Holding Out For A Hero: SEALs, Soldiers, Spies, Cops, FBI Agents and Rangers (104 page)

Fred didn’t know what he was talking about. Gideon’s grinding teeth must have warned him he’d gone too far. With a roll of his eyes, the older man shrugged and lumbered to his feet.

“You just think about it, boy. That girl has potential. Even though I don’t want this getting back to your momma, I have to admit, I kinda like the gal.”

Gideon stayed silent as Fred left. Not hungry, he ignored the tray of food and tried to work on his supply list. After five minutes of staring off in space, he threw the pen across the room and shoved to his feet.

Why the hell did Miki have to be a witch? Why couldn’t she be the sweet, spunky woman he’d fallen in love with?

He caught sight of one of the Wilson boys heading toward his pseudo-office, a huge teddy bear in his arms and an even huger grin on his freckled face. With a groan, Gideon realized he just couldn’t take any more.

He sidled to the side-door, slipping out before the boy saw him. But once outdoors, he realized there was nowhere to go to escape the gossips, the sly looks, or the well-meaning advice.

So he went to the one place he knew he could be alone. The Town Square.

He wandered along the cobblestone path, the murky shadows making the square dim as night, even though it was barely noon.

As Gideon wandered the meandering path, he noticed here and there sprouts of green growth. He frowned. When had things started growing here again?

Miki would have loved to see it. She’d been fascinated with the square and its history. Gideon snorted. And no wonder. A history that included a witch was right up her ally.

Hadn’t that history been part of Tilda’s fascination with the town? Why she’d insisted they move back there?

Not that he could claim Miki’d moved to Rossdale for the history. No, she’d moved here to heal, to try and regain her spirit, to get her feet back under her.

And she’d done one hell of a job. Even though with hindsight, he could see where magic had played into some of her progress with the house, he’d also seen her apply a lot of elbow grease, good humor, and effort.

She’d come out of a rotten marriage, like him, but she had recovered. Gideon stopped stomping around and heaved a sigh. He shoved his hands into his front pockets and leaned back on his heels while he contemplated the gazebo in front of him.

In barely a month, Miki had managed to do what Gideon hadn’t in six long years.

She’d found faith in herself again. He’d watched it happen. Watched her confidence grow, her humor support her. She’d taken the rotten hand dealt to her, and played it for all it was worth.

And him? He’d been hiding here, like a wussy-boy, from his ex-wife and her nasty threats. Six years after she’d blown up their house and stormed off, Tilda was still running his life.

Gideon hunched his shoulders against the spasms of tension and stared at the gazebo, although he really didn’t see anything but a blur of remembered images.

So now what? Was he willing to let Miki go because she had one little thing in common with his ex-wife? He’d known from their first date that Tilda was a witch. She’d never been one to hide her light under a bushel, and he’d been fascinated. Raised with Rossdale’s history, he’d always identified with Hiram Ross. Although he’d kept it to himself, he’d often thought it was the town’s rejection of magic that had caused its downfall.

If he were honest, he’d married Tilda because she was a witch, secretly thinking she would make him Rossdale’s hero. Instead, he’d been a big fat zero.

But he’d fallen in love with Miki because of who she was. Sweet, plucky, and deeply loyal. And he’d turn away the best thing to ever happen to him because... what? She had that one little thing in common with Tilda? At least she wasn’t the vindictive, nasty type his ex was.

He plunked down on the gazebo steps to try to sort through all his conflicting thoughts. His heart was screaming for him to run to Miki and beg her to forgive him. Damned if his head wasn’t yelling the same thing just as loud.

Something tickled his neck. Gideon slapped at it, thinking it was a bug. But it didn’t feel like a bug. He turned and his jaw dropped in shock.

Holy shit. The last time he’d seen the well, it had been covered in dead brambles. Now it was lush with green leaves and small, fragrant white flowers twining around it.

Hope unfurled inside him, as fragile as the tiny white blooms. He brushed the plaque and read the words again.
Faith, magic, and love.

Even though he’d been busting his ass this last week to make the tournament happen, he’d never been quite sure if it’d be enough. If there was really a chance of saving the town from ruin. Now, reading this with new eyes, Gideon realized the simple truth.

Rossdale needed its witch. That was the source of its success or failure. That belief and acceptance of magic. And while he’d believed in it—after all, a house in flames was damned good proof—he’d never really accepted it.

Could he now?

He closed his eyes and called up the image of Miki’s face. Of her smile and the sound of her laugh. If he tried, he could almost smell the sweet scent of her perfume.

If the magic was a part of Miki, then yeah, he’d accept it.

His heart pounded with excitement as he considered the ramifications, the possibilities. He barely bit back his roar of triumph.

They’d survive. With or without Miki, they’d not only make it all work, but they’d lift the miserable gloom that had kept the town teetering on extinction for the last thirty years.

But it’d be a hell of a lot better with her.

He needed to think a few things through. He was sure there was more to the prophecy than a simple acceptance of magic. There had to be. His best bet was figuring out that sticky business of the people who’d left Rossdale years before to live out at the lake.

Gideon puffed out his cheeks and considered his options. It looked like it was time to start repairing his town. But first, he needed to repair his relationship with Miki.

* * *

Gideon waited for the townspeople to take their seats. After his epiphany in the Town Square, he’d tried to reach Miki, but she wasn’t answering her cell. He’d taken a trip out to Mage Lake, met with a few old friends, and learned some very interesting facts about what was really going on out there.

And while he was amped over his discovery and what it meant to the town, he was still antsy to fix things with Miki. Had his refusal to acknowledge her overtures been too much? Had she changed her mind?

And if she had? When Tilda had left, he’d actually been relieved. But life without Miki? He didn’t know if he could do that.

Setting aside his personal thoughts, he called the meeting to order and quickly got to the point.

“Look, I met with a few of the people out at the lake. We have a chance here to reunite the town, and I think we need to take it. Right now they’re being jerked around by some guy named Antonio. The people I talked to said nobody would be sorry to see him gone, but too many of them are afraid of him.”

“So?” Marcia asked, still wearing the same glare she’d had for him since she walked in. “What’s that to us? They are the fools who got all wrapped up in that cult crap, let them deal with him.”

“They were once a part of this town. And I believe if we’re going to survive these lean times, if we’re going to successfully implement all those tourism plans, we have to mend some fences.”

The room exploded in argument. Thankfully, nobody seemed to expect him to actually answer, they all just wanted to voice their opinions at the top of their lungs.

Gideon stretched his head from side to side to try to relieve the tension knotted in his neck. For the first time, he was finding it hard to find the energy to care about the town. Not when the one person who really mattered seemed to have disappeared before he could fix things between them.

Then, like the sun coming out on a dismal, dark day, she walked in and quietly took a seat in the back row of folding chairs.

A rarely felt joy suffused him and Gideon sent up a prayer of thanks at the sight of her. His grin stretching his cheeks, he ignored the arguing townspeople. He stepped down from the podium and made his way through the crowd to where she sat. Her eyes were huge, almost amused at the ruckus in the room. But it was the trembling of her lower lip that kicked him in the gut. He’d hurt her. And, despite the sudden stares and voices calling his name, the only thing that mattered was setting things right. He reached out to take her hands in his and pulled her out of her chair, then out the door.

Once outside, he turned to face her. With both hands gripping her bare shoulders, he leaned down to press his forehead to hers.

“Sweetheart, I have maybe five minutes at the most before they all come out here screaming for attention. But I have to fix things with you. With us.”

“Yeah?” He saw her swallow, her lips pressed tightly together. Those huge, midnight eyes stared up at him, the hurt he’d caused plain to see in their depths.

He looked around the deserted street, the evening air heavy with the scent of nearby roses, and heaved a sigh.

“This isn’t how I wanted to do this. I know we need to talk, and this obviously isn’t the right time. But I don’t want you to keep thinking there’s a problem.” He lifted her hand to his mouth and brushed a soft kiss over her knuckles before turning it over to place a kiss on her palm.

“Miki, I’m sorry about what I said the other night. I’m sorry if I seemed, well, prejudiced. I realize what you have makes you special, but that’s not a bad thing. I knew you were special all along.”

She pressed her lips together, then gave a sniff. “I realize that was probably a shock, my being a witch and all. And part of me wants to just let it go, be grateful that you’re willing to accept my magic, and move forward.”

His stomach, already working toward a world-class ulcer, burned. “But?”

“But I’ve come to realize I’m more important than that. I am actually proud of who I am, Gideon. Of what I am. I need to be with someone who feels the same. I won’t hide ever again. Not from someone I’m in a relationship with.”

“So,” Gideon said slowly, “What you’re saying is I have to accept you, magic and all?”

“Yes.” Her wince was infinitesimal, but enough to tell him she didn’t believe he could do it.

Gideon couldn’t stand that look, so he pulled her close, and despite the audience, kissed her. When he pulled his lips from hers, Miki gave him a breathless smile, but didn’t drop the subject.

“As great as that is, I won’t walk away from my powers, Gideon. I won’t deny who I am.”

He frowned. “Walk away? Why would you? This is who you are, Miki. I... Well, I have reasons it freaked me out, but it never entered my head that you’d give up a part of yourself. Not for me, not for anything.”

There was a pounding and they both looked over to see Fred, Reba, and Deloris tapping at the window. Fred and Reba were grinning, but Deloris looked ready to spit carpet tacks. Right at them. Gideon grimaced, but nodded at their gestures to return to the room.

“I have to get back in there. I just dropped a huge bomb on them, I can’t leave until we settle the issue.” He tucked her under his arm and brushed a kiss over the top of her head. “I have some things I need to tell you. Will you come back to my house after the meeting? We need to finish this talk.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive,” he promised.

Her smile slowly spread, erasing most of the worry. Not all, but enough to give him hope.

“I can’t wait,” she said quietly. “After we talk, can I take you to bed and have my way with your body?”

They were laughing over the descriptions she whispered of what she’d like to do later when they walked, arm in arm, back into the room.

They were met by applause, whoops, and catcalls. Gideon grinned and looked down to see the look of pleasure on Miki’s face. Looked like she’d gained one hundred percent acceptance now.

He caught sight of his mother’s pinched face at the front of the room, and realized maybe it wasn’t quite one hundred percent. Yet.

Then, slowly, the clapping and yells died away. Gideon figured they’d all caught sight of his mother’s disapproval. Too damned bad. He made his way toward the front of the room, frowning as he saw the faces weren’t chastised, but actually a combination of fear and shock.

He looked at his mother, but she wasn’t looking his way. She faced the podium, her jaw low and her eyes huge.

Gideon couldn’t see through the crowd, but as if they’d sensed his confusion, the bodies parted, clearing the center aisle and leaving a clear view of the dais.

Gideon’s feet stopped of their own volition, as did his heart. For a brief second, his eyes blurred. He blinked, sure it had to be a mistake. A mirage. A damned nightmare.

“Gideon,” the woman leaning against the podium said.

“Tilda,” he returned. “I didn’t realize hell offered day passes.”

Miki gasped at the nasty bitterness in Gideon’s tone.

Next to her, his body was rigid with tension. His arm had fallen from her shoulder, and he didn’t seem to notice she was even there. Of course, neither did anyone else in the room. All eyes were on the slinky blonde up front.

Miki narrowed her eyes at the woman, a sense of familiarity nagging in the back of her mind. She knew she’d never seen her before, though. After all, that overblown sexuality wouldn’t be easy to forget, even for a woman used to the plastic perfection of Southern California.

A lush body filled an icy-blue dress so well, Miki had to wonder if the fabric had been sewn in place. The face was a work of cold perfection, almost-white brows drawn together over pale blue eyes.

That’s when it hit her. The woman was the Winter Queen of Miki’s vision the previous night. Tension, already tight from the energy floating through the room, ratcheted up a dozen notches. Miki steeled herself, both physically and emotionally. This woman was trouble.

“Aren’t you the clever one, Gideon? After all these years, I’d apparently forgotten how quick you were.” She looked him over like a starving woman looks at a feast. With a deep hunger and an almost predatory gleam in those calculating eyes. Miki unconsciously moved closer to Gideon. Whether it was to claim her territory or to protect him, she wasn’t sure. All she knew was this woman looked like she wanted to eat him alive.