Owen sat at Dade’s with his arm around Leena watching as she spoke to Cora about some work-related issue. The last week had been so wonderful. They were together every morning and every night after she returned from work. He kissed the top of her head. He smiled as he realized, other than her going to work, they had been together since the night he’d waited for her on the step.
He couldn’t see a day without her in it now, and it didn’t scare him this time. He loved to wake up and see her sleepy smile, to be greeted by her when she got home, whether it was his home or hers. He was actually writing with a loose sort of schedule. That was a first, he thought with a grin. He’d always written for ten hours, then stopped for a nap, working for a few more afterward. Now he wrote when she was at work, or after she was asleep, if the characters called to him.
His whole world was so different, and the normal he’d never had. It was all because of the woman leaning against him tucked under his arm. He tipped her face up, which interrupted her conversation with Cora, and kissed her long and hard.
Leena smiled up at him for a moment. “Everything all right?”
“Never been better.”
Cora smiled at them.
Owen glanced at Dade, who gave him a grin that said, “Told ya so,” once again. Grinning back at him, he tucked Leena tighter under his shoulder in no hurry to go anywhere, so normal, he thought again.
Kasey sat there most of the time with her head down, pen going in a notebook, and ignoring Chris as best as she could. She sat as far from him as she’d been able to manage and disregarded the fact he’d been talking to Rachel most of the time since he’d gotten there.
Steven’s arrival broke up the various conversations taking place. “Have I missed anything fun?” he inquired as he came through the door and dropped in the first empty chair he saw.
Chris grinned. “Are you ever on time?”
Steven shrugged and grinned back. “Only if you’re having a baby.”
Cora sat forward and cleared her throat. “Before you two get going on things I’m sure we don’t need to know, I think we’d better go over the notes from the vision. We have only a little over a week left before Solstice.”
Dade nodded. “I, for one, keep seeing that calendar from it.” He rubbed his jaw. “That’s a pretty sure sign that they plan to be at Solstice. That was the date circled.”
Chris nodded, “I was wondering more about the neurologist’s appointment, or I’m assuming the neurology department meant they were seeing a neurologist. Add that to the fact that they’re also on some pretty regular medication, to write on the calendar when they need to get their prescription refilled. Doc?” Chris turned toward him. “Thoughts on any of that?”
Steven ruffled Rachel’s hair and winked at her before answering. “I can’t tell you much with that little information. Now if we’d seen a name of a drug or something that would narrow it down. Possibilities could be headaches or some sort of neurological condition. Many people with tumors display delusional tendencies, and I think those dancing women we saw were very much part of a delusion.”
Rachel sat back and nodded. “No woman I’ve ever seen dances around a ritual fire like that. I think what we saw was more the way he sees them. I mean, there is always a degree of nudity, whether partial or the whole show, but they never move that way…”
Owen put his hand up. “Where is there nudity? At the ritual fires? I didn’t see any at Beltane.” He looked at Dade’s amused expression.
Kasey shrugged. “We usually go off to play with spells and things before the tops come flying off. Well, I don’t think too many would have at Beltane, because it was quite cool and damp. But, yes, Owen, quite often there are naked dancers, men included.”
Owen’s eyebrows shot up, and he looked at Leena. “You guys dance naked?”
Leena shook her head. “No, I don’t see the whole reasoning behind naked ritual dance.”
“There was that one time a few years back, Leena,” Dade reminded her with a smirk.
“Dade, shut up! She was too drunk to know what she was doing that time.” Cora glared at him.
Owen turned back to her and raised his eyebrows. “There will be no more of that. You want to dance around naked? By all means, baby, but I’ll be the only one there.” He pulled her tight against him and kissed her quickly.
“Okay, whole new topic here,” Rachel said, trying not to laugh. “Have you gotten Owen a sarong for Solstice yet?”
Leena grinned wide and shook her head. “I don’t know what color to get him.” She said it while trying to avoid his curious look.
“Oh, definitely mixed blues. To go with his eyes,” Kasey added as she grinned at Owen.
“A sarong? What is a sarong, and why do I think I’m not going to like this?” he asked Dade, who just shrugged while grinning at him.
“You’ve seen Dade in one before, Owen. When he’s going to the temple,” Cora added quite matter-of-factly.
“A skirt? You want me to wear a skirt?” Owen looked at Leena.
“Hey, don’t knock it until you’ve tried it, bro.” Dade scowled at him.
Owen looked down into her amber eyes and shook his head. “We’ll talk about this later,” he said quickly.
“Wow, he’s just all he-man tonight, isn’t he?” Rachel said as she sat up and reached for the notebook on the table.
“So, back to the discussion...” she waited until everyone looked at her. “Has anyone told Justin what we’ve been up to?”
Chris, who had been watching Kasey more than he had anyone else, turned to look at her. “Yes, I spoke to him last night. He’s going to give us a heads-up on who the police put inside. He’s also hoping they don’t stand out like a beacon. He’ll let us see a copy of the registrants’ names on the Friday night, before the opening circle. Discreetly of course, so we can make a note of who was also at Beltane.” He looked around the room. “The women dancing the other night, did anyone recognize a face or anything?”
Kasey shook her head. “To me the faces were kind of blurred. I remember because everything else to that point was crystal-clear.”
Dade agreed with her. “Yeah, I noticed that, too. The one dancer kind of rang familiar, so I looked to the face for confirmation and couldn’t make it out.”
“You recognized a naked body?” Cora turned to him and gave him a look.
“What? No, I recognized the bracelets! One of them had those shell bracelets covering half her arm.”
“Very observant, Dade.” Steven winked at him.
“Hey, I’m an observant kind of guy.” He mumbled.
Leena sat up. “Oh! I know who he’s talking about... oh, what was her name?” She closed her eyes for a second then turned to Kasey. “The woman that did the dance workshop a few years ago, she had shell bracelets covering over half her forearm.”
Kasey bounced for a moment with her eyes closed. “Oh, I know who you mean. Where’s the attendance list from Beltane? She was there. I saw her talking to Gwen at dinner the first night.
Chris grabbed the list from the pile and took it over to Kasey. He perched on the edge of the chair and read over her shoulder.
“Oh! Cassidy...” she looked up at Chris. “How would you say that last name?” she pointed to it.
He leaned down and looked at it then straightened away from the temptation of her neck. “I have no idea, but it doesn’t matter. We’ll tell Justin the killer focused on her at some point and he can make sure she has company all the time.” He dropped a hand to Kasey’s shoulder and rubbed it gently. “Well, people we may not have identified the killer yet, but we could have very well just saved a woman’s life.” He was shocked to see Cora all but crawl onto Dade’s lap and hug him.
Cora’s mouth brushed against his, and Dade smiled. “I’m sorry for snapping,” she said quietly.
Dade smiled again and ran his hand up her back. “That’s okay, honey, I don’t mind your teeth at all.” He brushed his mouth over hers again and looked back to Kasey. “Kase, none of it would have been possible without your hard work. I know exactly who I’m going to if I need a spell worked.” He grinned at her. His words rewarded him another little hug from Coralee.
Chris noticed Kasey’s face light up from Dade’s praise and suddenly felt like a worm. Vibrant, sweet Kasey who looked like she was barely containing the desire to jump up and do a little victory dance. He dropped off the arm of the chair so he was face to face with her. Palming her neck gently, he kissed her lightly and whispered against her ear. “He’s right, and I’m sorry.” He pulled back to see the look in those huge green eyes and knew she had understood. Smiling, he released her and stood up to glance around at everyone. “So, are we carpooling to Solstice, and what’s the word on the lodgings?”
Leena sat forward. “Gwen has given the eight of us this huge dorm-type housing. Well, cabin. I’m sure it won’t be grand or anything, but it will put us all under the same roof.” She looked around as she spoke. “I, for one, will feel better knowing we’re all together.”
“How many rooms and beds?” Steven asked.
“I’m not sure on all of that. I do know there are separate rooms, but not how many beds per room, so we’ll have to figure that out when we get there.”
Everyone nodded, and she relaxed and sat back again.
“We’ll figure out who pays what when we get there also,” Chris added in, not telling them he’d already paid for all of their Solstice stay. “So, who’s riding with whom?”
Owen shrugged. “We can do it like we did for the fair, if you like. I’d feel better knowing we all arrived together and no one was driving alone.” He looked at Leena as he said it.
Rachel pulled out a map from her purse and handed it to Dade. “I looked it up, and there are no log bridges at this site. And there is a small village with a few stores about fifteen minutes away.”
Dade studied it. “Is everyone able to get away earlier in the day on the Friday? I’d like to get there early enough to check the place out, and see who’s there that we know. The drive is going to probably be a little over two hours.”
All three women turned and looked at Leena. She held up her hands. “I’ll see if I can spring us early. If you’re caught up in shipping, safely caught up, then I can get someone else to run your line for a few hours, Kase.” The women all rushed to her. “So, we can probably meet and leave by two. Does that work for everyone?” she asked when she was able to lean back against Owen again. No one objected.
Owen grinned over at Dade. “Guess you’ll have to bring most of the stuff, and the beer. Jeep doesn’t have a lot of room.”
Dade smiled. “No problem. You just worry about your sarong and I’ll get the rest.” He winked at Leena and stood up. “Anyone want coffee, tea, or a beer before we call this meeting done?” Hands went up.
Coralee jumped up. “I’ll give you a hand, Dade.” And she walked into the kitchen. He grinned and followed.
“Is that everything then?” Kasey looked up from the list she made of everyone’s wants for munchies and things for the trip. She was on the floor leaning back between Chris’s legs as he sat in the chair. She felt much better. She looked around at him to see if he had anything to add. Smiling innocently, she watched his hair rustle under an invisible hand. He reached out and kneaded her shoulder with a smile. “Okay, then. Leena and I can go after work some night and pick this stuff up.”
“No need, Kase. I’ll do it while Leena’s at work the day before or something,” Owen offered and put his hand out for the list. He caught the flashing grins the other women gave Leena.
Groans from the men could be heard. “Man you’re killing us here, Owen. The womenfolk always run around and get the stuff.” Dade snorted, which earned him a smack from Cora and a few female glares.
Owen leaned over and kissed Leena. “Not in this relationship, bro.” She smiled up at him with that love he would always want to see in her eyes. “Ready to go home, baby?” he asked her quietly. Leena just smiled and nodded. “We’re out of here, people,” he said as he stood and reached for her hand. “Are we meeting at all next week?”
Doc shook his head. “I won’t be able to get any time next week, not if I’m going to disappear again for gathering.”
Dade nodded. “I’ve got some repairs and things at the retirement home to catch up on, so I’ll be out of sight, too.”
Kasey frowned. “So, will we get together the night before we leave, to pack everything up then?”
Chris nodded. “Sounds like a good idea.”
“Everyone make sure to keep your gris-gris bags handy, and bring them to the gathering. We’ll strengthen them once we’re there,” Cora added.
Steven shook a few hands and gave a few quick hugs before he hugged Rachel tightly. “I could use a bit of help in the children’s wing on the weekend, if you have time.”
Rachel hugged him back. “I’ll be there. Just text me the times.” He grinned at her then released her.
Chris wanted to hug only Kasey, so he did. He more or less picked her up and hugged her gently against him. “Give me a call if you need help finding your stuff in that scary closet.” He kissed her on the cheek tenderly then looked at her for a moment. Glancing over at the others he reached in his pocket. “I saw this and it made me think of you, so I hope you don’t mind that I got it for you. You don’t have to wear it if you don’t want to.” Since when did he babble? “I didn’t know if I’d get the chance to give it to you. You’ve pretty much ignored me since the weekend, but anyway, it’s to say I’m sorry.” He opened his hand and in it was a small, glittering fairy belly ring.
“Oh, Chris it’s so pretty,” she whispered as she took it out of his hand. “Of course I’ll wear it. Well, not to work or anything. I’m sure it’s not a fake stone. Thank you!” She pulled his head down and kissed him tenderly, taking her time to brush her mouth over his for a few moments. “Thank you.”
He stood there resting his hands on her hips, just looking down at her for several moments and she was almost lost in his dark green eyes. Then his head snapped up, as she too realized no one else was talking. They turned to see several smiling faces staring at them. Blushing, she stepped away from him and reached to gather up her stuff.
Leena squeezed Owen tighter and smiled up at him. He winked at her and pulled her toward the door. “We’ll see you later,” Leena said to everyone as she followed him to the door.