Oberon Boxed Set (Books 1-3) Welcome to Oberon

by P. G. Forte

  “No, I’m making coffee, thanks. If you’re looking for glasses, they’re also—”

  “Oh, don’t even go there,” he scoffed, as he reached into another cabinet and extracted two wineglasses. “And please, before you try telling me where to find the corkscrew? Don’t bother. I live here, remember?”

  “Well, cuz, it’s interesting you should mention that,” Lucy said, a little too sweetly, as she began arranging the cannolis on a serving plate. “Because, in your absence, that has been the subject of more than one hot little debate already this evening.”

  “What? Just ‘cause I’m a little late getting home, they don’t believe I live here now?”

  “Nah, I think it was more along the lines of, you can’t be too happy living here, or you’d come home at a more reasonable hour.”

  “Oh, Jesus,” He sighed, carefully working the cork out of the bottle. “There’s some great logic for you.”

  “Bottom line? A lot of folks aren’t real happy with you at the moment, Nick.”

  Nick shrugged that off and deftly poured wine into the glasses he’d set on the counter. “Yeah, well, tell me something I don’t know. Like how come you’re just taking those out of the ‘fridge now.” He gestured at the tray of pastries. “They’re too cold, Luce. Nobody’s gonna want to eat ‘em like that.”

  “Hey, I’m not the one with the cats, okay?” Lucy fumed. “If I hadn’t put them back in there an hour ago you wouldn’t have any left to eat—cold or otherwise. You already lost two of them to that big beige monster with the extra toes.”

  “Who, Bouncer?” Nick grinned as he handed Darcy her wine and settled back against the counter and took a sip from his own glass. “Ah, forget about it, then. He and I are pals. He can have all the cannoli he wants.”

  Lucy shook her head. “Nice to know where we stand with you, Nick; just a few rungs below the cats, huh? You really ought to let your mother know how you feel. She’s convinced you hate animals, by the way.”

  “Hey, if that’s what she thinks, there’s no point in anyone tryin’ to tell her different.” Nick shrugged. “Who’s she gonna believe? Me? Or what she’s already told herself?”

  “Good point. But speaking of your mother, don’t you think you should let her know you’re here?

  “Yeah, I will. In a minute. Where’s Scout?” He decided to ignore both Lucy’s bad humor and the doubtful frowns she kept shooting in Darcy’s direction.

  “She’s fine. Don’t worry about it. She’s holding up better’n I... oh.” Lucy cut herself off in mid-sentence, as his words penetrated. “Where is she? Bathroom, I think. But look, you—” Lucy broke off again as Scout appeared in the doorway.

  “Hey, you’re back,” Scout said. And then she smiled at him. Her face was flushed and drowsy. For a moment, Nick couldn’t see anything but her. Her face, her smile, the way she stood in the doorway; a little awkward and dazed looking, hands jammed into the pockets of her jeans. As if she’d only just this instant woken up, and still was not quite certain how much she might have missed.

  “Hey, yourself,” he said as he crossed the room and pulled her close. “Everything okay?”

  “Mmm. Sleepy,” she murmured against his chest. “You see your mom yet?”

  “No, not yet.”

  She raised her head. “No? Nick you really should—”

  “Yeah, I know. I already got the lecture.”

  He was observing Scout closely when he asked, “How’s everybody been getting along?” And he didn’t miss the look that flashed between her and Lucy.

  “Fine, hon. Everyone’s been great. And Lucy’s had everything under control all night.”

  “Yeah, well,” Lucy replied with a shrug, “It was nothing. Except for the mess with your precious little baby. That kinda shit I just don’t wanna deal with.”

  Nick stilled at the anger in Lucy’s tone, and he felt Scout stiffen beside him. What had really gone on here tonight, he wondered. “You want to run that one by me again, Luce?” he asked, carefully.

  “That cat you’re so damn fond of? You and Scout are more than welcome to him. And if you want to feed him your cannoli ‘til he’s the size of a house, that’s your business. But let me tell you, if he comes near any of my food again? He’s gonna have one less life to play with.”

  “Well, Luce, you do what you have to, cuz,” Nick sighed, letting out a breath he hadn’t even realized he was holding.

  Suddenly he remembered Darcy. “Oh, hell. Where are my manners? C’mere, hon, I want you to meet someone.” He wrapped an arm around Scout’s shoulders and propelled her across the room. “This is Darcy. She was my partner for a few years, until she... uh, left town.” He ignored Lucy’s unladylike snort. “And Darce, this is Scout, my fiancé.”

  “Your... ?”

  “Yep. We’re getting married in a couple of weeks.”

  “Wow. Really? That’s great, Nick. Congratulations, both of you.” Darcy’s smile was a little bemused. “You know, I’d heard rumors about this, but I gotta tell you, pard, I didn’t really believe it.”

  Lucy snorted, again. “Well, believe it,” she said. “They’re getting married, all right. Unless one of us gets ticked off and kills him in the meantime.”

  Nick grinned at her. “Okay, okay. I get the hint. Let’s all go out and see my mother right now.”

  All? Oh, no, let’s not. Lucy smiled at her cousin. “Why don’t you and Scout go ahead, Nick. Maybe Darcy can give me a hand getting the dessert ready?”

  “I could help you, Lucy.” Scout volunteered. “I’ve done little enough tonight.”

  Lucy shot her friend an amused glance, really sometimes the woman was absolutely clueless. “Don’t be silly, Scout,” she started to protest.

  But Nick cut in. “Good idea. You two have already eaten, right? And I’m sure Darcy’s got to be as hungry as I am. C’mon, Darce, let’s get out there before the food’s all gone.”

  “What the hell is he up to?” Lucy grumbled after Nick had pulled Darcy out to the patio. Before the food’s gone? Bullshit. He knew damn well they weren’t going to run out of food any time soon. She pulled a bottle of Sambucca out of the cabinet and put it on the tray with the coffee cups before she went to look for some spoons.

  Scout looked up from the tray of pastries she was arranging. “Who, Nick? What do you mean?”

  Lucy regarded her thoughtfully. There was a lot Scout didn’t know about Nick’s history with women. And maybe she didn’t realize how his family was going to interpret Darcy’s presence here tonight either. But Lucy did.

  In their eyes, he’d just shown up at his own engagement party with a date.

  “This was supposed to be a family gathering, Scout. Why’s he bringing people home with him tonight?” was the closest she’d come to saying what she really thought.

  Scout shrugged. “I don’t know why he shouldn’t invite anyone he wants. I invited Marsha, after all.”

  Yeah. And she’d invited Sam, as well, Lucy thought, as she pretended to count the spoons in her hand. Some strange guy no one else knew anything about. A guy whose presence here tonight was just as inexplicable as Darcy’s.

  But at least Scout had the sense to arrive with what would appear to everyone else to be a couple. Lucy was probably the only one who could realize how unlikely a couple they really were. He certainly wasn’t Marsha’s usual type. Which was not necessarily a bad thing, given the way her usual type tended to treat her, but all the same – a motorcycle? Please. Just how stupid did Scout and Marsha think she was, anyway?

  “Yeah, well, I don’t know, Scout,” Lucy said, pausing when she heard Dan’s laughter float in from the backyard. He didn’t care much for Sambucca. And he wasn’t a big fan of cannolis, either. She wished she’d thought to make him something else for dessert, but she hadn’t. She pushed away the qualms and guilty thoughts that sprang to mind. She’d make it up to him. Later. “Maybe I don’t know what anyone is up to. But it sure seems like everyone’s acting a little crazy t
onight, and there’s not even a full moon, or anything else that would explain it.”

  * * *

  Sterling, you’re a moron. Sam berated himself as they picked their way blindly across the mist enshrouded parking lot. He thought she was playing games with him – trying to see how far she could push him, how badly she could distract him. And whether she meant to or not, she’d done a hell of a job of it.

  He remembered the way her hands had slithered around his waist, flexing and stroking. The slight tremors that ran through them had started a chain reaction of shudders that coursed all through him as well, making his skin burn – despite the cool night air, and him without a jacket.

  And the way she sat so close. The thin material of her skirt had felt like nothing at all between them. He’d been glad for the thick denim of his jeans when he felt her legs vise around his hips. The only thing that saved his sanity every time her breath caught in her throat and she gasped to force it loose, was the impossibility inherent in that particular position. As well as the speed, which he kept pouring on because it demanded his attention and helped him to focus. The speed which, he realized now, had frightened her. So that she’d clung even more tightly.

  An insensitive, self-absorbed, delusional moron, with an ego the size of Mount Rushmore.

  Still, there was that moment, after she’d gotten off the bike. After he had a chance to catch his breath and get a little blood back into his brain. After he’d finally managed to quell the urge to haul her against him and see if he couldn’t make her shudder as well. That look he’d surprised on her face, when he’d turned and caught her looking at him – that had not been fear. He’d lay odds on that. He knew lust when he saw it in a lady’s eyes. He’d seen it in hers, and thought she’d gotten tripped up in her own snares.

  But if that wasn’t the case... then shit, he wished he knew what she was up to.

  And he wished like hell he knew where her damn car was. The fog wasn’t really as dense as he’d originally thought it. Occasionally a patch of sky would clear and a couple of stars would appear, or maybe a sliver of moonlight would briefly illuminate the ground. But there was still no sign of a vehicle anywhere, and the gravel sounded alarmingly loud beneath their feet.

  Anyone hiding out here would know that they were coming, for sure. But then again, anyone hiding out here would have just as hard a time sneaking up on them. Vision was the only thing hampered in this misty blackness where every other sense seemed magnified.

  He could still hear the sultry guitar music wafting through the darkness, the sound of their feet on the stony ground, the sound of her breathing, and the whisper of her skirts. He could feel the water vapor as it settled like cool little kisses against his skin, and the heat that radiated from her skin as well.

  He could smell the wood smoke from the fire, the brackish marine scent rising from the water somewhere in front of them, and some elusive flowery fragrance, sweet enough to taste.

  And, oh, he really, really wished he hadn’t thought about taste – the only other of his senses that was not feeling sated at the moment. Not when he could think of only one way to slake his hunger. Only one flavor he was longing to sample.

  “There it is.” Her voice cut through the darkness.

  Sam looked. He blinked and looked again, and then shook his head in disbelief. Well, I’ll be damned. A genuine hippie van. Surely she wasn’t old enough for something like that? Hell, he was barely old enough for it. So, then why—? But then the practical side of his nature cut in, and he realized that what he was looking at was also the most perfect computer-equipment-moving-vehicle he could’ve asked for. Big. Windowless. And just about the last thing that anyone would ever think to connect with him.

  Now, all he needed was an excuse to see her again. And to talk her into letting him borrow it.

  “Listen,” she said, and once again he wondered if she’d read his mind. “I’ve been thinking about the cabin. I know you said you didn’t mind all the stuff there—”

  “I don’t.”

  “All right, fine. I believe you, I guess. But I could still pack up Celeste’s clothes and…I don’t know, Sam... at least some of her things. I’m sure that would be better for you, wouldn’t it? I’d feel better, anyway. I think.”

  “Celeste? Is that the woman who lived there? She was a friend of yours, I imagine?”

  “She was my friend, yes.” Marsha’s voice was low, subdued, vibrating with strong emotion.

  “And she died suddenly? That’s always a shock. I’m sorry.”

  “What makes you think it was sudden?”

  Sam shrugged. “Her things. From the looks of it, I’d guess she wasn’t all that much older than I am. And there are no meds around, or anything else to indicate she’d been sick. Nothing there suggests either a sudden attempt to put things in order, or the gradual neglect brought about by prolonged illness, so...”

  “Sounds as if you’re speaking from experience?”

  “Good guess. Am I wrong?”

  “No, you’re right,” she sighed, her voice shaky as she continued. “It was very sudden. I didn’t know – I didn’t have a clue. There was no warning whatsoever.”

  “Really?” The vexation in her voice made him angry. He stared into the darkness thinking of Lou – and even that reporter this morning – and his own feelings of helplessness. No warning, huh? Yeah, well, that’s the thing with sudden death isn’t it? It’s just so damn sudden. “You amaze me,” he drawled, dryly. “You mean you didn’t do anything to try and stop it?”

  “No,” she said, her voice breaking. “Nothing. I didn’t even see it coming.” And then, to his chagrin, the moon floated free of the ensnaring mists, and he saw her face, and the tears that were streaming down her cheeks.

  * * *

  “Thanks, Dan,” Nick said, taking a bite out of the steak sandwich he’d just been handed. They stood together near the grill, while across the patio, the rest of the adults were seated around the table, their conversation muffled by the squeals of laughter and outrage erupting from the hot tub where Kate and Mandy were ganging up on Seth.

  Dan shrugged. “De nada. It’s your food, man. I just cooked it.”

  “You know what I mean.” Nick’s gesture took in the entire patio, at least, all that could be seen of it. The fog had swept in heavily, and nothing appeared to exist beyond the small area illuminated by either the tiny white lights hung in the fronds of the old Royal palm that towered over them, or the underwater lights in the spa. “Not just the sandwich. All of this. I owe you.”

  “Nah,” Dan took a pull from his beer. “You did me a favor. If I didn’t have this to keep me busy, I’d have lost my mind by now, for sure.”

  “Was it really that bad?” Nick’s gaze swung back toward Scout, his expression so filled with concern that Dan relented.

  “Ahh, c’mon, Nick. Don’t you know I’m just busting your chops? Everyone behaved themselves.” But then again, the night wasn’t over yet.

  “Well,” Nick looked around again. “Everyone looks happy enough now anyway.”

  “Hey, you know this crowd. Give ‘em plenty of food and they settle right enough. Don’t know if your lady’s gonna be down with that, though. I couldn’t get Scout to eat a thing all night.”

  “She, uh, hasn’t had much of an appetite, lately,” Nick answered. “Probably just nerves.”

  “Really? Hmph. She doesn’t seem the nervous type. And she sure looks like she’s been getting enough to eat, huh? I guess she must really like your cooking.”

  “Why d’you say that?” Nick asked absently, turning to look at her again.

  Dan smiled at the expression on his face. Yeah, he’s got it bad, all right. “Well, she’s put on a few pounds the last couple of months, no?”

  Nick turned back to stare at him. His voice flat and distant. “You think so? I hadn’t noticed.”

  “Oh, well, must be my mistake then.” Dan nodded toward the table. “Darcy’s looking pretty good, too. What’s sh
e doin’ back in Oberon?”

  “I dunno, working some case, I guess. She’s a private investigator now, down in LA. She just showed up at the marina this morning, and being as we’re so short-handed at the moment, I asked her to stick around and help me out”.

  “Yeah? I bet that idea went over big. That why Lucy looks ready to string you up?”

  “I don’t know what Lucy’s worked up about,” Nick grumbled. “If she wants to get ticked off just ‘cause I invite an old friend back to my house for dinner, that’s her problem. Shit, Darcy’d been working her tail off all afternoon. The least I could do was feed the woman.”

  Dan turned away for a moment to hide his smile. Nick had to know damn well that wasn’t the problem. Hell, the Grecos were always bringing people home to feed them. And not necessarily old friends, either. Rose and Joe were especially notorious for inviting people they had only just met to come home and have dinner with them.

  “Yeah, well, I still say it’s a good thing for you Scout’s not a wrathful woman. We got your hot coals all ready to go bud, and I’m sure the women could find a rake around here someplace, if they had a mind to.”

  “Ah, come off it, Dan. Scout’s got no cause to be upset about Darcy. She and I were partners. What’s the big deal, anyway?”

  Oh, yeah. Partners. Like that was the problem. “Come off it, yourself, bud,” Dan scoffed. “You aren’t gonna try and sell me on the notion that it was never more than that, I hope? ‘Cause my memory’s not that bad.” And neither was Lucy’s.

  “Okay, fine.” Nick sighed. “We were maybe more involved than that. For a little while. But that was then and this... oh hell, Dan, that’s not the point.”

  Dan shrugged. “Maybe not for you. And shit, maybe not for Scout, either, for all I know. But I doubt Lucy’s gonna see it that way anytime soon. What she’s gonna see is that you’re all of a sudden hanging with an old girlfriend.”

  Not that it really mattered how any of them saw it, because Nick was still gonna do whatever he wanted to anyway.

  “Lucy, of all people, oughta know better than that,” Nick insisted. “She knows how I feel about Scout.”