Ericsson Brothers - The Very Virile Viking Part 2

A week had gone by and there had been no more attacks at the Blue Dragon-thank the G.o.ds!Despite the relative calm, everyone was restless and unhappy over what seemed like a forced confinement... though it was a wonder to Magnus how anyone could feel restricted on an estate this size. His children were getting spoiled, without a doubt, by all the niceties and conveniences of this land. They seemed to forget that just a short time ago they were content with privies and hearthfire cooking.The girls especially seemed to want more and more, particularly after their visits with Lily, which had continued the past few days. If he heard "the mall" mentioned one more time, he just might scream. Or boys. Or makeup. Or shaving one's legs, which he had forbidden until Angela convinced him otherwise. Just so she didn't suggest that he shave his legs.He, on the other hand, was restless and unhappy with good reason. Lovemaking with Angela had been off the menu since their return to the Blue Dragon, and he missed it mightily.They had just finished eating a magnificent feast prepared by Grandma Rose and Juanita. He went out on the lawn with Lida to play a game of run-and-run- then run some more, if she had her way-in hopes of tiring her out before bedtime. Usually he was the one who got tired out first. His old knees were not accustomed to this type of activity.In any case, it was no surprise that Kirsten and Dagny followed him outside to plead their latest causes."It is just not fair," Kirsten started out."When females say that thus and so is 'not fair,' a man does best to sit down, and preferably call for a horn of ale, because he is in for a long tongue-las.h.i.+ng." Magnus plopped down to the gra.s.s with great drama, lying flat out on his back with one forearm over his eyes."Faaaa-ther!" Dagny said in her newest long-suffering voice.Lida giggled, thinking it was a game, and flung herself atop him. "Fa-Fa, Fa-Fa, Fa-Fa!" she kept squealing as she pounded on his chest.Angela walked up to them then and said, "Here, Magnus. I bought you a present."If you only knew what I am thinking, wench! His arm was still over his face. "I hope it is what I think it is." he said in his best long-suffering voice... an imitation of Dagny's."Not that, you fool," Angela retorted. "I bought this for you today when I was out shopping for groceries."He removed his arm and looked up at her. She was handing him a frosty amber gla.s.s bottle. He lifted an eyebrow at her."It's beer."I am thinking of her woman-honey, and she offers me honeyed mead. Ah, well! Magnus sat up and took the gift from her. "You bought me a horn of ale... well, a bottle of ale? What? Didst read my mind? Must be you are a Valkyrie. 'Tis the second-best thing you could have done for me."He took the open bottle from her and immediately took a long swig of the cold brew. It was delicious. "Aaaah! Drink of the G.o.ds!""What is the first-best thing?" Dagny wanted to know.How could I have forgotten that I have children about? Especially since I always have children about. "Never you mind, M'lady Curious." He chucked Dagny under the chin."I know what it is. 'Tis all boys ever think about." Kirsten wrinkled her nose with disgust.He and Angela turned startled gazes to Kirsten."Kissing."Whew! He and Angela smiled at each other.That was Lida's cue to come up and give Kirsten myriad kisses."Yech! She tastes like gra.s.s. Have you been eating gra.s.s, Lida?"Lida just grinned at her, revealing two tiny front teeth, and said, "Goo.""Do you not even want to know what I consider unfair?" Kirsten asked.Not especially. "Of course, sweetling."She slanted him a scowl that pretty much said, Do not patronize me, Father. "Girls my age should go to school.""I agree," Dagny said." 'Tis only fair that you hire a tutor for us now, then enroll us in school come fall," Kirsten went on. "And we need a proper wardrobe if we are to go to school every day.""Every day! There is not enough to be learned to require daily schooling." Besides, who knows where we will be come September? This is only July."Also, I think my bedtime should be eleven o'clock, like Storvald's. 'Tis not fair that I should have to go to bed at ten, just because I am female.""Well, I want a pair of jogging shoes. Njal says I am getting fat. I need to start jogging." Dagny blushed as she blurted out her needs."You are not fat, Dagny," Magnus told his daughter. "And since when do you listen to the opinions of a person who thinks it is attractive to let snot run down to his chin?""I will tell you what is really unfair," Kirsten continued.Holy Thor! She is getting as bad as Madrene. Blather, blather, blather."Torolf gets to go to concerts... well, one concert, but I am sure there will be others. Lily is allowed to go to the mall whenever she wants, and she dyes her hair, and she has a boyfriend, and I want to go to her house for a sleepover, but you keep saying no, no, no. And if I do not get a tiny little tattoo on my hip, I think I might just die.""Is that all?" Magnus asked as drolly as he could manage.Dagny and Kirsten actually had tears in their eyes."Dost anyone care to hear what I think is unfair?" Magnus grumbled.Everyone looked at him, and none of them asked "What?""Well, I will tell you. There is something that I have sorely missed since we left the Norselands, and does anyone ever ask me what I want? Nay. It is, 'Give me this. Give me that. This is not fair. That is not fair.'""What is it that you want, Magnus?" Angela asked, putting her hand on his.He took her hand in his, twining their ringers, stared into her eyes steadily, and told her what his heart's wish was."A cow."The reason dumb-men jokes were created...

Magnus caught up with her just before she reached the house."Angela, dearling, why did you storm off just now?" I will ne'er understand women. Ne'er, ne'er, ne'er.She stopped so quickly he almost ran into her. "Don't you 'dearling' me, you dumb dolt."I am a dumb dolt But why now? "What? What did I do?""A cow? Your dearest wish in all the world is to get a cow? Puh-leeze."That does sound a mite dumb. "You do not like cows?"She told him something really foul that he could do with his cows. He guessed she must be angry about something... something beyond his comprehension. He was beginning to understand why women in this country told dumb-men jokes. Still, dumb man that he was, he decided to try to explain himself anyway. "I am a farmer, Angela. It is all well and good here at the Blue Dragon, but I miss the care of my milch cows, the satisfaction of seeing my gardens bear fruit, the regeneration of the earth year after year, springtime plowing, autumn harvests, the smell of fresh-mown hay-""Bulls.h.i.+t!" she said."That, too.""You are impossible!" She threw out her hands in disgust, turned on her heel, and sprinted up the steps to the porch. He grabbed her by the upper arm and stopped her before she went inside."Explain yourself, woman.""I was hoping you would say your dearest wish was to spend a lifetime with me, but I'm not entirely delusional. What I thought you would say was that your dearest wish is to spend the night with me."Oh, now I am beginning to understand. But, b.l.o.o.d.y h.e.l.l, where is all this hostility coming from? Must be that time of the month. But he was not dumb enough to express that thought. Instead, all he answered was, " 'Tis."" 'Tis not," she replied, mimicking his form of speech... which was really unkind of her."Settle down, Angela," he started to say, and immediately realized his mistake. Never, never, never tell a woman to settle down. What was he thinking?Her nostrils flared.Time to cut my losses. There is only one way to stop a woman when she is on a rant. He picked Angela up off her feet by the waist, wrapped his arms around her tightly, and proceeded to kiss her thoroughly... so thoroughly that he hoped her bones were melting, because his certainly were. With his lips still firmly locked on hers and her feet still dangling off the porch floor, he turned and leaned his shoulders against the wall. His staff, which had been at half-mast for the past week, went full sail, pressing into her stomach.How could Angela doubt how much he wanted her?Certainly all his children, as well as Grandma Rose and Juanita, who were surely watching the spectacle he was creating, must realize how much he wanted her.When he finally broke the kiss, he murmured, "How could you doubt my desire for you?" Any more desire and I will burst into flames."A hard-on does not equal true affection, and that is what I want."A hard-on? A hard-on? That was certainly blunt enough. He did not need a translator to know what that crude term meant. Looking down at Angela's pa.s.sion-dazed expression, he whispered, "It is my dearest wish to be with you... s.e.x or no s.e.x... for as long as I am able." Now, that was a stretch of the truth. "Do you believe me?"She nodded.He still wanted a cow.But he was learning when to share his thoughts, and when to keep his big mouth shut.We are family...

Magnus and his children felt like family to Angela; so she decided to take them on a family outing the next day.Oh, she was still annoyed with Magnus about his preferring a cow over her, but obviously not too annoyed, because her choice for their day away from the Blue Dragon was the regional Grange Fair and Craft Show, a preliminary to the state fair in the fall. The dolt would probably get to see a cow or two today.Torolf's friend, Juan, was coming with them. He had borrowed a van for that purpose. The Universe Studios van had been returned days ago on the demand of a furious Darrell Nolan when he learned that his prize Viking was not going to be his prize Viking. He had threatened lawsuits and such for breach of promise, but Angela didn't think anything would come of that.Also accompanying them was Lily, who had already proclaimed that she had a crush on Torolf. Kirsten was casting googly eyes toward Juan, who, at eighteen, was much too old for her.Grandma said she'd rather stay home and relax... which meant that she was probably planning to chainsmoke the whole time they were gone. Magnus had organized hired security personnel and Blue Dragon workers to patrol the grounds while they were gone; he and his older boys would cover the night s.h.i.+ft.Fourteen of them piled out of two vehicles as they arrived at the fairgrounds.After strapping an adorable Lida, with her Winnie the Pooh sun hat and matching jumper, into a fold-up stroller, and after Angela insisted that everyone slap on sunblock and wear baseball caps or sun visors, they made for the entrance."I have been riding a longs.h.i.+p on the high seas and working my fields for thirty and more years without suffering a sunstroke or the skin sun-disease you speak of," Magnus grumbled as he began to push Lida's stroller. One of the things that amazed her about Magnus was how he took on certain caregiving tasks without ever questioning whether it was masculine or not. He was that secure in his own masculinity... as he had every right to be."Stop complaining. I could tell you enjoyed my slathering that cream on your face and arms.""There was that," he conceded, flas.h.i.+ng a wide grin her way, "though there are some other body parts of mine that could use equal... slathering."Magnus looked just as adorable today as Lida, except he was wearing a soft plaid short-sleeved s.h.i.+rt, blue jeans with neat creases (G.o.d bless Juanita!), athletic shoes, and a Dodgers baseball cap over his tied-back hair. Surprisingly, his attire did not look out of place with the etched silver bracelets on his upper arms, which he never seemed to take off. Torolf never removed his either, and more than a few teenage girls were giving him and his armrings a second glance. It didn't hurt that he was wearing a black tank top and cutoffs, which showed off his muscles. He wasn't as tall or as muscular as his father, though. Not for the first time, Angela likened Magnus to a tree.Just then Magnus caught her checking him out and grinned. He gave her an equally thorough once-over, and his grin widened when he got to the spaghetti straps of her blue sundress, which left her shoulders and arms exposed. Like the other females, she wore a sun visor... in this case a clear blue plastic one, with her ponytail hanging out through the back. On her feet were sandals, which left visible her shocking pink enameled toes... something that seemed to particularly please Magnus.In fact, he leaned close to her ear and whispered, "Methinks I have the perfect fantasy for later. Something involving toes and tongues.""Oh, you!" she said, and slapped him playfully on the arm. But what she thought was, Oh, boy! It had been seven long days and nights since they'd last made love, and she missed him with a pa.s.sion."Do you want me to take over with Lida?" Torolf asked. "The way you two are gazing at each other, I suspect you will be looking for the nearest hay byre.""Torolf, you overstep yourself," Magnus cautioned. " 'Tis no way for a son to speak to his father. Mayhap you will learn some manners if I decide to send you to the same school Kirsten and Dagny want to attend so desperately.""You would not!""Do not test me, son, or you may find out.""All I did was ask if you wanted me to help with Lida.""You asked more than that, and you well know it. You can help me, though." He handed Torolf several bills. "I put all the younger boys in your care, especially Njal and Hamr. Do not let them get in trouble.""Fa?ir! You know b.l.o.o.d.y well that is impossible. Njal and Hamr cannot breathe without getting in trouble. Oh, for the love of Frigg! Do you see that?" Torolf scurried off toward the gaming area, where Hamr and Njal were about to throw darts at balloons."What's so wrong with darts?" she asked."They will hit themselves with the darts, piercing an essential body part, or they will hit the man standing behind the plank under the tent, or they will hit some pa.s.serby. That, I guarantee.""Maybe you are being overprotective.""Would you like to make a wager?""A wager?""Yea. Something involving pink toes would suffice."Where does he come up with this amazing stuff? Why do I find it so tantalizing? "And what do I get if I win? I'm not taking any more of your gold coins.""Tongue."Yep. Amazing and tantalizing.Just then there was a shout of, "Hey!" The guy at the dart booth had fortunately ducked in time, but Njal had apparently almost hit him in the head with a dart. Torolf rushed up and grabbed both boys, apologizing profusely to the game-booth owner."I did not get my prize yet," Hamr was shrieking to Torolf, who had him and Njal by the upper arms, dragging them away."I will give you a prize... on your puny little a.r.s.e," Torolf said.Kirsten and Dagny were standing some distance away, red-faced and pretending not to know their brothers. The girls looked especially pretty today in matching, though different colored shorts and tank-top sets. Instead of their usual braids, their long blond hair hung loose down their backs almost to their waists. Lily had already commented on the pretty color of their hair, referring to them as Loxies... as in natural blondes in the vein of Goldilocks, as compared to Boxies, which were blondes born of boxed color.Juan was staring at Kirsten with too much interest, but so were some younger boys who pa.s.sed by. Angela wasn't worried about Juan. He was a good young man who would respect the invisible age taboo. Besides, he had a girlfriend. When Kirsten turned eighteen and Juan was twenty-two, that might be a different matter.For the next few hours they walked around admiring the exhibits, everything from dried flower arrangements to fruit and vegetable preserves to fine needlework. Lida fell asleep in her stroller right away. When Angela fingered the finely crafted quilts, Magnus decided to buy her one in a star-and-heart pattern."This is much too expensive a gift," she said, even as he was paying for the item, and the woman was wrapping it in tissue."We Vikings love to give gifts more than anything else... well, almost anything else." He pinched her b.u.t.t to show what he meant... as if she were clueless... as if any female over the age of twelve could misinterpret the hot look in his eyes. "Some say we are generous to a fault betimes, but methinks we get back what we give in life. And even if we do not, there is joy in the mere giving.""So what you're saying is, 'Shut up and accept the gift.'""Something like that," he replied with a laugh. "Or, 'Shut your teeth and give me a grat.i.tude kiss.' "She did just that, gladly."You are so embarra.s.sing, Father," Kirsten said in a mortified whisper. She had come up behind them with Dagny and Lily, who were hooting with laughter. "Men your age should not be interested in kissing... and, like, stuff.""Men my age?""Old men," she said with disgust."Old? I am not old. Besides, men and women never get too old for kissing... and stuff." He lifted her by the waist then, twirled her around twice, then kissed her soundly and loudly on the mouth.Kirsten just giggled, then hugged her father warmly."Can I get twirled, too?" Dagny asked."For a certainty," Magnus said, and gave the younger girl equal treatment.What a father! Angela thought, and immediately added, What a man!After that they ate and ate and ate. Hot sausage and meatball sandwiches. Corn dogs on sticks. French fries and onion rings. Fresh-squeezed lemonade. Funnel cakes. Popcorn. Lida, who was awake by now, favored cotton candy and cherry slushes, though she was given only a tiny taste of each.Storvald found a woodworker who showed him how to use razor-sharp scalpels to create different effects on cherry-wood panels. His father promised to buy him a similar set.Torolf kept winning at the anvil-and-bell game until he had six stuffed animals and a request from the operator to please move on.Magnus almost had a heart attack when Hamr and Njal came over and discreetly dropped their shorts to show him the tattoos on their behinds. Fortunately they were removable ones. The boys danced away, laughing, when their father reached out to swat them. Those two really were little devils.The others were off riding the amus.e.m.e.nt rides. A small Ferris wheel, which Magnus declared "for demented people only." A merry-go-round. A mixer. A loop-the-loop. And b.u.mper cars.She and Magnus moved on to the fresh produce displays. How a man could be so interested in turnips and carrots and string beans was beyond her, but Magnus surely was. Angela took a now-restless Lida out of her stroller, changed her damp diaper, then let her walk around as Magnus stopped at stand after stand to speak with the farmers displaying their wares."How do you get beans this size?"Do you use fresh fertilizer? Do you prefer cow manure over horse or pig s.h.i.+t?"Do you save your kitchen garbage for the pigs, or do you put it back into the soil? Compost? What is that?"When is the best time to plant spring onions? How about winter wheat?"What effect does the hot temperature here have on your produce? Is there enough rain?"Can a man make a living as a farmer?"Farm supports? What are they?... What? Your government pays you not to grow certain crops? That is insanity... surely, it is."On and on Magnus went, asking question after question of the farmers, who loved talking about their work and their products. Angela could see that Magnus was in his element here. His questions were intelligent. His interest was genuine.After that they entered the animal barns. And she might have thought Magnus had entered heaven... or his Viking Valhalla.He touched each of the cows and examined them closely, calling them by name. Their names and those of their owners were on wooden plaques above the stalls. Messy Bessy. Madonna. Surfer Girl. Guernsey Girl. Holstein Hannah. Lucky Lady. Sylvia.In one barn, modern-machine milking as well as old-fas.h.i.+oned hand milking was taking place. Magnus was incredulous over the milking machines and wanted to know all the details about the kinds and amounts of milk produced by the different breeds of cows.Then there were the bulls... mean-looking dudes, these were. Brutus. Elmer III. Seventh Son. Brown Boy. Black Beauty. Cool Bull. Samson. Bull's-eye. Fred.The animals had ribbons of various colors beside their stalls to denote how they had been judged in the various events at the fair. Many of them had been raised by youngsters as 4-H projects.While Magnus mooned over the cows and discussed milk production, new breeds, and prices with the owners, Angela had a bigger job with Lida: keeping her from stepping in cow p.o.o.p.A little boy, about eight years old, was weeping over a calf at the end of one barn, where his father was trying to console him. Apparently the calf-which had been born at the fair-was ill and might have to be put down.Magnus stepped forth and asked what was wrong.The father looked at him askance, but answered nonetheless: "The calf is starving to death. Won't take milk from its mother. Won't eat any of the special feed we mixed for her." He shrugged, and the message was clear: this calf was dying.Magnus knelt down in the straw beside the reclining calf and said, "Let me take a look."While he pushed the calf's eyelids back, opened its mouth and examined its tongue, even smelled its breath, the boy's father asked her, "Is he a veterinarian?"She shook her head. "Nope. Just a farmer. A good farmer."The man knelt down beside Magnus then and the two of them talked seriously while Magnus continued to examine every inch of the ailing animal. "The calf has mold disease in its stomach. 'Twas probably pa.s.sed on by its mother. The disease has little effect on the adult cow, but is too much for the little one to fight," Magnus finally p.r.o.nounced. "It must needs get a hot gruel mixture... a cupful at a time every hour till it will feed on its own. Force it down, if necessary." He then told the man exactly what ingredients should be in the gruel.The man appeared skeptical."What have you got to lose?" Magnus said.They both stood and shook hands. The young boy reached out his hand to Magnus, too, and whispered tearfully, "Thank you."After that they moved on to pigs. Her favorite was a huge pig called Mud Stud. His "girlfriend," the sow in the next stall, was called Dirty Mary. According to Magnus, Vikings ate a lot of pork and used all parts of the animal, including the hide and bones-even the hooves and nostrils. That was true of the cows, too. Yech!Next, they visited sheep, goats, chicken, and ducks.At the "New Age" barn, they also saw ostriches, buffalo, trout, snakes, and alligators, which were also farm animals to some. Magnus couldn't believe his eyes. He laughed with delight. He talked excitedly. He shook hands and exchanged stories.This was a new Magnus, one she had never seen before. Here he was in his element. Here he did not hesitate. Here he held himself with pride and authority. Here he acted as if farming was a n.o.ble profession... which, of course, it was.If she hadn't known it before, she did now.Magnus, the man she loved, was a farmer... plain and simple.A man of many talents...

"Would you like to see me plow?"Angela wiped the soapy foam from her eyes and stared at him through the frosty gla.s.s of her shower stall. "Magnus! It's midnight, for heaven's sake! What are you doing here?""All that exposure to farmers at the fair today reminded me where my true talents lie. I have come to show you my technique for... plowing.""Naked?"" 'Tis the best way," he said, stepping into the stall and closing the door after him.She gave his form a long, slow survey, from his head down to his curling toes, then back up to his favorite part, which was behaving impressively, if he did say so himself."Great plow," she said, backing up slightly."Wait till you see the straight rows I harrow." Magnus stepped forward, crowding her against the tile wall."You'd better hope the ground is not too fertile." She combed the fingers of both hands through her wet hair to help remove the shampoo suds. Those motions caused her b.r.e.a.s.t.s to rise and fall in a very nice rhythm. In truth, there was a rhythm to her combing that set up a rhythm in his own body, down low.But her words are like pouring cold water on a hot f.a.ggot. Be careful, my lady, or I may just fizzle. "You are right. What I don't need is more... uh, turnips.""Turnips! Well, that's as good a word as any, I suppose. Where are the turnips, by the way?""Some of the turnips are asleep... I hope. The others are on guard duty in the vineyard.""And how did you escape?""I told Torolf I had to visit the bathchamber.""Ooookay.""It was not really a mistruth." Actually, Torolf had wanted to know why he couldn't just p.i.s.s against a nearby tree, and he'd told him he had "more serious business" to handle, which was not a lie either. Making love to a woman was serious business, indeed."You mentioned something about plowing, Farmer Brown."Laughing, he lifted her into his arms, naked flesh pressed against naked flesh under the warm shower spray."Uh-oh!" Magnus said against her ear."What?""I sense some rough terrain. We must needs smooth it out afore doing any plowing. You would not want to break the tip, would you?""The tip?""The plow tip... you know, that iron-hard bit that is... well, you know what I mean.""And how do you intend to do that smoothin' thang, plowboy?""Odd that you should ask. I just happen to have available two shovels," he said, holding out his big, splayed hands. Magnus took her wrists in his hands and arranged them high so that she gripped the shower head. Then he filled his hands with liquid soap and began to rub it into her "rough terrain." Hill and dale got equal attention. Rosy pebbles. Boulders. Limbs. Even "gra.s.sy" areas.She was making that little mewling sound deep in her throat that he had come to love. The more he slathered, the more she mewled. And when he moved the slickness on his hands to the slickness between her legs, she almost shot off the floor with a jerk. Lowering her arms, she shoved his chest and said in a low growly voice that nigh melted his... plow, "My turn, sweetheart. The farmer's lady has got to work, too."He couldn't argue with that.So he was the one raising his arms to circle the showerhead, and it was Angela who was soaping him up and he was the one gasping his pleasure. With an expertise known to women throughout time, she rubbed his shoulders and neck, the muscled planes of his chest, the tendons in his arms and legs, the hard flatness of his belly, the hard curves of his b.u.t.tocks and even the crease between them. She left the most important part for last. With slow deliberation, she poured more soap into her palms, encircled him, and began to milk him like a true farmer's wife. She must have paid more attention today than he had thought.But Magnus was a simple man, and he could only take so much. "Enough!" he roared, and backed Angela against the far wall of the stall, lifted her off the floor, arched her hips outward, and entered her. He felt as if every bone in his body were red-hot and rigid. He felt as if the blood in his body had turned molten. He felt as if every hair on his body were standing tall. All this because of the intensity of his arousal.But then he looked at Angela, who was staring at him with wide eyes. And no wonder! Down below, her inner muscles were already contracting around him with the beginning of her "coming," as they referred to it in this land.He could not wait then. He wanted to-desperately-but it had been too long-a sennight, by Thor!-and she had excited him too much with her farmer-wife play... and so he began the hard, hard, hard strokes that pressed her backside against the tiles with a delicious rhythm that was enticing in itself.Angela's contractions were never-ending as he plunged in and out. Her fingernails dug into his shoulders. Her legs tightened around his hips. And still the ripples of pleasure in her inner walls tortured him with their clasping and unclasping till he thrust deep and hard and cried out his ecstasy.For several long moments they both panted into each other's necks, neither noticing that water still sprayed over them, cold by now.Finally, taking great joy in the pa.s.sion daze that still covered her face, he leaned forward to give her a soft kiss of thanks. There was nothing he could say that would express how deeply she touched him with her response to his lovemaking. So he just kissed her softly once again."Have you naught to say, dearling?" he asked in the end, beginning to be alarmed by her silence. Mayhap he had misinterpreted her quiet. Mayhap she was offended by his hard and quick loveplay.She studied him for a long moment and said, "You are some farmer, Magnus."Relief thrummed through him at her playful retort, which was surely a sign that she had been pleased. Still, he had to ask, "I plowed straight and true, then?""And deep." She laughed.But not for long.Reaching behind him, he turned off the faucets, released Angela so that she sank weakly to the floor, then immediately picked her up in his arms."Now that you know about farmers, methinks you need a lesson in farm animals." He was carrying her into her bedchamber, which adjoined the bathing chamber. They were both very wet, especially their sopping hair, but neither noticed."Farm animals? That sounds kinky to me.""Definitely kinky," he agreed unabashedly. What is kinky?He dropped her to the bed and lay down on top of her. Angela would have some explaining to do to her grandmother the next day about the wetness of the coverlet, but he could not be concerned about that now. He was too aware of the wonderful naked woman beneath him."So what animals are we talking about here?" she inquired friskily, even as she combed his hair behind his big ears with the fingers of both hands. He did the same to hers."The stallion and the mare," he replied without hesitation.Instead of shrinking back with revulsion, Angela surprised him once again with her laughing reply: "Yippee!"

Chapter Fourteen.

A family Thing...

In the Viking culture, matters of great importance were settled at a meeting called a Thing, or an Althing. Everyone had a vote in these a.s.semblies, though the chieftain's opinion usually carried extra weight.Magnus decided the next day that it was past time to call a family Thing to discuss this time-travel dilemma in more detail with his children. He wanted Angela present, too.So gathered that afternoon in the gazebo were Torolf, Kirsten, Dagny, Storvald, Njal, Jogeir, and Angela. He figured that the other children were too young to understand, or to keep a secret. In truth, Hamr would no doubt take great delight in announcing to the world that he was a "free-can time traveler" who had d.a.m.n well better get a bow and arrow "free-can soon.""Does everyone concur on this point at least... we have time traveled to another country and a thousand years into the future?" Magnus asked.No one immediately replied, which did not surprise him. It was hard to accept such a bizarre notion.After a few minutes, though, each of them nodded reluctantly, except for Angela."What other explanation can there be?" he asked her."I don't know, but I live in a society that probes for scientific explanations for everything... and usually there is a sound, logical reason for even the most unusual events. But this..." She just shrugged."I think I know what happened." It was Kirsten speaking, and every one gaped at her with astonishment."My grandmother, Lady Asgar, was a Christian. She always said that she could not accept all the Norse legends and mystical ideas, like dragons and trolls and such, but she did believe in miracles. She said her One-G.o.d could do anything. That is what I think happened to us.""A miracle?" Torolf scoffed. "For what reason?"Kirsten shrugged. "That is not for me to answer.""Why would the papist G.o.d care about us Vikings?" Njal wanted to know.It was not such a ludicrous question."I suspect that G.o.d doesn't differentiate between cultures and peoples as much as we do," Angela said. "And I must tell you all, my grandmother has been praying a novena for a miracle for some time now... some knight in s.h.i.+ning armor to come save the Blue Dragon.""And she thinks I am that knight?" Magnus was horrified and pleased at the same time."Unfortunately, yes.""Why unfortunately?" Magnus put his hands on his hips, a mite offended at her choice of words. It wasn't that he wanted to be a knight in s.h.i.+ning armor, precisely, but he did not like someone-anyone-thinking he could not be one if he chose."Don't get your jockeys in a twist," she said with a laugh. "I just meant that if you were indeed the miracle she pleaded for, you were given no choice in the matter."Mollified, he nodded his understanding. I will show you a knight, m'lady skeptic. Just you wait and see. I can be knightly... especially at night. My brain is melting here."Perchance you are correct, and the reason we time traveled is because Grandma Rose conjured us here with her papist beads, but methinks there may be another reason, as well." Torolf was rubbing his chin in a bemused fas.h.i.+on as he spoke. "I have been wondering if mayhap Uncle Rolf and Uncle Jorund time traveled, as well, and that for some reason we were meant to join them here."A half dozen jaws dropped with amazement at this theory... a theory that was not entirely implausible. Actually, when he had first left the Norselands, Magnus had had a notion to search for his brothers, but somewhere along the way he'd forgotten, or been distracted by all the other things that had happened. Never had he considered, though, way back then, that his search might involve travel through time."And I have another idea," Jogeir spoke up, his chin jutting out defiantly. It was so unlike the boyling to appear belligerent that they gave him their full attention. "Has anyone... just one person... considered that in this new land, with all its modern inventions... there might be a way to repair my clubfoot?"It was such a simple question and so fervent that Magnus felt immediate guilt that he had not brought it up himself. He put a hand on Jogeir's shoulder. "You shame us, Jogeir... with good cause. We have all been so full of ourselves and our own complaints that we did not consider your greater need." Magnus looked toward Angela with an unspoken plea for help."I cannot promise anything, Jogeir, but as soon as I get back to the house, I will make an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon. We will find the best possible doctor. I should not say this without seeing a doctor first, but I cannot imagine that there isn't an operation to help you." She c.o.c.ked her head in question then, staring at Magnus. "Didn't you ever consult a doctor about his... uh, handicap?""Of course. But those were tenth-century healers. I did my best, but that was then; this is now."They were silent for a while, pondering everything that had been said and the implications."Okay, a.s.suming I believe all this time-travel or miracle stuff, and I'm not sure I do, what next? Are you guys all going to bop off back to the past without warning one day? Are you deliberately going to try to go back? Or are you here to stay? Do you even have a choice?""That is the question," Magnus said, and he could tell by the somber expressions on all his children's faces that they agreed. Angela had good reason to ask the question, too, because she was involved in a relations.h.i.+p with a man who might disappear any moment."I do not want to go back," Kirsten said vehemently. "I like it here.""It would be hard fitting in here... at first," Torolf said, "but I think I could adapt. Mayhap someday I would want to go back, but right now my vote is to stay... if our voting even matters.""Me, too. Me, too. Me, too," the rest of the children said.Magnus looked at Angela, held the eye contact, and said in as meaningful a way as he could, "Me, too.""What would we do here, Father? What work would you do? Where would we live?" It was the ever-logical Storvald speaking."I can answer that," Angela said, much to his surprise. "Since your father invested almost a million dollars in gold coins into the Blue Dragon, you all are welcome to stay here indefinitely... at least till it's clearer what is happening and what you all want to do. There are some immediate things that can be done, like tutors for all the children, school enrollment in the fall, driver's training for you, Magnus, and for Torolf... and dozens of other things."He cast Angela a thank-you smile. That was one worry off his mind-where they would stay and what he would do in the immediate future. The far-off future remained a mystery."But I would advise all of you to keep this time-travel theory to yourselves," Angela cautioned. "If the news got out, you would have every scientist and quack entrepreneur at your doorstep, dissecting you physically, emotionally, intellectually. You would never be allowed to live a normal life."No one disagreed with that admonition as they sat contemplating how they would be regarded by this modern society. Not favorably, Magnus was sure. More like freaks."I have thought on everything we have discussed here today, and I have come to a conclusion," Magnus said. "My brothers are the key to our future.""How so?" Angela asked."If I am able to locate my brothers in this new land, in this time, then my brothers would surely know, after all this time, whether 'twas possible to stay here or not. It would mean that time travelers can relocate and stay in the place where G.o.d, or the miracle, has sent them... if they so choose."Angela focused on only one short phrase in all that he had said. "If they so choose?" she repeated.He wanted to say that he did so choose, but he could not do that yet. Not till he had a surer idea of what the future held.His silence must have been telling to Angela, though, because tears welled in her eyes before she turned, stricken, and left the gazebo.If you don't succeed, try, try again...

"Angela, Mrs. Abruzzi, be reasonable," Gunther Morgan pleaded.He was sitting with her and Grandma in the front living room the next morning. After apologizing for his behavior the previous week, he began his usual campaign to buy the Blue Dragon. It was more than a coincidence that he chose to return at a time when Magnus and the boys were busy in one of the far vineyards with Miguel."Why is it so important to you?" Grandma wanted to know. "You have a bigger property than ours. Why can't you be satisfied with what you've got?" Since Lida was ensconced in a high chair in the kitchen with Juanita, and the girls were off at the mall with Lily, Grandma lit up a cigarette and took a deep, satisfying inhalation. The bliss on her face almost made Angela want to take up the filthy habit herself. Almost."I have four sons, Mrs. Abruzzi. Yes, I have a large property, but not big enough to satisfy all of them and their families. Plus, we are growing... the market is growing... but the amount of land remains the same.""Look to the other sides of you, then," Angela advised."I have." Gunther sighed. "My neighbors are in the same situation as I am. They all have family dynasties they want to establish and only so much land.""I won't be pressured to sell, Gunther. I won't," Grandma said fiercely. "As long as I am breathing, the Blue Dragon will stay in Abruzzi hands.""But Angela isn't even married," he argued. "She may never have children to carry on your line here.""Whether I marry or not... whether I have children or not... is none of your business." Angela wanted to slap the false pity off the man's face, but she fisted her hands instead. "Never lose your cool" had been her motto in business for years, and it had served her well thus far."You aren't even making wine here anymore, for chrissake!""We're planning on starting up again," Angela lied."You are?" Gunther asked, clearly shocked."We are?" Grandma asked, then quickly covered her tracks by saying, "I mean, we are... very soon now."Gunther recovered his cool. "Be reasonable, ladies. You must have sustained severe damage from the recent fire. That, on top of your financial problems... well, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see you're in trouble here.""You know an awful lot about what's happening at the Blue Dragon, don't you, Gunther?" Angela inquired, her eyes narrowed."Only what everyone in the valley has heard." Gunther's beet-red face belied his words."The answer is no, Gunther," Grandma said, "and that is final."Gunther stood and picked up his straw hat from the love seat where he had been sitting. "This is all because of that giant Viking, isn't it? He's convinced you to hold on here, hasn't he? Big, steroid-ridden ape! Doesn't know good wine from pig spit, would be my guess. Thinks he can run a vineyard with that old codger, Miguel. Hah! They will never make this place prosperous again. Never!"Angela stood and advanced on Gunther. "Who are you to look down on Magnus? He's a better man than you are any day of the week. He's honest, hardworking, and a good father. Don't you dare disparage him. Don't you dare."Grandma was staring at her strangely. "Way to go, granddaughter!""I'll tell you one thing," Gunther said, just before jamming his hat on his head and going outside. "Someone had better tell the Incredible Hulk to watch his step."Never make a Norseman mad...

"Magnus, why are you mad at me?''Magnus was so blisteringly furious with Angela that his only response to her lack-wit question was to glare at her. She had dishonored him mightily by declining to call for his a.s.sistance and placing herself in danger's way.For the past ten minutes, Angela had been sitting at the large kitchen table with Magnus and his family, and he had barely spoken to her. Everyone was uncomfortable with the silence that hung in the air between them. Grandma Rose and Juanita kept exchanging worried glances intermixed with the rolling of their eyes. The children sat with their eyes downcast, eating a tasty dish called shrimp paella over rice that Juanita had just served along with a long loaf of crusty bread and a zesty arugula, tomato, onion, and mozzarella salad. Rose kept refilling the frosty gla.s.ses of iced tea. Jow had his head between his two front paws under the table, where he awaited droppings from Lida. Even Lida was especially quiet as she dug into the rice with her own tiny toddler spoon and drank milk from her sippy cup."I will tell you why I am angry with you, Angela. You did not summon me when Gunther arrived, even though we have discussed in the past the threat he poses to the Blue Dragon and its people. Did I not order you to call me immediately if he came onto this property?"He saw Angela bristle at the word order. He had noticed that women in this country-and time- misliked the idea of a man being in control. They a.s.sociated too much with man-haters like Carmen. Could they not see that there were times when only a man's might and authority would suffice?Lida must be turning into a modern female, because she made a little growly sound and flung a spoonful of rice onto his face with an almost gleeful-sounding, "Goo!""But I told you about Gunther's visit right afterward," Angela persisted.He threw his hands in the air, after wiping the glob of rice off his face with a cloth. "What good did that do? He could have harmed you or Grandma Rose with no one nearby to defend you.""He wouldn't have done that." Angela had the cheek to argue with him. "Gunther's methods are more devious than that.""Are you never biddable?""Sometimes," she said, tossing her hair back off her shoulder in a challenging manner. The witch was reminding him of just which times she had been biddable with him. Like last night.I can see you now, heartling, tossing your hair back in the same way while you practically neighed your pleasure. But I do not think I should remind you of that now. Mayhap later. He took a deep breath and said more patiently, "You did me grave insult by allowing Gunther to makes threats against me, then springing to my defense.""What would you have had me do? Say nothing? Let him defame you?"You are surely the most stubborn woman alive, Angela Abruzzi. Yield this once. Just free-can yield. "I do not need to hide behind a woman's robes.""Oh, give me a break, Magnus. Maybe I should have called you back to the house when Gunther pulled up, but-"Just then, the cell phone clipped to Magnus's belt began to beep. He could tell that Angela was surprised that he would carry such a modern device on his person. Hey, he might be over a thousand years old, but that did not mean he was unadaptable. He'd just purchased it that afternoon and was still getting accustomed to it. Gingerly he picked it up and spoke into the mouthpiece. "Greetings.""Father, it is Torolf. We followed Gunther back to his house. Juan is hiding out front, and I am in the back. He is speaking to some rough-looking men just now. I do not think they are regular employees. They are carrying weapons, I believe.""Keep a watch. The men we hired today should take over soon. I have arranged to meet with them in an hour.""How will you get there?""Miguel will drive me.""All right. Juan and I will stick on Gunther's tail till we hear from you.""Do not let him out of your sight. And Torolf...""Yea?""Be careful, son."Magnus clicked off and returned the device to his belt clip.Everyone stared at him expectantly."Torolf? That was Torolf? Where is he?" Angela asked in alarm. She stood abruptly and her napkin flew to the floor."He is busy on an errand I a.s.signed him." He continued to eat, as if unconcerned. He was, in fact, very concerned... and excited. There was naught like a good battle to get a man's juices going. And he was b.l.o.o.d.y well sick of taking a defensive mode with the scoundrels who victimized the Blue Dragon. He hated just waiting for something to happen, like a milksop cowering in a corner. 'Twas past time to take the offensive."Does this involve Gunther?" Grandma Rose asked, just as disturbed as Angela. No doubt she would be sneaking off any moment now to smoke one of her toe-back-hoe sticks to calm her nerves. Juanita, standing behind her, was wringing her hands in her ap.r.o.n as she listened."You have no right... you should have consulted me... I mean..." Angela sputtered her outrage at him. "What have you done, Magnus?"You do not want to know. Truly. "Nothing... yet." He continued to eat-even the dish of greens, which he was developing a taste for, especially when he put huge spoonfuls of creamy dressing on top to cover the bitterness of the weeds. His eating in the face of her fury made Angela even more furious. So he took another helping of everything. "Since you took action on your own, by excluding me from your meeting with Gunther, I have taken some actions on my own.""I... Grandma and I... own the Blue Dragon.""I have an interest in it.""The money?""Nay, not the money." You.Angela blushed. "Tell me what you are planning.""Nay.""Nay... uh, no?"Women and their incessant questions! With all the inventions they have in this new land, you would think some man would have invented a zip-her fora talksome woman's mouth. "I cannot disclose our secret plan. What if Gunther returned and you decided to meet with him again, alone, and he tortured our plan from you?""Don't be ridiculous."Ridiculous am I now? That mouth zipper is looking mighty good. "Well, I am done eating." He stood and motioned toward Miguel. "Are you ready to drive me into town, my good man?"Miguel nodded and grabbed his hat, which was sitting on the counter. Juanita appeared as if she might have a worry fit."By the by, Angela, I have arranged to start taking driving lessons on Monday. Torolf is coming, too."Her mouth dropped open.Finally, a way to stop her blathering. Magnus walked over and gave Lida a kiss on the cheek, trying his best to avoid all the rice sauce."Goo," Lida said. Then, "Fa-Fa.""That is what I like. A woman of few words."He swore he could hear Angela gritting her teeth behind him.Dirty Harry meets Mighty Magnus...

Magnus had been working with a private detective agency and a team of security personnel for the past two weeks. The head of the troop, and owner of the agency, was Harry Win-slow, which Magnus thought was an odd name for an investigator to have, but then again, betimes winning slow was the best way.Harry was a hard-as-nails former soldier with a haircut that was so short the scalp showed through. Magnus was thinking about getting a similar haircut, till he mentioned the idea to Angela. "Get a buzz cut, and you might as well buzz away, big boy!" she had exclaimed. Magnus was pretty sure that meant no. Whatever. He had other plans for her once this whole drama was over, and none of them depended on what was atop his head.Her comment to him about the haircut was one of the few times she had spoken to him these past weeks. She was still fuming over his failure to share his plan for capturing "Big Bird." That was the code name Harry had given the culprit who was threatening the Blue Dragon. When he had asked Harry why they needed a code name, why they couldn't just refer to that nithing Gunther, he had said there was no firm evidence yet that Gunther was the one... or the only one.Actually, there was another occasion when Angela had deigned to talk to him-when they took Jogeir to visit an orthopedic surgeon, who took pictures of the inside of the boy's foot and leg. An operation was scheduled for two weeks hence. He was nervous about putting his son under the knife, but Angela was optimistic about the operation's outcome, and Jogeir was wildly enthusiastic. In essence, he'd been outvoted from the start.If Angela had been stingy in sharing her talk with him these past two weeks, she was even stingier with her body. "No s.e.x, no way, no how!" she had proclaimed when he had broached the subject.When he'd grumbled, "There are some who say that an organ in too much disuse could wither away," she had rolled her eyes at him.Wait till she hears what I have to say now.Angela was in Grandma Rose's vegetable garden when he walked up. Sitting down on a bench near the bean trellises, he inhaled deeply, loving the smell of moist earth, sun, and growing plants."Angela, come over here, please. I have something to discuss with you."She glanced up from the basket where she had just placed several red toe-may-toe globes. "Go away."Well, that was certainly short and sweet. "I need you to do something for me.""Dream on, buddy. You aren't coming near my bed until I find out what you are up to. Even then, you might not be welcome.""Tsk, tsk," he chided. "I was not speaking of s.e.x." I was thinking it, but I did not say it. b.l.o.o.d.y h.e.l.l, I am always thinking it when around you, witch of my heart. "I need you to gather Grandma Rose and all the children, except Torolf, and go stay in your apartment in the city for several days."That got her attention.She put the basket down on the ground, dusted off her hands, placed them on her hips-hips that look very nice, by the by, in a pair of tight den-ham braies, which mold her behind and slender legs and cup her woman place... not that I consider any of that significant-and said in a snarl, "Are you crazy?""Crazy for you." Sometimes I astound myself. I can smooth-talk even in this modern language."Ha! Don't you dare try that smooth talk on me. I know what you are up to.""You do?" Caught in the act of being smooth. Ah, well! He glanced down at his groin, where the only "up" thing on him was located."Not that, you dolt!""Oh." She is losing her sense of humor... fast."You think you can Softsoap me, and I'll agree to anything you want.""Well, Softsoap did work in your shower when-""Oh! You are such a brute for bringing that up now."A man will try anything. Trust me on this, sweetling. "Angela, can we start afresh? It is serious business I need to discuss with you. Events are building and I fear a climax here at the Blue Dragon sometime soon. I would not want you or your grandmother or my children to be at risk."Angela walked up and plopped down beside him on the bench. "Why don't you start by telling me what's been going on?""We have been tracking Big Bird, and a trap has been set.""Huh? Who has been tracking?""Dirty Harry and me."Angela put a hand to her forehead and counted aloud. When she got to ten, she said, "Who is Dirty Harry? And please don't tell me it's Clint Eastwood.""Flint who?"Not Flint... Clint. Aaarrgh! Are you deliberately trying to confuse me?""Not deliberately." Well, mayhap a little.She scowled at him fiercely, and when he tried to put his arm around her shoulder, she slapped it away.This appears not to be my day. Actually, there have been few of those lately. Mayhap I need to hone my skills better. "Dirty Harry is the code name for Harry Win-slow, the private detective I hired to help catch Big Bird, which is the code word for Gunther, or whoever has been threatening the Blue Dragon.""You hired a private detective? Without consulting me?""Yea, I did. And I got my driver's license today. Didst know that? Of course, I had to take the test twice. I almost hit a pole the first time. The policing man bit his tongue, drawing blood, and said a very coa.r.s.e word. Mine is a license for foreigners living in this country, since I could not take the written test in your English-yet."This woman needs to learn that men are men and women are women. I am the leader; she is the follower. That is the way of the world. Angela was staring at him as if he'd grown another nose... or bigger ears, which would be disastrous, of course. His were plenty big enough, thank you very much. Or mayhap she had read his mind and did not agree with his philosophy of life."Harry is a very nice fellow. In fact, when this whole investigation is over, he is going to take me out for a beer... to a local stripper bar. I did not want to ask him, but what is a stripper bar, Angela?"Of course, he knew what it was, having asked Harry, but he was teasing Angela, or trying to. Unfortunately she just glared at him."Harry says the ladies there have ta.s.sels on their b.o.o.bs. What are b.o.o.bs?""You're a b.o.o.b," she said angrily. Then she inhaled and exhaled deeply, as women were wont to do when exasperated with their men. "Magnus, how could you get a driver's license when you don't even have a birth certificate?""It helps when you know the right people. Leastways, that is what Harry says. He got those parchments for me, and for all my children, too. And social security cards, whatever they are. Why do people need special licenses in this land to be secure in their social lives? Oh, and work records... Harry got those for me as well. The papers say I was a Green Beret. And I was in the Witness Protection Program." He beamed at her, sure she would be pleased at his enterprise.She did not beam back. In fact, she murmured, "More like the Witless Protection Program." Mayhap she was not all that pleased."Let's start at the beginning. Just whom did you hire, and what has he discovered?" she demanded to know.She is a demanding wench betimes. "I hired a private detective, and he in turn hired some professional hit men-""Hit men?" Angela screamed in his ear.He rapped the side of his head with the heel of his hand as if to clear his ears. "I was just teasing, Angela.""This is no teasing matter."Yea, she is definitely losing her sense of humor, and the best place to restore it is in the bed furs. Unfortunately I couldn't lure her to my bed furs at this moment even if I had the smoothest tongue in the world. "Harry hired some professional security and detecting men. I realized the day Gunther came to visit that I needed help... that you needed help. I have often been a soldier for my king in the Norselands, but fighting is direct there. You lop off a head or pierce a man's gullet with a sword. Or he does the same to you. We use none of these devious attack-and-hide tactics. Well, actually, we Vikings employ a bit of that when out a-viking, but that is neither here nor there." I have got to stop rambling. I am beginning to bore myself."How much is this going to cost?"Money, money, money! I am sick of talking about money. "You are not to worry about that, sweetling.""Don't call me sweetling. At this moment I feel anything but sweet toward you. And you can't keep shoveling out money on my behalf."Oh, really? Try to stop me. "We can discuss that some other time. What Harry and his troop have discovered thus far is very alarming. Not only did Gunther probably set fire to your vineyard, but he has sabotaged your good standing with bankers in the area. If you had gone to them for a loan to recover your losses, you would have been denied.""Oh, no!""He is the one who lured your winemaker away, as well. He found him employment in the Franklands. 'Twas he who conspired to raise the price of the gla.s.s bottles you use for your wines. 'Twas he who was responsible for the bad brakes on that load of grapes that was lost last year when the truck careened off the road.""Is Gunther really that evil?""I think so," Magnus said, taking her hand in his. "Harry's men are experienced in gathering evidence... Everything from fingerprints to car tracks to a paper rail, whatever that is. But Harry warns me that Gunther is getting desperate. He was moderate in his methods in the past because he thought he could afford to wait you out... that eventually you would surrender, being helpless women. But now...""Now?" she prodded."Now he perceives that my presence may change things. He is not sure who I am and what our relations.h.i.+p is, but to his mind I am here to save the Blue Dragon, and that he cannot allow."Angela quietly pondered all he had told her. He saw the moment understanding dawned. "Gunther is going to try to kill you. That's why you want us all back in Los Angeles. That slimeball plans to kill you. Ha! Over my dead body!"Methinks I am making progress now. Leastways, she cares if I live or die now. He smiled grimly at her vehemence."Nay, not over your dead body... because your sweet body is going to be far from the Blue Dragon."It's not over till it's over...

For two days Angela walked around like an automaton in her L.A. apartment.She went into her office both mornings, managed to show a half dozen homes, and even sold one, pulling in a hefty commission. But the rest of the daytime hours she spent with Grandma and the kids, all of whom fought the strictures of confined living. None of them wanted to go out, though, in case Magnus called, which he did once a day.When she asked how the "plan" was going, Magnus was always infuriatingly elusive in his answers. "On target." "Biding our time." "Do not worry." She felt like screaming into the phone at him, and she would have... if she weren't so very worried about him.To make matters worse, Darrell Nolan was being a real pain, now that he knew she was back in town. The man just wouldn't give up on signing Magnus to be the next big star in his stable. Apparently Magnus had taken to hanging up on Darrell on those occasions when Darrell managed to connect with him by phone. Even that rudeness didn't daunt the persistent producer."Why don't we go to the mall?" Angela suggested in the late afternoon of the second day. If she had to put up with much more MTV, video games, the quack-quack of Lida's pull-along duck toy, makeup makeovers of Dagny and Kirsten in her bathroom, and general overall shrieking, Angela was going to pull her hair out. She loved Magnus's kids-each and every one of them, even the rascally Njal and Hamr-but all of them all at once in such a small s.p.a.ce... well, even a saint's patience would be taxed. "We can have dinner at Chi-Chi's or Red Lobster. Even McDonald's... G.o.d forbid! Then spend an hour or so walking around the mall.""Quack, quack, quack..." It was Lida coming through on her established route, living room to bathroom."How about if I stay here and take a nap while the rest of you go to the mall?" Grandma suggested. She was probably dying for a cigarette. But more than anything Angela was afraid Grandma would scoot back to the Blue Dragon, which she hadn't left for this long in more than five years."Quack, quack, quack..." Lida was on her return trip."If I go to the mall, Grandma, you go to the mall," Angela insisted. "Unless I can leave Lida and the duck here.""Quack, quack, quack..." Lida was pa.s.sing through again."I'll go to the mall," Grandma said."Can I have my ears pierced?" Dagny wanted to know."Well, I don't see any problem with that... as long as it's only one hole per ear." Lots of girls her age had their ears pierced, so Magnus probably wouldn't object. Heck, some people even had infants' ears pierced.Kirsten sat up straighter, suddenly taking her eyes off the Britney Spears video playing on TV. "I would rather get a piercing in-""No!""You did not even let me finish," Kirsten complained."It doesn't matter. No piercings anywhere except the ears without your father's written permission.""Fa?ir said I could buy a bow and arrow," the sly little Hamr said. It was such a bold lie that Angela had to laugh."Good. Show me his written permission.""He does not write so well. 'Twas a message he gave me in person.""Any witnesses to that exchange?""Nay, just the two of us." The little snot was beaming. He actually thought she was buying his story."Good try, Hamr, but the answer is no.""I'm thinking that we should get Rollerblades for everyone," Njal suggested. "I saw them on some young people when we were driving into town. They look like great fun."Rollerblading sounded harmless enough, but then Angela got a clear picture in her mind of all these kids Rollerblading around her apartment, or down the condo halls. "Maybe sometime later... when we're back at the Blue Dragon.""You are no fun," the usually quiet Kolbein commented.Luckily she was spared any more requests by the ringing of the phone. She was laughing when she picked it up. "Magnus?""No, Miss Angela, it is me, Miguel."The fine hairs stood up on the back of her neck. "Miguel? What's wrong? Oh, G.o.d! Are those sirens I hear in the background?""Si, but you are not to worry. Mr. Magnus told me to call and tell you it is all over. Gunther has been arrested, and the police have taken him to jail."She exhaled loudly, not even realizing that she had been holding her breath."There are six police cars here. My Juanita is making coffee for the men now... and sweet buns. Ay-yi-yi! What a scene it was here tonight, but it is all over now. Will you be coming back tonight or tomorrow? Juanita wants to know.""Tonight," she replied without hesitation. "Where is Magnus? Can I speak with him?""That is the thiiiiiiing," Miguel drawled out ominously. "He cannot come to the phone.""Why?""Because they have taken him to the hospital."

Chapter Fifteen.

Falling for a fallen hero...

By one a.m. Angela had dropped Grandma and the children off at the house and was on her way to the hospital.She knew from frequent cell-phone calls she had made to Miguel and Torolf during her return trip that Magnus had sustained a gunshot wound to the shoulder. Although not a deadly wound, it could have been if the bullet had entered only a few inches lower.She also knew from her phone conversations that doctors were still holding Magnus in the hospital emergency room, where he was resisting being admitted... even for overnight observation. Torolf said they finally had to knock him out with a tranquilizer just to settle him down for the examination.When she walked through the hydraulic doors leading into the emergency room, Torolf was waiting near the entrance for her. Standing next to him was a physically fit older man with a GI haircut, whom she a.s.sumed was Harry Winslow."May Odin be praised, you have arrived," Torolf said, after giving her a quick hug. "Father is acting like a bear in a hunter's trap.""Ms. Abruzzi, so glad to meet you. I'm Harry Win-slow," the other man said, extending his hand.She wanted to ask for the details of what had happened, but she needed to see Magnus first."You are not sticking another needle in me," she heard a male voice roar out suddenly.Magnus. Following the voice, she found him in a curtained area arguing with a hefty nurse who appeared well able to handle herself with the difficult Viking."Look," Magnus was saying. "I p.i.s.sed in a cup for you. I let you take large amounts of my blood to be tested. I let you sew up my wound, even though 'twas a mere scratch. No more bloodletting, I tell you.""Buddy, one more shot. That's all. You either roll over and show me your pretty b.u.t.t, or I'll strap you down.""Angela!" Magnus had just looked up and noticed her standing there. He opened his arms wide for her to come to him. "Best you beware, healing maid, my lady is here now, and she will protect me from the likes of you."Thank G.o.d, he's all right. He couldn't be hurt too badly if he's roaring like this. Angela sat on the edge of the mattress, on his good side, and hugged him gently. She didn't realize how pent-up her emotions had been till the tears began to spill out with her loud sobs."Angela! What is wrong? Has someone been hurt?"Is he for real? "You're hurt, you thickheaded fool," she wailed. "That's why I am crying.""Oh," he said, immediately followed by, "Get me out of here, Angela."Angela glanced over at the nurse, who stared pointedly at the needle in her hand."One more shot," Angela told Magnus. "