Hunkered down, he shook his head. "Sorry, just a bottle cap. And... fall!" As he stood, he tossed up a pile of leaves. In muted but still beautiful colors, they fell around her, a few landing in her hair.

She was startled at first, then laughed, reaching down to scoop up a pile of the leaves herself, tossing them out in turn. "Fall, is that what it is? Fall?"

He grabbed more leaves and she reached down again herself, this time determined to stuff a few down his shirt.

"Hey! That's the way we're going to play?" he countered. He had a handful of leaves and a wicked gleam in his eyes.

"Finn... now wait. You can just shake them out of your shirt..." There would be no mercy, she saw. With a yelp, she started running, heading for the street. He caught up with her far too quickly. She stumbled when he spun her around; they both wound up on the ground in a pile of leaves. She squirmed, trying to keep him from getting the leaves down her clothing. By then, she was protesting and laughing at the same time.

"Stop!" Finn said suddenly.

"Stop-so you can fill my shirt with the remnants of an entire oak?" she demanded.

"No! Seriously, lie still!"

"Broken gla.s.s?" she asked.

"No-"

"Then... ?" She started to squirm again.

"No!"

"What?"

"p.o.o.p!" he exclaimed.

She lay still, staring at him.

"Great Dane p.o.o.p, I think," he said seriously. "A really big pile. Don't move to your left."

She turned her head. He wasn't lying. She started to laugh. "Boy, you'd have thought we'd have smelled it, huh?"

He grinned. "Careful, careful-with your every move," he said in his best undercover spy voice. "I'll get you out of this."

He started to move. She pulled him back for a moment, suddenly dazzled by his smile, the one dimple, the feel of his warmth, and the knowledge of just how much she loved him. And just how feeling him like this, the length of his body hard against her own, could make her realize the many layers of just how much she wanted him.

"p.o.o.p," he repeated, frowning.

She nodded. "I know. And I'll be careful. I was just thinking that... we're not really going to let Mr. Fallon influence our nights, are we?"

He watched her gravely for a long moment. "Well... just so long as you think you're capable of keeping the ecstacy down. We'll have him in bed with us-and that's a d.a.m.ned scary thought!-if he hears you screaming again. That old geezer would never know the difference between pain and pleasure. Ugh. Okay, no matter how incredible I am, you have to keep it down."

She punched him in the shoulder. "You could elicit utter silence, you know."

"Nah-never," he teased. "Hm. Well, we'll see. p.o.o.p. We should get up now."

But he didn't move. He laced his fingers through hers, drew them to the ground, and kissed her. They were married. They'd kissed a million times. But there was something erotic about this. And something a little painful and desperate as well. And yet she found herself thinking that he was right, if they were to continue from this point in a hotel room, she might well be screaming...

Yet, as she was thinking of the pure sensuality of his simple gesture, he was suddenly rising. He pulled her up with him, and started dusting off his clothing. "Public park," he said ruefully. "Or common, or whatever you call it."

She nodded. "Finn," she said softly.

"What?"

"I love you."

She thought he would say something like, "I love you, too." Or, "You know I love you, too." Perhaps, "Ditto, kid," or something like that.

Instead he was silent for a long moment. And when he spoke, his voice was deep. There was almost a tremor in it.

"I'd die for you," he told her.

The wind picked up around them. His eyes were emerald in the coming darkness. Leaves seemed to rise and fall, as if the elements garnered in on their private conversation. Despite his words, she was suddenly cold.

"Well-let's hope it never comes to that!" she said lightly. "Hey, we need to head to Morwenna's. We'll have to skip Aunt Martha's for today-we'll see her tomorrow. We should look for the bracelet, then head back to the B and B and get ready for tonight. You think?"

He nodded. He reached out. Not taking her hand, the way he usually did. He reached out, and waited for her to accept his hand.

They started out of the park.

It had been empty. The streets were not. Once again, they joined various groups of people on the sidewalks. Couples here and there, parents with kids. Young people. Some decked out in costume apparel, some in the hip clothes of the younger generation.

People talking. Laughing. Even arguing. Mostly enjoying one another.

It took only a matter of minutes to reach Morwenna's. The store was still crawling with both the curious and paying customers.

Sara was on guard duty at the door.

Sara was startled when Finn pulled back at the sight of her, almost as if he were a dog or a horse that sensed extreme danger in the path.

"Hey!" she called to them.

Was she getting paranoid? Megan wondered. Or did Sara seem uneasy at the sight of Finn as well?

"Super busy in there, huh?" Megan said.

"There's always room for family," Sara said. "Sorry!" she said to a group of people waiting for the shop to clear out before they entered. "Morwenna's cousin."

Apologetically, Megan and Finn slipped through the door, past the waiting group. Inside, it was wall-to-wall people. Megan reached her cousin, telling her about the bracelet, asking if it had been found."No, I'm so sorry. Or not yet, at least," Morwenna told her. "But, don't despair-once we close, I'll really look around the place and see if it's fallen on the floor, or behind something. Wow, something your dad gave you. I can ask around town as well-maybe someone did find it in the street and turn it in. I doubt it, but..." She broke off and laughed suddenly. "If a really good Wiccan found it, they would have turned it in somewhere. Doing a good deed like that is bound to bring back good luck triplefold."

Joseph, who had apparently been listening from behind Megan's shoulder, moved up, startling her. "We can hope," he said. "But if a not-so-good Wiccan or someone else found it, they'd probably go, 'Hey, what a great Celtic bracelet, must be mine now.' Sorry, Megan, there is the chance that it will turn up."

"I know it's probably lost for good," Megan said. "But... I had to try to find it."

"Like your cousin said, we'll keep looking."

Megan turned around, searching the shop. Finn was no longer at her side. He was standing by a shelf that held all kinds of beautiful little curios and art pieces.

"I need to collect my husband and get going," Megan said. "Thanks, both of you."

"Sure thing-and hey, we'll get there late tonight, but we'll be there."

"That's terrific."

Megan excused herself to a heavy-set woman, making her way toward Finn. He was reaching for one of the pieces on the shelf, a really beautifully carved wooden dragon. He picked up the piece, swore suddenly, nearly dropped it-then caught it right before it hit the floor.

When she reached him, he had the dragon, but was wearing a severe scowl.

"Finn?"

He looked at her, eyes still dark, brow knit tightly, jaw clenched.

"What's wrong?" she demanded.

"I've been gouged."

"What?"

He balanced the weight of the dragon into his right hand and raised his left. She was startled to see a major stream of blood trickling down his palm.

"Finn! How deep is it?" she demanded with concern, reaching for his hand.

Once again, Joseph was right behind her.

"Wow, sorry!" Joseph said, voice tinged with what sounded like real concern. "We have a first-aid kit in the back. Sara!" he raised his voice. "Grab the kit in back, will you? Come on back through the curtain. We'll get some peroxide on it and see how deep it is."

"It's really all right," Finn said impatiently. "I didn't mean to make a big deal out of it. Meg and I have to get going."

"Finn, you need a bandage or something!" Megan protested.

Joseph had a hand on Finn's shoulder and was leading him toward the back. "Absolutely, a bandage at the least. I hadn't realized there was anything so sharp on that piece. It's dangerous, and I'm getting it off the display.""Look, it's no big deal," Finn repeated.

"Hey, it could have been a huge deal. Thank G.o.d you're family. You won't try to sue us. At least, I don't think you'll try to sue us."

Finn was growing impatient. "It's a scratch, Joseph. No big deal."

They'd reached the back. Sara was already at the business desk, the first-aid kit out, a bottle of peroxide in her hand.

Aware that for some reason Finn seemed to have a real aversion to Sara, Megan smiled and reached out to Sara, taking the first aid supplies from her.

She poured peroxide onto a cotton swab and dabbed at Finn's hand. He had gotten a real gouge, right in the palm. Her brow knitted with concern. Finn balled the cotton swab into his hand, his eyes meeting hers. "Meg, it's all right."

She nodded. "Just let me bandage it."

She did so. The b.l.o.o.d.y cotton swab lay on the desk. She reached for it, but Sara was already picking things up.

"You're sure you're all right? You going to be able to play tonight?"

"Oh, yeah. Nothing would stop me," Finn said.

Megan noticed Sara walking away with the kit and the garbage.

"I'll get that dragon right off the shelf."

"At least I didn't break it," Finn joked.

Joseph shrugged, returning a rueful smile. "I may go break the d.a.m.n thing myself. That could have been a kid. Not that you're not just as important. I don't mean that, but..."

"Like I said, no big deal," Finn insisted. "Meg, we do have to start to make tracks now."

"Right," she agreed. She took his good hand, suddenly, within the shop, feeling the need to be as close to him as possible.

"We'll be there tonight!" Morwenna called encouragingly.

"Thanks!" Finn called back.

When they returned to the street, darkness had fallen completely. Only the lights from the shops still open poured out with their false illumination.

"That's so deep," Megan said with dismay.

"It's all right," Finn said. But though they had already walked half a block away, he turned back, studying Morwenna's shop with a dark and brooding expression.

"Finn... ?"

He turned back to her. He smiled. And yet his look was as a false as the illumination that fell upon the streets.

"It's all right," he said firmly.

He took her hand, forgetting the wound, and wincing when he squeezed right at the point of his wound.

"Sorry," he said lightly. "Oh, Finn!""Can we just forget it, please!" he said sharply. But he still had her hand.

And she could feel where his blood was soaking through the bandage.

Chapter 4.

The hotel was new, and on the outskirts of town. It did, however, have aesthetic appeal, having been built in a colonial style popular in New England. To compete with the many bed and breakfast places in and around town that oozed history, charm, and ghost tales, it offered its own brand of enticing atmosphere. Gardens adorned the surrounding lawns, balconies and porches circled around the structure. The room where they were playing was customarily a supper club, and the setup hadn't been changed much-except to add seasonal enhancement. The room abounded with nylon spider-webs and little plastic arachnids. A kettle that emitted fog had been set up in one corner, with an attendant who wielded a huge dipper-ready to pour out the spiked and seasonal punch-two bucks a shot. Creatures swung from the ceiling, both grotesque and comical, and all in all, it had been decorated for one great Halloween party.

Meals were served until eleven; snacks and drinks after that hour. They were to begin their first set at nine each night, and play until one, with breaks in between. Finn had been surprised at the thousand a night they had been offered to play, and when setting up the equipment with the help of Adam Spade, the muscle-bound bouncer, he wondered if they'd actually make it back to the establishment.