Pepper, the Highlander & the Dead Guy

William Strathmore wandered over to me. “I kept it simple.” He smiled and held out his arms showing off his monk costume.

“And Cam’s an angel?” I asked teasingly.

“Fits her to a tee for putting up with me all these years,” he joked. His smile faded some. “I have to tell you, Pepper, that when you walked in, I thought you were your aunt. You wear that dress with the same beauty and grace that your aunt did. She would be proud of you.”

Instinct had me reaching out and giving William a hug. “Thank you. I feel like she’s here enjoying the party with us.”

“Effie did love parties,” William said. “And she loved to dance.”

“That’s my cue,” Ian said. “Time to dance, Pep.” He signaled the DJ he had hired for the evening.

It took only a moment for me to recognize my Aunt Effie’s favorite song. “La Vie En Rose,” I said, as he swept me out onto the dance floor.

“A tribute to Uncle Max and Aunt Effie, since I’m sure they must have danced to this song in Paris in their day and it held true meaning for them, as it does for us,” Ian said and spun me around.

I melted against him, and we danced as if we were made to dance together, but then the French song was made for lovers.

It was our first dance together and one I would always remember. More dances followed throughout the evening with Ian, and my dad as well, and Ian shared a few dances with my mom, Amy and others.

“Your mom is a fantastic dancer,” Ian told me when they finished.

“She is and she is the reason I don’t have two left feet,” I said with gratitude.

The night wore on as did the fun and when it finally ended, Ian and I left for my place. I let Mo out for the night when we got there, and Ian poured us both glasses of iced tea.

He clinked his glass to mine. “To a fabulous Halloween party.”

“It was,” I agreed. “Everyone will be talking about it for weeks maybe months.”

“We could leave this talk go until tomorrow,” Ian suggested.

“We need to have it now,” I said and got up to lock the door after Mo let himself in. Martin Sands cured me of leaving my door unlocked.

“I’m sure we can work things out, Pep,” Ian said.

“How about we start with a lease like my aunt had with Max? We can work the details out another day,” I said.

Ian smiled. “That sounds workable to me, Pep.” He walked over to me and took the glass out of my hand to place on the counter. “Right now, I have something much more important in mind.”

“What’s that?” I asked, though had a hunch.

He scooped me up in his arms. “Making love to the woman I love beyond reason.”

“You really have stolen my heart, Highlander,” I said, slipping my arms around his neck.

He walked to my bedroom and Mo stood from where he had stretched out on the floor by the fireplace.

“Tonight, she’s all mine, Mo,” Ian said, and Mo grumbled and laid back down.

“You know he’s going to join us in about five minutes,” I warned.

“Not if I lock the door.”

“He knows how to unlock it,” I reminded.

Ian smiled. “I’ll brace something under the knob.”

Mo grumbled loud enough for us to hear him.

“It’s you and me tonight, Pep.”

I couldn’t agree more with him.

He pushed the door open with his shoulder and we entered my bedroom.

Okay, this is where it ends for you, the rest is for Ian and me alone. But don’t worry you’ll get an ear full when I talk with Amy. Join Ian and me on our next adventure—Pepper, the Viking, & the Pillaged Grave.

The End