Blue Moon Enchantment (Once In A Blue Moon Series)

by Jeanne Van Arsdall

  ***

  Piper listened to Robin’s tale and then told her own.

  He’d laughed when he heard she’d been told he’d gone to London to visit his mistress. He’d objected when she’d punched his jaw, but allowed that, aye, if true, would be worth such punishment.

  She’d gaped at his mild response, but was quick to close her mouth and agree.

  Both believed his head injury saved his life. Whoever originated the plan to capture him for information about the hidden treasure had decided to keep him alive when Piper couldn’t be found. Piper was inordinately pleased when she learned he’d told his captors, when conscious, that Piper was his treasure. She didn’t even mind that his words had caused all her misery.

  “You are my treasure, Piper,” said Robin. “Please don’t leave Escewiche. Recall, if you will, when I departed you were my betrothed.” He smiled. “You are a strong, fearless—”

  “Nay, I am craven. I tried to escape, run from here.” She shook her head and settled her gaze on the floor.

  “But you did return. You saved—”

  “I returned when reminded that my...my heritage does not allow one to run from duty.” She remembered the disdain in Terialis’ voice when he said it was her human blood that caused her to flee. Dennene blood, he informed her, was strong—Dennene never retreated from enemies. “I returned, aye, but I did not want to.”

  He took her hands in his and smiled. “Yet you did. I would wed you.”

  Piper’s eyes brimmed over and she blinked her tears away. She shook her head. “I am no longer she, the girl you knew. I have been wed. Twice.” She shook her head again. How could she explain her feelings of being defiled? Could not go to him as a bride. She doubted she could welcome his or any man’s embrace without retching.

  “Piper! I care not you have—”

  “Nay!” She turned her head away when she saw him staring at her nose. Ah, God but she felt unclean. “Look elsewhere for a suitable bride.”

  “That is your final word?”

  Piper nodded. “I will return to Auban with my brothers.”

  ***

  “The way I see it,” said Robin, “we needs overwhelm her with our plans and lay waste to her doubts.” He looked to her brothers and Edwyn to echo their agreement.

  After he’d returned with Piper to the hall, he saw how well received she was. It fueled his determination to have her as wife. Piper had since retired to her chamber.

  “Peter is head of the family,” said Dunstan. “He’ll order her to wed you.”

  Robin shook his head. “I don’t want her ordered to wed me. I want her to agree to wed me.”

  Dunstan frowned. “The difference?” he asked as he looked at his brother.

  Peter pursed his lips. “If Piper is opposed to—”

  Robin grabbed Peter’s arm as he leaned forward. “Piper is a woman. Women form the notion they must be virgins, untouched and innocent or they are unacceptable to a man. I want Piper.”

  “Why? Why when you were so quick to condemn her, to lock her in a cell and punish her.” Peter held Robin’s gaze. He leaned forward. “She would forgive you.”

  Robin shook his head. How to explain? “I have no desire to wed another. Piper... She is a woman, not an innocent to be sheltered, slowly exposed to life’s harshness. I left her a child and have come back to a woman. A woman who cared for my people, my home, even though she thought poorly of me. A woman who survived because it is in her nature to do naught but survive. A woman I would do aught to consent to wed me. She has captured my heart. She is half of my soul.”

  Edwyn cleared his throat and frowned at the three men. “It would seem serious thought needs be given Sir Robin’s plight.”

  Stilled by his words, Piper backed away and kept in the shadow of the hall. She hadn’t meant to eavesdrop. Well, she had, once she heard what was being discussed, but she hadn’t expected to hear Robin’s declaration. He wanted her! She smiled and fanned herself with her hand. Then her smile faded. Was it true...or did Robin feign his desire for her because he knew she’d turn him down? Was it all just to show her brothers he wouldn’t back out of his proposal? She smiled. What would Robin do if she did accept him? She giggled and then stopped. She’d not giggled in years. No reason.

  “You accept me?”

  Piper strove to keep her expression clear. “Aye, Robin. I accept you.” She looked at Peter, ready to explain to her brother why Robin was backing out of their betrothal after such an impressive proposal. Instead she found herself grabbed around her waist and swung around until she was dizzy. And then there were congratulations from her brothers and Edwyn and the people of Escewiche. And then she was kissed.

  She’d received wet and mushy touches of lips on her mouth and parts of her body she chose not to remember. But she’d never been kissed. Not as Robin kissed her now. When his lips touched hers, there was an answer from her lips, her entire body. She grinned at the thought she might turn wanton; not a bad thing, that. What with her mouth open, Robin stuck in his tongue.

  It was, Piper thought, best that men held women tightly, else when their knees turned to water, the women would fall. With all that thought going on, Piper managed to stick her tongue inside Robin’s mouth. She was pleased when he growled and made noises and pulled her closer. Not pleased when Peter pulled her away.

  “She’s accepted. Wait for the wedding,” said Peter.

  Not now brother. Piper curtailed her immediate reaction to punch his nose. But, he was her brother and thought he was looking out for her. Best not hurt him.

  She looked at Robin and her lips curved upward. Be damned if he wasn’t more attractive to her now than three years ago. Her eyes widened when she listened to her own thought. That was what he’d meant. He found her more attractive now. It was why he wanted to wed her. Just as she found him more attractive. He wanted to wed her. Robin wanted to wed her. Her lips curved high.

  “When can we wed, My Lord?”

  Visit Gerri’s website

  http://www.gerribowen.com

  A Wish Times Three

  Jeanne Van Arsdall

  Kathleen assumed she was out of her mind. The deadline for her new book loomed and she’d agreed to babysit her niece—for an entire month. Her sister and brother-in-law had persuaded her it would mean the difference in their careers if she’d tend Siena while they gallivanted around England on a ‘working vacation.’

  Siena, was sweet—but when would she have time to get any writing done? A seven-year-old couldn’t look after herself. This would be a twenty-four seven commitment.

  Take today for example. Busy writing, she’d gotten her rhythm going, was deep into a scene, when the intrusive alarm blared. Otherwise, two-thirty would’ve come and gone. Instead, she was sitting in her car at Siena’s school waiting for her. What would Siena have done if she’d forgotten? This afternoon she’d make sure Siena memorized her phone number—in case of such emergency.

  “Hey, Aunt Kath,” Siena squealed, running down the sidewalk. She climbed in. “Your car is prettier than anybody’s in the whole world! I want a yellow one like this when I get big.”

  “You do, huh?” Kathleen didn’t have the heart to tell her this was not her first choice in color—sunshine on wheels. “I’m glad you like it. If it still runs, I’ll give it to you when you’re old enough to drive.”

  “Honest?”

  “You bet. Now, tell me about your day.”

  “Oh, something really important happened—but not today. Just partly today.”

  “Ummm...sounds interesting. Tell me.” Kathleen smiled, thinking how important little things are to children.

  “Well, my teacher, Mrs. Williams had a baby. On Saturday or Sunday, I think. Anyway she’s in the hospital and we wrote a note concrad...con...”

  “Congratulating?” Kathleen suggested.

  “Yes, ma’am. Congratulating her—because she has a baby boy.”

  “Siena, what a nice thing for your class to do. Who helpe
d write it?”

  “Our new teacher. He’s not just a teacher though. Our principal said he’s a doctor, too. Why would a doctor want to be a teacher?”

  “I’m not sure, honey,” Kathleen said, parking in front of the yogurt shoppe.

  Kathleen wondered about the new instructor. “Did your teacher say what kind of doctor he is?”

  “Yes, it’s a really big word. He digs up bones and things, something like that.”

  “Did he say an archeologist?” Kathleen asked, hiding a smile.

  “That’s it! But why does he dig bones? Does he use old bones on people when they go to the hospital?”

  “No, sweetie, he’s not that kind of doctor.” Kathleen understood how this might confuse a second grader. She wondered why ‘the doctor’ hadn’t explained himself more thoroughly. “This type of doctor doesn’t work in a hospital caring for sick people. He goes all over the world and works at places called a ‘dig.’ He digs up the ground searching for dishes or tools or even food people ate years ago. This helps explain what happened in those people’s lives.”

  “Why?”

  “That, my dear, you can ask your teacher tomorrow.”

  “Great idea, Aunt Kath. He asked if we had any questions, but we didn’t know anything to ask.”

  “What’s his name?”

  “Dr. Kevin Collins. He said to call him ‘Dr. Kevin,’ and we did. Our whole class yelled, Hello, Dr. Kevin, really loud. He laughed and said we had good lungs. What did he mean?”

  “It means you have lots of breath and can yell really loud. But, he probably prefers you speak normally when you’re in the classroom.”

  While they waited for yogurt Kathleen’s mind wandered. She remembered a man at the entry where the children waited for rides. Several children had spoken to him, so she hadn’t thought anything of it. She’d lived in Stone Mountain, Georgia all her life, and knew most of its residents, but she’d not seen him before. She’d never have forgotten that face. He was the epitome of the alpha-male heroes in most of her books.

  Traveling home, Kathleen asked, “Was your new teacher standing in front of the school when I picked you up?”

  “Yes, ma’am. He’s very tall, with dark hair like daddy. Did you see him?”

  “I think so. And you’re correct, he looks very nice.” Kathleen couldn’t say what she thought. He was a hunk and belonged in one of her books. She might have to take her sister’s advice and stop working so much—get out more. Throw on some make-up and look presentable. It was so easy to work all day in her jammies. But, the jammie route had axed her socializing. Not that she’d done any since Roger’s death.

  She remembered the accident like yesterday. The quick trip to pick up his special sourdough bread—the one he insisted he needed for sandwiches. She’d bought two different kinds of bread because their regular grocery was out of sourdough. Why couldn’t he have tried one of those? And how could she still be angry with her husband three years later? Because I loved him so much, that’s how. Because I miss him every day. Because his death changed my life forever.

  “Aunt Kath, are you okay?”

  “I was only thinking, honey. I’m fine. We’d better get inside so you can do your homework, then you can play until dinner’s ready. How’s that for a deal? Maybe you’ll grow up to be a doctor.”

  “Yeah, but I want to be a real doctor, not a bone-digger doctor.”

  Kathleen laughed. “Siena, don’t say that to Dr. Kevin, okay? It might hurt his feelings if he thought you didn’t like what he does.”

  “Oh, I wouldn’t do that, Aunt Kath.”

  Siena began her homework and left Kathleen to sort through old memories. If truthful, she had looked twice at ‘Dr. Kevin’ today. Was her heart finally on the mend? For three years, she’d longed for the comfort of strong arms around her. She missed the snuggling—and making love. It had been safer to bury her feelings and fill her time with writing. Maybe she was ready to share her life with someone again.

  Much later, Siena said, “Aunt Kath, I’m hungry.”

  Kathleen looked at her watch. “My heavens, it’s six o’clock. I lost track of time. I’m sorry, honey. How about we go out for dinner tonight?”

  “Can...I mean, may we eat at the Japanese Steak House?”

  Kathleen rumpled her niece’s hair. “Sounds good. I’ll dress and we’ll go watch them cook our dinner.”

  Siena ran to the car, fastened her seat belt and talked a mile a minute. “I love to eat at Nagano’s. Especially when he makes a lot of fire. It’s called a volcano and fire shoots up really high. You have to sit way back so the fire won’t burn you. Mama, Daddy and I eat there all the time!”

  Traffic was light to the neighboring town of Lilburn. In the restaurant, the hostess approached. “Well, hello, Miss Siena. Who’s this with you tonight?”

  “My Aunt Kath. I’m staying with her while Mama and Daddy are on vacation. They’re in England—a long way from here.”

  “It certainly is. And what a nice aunt you have to take you out for dinner. Would you like to sit at Mr. Mark’s table tonight?”

  “Yes, please.”

  They went through the entire meal, including dessert, with Siena providing a running commentary on every detail—entertaining everyone at the table.

  Leaving, Siena nearly bumped into some local teachers and ‘the Dr. Kevin.’ As they greeted each other, one person asked Kathleen if she’d met him.

  “No, I haven’t.”

  Promptly introduced, they shook hands. Siena said, “I already told her your name. And that Mrs. Williams has a little boy!” Everyone laughed.

  “We’d better be going, Siena. It’s very nice to meet you, Dr. Collins.”

  His eyes met and held hers. “My pleasure.”

  ***

  Kathleen arose early, dressed in a capri outfit, and applied makeup. She dropped Siena off at school, then visited Helen Williams, a long time friend, at the hospital. After seeing the baby, Kathleen said goodbye, but Helen stopped her.

  “I’ve found a man for you, Kathleen.”

  “What?”

  “Now, don’t bite my head off. I know you’ve not been looking, but you’ve heard the saying ‘good things come to she who waits.’ Well, I think your wait is over.”

  “Helen, you’re talking in riddles.”

  “Have you met my substitute yet? Dr. Collins.”

  “As a matter of fact, I met him last night. And before you jump to wild conclusions, he was with several teachers at Nagano’s Steak House. Siena and I were leaving as they arrived.”

  “Well, what did you think?”

  “He seemed nice enough.” And drop dead gorgeous, invading my dreams.

  “He is nice, and he’s got a good head on his shoulders. That’s more than you can say for today’s yoyos. Plus he must be sitting fine financially. I heard he bought the old McIntyre place west of Lilburn. There’s 300 acres or more on that spread.”

  “You’re a regular walking encyclopedia. What’d you do, go through his personnel file line by line?”

  A sheepish look crossed her friend’s face. “Actually, I did. But, for your information, the principal requested it.”

  “Did his file also say he was financially set and had bought the McIntyre Farm?”

  “Well...not exactly. I heard that from very good sources. Anyway, the man’s definitely easy on the eyes. I’d planned to invite you both for dinner last weekend, but our little bouncer decided to make his debut a few days early.”

  Kathleen laughed. “Thank goodness for early arrivals. Listen, I’m sure Dr. Collins is a nice man, Helen, but I don’t know if I’m ready. I’m comfortable the way I am.”

  Helen sighed heavily. “Kathleen, how long have we been friends—ten, fifteen years?” At Kathleen’s nod, she continued. “It earns me the right to say this. You can’t hide out writing stories about other people’s love and happiness for the rest of your life. You’ve got to find your own sooner or later. It’s been over three years
since Roger died. That’s long enough—too long, if you ask me. He loved you...he’d want you to be happy. Think about it, okay?”

  “Yeah, yeah, I’ll think about it. Only don’t go matching me up. I mean it, Helen.” Kathleen shook her pointer finger and exited the room.

  She rehashed the conversation on the way to get Siena. She hadn’t been totally truthful with Helen. True, her writing brought her satisfaction, but something was definitely missing. And it wasn’t difficult to determine what it was.

  Siena handed her a note from Dr. Kevin when she picked her up. “He wants to meet with you.”

  “Me?”

  “He wants to talk to all the kids’ parents. I told him, again, my parents are on vacation, so he said you could come. When can you go, Aunt Kath?”

  “We’ll see. I’ll contact him and set up an appointment.”

  Siena scrunched her nose. “Are we going for yogurt today?”

  “How about we skip it this time? I had so many errands, I didn’t get to the grocery store. What if we buy strawberries and make strawberry shortcake tonight?”

  “That’s even better. Can...may I pick out the strawberries?”

  “I was hoping you’d help.”

  Siena insisted on steering the cart. She rounded the corner to the produce section too quickly and collided into...Dr. Kevin’s cart.

  “Well, fancy meeting you ladies.” He grinned.

  “I’m so sorry,” Kathleen stammered.

  “No problem. I should’ve had better control of my vehicle.”

  “We’re going to get some strawberries for dessert,” Siena said.

  “That sounds tasty, Siena.”

  “Can I go pick them out, Aunt Kath?”

  “Sure—stay where I can see you though.”

  “Okay,” she called and hurried off.

  Suddenly, Kathleen became mute. Finally, she stammered, “I got your note...about meeting... about Siena.”

  “Good. So when...what works best for you?”

  “Most anytime’s okay. Your schedule is probably more difficult than mine, so you choose.”