Magic

  "Hmmmm." Opening one eye but still kissing Midge, Ez strolled toward the back door.

  Chapter 4

  After almost thirty years' experience with Ez's single-mindedness, Kitt did not expect to see Midge back in the shop before closing. As the clock hands inched up to five o'clock, she crossed her fingers that Midge could continue to keep Ez occupied and unaware of the hour until O'Mara and Gus had time to arrive and arrange their confrontation with maximum effect. Kitt saw the last customer out just after five, but sheleft on the lights and opened the door partway so O'Mara would know where she was.

  With her eyes scanning the backyard through the sliding glass doors, Kitt walked quietly toward the rear of the shop. As she neared the doors and her view widened, she realized that the yard was empty. Just as she paused, wondering where Midge, Ez and Hero could have gone, she heard Ez's deep laugh from the side of the patio. She inched slowly to her right, leaning forward until she could see Ez's feet on the bottom edge of a lounger. Taking another step forward, she had a full view of Ez, half-turned away from her, stretched out comfortably in the lounger with Midge nestled in his lap and Hero sprawled along his legs.

  Catching Midge's eye while Ez's attention was concentrated on nuzzling her neck, Kitt made a "staying" motion with both hands and mouthed, "Keep him there." Midge untangled one hand from Ez's hair, gave an "okay" sign and happily set her mind on making him forget about time.

  Kitt returned to the desk and quickly closed out the register, counting the cash and bagging it to take upstairs and put in the safe. She had just finished when she heard a car pull into the lot. Glancing at the back door to make sure Ez was still out of sight, she moved swiftly to the front of the shop just as O'Mara came through the door.

  For a moment, all she could see was the big, again-familiar man standing there, holding out his hands to her and smiling into her eyes. She clasped his hands and found herself caught up in the intensity of his very blue, very warm gaze. Neither of them seemed able to speak, but before they had time to become completely lost in each other, a slight movement and a muted "Wow!" from beside O'Mara distracted Kitt.

  She pulled her eyes away from O'Mara's and looked to her right for the source of that "Wow!" She blinked and found herself looking down into O'Mara's eyes! Impossible! I've just fallen into the rabbit hole. He's shrunk! No two people could have eyes that color.

  Kitt swayed with shock and felt O'Mara's hands tighten on hers. Dazed, she looked back and forth between the tall man and the tall, thin boy standing beside him, both of them wearing identical grins as they chuckled at her stunned expression. It's a time warp, thought Kitt, and I've got the adult O'Mara and the child O'Mara here at the same time.

  "Kitt, I'd like you to meet Gus," said O'Mara, still chuckling. "Gus, this is Kitt. Now do you believe me?"

  Kitt stared at the boy, totally bemused by those sapphire O'Mara eyes looking so incredible in the young face and somehow knowing her just as his father's did. O'Mara let go of her hands as Gus stretched out his right hand to her.

  "Hi. I'm very pleased to meet you, Kitt." He held her hand tightly and tilted his head, quirking an inquiring eyebrow in a gesture she'd seen O'Mara make dozens of times. "Are you all right? Dad said you'd be surprised, but—" He looked up at his father in concern.

  "I... ah... yes, I'm okay." With a strong effort, Kitt pulled herself together and smiled at Gus. "I'm really perfectly fine. I was just... Your father, your very sneaky, sly father, who has a warped sense of humor, did not tell me that you looked just like him. Exactly like him. It's uncanny, but I'm sure I'll get used to it."

  She gave O'Mara a ferocious scowl, then looked back at Gus with a delighted grin. "You and I are going to be the best of friends. I can tell. Now, what was this your father wanted you to believe?"

  "He said you were someone very special and that I'd love you on sight." He looked at her with a familiar intentness and then stepped closer, tugging at her hand. "I think he's right. If you'll bend down a little, I can kiss you."

  Laughing, Kitt leaned over and Gus kissed her on the cheek. He stepped back with a look of relief on his face, saying, "There. Enough mushy stuff. Dad says big girls like to be kissed, but I don't see what's so great about it."

  "Oh, you will. No doubt about it." Kitt chuckled. "You are very definitely a trainee O'Mara."

  "What's that mean?"

  She leaned over and whispered in his ear, "I'll explain it sometime when you father's not listening." She slanted a teasing look up at O'Mara and found him watching them with what she considered an intolerably smug expression. She gave him an I'll-get-you-for-this look.

  "It's a deal," said Gus, recalling her attention. He looked around the shop and then up at Kitt. "Dad said you had a super dog. Can I see him? And he said your brother was going to be here and that he's a crazy bear." He looked around again, his eyes sparkling with excitement. "Is he here?"

  "They're both out back with Midge. She's keeping them distracted so you and your dad can surprise Ez. Tell you what—let's go down here by the desk. Gus, you stand over there out of sight for a few minutes, and you, Mr. Sly Know-It-All," she growled at O'Mara, "can sit on the edge of the desk. No, the other way, facing the front door. Great. Oh, wait. Here, take this. Pretend you're reading. Okay, now, hold your places. You're on."

  Stifling her laughter, Kitt skipped to the back and slid open the door. "Ez," she called, "come on in a minute. There's someone here that I'm sure you'd like to meet."

  Pushing Hero off his legs but still holding Midge in one arm, Ez rose smoothly to his feet and started for the door. "Who is it?"

  "Ez, for heaven's sake," exclaimed Kitt, shaking her head at him in exasperation, "put that girl down. You can't just carry her around like some kind of a pet."

  He stopped in front of Kitt and looked questioningly into Midge's flushed face. "Would you really rather walk?" he asked, with genuine interest, almost as if the idea were somehow abnormal. At her choked "Yes!" he set her carefully on her feet and looked puzzledly down into her sparkling brown eyes, now on a level with his chest.

  "I don't know why you want to be way down there. It's much easier to talk up here. I'm going to get a crick in my neck." He looked rather put out at the thought of such inconvenience, and Midge and Kitt exchanged amused looks. After a moment, Ez turned his attention back to his sister. "Who is it that I should meet?"

  "One of your favorite authors. He came into the shop this morning, and I invited him back to meet you." With difficulty, she managed to keep a straight face. "It's Michael Talbot. He lives just outside town." She stood back to let Ez and Midge through the door, Hero wriggling in between their feet.

  "Hey, great!" exclaimed Ez, dropping an arm across Midge's shoulders to hold her beside him as they all started toward the front of the shop. "That's one writer I'd really enjoy talking with."

  "Oh, you will, you will," muttered Kitt, trying not to give anything away. She brought them all to a halt a few feet away from the tall figure sitting on the edge of the desk. "Mr. Talbot, I'd like to introduce my brother, Ez Tate."

  As O'Mara stood up and turned around, Ez moved forward and then froze in shock, one foot in the air and his right hand half-raised, as he first recognized and then accepted the reality of O'Mara standing in front of him.

  "Saint George and all his bloody dragons," came out as an amazed whisper, followed immediately by a joyful bellow of "O'MARA!" which completely drowned out the laughter of Midge, Kitt and Gus. The laughter turned to cries of alarm, overridden by Kitt's yell of "You great idiot, put him down!" as Ez, enthusiastically uninhibited in showing his affection, grabbed O'Mara in a bear hug and lifted the taller man completely off his feet.

  Gus watched them, open-mouthed and goggle-eyed, barely able to believe what he was seeing. O'Mara hardly had enough breath left to laugh, and after a few seconds his hands flicked in quick motion. With a grunted "Hey!" Ez let go of him and stepped back, roaring with laughter, then started throwing quick, jabbing punches wh
ich O'Mara easily blocked. Within seconds, the two big men were cat-footing around each other trading punches and karate chops and laughing uproariously.

  Kitt, Midge and Gus, with a sure instinct for self-preservation, took refuge on the long checkout desk while Hero scrambled under his chair out of harm's way. Tucking their feet under their legs on the desk, the fascinated boy and the two women settled down to watch the show.

  "What happens if one of them connects?" Midge asked interestedly.

  "Well," Kitt said judiciously, "if O'Mara hits Ez in the head, nothing. Ez has a head like a rock. Same is true of his chest and stomach. O'Mara might slow him down a bit if one of those karate chops lands on a kidney or if he kicks him in the shin. Ez doesn't like that; it's how I slow him down."

  Gus looked wonderingly from Kitt to Midge and back to Kitt. "Aren't you going to stop them? You act like you aren't even worried. Your brother's awful big. And strong. He picked Dad right up. What if he hits him?"

  Kitt put her arm around the boy's shoulders and smiled down at him. "No way would I get into the middle of that. They'd floor me and never even know it. Don't worry, Gus. They used to do this all the time, and neither of them ever got hurt. Besides, watch your dad. He moves faster than a blink. I doubt if Ez could touch him even if he were really trying."

  Gus watched them for a moment and then looked up at Kitt. "You're sure?"

  "Promise. They're only playing."

  Kitt eyed the two men carefully, comparing them as they were now with the way she remembered them the last time they had roughhoused together. Both of them had filled out with solid muscle as they matured. However, Ez was broader and heavier through the shoulders and chest, while O'Mara had a rangy, sinewy build. Both were slim-hipped and long-legged, although Ez looked heavier in the thighs because of his exceptionally well-developed "halfback" muscles. O'Mara was an inch taller and had a slightly longer reach, but Ez could give him close to twenty pounds.

  A small frown appeared between Kitt's eyes as she watched O'Mara intently. There was something new about the way he moved, an unusual quickness in his reactions, an instinct to move in the least expected direction. It almost looked as though he had practiced and trained to react unnaturally. He's holding back, Kitt thought. If this were for real, he'd have had Ez down in the first minute.

  Kitt looked over Gus's head toward Midge. "What do you think, Midge? Enough is enough? We've been left out of this reunion too long."

  "How are you going to break it up?"

  "Easy." Kitt threw back her head and let out a piercing rebel yell. Ez and O'Mara immediately stepped back from each other and flipped up their hands in a "draw" sign.

  "You called?" O'Mara laughed as he started to walk toward Kitt.

  "I just thought that since Ez wasn't getting anywhere with you, he might like to try his luck with a smaller O'Mara." Kitt stood up, pulling Gus off the desk to stand in front of her, facing Ez. "What do you think, muscleman? Would you have any better luck with this one?" She grinned understandingly at Ez's incredulous expression as his eyes darted between Gus and O'Mara.

  She saw the delighted smile spreading over his face and just had time to mutter "Brace yourself in Gus's ear before Ez swooped on him and swung him high in the air over his head.

  "Ah ha!" he roared. "At last! An O'Mara I can handle with one hand." He flipped the laughing boy around and brought him down to sit on his shoulders. Turning to speak to O'Mara, he caught the words back and narrowed his eyes in speculation when he saw the look on O'Mara's face as he watched Kitt.

  "Tell you what, old buddy. The little one over there," said Ez, chuckling and nodding toward Midge, "is all mine, but I'll divvy up the other two with you. I'll share Kitt if you'll share this twig, here."

  "Ez! You—" Kitt felt the telltale color flaming in her cheeks and hissed at her twin when he laughed and winked at O'Mara. "You two!" she sputtered, shaking her fist at them. "Twelve years, and nothing, but nothing, has changed! Get you two together and you're totally impossible."

  Kitt was just beginning to consider methods of retribution when Gus brought everyone's attention back to practical matters.

  "Hey, Kitt, now that I've met the crazy bear, where's your dog?"

  "Who's a crazy bear?" growled Ez, reaching up to take Gus's hands and then flipping him up and over in a somersault and setting him gently on his feet.

  Gus laughed up at him. "You are! My dad said you were, and you really are." He turned around as Kitt called his name and then dropped to his knees and held out his hands toward Hero, who was hovering at Kitt's feet. "Oh, wow, he's neat."

  "Hero, meet Gus. New friend."

  Hero trotted forward, briefly sniffed Gus's hand, took two more steps and stood on his hind legs, resting his front paws on the boy's shoulders, and licked his nose. Gus giggled and threw his arms around the dog, reaching instinctively to rub him behind the ears with one hand.

  "Oh, Kitt, he's super. Is his name really Hero? Sometimes dogs have long, fancy names, but you call them by nicknames."

  "You're right, and 'Hero' is sort of a nickname. His real name is Hieroglyphic."

  "Hiero—who? What kind of a name is that?"

  "Hieroglyphic. It's old Egyptian picture-writing. Basenjis were once the royal dogs of Egypt, so I gave him an Egyptian name. However, the crazy bear shortened it to 'Hero' because he said he felt like a fool yelling 'Here, Hieroglyphic' all over the park."

  Gus twisted around and tilted his head back to look up at Ez with a grin. "I wish I'd seen that. It must have been funny."

  Kitt stood transfixed, staring down at the handsome boy, and from a deep, long-buried dream a thought rose and burned across her mind. He could have been mine. Oh, God, if only... he'd be mine now. Her throat closed with a painful, choking emotion, and she could feel tears of regret and loss searing her eyes.

  She had no idea how revealing her expression was or that O'Mara was watching her intently, his face mirroring a look of relieved satisfaction. A soft "Hmmm?" from Ez brought O'Mara's head around, and the two men exchanged a rapid series of silent questions and answers as their eyes locked for long moments. At last, Ez nodded and his mouth widened in a slow smile of approval and relief.

  O'Mara's answering smile flashed whitely in the deep tan of his face as he murmured, "Some feelings never change, my boy. They just grow stronger and deeper."

  Turning his attention back to Kitt, he read the imminence of tears and moved to her side, enclosing her hand in a strong, warm clasp. "Hey, there. I thought these two," motioning at the enraptured boy and dog at their feet, "were going for a walk. And we really ought to crack a bottle of wine to celebrate this extraordinary reunion."

  Kitt, blinking back tears, looked up at him, somehow soothed by his nearness, and, meeting his eyes, sensed his awareness and understanding of what she was feeling. Drawing strength from his closeness and the warm clasp of his hand, she collected her frazzled emotions and turned a smiling face to Gus.

  "Why don't you take Hero for his walk and get acquainted? If you'd like to, that is."

  "That would be great!" exclaimed Gus, jumping excitedly to his feet. "Does he have a leash? Where should I take him?"

  "We usually walk down the road toward the ocean. I don't think going the other way into Dock Square would be a good idea, or up on Maine Street. Too much traffic and too many other dogs." She bent over to rub one finger between Hero's eyes, and he arched his neck with pleasure. "I hardly ever use a leash. He's very good about staying close. If he goes exploring, just call him and say 'Heel.' Don't worry, you'll do just fine."

  She started walking toward the front door with Gus, while Hero danced around them. "I'm going to lock up down here, so when you come back, come up the outside stairs. Okay? Oh, and Hero likes to run. Maybe you can both work off some energy." She laughed.

  "We'll be back in a while," said Gus over his shoulder as he and Hero shot out the door and starting running across the parking lot. "Come on, Hero, race you!" floated back with the ech
o of thudding feet.

  Kitt, smiling to herself, closed and locked the door. Turning around, she found herself blocked by an expanse of navy-blue wool stretched across a wide, solid chest. Before she could move back, a long, tanned finger tilted her chin up an inch, and warm lips brushed across hers in a feather-light kiss.

  The gleam in those very blue eyes and the deep purr in his voice held Kitt immobilized. "Somehow I knew you two would take to each other. Ez isn't the only one I'm going to share him with, you know. And it's going to be a lot more than just weekends."

  "O'Mara?" It was a just audible whisper.

  Too soon. It's all happening much too fast. I'm not ready for this. She was afraid to believe what she was seeing in his eyes, and her own began to show traces of the panic rising in her. She felt the gentle touch of his fingers slowly stroking her cheek and watched his thick black lashes come down to hide his expression. It only lasted for a second or two, and when he opened his eyes again, they were glinting with laughter.

  "Come on, my girl. We're supposed to be having a celebration, not a postmortem. You and I will have our time later." He caught her hand and drew her along with him. "I'm beginning to see what you meant about Ez and Midge," he said softly. "A bear and a kitten. Unreal."

  "Just wait until you see a full, one-act production." Kitt chuckled, her amused gaze resting on the other couple where they sat on the desk, side by side, quietly talking.

  Ez looked around at the sound of voices, his easy grin dispelling the last of the tension. "Hey, you two, I thought we were going to party. Where's the wine and song?" He winked at O'Mara and whispered resonantly, "No sense in asking for any more women. They'd never let us get away with it, and I'll tell you, the little one's got some nasty moves. I think Kitt's been giving her pointers."

  "No such thing," Midge declared pertly. "I don't need pointers, thank you. When you're my size, you learn how to defend yourself against overgrown lummoxes. And just you remember, Ez Tate, the bigger they are, the louder the thud when they hit the ground!"