Yet another stalling tactic on my part, and an obvious one at that.
I couldn’t believe how nervous I was about tonight. It wasn’t the possibility of rejection that was making me as distracted as a cat in a room full of parakeets—with Marcus, rejection had never really crossed my mind. It was the possibilities that were making me run both hot and cold today. And what possibilities they were! Because my deepest fear was that I was falling for him, fast and hard, and my track record with love hadn’t been what anyone would call “exemplary.” In fact, I was the poster girl for sad tales with bad endings. I had definitely been left nursing a wounded heart once or twice before. But that shouldn’t be a concern with Marcus. Should it?
Hello?
Bueller?
Good grief, my sister was right. I was neurotic.
I took a deep breath. There was no reason to worry. Not this time. Things were going swimmingly with Marcus. So much so that it was easy to forget the strange events that had brought me to him. The weirdness in town. The murders. The rise in the tide of spiritual energies, light and so-not-light. My unexpected awareness of said energies, an awareness that, once acknowledged, had kept growing and growing and growing, until now it had evolved into something I didn’t understand, with no clear end in sight. But none of that mattered, as long as this one thing in my life was going well.
So ... what was I so afraid of?
Sheesh!
Minnie’s placid stare seemed to echo what the voice in my head was whispering:
So? What are you waiting for?
What, indeed?
Chapter 2
Taking a deep, fortifying breath, I made myself move.
The first step
is
always the hardest, Margaret ...
The voice of my conscience all too often took on the vocal stylings and attitudes of my late Grandma Cora. It wasn’t something that I relished—Grandma C had always been a pragmatically stern woman of country ways and devout sensibilities, and that side of her had never failed to come across loud and clear, even as a whisper in my head. Does everyone out there have a snarky conscience? Or was I the only one?
It was because of that that I now turned a dubious eye inward. Because . . .
Since when had Grandma C ever been on my side?
Suspicious minds, Margaret,
the soundless voice tsked. And just what was that supposed to mean?
Only that they always find what they expect to find. Remember that.
Hm. There was something to that, actually. Deepest fears always seemed to manifest into the direst of circumstances at the worst of times, somehow, some way. It was the biggest reason Murphy’s Law was viewed as truism with a capital T. It was up to all of us to do our best to banish the Murphmeister from our lives. I understood that. In theory. Practical application proved trickier, but I was trying.
And you see Marcus as good for you, I think?
the Grandma C conscience voice prodded.
Yes. Oh, yes.
Well?
For once, Grandma C had it going on. And with her and Liss
and
Minnie on my side, how could I resist?
Crosstown traffic was clearing by the time we ventured past our quiet neighborhood. Not that Stony Mill rush hour could ever compare to or compete with a larger city, but with narrow streets and parking along the curb, safe passage could at times be a complicated process. I cut across via the byzantine residential routes, wending through subdivisions, until I hit the sleepy older neighborhood on the outskirts that Marcus called home. Before I got to know Marcus, I would never have envisioned him living in a one-and-a-half-story Craftsman-style bungalow, complete with a deep porch and low-slung roofline. The spiky iron fence at the front might not have matched in theory, but the river stone posts separating the sections made it work. The house was far from modern, but it possessed a quiet dignity that felt comfortable and familiar. I loved everything about it, from the faded linoleum in the kitchen, to the carriage barn in the rear that had been converted into a garage-slash-motorcycle workshop, aka the ideal Man Cave. Now
that
was what I had always expected from my Marcus.
My
Marcus. I smiled at the very thought.
I parked at the curb.
Deep breaths, Maggie my girl,
I told myself. A quick check in the mirror I’d long ago Velcro’ed onto the visor assured me that neither the heat nor the humidity had demolished my best beauty efforts yet, though getting out of the elements would certainly help. I glanced over at Minnie and smiled.
“Here we go.”
I grabbed my bag, Minnie’s carrier, and the canvas tote of kitty goodies and let myself in through the front gate. It made the usual squawk of the hinges as I closed it and dropped the latch into place. The cobbled walk under my feet felt like the curving yellow brick road of Oz, leading me to . . .
“Hello, sweetness.”
I felt a flush of pleasure sweep through me as I looked up to find Marcus waiting for me in the crook of the old-fashioned wooden screen door and looking nothing like the wily wizard. I stopped in my tracks at the base of the steps. Even from deep in the belly of the porch, his eyes seemed to glow in welcome. My heart did a little bounce and wobble.
Oh, yeah, I was in big trouble, all right.
I lifted my hand and gave a weak, fluttering wave. “Hi.”
“I’ve been waiting for you.”
Another wobble, and this time my stomach got into the act.
Keep your head on straight, girl,
Grandma C’s voice intoned inside my head.
Nice and easy.
“You have?”
“Mm-hm.”
“Oh.” I was having trouble getting the gears in my brain to function. All they did was whirr. Madly.
“You going to stand down there all day?” he asked, a lilt of amusement lifting one corner of his mouth as he leaned a shoulder indolently against the inner door frame. “Or did you want me to come down there and get you?”
Well, that option did present some distinct possibilities . . .
Flustered, I cleared my throat and made a show of displaying my things as I mounted the steps. “I come with baggage.”
“Do you, now. Hello, Minnie.” He reached down to take them from me, setting it all inside the door, which he still held propped open with one foot, then turned back to face me. His clear blue eyes searched mine. I couldn’t help wondering how much he saw there. “And
you
. . .” he said, his voice trailing off as he took my face between his hands and lowered his mouth to mine for one long, heart-stopping minute.
Big trouble.
Oh yeah.
“Hell-
ooo
, Miss O’Neill.” The low croon teased my tingling lips most pleasantly.
“Hello, Mr. Quinn,” I breathed back, linking my fingers together behind his neck.
“I’ve been waiting to do that all day.”
“You have?”
“Mm-hm.”
“That’s funny. Me, too.”
The slow curve of his lips was all I could see. Truth be told, it was all I wanted to see. Without another thought I slid my arm around his neck and kissed him soundly, pressing myself to his body tight enough that he was forced to reach behind himself to grope for the door frame with one hand to support us both. His other arm was wrapped up and between my shoulder blades, his long fingers cradling the nape of my neck. I couldn’t have gotten away if I’d wanted to.
I didn’t. Want to, that is.
Nervous . . . had I been nervous? How ridiculous. This was exactly what I had been hoping for. What was there to be nervous about this?
I didn’t know how long it was before I drifted away from the enchantment of his mouth and back to the realization that we were standing on his front porch, displaying the full measure of our mutual fascination before God, Goddess, and the entire county. I pulled away slightly, regretfully, my hands lingering on his chest. “We should probably go inside. Someone might see.”
He raised one eyebrow in amusement. “And?”
“My mother has a lot of friends.”
“You ashamed of me, Maggie?”
“Of course not.”
“Or are you just afraid of your mother?”
I frowned at that. I was less than three weeks away from my thirtieth birthday. A woman, full grown and in charge of her own destiny. I did not need my mother’s approval for my life. On the other hand, it certainly did make life easier if the two of us weren’t at loggerheads with each other.
Tricky, tricky.
“I’m not afraid of her,” I told him, and I couldn’t help nibbling on the inside of my lower lip. “I’m . . . wary of her web of spies, that’s all.”
“I see. Well, in that case, maybe you’d better come on inside.” He took my hand and tugged. “I have a special way of dealing with spies and busybodies and other unwanted entities.”
I knew he was just being funny, but I had seen firsthand how he dealt with unwanted entities, and in truth the experience had both frightened me and made me feel very safe in his capable hands, all at the same time. There was something deeply reassuring about his knowledge and mastery of all matters spiritual, a certainty I did not yet possess. Maybe I never would. But one thing I did know: next to Liss, Marcus made a pretty good counselor of the mysterious. Between the two of them, I was covered.
I followed him inside, privately enjoying the warmth of his hand holding mine.
“What’s all this?” I asked him when my eyes had adjusted to the more shadowy interior. Unusually shadowy. I couldn’t help noticing that all the curtains were drawn, and that set up in front of the big windows were what appeared to be cameras on tripods, as well as a couple of other odd-looking devices whose purposes I couldn’t guess. Heavy wires, neatly bound with plastic tie wraps, snaked across the hardwood floor and down the hall toward the bedroom he used as his own private digital compound. While on his stint in the military, Marcus had served in Intelligence. Something told me he hadn’t completely gotten that lifestyle out of his system.
“This? Nothing, really. Call it . . . insurance.”
Marcus wasn’t usually this circumspect. I peered up at him curiously. “Insurance for what? What’s going on?”
He shrugged away the question. “Nothing I can’t handle. Trust me on this.”
I had no misgivings about his ability to handle, oh, just about anything. Without a doubt he had an innate understanding of how to handle me.
“Cameras. Wires. What’s this?” I asked him, pointing to a round dishlike object.
“Just a little listening device.”
“And this?” I indicated a smaller black box.
He grabbed my hand and drew me away, carefully avoiding the various tripods and trip wires. “A voice amplifier. Nothing to worry about.”
Noooo, nothing to worry about here. Nothing at all ... “And
why
are we doing the whole James Bond thing with the neighbors?” I pressed, knowing the story had to be a good one.
“I would never spy on my neighbors without good reason,” he protested as he plopped down onto the sofa and pulled me into his lap. His arms closed immediately around my waist to hold me in place.
Distractions were not going to work on me this time. No sirree ...
“And you explain all of the devices and whatnot pointed at them, how?”
He tilted his head back on the sofa, staring thoughtfully at the ceiling for a moment. “Hm. Would you believe me if I told you that they’re not directed toward the neighbors
specifically?”
I glanced over my shoulder. The cameras certainly seemed to be aimed in all the pertinent directions.
He sighed, his fingers toying with one of my curls. “I take it you’re probably not going to be able to just let this go.”
“Doubtful.”
“I suppose you’re going to need an explanation.”
“Possibly.”
The one-word answers seemed to be working in my favor. “Well,” he said, considering his options, “I suppose I was kidding myself to think that you could come over without wondering what was up.”
“Probably.”
“So I guess you’re wanting answers.”
“Mm-hm.” Was that one word or two? Or none?
“You’re awfully cute when you’re curious,” he said with a wicked grin.
It seems the one-word answers weren’t working so well after all. “Stop trying to confuse me.”
“Maybe I want to confuse you. Maybe”—he twirled the strand of hair around his index finger, then flicked his gaze to mine—“just maybe,” he said, his voice dropping to a low murmur intended to warm a girl’s blood in an instant, “that was my plan all along.”
Before he could lean in to kiss me and scatter my senses to the four winds, I placed my fingertips over his lips. “Neighbors?” I prompted.
“Can’t see a thing, I promise.”
“But you can see them.”
“Nah.” He shook his head. “It’s not for the neighbors, Maggie. I told you that.”
“Then who is it for?”
“That’s what I’m trying to find out.”
All of this talking in circles was making my head hurt. I just looked at him, waiting patiently.
Finally he relented. “Take a peek through the view finders.”
I got to my feet and walked over to one of the cameras, bending close to peer through. To my surprise, the object in view wasn’t the house on the opposite side of the street. “It’s pointed at the street itself,” I said, frowning.
“Check another.”
I did. Same story, second time around. The camera that seemed to be pointing at the neighbor’s house next door was actually capturing anyone approaching the house from that direction.
“There’s another camera in the dining room,” Marcus told me.
The question was, why? I turned to him in bemusement.
“I think someone has been watching my place. I just wanted to see if I could catch said someone in the act. Get it on film. Try to figure out what’s up.”