As she settled down on him, his cock easily sliding deep inside her pussy, a peace washed through her.
She looked down into his eyes. “I love you,” she whispered.
He smiled up at her. “Love you, too.”
She held still for Ellis, tipping her head back to meet his gaze. “I love you,” she whispered.
He smiled, kissing her. “Love you, too, babe.”
A satisfied sigh escaped her as he slowly and carefully worked his cock inside her ass, the familiar pinch as he stretched her tight rim with his shaft soon turning into delicious pleasure that made her clit throb.
She draped herself over Brad’s chest. “Fuck me, boys,” she said. “Please.”
Together, the men set a slow, steady rhythm her body responded to with no additional help needed. She closed her eyes and pictured their energies swirling around her, joining with hers, forming an unbreakable bond between their souls.
Never in her life had she ever dreamed she’d go through what she’d been through in the past couple of weeks, but she knew with these two men by her side, as well as her friends, she could make it through anything.
I can do this. It will be okay.
She understood.
As she felt her release build, she pictured her fear as a balloon on a string. And when her climax started, bubbling from her clit and spreading throughout her body, in her mind she snipped that string with a pair of scissors and watched the balloon soar free.
She thought she heard Julie’s voice whisper, “Namaste, sister.”
Mandaline let out a cry as another, more powerful orgasm hit her, slamming her back into her body. “Now!” she gasped.
Both men sped up, catching up and coming with groans of their own. Her eyes dropped closed as a peace the likes of which she’d never felt before settled over her.
“Namaste, sister,” she whispered.
* * * *
They didn’t get more than a brief nap before daylight overtook them. With a little sleep under her belt, Mandaline shooed Ellis to work instead of going to the airport with her to pick up Sachi’s father later that afternoon. Paige ran her back to the house, which had been cordoned off with yellow crime scene tape, to pick up the Element.
She stared at the house for a few minutes in the daylight.
Her house.
Her home.
With her men.
Yes, something horrible had just happened there, but they’d come through it on the other side. And in some ways, far better off than before. Sachi, once healed from her physical and emotional wounds, wouldn’t have to live her life looking over her shoulder.
She nodded. Matt and Sami would also have a beautiful house when they finished their restorations. Despite the bad history, as Julie had said, things couldn’t be bad.
And Mandaline refused to give negative energies any power over her any longer.
Her own soul felt lighter for having finally released her fear—and in the process Julie’s spirit.
She drove back to the shop where Brad helped her load all of Sachi’s things. There wouldn’t be any reason Sachi and her dad couldn’t go back to her house now. She’d drive him out to the house to pick up Sachi’s car after they got back from Tampa.
She stopped by the hospital before heading to Tampa to check on her. The deputy was still on duty at her door. She was sitting up in bed, a frown on her face, the remote control in her good hand, and a half-eaten plate of something Mandaline assumed was supposed to be lunch on the tray in front of her.
“Do you believe this shit?” Sachi said. “No fucking decent cable channels. And look at this slop!”
Mandaline tilted her head. “I see you’re feeling better.”
“Only if you’re here to spring me.”
“Not yet. I’m going to go get your dad. You’ll be ready for discharge by then.”
A frown flitted across Sachi’s features before she schooled her expression again. She wouldn’t meet Mandaline’s gaze. “I feel bad I called him,” she softly said. “I shouldn’t have. I’ll be okay. Just a flesh wound.”
“Sachi!” she snapped, harsher than she meant, but it got her attention. “Fucking cry it out already, okay? If I can cry, so can you!”
She closed her eyes for a moment, but the tears began to spill from under her lids. “I thought we were both going to die,” she whispered. “I couldn’t have lived with myself if he’d hurt you when he was after me.”
Mandaline sat on the edge of the bed and held her as best she could with Sachi’s right arm in a sling. “It’s okay,” she said. “Let it out. It’s my turn to be the sponge.”
That got a short laugh out of Sachi.
“Listen. Mandatory minimum of one week paid vacation for you, lady. And when I bring your dad back here, we’re taking you to your house. I think we all know who was behind the break-in. You two need some alone time. You don’t come into the shop unless it’s you bringing your dad in to meet everyone. Got it?”
Sachi tearfully nodded as she wiped at her eyes. “Got it, chief. Thank you.”
“No problem.” She kissed the top of her head. “And that’s sister to you.”
Sachi let out another barking laugh. “Sister.” She hugged Mandaline even more tightly. “I like the sound of that, sister. I like it a lot.” She looked up at Mandaline. “You’re my sister, too, even if I can’t get you to shoot skeet.”
* * * *
Sachi had gotten her blue eyes from her father. Instead of going to the cell phone lot to wait for him, Mandaline opted to park and go inside to the main terminal and wait by the airside shuttles. When his plane landed, he called her and she told him where she was waiting.
He looked worried and exhausted as he hurried over to her after craning his neck looking for her. Barely taller than Mandaline, his skin was tan from many hours spent outside, his short grey hair peeking out from under a Cessna baseball cap. “Mandaline?”
She hugged him. “Hi, Mr. Bloomfeld, it’s nice to finally meet you.”
“Please, call me Michael. Miki. How is she?”
“She’s about ready to take the hospital apart piece by piece.”
He froze before he burst out in tearful laughter. Putting down his backpack, he pulled out a handkerchief and blew his nose. “That’s my Miki.”
On the way back to Brooksville, she related what happened to him from the start. He slumped against the door and stared out the windshield as he listened. “You must think I’m a horrible father for letting her leave home the way I did.”
“No! Not at all. Sachi…Miki is a very independent woman. I don’t see how you could have made her stay.”
“I’ve thought about moving down here the past few years. It gets so damn cold out there and I’m not getting any younger. And there are a lot of airports down here, small ones. I could find work I’m sure.” He looked at her. “Do you think she’d have me?”
“Why wouldn’t she?”
“I’ve always wondered if she maybe blames me. For moving us out there. For not being home when it happened.”
More hidden pain. More unspoken fear. “Sir, not that it’s my business, but I don’t think she does. I think you and her need to settle that issue now, before you think about flying home.”
“She’s always so…you know how she is. She brushes things off. Never thinks about herself, always worries about others. I’ve been worried about her even before now that she’s not as good as she says over the phone.”
She made the turnoff to Brooksville. “Then I think that’s a great place to start the conversation. She’s got a spare bedroom at her house. And I’ve ordered her to take a week’s paid vacation, so she’s going to have to do something since, as she’s already bitched, she can’t shoot skeet.”
He nodded. “Thank you, Mandaline.” He paused. “She told me about your friend, Julie. I’m really sorry I didn’t get to meet her. I know Miki loved her.”
“Thank you.” She mentally braced herself for a wave of grief th
at didn’t hit, surprising her. “We’ll all miss her, but she’d want us to move on with our lives.”
* * * *
It was nearly five o’clock in the afternoon when she returned to the store to find an unmarked sheriff’s cruiser parked behind the store in her spot.
Heart racing, she hurried inside through the back door. There was what sounded like a noisy crowd gathered in the front of the store. She pushed her way through people until she found Brad being held back by Detective Haines while he still tried to take a swing at an older man cowering away from him.
“For fuck’s sake!” she screamed at the top of her voice, making everyone else fall silent and look at her. “What in the name of Hecate is going on?”
“I was going to ask you that,” Haines said as he struggled to hold on to Brad.
She stepped in front of Brad. “What the hell is going on?”
He tried to look around her, but she grabbed his head and made him look at her. “Just let me take one fucking swing at him,” he said. “That’s all I ask!”
She glanced at the man and back at Brad. “Who is he?”
“He’s my goddamned father.” He stopped fighting the detective. “Just one punch, that’s all I need.”
Anger flared from deep within her. She whirled on the man. “That right? You his father?”
Somewhere behind her, it sounded like a lightbulb in one of the store display cases exploded with a loud pop, making a couple of people jump and even a few let out startled cries.
The man nodded. “I just wanted to talk to him. I saw the news story and thought I’d—”
“OUT!” she roared. Everyone behind her took an involuntary step back, including the detective, who pulled Brad with him.
The man’s eyes widened. “But, I—”
Another lightbulb exploded and, somehow, the front door flew open. The thought that a sudden gust of wind must have pushed it, as it sometimes did, swept through her mind. She stepped forward as the guy stepped back toward the open door.
Her hands balled into tight fists. “You didn’t just see a news story. That fucking reporter sent you. Get. Out. Of. My. Store. And if you ever come back or say anything to that fuckface slimy reporter about Brad, I will forget I’m not supposed to hex people!” She walked over to the door and pushed it shut, even though the pneumatic arm on it wouldn’t let her slam it in his face.
She turned, stunned silence and wide eyes meeting her. Someone started applauding, and before she knew it, the whole room of twenty or so people were applauding her.
Breathing hard, she walked up to Brad again. “What the hell?”
“I was here getting another statement,” the detective said. “About last night, when that man came in.” He looked around her. Brad’s father was scurrying down the sidewalk and out of sight. “You walked in about twenty seconds after it all started.”
She pulled herself up to her full height and nodded. “Is Brad under arrest for anything?”
“No. Like I said, it’d just happened when you came in. I’m not going to arrest him for not taking a swing at someone. I’ve got enough paperwork.”
“Good.” She looked at Brad and pointed to her office. “Now.”
Without a word, he went.
She took another deep breath to calm herself. “Please, detective, feel free to use my office to take his statement. You can close the door for privacy.”
“Thank you.”
She didn’t know if he looked scared or like he admired her.
She turned to everyone else. “Well? What are y’all waiting for? Get back to doing whatever you were doing. Show’s over.”
Paige, wearing a look of awe, followed her down the hall to the washroom where Mandaline splashed cold water on her face as the shakes hit.
“Holy…holy shit!” Paige whispered. “Sachi is gonna crap herself when I tell her what you just did!”
“What’d I just do?”
“You…Jesus, Mandaline? Seriously? You blew two fucking bulbs out and made the door open!”
Heat filled her face again. She splashed more cold water on it. “That was the wind that made the door open.”
“It’s not windy!”
“And with all the storms lately, it was probably just some sort of power surge or something that did the bulbs in. Weakened them and they coincidentally blew.”
When Paige didn’t respond, Mandaline looked at her in the mirror.
Paige’s jaw gaped. “Fuck. Me. Mandaline, quit trying to play the Queen of Denial! You did that!”
“I’ve never done anything like that before!”
“You’ve never been as angry before as you were out there. I’ve never seen you that angry!”
Mandaline grabbed a paper towel to dry her face. “Maybe Sachi’s right,” she muttered. “Maybe I should take up skeet.”
* * * *
She didn’t mention what happened to Ellis when he returned from the office around six thirty. Exhausted, she placed a quick call to Sachi to check up on her before going upstairs. “You guys, please, just fend for yourselves for dinner. I’ll make myself something if I wake up before morning. Someone please walk Pers.”
Ellis looked concerned. “Are you okay?”
“Just tired.” She gave him a kiss and headed upstairs. After stripping, she fell into bed and crashed immediately into sleep.
She found herself standing in a sunny, gorgeous bedroom full of IKEA furniture. At first she didn’t recognize it until she heard a laugh and saw Julie spread out on the bed.
“Good choice, sister.”
Mandaline smiled. “Thank you, sister.” The walls had been painted a cheerful pale yellow that perfectly matched the decor.
“That’s ‘Seaside Yellow,’ by the way,” Julie noted. “Don’t forget it.”
Mandaline laughed. “I won’t.” Her smile faded. “About today…”
Julie waved her comment off as she sat up. “You did it. Quit being bashful. You had a lot of anger and fear and energy pent up.” She stood and walked over to Mandaline, where she put her hands on her shoulders. “And thank you for releasing me.”
Mandaline sighed, but she didn’t feel sad. “I guess I won’t see you again, will I?”
Julie shrugged and looked around. “You’ll see me everywhere. In the trees, in the breeze.” She touched Mandaline’s chest. “In your heart.” Then she touched Mandaline’s forehead, between her eyes. “In your mind.”
Mandaline smiled. “Thank you, sister.”
Julie hugged her. “You’re welcome, sister, but I didn’t do anything. You did it.” She kissed Mandaline’s cheek before stepping back. “And the world moves on and on. Namaste.”
As the dream faded from her mind, Mandaline whispered, “Namaste.”
She awoke to find Ellis and Brad trying to carefully get into bed on either side of her without disturbing her.
“Sorry,” Brad said.
“Sorry, hon,” Ellis echoed.
She smiled at them. “It’s okay. I want to paint the master bedroom ‘Seaside Yellow.’”
The men exchanged a confused look before bursting into laughter. “Okay,” Ellis said, “that’s an odd thing to wake up and state, but whatever.”
Brad, however, smiled. “Julie?”
She nodded. “She’s free.” She snuggled between them after giving them both good-night kisses, sleep already dragging her back down again. “And now, so am I.”
Epilogue
They gathered at Julie’s tree at dusk on Summer Solstice, which happened to fall on a Saturday. That evening’s coffeeshop coven would be more a wedding reception than their usual get-together. With Grover, Libbie, Ellis’ parents, her parents, Sachi’s dad, Matt and Sami, everyone from the store, and a few others in attendance, Sachi stood before the three of them with a wicked grin.
Sachi had refused to reveal what she planned to say or do for the handfasting.
Mandaline felt equal parts love and terror over that.
“Well, we??
?re gathered here tonight because the Universe finally forced Mandaline to quit running from love,” Sachi said.
The onlookers softly tittered.
Here we go. Mandaline suspected Sachi would be her playful, snarky self.
She wouldn’t have it any other way.
“Ellis and Brad,” Sachi continued, “I think you all will agree with me, have more than proven themselves worthy of our mighty leader. I for one am happy to have them around.” She touched her right shoulder, which while mostly healed, was still tender and sore.
More laughter and nodding heads.
“No, their relationship isn’t conventional, it isn’t normal, but it’s perfect for them. So screw anyone who thinks otherwise, because it’s not anyone else’s business.
“Join your right hands,” she told them. “Lady’s hand sandwiched in the middle.”
More giggles from the group as the three of them shuffled around, the men standing shoulder to shoulder and facing Mandaline, Brad to her left and Ellis to her right.
“You three have rings, I take it?” Sachi asked.
“Yes,” Ellis said. He pulled the small velvet box from his pocket with his left hand and handed it to Sachi.
She opened the box for him. “Ooh, nice.”
Mandaline giggled with the audience.
Sachi held the box for Mandaline. “Ready to bell these bulls, girlfriend?”
Mandaline snorted. “Yeesss.” Fortunately, the men wore the same ring size, so it didn’t matter who got which. Brad had privately told her that morning he wanted her to put Ellis’ ring on him first, which she did, then his.
“Boys?” Sachi asked, holding the box up. “Who gets the honor?”
With his left hand, Brad held up Mandaline’s left hand. Ellis plucked the ring from the box and stared into Mandaline’s eyes as he slipped it on her fingers.
This would never get old, the thrill her heart felt when she looked into his blue gaze.
“Mandaline,” Sachi said. “You have vows you wanted to say?”
She nodded and took a deep breath. She glanced out at her friends and soon-to-be family before looking back at her men. “I’d honestly written off a relationship when I met you two. You came into my life at a time when I had no idea how badly I needed both of you. I know there will be some challenges ahead from people who won’t want to accept what we have, but I know I can face that and more with you both by my side.