by Tia Isabella
Lady M had possessed a long mane of golden curls and tri-colored eyes that contained rings of green and blue with flecks of gold near the pupils. Just like herself, she mused.
She took a bite off of the chicken salad sandwich she had whipped up a few minutes ago and further contemplated the woman. By all accounts, Thomas MacGregor had been a tyrannical, arrogant, stubborn, and temperamental man. Maya could never have put up with the guy. But Lady M did. The woman either had the patience of a saint or enough gumption to stand up to the barbarian and tame him. Something told her it was the latter explanation that rang true. A man like Thomas could respect nothing less.
She smiled to herself as she studied the remnants of the lady’s painting. “You really ran that hulk through the ringer, didn’t ya, girlfriend?”
A second later the telephone rang, bringing Maya out of her contemplative thoughts. “At least we still have electricity,” she mumbled to herself as she reached for the cordless. The storm had taken out the water supply already. “Hello?”
“Hey doc, how the hell are ya?”
Maya smiled. “Pretty good Pete and yourself?”
“No complaints, doc.”
“Good.”
Pete took his mouth away from the receiver long enough to yell at somebody in the background—obviously a construction worker on his crew that hadn’t done something the way he wanted it done, then returned to the phone. “I was just callin’ to let y’all know that the weather is supposed to pick up in about another hour. We’re calling it a day here. Y’all come over as soon as you can, alright?”
Maya grinned. It was just like Pete to still have his crew working right up until the last possible second. That’s how she had met Pete to begin with. His construction company had won the bid on a site that the government wanted built up and within a few hours of drilling Pete and his workers had uncovered some Indian relics—not an uncommon occurrence for construction workers in Florida. Maya’s team had been called to the site and she and Sara had gone to recover the relics despite the dire weather warnings against it.
Sara had liked Pete on the spot. Maya had had her reservations, but that was nothing uncommon, as she had reservations about anybody that sported a penis. In the end the weather had worsened, Pete had invited Maya and Sara back to his place to join in on his hurricane party, Maya had reluctantly agreed to go, and the three of them became fast friends by the storm’s end.
Pete was now like a big brother to Maya and Sara. Nothing romantic had ever transpired between him and either of the women and nothing romantic ever would. Pete was very happily married and trying to get his wife pregnant. And Maya and Sara had both adored Chanel, Pete’s wife, from the get go.
“Sure Pete. We were just finishing up some work here and then we planned to come straight over.”
Pete shouted an obscenity that Maya knew was directed at one of his crew rather then her. “Good deal. And y’all don’t forget your costumes, okay?”
Maya laughed. “We won’t, sweetcakes.”
They hung up a few seconds later, after which Maya rose to her feet and cleaned up her workspace. She shouted at Sara that it was time to start getting ready and headed for her bedroom to don her costume.
* * * * *
Pete’s Halloween Hurricane Party was the most fun Maya and Sara had had in ages. They couldn’t get over some of the costumes. They ranged from the mundane to the outrageous to the scary. Pete and Chanel, well, they just looked downright sacrilegious. “A priest and a pregnant nun, Pete?” Maya rolled her eyes as she sipped on a bottle of Michelob.
Pete threw his head back and laughed while Chanel winked at her. Maya grinned. “You two must have really hated that Catholic high school you met at.”
Chanel chuckled. “The best thing I can say about it is that I met Pete there.”
Maya chatted with the couple for a few minutes more before she decided to seek out Sara. She found her best friend over by the chips and dips table, and it appeared as though she was doing her best to fend off an avid male suitor who was dressed as what she suspected had to be the Viking god Thor.
Maya grinned. She couldn’t fault the guy for trying. After all, Dr. Sara Chance looked remarkable tonight. She was sporting a clingy red floor length gown that hugged all of her admirable curves and showed off a respectable amount of cleavage. The sides were split on both sides just past the knees, showing off her well-toned legs. Sara’s velvety black hair was flowing to the middle of her back, with two red horns coming out of the crest of it atop her head.
Maya hypothesized that if Thor didn’t remove his eager hands from the she-devil‘s waist relatively soon, he was going to feel the effects of a pitchfork. Knowing Sara, it would hurt like hell.
Maya watched Thor grope Sara’s waist for a few seconds longer, then decided it was time to rescue her from his clutches. But just as she was about to bring an end to the Viking god’s pursuit, she felt strong male arms wrap around her waist from behind. “Guess who?” the man whispered into her ear.
Maya inwardly groaned. Nick. Her ex-fiancé.
She planted a superficial smile onto her lips and swung around to greet the man that had once broken her heart. She had been very much in love with Nick a few years ago, had planned to marry him in fact, but had found out soon after their engagement that hers wasn’t the only bed he had been warming at night. “Hi Nick. How are you?”
Nick grinned his most winsome smile. He was a handsome man, there was no denying that fact of life, as much as Maya would have liked to. Nick was a tall, muscular blonde with blue eyes and a killer body. “I’ve been great Maya,” he returned as he let his eyes roam over her body. “And I see that you’ve been doing great as well. Hell, you look better than you did when we were a couple.”
Maya smiled. She didn’t think she’d really changed that much for the better, but if he did then that was just as well.
“In fact, I’ve been watching you all night long. I was wondering when you were going to come over and tell me hello,” he chided.
“I’m sorry,” Maya retorted with the most innocent expression she could muster, “I didn’t know you were here.”
Ha! That was a lie if ever she had told one. She had spotted Nick the moment she and Sara had sauntered into Pete’s condo. The truth of the matter was she just couldn’t stand being near him. Especially since he had brought her to the party with him.
Mindy.
His brainless fluff of a secretary. The woman she had caught him in bed with.
Nick smiled his salesman’s smile, though Maya could tell her lie had affected him. Good, she told herself, let him think I’m completely oblivious to his presence.
“What a shame, Maya,” he replied smoothly, “because I haven’t been able to think of anything else besides the fact that you’re here.”
Nick’s eyes roamed the length of Maya’s body once more. His jaw set as he chastised her on her choice of costume. “Do you really think it’s wise to dress in that Elvira get-up?”
Maya blinked at Nick, pretending obliviousness as to why he should care about her costume. “Whatever do you mean?”
Ha! She knew exactly what Nick meant and she was grateful to the gods above that she hadn’t had enough time to shop for a new costume. She knew he would have hated this outfit the moment she had first donned it.
Maya’s dress was a clingy black number that showed off every curve she possessed to its best advantage. The dress was ankle length but one hundred percent scandalous. The split on the left side started at the ankle and carried all the way up to her hip. The front of the dress fell to her stomach with her ample breasts hoisted up and popping out, just like the real Elvira.
Her only regret was that she hadn’t been able to find her black wig. Her long mane of golden curls was cascading down her back, ruining the vampiress effect somewhat—somewhat, but not enough that people didn’t know who she was supposed to be.
Truth be told, Maya had never exactly thought herself beautiful. She c
ould pass for pretty perhaps, but then so could most women. What was important was that Nick thought she was—at least for tonight. Just long enough to avenge her sense of ill-justice a tad.
Yep, Nick hated the dress all right. He was too possessive not to. Even after all this time.
“You know exactly what I mean, Maya,” he ground out. “Just what kind of ideas are you trying to put in the heads of the men around here?”
Maya’s feeling of joyous contentment at Nick’s expense quickly faded, giving way to the darker emotions of irritation and anger. “You, Nick Johnson, gave up your right to comment on my Halloween costumes when you screwed Mindy in our bed.” She heaved a deep breath, causing her bosom to pop out even more. She’d been having fun irritating him, but now she was serious. Besides, they’d been broken up far too long for him to react so bizarrely over her choice in costume. “This conversation is over.” She whirled around to make her exit.
Nick halted Maya by the shoulders and swung her around to face him. “Mindy never meant a damn thing to me,” he gritted out. “Still doesn’t. I loved you, Maya.”
Maya’s jaw dropped open. She stared at him surrealistically. “That was supposed to make me forgive you?” she asked incredulously. “Well it doesn’t! The only thing it makes me feel, in fact, is a deeper sense of loathing for you and a sense of genuine pity for Mindy. How can you be with her all of this time and then state so matter-of-factly that she means nothing to you?”
Nick shrugged, seemingly unaffected by Maya’s observation. “She’s just a secretary. What would I look like marrying my secretary? I’m an important man and an important man needs an important, educated wife.”
“What you are,” she countered through narrowed eyes, “is a jackass.”
Maya spun around on her heel and stomped off towards Sara. She wanted to take a walk or leave or—something, anything to get away from Nick—and supposed she should let Sara know where she was headed.
Maya made her way to the chips and dips table, only to become even more irritated when she realized that Sara still hadn’t been able to pry herself loose from the overzealous Viking god. His hands were all over her.
Men. What a practical joke God had played on Eve when He’d married her off to Adam.
Maya gritted her teeth as she marched over to where her best friend stood. She grabbed the pitchfork from Sara’s hand and shoved it directly into the Viking’s chest. In no mood for premilimaries, she cut straight to the point. “Beat it Thor, or you’re going to discover what it feels like to have this thing shoved up your ass!”
Either Thor was a complete and utter wuss or Maya looked angry enough to be taken seriously, but either way she won. The Viking released his paws from Sara’s waist and held up his hands in surrender. “Take it easy, lady. I didn’t mean anything by it.”
Maya rolled her eyes. “You men never mean anything by it, do you? You woo a woman until she’s putty in your hands, make her think she’s the most special person on the planet, even ask her to marry you. Anything to bed her! Then you cheat on her, break her heart into a thousand pieces, and make it impossible for her to trust anyone enough to ever love again!”
Maya shoved the pitchfork further into Thor’s ribs, causing a small groan to elicit from the throat of her Viking prisoner of words. That’s right, she told herself with a fierce sense of knowing that only a woman scorned can possess, show him you’re on to his game. “I know your type sweetcakes. I’ve dealt with you before. You’re all the same. Tonight you’ll show Sara all the wonders of your bed in Valhalla, but tomorrow night you’ll be taking some other poor unsuspecting woman on the same grand tour!”
Thor looked more bewildered than Maya thought it possible for a Viking god to look. “Christ lady, all I was doing was dancing with her.”
Maya whipped her head around and eyeballed Sara. “Is this true?”
Sara flushed a thousand shades of red before she met Maya’s gaze. “There wasn’t any room in the dancing area, so we danced here,” she mumbled.
Maya groaned, her eyes rolling in self-chastisement toward the ceiling. Talk about projecting Nick’s attributes onto another. Freud would have had a field day psychoanalyzing her.
Maya withdrew the pitchfork from Thor’s midsection and handed it back to Sara. She braved a quick look around and noticed that people were staring at her, Nick and Mindy included. She sighed. Great, she had just made a laughing stock of herself. And in front of him, no less.
Determined to withdraw from the scene with as much dignity as she could muster, Maya straightened her spine to its full height, held up her head, and offered Thor what she suspected was a lousy attempt at an apology. “You were always my favorite god,” she muttered. “Please carry on as you were.”
Embarrassed, Maya turned on her heel and regally sauntered off toward the bedroom where her cloak was. She needed to take a walk.
Sara watched Maya walk away then turned to Thor with a tentative smile. “I apologize for that scene. She’s usually a very sweet person.” Judging by the look on the Viking’s face, she guessed that Thor didn’t believe that description of Maya for a New York minute. “I’m sorry,” she smiled, “but I really must go to her. She needs me.”
A few minutes later, Sara found Maya in Pete and Chanel’s bedroom, sitting on the bed with Fred and Barney. She and Maya had brought the iguanas with them, just in case the storm got really heavy and they wouldn’t be able to return to the apartment for a while. Maya was rubbing their bellies, both of them looking like supremely contented males. “Are you okay?”
Maya glanced up at Sara, slightly startled by her presence. She hadn’t heard the bedroom door open. “Nick’s here,” she offered in way of explanation as she returned her gaze to the iguanas.
Sara smiled as she plopped herself down onto the bed with a sigh. “Yeah, I know. I saw him.”
Maya didn’t say a word for a long while and Sara didn’t push her. She gave her best friend all of the time she needed. After what seemed an eternity, she finally responded. Her voice was barely a whisper. “The only reason he was going to marry me was because I’d make him a suitable wife.”
Sara knit her brows together, then reached out to stroke Maya’s back. “A suitable wife, darling?”
Maya shrugged and sighed. “He said he wouldn’t marry Mindy because she is only a secretary and a man as important as himself needs an educated wife. What am I supposed to think? Sounds to me that the most I did for the guy was provide him with a respectable enough of an image.” She groaned. “God Sara, I’m twenty-seven years old, twenty-five when we split. One would think I wouldn’t care about his reasons anymore.”
Sara rolled her eyes. It was just like Nick to deliberately plant nasty seeds in Maya’s head. If he couldn’t win her back, then he’d do all he could to upset her. “It sounds to me like he told you that on purpose. Think about it, Maya. He knows how much you despise the idea of anyone marrying you for suitability reasons alone because of how awful your parents’ marriage was.
“Your dad married your mom for reasons of suitability, which in his day meant she looked good on his arm, then he cheated on her until his dying day. Your mother died of a broken heart. Nick knows that. Nick used that. He just wanted to hurt you because he can’t have you.”
Maya pondered Sara’s analysis for a long time before turning around to smile at her. She smiled softly. “Thank God I have you, Sara,” she murmured. “What would I ever do without you?”
Sara smiled serenely at Maya as she smoothed a few stray curls away from her best friend’s eyes. “Probables are that you’ll never have to find out.”
* * * * *
Something was distressing the herds. Hamish didn’t know what that something was, but he didn’t like the feel of it. He was afraid that if the cattle got too frightened, they would take off running and mayhap wander into the territory of the MacAllister clan in the process.
The MacGregor wouldn’t like that. Nay, he wouldn’t like losing nigh unto two
score of cattle to his enemies a’tall. Especially when the MacAllister would have grounds to say that claiming the herd was his right, since the cattle had wandered onto their lands of their own doing.
Hamish took a quick look around the field, trying to figure out what it was that had put the herds into a panic. He looked as far as the eye could see, yet still he saw nothing. Hamish scratched his head and then his beard, but his puzzlement never lessened.
Then he heard it. The sounds. ‘Twas the same eerie sounds that had been spooking the cattle for the past two days. Hamish felt the hairs on the nape of his neck stand up as he slowly turned around to see what he already knew in his heart would be there. He wasn’t disappointed.
Black clouds swirled around each other until they slowly became joined as one. They took up only a portion of the sky, leaving the rest of it as blue as the sea at high noon. Within the pitch blackness that the union of the clouds had created, the rains began to pour and the thunder boomed out its deep voice. ‘Twas only in the blackness that the heavens opened up and poured. Nowhere else did the rains fall.
Hamish swallowed heavily as he watched the black clouds with wide eyes. Should he shout for help? Should he run from the hills with his life? Nay, the MacGregor would never forgive or forget such an act of cowardice. Yet what was a man to do? Somehow he needed to get help. And preferably afore the cattle fled rather than after naught could be done.
Hamish watched as the blackness moaned and bands of colors began to dance within it. The colors were majestic—pinks, purples, and golds of every shade imaginable. 'Twas not possible. Storms never created these fine colors.
“What in the name of St. Gabriel is that?!”
Hamish whirled around to see the bewildered and frightened expression of his clansmen Leonard. Praise the saints—here was someone that could help! “Lenny, I canna say that I know. I ha’ seen it afore yet still am I baffled. Please my friend, go tae the MacGregor. Flee tae him now and tell him tae come. He and Sir Dugald needs see this tae believe! Tell him we’ve need of help, fer the cattle are spooked and liable tae run. There are only so many I can manage alone.”