Forever and a Day (21 page)

“Eh, you can kick yours off right after the ceremony. I’m so damned tall. If I wore heels, I’d tower over Garen.”

“He wouldn’t care. I’ve never seen a man more in love, except maybe Lars.”

Miranda snorted. “I know he wouldn’t, but I would. Christ! I’ve felt like an overgrown moose my whole life. I hit six feet in something like seventh grade. I was taller than everyone—boys too, for years.”

She plucked pins from Tamara’s nerveless fingers and went to work on her hair, weaving more flowers into it. “I’ve never seen Lars so happy. I swear, he’s like a new man. Watching the two of you together has damn near brought me to tears a couple of times and I don’t cry easily.”

Tamara smiled softly. “Don’t. I cry at the drop of a hat. Sure and I don’t want to start all over on my makeup—again.” She met her friend’s gaze in the mirror. “It has been good. Amazingly so. I never thought I’d fall head over heels in love and have every day just get better and better. It’s not that we don’t have our moments, but he listens to me. If we can’t agree, we work together to find common ground.”

“Being able to talk is important. Garen and I had hellacious arguments in the beginning, but they’ve thinned out. There.” She handed Tamara a mirror. “What do you think?”

Tamara turned slowly, holding the glass so she could see the back of her hair. “It’s wonderful. Were you a hair stylist in a former life?”

“Nope. I didn’t even have any girlfriends to trade ‘dos’ with in high school. Once I shifted, and my aunt made me feel like shit about it, I kept to myself.”

Tamara’s heart hurt for her friend. Miranda had told her about the
dirty, fucking shifter
epithets her aunt had hurled at her. At least the woman hadn’t turned her in, but Miranda had grown up feeling seriously flawed. It was one reason she’d gone into the Green Berets: to prove her mettle, while she hid from the world.

She wrapped her arms around Miranda. “Sure and my family will love you.” Tamara straightened. “Speaking of which, let’s go. I want to get the hugs and kisses with Mum and Da over with before the ceremony. Och, sure and I’ll never get through it without dissolving into tears.”

“Of course you will.” Miranda winked. “Be prepared, though. I saw Lars before I came in here.” She whistled. “Wow! What a knockout that man is in formal clothes. If I wasn’t madly in love with Garen, I swear I’d give you a run for your money.”

Tamara laughed and walked out into the hall. She looped her train around her wrist to keep it out of the way before she tackled the stairs. Lars may have said he lived in a manor house, but it was more like a castle. Ten thousand square feet of marble, leaded crystal, granite, and stone sat atop a hill, surrounded by stables, servants’ quarters, and other outbuildings. It had taken her a couple of weeks to find her way around, and she still hadn’t seen either attic or basement. The place was furnished with priceless antiques and thick, Aubusson rugs. Lars assured her he’d bought everything new. His things had become antiques simply by dint of enough time passing.

Halfway down the staircase her parents’ voices drifted up to her. Tamara tottered down the rest of the way as fast as she could. “Mum? Da?” she cried.

“Right here, sweetheart.” Her da, a huge, strongly muscled man with coal black hair and green eyes, strode toward her and crushed her against him. “Sure and ’tis good to see you again, princess.” He was dressed as formally as she’d ever seen him in a crisp, black suit, an off-white shirt, and a maroon tie.

Tamara didn’t trust herself to speak. She clung to her father, filled with love for the man who’d raised her to believe in herself. It could have been so much worse. She could have had dead parents and a bigoted aunt like Miranda’s.

Her mum closed on them in a rustle of pale green long silk skirts with a hip-length ivory tunic atop them. Her blonde hair was braided in an intricate pattern. Blue eyes, exactly like Tamara’s, glowed with pride. “’Tis a beautiful bride you are, darlin’.”

“Och, thanks, Mum. Sure and I’ve missed the two of you.”

“How about me?” Her brother, Devon, flanked by her other three brothers, crowded close.

“Well,” she shot him a mock frown, “maybe not you so much.”

“Little sisters always were a pain in the ass,” he declared just before he wormed between her and her da and hugged her.

Tamara caught a flicker of movement out of the corner of one eye. She disengaged herself from her brother’s arms and turned to face Lars and Garen. “Sure and it’s bad luck for you to see me before the wedding.”

“I will take my chances.” Lars grasped both her hands in his and bent to kiss her cheek. “You are so beautiful. I have to be the luckiest man alive.”

“Just so long as you always treat her that way, we’ll have no truck with one another.” Christian MacBride offered his hand. Letting go of Tamara, Lars gripped it.

“Nice to meet you, sir.” He half bowed over their clasped hands.

Christian cocked his head to one side. “One of the old ones, aren’t you? I’d known, but forgotten.” He bowed in return. When he straightened, he said, “Perhaps we can catch a wee bit of time after the ceremony to get to know one another better.”

“I would like that.” Lars hesitated. “It is probably safe enough for us to visit Ireland. I was waiting to see…”

“No need to say anything further,” Christian jumped into the breach when Lars’ words trailed off and eyed his daughter. “Come over here. There are quite a few family members who’d dearly love to meet you.”

“Sure and she’ll be with you in just a moment.” Leona took her daughter’s arm and led her a few feet away. “Thanks be to you, darlin’,” she whispered low, “I’ll be havin’ my family whole again. Your da was so afraid if the lot of us gathered, someone would figure out what we were.”

“There’s still that risk,” Tamara whispered back, concern tugging at her midsection.

“Aye, but Christian was willin’ to let the chips fall. He wanted everyone together for your weddin’.”

Tamara kissed her mother’s cheek, inhaling her familiar, soothing fragrance. “I love you, Mum.”

“Aw, darlin’, my darlin’ daughter, not near so much as I love you. Get on wi’ you now. We can throw cake at each other after the ceremony.”

“Och, a fine old Irish tradition.”

Her mother grinned. “That it is.”

Tamara glanced toward where her father stood, surrounded by at least twenty others, maybe a few more.
My brothers and sisters
. She hurried to his side, anxious to meet each and every one.

•●•

Lars stepped out onto one of many terraces leading from the second floor ballroom of his home and gazed at the mix of antique and modern that was Heidelberg. The ancient German city had never looked so beautiful to him. The night was warm and clear, an idyllic summer evening for a perfect wedding. The actual ceremony had been brief, performed by a magistrate. Nonetheless, the words had etched into his soul. He would honor, protect, and love Tamara to the end of their days. “And beyond if I have anything to say about it,” he murmured.

“What was that, my love?” Tamara floated to his side. Swathed in his great-grandmother’s gown, she was unbelievably striking. The dress had needed serious alterations, since Tamara was much taller than women from earlier times, but the seamstress had a deft hand, and the gown looked as if it has been made for her.

He smiled. “I was just taking a breather from our guests.”

“Me too.” She laughed and the sound resonated in his soul. “Neither of us are exactly social butterfly types. I adore my family, but I looked around and didn’t see you, so I came a’hunting.”

“You can hunt me down anytime you want.”

“Truly?”

“Of course. We are mated, and married. It makes me eminently hunt-able.”

“Do you suppose we might live here for a while?”

Something lay beneath her words, maybe longing for the home she was certain she’d lost forever. He placed his hands on her shoulders. “What would please you?”

She drew her brows together. He’d come to recognize her expressions and knew she was taking her time because he’d asked an important question. “I want to stay here and maybe have a country house in Ireland too.” She grinned impishly. “Sure and then when we wanted to get away from this side of the Atlantic, we could visit Garen and Miranda. Och, what else?” Her eyes twinkled up at him. “You could be teaching me how to fly one of the bigger planes. I thought to mention it before—”

“It is not as if we have had large chunks of spare time. Everything you want is not only possible, but easily done.”

“You wouldn’t mind being close to Da and Mum a few weeks of the year? And all those brand new family members we just met.”

“I respect your father. He and I have much to talk about. He has not made a firm decision, but he may return to working for us, particularly since you are part of our operations now.” Lars snorted. “Somehow, I suspect he wants to keep a close eye on you, and determine for himself just how trustworthy I am.”

“Ooooh.” She clapped a hand over her mouth. “That would be wonderful. Not the
keeping an eye
part, but working together. Da is solid. Nothing rattles him.”

“
Ja.
Garen said as much.” Lars was reluctant to break the mood, but he felt compelled to say, “The work we do is dangerous. Do not forget that part. It is why your father changed careers before. Your mother worried every time he left the house.”

“Dangerous, yes. Sure and it adds a fine edge to living, though. I haven’t felt this alive—ever.” She nodded thoughtfully. “For Mum and Da, I’m guessing they’ll work things out.” She twirled away from him, her skirts billowing, and then waltzed back. When she stopped, she was only inches away. “I’m happy,” she said breathlessly. “So happy it scares me.”

He nodded, feeling suddenly solemn. “I meant every word of our vows,
liebchen
. Now and always.”

She melted into his arms and twined hers around him. “I haven’t forgotten what you said in bed that night. You told me you’d love me forever and a day, sure and that was when I knew in my heart of hearts I’d marry you.”

“
Ja
,
liebchen
, my beloved. I will love you so long as there is breath in my body. When there is not, I will love you still. If that is not forever, I do not know what is.”

She tilted her head back. He closed his mouth over hers. The kiss was tender, sweet, filled with the love coursing through him.

“Och, so that’s where they are,” Christian’s voice boomed. “None of that, you two. You’ll have all your lives to moon over each other.”

“Your da’s right, darlin’.” Leona marched to where they stood. “Just now you’ve guests to attend to.”

Lars straightened and turned Tamara in his arms so she stood by his side. “You heard your kinfolk.” His tone was stern, but he was smiling. “Looks as if we have been remiss.”

“That you have.” Christian fell in next to Lars as the four of them walked back inside the house. “’Tisn’t every day I get a brand new son-in-law. We have toasts to drink, food to share, and tall tales to spin.”

“It is not every day I become part of something this special.” Lars beamed. Gratitude swelled in his chest. “Thank you.”

Christian turned. “For what?”

“The gift of your daughter and the rest of your family.” He met the other man’s gaze. “I was alone for far too long.”

“Sure and you’ll never be alone again.” Christian clapped him on the back.

Leona handed him a glass of champagne and said, “To a long and happy life.”

“I’ll drink to that.” Tamara grinned and picked up a champagne glass of her own.

“
Ja.
To a long and happy life for us all.” Lars lifted the delicate Waterford crystal flute to his lips and drank.

Ann Gimpel is a clinical psychologist, with a Jungian bent. She’s also a mountaineer and vagabond at heart. A lifelong aficionado of the unusual, she began writing speculative fiction a few years back. Since then her short fiction has appeared in a number of webzines, magazines, and anthologies. Her paranormal romance and urban fantasy novels are widely available in e-format and print. When she’s not writing, she’s skiing, hiking, or climbing with her husband and three wolf hybrids.