IMPERFECT MAGIC

BOOK 11: DANCING MOON RANCH SERIES

Patricia Watters

DANCING MOON RANCH SERIES

Prequel: Justified Deception

LIVING WITH LIES TRILOGY

Book 1: Righteous Lies

Book 2: Pandora's Box

Book 3: False Pretenses

THE LIES UNCOVERED TRILOGY

Book 4: Uncertain Loyalties

Book 5: Becoming Jesse's Father

Book 6: Bittersweet Return

CUTTING THE TIES TRILOGY

Book 7: Cross Purposes

Book 8: Dancing With Danger

Book 9: Bucking the Odds

BOUND BY LOVE TRILOGY

Book 10: Forbidden Spirits

Book 11: Imperfect Magic

Book 12: Finding Justice

YOU TUBE VIDEO BOOK TRAILER

DESCRIPTION: Dimitri Matthias, an upcoming illusionist with aspirations of becoming the next David Copperfield, is offered a proposal
by a Las Vegas entertainment company: create on stage a disappearing-horse act and he'll get his own show. The problem is, Dimitri has
never been around horses, so he hires Maddy Hansen to teach him the basics, mainly because he sees in her his perfect stage assistant...
except that Maddy's a dyed-in-the-wool ranch girl whose dream of starting a camp for disabled kids is already in the works. What
Dimitri doesn't count on is falling in love with a woman, and a way of life, that until then had escaped him. His transformation from
showman to cowboy also has Maddy taking a second look. Yet, Las Vegas is where Dimitri's future lies and neither know how to
reconcile that.

IMPERFECT MAGIC
Copyright

2014 by Patricia Watters

Printed in the United States of America
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or were used
fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. All rights
reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in whole or in part, by any means, including but not limited to xerography, audio
recording, scanning into any information processing, storage or retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by electronic or mechanical or
other means, not known or hereafter invented. The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other
means without permission of the copyright owner is illegal and punishable by law.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
ASIN: B00R0YO3RA
ISBN-13: 978-1505569421
ISBN-10: 1505569427
Title of Work: Imperfect Magic / by Patricia Watters
Domiciled in: United States of America
Nation of 1st Publication: United States of America

CHAPTER 1

"The easiest way to attract a crowd is to let it be known that at a given time and place someone is
going to attempt something that, in the event of failure, will mean sudden death." - Harry Houdini

Nine Lives Lounge & Casino- Las Vegas, Nevada

As Maddy Hansen approached Dimitri Matthias's dressing room, prepared to tell him how much

she was enjoying his magic show, she was caught off guard by the sound of angry voices coming from
inside. She recognized the slightly foreign accent of Dimitri's stage assistant, but she couldn't imagine
what the heated argument could be about because the first half of the show had been amazing. No,
mindboggling. She was still a little dazed by what she'd seen.

Before arriving in Las Vegas with her two college roommates, she'd been curious about Dimitri.

Her brother and sister-in-law, Josh and Genie, talked about Genie's younger brother, and the whole
family knew all about their famous father, Sebastian the Illusionist, so Maddy presumed Dimitri was
coasting along on his father's coattails, performing ordinary tricks using standard props and gimmicks.
But from the moment Dimitri appeared on stage—he didn't walk on, he simply materialized—she was
spellbound.

He'd followed that with a series of levitations, and props floating around and vanishing, and

cards flying in arcs and cartwheels between his hands, all the while leading up to his Metamorphosis
escape, which had been nothing less than pure magic.

Prior to Metamorphosis, everyone at her table had been invited on stage to inspect a large trunk

for hidden doors. Satisfied, they returned to the table while Dimitri was being shackled in chains that
were padlocked to cuffs and to a steel collar around his neck. He was then helped into a canvas
postal service bag which was sealed at the top. Stage hands lifted him into the trunk, closed the lid,
and locked it with several padlocks, then wrapped the trunk in chains and ropes.

Once the trunk was secure, Dimitri's assistant climbed on top, and lifting a hoop draped with a

curtain that concealed her when she held it up high, she began counting while raising and lowering the
hoop from mid-chest to above her head. One… the curtain went up then down. Two… the curtain
went up then down. But on the count of three, when the curtain came down, instead of the woman,
Dimitri was standing on the trunk and the woman had vanished.

After a concerted gasp from the entire audience, because they were as stunned by what they'd

seen, as Maddy was, the lounge filled with wild applause. Dimitri jumped down and raised his hands
to indicate he wasn't finished, and after stage hands untied the web of ropes encircling the trunk, and
opened the numerous padlocks holding the tangle of chains around it as well as the padlocks securing
the lid, Dimitri opened the trunk, revealing his assistant, now bound in chains. Yet the switch took
place in less than five seconds.

Again, Maddy's attention was drawn to the ongoing argument in Dimitri's dressing room, and

Dimitri's angry voice saying, "Walk out on me now, Karla, and we're through. You know how crucial
the torture cell escape is tonight."

"Crucial for you, not me," the woman replied. "I thought we were a team, that my name would be

up there with yours, but my name isn't even on the poster! Well, you can find someone else to hold
your props and warm your bed." The door flew open and the woman marched past Maddy and never
looked back.

Maddy had barely recovered from the heated encounter when she turned to find Dimitri looking

at her in puzzlement, then awareness, as he said, "You're Josh's sister."

"Well, yes." Maddy found herself studying the pattern of Dimitri's close-cropped beard. That,

along with his slightly peaked brows and almost mesmerizing blue eyes gave him the kind of face that
could be construed as handsomely diabolical.

Catching her mind wandering, and focusing on her reason for being there, she said, "I just came

to tell you how much I'm enjoying the show."

"Come in. We need to talk," Dimitri said. No smile. Just an abrupt invitation into his dressing

room.

When Maddy hesitated, Dmitri tempered his approach. "Look, I'm in a bind. My assistant just

walked out and I need someone to help during my next act."

"That's out of the question," Maddy said. "I've never done anything like that. I've never even been

in a nightclub before coming to Las Vegas."

"Then you'll learn firsthand what goes on behind the scenes."
"What, that assistants walk out in the middle of performances?"
"That too," Dimitri said. "All you have to do is stand on stage in front of the water tank and hold

an ax, ready to smash the glass if the escape fails, which it won't."

"What will you be doing?" Maddy asked.
"I'll be in the tank. I take it you didn't see the poster in the lobby."
"We got here late." Maddy vaguely recalled seeing the image of a man in chains hanging upside

down in a tank of water, as she rushed past a huge poster, but she hadn't had time to look at it closely
because she and her roommates had barely made it to the nightclub in time for the show. "So that's all
I'd have to do, hold an ax?"

Dimitri nodded. "That, and change into a costume."
"Wait!" Maddy raised a hand in protest. "If I'm expected to wear a skimpy thing like the one your

assistant wore then forget it."

"You can pick out whatever you want," Dimitri said. "My assistant likes skimpy, but there are

other costumes. Come look." He ushered her into a costume room off the dressing room. "Make it fast
though. You have about fifteen minutes to change before we're on."

Maddy was in the process of trying to decide if she'd even do it, when Dimitri said, "You'll get a

check for five-hundred dollars after the show."

She looked at him with a start. "Are you serious? Five hundred dollars just to stand on stage and

hold an ax?"

"That's about the size of it," Dimitri said. "So, are you in or not? I need to get this settled."
"I suppose I'm in as long as all I have to do is stand with an ax," Maddy replied. "Do I have to

talk or gesture or anything?"

"No, just start a timer, hold the ax, and follow your instincts."
Not comfortable with what she was about to do, Maddy was silently questioning if she should

back out when Dimitri said, "I'll send someone up to brief you and show you where to stand, and I'll
see you on stage." The sound of the door clipping shut behind him pretty much set it all in stone.

Fifteen minutes later, Maddy found herself standing on stage, holding an ax, while dressed in a

form-fitting, sequin-covered, silvery-blue gown with side slits up to her thighs and a whole lot of
exposed cleavage, which she'd tried to hide by tugging the dress up as far as she could. But on taking
the ax from one of the stage hands, the gown started making its way down again, but no one seemed to
notice except her roommates, who were staring at her in stunned silence. Everyone else was watching
what was going on with the activity surrounding what she now realized was the Chinese Water
Torture Cell Escape advertised on the poster.

The 'torture cell' consisted of a huge wooden vault, about seven feet high and four feet square,

with a framework of heavy metal with rivets, and a thick glass front, revealing that the tank was
slowly being filled with water. An enclosure made of wooden panels surrounded the tank, with an
opening in front that would be closed with curtains once the escape began. Off to the side of the
enclosure stood a chalkboard with a large timer set into it, which Maddy assumed was for clocking
Dimitri's time underwater while he attempted to escape.

Loud applause filled the lounge as Dimitri walked onto the stage, barefoot and wearing a black

terrycloth robe. While the water in the tank continued to ease upward, Dimitri addressed the audience
with a flourish of his hand that immediately brought silence.

"Thank you for the welcome back," he said. "We all know that Harry Houdini was the undisputed

king of escape, with his celebrated straitjacket escape while suspended upside down from a
skyscraper, and his burning box escape while chained inside a crate suspended over a body of water,
and his most death-defying escape of all, the one I'll be attempting tonight for the first time, the
Chinese Water Cell Torture escape. The tank you see here is a replica of Houdini's water cell,
constructed after extensive research using photographs and plans, and equipped with the necessary
stocks and steel tackle that comprised Houdini's apparatus..."

Maddy momentarily lost track of what Dimitri was saying while she scanned the faces of the

people sitting around tables in an opulent room that featured sleek contemporary furnishings that
combined black cats sitting, walking, and crouched, along with a blend of glass, terrazzo, and vibrant
color schemes of red, gold, black, and flaming orange…

"Like Houdini," Dimitri continued, "I'll be shackled in cuffs and chains, my feet will be locked

into stocks attached to the underside of the cell lid, and I'll be lowered into the tank, head first, after
which the lid will be locked, sealing me inside a tank filled with water. My goal will be to get free of
my shackles and escape from the locked and sealed tank. Houdini always had his wife, Bess, standing
by with an ax in the event he failed to escape, and for tonight, my beautiful assistant, Madeleine, will
assume that role."

Applause broke out, and when Maddy saw Dimitri gesturing with his outstretched hand, she

realized the applause was for her. But after it died, she found herself staring at what was clearly a
very thick slab of glass, while wondering if she'd have the strength to break through it with the ax if
something went wrong, and if so, if she'd be washed away by the gush of hundreds of gallons of water
coming from inside.

Dimitri raised his hand to quiet the audience. "Before I attempt this escape, I ask those sitting at

the table to the left of the stage—yes, you folks right there," he said, pointing, "to step up on stage and
take a breath and hold it while Madeleine marks your times on a chalk board." He turned to the
audience. "I also invite everyone here to take the challenge."

While the people were filing onto the stage, Dimitri handed Maddy a piece of chalk and said to

her in a hushed voice, "When I give the signal, start the timer, then make a big production of writing
the final time in large numbers on the chalkboard and calling it out to the audience."

The challenge on, the people on stage took breaths and Maddy started the big timer. Before the

first minute was up, a woman let out her breath. "First one out," Dimitri said, pointing at the woman.
The timer continued ticking away. "Another," Dimitri called out. "And another." Long before two
minutes were up, all but one person on stage had released their breaths, until the last person, a man,
turned scarlet and staggered back while gulping in air.

Catching her cue from Dimitri, Maddy called out, "One minute, forty-nine seconds," then

scrawled the time in large numbers across the chalkboard.

"Okay, folks, that's it," Dimitri said. "I've trained myself to hold my breath considerably longer,

but I'll still need to be free of the shackles before three minutes are up or be in danger of losing
consciousness, in which case it will be all over for me, unless of course, Madeleine smashes the
glass. As for the legitimacy of the locks, all are furnished by a local lock shop, and a representative
from the shop has just delivered them to my stage assistants. So now I'll attempt to do Houdini's most
famous escape."

With that, Dimitri shrugged out of his robe and stood in front of the giant tank in a black form-

fitting swimsuit that covered as little as possible, which had Maddy's heart revving up, along with
other reactions she was trying unsuccessfully to ignore, but the sight of a remarkably well-developed,
muscular male physique caught her totally by surprise.

Feeling a little nudge, she realized one of the stage hands was moving her out of the way. Resting

the ax against her shoulder, she backed up so Dimitri could sit on the floor of the stage.

As his hands and feet were cuffed, with chains connected between the cuffs and a neck collar,

and his feet were clamped into stocks to secure him to the underside of the lid, Maddy couldn't help
thinking that this was insane. What kind of twisted mind would allow itself to go through such a
potentially horrifying way to die?

She'd barely digested that thought when Dimitri, now collared, handcuffed and wrapped in a

tangle of chains, was hoisted, feet first, by a winch attached to a hook on the outside of the lid and
suspended over the tank. Just before being lowered, he called out, "Madeleine, start the clock," then
took a deep breath and waved his cuffed hands to the crowd.

He was greeted by an eruption of applause… followed by dead silence as, through the glass, he

was seen being lowered head first into a tank of water barely wide enough for him to turn around in,
much less have room to release himself from the cuffs and chains. Once submersed, the lid of the tank
was secured with four padlocks, after which stage assistants closed the curtains to the enclosure that
surrounded the tank, hiding it from view.

The band started up with a rendition of Bolero.
And the audience sat immobile, eyes fixed on the timer, as it ticked away.
One minute… One-and-a-half minutes… Two minutes… Two-and-a-half minutes…
By then the stage assistants began moving closer to the enclosure, one nudging another and

pointing to the doors, obviously concerned, all the while Maddy and the spectators were becoming
progressively restless as they calculated that Dimitri must be running out of air, and with the
apprehension growing, voices began murmuring throughout the lounge.

Feeling increasingly anxious, Maddy raised the ax and stepped to the front of the enclosure while

wondering who would give her the signal to do something, if anyone would even do that. Maybe it
was up to her to decide when to open the curtains and smash the glass.

She glanced over at the timer. Three minutes and ticking.
Turning to one of the stage assistants, she said, "Shouldn't someone go in? It's been well over

three minutes."

The man glanced at the timer, and when it registered almost four minutes, he cried out, "Yes go

in! Something's gone wrong!"

Maddy had just raised the ax, prepared to swing it with all her strength, when Dimitri burst

through the curtains and fell onto the stage, dripping wet, while gasping and coughing and clutching
his sides, before taking a series of great gulps of air, to the explosion of applause from a vastly
relieved audience.

Dropping the ax, Maddy rushed over to where he was hunched over on the floor, grabbed his

arm, and said in an anxious voice, "Are you okay?"

Dimitri smiled up at her, and replied, "I'm fine, and you're very good at this."
His tone was anything but that of a man fighting for air, and it came to Maddy that all the theatrics

of bursting through the curtains and rolling on the floor and coughing and carrying on could be a ruse
to convince every person in the room that they had just witnessed a near disaster.

Still, Dimitri allowed her to help him up.
Once standing, though a little unsteady—whether it was a stage act or not, Maddy wasn't sure—

when Dimitri raised his arms to address the crowd, he was again greeted with enthusiastic applause,
which he answered, when the applause finally died, by saying, "Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. It's
good to be breathing again." That brought a round of laughter, and more applause.

Dimitri was helped into his robe by a stage assistant, then taking one last bow, he thanked the

audience for their participation and enthusiasm and bid them farewell, then took Maddy by the arm
and guided her off stage. Once beyond the range of view, he said to her, "You were good out there.
Maybe we could go to my dressing room and talk."

"If it's about me working here and replacing your assistant, the answer is no," Maddy said. Her

two days in Sin City were enlightening in ways she hadn't anticipated, especially when her
roommates insisted they see the Chippendales, but no way would she live in such a city for any length
of time. Ever.

"Don't worry about working in this club," Dimitri said. "I'm filling in for my dad this week. My

proposition has to do with learning about horses."

Maddy eyed him, questioningly. "Learning what about them?"
"Everything. You're a ranch girl and I've never even petted a horse."
"Then go to a local stable and rent one," Maddy said. "They have horses for beginners."
"I need to know more than that. I need to know how to handle them," Dimitri said. "I'd be hiring

you to teach me all you could."

"Why me? Why not Josh?" Maddy asked. "You could stay with him and Genie and in a week Josh

would have you riding all over the ranch and taking care of your horse too."

"That's what I originally planned," Dimitri said, "but when I got a contract for a month-long run at

the Coyote Lounge at the Indian casino near the Dancing Moon Ranch, Genie talked me into staying at
the ranch instead of the casino hotel, so I figure you could teach me about horses while I'm there. I'll
pay you five-hundred a week."

"Dollars?" Maddy said, stunned.
"I'll get my money's worth," Dimitri replied, with the kind of confidence a man had when he was

used to getting his way.

"If you're thinking I'd be free to teach you about horses 24/7, that won't happen," Maddy said. "I

have to help manage the guests and I also have ranch chores."

"I'm thinking more like an hour a day and the rest at night."
"Yeah, right. I may be new to your Sin City lifestyle, but I'm not naïve, and this smacks of some

kind of proposition."

"It is in a way," Dimitri said. "I'm without an assistant so I'm proposing you be my assistant

during my run at the Coyote, which for you would mainly be standing in the background holding
props."

Maddy let out a sardonic laugh. "Tonight you'll be cutting me a check for five-hundred dollars for

standing on stage twenty minutes, so why should I settle for five-hundred a week. The way I see it, if
I'd be doing that every night for a month, I should be getting fifteen-thousand dollars."

Dimitri laughed. "You drive a hard bargain. How about twenty-five-hundred for the month, since

I'm only contracted four nights a week, and I'll help you with ranch chores. That way I'll learn about
horses quicker."

Maddy didn't know enough about Dimitri to decide if he was serious or not, but if he was, with

the twenty-five-hundred dollars he'd be paying her as his assistant and the five-hundred for tonight's
show, along with the money she'd already saved, she'd have enough to start building the arena for her
therapeutic horsemanship program. But there was still a big unanswered question regarding what he
was proposing. Looking at him with curiosity, she asked, "Why do you want to learn about horses?
Are you planning to make one disappear or something?"

Dimitri eyed her in bafflement. "How did you know?"
"Wait, are you telling me that's what you plan to do, make a horse disappear?"
"If I can design the illusion, yes," Dimitri said. "I've been offered my own show if I can, which

would put me in competition with my dad." He smiled widely.

"Then this is really about you trying to one-up your dad," Maddy said.
"No, it's about me getting my own show, and I'll raise my offer to three-thousand for the month."
When Maddy looked at him in bafflement as to why he was offering more money, he said, "The

additional five-hundred is hush money because I'll have to reveal the secret to the Metamorphosis
escape, since you'll be part of the act."

That got Maddy's attention. From the moment she saw the instantaneous trunk switch she'd been

racking her brain to come up with a plausible explanation, and she'd drawn a big zero.

"You'll still have to sign a nondisclosure agreement though," Dimitri added.
Maddy couldn't argue that, nor did she intend to. The idea of learning the secret to the escape was

exhilarating in a way she hadn't expected. "What about the water tank escape? Will I learn the secret
to that one too?" Her enthusiasm was growing exponentially with the thought of learning all the trade
secrets.

Dimitri shook his head. "Houdini took that one to his grave and that's what I intend to do."
"Houdini might have taken it to his grave," Maddy said, "but you just performed it, so there had

to be a leak somewhere along the way."

Dimitri smiled at her pun. "No leak, just speculation as to how he did it. I have my own means of

escaping, but it might not be the way Houdini escaped."

"Then you lied to the audience because that's what you told them," Maddy said.
Dimitri shrugged. "Magicians typically say things they know are untrue. It's accepted as part of

the show."

"Maybe so, but after years of lying to audiences, does it carry over into your private life?" As

soon as the words were out, Maddy realized they hinted at having a personal interest.

"If you're asking if I know the difference between a stage untruth and a lie, I do," Dimitri said.

"But what I do on stage isn't lying. It's asking the audience for a suspension of disbelief. But, I don't
want a passive suspension of disbelief. For the duration of the show I want those watching to believe
that the raising of my hands can make things levitate, and the snap of my fingers can make objects
appear out of thin air, and on the count of three I can be free of shackles and out of a trunk and
standing before an audience. But when the show's over, and the spectators re-enter the real world, if
I've done my job there's still some lingering doubt."

Maddy couldn't argue that. There was no logical explanation for his trunk switch, except maybe a

little bit of magic. And now the golden key to Metamorphosis was being dangled in front of her. It
was almost too tempting to pass up, except there was one minor glitch.

"When are you contracted to work at the Coyote?" she asked. "I don't graduate from college until

the end of May, so if it's before then you'll have to find another assistant and hire one of my brothers
to teach you about horses."

"I'm also in college and won't graduate until May," Dimitri replied.
"A college for magicians?" Maddy asked.
Dimitri laughed. "In a way. I'm at the University of Nevada majoring in mechanical engineering

with a minor in Philosophy." When Maddy looked at him perplexed, because she had no idea how that
fit into his profession, he shrugged and said, "Engineering's useful when inventing and designing
illusions, and philosophy's the basis of magic. It all ties in."

"Matthias!" someone called out. "The boss wants you upstairs."
"Gotta go," Dimitri said. "I'll see you at the ranch in June. Before you go, stop by the front office

and show your ID. You'll find a check waiting." He smiled, gave her arm a squeeze, and walked off,
leaving Maddy feeling a little giddy.

But that was followed by a slight sinking feeling in her chest.
'The boss wants you upstairs' smacked of the warnings she'd been hearing ever since Jeremy and

Billy were sucked into that black hole called witness protection where once you enter, you never
come out. From what Mario Moretti, the marshal assigned to Jeremy and Billy, warned, Las Vegas
was a hotbed of corruption. Billy's brother-in-law broke ties with a crime family there to become a
government informant in return for lifetime protection, and the trial was ongoing, which meant,
Jeremy and Billy wouldn't be coming home any time soon, if ever.

Even Genie acknowledged the organized crime element in Las Vegas and how zealously her

father stayed clear of it, so Maddy had to believe that Dimitri had the same code of ethics. But then, it
didn't matter because she had no intention of returning to Las Vegas. Dimitri's presence in her life
would last one month, and then he'd be gone.

She just wished she could scrub from her mind the image of him in his tiny black swimsuit, and

the way he'd mesmerized his audience with feats bordering on real magic, and especially the way he
smiled at her moments before. He'd smiled at the audience too, but that last smile had been solely for
her.

'Get a grip,' she told herself, then headed for the dressing room to change her clothes before

rejoining her roommates.

CHAPTER 2

Grand Ronde, Oregon – nine weeks later

As Christopher Black wheeled the limousine out of the parking lot surrounding the casino

complex and headed down the highway toward the Dancing Moon Ranch, he said to Dimitri, who was
sitting in the back seat, "So then, the only places to go for nighttime entertainment around here are the
casino and the Coyote Lounge."

"There's a town down the road a little ways from the ranch," Dimitri mumbled, while trying to

decipher one of the numerous documents in his inch thick file of diagrams, illustrations, and
crumbling yellowed manuscripts, some almost a century old, while searching for clues that would
unveil the secret to Charles Morritt's Disappearing Donkey illusion. If he could figure it out, he could
apply the principles to a disappearing horse illusion.

His father acquired the folder over thirty years before, when he purchased the contents of a file

cabinet owned by a once-famous magician who ended up broke and alcoholic shortly before he died.
Among the hundreds of documents and illustrations in the file were diagrams that the old magician
had drawn while trying to figure out certain illusions, including Morritt's Disappearing Donkey
illusion. Dimitri was certain his father knew the secret, but as always, his father expected him to
figure it out. The only hint his father gave him on turning over the folder to him the week before was,
"Pay attention to the clown," meaning the clown in the diagram, which was also the assistant who led
the donkey into the stable box.

Chris angled his head slightly, while saying, "If the town down the road's like the other

backwoods towns we've been through, the main attraction will be watching cloud formations."

"You'll survive. It's only for a month," Dimitri said.
Still, he couldn't argue Chris's point. The Las Vegas strip, Grand Ronde was not. He was sorry

now he'd let Genie talk him into staying at a ranch where, according to her, conversations centered
around moving cows, riding horses, and keeping track of the price of grain and beef. For him, the
sooner he could learn the basics of handling a horse and return to civilization as he knew it, the better.

"A month at the end of the world," Chris mumbled.
Glancing at the back of Chris's head, Dimitri said, "Sorry, pal, you're not drumming up any

empathy here. While you'll be lounging around in one of Oregon's swankiest hotels, sipping drinks
and tossing tokens on the tables, I'll be trapped in a cabin from a different century." He'd seen photos
of the log cabins on a Dancing Moon Ranch flyer Genie sent him, and what came to mind was he
hoped his cabin would have running water and an indoor toilet.

He returned his attention to the diagrams and studied another faded drawing. The 'stable box' in

the illustration showed a large box on short legs so it was off the ground, meaning the audience would
see the donkey's legs if it left by a hidden door. So the way it worked, the clown would lead the
donkey into the box through a pair of doors in front, leave the donkey in the stable and shut the door.
The magician would say some special words, after which he'd open the doors to show the audience
that the donkey had disappeared.

A few miles down the highway, the limo slowed and Dimitri looked up to see that they were

turning, presumably onto the road leading to the turnoff to the Dancing Moon Ranch.

"You never said anything about gravel roads?" Chris groused, as he slowed the limo to a snail's

pace. "I doubt there's a car wash for miles around."

Dimitri looked ahead through the windshield at a gravel road that followed the course of a valley

bordered on both sides by pasture that sloped upward to meet forested hillsides. The road stretched
into the distance, broken only by a rooster tail of dust from a vehicle speeding toward them. Chris
lowered the window and waved frantically at the driver to slow him down, and a pickup truck pulled
to a halt beside the limo, mainly so the driver could gawk inside, and say, "Are you lost, or is this a
wine tour?"

"Neither," Chris replied. "We're heading to the Dancing Moon Ranch."
"You're about fifteen minutes away," the driver said.
"Is the road like this the whole way?" Chris asked.
"No," the driver replied. "Just ahead the county's putting down molasses so it won't be so dusty."
"Molasses, like pancake syrup?" Chris asked, in an uncertain voice.
"That's what the locals call it," the driver replied. "You'll know why after a few miles. Good

luck." The man stepped on the gas, leaving a cloud of dust behind.

After the dust dissipated some, Chris started out again, still at a snail's pace, while muttering,

"So, I'm supposed to make this run between the casino and the ranch twice a day?"

"That's what you're being overpaid to do," Dimitri replied. He glanced beyond Chris's head at a

gravel road with dust still hanging over it, but now the road was broken by a herd of cows that were
crossing over, followed by a guy on a horse and a couple of dogs.

Chris was right. It was going to be a hell of a long month, especially with his re-instated hands-

off policy when it came to his personal assistant. He'd dropped his guard with Karla, but that
wouldn't happen again. True, Maddy Hansen caught his eye as far back as Josh and Genie's wedding,
and in Vegas she filled out the sequined gown in a way he hadn't expected, though different from the
way Karla's overly shapely body had—Maddy being more like a sleek feline—but now it was back
to business as usual, which meant, there was a greater probability of hell freezing over before he'd
ever get involved with his assistant again, unless she was his wife, which was so far in the future it
wasn't worth considering.

***

Maddy reread the email she'd received from Dimitri two weeks before, informing her of the date

of his arrival and affirming that he hoped she was prepared to get him acquainted with horses as well
as work as his assistant. She'd emailed back that she was prepared for both. The problem was,
whereas her family knew Dimitri would be staying at the ranch during the month he'd be working at
the Coyote Lounge, she'd put off telling them about her agreement to work as his assistant and teach
him about handling horses.

A couple months back, when her parents learned, in a round-about way, that during spring break

from college she and her roommates had gone to Las Vegas, her father had been furious. Not only had
she spent three days in a city funded by drinking, gambling and nightclubbing, but it was off limits to
her family as long as Jeremy and Billy were under witness protection.

Three years before, when Mario Moretti arrived at the ranch with Billy and Jeremy, in order to

inform the family what they could and could not do while Billy and Jeremy were in witness
protection, Maddy had been so shocked by Jeremy's announcement that he was getting married—
while at the same time evaluating the woman who'd managed to clip his wings—that she'd missed
most of what Mario Moretti was telling the family.

Still, she couldn't deny that she knew Las Vegas was off limits, or at least to be avoided. Her

decision to tag along with her roommates had been an impulsive, last minute one. She figured they'd
have three fun-filled days while lost in a sea of other college kids, and no one would know. But after
hearing her father's tirade on learning what she'd done, she decided that informing him about her

agreement to assist Dimitri at the Coyote Lounge, while he'd be staying at the ranch was easier put off
until later, which was now.

She couldn't deny there had been two factors involved in her decision to accept Dimitri's offer—

the money, and learning the secret to the Metamorphosis escape, which continued to haunt her. There
was simply no way two people could instantaneously switch places in a trunk. Well, maybe there
were three factors in her decision to work for Dimitri. She still couldn't shake the image of him in a
swimsuit that was little more than a black pouch with side bands. Seeing his muscular male body was
different from anything she'd ever experienced, including seeing the Chippendales. That had been an
eye-opening evening of beefcake gyrating, bumping and grinding their well-endowed male hunks in
women's faces. But after the show was over, the sight of those men vanished from her mind's eye,
while nothing about Dimitri's amazingly well-conditioned body, along with the way he'd mesmerized
his audience with feats that bordered on magic, had slipped away.

Okay, zero hour, she decided.
Shutting down her laptop, she went downstairs to attempt to convince her parents that standing on

stage with an ax in her hand was tantamount to being a guardian angel, in a convoluted sort of way.

She found her mom and dad in the family room, sitting on a couch in front of a coffee table

covered with travel brochures. They were trying to decide which cruise they'd be taking for their
thirtieth wedding anniversary. Everyone knew a cruise had been her mother's dream for years, and
since her father would volunteer to die a slow death before seeing her mother unhappy, he informed
her that they'd be going on a cruise, and for her to pick the destination.

"Mom, Dad, can I interrupt you for a few minutes?" Maddy asked.
"Of course, honey," Grace replied. "Dad and I are just trying to decide between a cruise up the

Inland Passage to Alaska and a Caribbean cruise in the Bahamas."

"I vote the Bahamas," Maddy said. "You could both buy bikinis and go snorkeling."
Grace laughed. "No way. After giving birth to you kids I have way too many love handles."
Jack laughed. "Honey, you're shaped the way I like."
Maddy saw her father wink and her mother blush, and knew the flame between her parents was

still burning hot, even after almost thirty years. She wondered if after she'd been married that long,
and was as old as her mother, if there would still be sparks…

"Honey," Grace said to her, "is there something special on your mind?"
"Sort of," Maddy replied. Drawing in a long breath, she started in by saying, "When Beth,

Hannah, and I were in Las Vegas and saw Dimitri's show, during intermission I went to his dressing
room to tell him how much we were enjoying it, and while I was there, Dimitri offered to hire me to
teach him about handling horses while he'd be staying here, and I said I would."

"There's no need for that," Jack replied. "Adam can take him on daily trail rides and teach him

whatever he needs to know."

"Yes, but I need the money for my arena, and Dimitri said he'd pay me," Maddy argued. "But even

with that I'll still be short on money, which is what I want to talk to you about."

"You have a job here on the ranch, helping manage the guests," Jack pointed out.
"I'm talking about a second job," Maddy said. "As it is, it will be months before I have enough

money to start my arena, and by then it will be winter."

"What other job?" Jack asked. From the guarded look on his face, he was dubious, at best, about

what was coming.

After taking a moment to organize her thoughts, Maddy said, in a long string of words she hoped

would not completely register in her parents' minds, "The thing is, when I was outside Dimitri's

dressing room during intermission the door flew open and his assistant walked out leaving him
without an assistant for the rest of the show so when he asked if I'd be willing to stand on stage and
hold an ax during his final act I said I would and I did."

"You what?!"
Maddy flinched. "I didn't mention it before because this is exactly the reaction I figured I'd get.

But I also got five-hundred dollars, and afterwards, Dimitri asked if I'd do the same thing while he's
at the Coyote Lounge, and I said I would."

"That's out of the question," Jack clipped.
Maddy squared her shoulders and stood as tall as she could while facing her father, and said,

"When I turned twenty-one you said because I was a grown woman I was free to make my own
decisions, and you trusted me to make wise ones."

"And you blindsided me by making the unwise decision to spend three days nightclubbing in the

city where your sister-in-law might be called in to testify against a mafia crime family that owns half
the casinos there."

"Nothing happened," Maddy said. "My roommates and I didn't do anything other tourists wouldn't

do."

"You just told me you stood on stage in a nightclub."
"I stood there and held an ax!" Maddy cried. "This is the very reason I said nothing before now,

Dad, because I knew you'd react this way. You have absolutely no confidence in my ability to make
wise decisions."

"Honey," Grace broke into the argument. "Dad and I do have confidence in your ability to make

wise decisions, but you're still very young, and sometimes there's a shady line between what a young
person perceives as wise, and what someone older, with more experience through life's choices,
knows could have long-term ramifications."

"I knew you'd take Dad's side," Maddy said. "I might as well be talking to Siamese twins."
"Hold it," Jack countered. "Your mother and I don't agree on everything, but we agree on this. We

can't stop you from working at the Coyote, but if you do, it will be against our wishes."

"This is so unfair," Maddy said. "All I'll be doing is standing on stage holding an ax. It's not like

I'm going back to Las Vegas to become a nightclub dancer."

"You know my position." Jack stood and marched out of the room.
Maddy pursed her lips as she watched her father walk away. "He is so intractable," she said to

her mother. "He's like a Victorian father, assuming because I'm a girl I'm incapable of making
decisions. It's parochial and narrow-minded of him."

"No, it's because he loves you," Grace said. "You'll understand better when you're a parent."
"Well, I gave Dimitri my word I'd assist him, and he's paying me three-thousand dollars to do that

and teach him about horses, so by the end of the month I'll have enough money to start building my
arena, and that's all there is to it."

But Maddy knew that was definitely not all there was to it. By the time the rest of her family

would weigh in on things, all of which would be negative, everyone at the ranch would agree that the
only daughter of Jack and Grace Hansen was sliding down a slippery slope toward a life of
decadence, depravity and debauchery in the city of sin.

The only bright spot in all of it would be that she'd get a bundle of money while learning the

secret to the Metamorphosis escape, along with seeing Dimitri in his tiny black swimsuit again.

"You really need to think this through," Grace said.
"I have thought it through, Mom, and I gave Dimitri my word," Maddy replied. "A month from

now I'll be three-thousand dollars richer and ready to start building my arena."

She left the house quickly, not wanting to hear her mother's litany of reasons why she should

reconsider, and was surprised to see Adam and Marc standing together in front of the lodge, looking
off in the same direction, both with wide grins on their faces.

When she walked over to see what was going on, Adam pointed, and said with a chuckle in his

voice, "It seems our family magician has arrived."

Maddy looked in the direction Adam was pointing and stared in shocked surprise to see Dimitri

standing beside a stretched black limousine, with another man—presumably the chauffeur because he
was dressed in black—who was running his hand along the vehicle, as if inspecting it critically,
which was understandable. The thing was covered in dust, and the bottom half was splattered with
molasses from the road.

"The guy can't be for real," Marc said, while eyeing Dimitri. "He made the trip from Las Vegas in

a limo."

Adam laughed. "Genie said he's a city boy, and the few times he visited the Kincaid he spent his

time playing pool and never once rode a horse. I don't even remember seeing him at Josh and Genie's
wedding."

"That's because he took off right after the ceremony," Maddy said. When Adam looked at her in

curiosity, she realized she'd given herself away because she had definitely noticed Dimitri at the
wedding, though she was certain he hadn't noticed her.

"Did he leave in a limo?" Adam asked.
Maddy shrugged, indifferently. "No, in the big black bus his father came in. I heard Genie

mention that they had a show someplace."

When the chauffeur started swatting a cloth over the limo and Dimitri backed away, Marc said,

"Better look out, pal, or you'll get some dust on your shiny black shoes."

Maddy couldn't deny Dimitri looked like a city slicker in his trendy shirt, khaki slacks, and shiny

shoes that looked as if they were patent leather. "He looks better on stage," she mused, as the image of
Dimitri shedding his terrycloth robe emerged.

"What, in a top hat, tails and white gloves?" Marc said.
"No, in a swim suit." When the faces of both brothers sobered, Maddy knew she'd made a big

mistake. Giving a little shrug, she added, "He does a water tank stunt. Meanwhile, I'd better see if he
wants a riding lesson this afternoon. He needs to learn about handling horses for an upcoming act, and
when I was in Las Vegas I agreed to teach him."

When she started to turn away, Adam grabbed her arm, and said, "I'll take him with me on the

afternoon trail rides and teach him whatever he needs to know."

Maddy shrugged out of Adam's grip. "He's paying me well to get him acquainted with horses and

I need the money so that's what I intend to do." She turned and walked off before Adam could start
acting like another father, which he had a tendency to do, and strolled over to welcome Dimitri to the
Dancing Moon Ranch.

As she closed the gap between them, Dimitri caught sight of her and smiled, and for some reason

Maddy's heart started pounding, and her face felt hot, which didn't make sense because not only did
Dimitri know nothing about horses, which made him a lesser man in her estimation, but arriving in a
limo was a reminder that he lived a cushy life, so cushy, he couldn't leave the limo behind and do
what normal people did when visiting the ranch from a distant location. Come by plane and rent a car.
Nor did he look all that impressive in khakis, a polo shirt, and shiny black shoes. But stripped down
to a swimsuit, that was an entirely different matter.

Getting a grip on herself, she said to him as she approached, "The only limos that find their way

here are for hauling around wine tasters. Did you come all the way from Las Vegas in that?"

Dimitri nodded. "I take it this is the cabin where I'm supposed to stay?" he said, while gesturing

to the cabin behind him.

"Yes," Maddy replied. "There's a kitchenette in it for fixing meals, but since it doesn't look like

you brought your cook along, you can eat in the lodge with the other guests or come to my folk's house
for meals, since you're indirectly family." Scanning his clothes, she added, "I hope you brought jeans
and boots. Our horses have a tendency to buck off city dudes, but if you're wearing western clothes
they'll think you're a cowboy."

"Are you serious?" Dimitri asked.
Maddy laughed. "Ha! Got you!"
"Okay, I left myself wide open for that, and no, I don't have boots, but I do have tennis shoes."
"Those don't work very well when a horse steps on your foot," Maddy said. "I'll get you a pair of

Jeremy's old boots. I assume you have jeans."

"No, and from what I've seen, there's not much room for moving around in those things."
"True," Maddy said, "but girls like the way guys look in them so the guys tough it out."
"You too?" Dimitri asked.
"Sure. They make guys look like studs. It's part of the cowboy mystique. But since you're used to

being in tight places they shouldn't be a problem for you. Come on out to the stable and I'll introduce
you to your horse. His name is King Tut, but you can call him Tut."

"Why not King?" Dimitri asked, as he walked with Maddy toward the stable.
"Because he'll throw you off if you call him that," Maddy replied.
"Then he must respond to certain consonant sounds," Dimitri said, "like the hard K in King."
Maddy smiled in amusement. "Could be," she replied, thinking this was the most fun she'd had

with a city dude yet.

As they approached the stable, Dimitri stopped and stared at Homer, who was peacefully grazing

in his pasture, and said, "Is that a donkey?"

"It was when I got him," Maddy replied. "Is this the first time you've seen one in the flesh?"
"No," Dimitri said. "I just didn't expect to find a donkey here."
"Neither did my dad, but the last time I visited Annie and Ryan, Annie had a few too many

donkeys she got through the BLM and Ryan convinced me to take one home so I did. Homer's turned
out to be the most placid animal on the ranch so I'll be including him when I start up my riding
program for disabled kids."

Saying nothing, Dimitri headed for the fence and stood staring at Homer, but after a few moments

he glanced back at Maddy and said, "Would he let me near him?"

"Sure," Maddy replied. "Go on in. If he's about to kick you'll first see his tail twitch, then it's

better to throw yourself close to him rather than back up, kind of like the crack of a whip. It's much
more painful at the end."

Dimitri eyed Maddy like he wasn't sure if she was kidding or not. Deciding she'd had enough fun

with him, she said, "Actually, I'm being serious now. Homer's not only gentle, but he's unusually
smart. He has an amazing memory that allows him to negotiate mountain trails because he remembers
obstacles he'd faced before and he's prepared for them."

Dimitri opened a small gate just off to the side, while saying, "Okay, Homer, it's time we got

acquainted."

Maddy looked at Dimitri in curiosity. "Are you thinking you want to ride Homer instead of a

horse?" she asked, hoping that wasn't the case. Her brothers were already having enough laughs at
Dimitri's expense. Seeing him riding a donkey while dressed like a city dude would send them over
the edge.

"No, I might have other plans for Homer," Dimitri replied, "maybe a new escape to present at the

Coyote before I leave." He walked up to Homer and patted him on the head, like he was patting the
top of a kid's head, which Maddy found kind of endearing.

"And speaking of escapes," Maddy called out, "when are you going to tell me the secret to

Metamorphosis? I'll need to start practicing and we only have three days before your opening night at
the Coyote."

"You'll be ready," Dimitri replied, while heading back to where Maddy was standing. "What it

boils down to is we dematerialize, switch locations and materialize again, which is something I'll
teach you to do. It isn't difficult once you understand and apply the physics."

Maddy eyed Dimitri, who looked and sounded serious, and all the while she was imagining a

trunk where there was no way out, and a switch that was almost instantaneous. But the one thing she
did know. No one dematerialized, though she wondered how far Dimitri would go with this little
exercise in futility, so stringing him along, she said, "Okay, I know we can't dematerialize, but if we
could, how would you explain it to an audience?"

Dimitri's face remained sober, as he replied, "Synchronicity. The human brain is capable of

adapting DNA changes while activating crystals that facilitate inter-dimensional travel. In other
words, you choose to attune and accept such things or not. But the instant you start to engage the world
with your mind, you pop back into the solid."

"I've studied a little metaphysics, and that seems logical," Maddy said.
Dimitri eyed her like he wasn't sure what to make of her response, but still he remained serious

as he said, "Keep in mind that with magic, the performance is more important than the secret. Just
because someone learns the secret to Metamorphosis doesn't automatically make them a great
magician. It's a complex effect to pull off."

"It doesn't sound all that complex anymore because that's what happens in Whispering Springs,

the hot spring pool here on the ranch where people hear voices," Maddy said. "When I'm in the pool, I
fall into this state where I let go of the rigidity of my mind and bring it to silence and stillness, which
is when the voices come, but in reality I've dematerialized and I'm hearing voices from the other side,
but the instant I start to question, I pop back into the solid and the voices are gone."

Dimitri's mouth twitched slightly. It wasn't much of a smile, just enough to let Maddy know he got

it, which he verified by saying, "You do realize I'm going to get you back for treating me like the
village idiot."

"I hope not while we're in the middle of a performance," Maddy said. "Speaking of which, when

will we be performing Metamorphosis?"

"There's no rush. I don't perform all my illusions at the start," Dimitri replied. "The idea is to

keep people returning night after night to see what's coming next."

"So, all I'll be doing until then is standing on stage, holding an ax?" Maddy asked, while trying to

process her disappointment. She'd waited over two months to learn the secret.

"You'll have other things to do, like calling on volunteers to tie me to a post with a hundred feet

of rope. You'll select three audience members, then you'll monitor the timer to see how long it takes
them to tie me up, and how long for me to get loose. If I don't get loose before the time it takes them to
tie me up, they'll split ten-thousand dollars."

"Are you serious? You'd pay that much if you fail?"

"I won't fail."
"Then you'll tell me how you do it?"
Dimitri laughed. "There's no trick. Three people can tie me anyway they want and I'll get loose.

In fact, I'll challenge your brothers and let them do the tying and do it opening night."

"You're serious? You'll offer my brothers ten-thousand dollars if they tie you so you can't get

loose?" Maddy asked, thinking Dimitri had seriously underestimated the strength and ability of Adam,
Marc and Tyler, all good with lassoing and tying stock.

"Dead serious," Dimitri replied. "I'll offer the challenge to the audience in general, and when the

volunteers stand, make sure your brothers are among them so you can select them and bring them on
stage."

It came to Maddy that this was probably along the lines of marketing himself at a place where

people came to gamble. Dimitri had enough money so ten-thousand dollars wasn't a big loss, and the
publicity would be worth it because it would bring in more people, who would, in turn, hope the
challenge would be offered again. "Fine then, I'll tell my brothers and see what they say." Which was
a no brainer. There was no way they'd pass up a chance to pit their macho, cowboy images against a
nightclub performer. "Meanwhile, do you want me to round up some boots and jeans so you can start
getting acquainted with Tut?"

"Not today," Dimitri replied. "I'll be heading to Portland in a half hour to see about last minute

preparations for a little publicity stunt."

Maddy eyed him with curiosity. "What kind of stunt?"
"Something in a box. It'll be on the ten o'clock news tomorrow night if you want to watch."
Hearing muffled laughter, Maddy glanced around and saw that Tyler had joined Adam and Marc.

They were all looking their way and smiling, and obviously joking among themselves about Dimitri.
Catching the direction of Maddy's gaze, Dimitri glanced around.

Feeling a need to explain her brothers' adolescent behavior, Maddy said, "Don't mind my

brothers. They think magicians are all about puffs of smoke and a whole lot of sensationalism."

Dimitri smiled in amusement. "Then you might have them watch the news tomorrow night. They'll

see a whole lot of sensationalism, but they might also see a little bit of magic." With that, he turned
and headed for his cabin, leaving Maddy wondering what kind of 'little publicity stunt' he had
planned. From what she'd seen of Dimitri so far, to him there was no such thing as something little.

Her brothers were also right when they said magicians were all about sensationalism, and

tomorrow night they'd have a chance to see just how sensational Dimitri could be. From what Genie
said, he was a chip off the old block, and right now Sebastian the Illusionist performed to sold-out
audiences, and there was no question that Dimitri was determined to take a good portion of the
limelight from his father.

CHAPTER 3

Maddy had not intended on her brothers being present when the ten o'clock news would come on,

but when she told Adam, Marc and Tyler about Dimitri's ten-thousand dollar challenge, all three
laughed it off, but planned to be at the Coyote to take Dimitri on, seeming to think winning the bet was
a slam dunk. Maddy secretly hoped they'd lose, if only to prove to the three of them that Dimitri
wasn't the wussy they'd pegged him to be.

She hadn't yet told them she'd be working at the Coyote as Dimitri's assistant, and it seemed her

parents hadn't said anything to them either, but she knew that was because her folks had been involved
with other things and hadn't had a chance to get into it with them. But they would.

Emily and Kit stayed home with the kids and planned to watch Dimitri's stunt on their own TVs,

but since Tyler and Rose—who was nine months pregnant and counting—didn't have a TV in their
newly-built cedar yurt, they were both there, sitting on the couch nibbling on each other, like they did
most of the time. Adam and Marc stood behind the couch, in clear view of the TV, looking amused,
but also curious.

Maddy's parents were sitting together in their double recliners, both of them reading, but she

knew they weren't absorbing what they were reading because she saw them glancing over at the TV,
like they didn't want to miss what was coming.

When the news was announced, Maddy tried to act detached when a female reporter looked

toward a nationwide audience, and said, "We're here at Council Point with Dimitri Matthias, who's
been successfully performing the most difficult escapes of the world's greatest escape artist, Harry
Houdini, and tonight he'll attempt to unshackle and free himself from inside a burning crate before the
crate breaks loose and plunges into the Willamette River, far below." Holding a microphone up to
Dimitri, the woman said, "As I understand it, this is the first time you'll be attempting this escape.
What will it be like for you inside the crate?"

"Hot," Dimitri replied, "but I won't notice because I'll be concentrating on getting out of chains

and several pairs of cuffs. The crate will also be nailed shut."

"That crate over there?" the reporter pointed to a large packing crate being lowered off the bed

of a small wrecker.

Dimitri nodded. "It will be doused with fuel oil. As soon as the wick below is lit, the crate will

be swung out over the river. My job is to be free before the wick burns up and the crate bursts into
flames and plunges to the water, in which case, I'll either roast or drown."

"And you've really never done this before?" the reporter repeated the question.
"Correct, but it's a slow-burning wick. I'll have at least two minutes to get free before the crate

ignites and the ropes holding it burn through and drop it to the water."

"Aren't you worried about what would happen if you're still inside?" the reporter asked.
"Yes," Dimitri replied. "I heard there have been sightings of three-eyed fish in the Willamette as

a result of pollution and I don't want to ingest any water."

The reporter laughed and looked toward the viewers again, and said, "After a commercial break

we'll be back with Dimitri Matthias and see if he does, in fact, free himself in time to avoid a very
uncomfortable ending."

"The guy's crazy," Tyler said. "It's either a big phony setup, or he'll fry on the way down."
"Honey, it's just a TV stunt," Rose commented. "They can do anything with cameras."
"Not on the news," Adam said. "There's a crowd, so he can't get away with trick photography, but

I'm with Tyler. It's some kind of phony setup." The three brothers continued tossing out possible

explanations for the escape, none of which sounded reasonable to Maddy.

At the end of the commercial, the news reporter came on again, saying, "We're back with Dimitri

Matthias who, as you can see, is being bound in cuffs and chains while the crate is being doused with
fuel oil. I must say, folks, this man is either extremely brave, or extremely stupid, and I guess we'll
find out which in a few minutes."

The camera panned to where Dimitri, now wrapped in chains with padlocks, shuffled along as he

was being helped into the crate, and once inside, the crate was nailed shut. With the hook on the arm
of the wrecker attached to a tent of ropes that cradled the crate, the crate was lifted, along with a
wick, now burning beneath it, and swung out over the river.

"No way," Marc said, as he edged around the couch to get a closer look. "When that flame hits

the crate, the thing will burst into flames."

"He must have gotten out before they lifted it," Adam said. "Probably out the back."
Tyler removed his arm from around Rose and leaned forward. "The crowd's standing all around

it and there's a camera back there, and the thing's nailed shut."

Maddy glanced over and saw that her parents had lowered the foot rests on their double recliners

and were staring at the TV.

As the flame on the wick crept upward, Maddy sat, eyes fixed on the TV, her breath caught in her

throat. Then the crate and the ropes caught fire and began to burn. And all Maddy could think was that
Dimitri was still inside, possibly being roasted alive because of some perverse need to prove to the
world—she had no idea what—maybe that he was superhuman.

That thought had barely formed when the crate seemed to literally explode into flames and break

free. A large spotlight followed the flaming container all the way down as it plunged into the river,
where it bobbed on the surface for a few seconds, still aglow in flames, yet there was no sign of
Dimitri flailing around in the water, or struggling to be free of chains and ropes.

"He's gone," Marc said. "I can't believe we watched this."
"The guy must have been suicidal," Adam said, "but that's a pretty gruesome way to go."
Cheers from spectators brought everyone's eyes back to the TV as a spotlight moved up the high

riverbank to focus on Dimitri, who was hanging onto a rope that dangled off the end of the hook,
which was hoisting him away from the riverbank, where he was lowered to the ground.

It wasn't until then Maddy realized she had tears in her eyes, and she had no idea why, except

she'd watched a near tragedy and it wasn't something she wanted to do on a regular basis. Maybe that
was the real reason Dimitri's assistant walked out—one too many daredevil stunts, and the Chinese
Water Torture Cell Escape was the straw that broke the proverbial camel's back. She could
understand it now. It would never be an issue though, because Dimitri was not the kind of man who'd
hold her attention beyond a normal fascination for the escapes and illusions he performed, along with
a sizeable dose of female appreciation for the way he looked when stripped to almost nothing,
because his daredevil stunts were foolish and narcissistic, the 'look-at-me-and-see-how-great-I-am,
mentality. Not the kind of man she'd ever want for the long haul.

***

The following morning, when Dimitri saw Maddy walking between her folks' house and the

stable, he caught up with her, and said, "Did you watch my burning box stunt last night?"

"Yes. It was sensational. Stomach twisting. Insane," Maddy clipped.
"You act mad," Dimitri said, wondering what happened. The last time they were together things

seemed fine.

"I'm not mad," Maddy replied. "You have a perfect right to tempt fate on a regular basis if that's

what gives you your highs."

"I wasn't tempting fate last night. I knew I could get out."
"You hoped you could get out. Any number of things could have gone wrong. You could have

passed out from lack of oxygen. The ropes could have broken and dropped the crate and trapped you
inside. The hook on the wrecker arm could have fallen off. Do I need to go on?"

"No, you need to be a little realistic," Dimitri said. "You ride horses that could buck you off and

break your neck, or rear up and stomp you into the ground, or fall down the mountain with you. And
every time you get in your car, or anyone else's car, you could crash and burn in an instant for a
thousand different reasons. Do I need to go on?"

"No, because it's not the same," Maddy said. "Meanwhile, if you want to ride Tut you need to

wear boots. You can still ride in your slacks, but you'll look pretty silly around here when even our
ranch guests dress western."

"I bought jeans and boots this morning," Dimitri said.
"Fine then, go change and I'll have Tut tied for you to groom when you're ready." Maddy marched

off, leaving Dimitri staring after her, baffled at her reaction. True, things could go wrong with some of
his escapes, but life was filled with things going wrong. They were called acts of fate and no one had
any control over them.

On returning to the cabin, he changed into one of several pairs of used jeans he'd picked up at

Goodwill. He'd initially gone to a farm and ranch store where they sold western wear, but after trying
on a pair of new jeans that were so stiff he could barely move, he had Chris drive him to the local
Goodwill, where he bought a few pairs of jeans and several western shirts with pearl snaps instead
of buttons. What struck him when he tried on a shirt was how easily it could come off. One yank and
the thing was open, which would be ideal for quick change illusions. He'd also managed to find a pair
of western boots his size, and unlike the stiff new ones at the farm and ranch store, he didn't feel like
he was walking with casts on his feet.

After changing into his western garb, he headed for the stable. As he approached, all the while

feeling like an overgrown kid playing cowboy, Maddy had her back to him while tying a horse.
"Okay, I'm ready," he called ahead.

Maddy turned, and with the sweep if her gaze, scanned the length of him. Then her mouth curved

in a smile. "Wait, let me guess. You managed to switch bodies with an unsuspecting cowboy in town,
leaving him scratching his head while suddenly finding himself in khakis and patent leather shoes."

Dimitri laughed. "Actually, he's chained inside a trunk." He glanced down at the oval saw-tooth,

rubber tool Maddy was offering him. "What am I supposed to do with that?" he asked.

"It's a curry comb," Maddy replied. "It's for scraping away dirt and other debris in the horse's

coat. Just go easy when you get to boney sections like Tut's legs, shoulders and withers."

"What are withers?" Dimitri asked.
Maddy looked at him in disbelief, then seeming to adjust to his lack of knowledge about horses,

she placed her hand on a hump where the horse's mane met his back, and said, "This part. When you
curry a horse, start on the left side and move your hand in a circular motion. Here, I'll show you." She
slipped her hand beneath a leather strap that crossed over the top of the curry comb and started
moving it in small circles, while making her way over the side of the horse.

As she demonstrated, Dimitri found himself concentrating on the way Maddy's hips and upper

body moved with the motion, especially her upper body. He already knew what lay beneath her snug
western shirt. He'd had an unobstructed view when she rushed up to grab his arm at the end of the
water torture stunt when she was in Las Vegas. The gown she'd worn that night gaped open, leaving

nothing to his imagination, and everything to his fantasies.

All too soon, Maddy handed him the curry comb, and said, "Here you go."
As he took the comb, Dimitri caught sight of her two older brothers walking toward them. He

hadn't talked to them since he arrived at the ranch because he'd been in Portland the day before getting
ready for the burning box escape, but he hadn't been oblivious to them the day he arrived either, when
they were obviously making jokes about him, no doubt because they'd never had a guest arrive in a
limo, and he wasn't inclined to offer an explanation, but at some point during his stay he intended to
have some fun with them at their expense.

As they approached, the taller of the two offered his hand, and said, "I'm Adam. Welcome to the

Dancing Moon Ranch. And this is Marc. At Josh and Genie's wedding you took off before we could
meet you."

Dimitri gave Adam's hand a firm shake, then took Marc's outstretched hand, and said, "My dad

and I had to get to a show, but I've heard a lot about you two from Genie. Well, about everyone here. I
hope you'll make it to the Coyote the night I open. I assume Maddy told you about my rope challenge."

"She did, and we'll be there," Adam said. "As I understand it, you'll let the three of us tie you to a

post any way we want, using a hundred feet of rope, and if you can't get loose in the time it takes us to
tie you up, you'll pay us ten-thousand dollars."

"That's right," Dimitri said. "All you have to do is be in the audience that night. When I call for

volunteers, stand up, and Maddy will select the three of you and there are no other requirements. You
can tie me to the post any way you want, and as tight as you want, as long as the rope's not around my
neck or head."

Adam's brows drawn, he said, "What do you mean, Maddy will select the three of us?"
"She'll be my assistant during my run at the Coyote," Dimitri said. "I assumed you knew."
Adam looked at Maddy, who shrugged, and said, "I figured you guys would go ballistic if I told

you so I didn't mention it. And don't start lecturing me. I will be assisting Dimitri, and by the end of
the month I'll have a nice fat paycheck, so you can help me build my arena."

Adam looked at Dimitri, long and hard, and said, "Just don't get any ideas about getting

something going with my sister. She's off limits to you."

Dimitri raised his hands, palms out, and said, "Relax. Any assistant of mine will always be off

limits, unless she's my wife."

"That's not an option either," Adam said.
"Stop right there!" Maddy cut in. "When and who I marry will be entirely my decision. Now if

you two will leave, I'm hired to do a job and I need to get on with it."

Adam pinned Dimitri with a hard-eyed look, to which Dimitri responded by saying, "Relax,

Adam. My intentions are professional and completely honorable. Your sister is safe with me."

"Just see that things stay that way." Adam turned and left.
Marc stayed behind long enough to say to Dimitri, "Adam's always been protective of Maddy, but

he has a valid point. You might want to keep that in mind."

Dimitri held Marc's gaze, as he replied, "I'm sure I'll be reminded if I forget."
After they'd gone, Dimitri said to Maddy, "Do your brothers always try to run your life?"
"Basically, yes," Maddy replied. "So back to grooming. Tut doesn't like his belly brushed so go

easy there, and if he lays his ears back, he's pissed, and you might want to stop."

"I've got the picture." Dimitri slipped the curry comb onto his hand and started moving it in

circular motions along Tut's back, while saying, "Is there a place around here where I can buy some
lumber and tools—a skill saw, a drill, a hammer and nails?"

"If you plan to enlarge the cabin, forget it. My dad won't approve," Maddy replied.
"No, I plan to build a donkey stable." When Dimitri saw Maddy smiling, he knew her joke about

the cabin was her way of messing with his head. "You do that a lot," he said.

"What?"
"Mess with my head."
"It happens when you have six big brothers," Maddy said. "So then, you plan to build a stable

with a couple of power tools and a hammer?"

"That's the idea," Dimitri replied. "It will be a donkey stable, or more accurately a big box with

some kind of mechanism in it that allows the donkey to disappear. I haven't figured out what that is
yet, but it starts with a box."

Maddy looked at him in curiosity. "If you're thinking about taking Homer back with you and trying

to pass him off as a small horse, even people in Las Vegas will know the difference."

"I'm an illusionist," Dimitri said. "I can make the audience believe he's a horse."
"You can really do that?" Maddy asked.
Dimitri looked over Tut's back and saw Maddy staring at him, wide-eyed. "Ha! I got you!" He

found himself grinning. He actually found himself doing that a lot when he was around Maddy. He
found other things going on too, which he tried unsuccessfully to ignore, but her big brothers managed
to keep a damper on those things.

"No, seriously," Maddy said, "could you do something like maybe hypnotize the audience?"
"That would be cheating," Dimitri replied, "but if I can get ahold of some power tools to build

my donkey stable, I think I can make Homer disappear in time to try it out at the Coyote, and if it
works, I'll know how to make a horse disappear."

"Speaking of the Coyote," Maddy said, "what am I supposed to wear while I'm your assistant?

No way will I wear the gown I wore before. The seamstress forgot to sew up the skirt then ran out of
material when she got to the top."

Dimitri laughed. "You can get whatever kind of gown you want." He slipped the curry comb off

his hand and set it aside, then walked around Tut to where Maddy was standing. Reaching into his
back pocket, he pulled out his billfold and peeled off a couple of one-hundred dollar bills. "Can you
find something around here for this?"

Maddy stared at the bills. "I don't know. Maybe at the resale shop."
Dimitri peeled off a couple more hundred dollar bills. "This ought to get you something."
"Well, yes, I imagine it can ," Maddy said, "but I'll still have to go to the resale shop because it's

the only place around here that sells gowns, and since some of my family will be at the Coyote
opening night, that limits what I can wear, but I'll find something." She folded the bills and stuffed
them into the pocket of her jeans.

Dimitri picked up the curry comb and started in again, while saying, "What about a place where I

can buy power tools?"

"We have a shop here at the ranch, but I doubt if my dad would let you use the tools because he'd

be afraid you'd cut off a finger," Maddy said. "Have you ever used power tools before?"

"Sure," Dimitri replied. "I build all my stage devices, including the water torture cell and the

Metamorphosis trunk."

Maddy looked at him, wide-eyed, then smiled and said, "Now you're messing with my head, and

Tut's done on that side so you can come around here."

Dimitri moved around the horse, and while he was making a wide pass to be out of kicking

range, Maddy said, "If you put your hand on Tut's rump and walk close behind him he can't kick you,

but out where you are he could send you flying, which wouldn't look very good if your horse did it on
stage before you had a chance to make him disappear."

Dimitri figured Maddy was being serious this time, so he moved around as instructed, then

started currying the opposite side, while saying, "I wasn't messing with your head. I have a complete
wood shop at home. In building my equipment I don't reveal my secrets to anyone."

"Except your assistant," Maddy reminded him. "Speaking of which, she was pretty mad when she

walked out. Aren't you afraid she might reveal your secrets just to piss you off?"

"No," Dimitri replied. "She signed a nondisclosure agreement and knows it will cost her twenty-

thousand dollars if she does."

Her brows drawn in concern, Maddy said, "If I'm supposed to sign one of those, I don't have

twenty-thousand dollars."

"Then you'll have to keep your mouth shut, because you have to sign if you want to assist me in

Metamorphosis," Dimitri said.

Maddy propped her hands on her hips. "If I stand to lose twenty-thousand dollars, I should also

be given the secret to how you get out of the padlocked water tank."

Dimitri looked askance at her. "There's only one person alive who'll learn the secrets to all my

illusions, and I don't know where she is."

"Who is she?" Maddy asked.
"My wife."
Maddy stared at him, wide-eyed. "Then, you're, married?"
Dimitri nodded. "It was an illusion gone awry. My assistant and I staged a wedding on a beach

under a special device that looked like a wedding canopy, as a part of an illusion in which we would
teleport ourselves to the French Riviera for the honeymoon—much the way David Copperfield
teleported himself and a member of the audience to Hawaii—but there was a problem with the device
and my assistant vanished, and no one's seen her since."

"She couldn't just vanish," Maddy said. "She probably walked out on you in the middle of a

performance like your last assistant did."

"I considered that," Dimitri replied. "But after my stage crew and I fanned out to look for her, we

returned to the device with the canopy and there were a couple of indentations in the sand so we
figured the canopy had been set up over a pocket of quicksand."

"That's terrible," Maddy said. "Didn't anyone try to dig for her?"
It was all Dimitri could do to keep a straight face, as he replied, "She wasn't a very good

assistant. I was looking for a new one."

"I can't believe you'd just—" Maddy stopped. Looking at him with a combination of irritation and

embarrassment, she said, "You just wait. I will get you for this. So back to what I was saying. If I
stand to lose that much money, I should learn more secrets."

"It doesn't work that way," Dimitri replied. "The only person I'd ever trust to keep all my secrets

would be my wife, but only if she was also my assistant, because she'd have far more to lose than a
few thousand dollars if she gave the secrets away."

"Unless she left you for another magician and took your secrets with her," Maddy said.
"Good point. I guess that puts the burden on me to be a perfect husband so my wife will never

leave me."

Maddy let out a little cynical laugh. "A perfect husband wouldn't hang upside-down while

chained inside a tank of water, or be inside a burning crate hanging over a river, so you'd always be
in danger of your wife leaving you."

"Another valid point," Dimitri conceded. It was also a reminder that an assistant under a

nondisclosure agreement was a far safer bet than a disgruntled wife.

CHAPTER 4

Dimitri scanned the length of Maddy as she stepped out of the bathroom in his cabin, where she'd

changed into the gown she'd bought, so no one in the family would see her.

"So then, the gown is okay?" she asked.
"It's fine," Dimitri replied. But 'fine' didn't begin to describe Maddy in the long black gown.

She'd be a natural for the Nine Lives, looking like a sleek black feline in a gown that covered her
completely except for the hint of cleavage, yet the gown was more seductive than the one she'd worn
in Las Vegas because it followed her slender female curves in a way that also accentuated them. The
stark lines and blackness of the gown contrasted against her fair skin, dark hair, and ebony eyes, also
made her look mysterious.

Catching himself staring, he turned his attention to the paper in his hand, and said while offering

it to her, "Here's the rundown of illusions for the night we open, along with your cues. It's fairly self-
explanatory."

Maddy took the paper, and as she looked it over, Dimitri couldn't help thinking she'd be pretty

easy to hold… Except she was off limits, he reminded himself.

"So there really isn't much for me to do except stand around and hand you stuff, and hold the ax

for the water torture escape," Maddy said.

"Pretty much, but you'll be busy during the rope stunt, walking through the audience while

selecting your brothers, which helps the crowd connect. As for the water torture escape, just do what
you did before. You were great."

Brows drawn, Maddy said, "Does it always take you that long to get out of the tank?"
"It varies," Dimitri replied. "If I take a deep enough breath I can stretch out the time, but

sometimes it takes longer to get out of all the shackles." He was feeding her a whole bunch of crap,
but that was the way it had to be. Maddy's natural reaction on facing a potential tragedy would do
more for the stunt than anything else. The audience would pick up on it and respond.

Maddy looked at the program again. "If I have to break the glass, how hard would I have to

swing the ax?" she asked, in a worried voice.

"With all your might," Dimitri replied.
After years of lying to audiences, does it carry over into your private life…?
He dismissed that troublesome thought, reminding himself that this wasn't his private life because

he had nothing going with Maddy, so the untruth fell under the umbrella of trade secrets.

"What about my hair?" Maddy asked. "Your assistant wore hers pulled up with glittery things in

it. I don't have anything glittery, but I can pull it up on top of my head."

Dimitri uncrossed his ankles, which had been resting on a box holding the props for some basic

magic tricks he intended to use to entertain the kids there, and he stood. Walking up to Maddy, he
lifted her single braid from her shoulder, and releasing the rubber band from its end, separated the
braid with his fingers, and said, while spreading her hair around her shoulders, "Wear it down."

"I'll look like school girl," Maddy said.
"Maybe, but you'll also be a distraction," he replied, while looking directly at her.
"A distraction to the audience?" Maddy asked, while holding his gaze.
"Them too," Dimitri replied, then wondered what the hell he was doing. With the heels of his

hands resting on her shoulders, and his fingers playing with her hair, there was only one way Maddy
could construe what he'd just said. He was about to tell her to wear it up, when the door to the cabin
opened and his father stood looking in.

Releasing Maddy's hair, Dimitri moved away from her, and said, "This is a surprise, Dad. I

didn't know you'd be stopping by here."

Sebastian Matthias remained standing in the doorway, his gaze shifting between Dimitri and

Maddy, as he said, "I'm enroute to my casino run at the coast and my driver needs a break, so I
decided to stop for a brief visit and tell the Hansens hello."

Dimitri glanced out the window at his father's bus in the parking area near the winery, then he

looked at his father, who was obviously waiting for an explanation about what he saw when he
opened the door, so answering his father's unasked question, he said "Maddy's going to be my
assistant while I'm at the Coyote and we were trying to decide how she should fix her hair."

Sebastian nodded to Maddy, then looked at Dimitri in a way that told him he wasn't happy with

the setup. Maddy, seeming embarrassed by the situation, offered a tentative smile, and said, "It's only
for the month, then I'll be building an arena here." Turning to Dimitri, she added, "I'm thinking I'll
wear my hair up and try to look sophisticated, and I have to get back to the lodge and welcome
guests." She turned into the bathroom and shut the door.

Deciding to use some misdirection to avoid a long-winded lecture from his father, Dimitri picked

up the folder with the aging diagrams, and opening it on the kitchen table, said to him, "I've been
studying Charles Morritt's illustrations and I've decided to build a donkey stable while I'm here and
play around with it some."

That got his father's attention. "Keep in mind that those old illusionists tried to get as much

mileage out of a prop as possible," Sebastian said, "so whatever Morritt did is not the way it would
be done today."

"Maybe not, but it worked, and it could be effective enough to pull off the disappearing horse

illusion and convince the powers that be to give me my show," Dimitri said. "Meanwhile, I figured
out the clown. The only reason the magician's assistant would dress like a clown would be to hide the
fact that there were two clowns involved, dressed alike with identical makeup."

When Dimitri caught the slightest twitch of a smile at one corner of his father's mouth, he knew

he'd hit on the core of the illusion. "Why would he need two clowns?" Sebastian asked.

"I haven't figured that out yet," Dimitri replied. "Maybe to look like mirror reflections."
The discussion was interrupted when the bathroom door opened and Maddy stepped out wearing

jeans and a western shirt. Her hair was again in one long braid, and the black dress was draped over
her arm. "I'll study the list of cues you gave me," she said to Dimitri, then to Sebastian, she added,
"Will you be staying for the first performance?"

Sebastian shook his head. "I'm booked at the coast, but I'll trust the show will go well."
"I suppose," Maddy said, but there was uncertainty in her tone.
She let herself out, but after the door shut, Sebastian said, "You already lost one assistant because

you foolishly became personally involved. Don't make that mistake again."

"I'm not involved with Maddy Hansen," Dimitri replied. "She was good when she stepped in

when Karla quit, and she's agreed to help me here, but that's all there is to it."

"She's not a show girl. She doesn't belong in Vegas," Sebastian said.
"Who's talking Vegas? Like I said, she's contracted with me only while I'm here." Dimitri tried to

sound candid, when in fact, the idea of taking Maddy back with him as his assistant was beginning to
take hold. She'd been both natural and relaxed when on stage at the Nine Lives.

"That might be the way you see it, but she's also the kind of woman who can take a man away

from his dreams," Sebastian warned. "I saw the way you two were when I walked in."

"What you saw was me helping Maddy decide how to fix her hair," Dimitri said. "Besides, not

much can happen with a pack of big brothers and Maddy's father breathing fire down my back, so
relax. By the end of my run at the Coyote I will have figured out the disappearing donkey illusion, I'll
be ready to apply what I've learned to a disappearing horse illusion, and I'll be out there on the strip,
pulling your audience away from you." He couldn't help smiling.

His father was smiling too, and Dimitri knew it was because he was proud of him. But then his

father's smile faded, and he said, "You won't get there unless you figure out the illusion, and since the
donkey stable was always positioned in the center of the stage, away from curtains, you might want to
think in terms of a fake. It's been said Morritt listened for the lowering of a fake, and when he heard
it, the illusion was complete and he opened the doors."

Dimitri had considered the possibility of a fake—a mechanism that raised or lowered a panel

that could hide something. He also realized his father was giving him a major clue, which had never
been his policy, and he knew exactly why. The sooner his father could get his protégé away from
Maddy Hansen and back in Las Vegas, the better.

***

The night of the opening at the Coyote Lounge, Maddy gazed around the interior of the stretched

limousine, feeling as if she were in a different world. In a sense she was. She'd never ridden in a
vehicle while sitting on a tufted leather seat beneath a mirrored ceiling with star-burst lighting. And
there wasn't a vehicle on the ranch that housed a rosewood bar with fiber optics, a small refrigerator,
a sink, a wine rack, and a cabinet with crystal goblets.

On pressing a button, a panel near the ceiling in front of her slid back, revealing a TV. "I can't

believe this," she said. "Do you get TV reception anywhere you go?"

"Not anywhere," Dimitri replied. "There's usually interference when you're traveling, so the TV's

mostly for watching DVDs."

Maddy opened and shut the panel again. "So then, when you're riding along you watch movies?"
"No," Dimitri said, "I analyze the performances of other illusionists or plan illusions."
Maddy pressed a toggle switch, retracting a panel over a glass moon roof while revealing a

rectangle of twilight sky. "Am I going to get in trouble if I keep pressing buttons?" she asked, as she
pushed the toggle again, moving the panel back to cover the moon roof.

"Not unless you hit Chris's call button or lower the panel between him and us. It pisses him off

when someone's back here dinking around."

"Why do you drive around like this anyway?" Maddy asked. "Limousines are associated with

wealth and power, and they're commonly cited as examples of conspicuous consumption." She flipped
a small switch and a goose neck reading light went on just above her.

"Entertainers have a stage image to maintain," Dimitri replied. "Driving up to an opening or

arriving for a publicity stunt wouldn't have the same impact if I showed up in a rental car."

"So, how long have you been doing this?" Maddy asked, while noting what looked to be a

retractable table with folding legs.

"About twenty-four years," Dimitri replied. "It's the way my dad has always gotten around when

he's not riding in his bus."

"So then, this is actually his limousine," Maddy said, as she ran her finger tip over a wood-

trimmed Kleenex box.

Dimitri nodded. "Dad likes to keep Chris occupied when he doesn't need him since he pays him

fulltime either way, so I got a limo and driver, and Chris got a trip to Oregon, though he'd rather be
back in Vegas."

"Oh." Maddy scanned the plush surroundings. All around were tinted windows she knew blocked

the sight of anyone inside from viewers beyond, and with a solid panel between the chauffeur and the
passengers, just about anything could be going on in the back seat while the limo was whizzing across
country.

They slowed, and when Maddy glanced out the window she saw they were turning into the

parking lot of the Coyote Lounge, which was a continuation of the giant parking lot of the casino
complex. She noticed a crowd gathered in front of the lounge and wondered if there was someone
important expected around the same time as Dimitri's show.

When the limo pulled to a halt beneath a covered entrance, Maddy was about to open the door

when Dimitri placed his hand on her arm, and said, "Let Chris do it."

Maddy peered out the window to see a crowd standing and staring at them in curiosity. "Are

these people by any chance here to see you?" she asked.

"If they watched my burning box stunt, probably," Dimitri replied. "Just smile and act like you do

this every day. It's not so bad after a while."

Maddy leaned closer to the window to get a better look at the gawking faces, and the people gave

no indication they could see her.

The door opened and she looked at Chris's extended, white-gloved hand, and wished she'd

thought to buy a pair of elbow-length gloves to go with her gown. It was strange being treated like a
celebrity. She'd never given it any thought, other than to see celebrities on the covers of tabloids,
usually photos of female stars extending a long, slender leg before stepping out of a stretched black
limousine. Feeling a little emboldened to play a role she'd never dreamed of playing, she stretched
out her leg and took Chris's hand for him to help her out, then smiled at the onlookers as Dimitri
climbed out behind her.

Taking her arm, Dimitri said, as he ushered her inside, "You're picking this up fast."
Maddy laughed. "I saw the same scene in Pretty Woman," she said, feeling a little ripple of

pleasure with the touch of Dimitri's hand on her arm.

"She was a hooker," Dimitri reminded her.
"Yes, but she knew how to get out of limousines," Maddy replied.
Once inside the lobby, Dimitri escorted Maddy to the foot of a bank of stairs, and said, "There's a

dressing room for you upstairs. Your name's on the door. You can wait there until we're ready to go
on. Someone will come for you five minutes before."

"Where will you be?" Maddy asked.
"Checking the stage, then shutting myself in my dressing room so I can get psyched up in

preparation for materializing on stage and performing some levitations."

Before Maddy could start asking the gazillion questions on the tip of her tongue about

materializing and levitating, Dimitri released her arm and walked off.

Forty-five minutes later, Maddy was positioned off-center on a stage draped in black curtains all

around, when the lounge darkened and Dimitri suddenly materialized to the concerted gasps of the
audience. Maddy knew the show would open that way and she'd been prepared to watch closely to
see how he did it, but she was distracted momentarily when a dove flew across the stage to land on
Dimitri's outstretched hand, after which Maddy stood in stunned disbelief while Dimitri proceeded to
command objects to appear from out of thin air and float around the stage—flowers, a book, a genie
lamp, a small table, even a bottle of wine poured itself into a wine goblet, each object floating on
command, then vanishing.

The audience was clearly captivated, and their enthusiastic applause could not be silenced until

Dimitri raised his hands to indicate his next piece of magic, which was her cue to walk across the

stage and hand him the deck of cards she'd been holding.

Until then she'd been unnoticed by the crowd because the focus had been on what was happening

on center stage, but when the spotlight followed her as she strode across the stage, her heart started
hammering, her face felt as if on fire, and her feet in the stiletto, sling-back heels she'd bought
wobbled with each step. She only hoped she wouldn't start hyperventilating, especially knowing her
family was in the audience, though she hadn't yet spotted them.

When she offered the cards, Dimitri took the stack, together with her hand, and raised her arm

with his, while saying to the audience, "This is my beautiful assistant, Madeleine, who brings to the
show her own kind of magic." That brought another round of applause.

To Maddy's relief, when she returned to the sidelines, the spotlight remained on Dimitri, who

was calling several volunteers from the audience, after which he proceeded to give them a tutorial on
how to do some 'basic' card flourishes—one-hand cuts, spreads, fanning, aerials, and springs—while
Maddy stood in stunned disbelief, again, because the flourishes were anything but basic, the aerial
card acrobatics ending with cards flying in a steady flow between Dimitri's outstretched hands then
splitting and forming circular fans in each hand, before snapping back into a tidy deck.

While Dimitri finished his card flourishes and was thanking the audience members for their

participation, Maddy spotted Adam, Marc and Tyler, but they were sitting at separate tables, no doubt
because they'd decided it would look suspicious if they were together. She also noticed Rose was the
only one of the wives to come, mainly because she was due at any time to give birth to a daughter
they'd named Mary Claire, and Tyler never left her alone at this point.

Continuing to scan the audience, she saw no sign of her parents, which explained why Adam and

Marc came without Emily and Kit—they had no babysitter because they wouldn't have left them with
Grandma and Grandpa, knowing they were totally pissed with what Maddy was doing.

Before continuing, Dimitri stripped off his top hat, jacket, and gloves and tossed them in a bundle

aside, which was Maddy's cue that the rope trick would be next, so she moved to stand at the top of a
short bank of steps descending from the stage and waited, as Dimitri said, "Okay, ladies and
gentlemen, I'll need three volunteers from the audience, preferably the biggest, strongest guys here, to
tie me to a post, and I'll attempt to get free. This is cowboy country, so how about you cowboys out
there stand up so Madeleine can see you."

On cue, Maddy made her way down the steps and strolled into the audience, or more

appropriately, wobbled on spiked heels, while trying to appear as if looking over the men who were
standing at their tables.

"Madeleine," Dimitri called out, "I want a challenge, so be sure to pick out some big strapping

guys."

"Okay," Maddy called back, the interaction giving her a little buzz of excitement at being part of

the act, like she and Dimitri were a team. Motioning to Tyler, she said, "Come on up," then she
walked between the tables to where Adam was standing, and gesturing to him, she said, "You're a big
guy, so come on up," then making her way around several tables to where Marc was standing, she
signaled to him, and said, "You look pretty muscular."

Once on stage, Dimitri offered the rope to the three of them so they could inspect it to make sure

it was a standard rope, which they did, slowly and carefully. After they nodded their approval,
Dimitri handed the ends of the rope to Adam and Marc, and the center to Tyler, then moved to stand
with his back against one of the upright columns supporting a mezzanine.

Elbows bent at his sides, his wrists in front of him, Dimitri said to the three, as well as the

audience, "Bind me as tight as you want, any way you want, except around my neck, and Madeleine

will start the timer to see how long it takes you to tie me up. When you're done, she'll stop the timer
and that's how long I'll have to get loose. If I beat your time, I'm home free. If I go over, the three of
you will split the check for ten-thousand dollars Madeleine's holding up."

A spot light panned to Maddy, who held up an oversized check and gave it a flutter.
"Okay Madeleine, start the clock," Dimitri said. "And you men start tying."
Immediately, Adam began binding Dimitri's wrists with an off-center section of rope before

dragging the rope around Dimitri's chest and wrapping it around the column, while Marc wrapped the
rope several times around Dimitri's feet and cinched it tight. And Tyler took his center section and
wrapped it around Dimitri's stomach and thighs and tucked it under and around the rope sections
Adam and Marc were binding and pulling tight, all the while the three were mumbling to each other to
go faster, and pull harder, and not leave any slack, while scrambling around and stumbling, and
bumping into each other. But in less than a minute, Adam raised his arms, as if he'd finished a calf-
tying competition, and announced, "We're done!"

"Fifty-four seconds," Maddy called out to the audience.
Dimitri appeared to be bound tight, as he said to the crowd, "I feel like I've been hog tied.

There's no question, these cowboys know how to tie a rope. So now I have fifty-three seconds to get
loose since I have to beat their time, so if you'll start the clock, Madeleine, I'll see if I've finally met
my match."

Maddy started the clock, and immediately Dimitri began struggling against the ropes, which

seemed to be holding firmly. She could also hear him grunting and letting out labored noises, like he
was straining hard. The ropes moved around some, but the timer was also moving around. And then
someone in the audience started counting with the timer, and another joined in, and another, until there
was a collective chant, forty-one… forty-two… forty-three… as the timer ticked its way toward the
final count of fifty-three seconds.

About the time Maddy was certain Dimitri had lost the challenge, and her brothers had won ten

thousand dollars, the ropes started slipping down Dimitri's body and dropped around his feet. A few
seconds later he freed his wrists, then his ankles, and at the count of fifty-one, he stepped from inside
the tangle of ropes and raised his hands to the cacophony of cheers and enthusiastic applause. Turning
toward Adam, Marc and Tyler, he shook their hands, while saying, "You guys gave me a run for my
money. I imagine those calves you tie up don't get loose quite so easily, but thanks for the challenge."

The audience clapped as the three returned to their seats. But after they'd settled in their places,

Maddy caught the dark looks on all three faces and knew her brothers were steamed. But if there was
any doubt in their minds that Dimitri was a city wimp, his water torture escape coming next would put
an end to it. She'd also get to see him in his tiny black suit again.

With that thought, her heart started fluttering, her face felt hot, and all she was doing was thinking

about Dimitri stripped to near-nothing and standing on stage. The problem was, her three brothers
would also see him that way, and they would not be happy because they'd realize the wussy magician,
who didn't even know how to ride a horse, might actually turn their little sister's head. It bothered
Maddy that maybe he already had.

***

By the time the show was over and they were once again in the limo on the way back to the

ranch, Maddy was both exhausted and exhilarated—exhausted from the constant surges of adrenaline
from being in and out of the spotlight, along with the anxiety of holding an ax while watching a timer
ticking off the minutes until Dimitri burst between the curtains, and exhilarated because Dimitri had
performed illusions and feats of magic that defied natural laws.

Objects couldn't float through the air on command, and cards couldn't flow like water between

hands and right themselves into a deck again. Dimitri also managed to get out of a tank of water with
the lid still padlocked securely, and the enclosure surrounding the tank was made of solid wood,
which had been checked by audience members, so no one could have entered the enclosure to open
the locks to let Dimitri out. It even seemed impossible that Adam, Marc and Tyler could not tie
Dimitri to a column with a hundred feet of rope.

Looking askance at Dimitri, who was settled against the seat while appearing pleasantly satisfied

with the way the show had gone, she said, "My brothers are very strong, and I saw how securely they
wrapped and tied the ropes around you, and you still got out."

"Your brothers presented a challenge," Dimitri replied.
"But you still got out," Maddy insisted. "I signed your nondisclosure agreement, and I give you

my word I'll never tell anyone, not even my family, so at least tell me this one trick, unless it's another
closely guarded secret."

"It isn't. Almost any amateur escapologist knows it," Dimitri replied, "but since I'll be offering

the challenge every performance, I can't chance the secret getting out, and if I tell no one, it won't."

"You told me there was no secret to it, that however my brothers tied you, you'd still get loose,"

Maddy said.

"True, but there's some strategy involved, along with a lot of pure physical strength, which is why

I lift weights and do pushups daily."

"I don't see how it takes any physical strength to be tied to a column," Maddy grumbled. "There

still must be some trick involved. Maybe it's a stretchy rope."

"Your brothers checked to make sure it's a standard rope, and it is," Dimitri said.
When Dimitri offered nothing more, Maddy sat back and folded her arms. "Fine, have it your

way. I suppose it's understandable that a man who lies routinely would not trust anyone, even a person
who's been brought up to believe that breaking a promise is a serious offense because it can affect
your relationship with people, whose trust you'd lose, and it takes a very long time to regain that
trust."

"Okay, you made a valid point," Dimitri said.
"I know, but you still won't tell me how you did the trick," Maddy groused.
"Actually, I'm going to tell you," Dimitri said.
Which had Maddy uncrossing her arms and looking at him in surprise. "Are you serious?"
"Sure. You convinced me you'll keep the secret. The trick starts with a too-many-cooks-in-the-

kitchen strategy. When as many as three people tie a person to a post with one long rope, they do a
lousy job. So, while they're wrapping the rope around me I square my shoulders, and breathe deeply
to expand my chest, and flex my muscles and hold my elbows out from my body to gain some slack, so
by the time they're finished tying, the ropes are only tight at the ends, usually around my hands and
feet, but the rest just drops off. To make it look like it's a big accomplishment for me to get loose, I
pretend to be struggling, while I'm actually pressing outward with my arms to keep the rope from
falling off."

"That's it?" Maddy said.
"Basically, yes. It's pretty much the same strategy Houdini used when being strapped into a

straitjacket." Dimitri reached out and took Maddy's hand, and turning it palm up, toyed with her
fingers. "You have strong hands. I could teach you how to do card flourishes." He turned her hand
over and studied its back.

Maddy looked at the contrast between their hands—hers smooth and slender, his muscular and

corded with veins, like he did exercises to strengthen them. "I'd rather you teach me the secret to
Metamorphosis."

"In time. You did well tonight, but I'm thinking you've never worn heels before," Dimitri said,

while continuing to hold her hand.

"I wear heels all the time," Maddy replied. "They're called western boots."
"Then maybe we should change your stage image to western and put your hair back in a braid,"

Dimitri said. "I like the western look."

"But I like wearing the black gown and putting my hair up," Maddy replied. "I'll practice

walking. Besides, stepping out of a limo in jeans and western boots wouldn't have the same effect as
wearing a long black gown, elbow length gloves, and stiletto heels."

Dimitri lifted her hand to his mouth and kissed it. "You're an interesting woman," he said, then

pulled her hand over to rest on his knee and remained holding it.

Maddy didn't protest. Instead, she reached out with her other hand and pushed the toggle switch

that opened the moon roof, then sank back against the plush leather seat, rested her head against
Dimitri's shoulder and stared up at the night sky through the glass above, while thinking she could get
used to riding around in luxury while enjoying the glitz and glamor that accompanied the life of an
illusionist.

A little voice inside reminded her there was an arena waiting to be built, and children who

needed the joy and special care her riding program would provide, but she didn't want to think about
that now. Tomorrow she'd be back to mucking out stalls and scraping down sweaty horses, but for
tonight, she wanted the magic of the evening to last a little longer.

CHAPTER 5

The following morning the magic was gone, and Maddy was back to life as she knew it, with her

hair in a braid down her back, and wearing an old worn shirt and equally worn jeans, while saddling
her gelding, Blackjack. The last thing Dimitri said when they parted the night before was that he was
ready to ride a horse, so she was waiting for him to arrive for his first lesson. But right after she'd
tied Tut for Dimitri to groom and saddle, she was distracted by the sound of children laughing and
squealing.

Stepping out of the stable, she saw Dimitri surrounded by a pack of enthusiastic kids that

included most of her nieces and nephews, so she assumed he was showing them some magic. But he
was showing her a little magic too. Dressed in a faded denim shirt that stretched tight across his
broad chest, and wearing worn jeans that emphasized his male anatomy, the transformation from city
dude to a man who looked more like a cowboy than half the guys she knew had definitely caught her
notice. It also elicited reactions much the same as when he stood on stage before the water torture cell
escape, and she wondered if her strong reaction was because the tight jeans were a vivid reminder of
how impressive he looked when stripped down to little more than a patch of black spandex.

While holding that image, Dimitri glanced over, and seeing her, smiled and motioned with a

sweep of his arm, for her to join him. As she walked toward him he crouched in front of five-year-old
Lizzy, Marc and Kit's daughter, and pulled a flower from behind her ear and handed it to her. The kids
immediately started jumping up and down while asking him to show them another magic trick, so he
stepped over to where ten-year-old Jesse was standing, and said, "Watch the ball. I'm going to put it
through the top of my head and pull it out my mouth." In a few deft moves, he put his hand with the
ball on top of his head and pushed, then raised his empty hand and took the ball out his mouth.

Jesse stared in bafflement until the other kids started jumping up and down again while begging

for more, so Dimitri said, "Okay, everyone stand still and I'll read your minds." Digging into the
pocket of his jeans, he fished out some change and said, "I'm going to give each of you a coin. When I
turn my back, put your coin in whichever hand you want and close your fist so I can't see the coin,
then hold both hands out in front of you. Think about which hand the coin is in and I'll read your minds
and pick the hand with the coin. Maddy can help you get ready."

Dimitri gave the coins to Maddy then turned his back to the kids and waited while she put a coin

in each child's hand. When the children were all standing with both closed fists in front of them,
Maddy said to him, "Okay, we're ready."

Dimitri turned around and walked up to Lizzy, and after looking at her outstretched fists for a

moment, he tapped her hand, and said, "This one."

Lizzy opened her hand to reveal a dime.
Dimitri moved to Jesse's little sister, Gracie, and said, "This one."
Gracie opened her hand to reveal a nickel.
Dimitri continued down the lineup of children that included Rick and Sophie's seven-year-old

triplets, Rena, Marc and Tina, their five-year-old twins, Sophie and Sam, a few kids of the guests,
and Jesse, until each child's open hand revealed a coin.

Maddy stared in bewilderment. With twelve children, each holding coins that were placed in

their hands while Dimitri's back was turned, the odds of him making a correct guess a hundred
percent of the time would be staggering.

"Okay, guys, that's it," Dimitri said. "Time for my riding lesson, but tomorrow I'll show you more

magic."

The kids moaned their protests, but when Dimitri stood firm, they conceded and went on their

way. As the kids walked off, Maddy said to Dimitri, "You do realize you're creating a monster, that
before long, every kid on the ranch will be following you everywhere like the Pied Piper of Hamelin,
except the kids in the Pied Piper didn't have a very happy ending."

"But these kids will," Dimitri said. "It's fun to believe in magic. I did once. When I'd watch my

dad I never questioned because I wanted to believe his magic was real, but when he started revealing
secrets something was lost, like learning Santa doesn't exist. Then it came to me that because magic's
nothing but illusions coupled with sleight of hand, the more I practiced the more skilled I'd become in
delivering what people wanted to believe. It worked until I saw an illusionist at the World Congress
of Magicians, who was so skilled that while I was watching every move he made and using all the
knowledge I had about misdirection and sleight of hand, when he was done, I had to ask myself, does
magic exist?"

Maddy knew the feeling. "During last night's performance you did things that go against the laws

of nature."

"Then you must preserve the wonder of it and not ask questions," Dimitri said.
"Except one. How did you guess which hands had the coins? You didn't miss once, and I know

you didn't watch when I helped the kids get ready."

Dimitri looked at her steadily. "Do you still believe in Santa Claus?"
Maddy held his solemn gaze. "Is this a trick question? If I say yes, you won't tell me the trick

because you know I'll be disappointed to learn magic isn't real, and if I say no, you won't tell me
because you'll think my life would be richer if I could believe again."

"Okay, you convinced me I can't win," Dimitri said. "The way it works, when a child holds a

coin and concentrates on which hand it's in, the child's nose automatically points toward the hand with
the coin. It can be subtle but it never fails, and the more you do the trick, the easier it gets."

"You're right about learning the secrets," Maddy said. "Something was lost. I was beginning to

think you could read minds, and now I know you're just an ordinary man who happens to be able to
levitate objects and send them floating around the room, and who's able to materialize on stage, and
who can… well, I guess the Metamorphosis escape is simply dematerializing and materializing again.
I just hope I can learn the physics by show time."

"Guaranteed." Dimitri put his hand on the base of Maddy's neck and gave it a little squeeze, and

said, while guiding her toward the stable, "And now you'll teach me the physics of staying on a
horse." He kept his hand where it was as they entered the stable where, to Maddy's alarm, she found
her father standing just inside, looking directly at them. She had no idea when he'd entered the stable,
but the dark look on his face said it all.

Dimitri immediately removed his hand from Maddy's neck, and said, "I hope you're not making

anything of the way I was touching Maddy when we walked in."

Jack eyed him sharply. "Maddy's a grown woman who was raised with six big brothers, so she

knows how to hold her own against a man's advances, if she wants to. She also knows how her
mother and I feel about her working in a cocktail lounge. This isn't the way she was brought up and
we don't want her to get some harebrained notion that there's a future waiting for her in a city run by
the mob."

"Stop right there, Dad," Maddy said. "I have no intention of ever setting foot in Las Vegas again,

so you can scrub that from your laundry list of worries about me. Now, if you're through, Dimitri's
paying me to teach him how to ride a horse and that's what we're here to do."

Jack looked at her with misgiving. "Ride where?"

"I don't know!" Maddy said, exasperated. "You never ask the boys where they're riding, but just

because I'm a girl you're singling me out. Like you said, I'm capable of holding my own against a
man's advances so at least give me credit for that. As for where we'll be riding, I'm taking Dimitri on
the trail to the cabin so he can see the view up there. If you want, you can send Adam, Marc and Tyler
along to protect me."

"Don't get smart with me," Jack said. "Go on your ride, but be aware that your mother and I will

be going to the Coyote to see the show Saturday night, and we'll take things from there." He turned
and walked out of the stable.

Maddy planted her hands on her hips. "At least I don't have Ryan, Josh and Jeremy breathing

down my back right now, but maybe, just for Saturday's show, I'll dress western. I have some new
jeans and a yellow silk shirt I could wear, and I'll braid my hair and wear a Stetson so I'll look like
an upscale hayseed. Do you have a problem with that?"

Dimitri shrugged. "I already suggested you go western. You're the one who wants to wear the

black gown, but if you're set on wearing it, maybe you could wear a wimple and go as a nun."

"Very funny," Maddy replied. "I'll go western. Maybe it'll convince my parents that I'm not on the

road to perdition, but it won't solve all their concerns. Is there a chance you could wear a boxer
swimsuit instead of what you wear for the water cell illusion? I can tell you right off that when you
shed your robe, my parents will put you in the same category with the Chippendales."

Dimitri laughed. "The problem with boxers is when I'm hanging upside down in a tank of water,

they float away from what they're supposed to hide, drawing attention to what else is floating around,
and that would spoil the impact of a near drowning. Besides, when I'm trying to get free of chains and
locks I can't be worrying about getting tangled up in clothes, which is why I wear a Speedo. Even
Houdini stripped to the bare essential when doing the stunt."

"It's a very small Speedo," Maddy pointed out.
"Did you see anything you shouldn't have?" Dimitri asked.
Maddy found herself staring at Dimitri's crotch, and hadn't realized her gaze had drifted

downward. Shifting up to focus on his face, she said, "I was more concerned about having to smash
the glass, so all I noticed was a tiny patch of black, and I'll go get Tut." She knew she did not want to
continue on the track they were on. It was raising hell with her libido.

***

After Maddy taught Dimitri how to saddle a horse, she had him mounting and dismounting, then

turning Tut around in circles and backing him, and reining him in a zigzag pattern, and even going into
a trot as they headed toward the trail to the cabin, which made Dimitri glad he was wearing tight
jeans instead of slacks because in slacks he'd feel like there was a juggling act going on inside his
briefs. He also understood why cowboys wore tight jeans. It kept everything contained. If tight jeans
gave Maddy a buzz as well, then so much the better.

He realized his thoughts were drifting into dangerous territory again, like they had with the kind

of sexual banter he and Maddy engaged in over the swimsuit before saddling up, and he was
determined to keep things platonic. He didn't need another involvement with an assistant, though
Maddy was making it hard for him to hold to that resolve.

There was a naturalness about her that was uncommon in women today, at least uncommon in

women in Vegas. It wasn't called Sin City for nothing. The first thing Karla did when she started
working as his assistant was to whittle down her gowns. True, Karla had a body worth flaunting, and
it definitely got him breathing heavy when she came out on stage in something akin to a bikini with
strips of fabric she called a skirt, but it always bothered him that she didn't mind flaunting it for every

man in the lounge.

Maddy, on the other hand, didn't flaunt anything, yet she had a body he could imagine exploring in

a leisurely way, kind of like petting a cat to get it purring, and scratching the places that would have it
raising its chin, and stroking its fur until it was rolling over to expose its belly. Maddy's belly would
be firm, and his hand would move across some hip bones because she was slender, and lower down
she'd have a nice little mound of fur, dark he imagined, and above her flat belly would be a sleek rib
cage that would lead his hand to a pair of breasts he was visually familiar with, but only for an
instant, and what he saw made his hands restless, the way they got when he was ready to stun the
audience with some mind-blowing sleight of hand.

Okay. Time to reel in those thoughts. He was a magician, an illusionist, trained to make things

vanish, and he was good at it, so he'd apply what he'd learned from years of hard work and practice
to making thoughts about all the things he wanted to do with Maddy vanish.

For the next half hour his horse sauntered along behind Maddy's horse, following a pulverized

trail that roamed through woods and wandered across a hillside and even cut its way along the side of
the mountain where there was a fairly steep drop-off on one side. He sat in a saddle that wasn't half
bad in the way it curved in front and behind him, all the while he got to watch Maddy's slender back,
small waist, and firm butt, as she swayed with the motion of her horse, a sight that was distracting him
with other thoughts again.

Focusing on his reason for staying at the ranch, he called ahead, "Is this all there is to it? I sit on

Tut and he takes me where I want to go?"

Maddy twisted in the saddle and glanced back. "Not quite. You can be heading in one direction,

but if something startles Tut, he might decide to go in another direction to get away from whatever it
is, and you'll find yourself sitting on your butt on the ground if you're lucky, or rolling down an
embankment to the bottom of a ravine if you're not."

"What kind of something could startle him?" Dimitri asked, feeling uncertain. A body cast

sounded a little intimidating.

"Lots of things," Maddy replied. "Snakes, a coyote, a rock rolling across the trail, a mountain

lion."

"We're talking worse-case scenarios here, aren't we?" Dimitri asked, thinking Maddy was pulling

his leg the way he did hers.

"No," Maddy replied. "Worse-case scenarios would be getting cut off from the main trail by a

rockslide at sundown and having to hole up in a den with the mountain lion."

"Okay, I'm not buying this," Dimitri said. "Maybe we could go a little faster though. I'm feeling

pretty confident."

"That's fine with me, but I'd better ride along with you." Maddy turned her horse around and

positioned him beside Tut, and said, "Gather your reins, lean forward, click your tongue, give Tut a
little nudge with your heels, and hang on."

"You want to run through that again," Dimitri asked, having been momentarily distracted when he

saw the top two snaps of Maddy's shirt undone, giving him a hint of cleavage, not the deep cleavage
Karla had, but enough to stir things up.

"Okay, do this with me," Maddy said. "First, gather your reins so you have control, then lean

forward like this, which lets Tut know you're about to do something, then click your tongue, which is
Tut's cue to go, and give him a kick, which is like stepping on the accelerator, or in your case, like
telling Chris to get going."

Dimitri was distracted again when Maddy leaned forward and her shirt stretched tight across the

front, reminding him how easily the snaps could come apart, but he managed to follow the rest, and
before he knew it, the horses took off and were going along in a way that sent adrenaline pumping
through him. He also realized whatever gait the horse was doing was a far sight better than trotting,
except he didn't like the look of the big, flat-topped saddle horn and its proximity to the family jewels,
but now he knew why cowboys were bowlegged.

"You're doing fine," Maddy called to him. "Just keep your heels down and stay square in the

saddle. Grab the saddle horn if you need to, but it's best to avoid doing that if possible."

"You have any saddles without horns?" Dimitri called back.
"Not on this ranch," Maddy replied. "You need a horn to tie your rope to when you lasso a cow. It

also gives you something to grab if your horse bucks."

"Yeah, but if my horse bucks, it also gives me something to come down on," Dimitri replied.
"Then you can look at it this way. If you come down on the saddle horn you'll no longer look like

a Chippendale when you're ready to get in the tank, so that could be a plus."

Dimitri realized they were slipping into dangerous verbal territory again and he wondered if it

was because Maddy grew up around brothers who, like all guys, had fixations on their jewels, or if
she was flirting, which didn't seem logical. He was certain she'd meant every word of it when she
told her father she had no intention of returning to Las Vegas, and she was definitely not the kind of
girl who'd engage in a month-long fling with a guy who worked in nightclubs, so he wasn't sure what
to make of it. But he was sure they needed to keep a lid on things.

"You want to try a gallop now?" Maddy called over to him.
"I thought that's what we're doing," Dimitri called back.
"No, this is a lope. There's a nice stretch ahead that will give you an idea of what it's like to do a

short run full out."

"I'm game."
"Okay, then gather your reins and get ready. Here goes." With that, Maddy leaned forward, gave a

hoop, and her horse took off.

In an instant, Tut was running alongside Blackjack, and as the horses ran neck-in-neck, Dimitri

was excited in a way he'd never expected, with the wind whipping against his face, and the sound of
hoofbeats below while kicking up a cloud of dust, and the feel of a whole lot of horsepower beneath
him. In his peripheral vision he caught sight of low brush, and tall mountain grass, and patches of
rocks and stones zipping by. He was also aware that both horses seemed to be running in unison, like
their strides were choreographed. Even their heads moved back and forth together as they ran. "This
is great!" he yelled. "You'll have to teach me how to throw a rope so I can chase cows."

"It's great until you stop paying attention," Maddy called back, "so stop talking and concentrate

on what you're doing."

"Fine. You're the boss."
The horses continued running in unison until Maddy reined back into a trot, which sent Dimitri

bouncing in the saddle, a reminder that the horn was still waiting to flatten him, and when they finally
slowed to a walk, he was relieved. "You can skip the trot next time," he said.

"It's not so bad if you take the jarring in your middle and let your abs act as shock absorbers,"

Maddy replied.

"I'm not worried about jarring; it's the dang saddle horn that's out to get me."
Maddy laughed. "Okay, tomorrow we'll ride bareback."
"Are you serious?"
"You have a problem with that?"

"Not if Tut doesn't decide to go in a different direction from where I want to go."
"You can ride him in the corral until you feel comfortable," Maddy said. "Meanwhile, over the

crest of the hill will be a view you won't soon forget, so gather your reins and we'll lope the horses
there." Maddy clicked her tongue and her horse took off in a kind of horse jog. Tut again fell into
stride with Maddy's horse, and before Dimitri knew it, the horses were cresting the hill.

Across a high-mountain meadow, Maddy pulled her horse to a halt, and Dimitri reined in beside

her. When he looked at Maddy, with her face flushed, her eyes bright with enthusiasm, and the hair
that escaped her braid like a cloud around her head, he couldn't remember ever seeing a more
beautiful woman. No makeup, nothing artificial, just a natural kind of beauty that had his heart
speeding up. And again his hands felt restless.

"Have you ever seen anything this beautiful?" Maddy asked, while looking into the distance.
"No," Dimitri replied, his eyes still on Maddy, but she hadn't noticed. Shifting his focus to the

view, he looked at a panorama that seemed to go on forever. "The mountains are pretty awesome too.
What range are they?"

"The Coast Range," Maddy said. "You can see the peaks of five mountains from here, Spirit

Mountain, Pumpkinseed Mountain, Fort Hill, Cherry Mountain and Big Mountain. Spirit Mountain's
the closest, and the ranch backs up to the foothills. I never get tired of this view."

As Dimitri took in the scene, he had an uncommon urge to keep riding to find out what was over

the next rise, and across the next mountain, and it came to him that maybe that was what early
explorers felt, a passion to know what was beyond their view, even with a view that seemed to have
no end. Especially with that view.

"Come on," Maddy said. "I'll show you the cabin."
Dimitri glanced around. Spotting a log cabin backed up to some woods, he said, "Who stays

there?"

"No one in particular," Maddy replied. "It's just a place to get away from things. Guests can stay

if they want, but there's no indoor plumbing. You can tie Tut to the hitching rail."

Once inside, Maddy gave Dimitri a brief tour of the one-bedroom cabin, then turned to him, and

said, with the hint of challenge in her eyes, "Okay, you're away from all your props, so show me some
magic. Convince me you're not just an ordinary man."

"Fine," Dimitri said.
Maddy folded her arms and smiled in a way that said she got him, which pumped Dimitri up

because already he'd spotted the makings of a magic trick that would knock her socks off. Walking
over to a cabinet above the kitchen sink, he removed three matching plastic cups without handles and
set them on the table, and said, "I need some balls."

"What kind of balls?"
"Small ones."
Maddy unfolded her arms, and after scanning the room, went to a cabinet that contained stacks of

games and puzzles, and said, "The only ball here is the one that comes with jacks."

"Jacks will do," Dimitri said. "I'm going to make the jacks pass through the solid bottoms of these

cups, so watch carefully."

Maddy handed him the bag of jacks and he dumped them on the table, scooped up a few, and

moving his hands quickly, nested the cups together while saying, "I have three empty cups, which I'm
setting in a line, upside down on the table, like this."

After he'd set the three cups in a row, open end down, he said, "Next, I'll place a jack on top of

this center cup, stack the other two cups on top of it, and when I snap my fingers, the jack will go

through the cup on the bottom and land on the table."

Having said that, Dimitri stacked the other two cups on top of the center cup with the jack on it,

snapped his fingers and lifted the stacked cups to reveal a jack under the center cup. "There you have
it," he said. "The jack passed through the bottom cup." He repeated the trick to reveal two jacks under
the center cup, then again to reveal three jacks, all appearing to have penetrated the solid bottoms of
the cups.

"Wait a minute!" Maddy said. "I want to see you do that again."
Dimitri smiled. "Fine, it's just basic teleportation." He set the trick up again and proceeded to

demonstrate, while saying to Maddy, "During Newton's time it was assumed that particles colliding
and changing trajectories continued to collide and interact whether someone observed them or not,
and then quantum physics came along in the early 20th century to prove that, if an observer is looking
at an experiment it affects the way the particles move, and the wave-function of an object's momentum
collapses when an observer looks at it."

On finishing his spiel, which coincided with him 'passing' three jacks through the solid bottoms

of three cups, he lifted the center cup, revealing the jacks.

Maddy stared at the jacks, then looked at him in bafflement and said, "You can't pass jacks

through the bottoms of cups. It's impossible."

Dimitri bent down and kissed her parted lips. "No," he replied, "it's magic." He returned the cups

to the shelf near the sink, then scooped up the jacks, dumped them into the bag and offered it to
Maddy, who seemed a little dazed, maybe from his short kiss.

After taking the bag, she looked at him, and said, "Will you show me how you do this?"
Dimitri peered into the biggest, most beseeching eyes he'd ever seen, and replied, "You know the

rules. I'll give you the secret to Metamorphosis, but the rest of the secrets come with a big price tag."

"I know," Maddy said. "Twenty-thousand dollars."
"Bigger than that," Dimitri replied. "To get all my secrets you'd have to be my assistant, and my

wife, and I don't think your family would go along with that." Though the idea of Maddy as both his
assistant, and his wife, was not as farfetched as it initially seemed.

She's the kind of woman who can take a man away from his dreams…
On the other hand, maybe he'd better stick with his original plan, and when his run at the Coyote

is over, leave Maddy Hansen on the ranch where she belonged.

CHAPTER 6

The following afternoon, Maddy was stunned when she saw Dimitri launch himself onto Tut's

bare back and gather up the reins, like he'd been doing it for years. After settling back, he placed his
hand on Tut's withers and said, "I hope this bone doesn't shift back when we get
going."

"It won't, but you could be thrown forward if Tut stops suddenly," Maddy warned.
"This is dangerous business," Dimitri said. "I feel safer in a burning box."
"Tut's a laidback horse," Maddy replied. "If you're that worried, wear a sport's cup."
Catching Dimitri's smile, Maddy realized she was so used to talking straight with her brothers he

probably took her comment as flirting, which he verified by saying with a gleam in his eyes, "I'll keep
that in mind."

"You might also keep in mind that I have six brothers, so guy talk comes natural for me, so don't

read anything into it."

"That you have six big brothers, I won't need a reminder," Dimitri said, "but I reserve the right to

read anything I want into anything you say."

Maddy wasn't sure how to take his comment. His short sweet kiss in the cabin the day before still

puzzled her because nothing prompted it, but just thinking about it sent a ripple of pleasure through
her. Deciding to play safe by changing the subject, she said, "Okay, if you're ready, you can take Tut
around the perimeter of the corral at a walk to get your balance, and after that you can press him into a
lope."

Within a few minutes, Dimitri had Tut loping around the corral while looking completely at ease.

That alone was as mystifying as the escapes and illusions he performed, like the man was filled with
magic. He was also picking up riding much faster than she'd expected. But after being blown away by
his performance the evening before, just as she'd been in Las Vegas, she came to the conclusion that
riding came easy to him because he was unusually coordinated—as shown by his card flourishes and
sleight of hand—while also constantly keeping himself in top physical condition, so to him, riding a
horse was like kid's stuff.

After a few more rounds, Dimitri said, as he continued circling the corral, "It's getting pretty

dusty in here. How about we quit and I'll spend some time with Homer, and maybe talk to your dad
about letting me use the shop. I still want to build a donkey stable while I'm here."

"That's fine," Maddy replied. "Go ahead and let yourself out."
Dimitri turned Tut toward the corral gate, then leaned over and released the latch as if he'd been

raised on a ranch. After slipping to the ground, he said, "I'm thinking that my water tank will feel
pretty good tonight. I ache in places I didn't know existed."

"That happens the first few times a person starts riding, but you can go sit in Whispering Springs.

It's like a giant hot tub. I assume you've heard about it," Maddy said.

"Genie mentioned it, and maybe I'll take you up on it. Meanwhile, I saw Adam teaching Jesse

how to throw a rope, so I figure, if you taught me how to do that, one night a week could be western
night and we'd start the show with you standing off to the side and me lassoing you and pulling you on
stage where I'd introduce you as my assistant."

"You can't learn roping overnight," Maddy said. "It takes months to be able to consistently drop a

lasso over an object."

"It couldn't be any harder than doing armspreads with cards," Dimitri replied.
"Are you serious about making one night a week western night?"

Dimitri responded by pulling his billfold out of his pocket, peeling off a couple of one-hundred-

dollar bills, and saying, "This should get you something western and showy." He peeled off another
one-hundred-dollar bill, and added, "Get some boots too."

Maddy looked at the bills, thinking he was giving her a lot of money for clothes, which had a

negative ring, though she wasn't sure why. But she also visualized the perfect western outfit for the
Saturday show when her parents would be there, an outfit she'd seen at the farm and ranch store. The
shirt was white with silver threads running through it and the jeans were also white, with just enough
silver studs at the bottom of each leg to add a little sparkle without being glitzy.

Deciding it was okay to accept the money since it was Dimitri's show and he was her boss, she

took the bills, and said, "I saw something on a manikin at the farm and ranch store that should work.
I'll wear it the night my parents come so they'll have nothing to complain about."

It was definitely conservative enough to please her parents, and if the subject came up as to

where she got the outfit, she'd tell them she bought it to wear during the St. Paul Rodeo the following
summer when she'd be riding in the 4th of July parade...

What I do on stage isn't lying. It's asking the audience for a suspension of disbelief…
So in effect, what she'd be telling her parents wouldn't be a lie, it would be a stage untruth. And

what could they say? She was already under contract with Dimitri and she could hardly show up on
stage dressed in worn jeans, a faded shirt, and scuffed boots while looking like she'd just stepped out
of the barn. Besides, the conventional white outfit would give her father no cause for the lecture she'd
be assured of receiving if she wore a black gown that dipped lower in front than she had intended,
while also trying to walk on heels she had not yet conquered.

***

Early the following evening, as the limo crept along the gravel road from the ranch to the

highway, Maddy fidgeted nervously with the crystal-edged cuffs of her hot-pink shirt, and smoothed
her hands over the black swirl patterns that trailed over her shoulders and ran halfway down the front,
swirls highlighted with glittery studs and hot-pink crystals.

It wasn't the outfit she'd set out to buy, but when she spotted it, she found herself justifying why

she should wear something that looked a little showy, like Dimitri requested, and fit more like a glove
than a shirt. The stretchy black pants also fit like a glove, but at least she had the wherewithal to buy
plain boots. Almost. There was a pattern of swirling sparkly studs that ran across the front near the
toe, but they were plain up the sides, except the sides, like rest of the boots, were also hot pink. But
now she knew she'd made a big mistake.

"I never should have bought this outfit," she said, while pulling the front of the shirt away from

herself so she could look down at all the glitter. "My parents are going to croak."

"Why should they? You look very nice," Dimitri replied.
"Maybe nice by Sin City standards, but it has buckle bunny written all over it."
"What's a buckle bunny?" Dimitri asked.
"They're the bunnies that hang out around rodeo cowboys, pretty much akin to zone bunnies, puck

bunnies, basket bunnies, and top-hat bunnies, or whatever kind of bunnies go after magicians," Maddy
replied.

Dimitri covered Maddy's hand with his and pulled it over to rest on his knee, and said, while

stroking her palm with his thumb, "No one's going to mistake you for a bunny because the only bunnies
that hang around magicians are the soft furry kind we pull out of hats."

He raised her hand so he could look at her fingernails, which were painted the same hot pink as

her shirt, another foolish last-minute decision she now regretted. "I don't usually wear fingernail

polish," she said, as if in apology.

"I just figured that out." Dimitri continued examining her fingers, one at a time, which was

sending tingles through Maddy while making her heart skitter and her breath quicken.

Not certain what Dimitri was trying to do, she pulled her hand from his, and said, while

stretching out her fingers and looking at her nails, "It's my cuticles. They look like they've been
through a shredder."

Dimitri laughed. "No, it's the polish. It's not very even." He took her hand again and raised it next

to the hot-pink pearl snap on one of the pockets of her shirt, and tucking his little finger beneath the
flap, lifted it so her fingernails and the snap were aligned, and said, "The colors match." He moved
her hand up, and added, "They match the crystals on your collar too. Crystals are significant, which is
why they're widely used by both magicians and psychics."

While Dimitri went on to talk about a giant crystal used by the Atlanteans prior to the

submergence of Atlantis, Maddy became distracted by the heel of his hand resting on her breast as he
held her fingers up to her collar again, and she wondered if the intimate connection was incidental or
intended. It could be incidental, because Dimitri seemed occupied with what he was saying. On the
other hand, he could be working up to something more.

Pulling her hand away, she said, "That's all very interesting, but we're getting off track, and

there's still the issue of that swimsuit you wear. Between the two of us, my parents will see a
Chippendale and a buckle bunny."

Dimitri laughed. "I don't know about the buckle bunny, but I picked up something in town to put

your mind at ease." He stood and began unfastening his pants.

"What are you doing?" Maddy asked, alarmed.
"Showing you what I'm wearing for the water cell escape." Dimitri lowered his pants, revealing

a black spandex suit that stretched from his waist to his knees.

Maddy stared at the very prominent male bulge in her line of vision, and said, "That's better, but

it's also very close-fitting. My parents will still see a Chippendale."

Dimitri pulled his pants up and fastened them again, while saying, "I won't be having that

problem when I'm ready to get in the tank because my mind will be on trying to keep from drowning
instead of what it was on a minute ago."

"Don't expect me to jump for the bait," Maddy said. "I'm far more concerned about my parents'

reaction to how I'm dressed. I should have stuck to my original plan instead of buying something that
makes me look like Pretty Woman before she found respectability."

"You'll never look like Pretty Woman at all because you're far more beautiful than Julia Roberts,"

Dimitri said. He reached out and turned her face toward his and kissed her on the lips, this time
longer than the kiss at the cabin, long enough for Maddy put her arms around his neck and kiss him
back, but when the kiss was over, Dimitri settled back and smiled, leaving Maddy wondering what
happened.

Had it been a kiss because he was beginning to care about her, a kiss to get her heart racing more

than it already was, or just a kiss to play around with her? He seemed to be an easy-going, playful
man, someone she was beginning to enjoy being with far too much. But she still couldn't analyze the
kiss because, in spite of having six big brothers whose friends practically lived at the ranch the entire
time she was growing up, she was completely naïve when it came to a man like Dimitri—a conjurer,
an enchanter, a charismatic man whose sphere of reality teetered on the razor's edge of magic.

"Incidentally, I'll be walking through a wall tonight," Dimitri said, while Maddy was still trying

to catch her breath and settle her heartbeat after the kiss. "All you have to do is select six participants

from the audience to come on stage to examine the wall."

"What will the wall be made of?" Maddy asked, thinking there must be a concealed panel that

pivoted, or maybe some kind of material that would give way when he pressed against it.

"Solid wood," Dimitri replied. "Those on stage won't find any way to get through."
"So then, it's just a simple matter of you dematerializing, passing through wood, and materializing

again," Maddy said, with irony.

"Actually, a more correct term is teleportation, which is the transfer of matter or energy from one

point to another without traversing the physical space between them. Mirrors have the effect of
dematerializing a wall, but they can't make it disappear."

Maddy folded her arms and sank into the soft leather seat. "And, of course, you won't trust me

with the secret, even if I give you my sworn word I'll never tell."

Dimitri leaned over and cradled her chin in his hand and kissed her again, and said, "The rules

haven’t changed. My assistant as my wife will learn all my secrets. My assistant for the month of June
has to be satisfied with learning the secret to Metamorphosis. But if you look in your pocket maybe
you'll find something that will placate you until then."

Maddy's hands went to the two pockets on her shirt and she felt something inside the pocket on

the left. Reaching down, she pulled out a gold chain of a size that would fit her wrist, with two
charms hanging from it—a small crystal ball on an ornate gold pedestal, and a gold snake coiled into
a knot. Holding up the bracelet, she said, "I understand the crystal ball because you're a magician, and
magicians are supposed to read minds, but why a snake?"

Dimitri shrugged. "It's the closest thing I could find to a rope."
"Why a rope?" Maddy asked.
"The rope trick's the first secret you managed to get out of me and reading the kid's minds was the

second."

Maddy wasn't sure what his point was in giving her the bracelet, but Dimitri wasn't your typical

man, so the things he did would never be typical. "How did you get the bracelet into my pocket?" she
asked.

Dimitri angled her a smile. "Misdirection."
Several miles down the road, Maddy was still puzzling over the significance of the charm

bracelet, which she'd put on her wrist but intended to hide beneath her cuff before going on stage. The
snake was beautifully crafted, with red eyes, maybe rubies, and the small crystal ball sat on a tiny
ornate pedestal. The chain holding the charms was also gold, which would have been expensive,
except money didn't seem to be of any concern to Dimitri.

Her speculation was cut short when they turned into the parking lot, where an even larger crowd

than before had gathered at the entrance to the lounge. "I can't believe this," she said. "There are twice
as many people as before."

"That's because once a crowd gathers, others come to see what's happening."
A few moments later the door opened. As Maddy took Chris's gloved hand to exit the limo, she

glanced around and was relieved no one from her family was among the curious onlookers. Dimitri
immediately took her arm, and while escorting her inside, he said, "I might have to make that bunch of
cowboys vanish at the end of the show to keep them away from you."

Maddy felt a shot of adrenaline with Dimitri's offhand compliment. It had the ring of

possessiveness, but in a nice way. She too had been aware of the cowboys, because when she walked
past she heard the words, 'really hot chick.' "That's fine with me but after tonight I'm going back to
wearing the black gown, so you can forget about western night."

Dimitri eyed her with wry amusement. "Will you still teach me how to throw a rope?"
Maddy looked askance at him. "Are you serious?"
"Sure. I can use it to lasso a really hot chick. See you on stage." He gave Maddy's arm an

affectionate squeeze and headed for the stage to check the setup and props.

A little over an hour later, Maddy walked on stage to take her place for the opening. As she

scanned the faces for her parents, while waiting for the performance to begin, she was mortified to
see them sitting at a table close to the stage. Also with them were her Aunt Jayne and Uncle Sam, her
grandmother and Howard, and Emily and Kit. She suspected Emily and Kit were there as spies, sent
by Adam and Marc to evaluate things and report back, but from the looks of amusement on their faces
Maddy figured they were okay with the outfit. Her aunt and uncle, and her grandmother and Howard,
seemed more curious than shocked, but her mother looked as if she were about to be sick, and her
father sat with his arms folded, and his face stony.

The room darkened, and as in previous shows, the dove flew in and Dimitri materialized on

stage. After the shock and applause died, Maddy noticed that her father's arms were no longer
crossed, and he had a perplexed look on his face, while her mother was talking and gesturing toward
the stage like she was trying to verbalize what just happened, which was to see a man appear out of
thin air.

Dimitri followed with his usual routine of sending levitated objects floating around the stage on

command, which Maddy intended to watch carefully for the key to the illusion, but found herself
watching her folks instead, and they were clearly captivated by what they were seeing. After the
levitations, Dimitri executed a series of intricate card flourishes, followed that with the rope-tying
escape, after which stage assistants rolled out what was clearly a solid wood section of wall and
positioned it in the center of the stage, perpendicular to the audience, so it could be seen on both
sides.

At that point Dimitri stepped to the front of the stage, and said, "When Harry Houdini walked

through a wall, spiritualists believed he was using supernatural powers. But was he? Or was it just an
illusion? Many were convinced of Houdini's powers, including one of the leading spiritualists in the
world, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. I'll leave it for you to decide. Now, if I can have some volunteers to
examine the wall and standby while I walk through it." He turned to Maddy, and added, "If you will,
Madeleine, select six people to come up here."

Hands went up, including Kit's hand, Maddy noticed, so she left the stage and meandered

between tables while selecting six audience members that also included Kit. After they were
assembled on stage, Dimitri said to them, "Examine the wall thoroughly. Rap on it. Pass your hands
over it. Check for hidden openings or trap doors. Be satisfied that it is a solid wood wall."

Voices murmured as the people walked around the wall, some tapping on it, others running their

hands over it while searching for trap doors, but soon, everyone agreed it was a solid wood wall.
Dimitri then had the group stand at the front of the stage, three people on each side of center, and he
positioned himself beside the wall. From there, he gave a discourse about human teleportation by way
of quantum entanglement, while numerous assistants walked on stage and began assembling a three-
section screen, with fabric panels, in front of Dimitri.

After the screen was up and Dimitri was hidden from view, to make certain the audience knew he

was still there, he waved his hands above the screen while saying, "I'm beginning to dematerialize."
The hands remained for a little longer then came down, and a dim light, coming from behind,
disclosed a shadow moving toward the wall and fading away, accompanied by the words, though
somewhat muffled, "I'm gone."

Assistants swarmed on stage again, several of them pivoting the wall slightly to the left, then to

the right, to show the audience that no one could go over or around it, others disassembling the
screen, while revealing that Dimitri was gone.

Moving around front, several assistants re-assembled the screen on the other side of the wall. The

screen was barely assembled when, through the fabric of the panels, Dimitri's shadow appeared as if
coming through the wall, and a moment later, he stepped around the screen and announced, "Here I
am."

The audience seemed as stunned into silence as Maddy. There was no way Dimitri could have

gone around the wall because it was always in plain view. So it appeared the only way he could have
gotten from one side to the other was to go through.

A sudden burst of applause from an enthusiastic audience startled Maddy, and after she'd

collected her wits, she glanced over at the table where her parents were sitting and saw that her father
was clearly baffled, just as she was, because what they'd just seen Dimitri do bordered on quantum
physics. A man just couldn't walk through a wall, yet it appeared he'd done just that.

By intermission, during which time the water tank was rolled out onto the stage before being

filled with water, Maddy was certain the members of her family in the audience were as impressed
with Dimitri as she was.

However, at the end of the water torture cell escape, when Dimitri came bursting through the

curtains and went into his usual fit of coughing, and Maddy rushed over and took his arm as
choreographed, she found herself smiling at him because he looked so incredibly appealing with his
wet hair plastered against his face and spiking his eyelashes, and when he smiled and winked, she
found herself smiling back. It was a special moment, and for the span of several heartbeats she wasn't
aware of anything but the amazingly handsome face of the man holding her gaze, a man who seemed to
be casting a magic spell on her because, against her better judgment, she couldn't deny a little voice
was luring her back to Sin City.

Dimitri was the one to break the spell by standing and pulling her up with him. But after he

released her hand to acknowledge the enthusiasm of the audience, Maddy looked at her parents. There
was no enthusiasm on their faces. Instead, her father sat with his arms folded, a dark look on his face.
Her mother leaned toward him and said something, and he unfolded his arms and closed his hand over
hers, as if reassuring her, because she looked deeply troubled, and Maddy had a fair idea why.

So, her goal now would be to convince her family that, even though her job as Dimitri's assistant

was fun and entertaining, there was no way between now and the end of eternity that she'd follow him
back to Las Vegas. She hoped it wouldn't be yet another stage untruth.

CHAPTER 7

Misdirection, Maddy decided, was the secret to handling her parents after her mindless decision

to wear the hot-pink outfit the night before. Both of her parents were in the kitchen for breakfast,
which wasn't the norm. Her father usually left early to tend to ranch work, but the fact that he'd hung
around the house later than usual meant he had something to say, which, after seeing the look on his
face at the end of the show, she expected. She was thankful Dimitri's swimsuit stretched from his
waist to his knees because it made the water cell escape seem less like the lead-in to a male
stripper's act. In Las Vegas it wouldn't have seemed that way, but this was cowboy country, and
cowboys flaunted their assets by wearing tight jeans and chaps.

On entering the kitchen, she found both of her parents looking at her as if they had something to

say, but before they could start, she said, "I hope you enjoyed the show last night, and Dad, I want to
get started on my arena as soon as Dimitri pays me, so maybe you could set a little time aside in early
July." Without waiting for his response, she took a plate from a shelf over the counter, went to the
stove where she dished up some hash browns and scrambled eggs, and sat at the table as if it were
just another day.

"Dimitri is really very good," Grace said, "but why doesn't he have an assistant?"
"I guess the one he had found other work," Maddy replied.
"But you told us she walked out during the show."
"Dimitri didn't tell me why she left and I haven't asked," Maddy said. "He seems to be a pretty

private person. I hope my outfit wasn't too bright. It didn't look all that bright at the store but when I
got on stage I was afraid I might look like a giant pink flamingo."

Jack eyed Maddy over the rim of his coffee mug. "Adam said the night he saw the show you were

wearing a low-cut black gown and a pair of heels so high you could hardly walk. Who's paying for all
these clothes?"

"Well, Dimitri is," Maddy said. "It's basically stage costumes and he'll take everything with him

when he leaves because technically it all belongs to him."

"Except the boots you bought," Jack pointed out.
Maddy stared at her father. "What makes you think that?"
"Your mother found the credit card receipt on the hall floor."
So that's where the receipt went. Maddy hadn't expected to pay for the boots at all, but the shirt

and pants used up the money Dimitri gave her and she had to have the hot-pink boots to match.

Jack set his mug down with a thud. "A hundred-and-eighty bucks is a lot to pay for boots that

aren't good for anything but letting men know you're available after the show."

"It was a fashion statement," Maddy said. "Dimitri plans to reimburse me for them."
Another stage untruth. She didn't intend for small fibs to become a habit, but her parents were

jumping to erroneous conclusions, though she had no idea where she'd wear the boots and outfit after
Dimitri left. She could hardly wear hot pink in a Fourth of July parade where everyone else would be
dressed in red, white, and blue.

Her father leaned back in his chair and folded his arms, which was a signal to Maddy to be on

guard because he'd be making a point she'd have to defend. "Dimitri's without an assistant and he's
buying you clothes and teaching you the routine," he said, "so he's obviously grooming you to be his
assistant in Las Vegas."

"That's absolutely not the case," Maddy replied, although there could be some truth to it. Dimitri

had mentioned after each performance that she was a natural as an assistant, but he never followed up

with anything, which could be more misdirection—lead her to believe she's good then let her build
her own castle in the sky, or in this case, castle in Las Vegas.

"He's paying you three-thousand dollars a month," Jack said. "It'll be years before you make that

kind of money with your arena, with all the expenses of running the place."

"Look, Dad, I'm not on my way to Las Vegas," Maddy said. "I'm having fun with what I'm doing

because I'm learning some magic tricks, but that's all there is to it. I'm not in the least interested in
working for Dimitri after the end of this month."

"Honey," Grace said to Maddy, "sometimes things happen we don't expect. Dad and I are

concerned because Dimitri's a very handsome and charismatic young man who has the ability to
captivate and hold an audience, and we saw the way you interacted with him after the water tank
escape."

Maddy's heart started hammering, not because her mother's words were a reminder that Dimitri

had winked and smiled during a private moment in which she smiled back, but because her parents
saw it. "That's part of the act, to make the crowd think Dimitri nearly drowned."

"Winking and smiling isn't the behavior of a man who almost drowned," Jack pointed out.
"But it is the behavior of a man who enjoys what he's doing, and that's all there is to it," Maddy

snapped. "You're both making a mountain out of a molehill." She shoveled the rest of the food on her
plate into her mouth, anxious to leave and end the interrogation.

That done, she said, "I have to run. It's time for Dimitri's riding lesson and he wants to finish

early so he can start building a big box for a disappearing donkey illusion, speaking of which, can he
use the shop tools? He builds all his own props, including the water tank, so he knows how to use
power tools, otherwise he'll have to buy new tools in town, even though he has a full workshop at
home."

"Whose donkey?" Jack asked.
"Well, actually, Homer," Maddy replied. "Dimitri figures if he can make Homer disappear, he

can make a horse disappear, and if he can do that he'll get his own show on the strip, but he'll try the
disappearing donkey illusion at the Coyote first to see if it works."

"And if doesn't work, what will he do then," Jack asked, "travel around the country from

nightclub to nightclub like a vagabond magician?"

Maddy had to bite back a snide retort because she'd learned early on that it never worked with

her dad. "I'm sure Dimitri's father has connections, or he might be preparing Dimitri to take over
when he's ready to retire. I really don't know. Dimitri and I haven't discussed his future. In fact, we
haven't discussed much of anything except what he needs to know about handling a horse, and what
I'm supposed to do on stage. So then, can I tell him he can use the shop tools to build his donkey
box?"

"You can tell him he can come talk to me about it and I'll decide then," Jack replied.
Maddy felt irritated. It was as if her father was putting hoops in place for Dimitri to jump through

because he was a Las Vegas performer and her father was a throwback from the Victorian era. "Just
keep in mind that Dimitri is Genie's brother, which could be embarrassing for Josh and Genie if you
start lecturing Dimitri the way you do sometimes."

When she caught the dark look on her father's face, Maddy knew she'd made an unwise comment

because her father saw right through it. His take would be that she assumed he'd lecture Dimitri about
staying away from her because he'd already concluded the low-cut gown, stiletto heels, body-hugging
hot pink outfit, and a pair of hot-pink boots that set her back a hundred-and-eighty bucks, had been
intended to impress Dimitri, which maybe they had, she silently conceded. But so far, Dimitri had not

responded in any way except to kiss her a couple of times, well, maybe three times, and once on her
hand, and a short sweet kiss the night before, all probably in fun.

She glanced out the window, and seeing Dimitri standing near the stable while surrounded by a

pack of kids, she said, "Got to go," then left quickly, anxious to be out of hearing range if her parents
tried to call her back to continue their grilling.

Her eyes focused on Dimitri, who had the most engaging look on his face as he addressed the

kids, like he was enjoying what he was doing, she was startled when she felt a hand on her arm, and
annoyed when she looked back to see Adam. Placing himself squarely between her and the stable, he
said, "I want to talk to you for a few minutes."

Maddy looked up at Adam, who continued to tower over her, just as all six of her big brothers

did, whereas she'd stopped growing when she was eye level to their chests. "Maybe later," she said.
"I'm late for Dimitri's horse lessons."

Adam eyed her the way her father did, which annoyed her even more. He wasn't her father, yet

from the time she first learned to walk, he'd been the one to hover over her and look out for her, well,
Marc was there too, both thinking because she was a girl she was incapable of taking care of herself.
When she tried to dislodge her arm, Adam's hand remained firm, as he said, "I told you before Dimitri
can come on the afternoon rides with me and I'll give him instruction on caring for horses, and he can
still pay you for my time."

Maddy tugged her arm from Adam's grasp, braced her hands on her hips, and said, "How about,

you go on your afternoon ride while I teach Dimitri how to wash a horse."

"While wearing that?" Adam eyed her snug, yellow, Dancing Moon Ranch T-shirt.
"T-shirts dry quicker that western shirts when they get wet," Maddy said.
"They also stick to you when they're wet. Is that what you want, for Dimitri to see you in a tight

wet T-shirt?"

Maddy glared at Adam. She knew exactly what he was implying and it really pissed her off. But

she also needed to get him off her back. "To relieve your mind, I'm not in the least interested in
Dimitri, and Las Vegas is the last place on earth I ever want to be. It was fun when I was there with
Beth and Hannah, but now I've been there, done that, so if you'll excuse me, I need to get on with
washing Tut and taking Dimitri for a short ride afterwards."

Adam looked at her in alarm. "A short ride where?"
"Not to the cabin," Maddy said. "But if we do happen to end up there, Dimitri and I are not you

and Emily, so your next niece or nephew will not be conceived there."

Adam stared at her, as if he didn't know what to say, which was understandable. From the time

he'd sat her down when she was thirteen, to inform her he was a father, and that Emily had conceived
Jesse while they were at the cabin one afternoon, it had never been mentioned again. "You're right,"
Adam said, "you aren't Emily, and Dimitri is definitely not me, but the male-female attraction is
always there and things can happen you don't expect."

"I'm not thirteen, Adam. I do know about male-female attractions."
"You're still my little sister, and even though you grew up with six big brothers, a man like

Dimitri is different from the guys we brought around here. You always handled any of them in short
order. I'm concerned you could find yourself doing things you never expected to do and I don't want
you making the same mistake I did."

"You have Jesse, Emily and Gracie," Maddy said. "Do you still think you made a mistake?"
Again, Adam stared at her, like he didn't know what to say.
Knowing he was only looking after her best interest, Maddy said, "I appreciate the concern and

I'll be careful." She gave him a peck on the jaw and stepped around him.

While continuing toward Dimitri, Maddy saw he was performing a trick with cups while

standing behind an old, overturned wine barrel. As she approached, he looked up from what he was
doing, and when he saw her, his eyes scanned the length of her, paused midway on her chest, then
moved to her face, where he held her gaze and smiled, which had her breath quickening and her heart
pattering. It occurred to her that maybe it wasn't such a good idea to wear the tight shirt because
Dimitri could read into it exactly what Adam had.

"Okay kids," Dimitri said. "Time for my riding lesson."
In unison, the kids cried, "No, do the trick again.
Dimitri restacked the three cups. "Okay, I'll do cup and balls one more time, then we'll break

until tomorrow." As he set up for cups and balls, which Maddy recognized as cups and jacks, she was
determined to watch closely this time and learn the secret, but after he'd completed the trick, she
stared at the three balls sitting on the wine barrel, completely baffled as to how he made three cups go
through the solid bottoms of three cups.

"So there you have cups and balls," Dimitri said. Opening a bag with a drawstring, he tossed the

props inside and pulled the cord. "I'll see you all tomorrow for more magic."

After the kids left, Maddy said, "Can I see the cups in your bag?"
"Sure." Dimitri opened the drawstring and handed her the bag.
Maddy pulled out the cups and scooped the balls out of the bag and examined them, and finding

nothing irregular, she said, "I am your assistant, so you should at least show me how you did this
trick. I know it's a simple trick with a simple explanation."

"You'll learn in due course," Dimitri replied. "Meanwhile, what are you teaching me today? I'm

beginning to like this cowboy stuff, especially if it makes me look like a stud."

Maddy was distracted by the way Dimitri's eyes brightened and his lips curved in a wry smile

when he was teasing, the same way he looked just before he'd kissed her each time, and she
wondered if he would have kissed her if they'd been in the stable, away from plain view.

"Are you with me?' Dimitri asked.
"Oh, umm, yes. What I'll be teaching you. You'll be learning how to wash a horse." Her mind in

gear again, Maddy started toward the stable.

"Are we talking, dunking him in a tank of water, or swimming him in a river?" Dimitri asked, as

he walked alongside Maddy.

"Neither," Maddy replied. "Since you probably won't have a river or a tank of water near where

you'll stable your horse, I'm going to show you how to hose Tut down. The idea is to approach this
from Tut's perspective. When he sees the hose coming at him his reaction will be, not only is bathing
stupid and unnecessary, it's weird and scary, keeping in mind everything Tut encounters he takes
personally, like it's something out to get him."

"So, are we talking washing my horse all the time, or every once in a while?" Dimitri asked.
"That depends," Maddy replied. "Since you'll have him on stage, he wouldn't look very good

under the lights if he's caked with mud and manure after rolling in the pasture just before you picked
him up from the stable for the show."

Dimitri glanced to where Homer was standing at the fence, looking their way, and said, "A

donkey would be a whole lot easier to wash."

"You've got that right. He'd be done with a bucket and sponge, but since you've got to make a

horse disappear, learning to wash a donkey won't give you the experience you need to wash a horse,"
Maddy replied. "Besides, Homer likes being hosed. He plays with the water."

"And Tut doesn't." Dimitri looked regretfully at Homer.
"Right again. Incidentally, my dad said to come talk to him about using the shop. I told him you

had a workshop and knew how to use power tools."

"Then what does he want to talk to me about?" Dimitri asked.
"Beats me," Maddy replied. "Meanwhile, go get Tut and cross-tie him in the washing area. It's

boxed in all around so you won't be spraying everywhere else while you're trying to spray him. He's
sometimes not too cooperative."

"Will I need to strip down to my skivvies?" Dimitri asked.
"Maybe not your skivvies, but you might shed your shirt," Maddy said, feeling a little shot of

adrenaline as the image of Dimitri standing by the water torture cell emerged.

After shrugging out of his shirt, Dimitri went to fetch Tut, and as he was leading him back and

tying him between two posts, Maddy couldn't help thinking Dimitri looked almost as amazing stripped
down to jeans as he did in the tiny black swimsuit. She imagined he'd look pretty good in chaps too.
Jeremy left a pair behind, which she'd offer to Dimitri, just to see if he'd look the way she imagined,
with a pouch of faded denim poking between the leathers.

"Is something wrong with my pants?" Dimitri asked. "I'm hoping they're standard cowboy jeans

because I'm trying to look the part."

"Cowboys wear chaps when they ride," Maddy said, while shifting her gaze upward, "and

Jeremy left a pair behind that you could use."

"Chaps fasten kind of quirky," Dimitri said, smiling.
Maddy tried to ignore how engaging he looked when he teased, and how sexy he was. She hadn't

considered him sexy at first. She'd just been dazzled by what he could do, but he was definitely sexy.
"My brothers claim chaps are designed for easy access when nature calls," she said, the gist of the
conversation awakening an area that normally lay dormant.

"I suppose it depends on what nature's calling a guy to do, and if the easy access is for him, or for

someone else." Dimitri's smile widened.

"Okay, time to wash Tut," Maddy replied, feeling her face growing hot. She'd overheard just

about everything guys talked about when she was growing up, and from it she'd learned early on that
what her brothers kept tucked inside their pants was of extreme importance to them, even if she never
quite understood why their minds seemed to stay focused there, but bantering with Dimitri about it
was causing things to happen she wasn't prepared for.

Deciding it was time to cool down, she went to get the hose, and returned with it trailing behind.

After connecting it to a faucet, she said, "For starters, horses hate being washed so you have to look at
it with a two-pronged approach. First, you need to develop your horse's trust in you long before
horse-bath time, which means daily grooming and talking to him so he'll have confidence in you when
you come at him with buckets and hoses and brushes and other cleaning paraphernalia, sort of a, trust
me, trust my toys, dynamic. And second, you need to desensitize him to what bathing's all about."

"Are we talking days, weeks, or months of this getting-to-know-you thing?" Dimitri asked.
"It varies with the horse," Maddy replied, while trying to ignore the muscular male torso in her

line of vision. "I suggest you buy an old settled gelding. Maybe he won't be afraid of hose baths, but if
he is, it's up to you to prove the thing with the water spouting out of it won't kill him. I assume you've
already looked into where you'll be stabling your horse."

"I haven't thought that far ahead," Dimitri said. "I didn't know it was this complicated."
"Then I take it you were prepared to contract with a horse-delivery service," Maddy said.
Dimitri looked at her, puzzled.

"Okay, forget that. My point is, a horse won't take care of itself, and even if you pay a handler to

transport it to you before every show, it still needs to be familiar with you or it could get spooked and
rear up, and I don't know, maybe take off through the audience before you can make it vanish." She
offered Dimitri the hose.

"I hadn't thought about spooking either," Dimitri said, as he took hold of the nozzle.
"Then you'd better think about that now. You'll have lights coming on, and the audience clapping

and yelling, and stage props being moved around, and unless you bring a horse on stage in a semi-
coma, it's going to be panicky."

"Got it," Dimitri said. "So, let's begin."
Maddy looked at him, curious. "You seem pretty confident."
"I just figured I'd buy an old rodeo bronc used to lots of clapping and yelling, and if I put blinders

on him to block the stage lights, the props shouldn't be any scarier than all the commotion at a rodeo."

"I'm not sure that will work," Maddy said, "Meanwhile, are you ready with the hose?"
Dimitri pointed the nozzle at Tut. "As ready as I'll ever be."
"Okay then, back off a ways and approach Tut slowly and spray towards him, then quickly back

away again. So, turn the hose on slowly and start with Tut's legs."

"Got it." Dimitri turned the nozzle.
After he'd been hosing Tut's legs for a couple of minutes, Maddy said, "Horses are afraid of

things that come at them, so the more you back off while spraying, the quicker he'll get the idea that
you're not out to get him, so when you spray Tut's body, angle the hose so water glances off his side,
and be careful never to spray him in the face."

"Got it," Dimitri said again, which made Maddy wonder if he had an uncanny knack for learning

things fast, or he had a habit of saying got it, then went about doing things his way.

She'd barely had that thought when a blast of water hit her square in the chest, soaking her T-shirt

and sending a spray against her face while dowsing her hair.

"Sorry," Dimitri said. "I guess I angled the hose a little too much."
When Maddy looked at him, he was smiling, like maybe he'd angled the hose exactly the way

he'd wanted, which had her shirt clinging to her exactly the way Adam warned. "You have terrible
aim," she grumbled. "Tut's a pretty big target to miss."

"I didn't miss my target." Dimitri's smile grew wider.
Maddy was finally beginning to get a handle on this man. He was a jokester. "So, you want to

play games." She grabbed the hose from him and backed away. Aiming directly at him, she soaked his
chest and doused his jeans, but before she could follow the same path upward, Dimitri rushed her,
grabbed the hose and shut it off and dropped it, and pulled her into his arms.

When Maddy felt a wet male body against the full-length of her, and a hand cupping the back of

her head, and lips, amazingly gentle, on hers, she made no move to get free. Instead, she curved her
arms around his neck and kissed him back. The hard muscles flattening her breasts, and the warmth of
Dimitri's body penetrating her wet clothes as he pressed his body to hers, made her acutely aware of
what was beneath his tight jeans. It could not be ignored.

Her heartbeat quickened, her breathing became labored like she couldn't get enough air, and her

mind focused on the intimate way their bodies connected.

Realizing anyone, including her father, could enter the stable and find them in a hot, wet clinch,

Maddy broke the kiss and pushed out of Dimitri's arms, then grabbing the hose, which was snaking
around the floor with the nozzle shut off, she offered it to him, and said, "If you're through being a
butthead, maybe you can finish washing Tut."

"I'm not finished with you yet." Dimitri stole a quick kiss, then taking the hose, and turning the

nozzle to a gentle spray, he started hosing Tut's side, while saying, "Incidentally, I'm introducing a
new illusion and I'll be using you in it. We'll start rehearsing next week."

"Wait a minute," Maddy said, excited. "Then you're trusting me with a secret?"
"You signed a nondisclosure agreement," Dimitri replied.
"Yes, but you still haven't trusted me with any secrets except the trick with the kids and coins and

the rope escape. What made you change your mind?" It was a leading question, but Maddy wondered
if their passionate kiss had something to do with it.

"I'm convinced you consider breaking a promise a serious offense," Dimitri replied. "Besides,

you're picking things up fast and I want to see what you're capable of learning."

He's obviously grooming you to be his assistant in Las Vegas…
Maybe her father was right, though Maddy had no intention of following Dimitri to Las Vegas,

except after she'd learn the secret to Metamorphosis there would still be the secret to Dimitri
materializing on stage… and making things levitate… and walking through walls… and escaping the
water torture cell… and breaking out of a burning box hanging over a river.

Itching to get started, her curiosity about how Dimitri performed his illusions and escapes

mounting, Maddy said, "What kind of illusion will we be doing?"

"One that has you floating in midair without cables or wires," Dimitri replied, while hosing his

way around Tut to the opposite side. "I'll run a hoop around you to prove it to the audience."

Maddy looked at Dimitri over Tut's back. "Okay, you made me feel like a complete dunce with

your wedding-quicksand story, so what's your explanation for making me levitate? Are you going to
pump me up with helium and release me from a ball and chain?"

Dimitri laughed. "No, this is levitation 101. Levitation and gravity are universal forces that

counteract each other with mathematical precision, each being the exact measure of the energy of the
other. If this equilibrium isn't maintained, levitation would pull us away from earth just as gravitation
pulls us back, so without levitation we'd be so heavy we wouldn't be able to move, which means, the
pull of levitation upward and gravitation downward is counterbalanced."

"If that's so, we should all be floating, so obviously gravitation has a greater force than

levitation," Maddy said. "So what's the force that will disconnect me from the gravitational pull
enough to allow me to float?"

"Your mind," Dimitri replied. "Because it exerts a great influence over the body in maintaining

this balance between opposite forces, it follows that all mental processes involve the mechanical
principle of levitation."

"Okay, I'm not buying it," Maddy said, "but since you admit you trust me, you should be willing to

tell me the secret to Metamorphosis."

"Not yet. You have to prove yourself with Sleeping Beauty first. That's the name of the floating

woman illusion. The name of the princess is Briar Rose, so you'll be Briar Rose and I'll be the
sorcerer who casts the spell that makes you float in a dream state, after which I'll materialize into the
prince who kisses you and breaks the spell."

Maddy couldn't begin to imagine how Dimitri would have her floating without wires, but she was

anxious to find out. "Why are we waiting until next week to rehearse? Why not today?"

Dimitri peered at her over Tut's back. "I take that as a compliment."
Maddy looked at him, perplexed. "How could you possibly construe things that way?"
"It's simple. You like kissing me, so you want to get started with the illusion."
"You really are full of yourself," Maddy said, though she couldn't help smiling because Dimitri

had a little playful gleam in his eyes that she was becoming familiar with.

"I'm also right." Dimitri shut off the hose and dropped it, then walked around Tut and pulled

Maddy into his arms and kissed her again.

Maddy kissed him back, letting out a soft moan as their wet bodies again connected in the

intimate way they had earlier, but before things could escalate to what they had with his last hot, wet
kiss, she turned out of his arms, and said, "Okay, maybe I like it some."

Dimitri picked up the hose and continued spraying, while saying, "Then we'll have to keep a tight

reins on things during the kiss in Sleeping Beauty or you might fall back too quickly. It happens when I
break my concentration during a levitation."

"Yeah right, and I'm the Easter Bunny," Maddy said.
Dimitri gave her a wry grin. "I'm trying to be a cowboy, so I was hoping you'd be my hot pink

buckle bunny since the benefits of a buckle bunny are better than those of an Easter Bunny, although
there could be some advantages in a chocolate-covered bunny."

"Getting off track here," Maddy said.
Dimitri laughed. "Okay, to answer your original question, we won't start rehearsing Sleeping

Beauty until next week, because when I'm finished washing Tut I'm heading for the coast to assist my
dad for the next three days."

Maddy couldn't help feeling disappointed because she'd hoped to spend Dimitri's off time with

him, maybe take him on another horseback ride into the mountains. "When you get back, will we be
rehearsing Sleeping Beauty on stage at the Coyote?" she asked.

"No, we'll be in my dressing room," Dimitri replied.
Maddy's heart quickened with the thought of being alone with Dimitri behind the closed door to

his dressing room. "What should I wear? Briar Rose in a hot pink cowgirl outfit might not ring true,
and the black gown will make the audience feel like they're at a wake."

"Don't worry," Dimitri said. "I have a costume for you."
"Is it revealing, like the costumes your assistant wore?" Maddy asked.
"Not as revealing as what you're wearing right now." Again that sexy smile, and when Maddy

looked down at her soaked yellow T-shirt, she understood. She also felt a shot of sexual awareness
that both disturbed and excited her. Dimitri, catching her eye, said, "Hold that thought. We'll get back
to it when I return from the coast."

Maddy said nothing, but she knew the heavy pulse beating in her throat and the heat creeping up

her face was a silent message to Dimitri. She would not be fighting him off.

CHAPTER 8

While Maddy stood at the front desk in the lodge, prepared to check in the guests for the

upcoming week, she tried to stay focused on reviewing the names and family makeup of the guests, but
found her attention divided. In a sense, she was glad Dimitri would be gone for the next three days.
Things had been getting way too heated between them, or at least too hot for her.

She had no idea how it was with Dimitri, but when he was around, far too many physiological

changes took place, so many, she wondered if she had some kind of heart problem his nearness
aggravated, because shortness of breath, and irregular heartbeats, seemed to accompany all the other
reactions. Even as she thought about their passionate, dripping-wet kisses in the stable, and the
intimate way their bodies connected, she found it difficult to breathe.

"Honey, are you okay?" Maddy looked up to find her Aunt Jayne staring at her.
Maddy also realized her hands were pressed together against her chest while she'd attempted to

suck in air, all the while her heart was racing at an alarming rate. She actually wasn't sure if she was
okay. Maybe there was something wrong with her heart. She'd never had these reactions before. "I
was a little out of breath," she said.

"Just from standing at the desk?" Jayne asked, concerned.
"I, umm, ran here, since I was late," Maddy lied. Deciding she probably didn't have a heart

problem, because all the disturbing symptoms occurred only when Dimitri was near, or when she was
thinking about him, she resolved to give it no concern, even though she knew the thoughts would keep
coming, something she couldn't seem to control, no matter how hard she tried.

"I want to talk to you about this coming week," Jayne said. "A woman and her eight-year-old

daughter will be staying here through the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and I want to make sure
everything's ready for them. Because of the little girl's medical circumstances, they will be coming
mid-week and staying over the weekend and into the following week, and I'm putting them in Cabin 4.
I've notified the kitchen staff that meals should be delivered there at any time, but the mother said she
hopes her daughter can take part in as many activities as possible."

"Where is the father?" Maddy asked.
"He's in the military and out of the country, another reason why they're here. The little girl was

missing the dad, and her mother thought this would help lift her spirits."

"Isn't Make-A-Wish for terminally-ill kids?" Maddy asked.
"Not necessarily terminally ill. They can be children with life-threatening illnesses," Jayne

replied. "In the case of this little girl, she's on the waiting list for a heart transplant."

"Will she be able to sit on a horse while I lead it around?" Maddy asked."
Jayne nodded. "The mother said she can ride with help. Adam also plans to set things up for a

hay ride, and Marc and Kit have some projects planned for her at the museum, but according to the
mother, the little girl's more excited about riding a horse than anything else, which should be right up
your alley, now that you have your therapeutic horsemanship certification."

"True, but it will also be my first experience handling a child with disabilities on my own."
"You'll do fine," Jayne said, "but now that you're licensed, I imagine you'll want to start on your

arena as soon as you're finished working with Dimitri."

At the sound of Dimitri's name, Maddy's heart accelerated, her face felt hot, and her mind

focused on thoughts of his return when they'd be rehearsing Sleeping Beauty in his dressing room.
What surprised her most was that she found it exhilarating being with him on stage and being a part of
his show, even if she was little more than a live prop, just to watch the magic he brought to every

performance. And after Sleeping Beauty, she'd be a part of Metamorphosis. She could even imagine
one day being on stage with him in Las Vega. Her gown would be more glitzy there, and she'd do
something with her hair, maybe have it styled so she could wear it down, the way Dimitri suggested...

"You are still going ahead with plans for your arena, aren’t you?" Jayne asked, during the

extended period of silence while Maddy was lost in thought.

"Well, yes, of course," Maddy replied, though she knew from Jayne's expression that her

response fell short.

"Honey, we watched the show the other night and you looked very natural and professional as

Dimitri's assistant, so I can understand if you're a little undecided right now because he's a very
attractive and gifted young man, but he's from a completely different world than yours."

Deciding to set things straight, even if things were on a zigzag course in her mind right now,

Maddy said, "You're right about the different worlds, but like I told Mom, Dad, Adam, Marc and just
about everyone else around here, I'm not interested in Dimitri and I won't be following him to Las
Vegas, no matter what kind of offer he dangles in front of me."

"Has he implied that he'd be offering you a job as his assistant?" Jayne asked. "Your dad's

convinced he has, or at least, will."

Again Maddy hesitated. Dimitri had made no offer per se, but the fact that he wanted to see what

she was capable of learning implied he was grooming her to become his assistant. Nor could she
deny the lure was there. But to prevent complete chaos in the family, she said, "To set everyone's
minds at ease, you can pass the word around that at the end of the month I'm retiring as a magician's
assistant and for them to be prepared to help me build my arena. Now, about this little girl who's
coming, fill me in on her history."

Jayne looked at her, dubiously, as if she knew exactly why Maddy was changing the subject, then

proceeded to explain the preparations for the arrival of the sick child, but as Maddy listened, she
found it almost impossible to focus on anything but Dimitri, the way he looked, the way he smiled, the
way he teased her, the way he sent decks of cards flying in arcs between his hands, the magic he
brought to his performances. But more recently, her focus was on the way he held her and kissed her
in the stable, and again in the limo their last night together before he left for the coast. For the moment
though, her mind was jumping ahead three days to when he'd return and she'd be alone with him in his
private dressing room.

***

With the first week of his run at the Coyote over, and less than three weeks to go, Dimitri decided

he'd better get on with working out the disappearing donkey illusion, and although his mind had been
absorbed with thoughts of Maddy over the past three days, he'd managed to spend time combing
through the documents and notes.

While wrapping up the last evening with his dad, he said, "Okay, it's established that Charles

Morritt had a fake inside the donkey stable because it's documented that he listened for it to come
down, but we also know a fake wouldn't allow enough room for hiding a donkey. The stable was also
built on legs so the audience would see below it, which eliminated the donkey leaving through the
back where the audience would see his feet below the box..."

His words drifted off as suddenly something seemed familiar.
When he smiled, his dad said, "You've figured it out."
Dimitri nodded. "I remember reading in Jasper Maskelyne's book where he wrote about

performing a trick with a donkey that disappeared before it was supposed to, and that the donkey
wandered off when someone left the back open, and that's the key. Maskelyne wasn't referring to the

back of the donkey stable. He was referring to a hinged rail that went around a raised platform behind
the donkey box, where the donkey could stand, yet be hidden from view."

"So, what about the two clowns?" Sebastian asked. "What's their purpose?"
"One is the handler, who stays with the donkey so he doesn't kick the side of the box out or stray

away from the platform, and the other is hidden inside the box and pretends to be the clown who led
the donkey in, and who leaves the box through the front."

"It's a small box, so where does the clown hide?" Sebastian asked.
"In the front corner of a trapezoidal box, and that's the key," Dimitri replied. "A trapezoid allows

enough room for both clowns to be out of sight, where they make a switch."

Sebastian clapped Dimitri on the shoulder. "Okay, you figured it out. As soon as you return to

Vegas you'll need an assistant. I have contacts. I'll look into finding you one."

"Actually, I might already have one," Dimitri said.
Sebastian looked at him, long and hard. "I hope you're not considering Maddy Hansen."
"She's actually very good," Dimitri said. "If you could get away and watch her you'd see what I

mean. She's a natural."

"She's a ranch girl," Sebastian said. "You'll get involved with her, and if it leads to marriage, the

next thing you'll have is a discontented wife. It takes a certain kind of woman to want the kind of life
an entertainer leads. Maddy Hansen wouldn't last in that environment. I also suspect you're already
involved with her."

"You're wrong," Dimitri replied, but in a defensive tone that told his father he was involved, if

not in a committed relationship, then moving in that direction. Not only had Maddy dominated his
thoughts from the moment he arrived at the ranch, she'd been on his mind during the two months prior.
But that didn't make them involved. They'd had some playful moments together, and whenever he
kissed her she responded, especially with his kisses in the stable, when she'd arched her wet body
into his...

"You'd better reel things in," Sebastian warned. "You're getting in deep, and rule number one is

don't get involved with your assistant."

"Then how can my assistant ever become my wife?" Dimitri asked. "You told me early on that the

best assistants are wives, but I'd first have to get something going with her."

"You start with the woman, not the assistant," Sebastian replied. "You find a woman whose

passion is living in the world of entertainment and travelling around the country and being at ease in
nightclubs and in front of large audiences, then you marry her, and then you groom her to become your
assistant. Do it in reverse and you'll have a discontented wife. Maddy Hansen's one in the making."

Dimitri held the gaze of the man who'd taught him everything he knew about magic, and there was

no question his father knew the ins and outs of the world of entertainment. He was also right about
Maddy. It was time to reel things in. Maddy belonged on the Dancing Moon Ranch, and he belonged
wherever his world of conjuring and illusions would take him. Period.

***

Maddy gazed around a dressing room outfitted with a cream-colored sectional sofa with

matching cream-colored lounge chairs positioned at each end of the sofa, the ensemble arranged
around a glass-top coffee table covered with aging sketches and documents. In one corner of the room
stood a bird cage with Sirius, the white dove that always flew to Dimitri at the opening of each show.
Beside the cage was a game table surrounded by chairs, and on the table was a couple of decks of
cards, presumably for practicing flourishes, not for playing poker.

"So this is the way illusionists live when away from home," Maddy said absently.

"This place falls far short of what the Nine Lives has to offer, but it'll do," Dimitri replied. "Help

yourself to whatever's in the fridge."

Maddy walked over to a kitchen area that sported a microwave, an espresso machine, a hot and

cold water dispenser, and an oversize refrigerator with a glass-door. She clicked on a switch which
revealed not much inside. "What are all the bottles in back?" she asked.

"Vitamin water," Dimitri replied. "It beats what's being served downstairs."
"Then I take it you don't drink," Maddy said, which seemed odd for a man who worked, and

practically lived, in nightclubs.

"Sure I drink," Dimitri replied. "It's all in there."
Noticing little else in the refrigerator but a whittled down piece of ham covered in plastic,

several small cheese wedges, all individually wrapped in foil, and the remains of a platter of raw
vegetables and dip, Maddy said, "So, you mainly subsist on a liquid diet?"

"I usually just call for room service when I'm doing a run," Dimitri replied.
Maddy opened the refrigerator and took out a raspberry vitamin water and twisted off the cap,

then leaned against the counter. Scanning the room, and seeing no stage props, she said, "So where's
the prop for Sleeping Beauty?"

"It's on its way up," Dimitri replied. "I got to talking with my dad about the disappearing donkey

illusion and was late leaving the coast. Thanks for meeting me here."

Maddy shrugged. "No problem. I'm actually okay not riding in a limo, though there was a little

culture shock when I got in my jeep and couldn't open a moon roof or watch TV."

Dimitri smiled the way he did before he was about to kiss her, yet he made no move toward her.

Ever since she arrived he'd kept his distance. When he called asking if she could drive over and meet
him, he sounded eager to see her, but when she got there, he simply opened the door, stepped back for
her to enter, and did nothing more. She wondered if something happened during his stay with his
father.

"Are you ready to change into your costume?" Dimitri asked.
"Sure, as long as it covers more than Karla's costumes do," Maddy replied.
"It does," Dimitri said, "but I don't remember mentioning Karla's name."
"You didn't. I was outside your dressing room in Las Vegas when you were having your parting

words. You said her name not so lovingly, but it was obvious, when she announced she would no long
be holding your props or warming your bed, that you two were an item."

"No, we were a mistake."
"How so?"
"When we were rehearsing Metamorphosis, she was supposed to change clothes in the trunk and

be in a different costume at the end of the escape, but when I opened the trunk she wasn't wearing
anything, and things escalated from there."

"Did she do it on purpose, or did something go wrong?" Maddy asked, wondering what kind of

women worked as magician's assistants.

"Something went wrong," Dimitri replied. "She did it to get me horny and I followed through and

there was nothing magic about it, only stupidity and pure lust on my part."

Maddy was a little surprised at Dimitri's wording. "I suppose that's understandable. She was

very pretty and very curvy."

"She was also my assistant and should have been off limits. It won't happen again."
Which explained why Dimitri was keeping his distance, which was a good thing, Maddy

decided. From the day he arrived at the ranch she'd felt as if she were on an adrenaline rush, heart

thumping, mind-consuming, roller coaster whenever he was around. Now, things would be more
normal, if being around a man who could materialize on stage, and walk through walls, and release
himself from shackles while hanging upside down in a tank of water could ever be normal. "Okay,"
she said, "now that I've got a better idea about Karla, I hope my costume isn't like the gowns
celebrities wear, with the front open to the waist in a giant "V" leaving nothing to the imagination
except the size and hue of a pair of... what's still covered."

"You're not too far off," Dimitri said. "I'll get the dress." He went into a walk-in closet and

returned holding a hanger with a gown with a wide skirt, and a top made up of two bands of fabric
with long sleeves on the outer edge, and lacing holes along the inner edge, forming a waist-length "V"
with nothing but a crisscross of lacing to hold it together.

"I see the seamstress ran out of material again," Maddy said.
Dimitri laughed. "You'll be on your back so no one will see anything."
"You'll see me," Maddy pointed out.
"True, but I won't see anything I haven't seen already," Dimitri said.
Maddy eyed him with uncertainty. "What are you talking about?"
"You, after the water cell stunt in Vegas," Dimitri replied. "When you grabbed my arm I got an

unobstructed view."

Maddy felt her face grow hot. She didn't doubt he was telling the truth because the gown had so

much extra room up top it could have easily gaped open, but she was so relieved Dimitri hadn't
drowned she'd been completely unaware of the state of the dress. "If I'm supposed to wear this thing
then give me something to tuck into the top," she said.

"Fair enough." Dimitri went into the closet and returned with a pale blue scarf, and said, "Go

change in the bathroom and by the time you're ready, the prop will be here."

Maddy headed for the bathroom, both anxious and excited to be learning the secret to another

illusion. She was also curious to know if Dimitri would kiss her during the rehearsal. It was clear he
was keeping his distance, and a rehearsal would not require the kiss be carried out, which was good,
her logical mind insisted, because the reality was, a relationship with Dimitri was a dead end, and the
best thing for her would be to enjoy her month with him and wish him well when it was time for him
to leave.

CHAPTER 9

After lacing up the front of a gown designed to not come together, Maddy draped the scarf around

her neck and stuffed the ends behind the lacing, then returned to the dressing room where she found
two chairs, with a padded board of a length and width to accommodate a person, stretched between
them. "I assume I'm supposed to lie on that," she said.

Dimitri nodded. "After I explain to the audience that I've put you into a sleep enchantment where

you'll float for all eternity unless the only prince in the realm able to break the spell kisses you, I'll
remove one of the chairs and the board, and walk away, leaving you floating. I'll return as a prince,
replace the chair and board and kiss you, you'll sit up, rub your eyes like you've been asleep for a
century, and I'll carry you off. It's a very effective illusion."

"Yes, I imagine it is," Maddy said, while walking slowly around the setup, which appeared to be

two ordinary chairs, except one had a higher back, giving the appearance of a bed. "Now it's tell-all
time. How will you make me float?"

"Simple levitation," Dimitri replied.
"Right." Maddy sat on the board, swung her legs up and arranged her skirt, then lay back. "Okay,

now what?"

"Close your eyes and act like you're sleeping while I morph into a sorcerer." Dimitri went into

the closet and returned wearing a black cape and sorcerer's high-pointed black hat. While pacing the
room, he portrayed a sorcerer who'd cast a spell and returned to make sure it was strong enough to
keep the princess in a dream state for all eternity, ending his spiel by saying, "Now, I'll make certain
my spell worked and the princess is floating in a dream state." He removed the chair supporting the
board at Maddy's feet and set it aside.

Maddy looked at the chair, and said, "This is creepy. What's holding me up?"
"You still have a board under you, which I'll remove so you can levitate."
Maddy had barely digested the words when Dimitri pulled out the board, except there was still a

board beneath her. She smiled, knowing the thing was rigged, but after Dimitri passed a hoop around
her to prove to an imaginary audience that there were no wires, he walked off.

When he returned, he was dressed in a white silk jacket with epaulettes on his shoulders, and a

gold sash angled across his chest. The sudden transformation from sorcerer to prince sent Maddy's
heart hammering because Dimitri actually looked like a fairytale prince, an amazingly handsome one.
Even his close cropped beard, with its medieval pattern, added to the appearance.

"Close your eyes. You're supposed to be in a dream state," Dimitri said.
Maddy shut her eyes and waited, wondering again if Dimitri would kiss her…
"Alas I've found my princess," he said, interrupting her speculation. "But before I awaken her

with a kiss to break the spell, I must first prepare her bed, which I hope will also be my bed."

Maddy opened her eyes and looked at him. "Is that what you're going to say?"
"Sure, it will get a laugh. Remember, this is a nightclub, not a Disney movie, so go back to sleep,

Briar Rose, and let me get on with breaking the spell."

While Maddy lay with her eyes closed, she was aware of Dimitri returning the chair to where it

had been, then sliding the board in place, presumably into a slot beneath the board she was lying on,
but when it was time for the kiss, she waited, and when nothing happened, she opened her eyes.
Dimitri's face was sober, and as he gazed down at her, in his eyes she saw the unmistakable glint of
passion. And when he kissed her, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back, and
while her mind was shifting between keeping the kiss going, and stopping things before they spiraled

out of control, Dimitri kissed her jaw, and beneath her ear, and along the side of her neck, and back to
her lips again. But when she opened her mouth to allow things to escalate to a new level, Dimitri
broke the kiss, unwrapped her arms from around him, and said, "We need to put a lid on things before
I get stupid again."

Maddy sucked in a long breath. Things had definitely spiraled out of control. When Dimitri broke

the kiss, she had just begun to get into the heat of it…

The male-female attraction is always there and things can happen that you don't expect…
Too true. What she'd been doing was exactly what Adam warned against. Wanting to set things to

where they were before they both got carried away, she sat up, ground her knuckles into her eyes,
patted a yawn, and said, "Thank you, your royal highness. That kiss totally broke the spell. I'm good to
go now."

Dimitri, who'd moved away from her and was stroking his chin, like he needed something to

occupy his hands, gave her a little half smile, and said, "The sorcerer cast a potent spell so I figured it
would take more than a peck on the lips to break it. Meanwhile, leave the gown in the closet and let
yourself out. I've got to round up my men from the crap tables at the casino and put them back to work.
They're having far too much fun on my dime."

"So then, is that all there is to the illusion?" Maddy asked. "I lie on the table, you make me float,

we kiss, and you carry me out?"

"You've almost got it right," Dimitri said, "but we'd better hold it to, I kiss you. We kiss doesn't

work very well. We could seriously embarrass ourselves in front of an audience."

Maddy laughed, but as Dimitri was heading for the door, she called after him." Are we on for

riding lessons tomorrow?"

Dimitri nodded. "I'll also be talking to your dad about using the shop. Time's running out and I

want to build the donkey box so we can perform the illusion our final night." He walked out, leaving
Maddy wondering if the hot heavy kiss they'd just shared meant anything to him, or if he considered it
nothing more than another stupid mistake.

It meant something to her though. It meant she had to get a grip on her out-of-control passions

when Dimitri kissed her...

Dimitri's different from the guys we brought around here when you were growing up…
Adam was right again. Although Dimitri seemed to have the ability to put on the skids when

passions began to escalate, she didn't have that same willpower. Which meant, when riding
tomorrow, even though the trail she intended to take Dimitri on branched off at the cabin, this time
they would not be stopping in.

Her problem would be sticking to her resolve because already she was dreaming up little

incidental reasons for doing precisely that: a couple of hours in the cabin would introduce Dimitri to
a simpler way of life; the quiet coziness would make him question if he really wanted to return to Las
Vegas; they could cuddle on the couch and spend the afternoon talking about their hopes and dreams…

I'm concerned you could find yourself doing things you never expected to do…
Okay, so they wouldn't cuddle. They'd simply sit and talk. She could do that.

***

Dimitri realized he had a serious problem. Although he knew his father's theory about wives as

assistants was spot-on, it didn't work for him. If he found a woman whose passion was living in the
world of entertainment, she wouldn't be the kind of woman he'd want helping raise the kids they'd one
day have, and if he found the kind of woman he wanted to help raise their kids, she wouldn't want to
live the kind of life demanded of an entertainer. And that was his dilemma. Maddy was wife material.

She came from a big family. A big normal family. And the last place she belonged was in Las Vegas.
She was a ranch girl through and through, though she was a little star struck at the moment with limos
and stage lights and the whole magician-illusionist appeal, but a lot of the glamor would fade once
she learned the secret of Metamorphosis because, in that one escape, was the secret to a half dozen
others.

So his goal was to maintain their earlier good humored relationship, continue with the gold

charms so she wouldn't forget him after he left, build the donkey box, and begin to think big-time
show on the strip in Vegas and beyond. He had ideas for illusions that even the best of them couldn't
crack, including his father.

For the moment though, he needed to get Jack Hansen's permission to use the shop, which meant

convincing the man that his daughter would not be whisked off to Las Vegas on a magic carpet.
Holding that thought, he trailed after Jack Hansen into the stock barn, where he called out, "Mr.
Hansen, can I talk to you for a few minutes?"

Jack turned and waited for Dimitri to come to him.
"It's about using the shop," Dimitri started in. "I'm pressed for time because I have less than two

months to put together a disappearing-horse act that will get me my own show on the strip in Las
Vegas. I have a woodshop at home because I build all my own props and devices, so I'm familiar with
shop tools, but because I'm running out of time, while I'm here I'd like to build a donkey box that
could translate into a large-scale prop for making a horse disappear."

"I'm not opposed to your using the shop, but I am concerned that Maddy has her head in the

clouds right now," Jack said. "She's riding around in a limo, and you're buying her clothes, and she's
taken in with being your assistant. You're also aware of the issue with Jeremy and his wife in witness
protection because of mob affiliations in Las Vegas, which is another reason for this family to stay
away from there. But I also want you to understand clearly that if you were performing in another city,
I'd still be against Maddy being your assistant. She's not cut out for your kind of life and you know it,
even if you choose to ignore it, for whatever reason."

"I understand your concern and I agree with you completely," Dimitri replied. "I won't deny I'm

attracted to Maddy, but that's where it ends. In fact, right now my father's actively looking for an
assistant for me when I return to Las Vegas, just to make sure things stay on course. He's also aware
that Maddy doesn't belong there."

"Good," Jack replied. "As long as we understand each other."
"So then, it's okay if I use the shop?" Dimitri asked.
"Yes, as long as it's not needed for ranch work," Jack replied.
"Thanks. I'll try to wind things up quickly and be out of the way."
"I think that would be best for everyone, especially Maddy," Jack replied.
When they parted, Dimitri knew exactly where he stood. If there was any lingering hope of

getting something going with Maddy or offering her the job as his assistant when he returned to Las
Vegas, it was dashed. But at least he'd be able to use the shop to build the donkey box, and he'd start
as soon as he completed his materials list so he could select the materials from a local building center
and have them delivered to the ranch.

For now though, there was a pack of kids waiting near the stable for him. He'd promised to show

them more magic before his riding lesson, although he wasn't sure the lesson was still on. Clouds had
been building since morning and it was beginning to hint of rain. But if Maddy was still game to go,
so was he. There was something about the mountains and the view up there that was calling him back.
The mountains and view, that is, not the cabin. Being alone with Maddy there would definitely be a

temptation he didn't need.

As he approached the kids, he saw Maddy waiting for him at the stable, so he assumed the riding

lesson was still on. Hers was a totally cowgirl stance, with her western hat tipped slightly, her arms
folded as she leaned against the open doorway in the stable, and one leg crossed in front of the other,
with the toe of her boot propped against the planked floor.

Dragging his attention away from her, to the kids who were standing in a group just outside the

stable, he was ready to show them some magic if only to shift his mind away from Maddy's bust-
hugging shirt and tight jeans. As the kids gathered around him, he said," Okay, guys and gals, today I'll
do cups and balls to get us started, then I'll do some sleight of hand, which is making things appear
from out of thin air, so watch carefully."

If it had been a group of teens or adults standing around him, he would have gone into a dialog

about psychology, timing, misdirection, and choreography in accomplishing a magical effect, all the
while performing it in front of them but in a way that would leave them stunned and baffled. But with
young kids, the oration didn't work, so saying nothing more, he proceeded to perform cups and balls,
followed by pulling a rubber frog from out of a boy's cap simply by taking the cap from the child's
head and lifting out the frog. And he snatched coins from out of pockets, and flowers from behind
ears, and angel dust appeared from the tips of his fingers.

He had just completed a trick in which, with the snap of his fingers, a crystal ball the size of a

golf ball magically appeared in his hand, to the amazement of the wide-eyed kids, when a little girl
made her way forward, looked up at him with hopeful brown eyes, and said, "Can you make me well?
Can you get me a new heart?"

Dimitri saw at once that the little girl's skin was pallid and her lips had a bluish cast. In the past

his magic had always brought joy to kids, and he loved the expressions on their faces when he'd make
something appear as if from out of thin air, but for the first time in his life, he had no magic. All he
possessed was the ability to create illusions. Stage untruths. Lies.

After an extended period of silence in which he prepared himself for seeing the spark of hope in

the little girl's eyes die, he said, "I don't have the magic to get you a new heart, but I can make you
smile. How would you like to learn some magic tricks?"

The little girl's brows gathered, as she replied, "I could do what you do?"
Dimitri nodded. "We'll put on a magic show together."
The little girl smiled, and in an instant the disillusionment in her eyes was replaced by flickers of

enthusiasm. Dimitri glanced across the heads of the children at a woman who was looking anxiously
their way, and said to her, "Are you her mother?"

The woman nodded. "I'm Sharon Glassell and we're here at the ranch, thanks to the Make-A-

Wish Foundation. Katy just had her eighth birthday, and this was her wish."

Dimitri eyed the little girl, who he now realized might have celebrated her last birthday, and said

to the mother, "Will you be staying for the rest of the week?"

The woman nodded. "And part of next week. Katy's here to ride horses."
Dimitri looked down at Katy, who was smiling after the mention of horses, then said to her

mother, "Would you object to my teaching Katy a few magic tricks that she could perform in a magic
show here with me? They'd be simple tricks that wouldn't take much preparation."

Katy looked at her mother with expectation. The woman regarded her daughter with sadness in

her eyes, but a smile on her lips, and said to Dimitri, "I think she'd love that, and thank you for
offering. Is there something special we need to do?"

Dimitri placed his hand on the little girl's thin shoulder, and replied, "Just give Katy and me a

chance to spend some time together."

Katy grinned, and in her eyes was new hope, not the kind of hope he saw earlier when she

thought she'd found the answer to her prayers in a man who'd fooled her into believing magic was
real, but because she had something to look forward to that excited her.

It came to him then, that this unplanned magic show, which would probably take place in the

barn, was more important than any show he'd ever performed. He also sensed that by the time he
finished teaching Katy some basic tricks that would convert a frail child into a young magician, his
own life would be changed forever.

CHAPTER 10

Maddy watched Dimitri as Katy and her mother walked away from him. His face was troubled.

Thinking he no longer wanted to ride, she said, "There's a good chance it might rain. Do you still want
to go for a ride?"

Dimitri shrugged. "Sure, why not. I'm here to learn about horses so I might as well learn to ride

in the rain."

It bothered Maddy that there was no humor in his words. It was unlike him to be so serious, a

side of him she hadn't seen.

While they were saddling the horses, and most of the way up the mountain, Dimitri was quiet,

and Maddy suspected it was because he'd been affected by the sick child, so deeply, he didn't want to
talk about it, and she understood.

When she was a child and their dog Pumpkin died, she was too upset to talk about it, so she said

nothing. At the time, she felt that the family thought she didn't care about Pumpkin, but her father
understood. Taking her aside, he lifted her in his arms and held her against his broad chest, and said,
"Sometimes things happen that are too painful to talk about and it's nice to just hug someone," which
she did, but she also broke down and cried, and that seemed to help…

"What's the story with Katy?" Dimitri asked, in a sober voice.
"She was born with a complex congenital heart defect they haven't been able to correct through

surgery or medications, so the only option left is a heart transplant," Maddy replied.

His gaze straight ahead, Dimitri said, in a morose voice, "I gave her the promise of a new heart

then couldn't deliver."

"That's just not so," Maddy replied. "You were entertaining kids with magic, but you had no way

of knowing a sick child was among them."

"You didn't see her face. In ten minutes I gave her more hope than any of the doctors who'd been

treating her since she was born, and then I let her down."

"But you also gave her something to look forward to," Maddy said. "I saw the smile that lit her

face when you offered to teach her some magic and put on a show. You saw it too."

A lengthy silence followed as the horses continued to make their way up the trail, but after a

while, Dimitri looked askance at Maddy, and said, "I've been going over in my head some tricks Katy
should be able to handle. What are her limitations?"

"She's okay with activities that don't require much energy because she tires easily," Maddy

replied. "She's a real little trooper though. In spite of everything, she smiles a lot."

"Then I'll work up something she should be able to handle. Putting on a magic show for the ranch

will make her feel special. She needs this."

Maddy stared at Dimitri, surprised at his level of involvement with a child he'd only just met, a

side of him she'd never seen, that touched her heart.

"We'll use the Sleeping Beauty prop," Dimitri said. "Katy can be the princess and she won't have

to do anything but pretend to be asleep. I'll give you some money to buy her a dress and shoes, and
when she leaves she can take them with her."

"The resale shop has a wedding section with a whole range of flower girl dresses," Maddy said.

"I'll pick up something there."

"Maybe a small tiara too, so she'll feel like a real princess." Dimitri smiled and his gaze became

distant, and his expression tender, like he was holding Katy's face in his mind, and Katy was smiling
back at him.

The quiet moment was broken by a far off rumble in the sky, and with it, the air became suddenly

cool. Hearing another rumble, Maddy looked skyward. The clouds were darkening and she felt
dampness on her face. If they pressed the horses they could make it to the cabin in less than ten
minutes and wait out the rain there. On the other hand, maybe they should do the logical thing and
head back to the ranch, away from the direction of the darkening clouds.

Her quandary ended with a bright flash and another rumble in the sky, this time considerably

closer, which brought the first real drops of rain. "Come on," she said. "Let's head for the cabin and
hope we make it before the sky opens up."

She kicked Blackjack into a gallop, and as they raced for the cabin, Maddy tried to tell herself

that taking shelter there was the most logical thing to do, but she knew it was her justification to be
alone with Dimitri. She couldn't set aside the way he looked at her just before the Sleeping Beauty
kiss, like he might want her for more than just his assistant. He kidded with her a lot, but there were
moments when she'd find him looking at her the way her brothers looked at their wives, with a
combination of amusement, affection, and love.

When they reached the clearing where the cabin stood, rain was falling steadily, and by the time

they'd removed the saddles and taken them into the cabin, then turned the horses into the corral, both
Maddy and Dimitri were soaked from the rain.

Once inside the cabin, Maddy dragged a tub of kindling in front of the fireplace and said to

Dimitri, "If you can get a fire started, I'll find some towels and get the coffee pot ready. There are
matches on the mantle and newspapers in a box in the corner."

Maddy went into the bedroom in search of towels and located a stack packed away in a small

trunk at the foot of the bed. After using one to blot her shirt and hair, she took several more and
returned to the living room where she found Dimitri crouched in front of the fireplace, stripped to the
waist, stacking a crisscross of kindling over some scrunched-up newspapers. The sight of his smooth,
muscular torso made her hands feel restless. It made other things happen too, like feeling tingles in
places that usually remained dormant.

Looking over his shoulder, Dimitri said, "This should be going well in a few minutes. We can put

a couple of chairs in front of the fire and dry our shirts. You can put one of those towels around your
shoulders."

Maddy knew he was serious this time, but his suggestion was exactly what Adam warned against,

and with good reason. The thought of Dimitri's hands exploring her body was beginning to occupy her
mind far too much. "It's safer to let my shirt dry from the inside out," she said. "Meanwhile, I'll get the
coffee pot ready."

Once the fire was going, Maddy moved a small grate on a pivot over the fire and put a the coffee

pot on it to perk, then handed Dimitri a towel to dry his saddle, and started on her own.

While Dimitri was blotting the dampness from the leather, he said to Maddy, "After your dad had

a man-to-man talk with me, he gave me the okay to use the shop."

Maddy eyed him, dubiously. "Using the shop took a man-to-man talk?"
"Something like that," Dimitri said. "I'm cleared for working with Homer."
Maddy laughed. "I get it. Dad isn't subtle when he wants to get his point across, his point being

that you're not cleared for hanging around me. But now that you can use the shop, when do you plan to
start building your donkey box?"

"In the next couple days," Dimitri replied. "Katy can hand me screws and be a part of creating the

illusion, and when it's ready, I'll send Chris to pick up Katy and her mother and bring them to the
ranch so they can watch us do a run-through for the ranch guests before we perform it at the Coyote."

Maddy looked at him, thoughtfully. "Helping Katy is really important to you, isn't it?"
Dimitri let out a short, ironic laugh. "So far I haven't done much in my life that's made a

difference. Maybe this will."

Maddy was surprised at his comment. He clearly loved performing magic, but for the first time

since they met, she sensed he wasn't completely fulfilled with what he did, and even though she'd
acknowledged early on that it was a pretty self-serving profession, magic did take people away from
their mundane lives for the duration of a performance.

"Don't sell yourself short," she said. "Being a magician brings enjoyment to hundreds of people

whose lives may not be as rosy as they appear."

"That's a good way of rationalizing it," Dimitri said, with irony.
Maddy started to argue her point but knew Dimitri wasn't open to pandering, but to help lift his

somber mood, she said, "Since you plan to start the donkey box, I assume you figured out how it
works."

Dimitri nodded. "The back wall drops down onto a platform where the donkey can stand, and a

fake comes down to replace the back wall, making it look like the donkey disappeared. It's simple,
but effective."

Maddy was pleased to hear the enthusiasm in Dimitri's voice. She was also excited to learn

another secret, and hadn't expected Dimitri to reveal the secret to the donkey box so soon. "Since I'll
be dressed as a clown, at least my folks shouldn't object to my costume," she said.

Dimitri laughed. "That's what you said when I sent you out to buy the western outfit and you came

back in hot pink. This time you could turn out in hot-pink jester tights."

"Then we can establish a new bunny, the kind that has the hots for illusionists."
Dimitri eyed her with wry amusement. "Do you have the hots for illusionists?"
"I'm a cowgirl and cowgirls have the hots for guys in chaps," Maddy said, "except when you strip

down for the water torture escape you definitely give me the hots. So, moving on. I'll get a
conventional clown costume and look respectable."

"Two clown costumes," Dimitri said. "I'll need someone to be the second clown."
After he explained the reason for having two clowns, Maddy said, "Why not Genie? She's about

my size, and since Josh was a rodeo clown he could make us up to look alike. It would also give you
a chance to see Abby."

Dimitri grinned. "I'll buy that. Abby knows some magic tricks, and Katy will too, so they could

put on a mini magic show to go with the disappearing donkey illusion."

Hearing the animation in Dimitri's voice, it came to Maddy that he truly loved children. He had a

natural way with them too, and they love learning magic, especially children like Katy whose
activities were limited, and also like the kids she'd be working with in her riding program. Maybe
she'd bring it up to Dimitri at some point and see where that led.

After oiling the saddles, Maddy poured two mugs of coffee and settled beside Dimitri on the

couch. He seemed to be back to his old self, even having a kind of devious look in his eyes when he
said, "For Katy's show I figure she could open by pulling a rabbit out of a hat, and close with
Sleeping Beauty, and I'll teach her some basic sleight of hand for in between."

Dimitri's mouth twitched at one corner, the way it did when he was holding back a smile when he

was up to something, which had Maddy curious. "Nothing about sleight of hand seems basic," she
said. "What can you teach a child?"

"How to use misdirection with one hand." Dimitri reached out to tuck a stray curl into her braid.

"So when she snaps her fingers with the other hand, something magically appears." In an instant, a tiny

gold donkey appeared between Dimitri's fingers.

Maddy stared at the charm. Taking it from him, she said, "Okay, I won't ask how you do this, but

obviously you intended to tell me the secret to the disappearing donkey illusion during our ride, and
I'm curious to know why."

"Simple. It looked like it was going to rain, and I figured if we ended up here waiting out a

thunderstorm, we'd better have something to occupy our time, and talking about the illusion would
keep my mind on donkeys instead of other things."

Maddy couldn't argue with that. "Thank you for Homer, he's beautiful," she said, while admiring

the tiny gold donkey. "I'll add him to my bracelet and hope my parents don't find it and start asking
questions. A gold snake, a crystal ball, and a donkey would be hard to explain." She slipped the
charm into her shirt pocket. "So, back to Katy's magic show. If you need a live rabbit, Gracie has one,
but he's a very big rabbit, and I doubt if you could fit him in a top hat."

"That's no problem," Dimitri replied.
When he offered nothing more, Maddy said, "Okay, you've got my curiosity. How do you hide a

big rabbit in a not-so-big hat?"

"Watch Katy and figure it out," Dimitri replied.
"Are you serious? You're not going to tell me?"
Dimitri looked askance at her. "No."
Maddy folded her arms. "Fine, be a butthead. But since you insist on guarding your secrets, even

though you claim you trust me, at least humor me with some magic while we're waiting out the rain. I
think you just got lucky with your cups and jacks trick when we were here before."

"Oh ye of little faith." Dimitri left the couch and took a stemmed glass from a shelf, and said,

"Find me a coin and I'll make it vanish from inside this glass."

Maddy unfolded her arms, and scanning the room, spotted the jar of pennies they kept for those

wanting to play poker with real money. After taking a penny from the jar, she handed it to Dimitri, and
said, "Are you going to tell me the secret afterwards, or continue to be a butthead?"

"I'll be a butthead. It has its advantages." Dimitri gave her a wry smile.
Maddy eyed him dubiously, uncertain if his comment meant he intended to kiss her afterwards,

which would go against his vow to stay clear of his assistant. Then deciding he was simply kidding,
the way he had in the past, she waited and watched.

"Okay, pay attention," Dimitri said. "I'm holding the wine glass in my right hand, and… I forgot.

I'll need a silk cloth for this." He reached into his jeans pocket and pulled out a piece of silk about the
size of a handkerchief. After draping it over his palm, he placed the penny between silk-covered
fingers, and turning his hand over so the silk fell around the glass, he dropped the penny with a clink.
Setting the silk-covered glass on the table, he said, "There you have it. The coin has vanished."

Brows drawn, Maddy lifted the silk to find an empty glass. She looked at Dimitri in puzzlement.

She'd watched every move he'd made, even saw the penny drop into the glass, yet the penny was
gone. "It's impossible," she said, while staring at the empty glass.

"No, it's Magic," Dimitri replied. "I simply directed my mind to make the coin vanish."
"You are so full of it," Maddy said.
"I know. I'm a butthead."
"Don't flatter yourself." Maddy looked at the empty glass. "You do realize I'll be very annoyed if

you don't tell me how you do this?"

Dimitri laughed. "Okay, I'll suspend being a butthead and tell you the secret."
"Seriously?"

"Watch and see." Dimitri repeated the trick, but this time, when he turned his silk-covered hand

holding the coin over the glass and Maddy heard a clink, he said, "What did I just do?"

Maddy eyed the silk-covered glass. "You dropped the penny into the glass."
Dimitri lifted the silk. "Then where is it?"
Maddy stared at the empty glass, then looked at Dimitri for an explanation.
Lifting the tips of his fingers off the base of the glass, Dimitri revealed the coin. "When I dropped

the penny it missed the glass and hit the base, and those watching translate the sound as having seen
the penny drop into the glass. The moment it hit the base I caught it with the tips of my fingers, and
when I took the glass with my left hand to set it down, I stashed the penny, and the trick was
complete."

While Maddy was mulling over the skill needed to drop a penny so it would miss the glass and

hit the base with a clink and be captured by his fingers without anyone noticing, Dimitri said, "I told
you the secret, but I'm still going to be a butthead." Taking Maddy by the shoulders he lowered her to
the couch and stretched out with her while kissing her long and lingeringly.

Letting out a plaintive moan of pleasure, Maddy wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed

him back. As their tongues dueled, and their legs entwined, Maddy became aware of Dimitri's hand
moving slowly up her side to cover her breast, and with that realization her heart quickened, her
breath became labored, and in her throat was a rumbling sound, like a purr, to which Dimitri
responded by kissing her jaw, and beneath her ear, and down the column of her neck before flicking
open the snaps of her shirt so he could kiss the swell of her breast and nuzzle her cleavage.

Dazed by the barrage of sensations coursing through her, it was some moments before Maddy

found the will to capture Dimitri's head in her hands to stop what he was doing, while saying, "We
need to reel things in or we'll both get stupid."

Dimitri let out a low groan. "I was thinking the same thing but figured you'd stop me."
"Just barely," Maddy said. "That's the problem. You get me aroused and I let you do things I

wouldn't let any other man do, and you need to sit up."

Dimitri untangled his legs from Maddy's and moved to a sitting position on the couch, and said,

"You'd better not turn up nude during Metamorphosis or we'll both be in trouble."

"You're safe from that," Maddy replied, even though the idea didn't seem so farfetched at this

point. Determined to nip that in the bud, she added, while snapping her shirt, "We really do need to
set some boundaries."

"Your dad already did and I'm trying unsuccessfully to follow them," Dimitri said. "The problem

is, you're not just my assistant. You're different. You're wife material."

Maddy looked at Dimitri with a start. She had no idea what to make of his comment. He'd

brought up the subject of having a wife on several occasions, which meant it was on his mind, but it
was always in the context of combining a wife with an assistant.

Deciding he meant she was wife material in a broad sense, she said, "I seem like wife material

because, where you come from you're surrounded by hot women who pop out of trunks in the buff, and
I'm a ranch girl who'd never been in a nightclub before going to Las Vegas."

"That's what I mean about being wife material. You're not the kind of woman who's ready to hop

in bed with a man, and there's a chemistry between us that's making things complicated." He looked at
her soberly. "Am I jumping to conclusions when I say there's a chemistry between us?"

Maddy was at a loss how to respond because Dimitri sounded sincere, like he'd given this

serious thought. "I can't answer that unless you define what you mean by chemistry as it relates to us.
If you're talking about an animal attraction between two people that's purely physical, I guess we can

establish that you turn me on because well, you can perform some pretty amazing things with magic
and I'm a little star struck by that, and you're a very handsome man who makes my heart flutter
whenever you're around, and when you strip down to your tiny black swimsuit that's definitely a turn
on, but that's just a lot of dopamine messing with my brain. As for there being a chemistry between us,
it's probably nothing more than you suffering from sex withdrawals because you're not surrounded by
hot women, and I'm your source of dopamine."

"Is that what you think I do in Las Vegas, get it on with lots of women?" Dimitri asked.
Maddy shrugged. "That's what seems to go on routinely there."
"Okay, I admit what I had with Karla was pretty much all about sex and stupidity."
"And chemistry," Maddy added.
"Only in the context of the animal attraction you mentioned, but that's not the kind of chemistry I'm

talking about with us. I'm talking about a chemistry that appeals to all five senses. The way someone
looks, and smells, and tastes. The feel of that person's body, the sound of their voice. The expressions
on their face, and in their eyes. The, I-need-to-see-this-person-again kind of chemistry, when your
only goal for the day is being with that person. That's the kind of chemistry I feel with you."

Maddy was stunned to hear Dimitri's admission because he'd just expressed the feelings she'd

been having from the start, but thought were one-sided because she couldn't imagine a man as
handsome and charismatic as Dimitri falling for a hayseed who grew up on a ranch.

"I admit there's that kind of chemistry with me too," she said, "and it's definitely making things

complicated. Everyone in my family thinks you're going to whisk me off to Sin City as your new
assistant, and even though I love living here on the ranch and having my family around me, I'm also
coming up with illogical reasons why it wouldn't be so bad living in Las Vegas."

"Okay, since we're being open about things, what are your goals in life?" Dimitri asked. "We're

stuck in this cabin for a reason, and I think it's for us to have some serious getting-to-know-each-other
discussions while trying to see if our goals could ultimately come together."

"Come together as in…"
"Happily ever after," Dimitri said. "Life is too short to play games when it comes to marriage, so

if we have a mutual attraction that goes beyond the physical, which we have, and our goals don't
clash, then anything's possible."

Still reeling from Dimitri's declaration that she was wife material, followed by his happily ever

after comment, which was basically along the same lines, it was some moments before Maddy said,
"My goals are simple. I plan to open a riding facility for disabled kids. I'm calling it Healing Hooves.
I already have a degree in psychology along with my therapeutic horsemanship certification, so all I
need is an arena."

"What made you decide to do this?" Dimitri asked.
"My brother, Tyler, the one who's dyslectic. I saw his frustration when we were growing up and

knew how his horses brought him peace of mind in his chaotic world, but it's only been in the last two
years that I've had the confidence to go after the goal."

"Because you were away at college?" Dimitri asked.
Maddy shook her head. "It happened one summer when I was involved in a therapeutic riding

program. I volunteered to be a sidewalker, which is the person who walks along with the horse, and
while I was doing that, I saw the smiles on the kids' faces when they started riding. These were kids
with autism, and seizures, and Down's, and while they were learning to ride they were also learning
how to follow directions and stay focused for longer periods of time. The motion of the horse also
helps improve balance and coordination by stimulating the connection between the brain and limbs.

The joy of seeing these kids smiling is hard to explain. It's like watching tiny miracles on a daily
basis."

"So, riding actually improves their conditions," Dimitri said, in a contemplative voice.
Maddy nodded. "Some physically, but more important, it improves their entire outlook on life.

Horses were the way Tyler found confidence and happiness away from the problems he was facing at
school, so I knew what horses could do. Tyler is already involved helping kids and adults with
dyslexia, but there are kids with other needs that will benefit from my program. It can change their
whole world and make it much brighter."

Dimitri reached over and took Maddy's hand and kissed her palm, and said, "You're a remarkable

woman, and since we're laying everything out on the table, I won't dance around the fact that my goal
is to have you as my assistant in Las Vegas and see where that leads."

Maddy peered into a pair of earnest blue eyes, and said, "It would have to lead back to the

Dancing Moon Ranch because that's where my… property is."

She came close to saying, 'that's where my heart is,' but stopped herself when she realized her

heart was becoming divided, that part of it wanted to go with Dimitri. She also knew hers was the
mindset of a person operating on emotions, not logic, and somehow she needed to get her logical
mind back in gear because, at the moment, it seemed to be in a state of flux.

CHAPTER 11

During the return ride from the cabin to the ranch, Dimitri and Maddy rode side-by-side

whenever the trail allowed, and Dimitri passed up no opportunity to lean toward Maddy and give her
a quick kiss, and each time he did, Maddy practically fell off her horse kissing him back. They even
dismounted at one point because the short kisses were inadequate, when what they both wanted was a
full-body, all-encompassing clinch, accompanied by a passionate, open-mouth kiss. But as they
neared the ranch, they resumed riding single file, which Maddy found both disturbing and frustrating
because being with Dimitri, and not being able to feel his arms around her, made her want the things
she shouldn’t want, all that much more.

You're not just my assistant. You're different. You're wife material…
Dimitri's words kept coming back, as did the idea of being his wife. It was all very sudden, but

she couldn't help thinking what they had was the start of a love that could last a lifetime. She could
see being married to Dimitri. Not only would he keep her smiling, because almost everything he did
made her smile, but he'd keep her world filled with magic.

Once back at the ranch, and while they were brushing the horses, Dimitri said, "I'll be tied up the

rest of the afternoon and evening, making a list of materials for building the donkey box, and
tomorrow Chris will drive me to the building center so I can hand-select the lumber and check the
hardware and have it delivered to the ranch. I assume it's okay to have them drop it off by the
workshop."

"That's fine," Maddy said, "but you'll stick out like a sore thumb if you arrive at the building

center in a limousine. Limos traveling through wine country on the way to wineries for tastings are
common around here, but making a stop at a building supply to order materials will have heads
turning and jaws dropping."

Dimitri laughed. "Then I'll do some sleight-of-hand and get their jaws dropping even more."
"Or, I could drive you there myself, and you'll blend in with the locals," Maddy said, knowing it

would be an excuse for them to spend some time together away from the ranch.

Dimitri looked at Maddy over Tut's back. "You don't mind?" he asked.
"Of course not," Maddy replied. "It'll give the local girls something to talk about, Maddy Hansen

strutting around with the sexiest cowboy they've ever seen."

Dimitri smiled. "Honey, you keep telling me I'm full of myself, and you just inflated my ego even

more."

"I know," Maddy said. "There are benefits to keeping you a butthead, and if you want to know

what they are, hang around for a few minutes after we turn out the horses and find out."

The heated session that followed, which took place on a bed of fresh straw in the dark shadows

of the stable, lasted just long enough for Maddy to want a whole lot more, but on hearing some guests
approaching, they quickly disentangled and stood, then proceeded to pick off small pieces of straw
from each other, which had Maddy breathing even more heavily when Dimitri concentrated on the
straw stuck to the front of her shirt. After sharing one last passionate kiss, they went their separate
ways.

***

On arriving at the building center the following day, when Dimitri stepped out of Maddy's Jeep,

in his faded jeans, worn western shirt, and scuffed boots, Maddy wondered if anyone would peg him
as the illusionist who was the talk of Sheridan and Grand Ronde. There was a distinctive pattern to
his short-cropped beard, but with his Stetson tipped low on his forehead, she was certain he'd pass

for one of the locals. She was also confident no one from the ranch would be there. Not only were
they all involved in their usual ranch routines, but at the moment there were no building projects going
on, so she felt free to enjoy this time with Dimitri.

When they entered the huge store, which was a grid of long aisles lined on both sides with

shelves stocked with everything from lumber and fencing materials, to plumbing and electrical
supplies, Dimitri wrapped his arm around Maddy's shoulders and said, as they started up a long aisle,
"I'm making my claim so none of the cowboys around here try to steal my hot pink bunny."

Maddy laughed and slipped her arm around Dimitri's waist. "With six big brothers, none of the

cowboys around here would dare try."

Dimitri kissed Maddy on the temple. "In case they do, I just put my brand on you."
Maddy laughed again. "A kiss on the temple isn't exactly a brand in cowboy country."
"Then I'll try again." Stopping midway up the aisle, Dimitri turned Maddy around and kissed her

soundly, and Maddy curved her arms around his neck and kissed him back. But when they turned to
continue, Maddy was mortified to see Tyler and Rose standing at the end of the aisle, looking their
way. She immediately broke away from Dimitri and rushed ahead, and said to Tyler in an anxious
voice, "Don't jump to conclusions, and please don't say anything to Mom and Dad, or Adam and
Marc. Actually, don't say anything to anyone. Dimitri and I were just kidding around."

"I have eyes," Tyler said. "Nothing about that kiss was kidding around."
By then Dimitri caught up with Maddy, and addressing Tyler, he said, "Don't worry. I'm not taking

your sister away with me."

"Then what are your intentions while you're here?" Tyler asked, his face stony.
Maddy stared at Tyler. She would have expected that reaction from Adam or Marc, but she and

Tyler were closer in age and had a different relationship, yet Tyler was acting like the others.

"My intentions are platonically affectionate," Dimitri replied.
"Honey," Rose said to Tyler. "The contractions are coming close now. I'm thinking maybe we

should get on over to the hospital."

"Wait!" Maddy said. "You're in labor… now?"
Rose nodded. "Things started this morning and they're not letting up. The doctor told us to walk

around some, which is why we're here, so I think Mary Claire's ready to meet the family."

"Good grief," Tyler said. "I'm about to become a father."
Rose laughed. "Honey, you've been a father for nine months. Now you'll get to burp Claire, and

change her diapers, and do all those fun things. Meanwhile, we'd better get going."

"Do Mom and Dad know?" Maddy asked.
"Yes," Tyler replied, while taking Rose's arm. "I'll call them when we get to the hospital."
As Maddy watched them walk away, she hoped Tyler would be so distracted by the birthing that

he'd completely forget about the untimely kiss. She couldn't begin to imagine the uproar that would
follow if he said anything to her parents, or her brothers.

"Did I just get you in a whole lot of trouble?" Dimitri asked.
"I don't know," Maddy replied. "I'm still trying to figure out what platonically affectionate

means."

"So am I," Dimitri said, "but I'm pretty sure that, long-term, your family won't like it."
His wording was in the affirmative, Maddy noticed—won't like it instead of might not like it—

which restated his earlier talk of marriage. The thought brought a ripple of pleasure, followed by a
big dose of reality. The only way that could happen would be for her to leave the ranch and the family
she loved and move to Las Vegas, a very troubling thought.

***

"Are you really going to make a donkey disappear?" Katy asked, as she watched Dimitri drive a

screw to connect the last of the plywood panels to the trapezoidal framework.

Dimitri looked into the curious brown eyes of a little girl who reminded him of Abby, even the

way she was sitting on a low stool, with her elbows propped on her knees and her chin braced
against the heels of her hands, and said, "The idea is to make the audience think the donkey
disappeared. He'll still be around, just not in sight. That's what magic is all about, misleading people
into thinking they saw something they didn't see because their mind told them they did."

"Like when you pull things out of the air?" Katy asked.
"Exactly," Dimitri replied. "You'll be pulling a rabbit out of a hat. It's an old trick, and I'll teach

you how to do it."

Katy lifted her face from her hands, and looking at him wide-eyed, she said, "A real rabbit?"
"We'll practice with a stuffed rabbit first and if you can manage that, we'll use a real rabbit.

Either way, it works. We'll be using a special hat and a special table, but the audience will think
they're ordinary things."

A puzzled frown creased Katy's brow. "When you made the balls go through the bottom of the

cups, were they special cups?"

"No, they were ordinary cups," Dimitri said. "It has to do with the way I handle them."
Katy's frown deepened. "If you can make it so balls can go through cups, can you make it so my

blood can go through my heart better?"

Dimitri looked at Katy, whose eyes were again filled with hope, and he wondered at the

dichotomy. She had an unusually good understanding of her medical condition for someone so young,
yet she still didn't understand that magic was trickery.

He looked to where Katy's mother was talking to Maddy about Katy's limitations when it came to

riding a horse, and deciding not to disturb them, he said to Katy, "The kind of magic I do is all tricks,
so I can't fix your heart or get you a new one, but your doctors know what to do, and when the time's
right, they'll get you a heart and put it in place." He hoped he wasn't making things more complicated
for Katy with his simplistic explanation.

Katy again had her elbows propped on her knees, but now her hands were clasped together in

front of her, like she needed something to hold onto, as she said, "Why can't the doctors fix the heart I
have?"

Dimitri realized he was in line for a barrage of questions that would demand answers, much the

way it was when Abby was on a mission to get the answer to something, and short vague responses
didn't work, so he said what he hoped would be the right thing, "Your heart is like a motor. It makes
things run inside you, and just as your heart runs your body, a motor runs a piece of machinery. It can
make a drill spin, and turn a fan, and run your mom's vacuum cleaner, but sometimes something in the
motor breaks and the motor can't be fixed, even when the rest of the machine is still working, so a
new motor has to be put in."

"When Mommy's vacuum cleaner broke, the place where we took it said it couldn't be fixed and

they threw it away," Katy said.

Dimitri knew he'd better answer this one carefully because in Katy's mind she could also become

a throwaway. "The thing is, your mom's vacuum could have been fixed, but it's cheaper to buy a new
one than to pay someone to fix the motor, but no one throws away a person who needs a new heart,
which is why you'll be getting one when the time is right."

"Where do new hearts come from?" Katy asked.

Dimitri looked at Katy with a start. "Your mother didn't tell you?"
Katy shook her head. "She said it comes in a special box, and when it gets to the hospital, we

have to go right there. The doctors will give me something to make me sleep so I won't feel anything
and then they'll unhook my heart and put in the new one, and I'll stay in a special room for a while,
and when I'm in the hospital I'll meet other kids who are also getting well."

"Then that's the way it will be." Wanting to get off the subject of exactly where the new heart

would come from, Dimitri said, "I'm finished here for now, so let's get your mom and go to my cabin
and I'll set up a table and teach you how to pull a rabbit out of a hat."

"Will you carry me?" Katy asked. "If I have trouble breathing, Mommy will make me lie down

and I want to learn the trick."

When Dimitri glanced over at Katy's mother for confirmation, he found her looking his way and

knew she'd heard their last exchange, which she verified when she said, "If you don't mind carrying
her, that would be great. I know this is important to her."

Dimitri smiled at Katy, who lifted her arms to be picked up, and when he did, Katy wrapped her

arms around his neck and her legs around his waist the way Abby did when she greeted him after he'd
been gone awhile. But unlike Abby, Katy felt light and frail in his arms, which was a reminder that not
only did he miss his little sister, but that life was tenuous.

"Daddy carries me this way," Katy said.
"You miss him, don't you, honey?"
Katy nodded against Dimitri's neck. "Mommy says when I get my new heart, Daddy can come

home and be with me, but when I'm better he'll have to go away again, so I don't want to get well fast.
It makes me sad when he goes away."

Uh boy. This was getting tough. The kid needed to be upbeat to get through the surgery, yet she

wanted to stay sick to keep her dad around. It made him wonder how Abby felt when their dad was
always leaving, even though Josh was filling that spot. But Josh didn't take the place of Abby's big
brother, who only came around a few times a year. He made a promise to himself to set that right,
although if he got a contract for a show, he'd be bound to performing several shows a day, seven days
a week, with little time off.

Dismissing that disturbing thought, he decided to concentrate on lifting Katy's spirits and getting

on with the magic. "Do you like to wear ribbons in your hair?" he asked.

"Yes," Katy replied. "Mommy puts bows in my hair when I go to school."
"Good because when we have our magic show, you'll wave a magic wand and a glass box will

fill with bows, and when you leave here you can take the bows with you."

"I don't want to leave," Katy said. "I can ride a horse here and there are kids to play with."
Dimitri looked toward the stables where the kids who usually trailed after him, most of them Sam

and Jack Hansen's grandchildren, were taking turns riding the donkey under Adam's supervision.
Every child was healthy and happy and full of energy. Even Rose and Tyler's new baby girl had been
born without incident, weighed almost eight pounds, and had an amazing set of lungs, as Tyler
announced to the family.

Dimitri remembered being in the hospital when his mother was in labor with Abby and

wondering if Abby would be okay. There was question she might be a Down's baby because his mom
was forty-five, and there were irregularities during the pregnancy, but when the doctor announced that
Abby was fine and healthy, the whole family had been relieved. Now, he wondered how it would be
if Abby was in line for a heart transplant. The one thing he did know was under those circumstances,
time with Abby would have been precious, so being away from her would not have been an option.

Realizing Katy was waiting for a response about being with kids, he said, "After you get your

new heart, and when you're able to do all the things the other kids are doing, maybe you and your
mom can come back to the ranch."

Katy's mother eyed him with uncertainty. "Katy only gets one wish from the foundation so we

won't be back, but there will be lots of places she can go when she's well."

Dimitri made a mental note to tell Sharon Glassell that the bill would be on him. In the meantime,

he and Katy would put on a show that would knock the socks off every member in the audience.

***

Two days later, with help from Maddy, Kit, and Marc, who warmed up to Dimitri some, they

managed to put together a makeshift stage in the barn where the ranch held regular Friday night square
dancing. They arranged fifty folding chairs in an arc around an open area that would become the
stage, then positioned a couple of lights to illuminate the area.

Maddy, with the help of drawings provided by Tyler, made flyers to post around the ranch,

advertising the magic show that would feature Katherine the Great and Dimitri, with the words 'and
Dimitri' in small letters.

Alone in the barn, less than a half hour before the show was to begin, Dimitri was in the process

of positioning the prop for the Sleeping Beauty illusion when Maddy entered the shadowy interior,
and said, "Katy's about as excited as a kid needing a new heart can be. She's wearing the little tuxedo,
top hat, and gloves we bought, thanks to you, and her mother is trying to keep her as quiet as she can.
They're just outside. Are you ready for them to come in?"

Giving a little ironic laugh, Dimitri said, "I haven't been this nervous since I was twelve, and

Dad had me come on stage in Vegas to perform with him."

Maddy walked over to Dimitri, and when she smiled, her eyes sparkled with devilment as she

said, "You'll do fine. Just follow Katy's leads and she'll get you through it."

Dimitri laughed because Maddy had a way of pointing out the ridiculous. "We'll be using a fake

rabbit since Gracie's bunny kept getting away, but I picked up a stuffed rabbit with fur on it that looks
real. Katy can take it with her when she leaves."

"Along with the tuxedo and top hat, princess dress, silver slippers, tiara, and all the stuffed

animals," Maddy said. "Sharon was in tears when I told her you gave us money to buy all those things
for Katy. That was very special." She smoothed her hands up the silk lapels of Dimitri's tuxedo jacket
and curved her arms around his neck and kissed him in a way that told him she was in their
relationship for the long haul, even though he hadn't figured out how to make that a reality, but he was
actively working on it.

When the kiss ended, Maddy straightened his top hat, which was a little askew after the kiss, and

said, "I'll send Katy and Sharon in, and while you're getting Katy set up for the rabbit trick, I'll let
everyone know the show's about to begin. Everyone on the ranch is coming, including baby Claire, so
get ready for the rush." Maddy kissed him one last time, then motioned for Katy and Sharon to come
in, and went to round up the family and ranch guests.

Dimitri smiled when he saw Katy in her mini tuxedo and small top hat. "Well, Katherine the

Great," he said, "are you ready to amaze your audience?"

Katy bobbed her head and smiled at her mom, whose eyes glistened with tears of happiness,

which had the effect of getting Dimitri a little choked up. Placing his hand on the back of a chair
positioned behind the table for the rabbit-in-the-hat trick, he said, "You'll be sitting here when the
audience comes in, and after they're seated, I'll make the announcement, which will be your cue to
stand up and do your rabbit trick."

"With Gracie's rabbit?" Katy asked.
Dimitri shook his head. "With your new stuffed bunny. He's waiting inside the table for you to

pull him out of the hat."

Katy walked over to the table, and reaching through the top hat, which was positioned upside-

down on the table, she pulled a stuffed rabbit out of a hidden chamber in the table. Holding it by the
ears, she said, "I'm naming him Dimitri, and when I go to the hospital to get my new heart I'm bringing
him with me because he's magic and he'll make me well."

Dimitri wasn't sure if believing in magic was appropriate for a child who should be believing in

her doctors instead, but said nothing, deciding not to complicate her small world with too much
reality. "So then, are you ready to begin?" he asked.

Katy nodded, stuffed the bunny into the table and sat in the chair.
As the barn began to fill, Dimitri knew, from the way Katy was beaming as people talked to her,

that this would truly be a day she would always remember. The knowledge that he was bringing so
much joy to a little girl, whose life hadn't been so great until now, was satisfying in a way he never
would have expected.

Once every chair was occupied, Dimitri introduced Katherine the Great, and the show began

with Katy reciting the short spiel she'd memorized, after which she pulled the rabbit out of the hat,
performing the trick in a way that surprised Dimitri because her timing was unusually good. The
audience also reflected surprise, which had Katy grinning. After they performed cups and balls
together, Dimitri did some card flourishes, followed by Katy making the rigged crystal box fill with
bows, to the gasps of the audience. And then came the finale. Sleeping Beauty.

Katy moved behind a screen, where Sharon and Maddy quickly helped her into the princess

gown, while in the shadows of the barn Dimitri replaced his tux coat and top hat with the prince's
white silk jacket with epaulettes on its shoulders, and covered that with the long black cape and high
peaked hat of the sorcerer.

A few minutes later, Katy sat on the 'bed' and pretended to be drowsy. After arranging her long

skirt over the edge of the bed the way she'd been instructed, she stretched out on her back and 'fell
asleep.' The illusion went without a hitch, ending with the sorcerer removing the chair and board and
leaving Sleeping Beauty floating, to the shocked surprise of the audience. At that point Dimitri
slipped behind the screen and returned as the prince, dressed in white silk. Finding the floating
princess, he said his spiel, replaced the chair and returned the board, then kissed Katy on the
forehead, to which Katy responded by sitting up, looking around as if surprised, and grinning. As the
audience clapped vigorously, Dimitri took Katy's hand and helped her down, and together they took
their bows.

Immediately, the kids swarmed around Katy, whose face was glowing with enthusiasm. But in the

middle of the excitement the sound of a beeper came from the direction of Katy's mother, who walked
toward the back of the barn, away from the noise.

Maddy, who had been standing with Sharon, walked over to Dimitri, and said, "That's the pager

the hospital gave Sharon so they could contact her if a heart became available."

Dimitri watched the body language of Katy's mother as she listened, and when her face lifted

with a smile, and she looked at them and nodded, and her eyes were gleaming with tears, there was
no question what the call was about.

The call complete, Sharon rushed over, tears streaming down her face, and said, "We have our

miracle. We're to go straight to the hospital."

"I'll have Chris drive you in the limo," Dimitri said.

Sharon shook her head. "An ambulance is on its way. For the operation to have the best chance,

the donor heart needs to be transplanted within four hours of being removed from the donor." She
looked at Katy, who was talking with enthusiasm to the kids crowded around her, and said to Dimitri,
"She's a happy little girl, and soon she'll be able to run with the other kids. Thank you for bringing that
happiness to her." She put her arms around Dimitri and hugged him.

"And Katy's father?" Dimitri asked. "Will he get here in time?"
Sharon nodded. "As soon as I call, he'll hop a military flight and be on his way. His face should

be one of the first Katy will see when she comes out of ICU."

"Will you keep us posted?" Dimitri asked. "I want to see Katy when she can have visitors."
"She'd love that, and yes, I'll keep everyone posted." Sharon turned and went to get Katy.
As Dimitri watched Sharon telling Katy about the heart, he said to Maddy, "I want to get them

back to the ranch next summer, including the father. I'll cover the bill. We'll put on an even better
magic show."

"Which means you plan to come back too," Maddy said.
"I was thinking more along the lines of we'll plan to come back," Dimitri replied.
When he saw the expression on Maddy's face change from excitement to uncertainty, he knew he

had less than two weeks to convince her to give them a try. He just wished there was a way to
provide what she'd be giving up, because for her, leaving the Dancing Moon Ranch with him would
be a bittersweet decision.

CHAPTER 12

The following day, Maddy rushed up to Dimitri, who was coming out of the workshop, and said,

"We just heard from Sharon. Katy made it through the surgery, and although she's still in intensive
care, she's off the ventilator and doing well."

"Thank God," Dimitri said. "How long will she be there?"
"A few more days in ICU, then she'll be moved to the general cardiac ward."
"Did Sharon say when she could have visitors?" Dimitri asked.
"As soon as she's out of ICU, as long as we come in small numbers," Maddy replied.
"We'll do it. Meanwhile, I have the workshop to myself right now."
Maddy smiled and darted inside, and in an instant she was caught up in Dimitri's arms in a

passionate kiss, but before long she broke the kiss, and said, "This is too risky, but we'll have twenty
minutes in the limo on the way to and from the Coyote tonight."

"Do you realize how inadequate that is?" Dimitri asked.
"Yes," Maddy replied, then gave him one last kiss and left.
The next four days passed in a blur of shows at the Coyote at night, in which Dimitri began with

his opening materialization followed by levitations and card flourishes, the rope tying escape,
walking through the wall, Sleeping Beauty, and his regular finale, the water torture cell escape, and
by the end of the week, Maddy felt confident on stage in a way that she could never have imagined
two weeks before. She'd even mastered walking on the stiletto heels. And in the limo on the way
home each night, their sessions together became increasingly heated, until she was beginning to think
Adam was right in that unplanned things could happen, yet she still managed to stop what they were
doing before they were beyond the point of no return.

During the day, however, they saw little of each other. Dimitri spent his time in the workshop,

and she was occupied helping Jayne with guests, as the ranch was in the middle of the summer
season. But on occasion she'd slip away to the workshop where she and Dimitri would engage in a
passionate embrace, while at the same time she'd be mulling over when to tell her parents about their
relationship, because as the days passed, Maddy was increasingly more certain that she'd be leaving
with Dimitri.

Her father would use the issue of Jeremy and Billy being in witness protection to stop her, but the

family was under no legal mandate to stay clear of Las Vegas, though Mario Moretti's iron-fisted
demand held a lot of weight, psychologically.

On the Sunday preceding the last week of Dimitri's run at the Coyote, Maddy and Dimitri were in

the stables, where Maddy had just finished working with Dimitri on the basics of neck reining, when
Adam came in, and addressing Dimitri, said to him, "I could use another drover to move cattle
tomorrow. It's just overnight. We'll be moving around seventy-five head and I'm shorthanded. One of
my wranglers and I will be up front riding point, another wrangler and one of the guests will ride
swing to keep the herd moving in the right direction, Jesse will ride flank to keep the herd from
spreading out, and you'd ride drag to start with, but all riders except points switch off being drag
riders, who bring up the rear."

"And also eat a lot of dust," Maddy pointed out.
When Adam eyed her with annoyance, Maddy figured out what this was all about. The family

wanted to keep her and Dimitri separated during Dimitri's final off days from the Coyote.

"Who's riding flank opposite Jesse?" she asked.
"Probably one of the guests," Adam replied. "I like to give them a chance to go."

Which meant he didn't have anyone, and he wasn't about to ask her, even though he knew she

liked going on drives. She looked at Dimitri, who acted as if he was considering it, and in fact looked
enthusiastic when he said, "I'm game to go, as long as it's just overnight."

"It is," Adam reassured him. "By the time we return, you'll be a seasoned wrangler."
Dimitri smiled, which made Maddy wonder if he had any idea what he was getting himself into.

Catching his eye, she said, "It's a long day in the saddle, even though you don't cover much territory,
so be sure to bring something for muscle aches."

"I don't mind a long ride," Dimitri said. He turned to Adam. "How long are we talking?"
"Ten to twelve-hours, which includes resting and watering the stock along the way," Adam

replied. "But a day in the saddle will help you work up an appetite for steaks and all the trimmings,
prepared over an open fire. And in the morning we'll have a breakfast of flapjacks, eggs, bacon and
black coffee."

"Sounds good," Dimitri said. "What should I bring?"
"A change of clothes," Adam replied. "I have a bedroll you can use, and since we'll only be gone

one night we'll wash in the stream, so bring a towel and wash cloth."

"I'm comfortable with Tut. Can I ride him?" Dimitri asked.
"Sure," Adam replied. "He's a well-seasoned cattle horse so you can help with the roundup.

After that we'll drive the herd at the speed of a walking cow. One thing cattle do well is walk. They
don’t go fast, but they go willingly, so basically our job is to point them in the right direction, let them
go at their own pace, and sit back and watch the parade."

Maddy could hardly believe what she was hearing. Adam was laying it on thick, like going on a

cattle drive was taking a stroll in the park, and although she loved going on drives for a half dozen
reasons, she couldn't imagine Dimitri wanting to do it ever again, after sitting in a saddle and eating
dust for the better part of an entire day, which was no doubt Adam's goal in taking him on this little
excursion into the mountains.

"So, where do we go to round up the cows?" Dimitri asked.
"An allotment we lease from the Forest Service. It's not far from here," Adam replied. "The herd

has been there for a couple of weeks and will have scattered some, so we'll go on a cow hunt. Once
we round them up we'll move them along logging roads and clear-cut areas, and when we stop for the
night you can help us bed down the herd."

"How do you do that?" Dimitri asked.
"We sing to them," Adam replied.
Dimitri eyed Adam with skepticism. "Are you serious?"
"Sure. We take turns riding around the herd in pairs, moving in opposite directions for a couple

of hours at a stretch, while singing. It's soothing to the cattle and keeps them from getting spooked and
stampeding."

"Does that happen very often?" Dimitri asked.
"No, but I've been at this long enough to know that stampedes at night most often happen because

the herd wasn't well-watered and fed before bedding them down, although there's still the unexpected,
such as coyotes, or a cougar on the prowl, or a flash of lightening, things you can't guard against."

Maddy noted that Dimitri hadn't flinched at any of the accounts of the drive, which of course he

wouldn't because he was a man who had no fear of freeing himself from burning boxes or being
shackled and dumped head first into a tank of water, so a bunch of cows stampeding across the
mountains would be just another adrenaline rush.

"I'm game to go," Dimitri said.

"Great. Be at the stable at daybreak." Adam rapped Dimitri on the shoulder and left.
Maddy eyed Dimitri with concern. "Do you really know what you're getting yourself into?"
Dimitri shrugged. "No, but it sounds like a great adventure."
"It might sound like that, but in spite of the way Adam described it, there's more to moving cattle

than simply walking behind them. It can be a long, dusty, painful adventure for someone who's never
been in a saddle more than a couple of hours at a stretch."

"I already figured that's the reason Adam asked me to go," Dimitri said, "but maybe by the end of

the drive I'll convince him I'm more than just a pretty boy in a top hat, that I'm actually a cowboy stud,
and if you get me that pair of chaps, I'll know there's a buckle bunny in hot pink waiting for me when I
get back."

Maddy couldn't help chuckling. "Like I've said a half dozen times, you really are full of yourself."
"I know. I'm a butthead." Dimitri tugged Maddy away from the entrance to the stable and kissed

her, but when the kiss ended, he looked at her with affection, and said, "Maybe you'll miss me when
I'm gone."

"Maybe," Maddy replied. "I'll get those chaps and we'll see."

***

Just after daybreak the following morning, Maddy watched from the sidelines as Adam and the

others prepared to leave for the cattle drive. Dimitri stood on the fringes, holding Tut's reins while
watching the activity, so he didn't see her coming, which gave Maddy a chance to look at him, and
what she saw took her breath away. If she didn't know better she would have thought he was a
seasoned cowboy. With his Stetson set low on his forehead, and his worn western clothes and scuffed
western boots, and now, clad in Jeremy's old chaps, he really was the sexiest cowboy she'd ever
seen. Just the sight of him had her hormones rising off the chart.

Dimitri glanced over, and seeing her watching, smiled broadly and motioned for her to join him.

She walked over to where he stood, and after scanning the chaps, she said, "You look like you grew
up on a ranch. Are you sure you weren't a cowboy in your last life?"

Dimitri laughed. "I've been a lot of things, but this is new to me, and I'm thinking I like it."
"What? Looking like a cowboy stud?" Maddy asked.
Dimitri winked. "Sure, if that's what it takes to keep my buckle bunny breathing heavy. But I like

the idea of sleeping under the stars. I've never done that. I walked around outside last night and
couldn't believe how many stars were up there."

"Wait till you're on the mountain tonight," Maddy said. "You'll be seeing shooting stars and

satellites, and once you start watching for them it's hard to get to sleep because you keep watching for
just one more."

"If I can't sleep, it won't be because of shooting stars," Dimitri said. "I'll be wondering if you

miss me. Are you sure you don't want to come?"

"I see you still don't get it," Maddy said. "This whole adventure was set up to keep several miles

between us during your last days here."

"I still wish you'd come," Dimitri said. "At least I could watch you from a distance."
Maddy looked to where the men were getting things ready and noted that the other guest didn't

show, so Adam was still short one hand, yet he didn't ask her to go, which reaffirmed that his motive
was to keep her and Dimitri apart.

"Jesse," Adam called out. "This trip you'll be leading Moses. Can you handle it?"
"Sure, Dad," Jesse called back, while giving his dad a big grin.
"Then bring him here and we'll get started."

While Jesse scampered off toward the cattle barn, Dimitri said to Maddy, "Who's Moses?"
"The lead steer," Maddy replied. "He'll be the guy up front with the bell who leads the cattle.

He's been doing it for years so he knows the terrain. When he heads out, the cattle follow."

A few minutes later, Jesse returned from the stock barn while leading a big reddish-brown steer

with a bell tied around his neck. Tossing the lead line over his horse's withers, Jesse mounted,
gathered Moses's lead line and announced, "I'm ready to go, Dad."

Adam smiled at Jesse with the pride Maddy had seen over the years, which warmed her heart,

even if she was annoyed with Adam for the way he'd been acting from the day Dimitri arrived. It was
also true what Dimitri alleged. Adam did try to run her life at times, though always because he cared
about her because she was, and always would be, his baby sister.

"I guess we're ready to go," Dimitri said.
Maddy looked to where Tom, the guest, was kissing his wife, and Adam was in a clinch with

Emily, and resisted the urge to wrap her arms around Dimitri and do the same. It wasn't as if Adam
never went on cattle drives—it happened every couple of weeks all summer—but he never left
without saying his heartfelt goodbyes to his family because, even though he'd been driving cattle
between grazing grounds for years and nothing serious had happened, there was always the chance the
cattle could stampede, or any number of other catastrophes.

Adam gave Emily one last kiss, lifted Gracie in his arms and gave her a hug and a kiss and set

her down, and just before mounting, hugged Grace. After launching himself into the saddle, he turned
his horse and started out, followed by his wranglers, Wyatt and Logan, then Tom, Dimitri, and Jesse
in the rear leading Moses.

As Maddy watched the procession heading toward the trail to the Forest Service allotment, the

urge to go was so strong, she shoved all other thoughts aside, and on impulse, decided to join them.
She hadn't been on a drive since the summer before, but most of all, she wanted to be with Dimitri,
even if it meant looking at him from a distance. Adam would be miffed, but that was his problem.
Fortunately her dad left at daybreak to go to a cattle auction so he wouldn't be around when she
informed her mother what she was about to do, but that didn't change the fact that her mother would
not be happy.

Walking over to where Grace was standing and watching the procession riding off, Maddy said

to her, "They're short a flank rider since the guest didn't show, so I'm going along."

Grace looked at Maddy in alarm, no doubt because she was in agreement with the others in that

Dimitri was to be taken off to the hills, out of sight, out of mind. "I was hoping you could help me
with the little ones," she said.

"What little ones?" Maddy asked.
"Well, Lizzy and Gracie. They're coming over to make cookies and spend the night."
"And you've never done that before," Maddy said, with irony.
"Of course I have, but I thought tonight it would be fun if you joined us."
"Maybe some other time," Maddy said. "Meanwhile, I need to saddle up and get going." She

turned and headed for the stable before her mother could come up with another lame excuse to keep
her home. She already had a bedroll prepared with personal items in it for overnight, as they all did,
just in case they had to leave quickly for whatever reason, so she wasted no time saddling Blackjack
and tying her bedroll behind the saddle.

Taking off at a gallop, she caught up with the others as they were starting up the mountain. When

heads turned to see who was coming, Dimitri had a big smile on his face, while Adam looked
alarmed.

Adam immediately turn his horse, and riding up to her, he said, "What's the problem?"
"No problem," Maddy replied. "You're short a flank rider and I like going on drives so I'm

coming too." When she saw the muscles in Adam's jaw bunch, Maddy knew he'd interpreted things
exactly as they were—her wanting to be with Dimitri.

"You'll be the only girl on the drive, which means we'll have to watch where we're pissing and

worry about swimming in the raw," Adam said.

"I'll stay to myself the way I always have," Maddy challenged.
Adam eyed her with vexation, but when she didn't back down, he said, "Come on then, we're

wasting valuable time." Reining his horse around, he returned to the front of the string of riders, but
on occasion he looked back, as if to make sure she and Dimitri were still separated, which they were,
since Maddy already decided it would be safest to keep Jesse and Moses between them, acting as on-
the-trail chaperones, with her now bringing up the rear.

So, for the drive her goal was threefold: move cattle, feast her eyes on the sexiest cowboy

around, and find a way to kiss Dimitri while stretched out with him beneath a canopy of stars so he'd
have one more experience to hold onto.

Maybe, by some miracle, he'd decide that what they had at the ranch offered more than the Las

Vegas strip, though she couldn't imagine what that could be because, in the end, Dimitri was a
magician, an illusionist, an escape artist whose future did not lie on the Dancing Moon Ranch.

CHAPTER 13

On reaching the pasture where the herd had been turned out two weeks earlier, Adam called out

to everyone in general, "Let's round up cattle. We'll start by riding up the opposite side of the canyon
and driving the strays down to the creek to join the others, and after we pair the cows with their
calves we'll drive the herd across the clear-cut to the logging road heading north."

Having said that, Adam rode over to where Dimitri was waiting, and said, "Come ride with me

and I'll show you how we do this."

"Am I supposed to give some kind of command to Tut when we find a cow?" Dimitri asked.
"No. He's got good cow sense. Just loosen your reins, hold onto the saddle horn, and be ready for

sharp turns. Your job will be to watch the cow so you can anticipate its next move and stay centered
in the saddle. So let's go."

As they took off, Dimitri felt a surge of adrenaline that was hard to explain, but the open country,

fresh mountain air, and cowboy trappings that were beginning to feel natural, were exhilarating in a
way he hadn't expected. And the adrenaline kept pumping each time Tut took off to round up a cow,
even though Dimitri did nothing, other than try to stay square in the saddle, which became a satisfying
challenge in itself.

Just over an hour later, he felt as if he were immersed in a sea of cattle, with cows bumping

against his legs and each other, a plodding, moving mass, with cattle lowing in protest, and the bawl
of calves coming from all directions. But amid the sea of noise and confusion there was movement in
one direction: forward.

They guided the cattle up the hillside and across a vast clear-cut area, but when they got to a

logging road leading away from the clear-cut, the cattle began to string out, some walking faster than
others, so Adam and Wyatt moved ahead to slow the pace, while the rest of them took their places
around the herd, keeping stragglers moving along, while heading off any that left the road or turned
back. Except for a short calf hunt to unite a cow with her bawling calf that had slipped into a shallow
ravine, the morning portion of the drive went without incident.

About half way to the holding area where they'd be camping for the night, they came to a fenced-

in pasture provided by the Forest Service where cattle on drives could be turned out to graze and
drink at a water hole before moving on. Once the cattle were inside the fenced pasture, Adam
announced that they'd be taking a break for lunch, and to corral the horses.

And Dimitri hoped he'd manage to get a few minutes alone with Maddy, though he didn't hold

much hope. It was clear Adam was watching him, and Maddy, and intended to keep a sizeable
distance between them.

***

After taking care of the horses, Maddy broke her earlier vow to stay clear of Dimitri, and

walking over to where he stood, she said, "How are things going so far?"

Dimitri looked in the distance, and when Maddy turned to see what had caught his attention, she

saw Adam looking their way. "Just ignore him," she said. "He might be a little pissed that we're
communicating, but that's his problem. So, are you okay?"

"Other than wanting to kiss you about every minute, I'm fine," Dimitri replied. "Watching the

backs of cows for hours on end got my mind to working out the logistics of a new illusion."

"That's what you've been doing all this time, working on illusions?" Maddy asked. She'd hoped

he'd been taking in the scenery and envisioning riding into the mountains with her and camping
together under the stars.

"Any illusionist who wants to make a go of it has to constantly dream up new illusions," Dimitri

said. "I'm planning one that will outdo any illusion Copperfield ever pulled off."

"David Copperfield made the Statue of Liberty disappear," Maddy said. "That will be hard to

beat."

"Moneywise, maybe, but in reality it was nothing more than a moving stage, with two towers

supporting an arch that held a pair of giant curtains," Dimitri replied. "The audience and TV cameras
saw the statue only through the arch, so when the curtains closed, Copperfield waxed poetic while the
stage slowly turned, and when the curtains opened again, the statue was behind one of the towers,
which was so brightly lit, the audience was night blinded. The curtains closed and the stage moved
back, and when the curtains opened again, Lady Liberty was there."

"Okay, so it was just a giant stage production," Maddy said. "What's your big idea?"
"To become invisible."
"You already do that before you materialize on stage," Maddy pointed out.
"That's not the same as becoming invisible," Dimitri said. "With this illusion I'll walk out on an

empty stage, and while I'm telling a story I'll disappear, yet the audience will still hear my voice as I
move around the stage. That's only one illusion in the works. I have others far better than making a
horse disappear. But once I have my own show, I'll come up with illusions that will have even the big
guys scratching their heads."

Maddy felt a little spurt of excitement. "Could you make a living inventing illusions and selling

them to other illusionists?" she asked, thinking Dimitri could be happy doing that while living on the
ranch.

"If you're asking if I'd give up performing for inventing, the answer is no." Dimitri looked to

where Adam was pumping water into a galvanized tub for the horses, and said, "Meanwhile, is this
pretty much what cattle drives are all about?"

Maddy figured he changed subjects because she'd hit on the core of the problem between them—

she was a ranch girl, he was a Las Vegas showman, and never the twain shall meet. Another dose of
reality. "Basically, yes, though on occasion something can startle the herd and even though they don't
stampede, they scatter and we have to round them up again."

"I'm game for that," Dimitri said. "I get a rush every time Tut goes after a cow. I can see why

cowboys a century ago picked this life."

Maddy laughed. "Then the joke's on my family who probably think by now you've had your fill of

horses and are ready to stay at the casino hotel."

"They're that much against me?" Dimitri asked.
"They're not against you at all," Maddy replied. "They like you and think you're amazing at what

you do. It's where you work that's the problem, and they're looking after my best interest, which is
keeping me on the ranch where I have land and a plan."

Dimitri didn't reply and Maddy knew why. Whereas the cattle drive was a new adventure for

him, he wasn't a rancher and never would be.

She looked to where Adam was standing outside the fenced allotment, scanning the herd. Of all

of her brothers, he was the quintessential cowboy, someone who'd worked cattle all his life and
couldn't imagine doing anything else, pretty much a clone of their dad. They were also the kind of men
she'd envisioned marrying. But nowhere in her girlhood fantasies had she imagined falling in love
with an illusionist, a conjurer, a man who made his living by fooling people.

***

They arrived at the vast Forest Service holding pen in late afternoon, and shortly before sundown

began the process of bedding down the cattle. The animals had been watered and grazed and seemed
anxious to lie down, and over the course of a half hour all were settled on a few acres, at which point
Wyatt and Tom, who were taking first guard, remained to circle the herd, while the rest of the drovers
set up camp.

Having decided earlier that he'd better keep his distance from Maddy, Dimitri prepared his bed

across the campfire from where Maddy was arranging hers. His bedroll included a canvas
groundcover, a sleeping bag, and a jacket intended to be thrown over his boots to make a pillow.
After the long hours in the saddle, he figured he wouldn't have trouble sleeping. But for the moment,
the idea of eating sounded better than anything, so he made a point of helping with the meal, mainly
because it was an excuse to be with Maddy, who had taken over the chore of cooking over an open
fire.

When it was time for Wyatt and Tom to switch cattle guard with Adam and Logan, Maddy and

Dimitri had a pot of coffee brewed, steaks browning on a grill, cans of beans bubbling on a griddle,
and biscuits cooking in a skillet. They all sat on sections of logs arranged in a circle around the
campfire and ate off tin plates.

As soon as Dimitri finished, Jesse, who'd made a point of sitting beside him, said to him, "Can

you show me some magic?"

"I was just getting ready to practice some flourishes." Dimitri said.
"Are flourishes magic?" Jesse asked.
"No, they're displays of skill performed with cards, such as fanning and shooting cards from one

hand to the other, but they don't do anything magical."

"Can you show me some?" Jesse asked.
"Sure." Dimitri reached into a small knapsack he'd brought that contained personal items and

retrieved his cards. Slipping them from the box, he fanned them, saying, "I started practicing
flourishes when I was about your age, and before long I had every kid in my class following me
around trying to figure out how I did one-handed cuts, where you split a deck of cards in half using
only one hand." He palmed the deck and deftly split it in two equal parts.

"Far out!" Jesse said. "Do it again."
Dimitri repeated the cut. "Or you can thumb cut where you reach across the deck with your thumb

and raise the top half, then use your fingers to move the bottom half on top, and you've cut the deck.
When you can do that with both hands, you're ready for thumb fans, where you pivot the deck around
your thumb." In one quick move he sent the cards fanning into a near-perfect circle around his thumb.

"Whoa, can you teach me how to do that?" Jesse asked, as he stared at the circle of cards.
"I can get you started, but you have to put in the hours and years it takes to be good," Dimitri said.

"If you keep a deck of cards with you all the time and practice while your buddies are hanging out
doing nothing, you'll be way ahead of them."

"Show me another," Jesse said.
"Okay, here we have a card twirl which, by combining small motions with a single card, like

this, you get the card twirling from finger to finger, and when you combine a larger motion of the
wrist, you can get the card spinning like this. Then if you really want to impress your friends, you
finish with an anaconda." Dimitri stood, raised his hand with the deck up high, and sent the cards
flowing downward in one continuous stream, landing in a neat pack in his lowered hand.

"No way!" Jesse cried. "Can you show me how to do that?"
Dimitri laughed. "That one takes hours of practice every day, over a period of years. Are you

willing to spend that much time with a pack of cards?"

Jesse looked at the cards in Dimitri's hand. "Yeah, if I can learn that. Show me how to do it."
"It's not that simple," Dimitri said. "It involves holding the cards a certain way, building pressure

at the corners and along the edges, then releasing that pressure so there's a steady flow of cards going
from one hand to the other. You start with the hands close together and eventually you can make an
anaconda as long as your arms can spread."

"Can I have that deck of cards?" Jesse asked.
"Sure, if your dad says it's okay." Dimitri glanced over at Adam, who seemed uncertain if cards

in the hands of his son was a good thing or not.

When Adam didn't answer right away, Jesse said, "Please dad, can I have the cards? I won't

gamble."

"I'm not worried about you gambling, Jesse, but you're not supposed to ask people for things that

belong to them. That's not the way you've been brought up."

"I have lots of cards," Dimitri said. "Here, they're yours." He offered the cards to Jesse.
"Awesome!" Jesse cried. "Will you show me how to do something with then?"
Adam stood, and said to Jesse, "Before you learn anything you need to brush your teeth, water

one of those bushes over there, and plan to be in your sleeping bag in a half hour. Logan and I are
heading for cattle guard."

After Jesse did as he was told, Dimitri had barely gotten started teaching him some basic shuffles

when Jesse's eyelids became heavy and he started nodding off, and before long he opted out of card
lessons and crawled into his sleeping bag. Tom, Wyatt, and Maddy were already sleeping soundly, so
Dimitri decided he'd better sleep too, because in two hours, he and Maddy would have cattle watch.

Sometime later, Dimitri awakened. When he looked to where Maddy had been sleeping, he saw

that her sleeping bag lay flat on the ground. Glancing around, he spotted her sitting on a rise some
distance away. There was enough moonlight to see that she was staring off at the mountains in the
distance. Noting that Tom and Wyatt were still sleeping soundly, verified by the burrs of their snoring,
he decided to chance spending enough time with Maddy to be able to wrap his arms around her and
kiss her the way he'd been imagining during the course of the day.

Walking over to where she sat, he said in a hushed voice, "Are you off limits to me?"
Maddy looked up at him. "No, I was hoping you'd come, but maybe we'd better move around

behind that brush over there," she said pointing. "It's pretty bright tonight."

He nodded, and after they'd settled on a low rise, with the campsite blocked from view, but still

able to see a landscape bathed in moonlight, Dimitri put his arm around Maddy and she placed her
hand on his thigh and sat cradled against him while looking into the distance.

All around were night sounds: wind rustling through grasses; the far-off yips of coyotes, the

chirps of crickets, and even the vague sounds of Adam and Tom singing to the cattle, whacky as it
seemed.

After a while, Maddy drew in a long breath and sighed, as if burdened with something, and said,

"I love it here. I love every season. In winter the mountains are covered with snow and you can walk
on top of it with snowshoes and go places you could never go without them. It's unbelievably quiet,
except for the sound of a creek trickling by. Then comes springtime, which means calving, and after
branding the calves we move the herd to the spring range. Summer brings cattle drives and pack trips
in the mountains, and with fall comes the smell of cut hay and grapes fermenting in the winery. I
missed all of this when I was away at college."

"Las Vegas has mountains," Dimitri said.
"Mountains like these?" Maddy asked, looking up at him.

"Not so much like these because it's dry, but Mt. Charleston is almost 9,000 feet high. There's

skiing in winter, and about twenty miles from Vegas is Red Rock Canyon, where bands of wild horses
roam."

"Does Annie know about them?" Maddy asked.
"Sure. Last time I was visiting the Kincaid she gave me a stack of anti-BLM flyers to post around

Vegas."

"Did you?" Maddy asked.
"I had to. I promised Annie." Dimitri looked at her. "I told you lying doesn't carry over into my

private life."

"I know, but I wasn't convinced when you told me."
"Are you convinced now?"
Maddy tipped her head up. "Yes."
"Meanwhile, your brother's out-of-tune singing is coming closer so I'd better get back to my post,

but before I go I need a kiss to hold me while we circle and sing to the cows for the next two hours."
Dimitri pulled Maddy down with him and she curved her arms around his neck and entangled her legs
with his and kissed him long and hard.

As the kiss held, Dimitri envisioned having Maddy in his arms, every night of his life, as his

assistant and his wife. But there seemed no way to make that scenario a reality unless he extended his
contract at the Coyote. It was a recent offer, which he'd put on hold because it was short term and fell
far short of what he'd been offered on the strip, but with a couple more weeks, he was certain he
could convince Maddy to leave the ranch and go with him, though he knew if he took her to Las Vegas
he could never offer her there what she has now at the Dancing Moon Ranch. The same old dilemma.

CHAPTER 14

The following morning the horses were waiting near the gate as the cattle started stirring. Day

began just before dawn, when Adam threw some sticks of wood on the embers, and soon, a fire was
blazing, a pot of coffee was steaming, and Adam was in the process of frying eggs, bacon, and
flapjacks.

Dimitri was surprised he felt rested after having spent most of the night on a bedroll on hard,

lumpy ground, but it wasn't the lumps that kept him awake. It was trying to sleep under a canopy of
trillions of stars while watching for another shooting star or one last satellite moving across the sky,
the way Maddy described, and those moments had been interspersed with thoughts of having Maddy
stretched out alongside him.

What was yet more surprising about the almost sleepless night was that he actually enjoyed

singing to the cattle, although cowboy songs were out, mainly because he didn't know any, so when
Maddy suggested Christmas carols, he was okay with that. Maddy started them off with 'Silent Night'
and although he felt a little self-conscious at first, when the lowing of the cattle settled down, he
found himself feeling a kind of kinship with the herd, and by the time they'd run the gamut from 'O
Come All Ye Faithful,' to 'O Little Town of Bethlehem,' singing to cows didn't seem whacky at all.

Right after breakfast they broke camp and began moving the cattle out of the holding pasture, and

as they drove them across the rangeland, it came to Dimitri, as he gazed across the unspoiled country,
that sunrise, with all its shades of golds and reds, had never looked so spectacular as from the back of
a horse. The simple fact was, he seldom saw sunrise at all when he was in Vegas because his hours
were shifted. Day rarely started before ten, and bedtime usually hit around two the following
morning.

It also came to him that the simple pleasures of trailing along with cows, and having cookouts

around a campfire, and sleeping under a night sky filled with stars, put the focus on the family who
were moving the cattle. The Hansens were involved in each other's lives, but in a good way. Even
Maddy's parents and brothers had a reason to be concerned about her now because they saw a man
who was doing his best to take her away from them, so he didn't fault them for what they were doing.
He just wished it didn't have to be that way, but that was the reality, and it wasn't likely to change.

In their final descent to the river, which was a gradual decline with cows moving eight to ten

abreast, Dimitri looked ahead and saw Adam and Wyatt riding their horses back and forth along the
riverbank while gesturing to each other in a way that told him there was trouble ahead.

As the herd drew closer and the cattle began to spread out along the river, Adam turned his horse

around and rode up to where the rest of them were waiting, and said, "The heavy rain caused a
rockslide that dammed the river downstream with rocks and debris, and the river's backed up to a
depth that will mean swimming the cattle for about forty feet."

Maddy eyed Adam in concern. "Can't we bust up the dam?"
Adam shook his head. "Some sizeable boulders came with the slide and there are logs and debris

caught up with them, so it would take a stick of dynamite to blow out an opening. The water's calm so
there shouldn't be a problem."

"Why not move the cattle upstream a ways?" Maddy asked.
"Can't do that either," Adam replied. "The river bed's loaded with large slippery rocks from a

slide a few years back and the cattle would lose their footing, so it's either swim them across here, or
move them to another grazing area."

"I suppose I'm game to swim them," Maddy said.

Adam looked at Dimitri, who shrugged. "No problem."
"And you, Tom?" Adam asked.
"As long as my horse can swim, I'm okay."
"He can," Adam said. "So, Wyatt, Logan, Maddy and I will take the cattle across, and Jesse," he

said, looking at his son, "you stay here with Tom and Dimitri. The three of you keep the herd together,
and after we get the cattle across, you three can come." He turned his horse and headed back to the
river.

Before joining Adam, Maddy said to Dimitri, "Tut's crossed here dozens of times but never when

it's deep like this, so if for some reason he rolls on his side and refuses to swim, splash water on his
head and that usually gets a horse going straight and swimming again."

"How often does that happen?" Dimitri asked.
"It's never happened during any drive I've been on, but it did once with Adam," Maddy said.

"Don't worry about it. Just remember what to do if it happens."

Dimitri looked to where Adam and Wyatt were moving among the herd instead of heading them

toward the river. "What are they doing out there?" he asked.

"Cutting a smaller group to send across first. Moses will lead them and the others will follow,

then Logan and I will keep the rest of the herd moving so they don't turn back. Think of it as an
opportunity to get half a bath and wash your jeans at the same time."

"What about saddles and boots?" Dimitri asked.
"They'll be a little squishy for a while," Maddy replied, "and I admit, riding in squishy gear tops

the list of the most aggravating conditions on a drive." Looking to where a cow had turned from the
herd and was starting up the path they'd just traversed, she said, "Uh oh. Got to go. Good luck."

A short distance from the river's edge, Adam moved Moses in front of the cows they'd cut from

the herd and gave him a command, and Moses headed for the river. The group behind him followed
close, and with cattle crowding in their rear, there was no alternative but for the ones in front to
swim, while alongside the animals, Adam and Wyatt shouted to keep them moving. On reaching the
opposite bank, Adam yelled across to Logan and Maddy, "Keep them moving."

As the animals reached the far bank, Adam and Wyatt urged them out of the way of the ones

Maddy and Logan were driving toward the water, and the four of them kept a steady stream of cattle
moving into the river and out the opposite bank.

After the herd was safely across, Adam called to Dimitri, Tom and Jesse, "We'll let the animals

settle down, and when everything's calm, you three can come across and we'll move the herd on up
the hill."

While they waited, Dimitri figured he must be running on adrenaline because he didn't yet feel the

effects of the almost sleepless night. Instead, he felt oddly invigorated. It had been two long active
days, though not in a negative way. He'd had a chance to watch Maddy from a distance and what he
saw was a woman who'd been born and raised on a ranch and knew every facet of ranching, who
could herd cattle as competently as any seasoned cowboy, yet she was prepared to devote her life to
helping kids with disabilities have a better life. Women he'd been involved with until now didn't
come close.

The fact was, Maddy was a remarkable woman in every way, and he was a little in awe of her.

She was also the woman he loved, and somewhere along the way he might have to make a tough
choice between having Maddy or having a career he'd worked a lifetime to achieve.

Yet, there was nothing noble about being an illusionist. Over the years he'd convinced himself

what he did was an outlet for peoples' stress, that people left a show feeling better than when they

arrived. But after a successful performance, he was the one on top of the world because what he did
made him feel good, and he gave little thought to those he'd held in the palm of his hands for the
duration of a show.

His musings were interrupted when Adam rode up to the riverbank on the opposite shore and

called over to them, "You three can cross now, one at a time, Jesse first."

Jesse urged his horse toward the riverbank, and the horse took to the water and seemed to be

going in a straight line with his nose pointed forward, but just before he reached the opposite bank,
something floated by, and instead of continuing toward the riverbank, the horse swung around and
started back. Jesse attempted to turn him, but midway in the river the horse floundered in the water,
rolled on its side and started thrashing around.

Adam sent his horse charging into the river, and working off the back side of Jesse's horse,

grabbed his bridle to pull the horse out of the way of Jesse, who was off the horse and struggling
against the rush of water churning from the horse's frantic thrashing. But while Adam was tugging the
horse away from Jesse, Jesse disappeared below the surface and was gone.

Dimitri, seeing what happened, quickly dismounted and made his way, chest-deep in water, to

where he last saw Jesse, figuring he must be trapped in debris in the vicinity where the horse rolled.
But as he approached, the river bottom suddenly dropped off and he found himself in water over his
head. Still, he located Jesse, whose head was barely above the surface of the water. While Jesse was
trying to tell him his foot was stuck, Jesse's mouth filled with water and he started choking.

By then, Adam had Jesse's horse out of the water, and dismounting, rushed to where Dimitri was

standing on a deeply-submerged log while holding Jesse's head tipped back, to keep his nose above
water. "I can't pull him out," Dimitri said to Adam. "His boot's caught between two logs and it's deep.
Hang onto Jesse and I'll go down and work his foot loose."

Adam switched places with Dimitri, and wrapping himself around Jesse, continued to hold

Jesse's head back, while saying, "Look at the sky, son. We'll get you out in no time."

Sucking in a deep breath, Dimitri went down, but the water was so murky from the horse

thrashing around he had to feel his way along Jesse's leg and try to maneuver the boot loose, but the
boot stuck fast and the river bottom was deep enough that he couldn't get any footing for leverage.
Rising to the surface, he said, "I can't budge his foot. I need something like a crowbar to wedge the
logs apart."

Adam yelled at Tom, who was off his horse and standing on the riverbank, "Get my rifle off my

saddle and empty it and bring it here. And hurry!"

Tom fetched the rifle and rushed into the water and handed it to Dimitri. With the rifle clutched in

his hand, Dimitri took another breath and went back down. Padding his way along Jesse's leg, he
located the boot, and going strictly by feel, wedged the muzzle of the rifle between the logs trapping
the boot and tried to force them apart. He could feel the logs move, but when he tried to pull the boot
loose, it remained stuck.

Not wanting to lose what he'd gained in prying the logs apart by pulling the rifle out and starting

over, Dimitri shoved the muzzle deeper between the logs and again attempted to wedge them apart.
But he found himself fighting against a whirlpool below where Jesse's foot was trapped, which he
figured was the current from the stream butting up against the rock dam, which was probably what
sucked Jesse down in the first place.

With all the exertion of fighting the current while jabbing the rifle between the logs and trying to

move them apart, and tugging on a boot that refused to come loose, Dimitri found himself getting
lightheaded and in urgent need of air. Giving one final thrust with the rifle, knowing it was all the

strength he had, the logs moved apart. Then his head felt frothy and light, water that had been murky
brown went yellow, and there was no sound, no sensation. All he was aware of was a sort of yellow
glow. He thought about the Water Torture tank and wondered at the irony. When closed in the tank his
only goal was to be out where he could fill his lungs with air, yet all the while he'd been missing the
yellow glow. Here, the need to breathe was gone and he had no desire to struggle, so he remained
where he was, surrounded by the yellow glow while experiencing a kind of sublime relaxation he'd
never felt…

Until he was dragged by one arm out of the water.
He struggled to get back to the yellow glow but had no strength. Then he felt pressure on his

chest, and he was hit with a fit of coughing, great spasms that sent water gushing, in spurts, out of his
mouth. Gradually the coughing subsided and things around him began to swim into view. His gaze
moved across the people hovering over him. Focusing on a face that was still a blur, he said what
first came to mind, "Jesse? Is he okay?"

Adam's voice came from behind. "He's fine." He placed his hand on Dimitri's shoulder. "I'll

never be able to repay you for what you did. You saved my boy and almost drowned doing it."

It was several minutes before Dimitri's mind cleared, but then it all came back. "There's some

kind of undertow down there and it was working against me," he said. "Who pulled me out?"

"Maddy," Adam said. "We were busy with Jesse and no one noticed you hadn't come up until she

saw you below the surface."

Dimitri dragged himself to a sitting position, and looking at Maddy's distraught face, he gave her

a little smile to break her somber mood, and said, "If I mess up during the water torture escape,
drowning's the way to go. Before you pulled me out I was in this pleasant yellow mist."

"Which could have faded into eternal darkness," Maddy said, in an irritated voice. "This is not

something to joke about. By the time I got to you it was almost too late. If it happened during the water
torture escape, you'd be behind curtains, so no one would see you sitting at the bottom of your tank,
enjoying your yellow mist while thinking you'd like to stay there!"

Resisting the urge to pull Maddy into his arms and kiss away her worries, Dimitri said, "When

you learn the secret to Metamorphosis tomorrow, you'll understand why I'm never in any real danger
when I'm in the tank."

It took some moments before Maddy said, "Metamorphosis… tomorrow?"
"If you're up to it."
As Maddy looked at him, her expression gradually changed from worry, to anticipation, and

ultimately to a smile he could look at forever…

She's the kind of woman who can take a man away from his dreams…
His father was dead wrong. Maddy couldn't take him away from his dreams because she was his

dream. His challenge now would be to convince her he was her dream too, and that Las Vegas was
the place where they could build their castle in the sky. Maybe it wouldn't be Camelot, but they'd be
together while he built a name for himself, so ultimately they could return to the place she loved and
raise their family.

CHAPTER 15

The next afternoon, when Dimitri and Maddy were about to get in the limo to go to the Coyote to

rehearse Metamorphosis, Jayne came rushing over to them, and said, "Sharon just called. They're
moving Katy to the regular cardiac unit because she's doing so well. The doctors believe it's a
placebo effect because Katy went into her surgery convinced that magic brought her the best heart and
that's why she's healing so fast."

"I'm glad she doing so well," Dimitri said, "but now she believes in magic, and magic's all stage

lies."

"It's also about believing," Jayne replied, "and for now, believing in magic seems to have a place

in Katy's life. Sharon also said Katy wants you to teach her more magic so by the time she leaves the
hospital she'll be a magician like you."

Dimitri let out a cynical laugh. "I'll teach her some magic, mainly to convince her it's exactly

what it is, all smoke and mirrors. I could probably have her doing some basic sleight of hand in a
couple of weeks."

"Your contract runs out at the end of this week," Maddy reminded him.
Maddy's comment caught Dimitri off guard. He hadn't intended on telling her about the new

contract offer because he didn't want pressure from her to accept something that would mean turning
his back on the Las Vegas proposal.

"Were you planning on staying longer?" Maddy asked, when he didn't respond.
After a long pause, Dimitri said, "They offered to extend my contract another month, but I haven't

committed to it."

When Maddy said nothing, Dimitri hoped she'd let the issue pass. However, when they were in

the limo on the way to the Coyote, Maddy, who was sitting stiffly in the curve of his arm instead of
cuddling against him, said in a tone that told him she was miffed, "Why didn't you tell me about your
contract at the Coyote?"

Dimitri looked at her stony profile. "I didn't want to be influenced."
"Influenced in what way?" Maddy asked. "My getting it in my head that you could extend your

contract indefinitely and not go back to Las Vegas?"

Dimitri caught himself from saying that was exactly why he hadn't mentioned it, and said instead,

"My father's like your father in that the sooner there's a thousand miles between us, the happier they'll
both be."

"Maybe they're right," Maddy said, while continuing to look straight ahead. "If you're as serious

about me as you claim, you would have included me in a decision that would allow us to be together."

"I didn't intend for us to be apart," Dimitri said. "If I stay longer it would be to convince you to

return to Las Vegas with me and give us a try. If things worked out we could come back here
regularly, maybe buy a bus and hire a driver like my dad does. It's not such a bad life."

"Maybe not now, but I refuse to raise a family on a bus," Maddy replied.
"Honey, lighten up a little," Dimitri said. "I'm trying to work out a solution for us, but I have to be

able to make a living as an illusionist because that's what I'm best at doing, which means making a
name for myself, and I can't do it at the Coyote Lounge. That's not the way this profession works.
Besides, the bus would only be used during the summer when the kids could be with us, which would
give them a chance to see the country. The rest of the time we'd be where you could have your riding
arena and I could have a workshop."

"You have a degree in mechanical engineering," Maddy said.

"Which I got so I could design and build my own illusions for when I have my own show."
"So then, if you manage the disappearing horse illusion and get your own show in Las Vegas, will

that be tantamount to making it, or would you have to start adding death-defying escapes and bigger
stage productions until you steal the spotlight from David Copperfield?"

Dimitri let out a cynical huff. "No one can steal the spotlight from Copperfield. He's a legend, the

most commercially successful magician in history, but I wouldn't complain if I could have his
following and perform to sold-out audiences at the MGM Grand."

When Maddy said nothing, just continued looking straight ahead, Dimitri kissed her on the side of

the face, and said, "Don't worry, honey, I'm not out to become a legend. But I would like to have my
own show in Vegas for a few years. By then, coming back here and putting on chaps and being a
sidewalker for the prettiest equine therapist in the country will sound pretty good." He turned
Maddy's face so she'd have to look at him, and said, "I love you, and I'm trying to make things work,
but you have to meet me half way."

Maddy's eyes held confusion, and concern, as she said, "But your means of my meeting you half

way is for me to move to Las Vegas and be your assistant. What about my dream? Am I supposed to
abandon Healing Hooves until you're ready to move here?"

"Of course not," Dimitri said. "We can find a piece of land near Vegas that would work."
"It's all desert," Maddy replied. "I went online last night and looked up land for sale, and for

about a half-million dollars you can get five acres of scrub land that wouldn't support one small goat.
I have sixty acres of pasture and woods on the ranch, and thousands of acres where I can ride, and my
family's ready to help me build an arena."

"How about this," Dimitri said. "We'll pick up a small acreage and build a saleable house and an

arena, and bring in hay for the horses, and after I'm established we'll move back here and I'll work the
lounges in the area. I'm just asking you to give me a chance to get established so I'd be able to support
a family. In about five years we'd come back here and focus on your dreams. I'll have the money to do
whatever you want by then. In the meantime we'd start your horse camp in Las Vegas, but on a small
scale."

The discussion was cut short when the limo pulled up to the lounge.
Maddy moved out of the curve of Dimitri's arm and peered through the window. "I can't believe

this," she said. "There's already a crowd, and it's at least three hours before show time. Will it be like
this wherever you go?"

"It will if I plan things right," Dimitri replied. "Word of the water torture cell has people coming

with hopes that if I'm on the ten o'clock news again it will be for a very different reason, and they can
say they saw the failed escape."

"You say that lightly like nothing will happen, when in fact any number of things could go wrong,

just as they could with your burning box escape," Maddy clipped.

"We've been through this," Dimitri said. "I always check the rigging right before."
The door to the limo opened and Maddy took Chris's extended hand to get out, but while she was

walking with Dimitri to the lounge, she said, "During the cattle drive you nearly drowned. The same
thing could happen in the water torture cell."

"Okay. Maybe I did come close to drowning, but it's different with the water tank escape."
"And still, you refuse to tell me the secret," Maddy said, as they started up the stairs to the

dressing room. "I'm worried that something unexpected could happen and you wouldn't be able to do
whatever you do to get out."

Just outside the dressing room door, Dimitri pulled Maddy around so she was facing him, kissed

her lightly, and said, "You'll learn half the secret when we rehearse Metamorphosis."

"And the other half?"
"You'll learn that when you marry me." Dimitri opened the door to the dressing room.
Maddy remained where she was and stared at him. "I didn't yet agree to marry you. You're the

one jumping to that conclusion."

"Do you want to marry me?" Dimitri asked.
"Well, yes."
"Then we need to get on with rehearsing Metamorphosis. After you marry me you'll learn the rest

of the secret to the torture tank and all your worries will be over." Dimitri nudged her into the
dressing room.

While Maddy stood with a brooding look on her face, two of Dimitri's stage men approached,

one pushing the Metamorphosis trunk which was riding on a dolly, the other carrying a storage
container, which he set down.

Ray, the taller of the two, said to Dimitri, "Do you want us to hang around?"
"Not now but I'll want you back here in an hour or so," Dimitri replied.
"Just give us a call," Ray said. "We'll be in the casino with Chris."
"Fine, but if you lose your money don't expect an advance," Dimitri said. "As it is, you guys are

getting a paid vacation."

"Yeah, we're not minding it so much now."
After the men left, Dimitri said to Maddy, "Check the trunk thoroughly inside and out. It's made of

solid wood, and the padlocks used will be certified locks from a local lock shop."

Maddy was still in the process of digesting Dimitri's marriage proposition and the fact that she

wanted to tell him both yes, and no. Yes, because she loved him, and no, because she couldn't imagine
living in Las Vegas, except that she'd have Dimitri in her life every day and night, and she loved being
a part of his performances, and he was rearranging his life to include her and her dream. How could
she say, no?

She put that decision on hold because, for now, her curiosity about the trunk caught her attention.

It had been almost four months since she'd seen Dimitri do the impossible—escape from shackles
while sealed inside a postal bag and somehow emerge from inside a roped, chained, and padlocked
trunk, to be replaced by a woman who, in turn, ended up in shackles inside the trunk. Yet the trunk
was never opened because it remained in plain view of the audience the entire time, and the switch
took place in less than five seconds.

Seeing the trunk up close, it looked even more formidable. It was not only covered with a

crisscross of heavy straps, but there were metal brackets where each leather strap met the edge of the
trunk before turning and continuing. The body of the trunk was painted green, but the paint was
scarred and scraped, like the trunk was old. In fact, it appeared to be a very old trunk, yet she knew
Dimitri constructed it based on photographs of Houdini's Metamorphosis trunk. She was more than a
little amazed at how authentic the trunk looked, right down to the four, ornate, antique brass hasps
across the front of the lid.

She ran her hand over the solid wood top, which was so thick her knuckles felt the impact when

she knocked on it, then she opened the trunk and saw that the inside was also scarred and scuffed, as
if very old. Scanning the interior with a questioning eye, while padding her hand inside the trunk, she
said in a perplexed voice, "It's impossible. There's no way out."

Dimitri ran a finger down the length of her spine and gave her a little nudge. "Go ahead. Climb in

and see how it is in there, keeping in mind that you'll be chained inside a trunk that will also be

chained, roped and padlocked. You don't have a problem with tight spaces do you?"

Maddy never gave tight spaces a thought because it had never been an issue, but when she

visualized being cuffed and chained inside a closed trunk secured with a crisscross of ropes, chains
and padlocks, a feeling of claustrophobia began to build. "What if there's an earthquake while I'm in
there?" she asked, while staring at the trunk.

"Trust me, you'll get out."
Unable to suppress what she knew to be an irrational fear, but deciding she just needed more

time to get adjusted to the idea, she said, "I think I should rehearse in my costume, so if you'll get it
out, I'll go put it on."

Dimitri eyed her skeptically, then opened the storage container and lifted out a jumpsuit made of

iridescent bluish-green spandex. "You'll be able to move around inside the trunk in this."

Maddy stared at the slinky thing, while imagining her family's reaction if they saw her in it,

although it did have long legs and sleeves. "It's going to fit like a second skin."

"I know. Put it on and we'll get started."
Maddy took the costume and went into the bathroom and shed everything except her underwear,

and stepped into the body suit, which had no zippers or snaps, only a scooped neck that gave access
to the arms and legs, from which she wiggled and tugged while the full-length leotard made its way
up. When she looked in the mirror, she called through the bathroom door, "My parents would have
apoplexy if they saw me in this."

"It's a dancer's leotard," Dimitri called back. "If you were a ballerina your folks would be

proudly taking pictures."

"I suppose. At least the neckline's cut high on my chest."
When she stepped out of the bathroom, Dimitri slowly scanned the length or her, pausing mid-

chest, before focusing on her face, and saying, "I can think of a lot better use of our time than locking
you in a trunk right now."

"Maybe so," Maddy said, "but I've waited four months to learn the secret to Metamorphosis, so

whatever you have in mind will have to wait until we're in the limo." Returning her attention to the
trunk, she again scrutinized the inside for any sign of an opening and saw nothing.

When she still didn't climb in, Dimitri said, "If you want to learn the secret, you have to get in the

trunk so we can see how you do in the dark."

Determined to suppress what she knew to be an irrational fear, Maddy climbed into the trunk and

curled on her side. Dimitri shut the lid, and as darkness closed in around her, and she imagined trunk
securely bound in chains, ropes and padlocks, she also envisioned the walls of the trunk moving
inward, like they were trying to squeeze her. She closed her eyes and pretended to be sleeping, but
while she was breathing deeply, trying to hold that thought, the air inside seemed suddenly gone.

Feeling a rush of panic, she pushed the lid open and stood straight up while taking in great gulps

of air, and after filling her lungs and exhaling several times, she said, "This is ridiculous. I was in the
trunk no more than a few seconds and it was totally creepy. I don't know if I can do this. What if they
can't get the locks off because they're stuck and I run out of air?"

Maddy had just about closed her mind to carrying out the escape, which ended any dream of

being Dimitri's assistant, when Dimitri placed his hands on her shoulders, looked steadily at her, and
said, "The feeling you're having of being chained and bound in a trunk that will be locked tightly, and
the thought that you could be trapped and run out of air, is what we want the audience to feel."

"The problem is, I can't get past that feeling," Maddy said. "I don't think I can do this."
She had just climbed out of the trunk when Dimitri took her by the arms, and said, "Okay, honey,

I've dragged this out long enough. Magic's about ten percent mechanics and ninety percent
showmanship. The reason Metamorphosis stuns the audience is because the switch appears to take
place instantly. In the minds of the audience I don't have time to free myself from cuffs and chains, get
out of a postal bag, and escape from a trunk that's chained, padlocked and bound with ropes, but the
audience fails to realize I'm already free before my stage crew has even finished securing the trunk,
and by the time my assistant is raising and lowering the curtain on the hoop, I'm out of the trunk and
crouched on top. So this is how it works."

Dimitri dragged the prop container over near the trunk and pulled out two pairs of handcuffs, a

metal neck collar, some chains, and several padlocks, and set them on the floor. Lifting the metal
collar, he moved in front of Maddy and said, "Here's comes your dog collar." He clamped it around
her neck. "Now hold out your hands for the cuffs."

Maddy raised her hands, while telling herself she could do this. It was a case of mind over

matter. "Are you sure I'll be able to free myself?" she asked.

"Trust me. You'll be free in less than five seconds." Dimitri clamped the cuffs around her wrists.

"You're tense and breathing heavily."

"I've never been collared and cuffed before."
"It's all stage effects." Dimitri crouched in front of her and clamped a pair of cuffs onto her

ankles. "You have nice legs," he commented.

"Are you using misdirection to take my mind off being in bondage?" Maddy asked.
"No, I'm telling the truth. The rest of you is shaped nice too." He picked up a chain and

padlocked it to a metal loop on the collar, then draped the chain over her shoulder and padlocked the
opposite end to the cuff on her left hand. Picking up another chain, he padlocked it to the cuff on her
right hand, draped the chain around her waist, and padlocked it to one of her ankle cuffs.

As Dimitri was picking up the last chain, Maddy said, "You do realize if my father or brothers

happened to walk in right now, you'd be a dead man."

Dimitri laughed. "Do you feel threatened?"
"Should I?" Maddy asked.
"Not unless you don't trust me." While clamping the last padlock to connect the chain to the

remaining ankle cuff, Dimitri said, "What I'm doing means nothing. I'm walking you through this so
you'll know exactly how we do it. But before you learn the secret, I want you to kiss me the way you
did when we were lying together up on the mountain. I want to know you trust me completely because
trust is the basis of any relationship."

Maddy raised her chained and cuffed hands. "Kissing you like I did on the mountain will be a

little difficult right now."

"Then do the best you can." Dimitri took her face between his hands and kissed her the way

Maddy had seen her father kiss her mother over the years, a long sweet kiss of love, tenderness,
affection, and other emotions that seemed to radiate from the kiss, then afterwards, more often than
not, her dad would kiss her mother on the forehead, like he still had some love inside that needed to
be expressed.

To Maddy's delight, when their lips parted, Dimitri kissed her on the forehead, then on the tip of

her nose, and again on her lips, and said, "That was nice but I'm ready for you to get out of bondage
so we can do it the right way. Meanwhile, hold up your hands."

After Maddy raised her hands, Dimitri took her thumb and moved it around until it rested on a

small metal bump on the cuff on the opposite hand, and said, "Press." When Maddy pressed, the cuff
sprang opened. "You'll find release buttons on the collar and each cuff, so go ahead."

Maddy found the metal bumps and released the cuffs and collar, sending chains dropping with a

metallic clink to the carpet.

While staring at the mess of metal at her feet, she said, "That's all there is to it?"
"Basically, yes," Dimitri replied.
"Okay then, I understand how you get out of the chains when you're in the water tank, but not how

you get out of the tank, and I'm going a little crazy trying to figure it out, so if I marry you, you'll never
know if it was because I truly love you, or because I wanted to learn the secret."

"Do you truly love me?" Dimitri asked.
"Yes," Maddy replied, "but that doesn't mean I'll marry you. Trying to conduct a marriage while

living a thousand miles apart would be frustrating, and I don't remember telling you that I'd follow
you to Las Vegas."

"You didn't, but the universe is working out the details," Dimitri said.
"If your universe expects us to spend our married life dematerializing and materializing so we

can tele-transport between the Dancing Moon Ranch and Las Vegas, that won't work for me because I
don't like tight spaces, and once out of my body, I'd probably freak out at the thought of being confined
in it again. So, getting back to Metamorphosis, how is the postal bag rigged?"

Dimitri lifted the canvas bag from the box and turned it around, revealing a slit up the back.

"Members of the audience come on stage to check the trunk then go back to their seats and accept
without question that the cuffs and collar are real because the padlocks are certified. And in their
minds the postal bag is secure because they see a bar being run through loops along the top of the bag,
with padlocks clamped to each end. Meanwhile, I'm standing with the back gaping open like a
hospital gown, and no one knows."

"And to get out of the trunk?" Maddy asked.
"Simple." Dimitri grabbed the top back corners of the trunk below the lid, and giving a little jerk,

lowered the back from its metal framework that held the hinges to the lid, while using the leather
strapping at the bottom as a hinge. The metal corner brackets also came away with the panel, so when
the back was closed, the brackets looked as if they were fastened to the trunk. It was masterful, but as
Maddy stared at the panel resting against the floor, all her months of speculation and wonder slipped
away, leaving her feeling let down.

"It really is like learning Santa doesn't exist all over again," she said.
Dimitri gave a kind of pessimistic shrug. "I figured that's the way you'd feel. Take away the magic

and what you have is just an ordinary man."

Maddy looked at Dimitri, whose face was downcast. Walking around the trunk, she curved her

arms around his neck, and said, "Ordinary men can't send cards flying between their hands, or pull
objects out of thin air, or materialize in front of people's eyes, no matter how it's done." She kissed
him. "Nor do ordinary men make magicians out of sick little girls or risk their lives rescuing a boy
from a river." She pressed her lips to his again. "And I do like the way you kiss."

"Good, because we'll be doing a lot of that on the way home in the limo after the show.

Meanwhile, you'd better practice crawling inside the trunk and chaining up because we'll be
performing Metamorphosis tonight."

Maddy looked at him with a start. "You can't be serious. I haven't done it once yet."
"There's nothing to it," Dimitri said. "Once inside the trunk, all you have to do is clamp the collar

around your neck and the cuffs on your wrists. The chains will already be attached."

"What about the ankle cuffs?" Maddy asked.
"They're irrelevant. After one of my crew opens the locks on your collar and handcuffs he'll

pretend to open those on your ankles, then I'll help you out. By then the audience will be too stunned
to think beyond the fact that we made the switch in less than five seconds."

Maddy knew the feeling of being stunned. She and her roommates had been speechless when they

saw the switch, and after the audience broke into loud, enthusiastic applause, they couldn't stop
talking. Even while she made her way toward Dimitri's dressing room she was still stunned, but she
was also a little star struck…

Dimitri went into the dressing room and returned carrying the hoop with the curtain, and handing

it to Maddy, he said, "We'll spend the next half hour with you standing on top of the trunk while
raising and lowing the hoop, and me taking it from you while you crawl inside and cuff up. After
several times through you'll have the hang of it, then I'll call Ray and Johnny and we'll rehearse the
entire thing a few times."

"It was a bigger stage in Las Vegas so the trunk was well back from the audience there," Maddy

said. "Here, the audience won't be more than ten feet from us."

"Which makes performing here more challenging," Dimitri replied. "It's also why Copperfield

performs on a stage the size of a football field. His audience can't see his props and all the wires he
uses for his levitations."

"I suppose that's a reason to want to perform in Las Vegas instead of at the Coyote," Maddy said

in a glum voice. She also understood more clearly why Dimitri had to go back, because if he didn't,
he'd end up being a vagabond magician, traveling from nightclub to nightclub, like her father said. But
as she considered that thought, another idea took form. "How about, we divide our time between both
places, 75% in Las Vegas, and 25% here? The 25% could be during the summer when I'd hold my
horse camp. We could have houses in both places."

"Honey, that's brilliant," Dimitri said, "and since I'm a seasoned cowboy who likes driving cattle

and riding in the mountains and sleeping under the stars with my buckle bunny, after I'm established
we'll switch to 75% here and 25% in Vegas because there aren't any starry skies there since the night
sky's filled with the glow from hundreds of neon signs and the Luxor Pyramid's 42-billion candle
power light."

Although Dimitri said the words in jest, Maddy also sensed he was serious, yet she'd made the

suggestion without giving it critical thought.

Now, she wondered if it was an option. She hated the idea of living in Las Vegas for any length

of time and she loved everything about living on the ranch, but she loved Dimitri more, and if he left
without her he'd find another assistant, someone beautiful and sexy, and he'd marry her because he
was heading in that direction, and before long he'd forget she existed, except for those times when
she'd be visiting Genie and Josh, and Dimitri might be there. He'd treat her with fondness and
affection instead of the deep, abiding love he'd have for his wife, while she couldn't imagine any man
filling the void she knew would be there after he left.

CHAPTER 16

While riding in the limo on the way home from the performance in which they introduced

Metamorphosis to an enormously enthusiastic audience, Maddy was so pumped up from having
carried out the illusion without a glitch that she cuddled against Dimitri, and kissed him on the jaw,
and he kissed her on the neck, and before long they were reclined on the seat, entangled in each
other's arms, their lips clinging in long, passionate kisses.

Maddy was the one to finally gain control by sitting up and pulling Dimitri up with her, and

saying, "Before we get completely carried away, we need to do some serious talking, maybe take a
sunrise ride to the cabin tomorrow morning."

"Are you actually planning on talking—" Dimitri nibbled on the side of Maddy's neck "—or did

you want to go to the cabin for other reasons?"

Maddy let out a little moan of pleasure when Dimitri teased the inner swirl of her ear, then said,

with a chuckle, "You can do more magic tricks if you want, but I was thinking more along the lines of
planning our future and figuring out how to break the news to our families."

Dimitri stopped what he was doing and drew in a long breath. "You're right," he said, in a

serious voice. "We already know how your family feels, and my father has serious misgivings about
me marrying you because you're a ranch girl."

"Wait!" Maddy said. "You've already talked to him about marrying me?"
"Indirectly," Dimitri replied. "We had a discussion of sorts when he figured out you were more

than just another assistant. I wish he could have seen you tonight though. He would have left the show
knowing you're my perfect mate."

"Until he'd see me mucking out stalls and conclude I'm your imperfect mate," Maddy said. "But

even if he accepted me, it will be an uphill battle convincing my parents that ours is a match made in
heaven, especially since they think Las Vegas is analogous to Sodom and Gomorrah."

"Then we'll convince them that the places where I'd be working are above reproach."
"That wouldn't make a difference," Maddy said. "You'd still be taking me away from here, unless

you're serious about later spending less time in Las Vegas and more time here."

"I'm serious about marrying you," Dimitri said. "But that's what we need to work out, so when we

approach your family they'll give us their blessing."

Maddy knew for a fact that Dimitri would not get her family's blessing as long as he intended to

sweep her away with him to Sin City. But maybe it was time to stand up to them and let them know
how she felt about Dimitri. She'd been avoiding any physical contact with him whenever anyone was
around, so to suddenly dump wedding plans in their laps would create a firestorm. But then, she was
a grown woman, free to make her own decisions.

Holding that thought, she said, "I agree we need to start working out the logistics of things, but

realistically, we need to work out a lot more than that, since we come from very different upbringings.
We need to talk about how we want to raise our kids so we'll be together in the way we handle them,
and we need to discuss our philosophical and religious views and make sure they'll blend because
that's the kind of thing that divides families, one parent thinking their beliefs are the only way, and the
other having different beliefs. And we should discuss what kind of house we want. I don't even know
what kind of house you live in."

"It's an upscale house belonging to my dad," Dimitri replied. "It has a daylight basement that's

been converted into a woodshop. But when it comes to houses, all I need is a woodshop, so you can
have any kind of house you want. As for religious beliefs, if you want us to go to church that's fine

with me. I'm for keeping the kids on the straight and narrow."

"That's all well and good, but we should still wait a little longer before springing marriage plans

on my parents," Maddy said. "They don't even know we're an item. At least I don't think they do,
except for Tyler, but since no one's said anything he probably forgot about seeing us, since that was
the day Claire was born."

"Then since we both acknowledge we won't have the blessing of either of our parents, I vote we

spend what time we I have here planning the rest of our lives, then go to Las Vegas and get married
and tell our families afterwards."

"Are you serious?"
"About marrying you, yes. About running off to do it, no. If your father didn't get to walk his only

daughter down the aisle I'd be about as welcome around here as a snake-oil salesman."

"Some couples are engaged for a year before they marry," Maddy said.
Dimitri eyed her with concern. "Is that what you want?"
"I don't know what I want," Maddy said. "Well I do and I don't. I want to marry you, and I want

you to realize your dream of becoming the illusionist you want to be. It's just that, everything's so
sudden. A month ago there wasn't even a man in my life, and now I'm planning on spending the rest of
my life with you."

"That's because when it's right, it's right," Dimitri said. "I have no doubts about my feelings for

you. It's that 'I-need-to-be-with-you' impulse kind of chemistry I was talking about, when my only
goal every day is to be with you, and I hope by now you feel the same about me."

"I do," Maddy said. "I've never had feelings like this before, but I've never been in love with a

magician either. Actually, I've never been in love with anyone. I had a few crushes, but the feelings I
have for you are new. And yes, I do spend all day counting the hours until I'll have you to myself, even
though I end up sharing you with a lounge full of people."

"Well, there's no lounge full of people now," Dimitri said, "and I need another long kiss before

we get to the ranch.

He'd barely said the words when Maddy's lips were on his, and before long they were engaged

in another long, passionate, kiss with tongues darting in and out one moment, and entangling the next,
which had Maddy's heart hammering, and her breath feeling as if it were trapped in her lungs, and
when Dimitri's hands seem to be everywhere—one hand moving up her leg while dragging her dress
along with it, the other lowering the front of her gown so he could kiss the swell of her breasts—
Maddy let out little plaintive sounds, which became gasps for air when Dimitri nuzzled her cleavage
and kissed each breast before making his way up her chest and along the side of her neck, where he
darted his tongue in her ear and traced the swirls there, bringing a gasp from her lips.

Then abruptly, Dimitri stopped what he was doing, and when Maddy looked at him in

puzzlement, he was smiling. "What's so funny?" she asked, feeling aroused because of the intimate
things he'd been doing, and irritated because he stopped.

"That was the greatest slight-of-hand I've ever done," Dimitri said.
Maddy eyed him with bafflement. "What are you talking about?"
"I'm referring to what's in your bra."
"What!" Maddy's hands went to her breasts. Reaching into the right cup of her bra, she pulled out

a tiny gold wine goblet, and in the left she found a pair of gold handcuffs. She held up the charms, one
in each hand, and said, "The goblet makes sense because this is wine country, so no one should
question it, but it would be pretty hard to explain hand cuffs to anyone in my family. Maybe you
should exchange them for something else to represent Metamorphosis."

"Like this?" In an instant, a tiny gold chest appeared in Dimitri's fingers.
Maddy stared in shocked surprise. "How do you do that?"
"Honey, stop asking. I'm a magician, an illusionist. I have secret powers."
"You are so full of it. But these are beautiful." Maddy took the tiny chest from Dimitri's fingers.

The lid on the charm lifted, revealing several seed pearls.

"So, now you have the secrets to half my illusions," Dimitri said, "but there's one more."
"I know it's not in my bra, and my gown has no pockets, so I give up. Where is it?"
"Inside my Speedo."
Maddy's eyes went to Dimitri's crotch. "Are you serious?"
Dimitri laughed. "I wish, but no, I'm not serious. It's in the waistband of your pantyhose."
"What!" Maddy slipped her hand beneath her skirt and felt the charm just above her hip. She'd

been aware of Dimitri's hand moving up her leg, but when he'd nuzzled between her breasts, her
attention was drawn from what was going on beneath her skirt to the tingles radiating from where his
lips were moving, and by the time he stopped what he was doing, she was on hormone overload,
ready for whatever would come next, except that somewhere in the dark recesses of her mind she
knew she was nearing the point of no return.

On retrieving the charm, she found a gold rabbit in a top hat. It was a small, finely-crafted rabbit

with ruby eyes, and across the front of the hat were several tiny cut diamonds. "It's beautiful, but a
rabbit in a top hat is Katy's magic trick," Maddy said.

"I know, but I want you to put it on your bracelet as a reminder to me that magic, even in the

hands of the most skilled magician, is an imperfect art."

"You shouldn't keep beating yourself up for something you knew nothing about," Maddy said.

"Katy has her new heart and she's doing well, and for that we can all be thankful. But I'll still put the
charm on my bracelet as a reminder of a special magic show and what it meant to a sick little girl, but
most of all it will remind me of the amazing man who put it all together."

"If you keep believing that, then I will have accomplished the greatest illusion of my career,"

Dimitri said. "Will it get me another kiss?"

"Absolutely." In an instant they were wrapped in each other's arms and reclined on the back seat

of the limo, and this time, when Dimitri's hands moved over Maddy's body, she was aware of exactly
where they were and what they were doing, and they were not slipping charms into her bra, but what
they were doing was magic. But somewhere during the hot, heavy, back-seat session, Maddy managed
to take enough control to break away and say, in a winded voice, "When we go for our ride in the
morning we need to stay away from the cabin. I don't have much control with you, and we still have a
lot to work out before we seal things."

Dimitri kissed the side of Maddy's neck. "Where do you propose we go?" he asked, before again

exploring her ear with his tongue.

"Umm, I like when you do that," Maddy said, "but since we're talking serious marriage plans, I

think it's time you meet the rest of my family."

Dimitri stopped what he was doing and looked at her in curiosity. "Will we still be going by

horseback?"

Maddy nodded. "It's the only way there."

***

Maddy always dreamed of going on a moonlight ride with the man she intended to marry, and

making pre-nuptial vows at the spot where the Dancing Moon Ranch got its name, but now it seemed
more important that Dimitri see the vista in broad daylight, or more accurately, in the yellow-pink

light of dawn.

They managed to saddle the horses and slip away without being seen. She didn't want everyone

asking questions about why or where she and Dimitri were going. Ever since the cattle drive, it was
clear that Dimitri didn't need riding lessons, so slipping away unnoticed would avoid having to
formulate more untruths.

The trail was an established riding trail, and only about a fifteen minute ride to their destination,

where they'd have to hike up a foot path.

After dismounting and tethering the horses, Maddy took Dimitri by the hand, and said, "We're

almost there."

Dimitri eyed Maddy with amused suspicion. "I hope this won't turn out to be some kind of

inquisition, where your father and brothers will be waiting at the top of the hill to grill me for hours
about my intentions."

Maddy laughed. "If you get grilled, it will come from the other side."
"The other side of the mountain?"
"No, the other side of the great beyond."
Dimitri cast a skeptical glance at Maddy. "Are we heading for some kind of séance?"
Maddy gave him a wry smile. "Something like that. Come on." She quickened her pace, tugging

Dimitri along behind her while making their way up the trail.

The path ended in a clearing where a small cemetery stood surrounded by an iron picket fence.

Maddy released Dimitri's hand and wrapped her palms around a couple of iron spikes, and said,
"This is the rest of my family."

Dimitri moved beside her, and as they stood together, Maddy pointed and said, "That big gray

marker in the far corner is the headstone of my great-grandfather, Jeremiah Hansen. His wife,
Madeleine, who I'm named after, is buried beside him. Jeremiah was the logger who cleared the land
and first started running cattle here, and Madeleine was the daughter of the man who owned the
property Jeremiah logged, and later bought. She was born and raised on the property so my roots here
run deep."

"I take it Adam Hansen was their son," Dimitri said, referring to a large granite marker to the

right of the others.

Maddy nodded. "He was married to Grandma Maureen. He's the one who built the lodge, and

along with running cattle, he started the guest ranch. He died way before I was born, but Grandma
talked about him so much when we were growing up we all feel like we knew him. I wish I had. We
never thought Grandma would marry again, but she did. She and Howard were at each other's
weddings when they married their first spouses, and the two couples stayed friends for the rest of
their lives. Grandpa Hansen died first, then after Howard's wife died, he and Grandma kept in touch,
and shortly after Marc and Kit's wedding, they too were married."

"Who is Edith Barker?" Dimitri asked, while looking at another marker.
"Howard's first wife," Maddy replied. "Grandma insisted they dig her up and bury her here so

the four of them would always be together. Grandma will be buried with Grandpa, and they'll lie
beside Howard and his wife. It's really kind of sweet."

"If lying together for all eternity is sweet, then I guess it is," Dimitri said. "What about the rest of

Howard's family? Will they be buried here too?"

"I suppose anyone who's married to family members would want to be buried with them," Maddy

replied. "Howard has a son and daughter-in-law who might want to be here, and they have a grown
daughter who was living with them, but Howard's son has been offered a position with a company in

Korea, so their daughter, is coming to live with us, and since Julia's not married, I suppose she'd want
to be buried here with her grandparents."

"Is there something wrong that she can't live by herself?" Dimitri asked.
"Yes," Maddy replied. "She was trapped under the building during the Oklahoma City bombing

and has claustrophobia, and I'm hoping my program will help. Equine therapy isn't just for kids. It's
been used successfully for all kinds of psychological problems, and once Julia gets settled here I
know Helping Hooves can help her."

Dimitri said nothing, but his silence said it all: Helping Hooves couldn't help unless Maddy

remained at the ranch.

Not wanting to make an issue of it, Maddy pointed to a marker with a vase of flowers by it, and

said, "The small stone with the rabbits is where my little half-brother, Jackie Jr. is buried. Dad was
married before marrying Mom, and his baby died. Jackie used to be buried behind our house, but
Grandma convinced Dad to move him where he'd be with family."

"Then your dad brought the flowers?" Dimitri asked.
Maddy nodded. "I guess you never get over losing a child."
Before Dimitri could start asking questions about something Maddy never truly understood, she

took his hand, and said, "Just up this path is a bird's eye view of the ranch." She led Dimitri up the
path, which was a gradual incline, and before long she stopped beside the stump of a giant fir. There,
she gazed down at a panorama that included the winery surrounded by rows of vineyards, and not far
from that was Marc and Kit's house, which overlooked the Indian mound and the living museum.
Across a fenced pasture stood the stable and stock barns, and along the creek were the guest cabins,
some of which disappeared behind the big log lodge, with its wide front porch, dormered roof, and
stone chimney. A drive running behind the lodge gave access to the house where Maddy grew up, and
across from that were the houses of Jayne and Sam, and Grandma and Howard. Two roads split off
from there, one leading to Rick and Sophie's house and continuing to the log house Adam built for
Emily, the other road making its way up the mountain to Tyler and Rose's place, which included their
new cedar yurt, a riding arena, and the stable where Tyler housed his horses, all clearly visible from
where Maddy stood.

Family was everywhere, and Maddy never considered living anyplace else. She could even see

the piece of land set aside for her. Part lush pasture, part evergreen forest, everything to make Helping
Hooves a reality was waiting. All she needed was an arena and a house, both of which her brothers
and father were prepared to help build. The thought of moving away made her depressed, as did the
thought of Dimitri leaving without her.

Dimitri wrapped his arms around Maddy from behind, and said, "It's quite a site."
"I know. To me, it's the earthly equivalent of having a little spot in heaven," Maddy replied.

"Where we're standing is the place where Grandma agreed to marry Grandpa Adam. Grandpa Adam
brought Grandma up here the night of a harvest moon to ask her to marry him, and just after she said
she would, a cloud formation moved in front of the moon and Grandma said it looked like the moon
was dancing, and Grandpa Adam told her it was, because she'd agreed to marry him, and that's how
the ranch got its name."

"Then your grandmother was a ranch girl?" Dimitri asked.
"No, she was a city girl, but she became a ranch girl fast because she wanted to marry my

grandfather and he was a rancher. Grandma always said that when you find the right person you'll be
willing to do anything and go anywhere to be with that person, and if you don't feel that way, then you
need to keep looking because the right person is still out there somewhere."

As she said the words, Maddy realized she'd just made her decision, and it if meant leaving the

Dancing Moon Ranch and following Dimitri to Las Vegas, then so be it. The love they'd share would
make up for what she'd leave behind. But she wouldn't tell Dimitri until after tonight's performance.
Then somehow they'd have to find a way to tell her parents.

CHAPTER 17

Dimitri couldn't believe how fast his month-long run at the Coyote passed, or how amazing

Maddy was as his assistant. Not only was she competent, but she was witty, and when she'd make her
way between tables while selecting volunteers, all the while interacting with audience members, they
loved her. They were also performing to sold-out crowds, and the enthusiasm after each illusion was
explosive. But tonight's performance would be their last.

He still hadn't worked out an issue with the fake in the donkey box, which gave him some

incentive to extend his contract for another two weeks so he could test out the illusion at the Coyote.
But mainly, it would give him added time to talk to her family and assure them that he would do
whatever it took to see that Maddy was happy while living in Las Vegas. Maddy told him the night
before that she loved him so much she was ready to leave with him, which wasn't enough for him
because he knew what she was leaving behind. He wanted her to feel as if she too was realizing her
dream. Right now it was all about him.

For the moment, though, he and Maddy were finding their way through the network of corridors

in the cardiac unit at the children's hospital in Portland, and as they walked past the rooms and he saw
the young patients, some sitting in bed playing with toys, others hooked to tubes and medical devices,
he couldn't help thinking that, for a child trapped in a hospital, learning a little magic or watching it
would help pass the time.

"It's pretty tough seeing kids like this," he commented, as they passed a room where a woman

was sitting on the side of a bed, stroking the head of a child with a tube in his nose.

"I know," Maddy said. "I wish there was a way to take them all back to the ranch and put them on

horses, even if it was only for five minutes, just to see them smile."

Dimitri wrapped his arm around Maddy's shoulders, gave her a kiss on the temple, and said,

"Like I told you before, honey, you're a remarkable woman."

"Not really," Maddy said. "Helping kids have a little joy by riding a horse isn't a hard job. The

parents of these kids are the remarkable ones. Their jobs continue around the clock for the duration of
their children's lives. My job's over at the end of the day."

"It still takes a special person to get involved," Dimitri said.
As they approached Katy's room they saw Sharon in the hallway just outside, talking to a doctor.

They paused for a moment, until Sharon motioned for them to join them. After making introductions,
Sharon said to the doctor, "This young woman is setting up an equine therapy program for disabled
kids, and this is the man who brought magic into Katy's life."

The doctor commended Maddy on what she was doing, then he focused his attention on Dimitri,

and said, "Doctors diagnose, treat and pass out prescriptions on a daily basis, but when we have a
patient who believes so strongly in some kind of power to heal, there's no better medicine. Your
magic's been a potent healer."

Dimitri let out a short, disgruntle laugh. "I'm glad Katy's doing well, but don't give me any credit.

What I do is all smoke and mirrors."

"It doesn't matter," the doctor said. "The mind has extraordinary influence over the body, and

believing in your own body's ability to heal, whether through magic, prayer, medications, and even
inert pills, can have a significant positive physical impact. It's called the placebo effect and it's a
powerful force."

Dimitri couldn't deny the power the mind had over the body. Magicians and illusionists relied on

mind power to hold an audience for the duration of a show. But this wasn't a show. It was real life.

"Doesn't that introduce deception into the picture?" he asked. "Katy could grow up believing that
magic works better than her medications."

"She'll have years to understand the importance of taking her meds," the doctor said. "Besides,

she told us you taught her some magic tricks, so she knows it's not real."

"I suppose." Dimitri let out a little chuckle. "She was actually very good at it."
"Mommy," Katy's voice came from inside the room. "Is Dimitri here?"
"Yes, honey," Sharon called out.
Maddy and Dimitri entered the room to find Katy sitting cross-legged in the middle of the bed,

with a coloring book and crayons on one side of her, and a Parcheesi board on the other. A man sitting
in a chair beside the bed, who they presumed was her father, was reaching over and moving a
Parcheesi pawn around the board.

After Sharon made introductions, Katy said to her father, in an excited voice, "Maddy's going to

teach me how to ride a horse and I'm learning magic from Dimitri." Then looking up at Dimitri, she
said, with animation, "Can you show Daddy some magic?"

Dimitri couldn't hold back the wide grin because he was looking at a little girl who'd changed

from a frail, pale child with bluish lips, to a rosy-cheeked kid with big bright eyes and a happy face,
so maybe his magic had played a small part, at least in lifting her spirits at a very low point in her
life. Placing his hand on her shoulder he gave it a little squeeze, and said, "How about you finish the
game with your dad and we'll do magic after."

Katy turned to her father. "Can we stop the game, Daddy?" she asked.
Ken Glassell chuckled. "Sure baby, why not. You're beating me anyway."
"So do some magic," Katy said to Dimitri.
Dimitri was still having trouble connecting the little sick girl he'd seen before with the

enthusiastic child sitting in the middle of the bed, but it was slowly sinking in. "Okay, I'll do cups and
balls, and after that I'll teach you how to read colors with your fingers."

Katy lifted her hand and looked at her fingertips. "Like they have eyes on the ends of them?"
"In a way," Dimitri replied, "So, here we go with cups and balls." He pulled three paper cups

from a dispenser on the wall, and after placing them, open end down, on Katy's hospital tray, he took
three plastic pawns off the Parcheesi board, and in a few deft moves, went through the motions of
passing three pawns through the bottoms of three cups. "There we have it. Cups and balls," he said.

Katy squealed. "See, Daddy. I told you he was magic."
"Yeah, baby, you're right," Ken said. "So let's see you do some magic now."
Katy looked at her finger tips, then at Dimitri, and said, "Will you show me how to make my

fingers read colors?"

"Okay, but you have to listen carefully." Dimitri turned his back to Katy, and said to her, "Put one

of your crayons in my hand and I'll read the color with my fingers and tell you what it is." With his
back still to her, he cupped his palm for her to place a crayon in it.

Katy did as instructed, and when Dimitri felt a crayon in his hand he rolled it around, like he was

searching for the color with his fingers, then he turned it over with his thumbnail, after which he
opened his hand, and said, "Mix the crayon with the others and I'll tell you the color."

Katy lifted the crayon from his hand, and said, "It's mixed now."
"Okay." Dimitri turned around, then raising his hand and placing his closed fist to his forehead,

like he was concentrating, he said, "It was green."

Katy clapped her hands in delight. "It's magic. It's really magic," she said. "So show me how to

make my fingers do that."

"I will, but since you're a magician, and magicians never tell their secrets except to their parents,

because you should never keep secrets from your parents, you'll have to ask them to take the
magician's oath to never tell, the way I had you do."

Katy's eyes brightened with excitement, as she said to her parents, "This is a very important oaf

and you need to promise you won't tell the secret."

Both parents smiled in amusement, and said in unison, "I promise."
That done, Katy looked at Dimitri, and said, "Can you show me now?"
Dimitri picked up a crayon. "Okay, the way it works, I have here a red crayon, which you would

not be able to see if your back was to me. When I place it in your hand, close your fingers around it,
but keep your thumb tucked into your fist, like this." He arranged her fingers around the crayon. "Now,
with your thumbnail, scrape a tiny bit of crayon off, and after you've returned the color to me without
looking at it, make a fist and raise it slowly, which gives you time to look at the color under your
fingernail, then place your fist against your forehead, like you're trying to concentrate on what the
color is, but by then you already know."

Katy squealed. "Let me try." After a few tries she perfected the trick, and said, "Can you show

me another trick?"

Dimitri nodded. "How about, I'll take a green bow from behind this ear." He held his hand up and

a green bow with silver threads in it magically appeared between his fingers. "And here's a yellow
bow that's been hiding behind this ear." Another bow magically appeared in his fingers.

"Show me how you do that," Katy said, in an excited voice.
Dimitri was about to teach her some basic sleight of hand, when a nurse came in with a tray, and

said, "Time for meds, and I need to check your vitals, so your visitors will have to leave."

"Will you come see me again?" Katy asked.
Dimitri knew he'd come at least one more time, but he couldn't make promises beyond that, so he

said, "I'll be back to show you some magic with a special deck of cards that you can keep, but then
you'll have to practice a lot with them if you really want to be a magician."

"I do, I do," Katy said, then settled back against the pillows and smiled.
Dimitri offered a high five, which Katy slapped. Maddy walked over and also gave Katy a high-

five. But when they turned into the hallway, a woman, who Dimitri had noticed standing in the
doorway while he was showing Katy the magic tricks, said to him, "I'm activities coordinator here
and we're always looking for ways to help the children cope with their health issues, whether it's
bedside activities or activities that can take place in our playroom, so if you ever have some extra
time, I know the children would love to see some magic. It would be good for the staff too," she
added. "Sometimes there's just too much reality around here."

"Any special time?" Dimitri asked.
The woman shook her head. "Our time is your time. Just let us know in advance so we can

prepare the children and set up the playroom for a show. It would be special, having a magician
come. These kid's need all the magic they can get." The woman handed him a card. "You can reach me
at this number. I think you'll find it worth your while too when you see smiles on all these sad faces."
The woman walked off, leaving Dimitri standing and staring at the card.

Maddy peered over his shoulder. "Are you going to do it?"
Dimitri shrugged. "I'll see if I can work it in."
Before they turned to leave, Sharon stepped into the hallway, and said, "Thank you both for

coming. It meant a lot to Katy."

Dimitri gave a little shrug. "It actually meant a lot to me too."

"How much longer will she be here?" Maddy asked.
"Here at the hospital, maybe a couple of weeks, but then we'll be staying at the Ronald

McDonald House across the street since Katy will need to be near the hospital for monitoring and
daily therapy," Sharon replied.

"When will she be able to go home?" Maddy asked.
"When they finish adjusting her anti-rejection meds. Maybe in a month."
"That's incredible," Maddy said. "My folks and everyone want you to bring Katy back to the

ranch when she's ready as our guests. Already she knows my nieces and nephews so she'll have a
whole pack of friends to play with, and Adam can plan another hay ride."

"We'd love that," Sharon replied, "and if Ken can be with us it would make it that much more

special. He gets out of the Army in a couple of months."

"Then we'll plan it when he's out," Maddy said.
"Thank you for everything." Sharon gave Maddy a hug, then turned and hugged Dimitri too, and

said, "I hope we never stop believing in magic."

Dimitri laughed. "Even I'm beginning to think there's something to it."
As they were walking down the hallway, Maddy said, "I've been to the Ronald McDonald House

and the children there need magic too. It would brighten a lot of dismal lives."

"I suppose it would," Dimitri replied. Maddy had definitely planted the seed of an idea, but

maybe the seed wasn't meant to sprout in Portland. He knew of at least one Ronald McDonald House
in Las Vegas, and the children there would be just as much in need of magic as any sick child. He also
realized it was an idea whose time had come because, until meeting a little sick girl who needed a
heart, his magic had been imperfect because the human side had been missing.

***

On returning to the ranch from Portland, after an hour-and-a-half long drive in the limo, Maddy's

hair was a disorderly mess around her face, her lips were swollen from the intensity of their kisses,
she had whisker burns from Dimitri's beard, and she had a hickey on her neck and the start of another
further down, where Dimitri stopped what he was doing to lower her bra and do some tantalizing
things with the tip of his tongue, which lead into other things that still had her breathing heavily, and
she realized, as she rushed through the back door of the house, that the snaps on her shirt were
misaligned. She stopped momentarily to re-snap before heading up the stairs, while hastily stuffing
her shirttails into her jeans, anxious to put herself back together before anyone would see her. But
when she turned into her bedroom, she was startled to find her mother standing by her dresser, with
the charm bracelet in her hand.

Her mother looked at her in shock surprise, due to her questionable appearance, then in concern,

and said while holding up the bracelet, "Honey, what's this all about?"

For a few moments Maddy was speechless, her mind trying desperately to conjure up an

explanation for her disheveled look, as well as a reason for having a bracelet with charms related to
magic. When she still hadn't found her voice, her mother said, "Obviously Dimitri gave it to you. Was
there a particular reason?"

When Maddy finally found her voice, she said, "It's just something he decided to do, give me a

charm every time I learned the secret to one of his illusions."

"The diamonds in the top hat look real," Grace said.
Maddy took the bracelet from her mother. "Possibly. Dimitri isn't a pauper. Why were you in my

room?" As soon as she said the accusatory words, Maddy knew she'd made a mistake. Not only did
she answer her mother's question as to where she got the bracelet, but it put her mother on the

defensive, which would bring up more questions.

"I came to talk to you in private, and the bracelet was on your dresser," Grace said. "Honey, I

know you're involved with Dimitri, and from the way you look, it's obvious what was going on in the
limousine on the way back from Portland."

Maddy's hand went to her chest, like she was checking to see if her shirt was snapped, and when

she said nothing, because it was ludicrous to deny what happened in the limo, with her lips swollen,
her face whisker-burned, and her mother's eyes focused on the hickey on her neck, her mother went on
to say, "You need to think long and hard before continuing this relationship with Dimitri. For two
years you've been planning your program for disabled kids, and you have property here and family to
build your arena and make your dream a reality."

"My dream isn't all that complicated," Maddy said. "All I need is a small stable for a few horses,

an arena where I can lead them around, and a storage shed for hay in the event I end up someplace
where there isn't a lot of pasture land close by."

"Like Las Vegas?" Grace asked.
Maddy looked at her mother with a start. She wasn't prepared to tell her about her decision to

leave with Dimitri. But using her mother's question as a buffer, she said, "Las Vegas would be an
example. It's not that I don't appreciate the property you and Dad set aside for me, because I do, but
that doesn't mean I'll stay here forever, and just because I grew up on a ranch doesn't mean I have to
marry a cowboy. You weren't a cowgirl when you married Dad and you still aren't, other than to ride
with him on occasion, and that's worked out."

"What your dad and I have is entirely different from what you and Dimitri would have," Grace

said. "Tyler just told me about seeing you and Dimitri at the building center. He's concerned too. We
really do need to talk about this."

"Was Dad here when Tyler told you?" Maddy asked, in an anxious voice.
Grace shook her head.
"Then please don't say anything to him yet, Mom. He'll come unglued like he always does."
"He'll be concerned," Grace said, "but he is your father, and he needs to know."
"But he'll have a completely closed mind when it comes to Dimitri, and yes, I do have something

going with him, and right now we're working on how to blend our lives."

"You're talking about blending lives and you've barely known him a month," Grace said. "You're

infatuated and that's understandable. It's a new relationship, and new relationships can distort your
judgment, which is why you need to let Dimitri go back to Las Vegas and give things time to cool off.
Besides, you're still very young. After your arena is built and you become involved in your horse
program you'll see things differently."

"You just don't understand," Maddy said.
"Honey, I think I do. Your brothers are all married and raising families, you're at an age when

you're thinking along those lines too, and a very attractive and interesting man has come into your life,
but for the long haul you need a man who'll fit into your world, not the other way around. You could
never fit into Dimitri's world, no matter how you try to rationalize things."

"Actually, Dimitri's the one who's willing to make the big change," Maddy said.
Grace looked at her doubtfully. "Then he's talking about staying here and working at the Coyote

or at other nightclubs in the area?"

"Not exactly," Maddy said. "He has to be in Las Vegas to build a name, but after that he's willing

to live here part of the time. Like I said, it's kind of mixed up and we need to work it out on our own,
but while we do, I don't want the entire family giving me a barrage of reasons why my marrying

Dimitri would be tantamount to self-destruction. I just wish you could hold off telling Dad. Nothing
between Dimitri and me is carved in stone. We're just discussing options."

"Do you love him?" Grace asked.
"Yes, and he loves me, and he wants me to return to Las Vegas with him and be his assistant, and

we'd go from there," Maddy said.

"Where would you live?" Grace asked, the tone of her voice, accompanied by the slight arch of

her brow, saying more than words.

Maddy had not thought that far ahead, because her decision to leave with Dimitri was so new, but

she wanted her mother to understand that what went on in the limo was not because she was
infatuated, but because she'd found the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with.

She was spared having to answer her mother's question when her father appeared in the doorway,

and said, "Mario Moretti just arrived and he wants to talk to us downstairs in fifteen minutes."

Grace looked at Jack in alarm. "Jeremy and Billy. Are they okay?"
Jack nodded. "Moretti said there's a new development. He wants to talk to us first and to the rest

of the family afterwards."

"I'll wait here," Maddy said, thankful for the distraction, which would give her time to put herself

together and prepare for the lecture she'd get from her father as soon as he learned about her and
Dimitri.

That thought had barely crossed her mind when her father leveled his eyes on her, and said,

"Moretti wants you to come too, and I think you can figure out why."

Maddy felt her stomach knot. The few times Mario Moretti had been at the ranch she'd pegged

him as an iron-fisted, take-control man who had no patience with those who didn't follow his rules,
and there was no question, she'd disregarded the most important rule of all by going to Las Vegas. It
was also obvious he knew about the trip, and maybe that was the reason he was here. Now, she
wondered if he also knew about her relationship with Dimitri. If so, she had a gut feeling it would all
come out when he sat her down with her parents.

CHAPTER 18

When Dimitri stepped out of the woodshop, he was startled to see a man walking directly toward

him, like he was on a mission. The man was wearing jeans and a black leather jacket, and the term 'hit
man' came to mind, or maybe a body guard for a mafia don, which would not be so uncommon in Las
Vegas, but this was the Dancing Moon Ranch. When he moved aside to allow the man to keep walking
in the direction he was headed, the man adjusted his stride and continued toward Dimitri, who
stopped and waited, uneasily.

As the man approached, he reached into the inside pocket of his jacket, and for an instant Dimitri

thought he was about to pull a gun. Instead, the man flashed an ID with a circled star on it, and said,
"I'm Mario Moretti with the U.S. Marshal Service and we need to talk."

Dimitri eyed the man with misgiving. "Am I under investigation?" he asked, wondering if the

Nine Lives, where his father worked, had become corrupted. The potential when working in Las
Vegas was always there.

"You're not under investigation," Moretti replied. "I want to talk to you about your relationship

with Maddy Hansen."

"You're implying there's something going on between us," Dimitri said. "She's been my assistant

for the past month and that's all."

"Don't give me that shit," Moretti said. "I was at your performance at the Coyote Lounge last

night, and after it was over, I saw the two of you offstage in a clinch."

"Is my being involved with a woman a federal crime?" Dimitri asked, realizing after he'd said the

words that this man wasn't one to challenge.

Moretti squared his shoulders, standing slightly taller than Dimitri, and said, "No, but your

involvement with Maddy has the potential of endangering a witness. Maddy's brother and sister-in-
law are under my protection, and Maddy's presence in Las Vegas for any length of time is a conduit to
them, as well as to the man they want most, the CW also under my protection."

"CW?"
"Cooperating witness, snitch, stoolie," Moretti replied. "His sorry ass is also my responsibility."
Dimitri realized, for the first time, that he and Maddy had never discussed the issue of Josh's

twin and his wife, who'd been in hiding for several years he'd learned from Genie sometime back.
Jack Hansen brought it up earlier in the month, but it never seemed relevant until now. "Does Maddy
know where her brother and sister-in-law are living?" he asked.

"No," Moretti replied, "but the wiseguys who want Maddy's sister-in-law and the snitch dead

don't know that, and if they get their hands on Maddy they'll brutalize her until they learn she knows
nothing, before disposing of her body in a way that would send a chilling message to her brother and
sister-in-law, the snitch, and anyone else inclined to take the witness stand."

Dimitri had no argument because it was common knowledge that Las Vegas was a hotbed of

organized crime. "What do you want from me?" he asked.

"To break off whatever you have going with Maddy and make sure she stays here when you return

to Las Vegas," Moretti replied. "The crime family under investigation has been indicted for murder,
extortion, money laundering, arms and narcotics dealing, and conspiracy to commit murder, and if
Maddy accompanies you to Las Vegas as your assistant or your wife, and one day her dismembered
body turns up encased in concrete, you'd have to ask yourself if that would have happened if she'd
remained on this ranch."

"Okay, I get the picture," Dimitri replied. "Is that all?"

Mario Moretti looked at Dimitri, long and hard, like he was sizing him up, and after a stretch of

silence, he said, "Yeah, that's all. Now let's see if you have the balls to do what's right by the woman
you love and break it off and walk away from her, because if you don't make a clean cut, she'll follow
you there, and I don't have the legal authority to stop her."

Saying nothing more, Moretti turned and headed toward Jack and Grace Hansen's house, leaving

Dimitri feeling as if he'd just had a fist shoved in his gut...

She's the kind of woman who can take a man away from his dreams…
That was the confusing part. He didn't have a tight handle on his dreams anymore. But he did

have a life-altering decision to make, very soon.

***

In the family room where they gathered—Jack and Grace sitting on the couch, Maddy in an

overstuffed chair adjacent to her parents, and Mario Moretti standing across from them—Mario,
having just given an update on the status of Jeremy, Billy, 3-year-old Amy, and little Willy, who'd just
turned one, continued by saying, "In a couple of weeks the trial will start for a half-dozen dangerous
criminal defendants charged with everything from extortion, money laundering and murder, to arms
and narcotics dealing and conspiracy to commit murder. Billy's brother-in-law is a key cooperating
witness for the prosecution. If his testimony is credible and the defense doesn't shred him on cross
examination, a major crime boss will be convicted, along with everyone down his line of command,
and Jeremy and his family will be free to return home. But if Billy's brother-in-law blows it with the
jury, Billy will have to be brought in to bolster his testimony, which means, she and Jeremy will have
to remain under protection indefinitely."

"You can't mean that," Grace said in a frantic voice.
"I'm afraid so," Mario replied. "Mob families have a penchant for revenge."
Grace grabbed Jack's hand, while saying to Mario, "What is the chance of this happening?"
"I'm not a handicapper, especially in criminal trials where the odds can change from minute to

minute," Mario said. "Trouble is, the witness isn't the most likable kind of guy, and the jury might not
believe him. If the prosecution team senses he's in trouble with the jury, then Billy's testimony would
likely convince them he's telling the truth."

Jack pulled his hand from Grace's and put his arm around her in reassurance, and said to Mario,

"We'd still be able to stay in contact with Jeremy and his family, wouldn't we?"

Mario nodded. "That won't change. I also brought a photo album and some letters from them to

show the rest of the family when I'm done here, which I'm not." He flicked an index finger at Maddy,
and said, while holding her captive with a pair of steel-gray eyes that never wavered, "You listen up
this time so you'll understand why rules are set in place. You and your family were told to stay clear
of Las Vegas, and not only did you thumb your nose at the rules, but you were part of a nightclub act. I
know. I was there."

Maddy stared at Mario, stunned. "Then you were following me?" she asked.
Mario shook his head. "We've been keeping an eye on Sebastian and Dimitri Matthias. They're

connected by marriage to your family, and you're working with Dimitri now, and we can't have you
turning up in Las Vegas again without jeopardizing your sister-in-law. You didn't understand that the
first time and I want to make damn sure you understand it now."

"Is there a law against my going to Las Vegas?" Maddy asked, hoping it hadn't come across as a

challenge. But she was all but certain she'd be accompanying Dimitri when he returned.

"There's no law," Moretti said, "but I see you still don't get it. To give you a heads up about the

inner workings of the mob in Sin City, nightclubs are prime targets for wiseguys because they're a

cash business, easy for hiding assets. Someone owns a club, and one night a guy comes in and hangs
around the bar and strikes up a conversation and he does it for a couple of nights in a row. About the
third night, he takes the manager aside and suggests it might be smart to take out insurance against
patrons getting out of hand and damaging the place, and the manager says he's doing fine without it. A
few nights later two new guys come in and get into an argument and start pounding on each other.
Tables and chairs go flying, bottles get broken, and by the time they're done the place is trashed. After
it's over, the original guy takes the manager aside again and brings up insurance. By now the manager
knows he's dealing with the mob so he settles on a weekly fee for protection. And the mob has a new
stream of cash flowing in."

Maddy glanced at her parents, who were staring at her as if expecting her to state unequivocally

that she would never go back to Las Vegas, which she couldn't do without lying, so to get around it,
she said to Mario, "Dimitri's father is always cautious about where he works, if that's what you're
implying."

"Sebastian Matthias has the mob's respect in a twisted way," Mario said. "He makes a living by

deceiving people so they leave him alone and enjoy the show. We know because we keep tabs on him
because of his indirect connection with this family. But you can be sure the mob will be watching his
son when he starts up. Get in a financial bind and a wiseguy's there to help. He'll appear to be a
regular guy, a friend, and he'll make the offer graciously and ask nothing in return, at least not right
away. One, maybe two years down the line he'll call in the favor. This time he's not so polite. He'll
want payback that afternoon with interest compounding hourly. When the victim can't do it, the
wiseguy settles for a piece of the business. If the victim refuses, he'll face the kind of wrath he
couldn't imagine in his darkest nightmares. That's when he realizes he signed over his soul to the mob
and it's a trap he'll never get out of."

When Maddy still didn't answer because she was trying to digest it all, Mario said, "You want to

start some kind of horse therapy program."

"How did you know that?" Maddy asked.
Mario eyed her with irritation, like he was reaching the limit of his patience with her, and said,

"Every piece of correspondence between this family and your brother and sister-in-law goes through
me. My point is, start your program in Nevada and you're likely to have a brothel for a neighbor.
Under state law, any county with a population under 700,000 can license brothels."

"I have property here for my horse program," Maddy said. "Why should I go to Las Vegas?"
Mario again leveled those steely-gray eyes on her. "You know exactly why," he replied.
"Maddy," Grace interjected, "Dad needs to know what's going on with you and Dimitri."
Jack looked at Maddy in alarm. "What's your mother talking about?"
"Nothing!" Looking askance at her mother, Maddy said, "Really, Mom, I told you things were

undecided."

"What's undecided?" Jack asked.
Maddy drew in a long, ragged breath to settled the heavy thumping of her heart, and said, "I don't

want to talk about it here, now."

"I want one answer from you," Jack said.
"Okay, I like Dimitri. We work well together."
"Honey," Grace said, "You were talking about marrying him. I hope by now that's out of the

question. You absolutely cannot return to Las Vegas under any circumstances."

"And I can't let everyone around here make all my decisions for me." Maddy rushed out of the

house and headed for Dimitri's cabin, only to stop short when she saw Sebastian Matthias's black bus

in the parking lot in front of the winery, and Dimitri standing and talking to him.

Not wanting to return to the house and face her parents and Mario Moretti, and uncertain about

what was transpiring with Dimitri and his father, she turned toward the place where she'd gone in the
past to speak to the one person on the ranch whose advice and wisdom she respected. She also
noticed that Howard's truck was gone, so her grandmother would be alone.

As she stepped onto the porch, her grandmother glanced out the window and smiled on seeing

Maddy, and a few moments later, the front door opened, and the smile faded.

"Honey, is something wrong?" Grandma asked.
Maddy found her eyes tearing unexpectedly, and she knew if she talked, her words would be

filled with sobs, so she nodded and walked inside.

"Come here." In an instant, Grandma's arms were around Maddy, and she was stroking her head

the way she had when Maddy was a little girl and was upset, and had come to the one place where
she'd be heard, not judged.

After a few moments Grandma took Maddy's hand and pulled her over to sit on the couch, and sat

beside her, and said, "Whatever's troubling you, I'm here to listen."

Maddy sucked in several breaths to settle her nerves, then swiped a finger beneath each teary

eye, and said, "Remember a few years back when you told me that when you find the right person
you'll be willing to do anything and go anywhere to be with him?"

Grandma nodded. "So now you've found him, but you're very upset, so I have to believe

something's preventing you from being with him."

"It's Dimitri," Maddy said. "He's everything I want, and he wants me to return to Las Vegas and

be his assistant, and we've been talking about getting married, but I can't go to Las Vegas with him
because of Jeremy and Billy, and there's nothing for Dimitri here."

"Except you," Grandma pointed out.
"Dimitri's an illusionist, a magician. He can't make a living here," Maddy replied. "He has to be

in Las Vegas."

"What I told you also applies to him," Grandma said. "If he truly loves you he'll be willing do

whatever it takes to be with you, and if he's not willing to do that, he's not the right man, and there's
still someone out there for you. Maybe you just need more time. Maybe the answer is for Dimitri to
return to Las Vegas without you and come to the realization that what he thought was important there
no longer exists because what's truly important is the exceptional young woman who's looking at me
now."

"You're just saying that because I'm your granddaughter, but Dimitri's ready to get married, and if

he leaves without me he'll find someone else," Maddy said. "I might find someone else too, but it
would never be right because there's no one like Dimitri. He's unique in every way. He's like the
sunshine in my day. I wake up and think about him and my whole world brightens, and when I'm with
him there's no place I want to be except wherever he is."

"If it's right he'll feel the same way," Grandma said, "so give him some time. If you're his one true

love, he'll find a way to make it work."

"The only way he could make it work is to give up his dreams, and if he did that he'd be

miserable," Maddy said.

"But if he loves you, he'll be more miserable if he gives you up. Jeremy's dream was making the

Nation Finals Rodeo and he was almost there, but then a woman came along who was more important
to him than his dream and he gave up everything, even the family he loved, because he loved Billy
more. That's the kind of love you wait a lifetime to have. That's the kind that will never falter. With

some people it takes longer to come to that realization, although when it's right you know from the
start. I did with Grandpa Adam. I would have gone to the ends of the earth with him three weeks after
we met because I was so sure. With Howard, we know our true loves are waiting for us up on that
hill. I love Howard too, but in a different way. We're devoted friends and secondary lovers, but I
would not have gone to the ends of the earth for him, and he feels the same about me. We laugh about
it, but that's the way true love works."

Maddy knew exactly what Grandma was saying. She also knew the length to which Jeremy went

to be with Billy and that Billy never asked him to give up his dream for her. It was something Jeremy
felt driven to do. But she couldn't imagine Dimitri turning his back on what he'd worked all his life to
achieve, just to be with her on a ranch. That wasn't logical thinking, and it wasn't fair to him.

Grandma reached out and patted Maddy's hand and said, "Honey, give Dimitri the time and

distance to test his love for you. If he cuts off the relationship, then you never really had him, but if
you put pressure on him to follow a different dream, he would always be restless."

Maddy knew Grandma was right, but she still couldn't set aside other options that had been

turning over in her head from the moment Mario Moretti impressed on her that she could not return to
Las Vegas. She could legally change her name then marry Dimitri, and when she'd arrive in Las Vegas
she wouldn't be Maddy Hansen, the sister of Jeremy Hansen who was in witness protection, she'd be
just a woman Dimitri married. Or they could marry and move somewhere else, maybe to Atlantic
City, which was a mecca for nightclubs and casinos, and Dimitri could build a name there, and she
could start Helping Hooves there as well.

But the bottom line was, how far would Dimitri go to be with her?

***

Dimitri eyed his father with uncertainty. He'd barely gotten over the reality that Maddy could

never go to Las Vegas, when his father arrived and dangled something in front of him that would be
hard to refuse. "I just want to make sure I understand exactly what you're offering me," he said to his
dad. "You're saying that I'd take over the remaining three months of your contract at the Nine Lives,
and they'd let me build my own show, any way I want."

Sebastian nodded. "They were impressed with you during your week there, and in addition to

your usual routines, they'd be open to new illusions. You've been anxious to develop your invisible
man illusion. I'm giving you the chance to introduce it in Las Vegas, in a top club, and if they give you
a contract when mine runs out, there would be no end in sight as to how far you could go. The sky's
the limit."

Still a little stunned by his father's announcement that he was ready to give up his long-running

show for acting in a TV series, Dimitri said, "You've never once talked about getting into acting. What
brought this on?"

There was a slight hesitation before his father replied, "Lana. You don't know her. She's a

producer and she's been after me for some time about doing a TV series that would incorporate an
illusionist, and this past weekend she convinced me to give it a try."

"What was different about this past weekend?" Dimitri asked.
Sebastian gave Dimitri a kind of hangdog smile. "We had some time together. Actually the entire

week. Lana drove up from San Francisco and…well, your mother's been gone four years, and I
decided I liked having a woman in my life again. But since Lana can't give up her work in San
Francisco, and she wants me to join her there and be part of a new TV series, I decided it was a
perfect blend for me on many levels. You'd have the house and the shop all to yourself, and if things
work out with Lana and me, I'd turn the house over to you."

"This is a pretty drastic move, Dad, giving up your show and going into acting without any

experience," Dimitri said.

"I've been acting most of my life," Sebastian replied. "Throughout my career I've always

included story in my illusions. I've already done a run-through of the character I'd be playing and Lana
was impressed."

"Then you'd be the lead in this TV series?" Dimitri asked.
Sebastian shook his head. "I'd be a supporting character, a low-level CIA operative who's great

at illusions, but not so good at following orders. But in addition to acting, I'd also be consulting and
collaborating in the episodes. For me it's an opening into a new world, and it is for you too, to have
your own show on the strip. I'm handing you your dream on a platter."

When Dimitri didn't respond, because he was at a loss what to do about Maddy, his father said,

"What's the problem? I'm offering what you've been working towards all your adult life. You seem
undecided."

Dimitri glanced over at Maddy's grandmother's house, where Maddy and her grandmother were

standing on the porch talking. His father followed the direction of his gaze, and said, "Okay, I get it.
You're involved with Maddy Hansen and you're operating on emotions, letting a woman take you
away from your dreams."

Dimitri gave a kind of ironic snort. "That's kind of like the pot calling the kettle black isn't it,

Dad? You're walking away from your dreams for a woman."

"I'm not walking away from anything. I'm making a career change," Sebastian said, in defense.

"Right now I'm doing fifteen shows a week with no days off, and there are a string of upstarts close on
my tail ready to take over, except I'm passing the scepter to you, and if you plan your career right and
not let Maddy Hansen lead you away from your goal, in a few years you could have Las Vegas in the
palm of your hand."

His father was right, Dimitri silently conceded. This was exactly the start he needed, and he'd be

under no obligation to make a horse disappear, and all the hassle that involved, although having a
horse in itself was something he knew he'd enjoy, but not while riding around the desert, unless
Maddy was with him...

"Lana could use your designs in the show, maybe even your invisible man," Sebastian said,

during the stretch of silence while Dimitri was deliberating. "You've always been passionate about
designing and building your own illusions. This would give you a chance to work them into a TV
series for a nationwide audience, and you'd be listed in the credits as 'Dimitri Matthias, Master of
Theatrical Magic,' which would help build your name for wherever you want to go with that. I
already talked to Marissa and she has no problem working as your assistant. She's very good, she's
familiar with your illusions, and I'd turn over my devices to you as well."

Dimitri held his father's unwavering gaze. It seemed every stepping stone had been laid out for

him in a path that would take him where he'd always dreamed of going, except that the path was
leading away from Maddy, unless he could take her with him…

If one day her dismembered body turns up encased in concrete, you'd have to ask yourself if

that would have happened if she'd remained on this ranch…

Which was no longer an option.
"Well?" his father asked.
After another long pause, Dimitri shrugged his resolve, and said, "Okay, I'll take over your

contract."

Sebastian patted him on the back. "Good. I'm glad you finally came to your senses. So, I'll expect

to see you in Las Vegas next week."

And Dimitri knew his stay on the Dancing Moon Ranch was over, except for one thing…
If you don't make a clean cut, she'll follow you there…
The man was right. The break had to be final.

CHAPTER 19

While seated on a couch in the lodge, Maddy glanced out the window to see Sebastian's big

black bus pulling out of the winery parking lot. The meeting with Mario Moretti and her parents had
broken up shortly after she walked out, then resumed in the lodge with the rest of the family. She
hadn't wanted to talk to her parents yet, and the distraction of Mario bringing a photo album and
letters from Jeremy and Billy was welcome because the attention was turned away from her and
Dimitri, at least for the moment.

She was about to leave the lodge to talk to Dimitri and find out what his father's visit was all

about when Emily, who was sitting beside her on the couch while paging through the photo album,
said while pointing to a particular photo, "Get a load of this one."

Maddy glanced over and saw a photo of Mario Moretti standing and holding Amy, who was

laughing and patting his face as if she actually liked him, and Mario was smiling in a way that said he
liked her too. "That's bizarre," she said. "The guy actually seems a little human there."

"I know. I don't remember ever seeing him smile," Emily said. "He's always come across as a

macho, male, U.S. Marshal, do-what-I-say-or-else, kind of guy."

Kit, who was leaning over the back of the couch peering down at the photo album said, "I guess

you get that way after years of protecting hardened criminals who wouldn't bat an eye at swatting out
a life like swatting a fly. The only reason those guys stay on the straight and narrow after spilling the
beans about their cohorts to the feds is because they have lifelong protection as long as they do, like
Billy's brother-in-law."

Maddy was about to chime in on her feelings about Billy's brother-in-law, when her cell phone

rang. She looked to see who it was and saw that it was Dimitri. Glancing out the window she saw
him standing about where he'd been when he was talking to his father, while looking her way. "Is
everything okay?" she asked him.

"Not entirely, but I need to get over to the Coyote to set things up for our last performance, so I'll

send Chris over to pick you up later."

"I could go with you now," Maddy said.
"No, there are things I have to do on my own," Dimitri replied. "I'll see you just before the

performance. We'll be doing everything but Sleeping Beauty."

"Why not that one?" Maddy asked.
"I want to cut the performance short," Dimitri replied. He terminated the call before Maddy

could say anything more.

Maddy stared at her phone, wondering why he was cutting Sleeping Beauty instead of the rope

tying escape. She was also disturbed that she wouldn't be riding in the limo with Dimitri on the way
there because, not only was time running out for them, but being in the limo was one of the few times
they could be alone. It was especially important now since they'd made no decision as to what would
be happening next. He'd said nothing about extending his contract at the Coyote, and although she told
him she was going to Las Vegas with him, now it was uncertain.

"Is everything okay?" Emily asked.
Maddy looked up, her brow pinched so tight it felt strained. "Well, yes, I suppose. It's just that…

umm, things are sort of… uncertain because…" She stopped, not sure what to say next. She liked
Emily, and Kit too, but she'd never confided with them about male relationships, mainly because there
had never been a guy worth stewing over.

Kit came around from behind the couch and sat beside Maddy, and said, "It's okay. We all know

about you and Dimitri. Rose told us."

Maddy, feeling miffed that her sister-in-laws had been talking about her, said in a sarcastic tone,

"And of course, the three of you think I'm an idiot to be involved with him. Well, let's make that the
six of you because I'm sure my brothers have been in on it too and feel the same way."

Emily reached out and covered Maddy's hand with hers, like a big sister would do when giving

advice, and said, "No one thinks you're an idiot. We all like Dimitri. He's fun and funny and amazing
at what he does. All the kids here think he's right up there with Bat Man, and Adam says he picked up
riding faster than any greenhorn he's ever been around. We're just worried that you might leave here
and go to Las Vegas."

Holding Emily's gaze, Maddy said, "What would you do if Adam was forced to leave here? Go

with him, or stay behind?"

"This isn't about Adam and me," Emily replied. "It's about your going somewhere that would not

only jeopardize your life, but would put Billy in danger. You heard what Mario said."

Maddy glanced across the room to where Mario Moretti was standing with one shoulder braced

against the wall and his arms folded. He was also looking at her. The hard expression on his face that
was so characteristic of him had softened, like he understood what was happening—with her
sandwiched between Emily and Kit, and Emily patting her hand—and he empathized. And she
couldn't fault him for laying things out. She just didn't know what to do about it. But tonight, on the
way home in the limousine, she and Dimitri would come to a decision about where their relationship
was going. It could not be put off any longer.

***

That night was another sold-out performance with an engaged, enthusiastic audience, but all

through the show Maddy knew something was wrong. Dimitri's timing seemed off, like he was
distracted, and when she'd catch his eye, his face was troubled. She was determined to sort things out
on their way back to the ranch, but at the end of the show, instead of Dimitri pulling her out of sight of
the viewers for their usual hug and kiss, he said to her, "I'll be here for a while to help my crew pack
up things. Chris will take you back to the ranch now and come back for me later, and I'll see you in the
morning."

"Is there a reason why I can't stay and help?" Maddy asked.
"Yes, you'd be in the way since we have a regular routine we follow." At that point Dimitri was

called away by one of his crew, leaving Maddy standing and watching silently as he walked away
from her.

The following morning, after a restless night of almost no sleep because much of it was spent

going to the window to see if there was a light in Dimitri's cabin, at which point she intended to
confront him and find out where she stood, Maddy finally drifted off, and if Dimitri returned during
the night, she wasn't aware of it. So to get her mind off the fact that he seemed to have made a
decision for them without her input, and deciding she didn't want to talk to anyone this particular
morning, she went to saddle up Blackjack and ride off someplace where she could be alone. But
when she got to the stable, she was surprised to find Dimitri saddling Tut.

"Where are you going?" she asked.
"No place in particular," Dimitri replied. "I'm taking a last ride on Tut before I go."
"Can I go with you?" Maddy asked, then realized she sounded like she was begging, and maybe

she was. The way Dimitri was acting was cold and indifferent, and made no sense.

"I'm really not in the mood for company," Dimitri replied.
"So that's it?" Maddy said. "You'll ride off on Tut, hop into the limo, and head off without as

much as a backward glance?"

His back to her, Dimitri said, while tightening the saddle girth, "We have an impossible situation

on our hands. You know it and so do I."

Fighting to keep her voice steady, while feeling on the verge of an emotional outburst, Maddy

said, "You don't seem to have a problem breaking things off."

"I have a problem, but there's nothing we can do about it," Dimitri said. "You belong here on the

ranch and my dad just dumped the world in my lap and I can't turn it down."

"What are you talking about?" Maddy asked.
While keeping one hand on the saddle horn, as if ready to mount, Dimitri looked over his

shoulder and said, "I'm talking about my father turning over the last three months of his contract at the
Nine Lives to me, along with his assistant. I'll have a show on the strip and I won't have to make a
damn horse disappear."

He sounded angry, like her presence was annoying, when before Maddy always felt as if she was

the sunshine in his life, the way it was for her whenever he was around, and she realized this wasn't
about her not being able to go to Las Vegas with him. It was about him following his dream without
her. The reality was that he didn't need her now because his father handed him everything he'd worked
for all his life, even providing him with an assistant.

It was a side of Dimitri she hadn't seen. But then, she'd rushed into the relationship, thinking

theirs was a match made in heaven, and maybe this was what it took to get her to pull her head out of
the sand. Still, she knew he'd been affected by a little girl who needed a heart and thought he'd failed
her with his magic. "What about Katy?" she asked, while wondering just how important Dimitri's
career was. At the moment it seemed to override anything else in his life, including the people who
loved him.

"I'll be stopping by the hospital on my way out and I'll spend time with her, but she's on the mend

now so she doesn't need magic as a crutch." He launched himself into the saddle and gathered the
reins. "I'll stop in to square things away at the lodge before I go."

Before Maddy could ask if they could at least try to talk things out, Dimitri turned Tut's head in

the direction of the trail to the cabin and set out at a gallop. And Maddy realized Dimitri had made
their decision for them, and there was nothing more to say.

On the verge of tears, but still too numb for them to flow, she was startled when Adam came out

of the stable. Looking at him in annoyance and embarrassment, she said, "Have you been here all
along?"

"Yes. Dimitri wanted to ride so I rounded up Tut."
"Then I suppose you heard everything," Maddy said.
Adam nodded. "I'm sorry, kid, but it's for the best. Once we get your arena built you'll be focused

on that and you'll have your life back on track."

"I'm not a kid, Adam, and what just happened isn't for the best," Maddy said, "at least not for me,

but you can't possibly understand what I'm going through right now. You've lived in your isolated little
world with Emily since you were in high school."

"You're wrong," Adam replied. "You were too young to know what was going on, but when I was

in high school I was living in hell, and when Emily dumped me to marry her old boyfriend, I packed
the mule and headed to the mountains and didn't come back for two weeks because I needed to sort
through things and figure out how to get my life back on track without Emily, so I do know what it's
like to love someone who doesn't love you in return."

On hearing Adam say the words that she was feeling, tears filled Maddy's eyes, and her world

seemed to be literally falling apart. "But Dimitri did love me," she said, in a sob-filled voice. "I
know he did. I just don't know what happened, and Dimitri won't say."

Adam pulled Maddy into his arms and said, against the top of her head, "Honey, if he loved you

he'd figure out a way to make it work. I was ready to leave the ranch and take Emily to Mexico to
keep her and Jesse safe from her ex-husband, and Grandma was willing to give me the money to do it,
and we all know what Jeremy gave up to be with Billy."

Maddy allowed herself to be held in Adam's strong arms, which were again familiar to her, but it

had been years since he'd played big brother the way he was now. "Grandma was going to help you
leave here?" she asked, her voice muffled by Adam's chest. But after she asked the question her
grandmother's words came back…

If he truly loves you he'll be willing do whatever it takes to be with you…that's the kind of

love you wait a lifetime to have. That's the kind that will never falter...

"Grandma knew that's what I had to do because Emily and Jesse were my whole life," Adam

said. "But back when I packed the mule and headed for the mountains because I thought I'd lost Emily
for good, I chopped down a tree with an ax and split the wood, just to get rid of my anger and
disillusionment, but maybe it would be better for you to cry it out instead. My chest is broad, and my
shirt is cotton, so it can mop up a lot of tears."

Adam's words had Maddy laughing and crying at the same time, but they were also an invitation

to get rid of a whole lot of pent up grief. But after she'd shed some heavy tears, she backed out of
Adam's arms, mopped her eyes and dabbed her nose with the cuff of her shirt, and said, "I don't want
Mom or Dad or anyone to see me like this. I need to go somewhere."

"Come on then," Adam said.
Maddy looked at Adam through blurry, tear-filled eyes. "Where are we going?"
Adam took her by the arm and started in the direction of his truck. "To the building center to

order the materials for your arena."

CHAPTER 20

Nine Lives Lounge & Casino- three months later

Dimitri knew he had to get a handle on things. Ever since he arrived in Las Vegas he'd been

snapping at everyone, including his assistant, and when she told him, in no uncertain terms, that if he
didn't stop acting like a dictator with a mid-life crisis he could find another assistant, that was the
moment reality hit him in the head.

There was no other assistant for him, except the one he'd left behind.
By then he'd also come to another realization. The Las Vegas Strip might be considered by many

to be the pinnacle for illusionists, but it wasn't where he wanted to be.

It had been a gradual awakening, as he made the rounds to watch his competition on the strip, all

vying for supremacy in a world where supremacy meant illusions on a grander scale, and escapes that
pushed human survival to the limits.

At the moment though, he was in the process of gathering his belongings to pack up the following

day, when he'd be officially clearing out.

He had just draped a bundle of costumes across the couch, when he was startled by the sharp

sounds of impatient knocks. Figuring it was one of his stage hands, who'd just learned about his
decision, he opened the door and was both surprised and disturbed to see his father. "What are you
doing in Vegas?" he asked. "I thought you were in the middle of filming an episode."

"And I thought you were ready to get on with your career," Sebastian said, as he walked into the

dressing room. "Marissa called to tell me you turned down Leo's contract and wouldn't need her
anymore, so I got a flight here to find out why. You want to tell me what this is all about?"

"It's about me leaving," Dimitri replied. "Besides, I didn't think I was under any obligation to

continue here beyond the end of your contract."

"You aren't, but you won't get a better offer anywhere," Sebastian said, while eyeing Dimitri with

discontent. "How many illusionists your age get the chance to have their own show on the strip?"

"Look Dad, I appreciate everything you've done for me, and you're right, this is an opportunity no

other illusionist my age would pass up, but it isn't what I want."

"Maybe I missed something along the way, but I was under the impression you got degrees in

engineering and philosophy so you'd be able to do exactly what you're doing," Sebastian said, his
voice laced with sarcasm.

"I did initially," Dimitri replied, "but today's top magicians are more like celebrity stuntmen,

pushing everything to extremes with stunts like encasing themselves in ice, and being buried alive,
and constantly raising the bar to give audiences what they want, which is to watch them cheat death.
And Criss Angel and David Copperfield's giant stage productions and grand illusions are all about
strobe lights, pyrotechnics, frenzied music, and rigged devices flicking by so fast the magic's gone."

"Techno magic is what the fun seekers want," Sebastian said. "They don't come to Vegas to see

card tricks and watch rabbits being pulled out of hats."

"Maybe not the fun seekers," Dimitri replied, "but find the kid in the class who everyone picks on

and teach him some magic, and suddenly you have a kid with power because he'll be able to do things
the other kids can't do."

Sebastian eyed Dimitri with uncertainty. "What I'm hearing is you wanting to be nothing more

than a party magician."

"No, what you're hearing is me wanting to get back to close-in magic, where the audience is no

more than ten feet away. That's when sleight of hand manipulations have to be honed so perfectly the
audience can't catch the switch."

Sebastian paced the floor in agitated steps, while saying in a tone filled with frustration and

impatience, "Fine, do the close-in magic with your buddies and hire out for a few parties and some
conventions, but you'd better think long and hard before giving this up. You'll never make a decent
living doing parlor magic or tricks for kids, and in turning down Leo's contract you're throwing away
the chance to build a name for yourself in Vegas, and at the same time come up with designs and
inventions for grand-scale illusions…"

While his father ranted on, Dimitri's mind was divided between what he'd left behind at the

Dancing Moon Ranch, and what lay ahead when he'd show up there, and in the middle of his father's
diatribe he found himself saying, "Dad, have you ever ridden a horse?"

Sebastian stopped abruptly and looked at Dimitri. "Why would I want to ride a horse?"
"Maybe to see what it's like," Dimitri said. "Horses are amazing creatures who allow us to ride

on their backs, and when you do, you feel this connection with them. It's a bond that's hard to explain.
It might sound corny, but it's one of the greatest feelings in the world when you're galloping off
together, with the wind in your face. It's like flying."

"Okay, so you get an adrenaline rush on a horse," Sebastian said. "It's a new experience."
"So is watching the sunrise from a mountaintop," Dimitri said. "When was the last time you saw

a sunrise?"

Sebastian eyed Dimitri with concern. "And your point is?"
"That a new world opened up for me when I was at the Dancing Moon Ranch and I don't intend to

let it go."

"You're still involved with Maddy Hansen."
"Maddy introduced me to things I'd never considered before, and no, I'm not involved with her,

but I do plan to marry her if she'll still have me."

"You can't be serious," Sebastian said. "What would you do there? Become a rancher?"
"No, become a rancher's husband," Dimitri replied. "Maddy has her dream and I know a way to

merge it with mine. Kids love magic, and the kids Maddy will be working with can learn from it. I've
been offered a solid contract at the Coyote and I intend to accept it if things work out between Maddy
and me."

"You'll never make a name for yourself at the Coyote," Sebastian said.
"Maybe not, but I'll be happy there in a way I'd never be happy here," Dimitri replied. "At the

Coyote, I'll have to be the ultimate magician's magician to fool even magicians in the audience, who
come to figure out my illusions. Before you started me on stage I was performing close-in tricks that
baffled even you. You still don't know how I do my tuned deck."

Sebastian let out a short, ironic laugh. "You got me on that one. I haven't even figured out what

tuned deck means, and since you keep switching tricks, all of which you call tuned decks, each time I
think I've figured it out, you prove me wrong. Okay then, since I see I won't win this argument, what
kind of contract did they offer you at the Coyote?"

"Two back-to-back afternoon shows a day, five days a week, and one evening show on Saturday

night. All but the Saturday show I'm finished by dinner, so when I have kids I can tuck them in bed at
night. You were never around much to do that, and Abby missed it, and so did I, but my kids won't.
The rest of my time will be taken up helping Maddy with her horse program, spending time with kids
at hospitals, and designing illusions to auction off to the highest bidders on the strip. My invisible
man will bring in enough for Maddy and me to live comfortably for a long time."

"Are you going to give me a hint how it works?" Sebastian asked.
"Nope. You taught me not to reveal my inventions to anyone but my wife, as long as she's also my

assistant, and that's the way it's going to be. But before I do anything, I have to convince Maddy she's
better off with me than without me, so wish me luck."

Sebastian gave Dimitri a grudging smile, and said, "It seems I have no choice. So what are you

going to do now?"

"Pack up my stuff and follow my instincts."

***

Dancing Moon Ranch – three weeks later

Maddy watched as the last child for the day left with his mother. It had been the boy's first

session, and when she put him on the horse and saw the look of wonder on his face when the horse
started walking, it was a feeling like no other. But she also spent time with each of her kids before
and after their sessions, and always encouraged them to groom their horse, even if it only amounted to
brushing the horse's neck while sitting on the horse, or its legs from the ground.

So far she only had six kids as regulars, but she was already attached to each of them. They lifted

her spirits when, after the day was done and she was in her bedroom feeling depressed and down
because she couldn't seem to get her life back on track the way Adam said she would, she'd think of
little things that happened during their sessions, like watching a special-needs child who wasn't
walking two months ago, taking his first steps. It was such a small thing, sitting a child on a horse and
walking the horse around, or if the child's muscle tone was too weak, like one of her kids, having him
lay on his stomach on the horse’s back. But for the length of time he could stay comfortable, he
smiled. That in itself was a miracle.

Today a little girl with cerebral palsy brought a classmate to ride with her. Her mother

commented that because her daughter couldn't run and play like her friends, when she was on the back
of a horse, she was just like them, so Maddy told her to bring a friend to ride with her, and there
would be no charge. The little girl was so happy to have her friend that Maddy found herself with
tears in her eyes, just to see them giggling the way girls did...

"How did it go with the new boy today?" Tyler's voice came from behind Maddy.
She turned to find him holding Claire, who was four months old, and a perfect blend of Rose and

Tyler. She was also the apple of her Daddy's eye.

"It went well," Maddy said. "When he first looked up at the horse he seemed a little intimidated,

but once I put him in the saddle and the horse started walking, a smile stretched from ear to ear. And
Emma, the little girl with cerebral palsy, brought a friend. The two were giggling all the way around
the arena most of the time. Life isn't easy for these kids, but it's a way to put a little good in the
world."

"How are you doing?' Tyler asked.
Maddy looked at him in bafflement. "What do you mean?"
"I mean your state of mind. The way I've been hearing things, you're short tempered with

everyone around here, Mom said you're not going anyplace with your friends, and when Mom or Dad
suggest you watch TV with them in the evening you cut them off short and go to your room and shut the
door. You want to tell me what that's all about? I'll listen."

"I guess I'm just tired after a long day."
"You're working with six kids. Your days aren't that long," Tyler said. "Mom also said she's seen

you more than once, walk over to the cabin where Dimitri stayed and stare at it. You still miss him." It

was a statement, not a question.

Maddy nodded. "I don't understand him. He just left without telling me what I did wrong."
"Maybe you didn't do anything wrong," Tyler said. "When Mario Moretti was here he made it

clear that none of us were to go to Las Vegas, and maybe Dimitri took it to heart and broke things off
with you because there was no choice."

"He had the choice to tell me that, but he didn't because he had a better offer from his father, so

he just left. But I'm okay. Like they say, there are other fish in the sea."

She just wished one of those fish would swim by and take her mind off the terrible aloneness she

felt all the time, like there was this giant emptiness inside that Dimitri once filled.

"Give it more time," Tyler said. "You fell in love with an illusionist, which complicates things

because love itself is an illusion since it involves false ideas and beliefs. You have this craving for
another person so you deceive your mind into suspending your normal process of logic in order to
satisfy your craving. Then your brain becomes addicted to the illusion and doesn't want to let go.
What you're going through now is detox for your addiction, your letting go of the illusion you had of
Dimitri, the person you thought he was, not the person he really is. But when it's all over, things will
be easier and you'll begin to think more rationally again."

Maddy let out a short, ironic laugh. "I hope so because this state is misery."
Tyler shifted Claire to sit in the curve of his arm and wrapped his other arm around Maddy's

shoulders, and said, "The one thing we can count on every day is the sun coming up, so tomorrow, get
up early enough to see sunrise. It's the best way I know to lift the spirits."

"You're right," Maddy said. "Enough of this."
"If you really mean it, then tonight instead of going to your room and moping, go down and watch

TV with Mom and Dad, and tomorrow, Rose wants you to come for dinner. She's fixing crab cakes
and making an acorn squash pie."

Maddy decided Tyler was right. Going to her room every night was getting to be a drag. It was

time to get off the feeling-sorry-for-herself treadmill and get on with the rest of her life.

"Alright. Tell Rose I'll be there, which means I'll get to play with this little girl." She tickled

Claire on the cheek, bringing a shy smile that had her tucking her head against Tyler's neck.

Tyler looked down and gave Claire a kiss on the temple, and said to Maddy, "When the right guy

comes along he'll be worth the wait, and before you know it, you'll have a house full of these
miraculous little things." He readjusted Claire in his arms, then turned and headed down the road in
the direction of the ranch, and Maddy went to get the wheelbarrow.

Not more than a half hour later, Maddy was in the arena, forking manure into the wheelbarrow,

when she was startled by something white flashing by. She looked up to see a dove circling the arena.
Feeling a rush of adrenaline, knowing there was only one person who'd have a white dove at the
ranch, she looked around to see Dimitri standing in the entrance to the arena, looking all cowboy,
from the top of his Stetson to the tips of his scuffed boots, except for the white dove that was landing
on his wrist.

When she did nothing but stand and stare, because she was too stunned by Dimitri's sudden

appearance to speak, Dimitri, walking toward her, said, "Do I take your silence as 'go away and
leave me alone,' or, 'I'm glad you finally came to your senses and figured out that I'm the only
woman you could ever love, so you packed all your belongings and came back because you're
miserable without me and we need to get on with our lives together.'"

Finally finding her voice, Maddy said, "You came back because you still love me?"
"I never stopped loving you, honey. I just didn't know how to make things work," Dimitri said,

continuing toward her. "What was going on in Las Vegas didn't work for me either, so I'm back,
hoping you've been as miserable as I've been."

It dawned on Maddy what he'd just told her. "You said you packed all your belongings?"
"Temporarily. Everything's in storage, including all my woodworking tools, since Dad's selling

the house."

"Where do you intend to live now?" Maddy asked.
Dimitri shrugged. "I was hoping I could rent a cabin somewhere, maybe on the same ranch where

I want to build a house for the woman I love."

While Maddy was trying to digest everything that was happening, she said, somewhat

distractedly, "What about establishing a name?"

"I already have a name at the Coyote, and the reaction I get from the audience there is every bit as

enthusiastic as what I got at the Nine Lives," Dimitri replied, "so if you're still willing to marry me,
I'm ready to sign a long-term contract at the Coyote, but I'll need an assistant for a couple of back-to-
back, late-afternoon shows, five days a week, and one night show on Saturday, but maybe the rest of
the time I could sign on as a sidewalker for the prettiest equine therapist in the country."

"Then you're completely giving up the idea of performing in Las Vegas?" Maddy asked.
Dimitri set Sirius on a side railing, and taking Maddy by the shoulders, he said to her, "Honey,

I'm gaining far more than I'm giving up. I watched every illusionist on the strip, and the more I saw,
the less I liked, except that I did learn something about David Copperfield."

"What? The secret to one of his major illusions?"
"Better than that," Dimitri said, while slipping his arms around Maddy's waist. "I learned he

founded a program for disabled people who'd lost their dexterity, and they were using sleight of hand
magic as a method of physical therapy. The program is used in hospitals all over the world, so I
figured if it works for adults it would work for kids. Besides, kids love magic, and I love teaching it
to them."

Maddy curved her arms around Dimitri's neck and kissed him, and said, "I was hoping you'd

come to that realization."

Dimitri kissed her back. "I also know a miracle when I see one."
"What miracle?"
"You waiting for me to come back instead of marrying a cowboy."
"I still plan to marry a cowboy," Maddy said, "but I raised the bar after you left and decided I

wouldn't settle for just any cowboy. My cowboy has to be able to materialize wherever I am so
whenever I need to be kissed, he'll be there."

"I can do that kind of magic," Dimitri said. "In fact, you might start wishing you could do the kind

of magic that makes me dematerialize so you can get on with your day, or we could end up eternally in
bed."

Maddy smiled. "You haven't shown me that kind of magic yet, but we came close enough in the

limo for me to know that wanting you to dematerialize when we're in bed will never be an issue. But
if we're talking marriage again, which it seems we are, when we're raising kids I want them to also be
aware of the kind of magic that's all around us, like making wishes on rainbows, and listening to the
voices in Whispering Springs, and waking up and finding mushroom fairy rings that magically
appeared during the night."

"We'll have that kind of magic too," Dimitri said, "but I still intend to have some fun with sleight

of hand with our kids, like making something appear out of thin air and disappear again by rubbing
my fingers against it, like this." In an instant, a ring appeared between Dimitri's fingers.

"Wait! Where did that come from?" Maddy asked, her eyes focused on a solitaire diamond that

was bordered on each side by two diminutive gold doves, with a tiny sprig of laurel wrapping
lovingly around the gold band.

"It came from the ring fairy," Dimitri replied. "So back to sleight of hand. While I'm holding it

with this hand, my other hand comes across, taking it like this—"

"In Las Vegas?" Maddy cut in.
"There are no ring fairies in Las Vegas," Dimitri said. "But now the ring is gone." He held up his

hand to show her that the ring had disappeared.

"It's in the other hand," Maddy said.
"This one?" Dimitri held up an empty hand.
Maddy stared in bafflement because the ring had literally vanished as she watched.
"Honey, if you're going to be a magician's wife," Dimitri said, "you need to follow this more

closely. Now, I rub my fingers together, while slowly opening my other hand to reveal that the ring is
still not there, which of course it isn't, because it's here."

To Maddy's puzzlement, the ring appeared between Dimitri's fingers again.
Kissing her parted lips, Dimitri said, "But it really belongs here." He took her hand and slipped

the ring onto her ring finger.

After absorbing what just happened, Maddy stretched out her hand, and said, while admiring the

ring, "It's beautiful, and it's special because you selected it, and I'll wear it forever, but what made
you think I'd still be waiting for you?"

"Genie."
"That doesn't make sense," Maddy said. "I've never mentioned anything to either Genie or Annie

about how I felt, or Ryan or Josh. How did Genie know?"

"The Dancing Moon Grapevine," Dimitri said. "Genie got word from Emily, who got it from

Adam, who agreed with Marc and Kit that you've been impossible to live with since I left, and your
Mom told Ruth that all you do in the evening is sit in your bedroom and mope, so the way I figured,
since you were acting the same way I was, it could only be because you were as miserable as me, and
the only way to fix it was to get married. But I also used a little magic."

Maddy eyed him, dubiously. "What kind of magic?"
"A talisman," Dimitri replied. "According to the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, a magical

order in England, a talisman is something charged with the force it's intended to represent, so I found
a charm that represented what I wanted, and I've been carrying it around ever since."

"So, you have it with you now?" Maddy asked.
"I did when I arrived, but I don't need it anymore."
"Then where is it?"
"On your person."
Maddy's hands went to her breast pockets, and after padding around and finding nothing there,

she slipped her hand inside her shirt to check her bra, and when she still found no charm, she checked
the pockets of her jeans. Baffled, she said, "Okay, I give up. Where is it?"

"In the toe of your left boot."
"That's impossible. There's no way you could have put it there."
"Then take off your boot and prove me wrong."
"Fine then." Maddy sat on the side rail and pulled off her boot, and when she turned it over and

shook it, a flash of gold landed in the dirt. She picked up the charm and saw that it was a tiny couple
entwined in each other's arms while sitting together on a sliver of moon.

Looking up at Dimitri in bewilderment, she said, "I'm positive you didn't have your hands

anywhere near my boots, so how did you do it?"

Dimitri smiled in amusement. "I guess it's time for a little tutorial. As a magician's wife you'll be

expected to know the seven principles of sleight of hand, which are palming, which is to conceal
something in an apparently empty hand. Switching, which is to secretly exchange one object for
another. Ditching, which is to secretly get rid of an object. Stealing, which is to secretly obtain an
object. Loading, which is to secretly move an object to where it's needed. Simulation, which is to
give the impression that something happened that didn't, and misdirection, which is to lead attention
away from a secret move."

"So, which principle did you use to get the charm into my boot?" Maddy asked.
"Palming, loading and Misdirection," Dimitri replied. "When you turned your boot over and

shook it, I dropped the charm in the dirt."

"That's cheating," Maddy said.
"No, it's magic." Dimitri bent down and gave her a kiss. "It's also our happily ever after ending."
Maddy studied the charm more closely, while saying, "It's really a beautiful charm, but you're

wrong about it being our happily ever after ending."

"I can't be wrong," Dimitri said. "I carried that charm around for three months and it brought me

back here, and you're still willing to marry me, so what more is there?"

"Riding off into the sunset," Maddy said. "The way the story goes, the buckle bunny lures her

cowboy stud to the cabin in the mountains, and after she uses some sleight of hand to perform her own
kind of levitation, she rides him off into the sunset."

"Honey, what needs to be levitated already is. How fast can we saddle up?"
Maddy hurriedly pulled on her boot and stood. "I'll race you to the stable."
Dimitri swatted Maddy on the rear. "You really are a hot chick."
Maddy gave Dimitri a wicked grin. "If you think I'm hot now, wait till the next time we rehearse

Metamorphosis."

"Oh man, I think there's going to be a whole lot of levitating going on."
"We live in hope."

EPILOGUE

Dimitri the Illusionist Presents:

The Amazing Katy and Abby Show,

With Homer, the Disappearing Donkey.

Immediately Following the Reception.

Come One, Come All, to the Barn.

Maddy had just changed out of her wedding dress and into her hot pink 'magician's assistant'

outfit, when Dimitri walked into the cabin, and said, "Josh just finished making up Katy and Abby, so
let's hope they don't smudge their clown faces in the next half hour."

Maddy looked at Dimitri, who was still in wedding attire in preparation for the show, and said,

"They must be adorable, and with luck they'll remember what they're supposed to do."

"No worry. Dad's in the barn right now leading the girls through it. I'm not sure about Homer

though. He balked when Abby walked up to him."

"He's just not used to pint-sized clowns, but there was no way Genie and I could have done it

today." It had been Maddy's idea to do the disappearing donkey illusion right after the reception,
when everyone in the family would be there—except for Jeremy and Billy, who'd watch it on video—
but now she wondered what she must have been thinking at the time. It was a lot to be happening the
day of their wedding. "I'm just glad we don't have to leave here and fly off to some exotic place today,
and worry about all that packing," she added.

Dimitri shrugged out of his tux jacket, walked up to Maddy and kissed her, and said, "Are you

really okay with a dude ranch honeymoon? I was kind of joking when I made the suggestion. We could
still cancel and go somewhere else, maybe Hawaii."

"Honey, I'm a ranch girl. I love horses and riding, and I've never been to a dude ranch."
"You live on one."
"That's not the same as going to one. When I'm here, I have to help in the kitchen, and deal with

guests, and muck out stalls, but at a dude ranch, I won't have to do anything but romp around in bed
with my stud and watch the sexiest cowboy I know riding a horse."

"I've got the stud part down pat, but I'm still working on the cowboy part," Dimitri said.
"You're amazing at both, and I'm very proud of you." Maddy laced her fingers behind Dimitri's

neck. "And speaking of being proud, now that I'm both your wife and your assistant, it's time you
break the magician's code and tell me all your secrets."

"We only just got married," Dimitri said.
"True, but I don't want to head into our marriage thinking you don't trust me, because like you

said, trust is the foundation of any marriage."

"Yes, but if you force me to tell my secrets this soon, I'll think you married me for that reason, so

where's the trust there?"

"I suppose you could have a valid point," Maddy said. "How about this. To prove my love,

before and after each secret I'll kiss you, and the kisses will get hotter and heavier each time."

"You're using misdirection," Dimitri said. "You think by getting me horny I'll rush through telling

you all my secrets just to get it on with you, but that won't work. Well, you won't have a problem
getting me horny, but it will take time to tell you my secrets, which doesn't leave much time to act on
all those hot kisses, and we have less than a half hour till the donkey illusion."

"Our first time at the cabin took less than five minutes," Maddy pointed out, "and since the

secrets shouldn't take more than ten minutes, that leaves twenty minutes for romping in bed."

Dimitri locked his hands behind Maddy's waist. "What the hell," he said. "Okay, a hot kiss will

get you the secrets to how I materialize on stage and make things levitate, and how I get out of the
burning box. But we're talking about a hot kiss. Not a little peck on the lips."

"Agreed." Maddy tightened her arms around Dimitri's neck and kissed him long and lingeringly,

then forced herself to stop, because already the idea of a romp in bed was sounding more appealing
than learning the secrets. "Okay, start talking. How do you materialize?"

Dimitri's eyes rolled upward, like he was thinking, and he said, "It has to do with trans-

substantiation, which is the increasing or decreasing of the speed of the swirling of atoms needed to
take an object through the light-barrier and into the realm of the super-physical."

"Don't try your nuclear physics gobbledygook with me because it won't work." Maddy kissed the

side of his neck and along his jaw and took a little longer on his lips, stopping when Dimitri opened
his mouth. "We'll continue this after you tell me the real secret."

"Black lights," Dimitri said, then covered her mouth with his.
"Umm…" Maddy hummed, but before the kiss could spiral out of control, she broke it, and said,

"What about black lights?"

Dimitri darted the tip of his tongue in her ear, bringing a short gasp from her. "Only light-colored

objects show up, and since my tux is white in front and black in back, the lights catch only the front
—" he kissed the side of her neck "—and since my stage crews' dressed in black with blackened
faces and hands, when they move around holding light-colored objects—" he nipped her earlobe "—
the objects appear to levitate and float when I give the command."

"I get it!" Maddy said, in an excited voice. "Sirius flying to you distracts the audience while you

turn around and materialize. If you hadn't insisted early on that I watch the audience for their reaction
each time, I would have figured it out on my own."

Dimitri smiled. "It's an old magician's trick to hold onto secrets."
"Okay, what about the burning crate?" Maddy asked.
"We are talking about fire here, so I should have a really hot kiss," Dimitri replied. His engaging

smile that followed had Maddy's hormones rising even more, but she was determined to fight it, so
she braced her hands on his chest to keep some distance between them and gave him an open-mouth
kiss, but before it could escalate into dueling tongues, she stopped and said, "We'll pick this up where
we leave off, after you tell all."

"You drive a hard bargain." Dimitri took Maddy's hands from his chest and put them around his

neck, and said, while slipping his hands around her waist, "I sit on a swing hanging from the hook on
the wrecker arm, and when the box starts burning, I kick the bottom and the crate breaks loose since
it's nailed with short nails. The spotlight follows it to the river, and by the time the spotlight returns, I
look like I'm hanging from the rope, when I'm really sitting on a swing."

"I still don't like that stunt. Too many things could go wrong," Maddy said. "And I hate the water

torture escape. The same thing could happen that happened at the river."

"Not a chance, but we really need to get to the barn and make sure everything's ready."
"Not until you tell me how you get out of the water tank," Maddy said. "I've worried about that

escape since I first saw it. I'll make it worth your while, a kiss with a lot of tongue action."

Dimitri eyed Maddy with amusement. "You're pushing things, honey, but what the heck. Give me

that kiss."

Maddy prepared herself for a short, open-mouth kiss with a little tongue sucking and some

darting in and out, so raising her chin and parting her lips, she started in, except that the feel of
Dimitri's tongue rasping against hers was like an aphrodisiac, and it was with extreme willpower that

she removed the big hand covering her breast, and said, "The tank. How do you get out?"

Dimitri groaned, drew a long breath, and replied, "Okay, here's how it works. Once I'm free of

cuffs and chains, I flip over, go to the top of the tank to get my head above the water, which was
lowered by overflow when I was submerged, then I push the lid, along with the padlocks, off the
flange, replaced it, then climb out and wait a few minutes to make my dramatic appearance."

"Hold on," Maddy said. "You're telling me that the padlocks come off with the lid, which means

it doesn't matter if they're the best locks in town. They're never opened."

"You're beginning to get a handle on this magician stuff," Dimitri said. "We're all a bunch of

charlatans."

"I'm finally figuring that out," Maddy replied, "and being the wife of a charlatan, I need to know

how to walk through walls in case I have to make a fast escape some time."

"Fine, but I'll cost you another kiss," Dimitri said, "one that covers a little more territory."
"You can be very trying at times." Maddy unfastened the top few buttons of Dimitri's dress shirt

and kissed her way down to the center of his ribs and across his chest and up his neck, ending with a
lingering kiss on his lips, after which she said, "That's all you get until after you tell me the secret. No
more interruptions."

"On man. You're getting me pretty horny, but okay. It has to do with a bunch of stage hands all

dressed alike. When I go behind the screen I put on a smock, cap, and glasses and join the crew, who
are also wearing smocks, caps and glasses, and while the audience is watching the hands waving
above the screen, which are dummies controlled by one of my assistants disassembling the screen, I'm
mixing with the stage crew. At the right moment, I slip behind the screen that's been reassembled on
the other side of the wall, strip off the costumes, and when lights come on from behind the screen, my
shadow looks like I'm coming through the wall."

"That's it?" Maddy said. "I can't believe how easy all these illusions are, or why no one in the

audience can figure them out. What about your disappearing man illusion? The way you told me,
you'll disappear while you're telling a story."

"Okay I'll tell you the secret," Dimitri said, "but because this is an illusion that no magician alive

knows, including my father, I'll need a kiss that's so hot and steamy, we'll have to be in bed to keep
from knocking things over and falling on the floor, and by the end of the kiss we'll both be so horny
we'll be completely out of control, and what started out to be a romp in bed will end up burning holes
in the sheets."

"I'll agree to that," Maddy said, "but you'd better talk fast and tell it straight because if we show

up late for the disappearing donkey illusion, everyone will know what we've been up to in here and
that would be very embarrassing, especially with my brothers out there."

"Got it." Dimitri stretched out on the bed, and once he and Maddy were entangled in each other's

arms and legs, he said in a hurried voice, "I'll be wearing a costume covered in tiny sensors that
transmit pictures of whatever's behind me to a matrix of screen-like material, so when the sensors are
on I'll look like what's behind me, which will make me invisible, and when the sensors are off, I'll be
back." He kissed the hollow of Maddy's throat.

"Umm, what about your face?" Maddy asked. "I assume it won't be covered in sensors. Will it

just appear to float around the stage?"

"It's a story illusion," Dimitri said, while unsnapping Maddy's shirt. "I'll be the headless

horseman who roams around Sleepy Hollow while carrying my head, but I'm not really decapitated.
I'm trying to scare away Ichabod Crane, my rival for the hand in marriage of the local beauty, Katrina
van Tassel, and so the audience knows I'm not actually headless, I'll turn off the sensors and I'll be in

one piece again."

"That's ingenious!" Maddy said, in an excited voice.
"I know. It's going to make us lots of money." Dimitri kissed the swell of her breast. "And we

have less than fifteen minutes to ride off into the sunset."

Maddy moved her hand over Dimitri's hip and nudged him slightly so she could trail her fingers

back and forth along the waistband of his trousers while making little circles there, and said, "I still
don't know cups and balls."

"You will in a minute." Dimitri rolled onto his back.
Maddy eyed the prominent bulge. "I'm talking about the other balls, the ones in the trick. It

shouldn't take more than a few seconds to explain it. But once I have all your secrets, I'll be so
pumped up and excited we won't just ride off into the sunset. We'll ride all the way to heaven."

"Oh man… okay… sleight of hand gets a ball in the bottom cup before I start, but the angle I hold

the cup keeps viewers from seeing it, so when I turn the cup over, a ball is under it, and I do the same
thing for the next two cups. So get ready to mount up, honey, because I'm busting out of my pants." He
was in the process of unzipping his trousers when a series of loud knocks rattled the door.

"Dimitri!" Sebastian's voice sounded from beyond the door. "We have a major problem."
"I know. Your timing's shot to hell, Dad. Go away."
"It's the donkey," Sebastian said. "He disappeared."
"Maybe he read the poster and took it to heart," Dimitri said. "I'll be there in fifteen minutes. You

can start the show with some card flourishes or something."

"What about the donkey?"
"Dad, I'm in the middle of my honeymoon right now. You deal with it."
Maddy nudged Dimitri aside and said, while snapping her shirt. "You shouldn't have told your

father that. Now he knows what we're doing in here, and we really need to find Homer. He could go
for miles and get in a lot of trouble and I'd never hear the end of it from Annie,"

Dimitri groaned, fastened his trousers, and stood. "So much for riding to heaven," he grumbled.

After shrugging into his tuxedo jacket, he grabbed his top hat and shoved it on his head and followed
Maddy out the door.

As they were walking briskly toward the barn, Maddy pointed, and said in an excited voice,

"Over there! Annie has Homer. He must have spotted her and wandered off to be with her, so I guess
the show's still on."

"Fine, but after this performance, I never want to hear about disappearing donkeys again."
"I absolutely agree," Maddy said, "but just before your dad interrupted us, I got an idea for a new

illusion, one we can do for an imaginary audience when we're on our honeymoon, but this time I'll be
the magician and you'll be my assistant. It's called the disappearing jeans illusion, and since the
magician gets to pick what her assistant wears, you'll be wearing only chaps."

"So, how do my jeans disappear?" Dimitri asked.
"You'll do some gyrating to get them and out from under the chaps then toss them away."
"That's not quite how illusions work, honey. The jeans need to disappear while the imaginary

audience is distracted by misdirection, but we can still do the chaps, sleight of hand, and levitation, if
that gets me my ride to heaven. In the meantime, will you settle for a disappearing Speedo illusion
right after the disappearing donkey act?"

"Of course," Maddy said, "as long as the Speedo illusion's accompanied by card flourishes."
Dimitri laughed, took Maddy in his arms, and said, "I can tell you this much, honey. As soon as

the show's over and we're back in the cabin there's going to be a whole lot of hot pink disappearing."

Maddy kissed Dimitri quickly, and replied, "Then let the show begin."

###

Thank you!

Thanks so much for reading. I hope you enjoyed Imperfect Magic. If you did, I'd love for you to:

Consider posting a review: Here's the link to

Amazon.

Lend the book: Imperfect Magic is lendable through the Kindle lending program, so please lend it to a friend.

Take a look at the Dancing Moon Ranch Family Album. The 13-book Dancing Moon Ranch Series is illustrated with over 600 color
photographs depicting the ranch and all the characters in the series. You'll also see what it was like during the "missing years" when the
heroes and heroines in the series were growing up on the ranch. To review or buy the Dancing Moon Ranch Family Album, click

here

Read the first three chapters of Finding Justice, which is the final book in my Dancing Moon Ranch Series.
.

CHAPTER 1

"Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.

The hands can't hit what the eyes can't see"

–Muhammad Ali

Dancing Moon Ranch – Sheridan, Oregon

While standing at the window of the lodge, Julia Barker watched the crowd gathered along the

landing strip that ran between the lodge and the winery. All the Hansens were out there, including the
brothers from eastern Oregon and their families, everyone looking toward the plane coming in for a
landing. It was the day they'd all eagerly awaited, and although she wanted to be out there to share in
the excitement of welcoming Jeremy and Billy home after four years in witness protection, Julia
couldn't bring herself to join them.

The front door of the lodge swept open and her grandfather, Howard Barker, walked toward her,

and said, "I checked your cabin and when you weren't there, I thought you'd changed your mind about
joining us. You could stand off to the side with Maureen and me."

Julia shook her head. "I'll meet Jeremy and Billy when they come inside."
Yet, the thought of everyone out there crowding into the lodge was troubling at best, but she'd stay

close to the door, so if she felt a panic attack coming, she could slip away to her cabin, her sanctuary
for the next few months. She also knew she couldn't stay at the ranch indefinitely, nor could she live
with her grandfather and Maureen, who were talking about adding a room onto the back of their house
for her. But she wasn't ready to live away from family either, so when the Hansens insisted she stay in
one of the cabins until the guest season started up in the spring, it seemed the perfect solution, for
now.

She just needed more time, which was something she'd been telling herself every anniversary

since the Oklahoma City bombing, when for hours she'd been trapped beneath a building that had not
yet settled after the blast, imprisoned in a tomb-sized cavity surrounded by concrete, and steel beams,
and rubble. When rescuers finally made their way through the wreckage, she'd thought it was all over.
She had no way of knowing what lay ahead, the complexities of dealing with something the mind
couldn't shut out. For now though, everyone's attention was focused on Jeremy and Billy's
homecoming, and she could focus on that too.

"You'll have dinner with us tonight, won't you?" Howard asked. "Maureen's expecting you."

When Julia nodded, Howard squeezed her shoulder and left the lodge to join the others, and Julia
returned to the window.

As she watched her grandfather walk up to Maureen and put his arm around her shoulders, and

saw couples clinging to each other in anticipation, and excited kids tugging at their parents' hands
while being held back from the airstrip, Julia hated being so emotionally crippled that she couldn't
join them. Much of the time she could disguise her claustrophobia, when it was just a few people in
an uncluttered room. Today would not be one of those days, and already she was dreading the idea of
all the people outside crowding into the lodge. The mere thought made her chest feel tight, as if being
squeezed by a vise.

The whine of engines drew her attention back to the plane, which had touched down and was

rolling to a halt not far from the lodge. On seeing a small white aircraft with a dark blue stripe along
the fuselage with the words, U.S. MARSHALS SERVICE, displayed across it, Julia was again taken

back in time to the one place she did not want to be at the moment, so she forced herself to shove
thoughts of that life-changing episode aside. Today was a day to rejoice with the family, and she
would, however she'd manage to get through it.

Only last week the Hansens got word that Billy would not have to testify in court against a key

mafia crime figure, and the family would be discharged from the witness protection program and be
home just in time for Christmas. The news came the same day Julia arrived at the ranch. She was glad
for the distraction because it took the focus off her and the reason she was there, and that was the way
she wanted it. From the time of the bombing she'd lived with her parents, but her father's job took her
parents to Korea, and the thought of a long flight across the Pacific was something she couldn't
handle. Her goal now was to have her own place by spring, something so simple, yet so complex for
a person like her.

Her attention was again drawn to what was happening outside. First to leave the plane was a big

black dog, a Rottweiler, that was straining on the end of a leash held by a man wearing jeans and a
U.S. Marshal jacket. The marshal gave a command, and after the dog sat, the man spread his arms and
attempted to hold back the Hansen family, but when a tall man holding a toddler, accompanied by a
woman clutching the hand of a little girl about three, stepped off the plane, the marshal moved aside
and let the family close in around them. An older couple was last to leave the plane, and although
Julia had never met any of them, she'd learned over the past week that the older man was Billy's
father, and his wife was the U.S. Marshal's sister.

Grace was first to embrace Jeremy and his little son, and as she held them, Julia could feel the

relief and love of a mother who'd wondered if she'd ever see her son again, or even meet her
grandchildren. Jack wrapped his arms around all three of them, and when he and Grace finally
released Jeremy so they could hug Billy and their little granddaughter, Grace was mopping her eyes.
The rest of the Hansen clan moved in, some hugging and laughing and swatting each other on the back,
others crouching to talk to the little girl or touch the toddler, who had buried his face in his father's
chest. The pilot and another marshal emerged from the plane and set numerous totes and bags on the
airstrip, and before long, the plane was barreling down the runway and heading for the sky.

Everyone began grabbing bags, and when the swarm of people started toward the lodge, a rush of

adrenaline sent Julia's heart quickening, the first sign of an oncoming panic attack. But the intense urge
to flee was suddenly overpowered by another emotion, one so strong she stood immobile as the man
in the U.S. Marshals' jacket, waiting for the others to pass, stopped not more than ten feet from where
she stood at the window looking out. It was his face that held her captive—the frown lines between
his dark brows, the shadow of a day-old mustache that tipped downward at each end, a head of dark,
closely-cropped hair and distinct sideburns, a man who looked more like a thug than a marshal.

In an instant she was back in time, unable to move, buried in debris that trapped her arms,

leaving only her head and shoulders free. A U.S. Marshal, hearing her cries for help, rushed in and
started digging, bare-handed, into the rubble, but before he could free her, the building began shifting.
Still, instead of fleeing when he could, the man hurled himself on top of her as falling debris and
structural members closed off their only means of escape, throwing them in to pitch-blackness in a
space barely large enough for two people to huddle together. Still, he'd managed to dig her out of the
debris, but by then she'd been on the verge of hysteria, certain they were destined to be crushed
beneath tons of rubble, so to help keep her calm, the man sat with his arm around her while keeping a
steady dialog going, pumping her for answers to questions about herself, not because he was curious,
but because he was trying to help her get through the horror.

Miraculously, she hadn't been seriously hurt, only bruised and scraped, but the thought of being

buried alive had taken hold. But sometime during the long terrifying ordeal, he said, "We've been
talking for hours and you're just a voice in the dark, so describe yourself. Tell me what you look like."

"I'm your average blue-eyed blond," she'd replied. "My friends called me Barbie when I was in

high school. And you?"

"I'm Italian. Dark hair, dark eyes. Most people think I'm a mafia hit man."
She laughed, a light moment during the course of a living nightmare.
When rescue workers finally dug through the rubble, she had just a short glimpse of the man

known only as Mario, before they placed her on a stretcher, and took her away. It was true. He did
look like a hit man, though a handsome one, with a face that showed concern, and caring, as he looked
down at her. Then he gave her shoulder a little squeeze with a hand scraped and encrusted with dried
blood from digging her out of the rubble, and said, "Best of luck to you, Barbie." When he smiled, her
world seemed a little brighter, but she had no way of knowing what lay ahead because the reality of
what happened had not yet sunk in. She was about to ask him his last name so they could stay
connected, since they'd spent several hours together during a time when she was certain she was
going to die, but he'd already walked off, and that was the last she'd seen of him. Yet, after two
decades, his face was still clear in her mind, but that was the face of a much younger man. The face of
the man outside fit her memory in a way, but his face was harder, with lines that said his life had not
been so good.

Telling herself she could handle a crowded room, her desire to know if this was the same man

overriding her phobia, she moved to the rear of the great room and sat on a couch near the back door.
Her cabin was just across the drive that ran behind the lodge, not more than twenty feet away, an easy
exit if she felt a panic attack coming.

The room soon filled with people, and as she watched the excitement and listened to the

enthusiastic chatter, she also watched for the marshal to come in, but he apparently remained outside,
or maybe went to his cabin. Grace mentioned that he and the older couple would be staying in two of
the cabins. Julia had given it no thought at the time, knowing she'd see little of anyone because she
was working on a script for her latest video game, and that would keep her occupied inside her cabin
during the week before Christmas and through New Year's, when the lodge would be alive with ranch
guests, and she wanted a reason to stay away. After that, the guest ranch part of the operation would
close until spring, and she'd be comfortable enough mingling with the Hansen family.

She glanced out the window and saw snowflakes fluttering in the air. While she was watching the

activity surrounding Jeremy and Billy's arrival, the snowflakes had been barely discernable, but now
snow was beginning to stick to the trees and ground. It had been overcast all day, and since the ranch
sat high above the valley floor, snow on cold damp days was always a possibility. She had no
problem with light snow, even up to a few inches, but the thought of snow building brought feelings of
being buried…

She cut off that troubling thought when, in her peripheral vision, she caught sight of someone

walking toward her, and saw that it was Maddy Matthias, who'd left her husband's side when he
started to entertain the kids with magic tricks.

"Mind if I join you?" Maddy asked. "I can't get a word in edgewise over there right now, not

even with the dog."

Julia glanced to where the family was crowded around Jeremy and Billy, and several kids were

petting the Rottweiler, who seemed contented enough. "Be my guest," she replied. "I'm just staying out
of the way. I'll spend some time getting to know Jeremy and Billy after all the excitement has worn
off."

"That could be a long time," Maddy said. "The family has four years of catching up, and everyone

wants all the details, especially Mom, so you'll have to pick a number and wait in line."

"That's okay," Julia replied. "I'm enjoying just watching from a distance."
"I've been wanting to talk to you since you arrived but you've made yourself scarce," Maddy

said. "I have an equine program you might find helpful in dealing with your claustrophobia."

Julia knew Maddy meant well, but the last thing she wanted was to be singled out as the poor,

pathetic, step-kin who couldn't cope. "I'm actually doing okay," she replied. "I've just been busy
working on a script I need to get out."

"Grandma mentioned you're a video game writer," Maddy said. "That must be fun, especially

when the games come out and you know you wrote them."

"It is fun," Julia replied. "The Children's Club series I'm working on has become very popular,

and it's in the age range of the kids here, so they might even have some of the games, if they're
allowed to have them."

"They are, but not until they've finished their chores," Maddy said. "Video games are a great tool

Dimitri and I plan to use when our time comes."

Julia found herself looking down at Maddy's tummy, to which Maddy laughed, and said, "Our

time isn't coming yet. Dimitri and I are in the process of building a house, but when it's finished, we'll
start on our first little illusionist."

Julia laughed. "Maybe after all the excitement of Christmas and New Year's is over, I'll walk up

to your building site… and… see… what…" Her voice trailed off when the front door to the lodge
opened and the marshal stepped inside. After shutting the door, he stood near the entrance, like he
wasn't sure what to do, and Grace and Jack and the rest of the family were so occupied talking to
Jeremy and Billy that they were unaware that he was there.

But Julia was aware. In fact, she couldn't take her eyes off the man, who hadn't glanced her way.

Instead he was smiling slightly as he looked at Jeremy and Billy's little girl, Amy, who was being
handed a flower Maddy's magician husband had pulled from behind her ear. The marshal's smile
softened the frown lines between his brows and lifted the corners of his mouth, making him look
younger. Making him look like the face in her memory. Could it be? The odds were astronomical that
the same man would turn up at the ranch the very week she arrived...

"Julia?" Maddy's voice seemed to come from far away.
Julia blinked rapidly, while trying to remember what they'd been talking about, but it had

completely escaped her. The only thing on her mind was the man in her line of vision

"Do you know him?" Maddy asked.
"Who?"
"Mario. The U.S. Marshal."
"Mario?" Julia's heart quickened, but for a very different reason than before.
"Mario Moretti," Maddy said. "You were staring at him and I was wondering why."
Julia gave a nervous chuckle. "I guess he caught my attention because he doesn't exactly look like

what I would expect a U.S. Marshal to look like."

Maddy laughed. "Actually he looks like he belongs on the other side of the law, like maybe

behind bars. In the past he stopped in on occasion to remind us he was still in charge. He's really kind
of a jerk though, but Jeremy and Billy like him and insisted he stay through Christmas, since he has no
family except his sister, who's also staying, so he must have a good side."

Julia found herself again staring at the man while wondering if, after all those years, it could

possibly be the only man she could imagine letting into her small, insular world. At least that was the

way she'd felt over the years. On seeing him now, if it was the same Mario, she wouldn't want him to
know what an emotional cripple she'd become. It was pathetic and humiliating.

She was curious, though, about what Maddy just said, because it didn't fit the Mario who had

literally helped her hold onto her sanity during a time when she'd felt on the verge of snapping. "In
what way is he a jerk?" she asked.

Maddy shrugged. "He's pretty much a macho, male, take-control, U.S. Marshal, maybe not so

much with my brothers, but at times he treated me like I was in middle school and he was the
principal. I really didn't appreciate it."

"I assume you're talking about when you went to Las Vegas," Julia said, having heard about the

fiasco from her grandfather.

Maddy let out an unladylike snort that came out louder than she expected, Julia realized, when

Maddy clamped her hand over her mouth, but it had the effect of turning Mario's head toward them,
and when he looked their way, he stared at Julia, so long in fact, she wondered if he recognized her, if
he was the same Mario.

Trapped in his gaze, she couldn't look away, and when his frown deepened, and his eyes became

intense—an odd reaction coming from a perfect stranger—she was all but certain that he was her
Mario. The chain of reactions she feared most, those that came on the cusp of a panic attack, gripped
her. Knowing she had to leave at once, she said in an anxious voice, "I've got to go," then left abruptly
by the back door, shutting it quickly behind.

Once outside she took several long draws of the brisk December air, and on exhaling, saw her

breath wafting in misty puffs, a reminder that the vise gripping her chest was letting up. She braced
her back on the building and waited for things to settle.

Several minutes later, when she felt as if she finally had some control, she turned and peered

through the window. Mario was no longer there, and when she scanned the people in the room, she
saw no sign of him…

"Julia?"
The sound of a male voice that had, for years, been only in her memory, brought Julia turning

around, and for the moment she was too stunned to speak, so she simply looked at him and nodded.
He was older, in his mid-forties now, but the face she remembered over the years was still there, and
still concerned, or maybe more perplexed than concerned.

"I wasn't sure it was you," Mario said. "Why did you rush out?"
Julia struggled to find a plausible reason for her abrupt exit, while trying to juggle a whole range

of reactions similar to those triggered by her claustrophobia, but which she knew were not caused by
her phobia this time, but because she was in the presence of a man who had hovered in her memory
for twenty years. "I… it was getting… noisy."

Mario looked at her oddly, like he was mulling something over, then he said in a discerning

voice, "You're Howard Barker's granddaughter."

"How did you know?" Julia asked.
"All communication between Jeremy and his family comes through me, and the name, Julia,

caught my attention," Mario replied. "But you have your grandfather's last name. When we were
trapped, you were a couple of months away from getting married."

Julia was distracted momentarily by the fact that Mario had remembered her name. She always

assumed she'd just been a woman in the rubble to him, while he had been tantamount to her guardian
angel, someone who arrived on the scene when she was buried alive and teetering on the brink of
death, and would be with her until she took her last breath, if it had come to that. There had even been

times, over the years, when she wondered if he had been a real guardian angel. Everything happened
the way people described, and once she was out of danger, he left.

Realizing he was waiting for her to fill in the details, she said, "The… wedding plans fell

through and I never married."

"Anyone?" The perpetual frown between Mario's brows deepened.
"I… got involved with other things, so no, I never married anyone."
"Are you okay then?"
"What do you mean?"
"After the bombing. Have things been okay?"
"Oh, yes. I'm fine," Julia lied, but she didn't want Mario to know. He was a tower of strength. She

was like a crushed flower.

"That's good," Mario said. "Some of the other survivors didn't come out of it so well."
"And you?" Julia asked. "Have things gone well for you after that?"
Mario let out a short, ironic laugh. "I've been in worse situations. They come with the job."
"I don't think I'd like that job very well," Julia said.
"It has its shortcomings," Mario replied, "but I stay with it because it puts a lot of wiseguys

behind bars, and sometimes the rats I protect turn their lives around. What about you? When I asked
what you wanted to do with your life, you said you and your fiancé were in the process of starting a
river rafting business. Did you?"

Again, Julia was surprised he'd remembered what she'd told him, but she didn't want to talk

about her shattered dream. All the hopes she once had, vanished when a bomb blew out the side of a
building. Even the man she loved vanished in a sense, because he couldn't cope with her fears and
phobias after that. "It was an impractical dream," she said, and hoped she sounded sincere. But the
man who'd been part of her dream had filled the other half of their dream with another woman. Rogue
River Rats was a successful business, which it would not have been if Cole had waited for her to
come out of her shell, because he'd still be waiting.

"Maybe we could spend some time together while I'm here," Mario said." You told me you liked

visiting your grandfather when you were growing up because he kept a horse for you on his ranch, so
maybe tomorrow we could ride in the mountains."

Julia hadn't realized how much she'd blocked out of her mind since those long, pitch-black hours,

nor did she remember telling Mario about spending time at her grandparent's ranch. In fact, she was
surprised Mario remembered anything she'd told him on the one day in their lives that could well
have been their last. She also knew she couldn't venture away from the cabin with him or anyone else,
not on foot, and not on horseback. "I haven't ridden in years," she said, "but I'm surprised you can still
ride. I remember you telling me you lived on a ranch when you were a teen, but you've been a marshal
for years. When was the last time you rode?"

"About two days ago," Mario replied. "I had to help Jeremy repair fences taken down by a

snowstorm. So, are we on for riding in the mountains tomorrow?"

"I still can't. It's my… umm… back," Julia said. "It…. sometimes gives me trouble." She hated

lying, but it was just a small lie to keep Mario from knowing the truth, that by venturing away from
her place of security, any number of things could start a chain of reactions that were not only
embarrassing and humiliating, but were hard to explain, even to herself.

Mario looked at her soberly, like he wasn't buying what she was telling him, then he shrugged,

and said, "It's probably better that I don't go riding either. I have paperwork to do, and I need to get
started. Good seeing you again." Saying nothing more, he turned and walked off, and Julia realized

he'd misconstrued everything she'd said as giving him the brush-off. The thought that he had just
walked out of her life, for the second time, troubled her deeply.

CHAPTER 2

His elbow propped on the kitchen table, his chin braced against the heel of his hand, Mario

stared out the window of the cabin Roberta and Bill were staying in, his gaze on the snow drifting
past the window, his mind focused on his encounter with Julia Barker the day before. Seeing her
caught him off guard, so much so that for several seconds he'd been blindsided by the sight of her. If
he'd simply seen her sitting and talking to Maddy, he would have been reminded of a woman whose
face had haunted him for years, but he wouldn't have known it was the same woman. But when she
looked intently at him and held his gaze, he knew it was Julia…

"…okay if we sell it?"
He looked blankly at his sister, who was standing near the table, staring at him.
Roberta plunked a mug of coffee in front of him. "It's not like you to be so distracted," she said,

moving to sit across from him at the table. "I was talking about selling the ranch and you didn't hear a
word I said. What's going on?"

Mario shrugged. "Nothing much."
Roberta gave an ironic huff. "Nothing much had you on another planet."
Mario didn't want to talk to Roberta about his alien feelings for Julia. He'd never had feelings

like that for a woman, mainly because he'd never been in a relationship with any long enough to care.
And as long as he remained in a job that demanded he put his life on the line to protect the kind of
scum that usually needed witness protection, there would never be a place in his life for a wife and
family. In a sense, he was glad Julia let him know in subtle ways where he stood. But then, he didn't
have the kind of face that attracted a woman like Julia. Loud, loose women, no problem, which
worked for him. He'd never had to worry about ties…

"I've lost you again," Roberta said.
Mario eyed Roberta with annoyance, knowing she'd keep badgering him until she got some kind

of answer, so he said, "Okay, I was thinking about the Oklahoma City bombing."

"That was over twenty years ago," Roberta said. "What's got you thinking about it now?"
"The woman I was trapped with," Mario replied. "She's here at the ranch."
"As a guest?"
Mario shook his head. "Her grandfather's married to the matriarch of this family."
"Then she recognized you?"
Mario nodded and hoped Roberta would drop the subject, which she didn't.
"So, you must have talked to her," Roberta said.
"Some."
"What did she say?"
"Nothing much."
"You're evading things."
Mario looked across at Roberta, who had a way of extricating things from him he didn't want to

talk about. Being eight years his senior, she'd taken on the role of mother when he was twelve and
their father died, and she still held onto that role. "What are you implying?" he asked.

"Nothing," Roberta replied. "I'm just curious. You spent hours trapped with the woman, so after

twenty years, I assumed you had more than just a few casual words to exchange with her."

Mario rested back in his chair and folded his arms. "In case you have it in your head to start

playing matchmaker while I'm here, forget it," he said, deciding to nip this in the bud. "She pretty

much brushed me off."

"Why? Did you pull your tough-guy stuff on her?"
Mario eyed his sister with increasing annoyance. "I don't have to pull any of your so-called tough

guy stuff for a woman like Julia Barker to tell me to shove off."

Roberta looked at him, dubiously. "She actually did that?"
Mario knew the only way to cut this conversation short was to lay it all out. "Not in so many

words, but when I suggested we take the horses into the mountains, she made-up a half-assed excuse. I
got the message. So maybe we can drop it now. What about selling the ranch?"

Roberta's lips parted, like she was about to aggravate him more by digging deeper into something

he wanted to shelve, then she gave a kind of half-shrug, and said, "Bill and I have been talking about
selling. We want to find a place close to where Jeremy and Billy will be, and since the ranch is half
yours, I want to make sure it's okay with you to sell."

"I have no use for it," Mario replied. "If you want to sell, then sell."
"Good. I'll look into having it listed," Roberta said. "When it does sell, you'll have enough money

from your half to buy a house, then you can find a wife and finally settle down."

"You know having a wife isn't compatible with the kind of work I do," Mario said.
"Then get out of the service," Roberta replied. "You've been in long enough to retire."
"I'm not ready to sit around twiddling my thumbs," Mario groused. He glanced out a side window

when he caught sight of movement and saw Julia dragging a sack of what looked like seed toward
where several bird feeders were hanging from iron brackets attached to a fir tree. He watched as she
opened the sack and dipped out a can of seed and filled a couple of feeder trays, but when she stood
on tiptoe and tried to dump seed into a higher tray, the tray tipped, and seeds fell in her face, so she
stopped what she was doing and looked up at the tray, like she was trying to figure out how to fill it.

She was a beautiful woman, no question, and the ironic thing was, she did look like a Barbie

doll, which was the way she'd described herself during a time when he'd sat in total darkness, with
his arm around her to offer security. She'd sat close against him, not in a romantic way, but because
she needed a warm body to remind her she wasn't alone...

"Is that the woman?" Roberta asked.
Mario realized he'd been staring at Julia. "Yeah, and she needs help with the feeders." He shoved

his chair back and stood.

"You might try smiling this time," Roberta said.
"I'm not trying to get something going with her if that's what you're suggesting," Mario snapped,

"so whatever you're thinking, you can forget."

"Don't be so touchy," Roberta said. "What you need is to socialize some while you're here, go to

the lodge and meet the guests. And you also need to get rid of the rough edges."

Mario didn't respond, his attention focused on Julia, who he couldn't seem to let go, never mind

that he was about to make an asshole out of himself again, by coming up with some lame-brained
excuse to see her, like filling bird feeders.

***

When Julia saw Mario walk out of the cabin where his sister and brother-in-law were staying

and head toward her, the sight of him set off a series of reactions she recognized, not as the lead into a
panic attack, but because he stirred things inside, the kind of things she once felt when she was with
Cole. It was good, in a way, because for years she'd felt dead inside when it came to the kind of
emotions a woman should have for the normal, male-female reasons. Mario definitely stirred those
feelings.

"You need some help?" he called out, as he walked toward her.
"My bird friends do," Julia replied. "They're waiting for dinner, and every feeder was empty, and

I'm a bird person. If you could reach the high feeders, they'd appreciate it."

Mario smiled, which took Julia back to a time that now brought mixed feelings because that same

smile was what she remembered most about him.

"Hand me the can," he said.
What caught Julia's eye as she handed Mario the can was a broad, muscular chest in a snug black

T-shirt, evident beneath his unzipped jacket. He was exceptionally fit for a man in his mid-forties,
like he must work out regularly to stay that way, or maybe his job demanded he stay fit. Whatever the
reason, she liked what she saw. She stepped back and watched as he filled the can with sunflower
seeds from the sack her grandfather brought over, and dumped the seeds into the first of three feeder
trays hanging out of her reach.

It was strange watching a man she'd once been trapped with, but had no idea what he looked like

until they began to hear noises, like rubble being moved, and a dog barking, incessant barking, and
ultimately scratching as the dog continued searching and guiding the rescue workers to where she and
Mario had been imprisoned. But once the rubble was cleared and there was an opening, Mario closed
his arm around her so she was tight against him, and crawled through an opening barely high and wide
enough to get through. Once out, he lifted her in his arms and carried her to where rescue workers had
a waiting stretcher. She had no more than five minutes to look at him before he told her goodbye, then
turned and walked away…

"That should keep them fed for a couple of days," Mario said, after filling the last feeder. He

tossed the can into the sack of birdseed, twisted the top of the sack, and hefted it onto his shoulder.
"Where do you want this?" he asked.

"Just on the porch," Julia replied.
Mario headed for the covered porch of her cabin and set the bag down. Julia thought he'd leave

then, but he remained where he was, and for a moment he acted like he had when he entered the lodge
the day before, looking as if he didn't know what to do next, which was understandable. From the way
Maddy talked, his visits to the ranch had been far from social, and now he was there as a guest, or at
least there on the urging of Jeremy and Billy, so he was completely out of his element. "Thank you for
filling those high feeders," she said. "The birds will appreciate it, and if they've flown south, the
squirrels will finish what they left, and by tomorrow they'll probably be tapping on your window for
more."

Mario laughed, and stepped down off the porch. "Yell if you need my help again," he said.
When he turned to leave, Julia found herself saying, "Mario, please don't go."
Mario stopped and turned, then waited for her to continue.
"I never had a chance to thank you for what you did, years ago," she said.
Mario shrugged. "I'm glad I was there when you needed someone."
"You were more than just there," Julia said. "I don't know what I would have done if I'd been

alone. You literally helped me hold onto my sanity. And I hope you didn't misconstrue what I said
yesterday when you wanted to go riding. I do want to spend time with you. Maybe you could come for
dinner tonight. It won't be much, but I want to do something for you."

"You don't have to do anything for me," Mario said.
"I know I don't, but I want to," Julia replied. "Just humor me and come for dinner."
Mario eyed her with curiosity. "Don't you eat in the lodge?"
Julia looked toward the lodge, which was again filled with guests and family. The last thing she

wanted was to suddenly become claustrophobic and start spacing out while guests were present.
She'd wondered, over the years, how Mario had managed to remain calm when he was facing the
same grisly fate as she, of being crushed beneath tons of concrete and iron beams, yet his focus had
been solely on keeping her hopes up. "I'd like to be able to talk to you and catch up on what you've
been doing over the years," she said, "but with all the excitement of Jeremy and Billy being home, it's
very noisy in there."

"I'd offer to take you to a quiet restaurant in town," Mario said, "but I won't have a vehicle until

tomorrow, when I'm getting a rental."

In a perfect world, the thought of going out to dinner with Mario would have been a dream come

true for Julia, but this was far from a perfect world right now. "I actually like eating at home," she
replied, "and there's no need for you to rent a car. I have one you can use. I've always worked from
home so I only use it to go to the grocery, and since I don't drive in snow, I won't be needing it while
you're here. My grandfather just had snow tires put on it."

Mario looked to where her silver, 1995 Honda Civic was parked alongside the cabin, and said,

"I'm guessing that's the same car you had twenty years ago."

Julia looked at Mario with a start, surprised he'd pegged it with the car she'd bought just prior to

the bombing, and which, over the years, spent increasingly more time being parked. "I'm not a car
person," she replied. "All I need is something to get me from point A to point B."

"If you're sure," Mario said. "I need to go to Portland tomorrow morning and check in at the

Federal Building, and it would save a lot of hassle."

"I'm absolutely sure," Julia replied. "And if you want to pick up some groceries for me on your

way back, that would be much appreciated." It would be more than appreciated. It would accomplish
the thing she hated most, going to the grocery, where aisles were lined with shelves filled with cans,
boxes and bottles. Her logical mind told her the shelves were perfectly safe, but in an instant, her
phobic mind could distort those shelves into moving, twisting, bending forms, closing in around her. It
only happened once, but the shakes and sweats and pounding heart, and the trembling that took over
her body and immobilized her for the better part of ten minutes in the grocery, while customers looked
on, was enough to make her visits scarce, and short.

"Just give me a list," Mario said.
"I'll have one ready for you tonight," Julia replied.
Mario smiled again, a wonderful smile she was certain few had the pleasure of seeing because

the lines in his face told her otherwise. She was glad to be the recipient of that smile.

"I'd offer to bring something along," Mario said, "but all I have are Granola bars."
Julia laughed. "Bring them if you want. I haven't fed a man in years and you might not get

enough." Which was the understatement of all times, she realized, and wondered how she could make
a meal for two out of the meager rations in her small cupboard.

"I'll survive," Mario said. "So I'll see you around…?"
"Six, if that's okay," Julia replied, and felt a little flutter of anticipation.
"Six, it is." Mario gave her a very appealing half-smile this time, like he was pleased too, and

turned and walked away.

Julia stood for few moments to watch him from behind. He walked with confidence—back

straight, head high, shoulders squared—the way a man who feared nothing walked. So her biggest
question to herself was, why would a man like Mario want to burden himself with a woman who
feared things that had no reality except in her mind. But even if she was able to keep Mario from
knowing about her phobias during his visit, if things began to develop into a relationship and he tried

to hold her and kiss her, she could react the way she had with Cole, when even the feel of his arms
closing around her made her feel threatened.

Yet, over the years, she'd wondered if it would be the same with Mario, whose arms had literally

kept her from having a breakdown.

CHAPTER 3

Four hours later, Julia stood back and admired her table, which was set with burgundy placemats

and color-coordinated cloth napkins, and included a pair of myrtlewood candlestick holders with
burgundy candles in them. The items had been packed away for two decades, stored in a plastic
container, along with other table items she'd bought when she was soon to be a bride, and her mother
kept for her for reasons that no longer applied, except her mother probably thought they were a last
thread to a life that might have been. But on packing for their move to Korea, her mother presented her
with the container. Now she was glad to have it.

She also made a table centerpiece out of the tips of fir branches she'd picked up outside and tied

with a red ribbon that came on one of the Christmas presents the Hansen family had waiting for her
the day she arrived. Another present had several sprigs of fake holly with shiny red berries on them,
so she slipped them out of the package and tucked them into the fir spray. She'd never been one to fuss
over things like table settings, but she wanted this night to be special, because the man who was
coming was unlike any man she'd ever met, and ever hoped to meet.

The downside of her meal was the menu. She'd managed to make a casserole from three frozen

tamales covered in taco sauce and grated cheese, and once baked, she'd sprinkle it with crushed corn
chips. Three tamales would hardly hold a big man like Mario, which was actually two tamales
because he'd feel bad if she didn't eat one of them, so she baked cornbread muffins from a box mix,
and she planned to include canned creamed corn as a side dish.

She gazed around a room filled with Christmas cheer, even a fire flickering in the wood stove. A

few days ago her grandfather arrived with a small tree, which she set on an end table in one corner of
the room, then trimmed with candy canes and cookies Grace brought over—an assortment of bells,
stars, and gingerbread men, each wrapped in clear plastic, that some of the guests had decorated for
the lodge tree, a custom that went back to the early years when Grace started the tradition. And resting
against the end table were an assortment of colorfully-wrapped presents. It seemed everyone in the
family wanted her to feel welcome, and she did. Yet, during Christmas, three years before, she almost
took her own life because her fears had become overwhelming, the thought of insanity too close.
Because she was starting to have hallucinations.

The phobias had come on gradually. At first she didn't perceive them as phobias. She thought of

them as a non-existent thing that lived inside her since the bombing, and would eventually fade and
die. But it didn't fade and die, and in her mind there was no place to run from the ogre. That's what
she began calling the thing that had robbed her of her hopes and dreams. She knew her soul was still
there, because the fear of being swallowed up in claustrophobic darkness remained. So she began to
hate her soul, that tiny voice inside that spoke to her of things that could have been, of a life that had
been possible before the bombing.

Time worsened her phobias, which no one seemed to understand. But all this paled in

comparison to the hallucinations that began to plague her. Hallucinations she knew were not real, like
shelves in a supermarket closing in around her. That's when she knew the ogre had won because it
was taking the only thing she had left. It was taking her mind.

She'd read that when considering suicide you should wait and take time to reevaluate your

decision, but by Christmas, three years ago, she had already been thinking about it for some time. By
then, agoraphobia had become a part of her life and she dreaded going places, feared interacting with
people, came up with reasons to stay home. Above all, she hated the tiny, persistent voice inside that

kept telling her with time everything would be okay.

What time? Already seventeen years had passed. So she began to have a new fear. With time

there might be no separation between her and her hallucinations. They'd take over her mind and
become the reality, and she'd be locked up and she'd lose the option of suicide. So at age thirty-eight
she gave God an ultimatum. She said, "I don't know where you are or if you exist, but if you're out
there, you have until my thirty-ninth birthday to fix me or I'll kill myself. I've heard you're not okay
with that, but I'm not asking, I'm telling, and as far as I'm concerned, you and that cloud you sit on
surrounded by angels can take a hike!"

Strangely, things seemed to get better after that, like a giant weight had been lifted from her

shoulders. Her Children's Club video games became important, her desire to help kids cope with
their fears through her games, overruling her fear of what could lie ahead for her. That glimmer of
hope, that tiny voice inside that kept whispering to her, had not yet died. The tiny voice of her soul. So
she made peace with her phobias and hallucinations and decided to live with them and do her best,
which she was. As long as she wasn't required to stray too far from home.

Sharply at six, Mario arrived, with a bottle of wine displaying the Whispering Springs label in

his hand. Holding it out, he said, "You told me you liked white wine so that's what I brought."

Julia stared at the bottle, having no memory of talking about wine during those pitch-black hours

while trapped in a nightmare that seemed to have no end. The problem was, she never drank alcohol
of any kind now, aware that people with phobias often turned to alcohol or drugs to deal with their
symptoms.

"You do drink wine, don't you?" Mario asked, when she made no attempt to take the bottle.
Deciding one glass wouldn't hurt, Julia said, "Yes, wine would be nice. The label caught my

attention since it's from the winery here." She took the bottle from him and set it on the table beside a
basket of cornbread muffins.

"Your cabin looks nice," Mario commented, as he stepped inside. "I don't bother putting things

around at Christmas, but I like it when someone else does."

"Then I'll make a decoration for your cabin door, just to let everyone know Scrooge isn't staying

there," Julia said.

Mario laughed. "I doubt that will change their minds, but it would at least confuse them."
Although Mario was joking, Julia knew there was some truth to his words. On a professional

level, she knew the Hansen family appreciated his dedication to keeping Jeremy and Billy safe, but
they probably never tried to know him on a personal level, although she suspected he wasn't a man
who'd cozy up to people. But she knew the kind of man he was in his heart, and she loved the idea of
making a decoration for his door, and doing other things for him, things to brighten his world because
she suspected it was a lonely world. "I hope you're not very hungry," she said. "I've been too busy to
grocery shop and the cupboards were kind of bare."

Mario tossed a couple of Granola bars on the table. "That's okay. I came prepared."
Julia looked up from the Granola bars to find Mario smiling. "Good, because you'll probably

need those. And if you're serious about picking up some groceries when you go to Portland tomorrow,
I'd really appreciate it."

"Get me the list."
Julia took a folded paper from the kitchen counter and handed it to him.
After taking an inordinate amount of time to study a two-column list that stretched a page long,

Mario said, "I take it you don't shop very often."

"You're right," Julia replied. "Grocery shopping's at the bottom of my list of favorite things to do.

Actually, just above spending five hours stuck in traffic on the freeway, so I shop about once a month,
which is why dinner's a little skimpy tonight."

Mario folded the paper over a couple of times and shoved it in the front pocket of his jeans. "I'll

be fine," he said. "Marshals learn survivor skills. They come in handy at times."

When Julia caught his slight smile she knew he was kidding, which had the effect of revving up

her heart, and making her face feel hot, and her breath quicken, all symptoms of her phobias, but in a
totally different way because she knew she wasn't heading for a panic attack, and that made all the
difference. It was odd that such similar reactions could be positive in one instance, and negative in
the other.

"What's going through your head?" Mario asked. "You're frowning."
Julia blinked several times, a habit she'd developed when searching for a plausible explanation

for some facet of her behavior. "I was just thinking that I'm glad you're here. I've thought about you
often over the years."

"I've thought about you too," Mario said.
Julia took a moment to digest that. She'd assumed over the years, that Mario hadn't given her any

thought because if he'd wanted to make contact with her, as a marshal, he could have found out who
she was, and where the EMTs had taken her, but he didn’t. "I'm surprised," she said. "I always figured
I was just a hysterical woman you were trapped with."

"You were, but you were also engaged," Mario said. "I figured your fiancé wouldn't appreciate

some random marshal hanging around. I might have looked you up if I'd known the engagement was on
shaky ground. You didn't mention it at the time, only that the wedding was two months away. What
happened?"

Mario held her gaze and waited, and Julia realized he was expecting an explanation, which she

had no intention of giving him, at least not the real reason for the breakup. Instead, she shrugged, and
said, "We discovered before it was too late that we weren't right for each other. Meanwhile, make
yourself at home and I'll serve dinner." She turned away and busied herself at the stove and hoped the
subject of her broken engagement wouldn't come up again.

She wasn't sure what she wanted from Mario at this point, but she was sure she wanted to stay

connected with him after he left, so when she'd finally overcome her phobias, which she was
determined to do by spring, maybe the time would be right to move to the next level in a relationship.
From Mario's last comment, he seemed open to the idea. He would not be a difficult man to love.
Maybe she was already halfway there. But for now, she didn't want knowledge of her phobias to
drive him away.

"Get me a corkscrew and a couple of wine glasses," Mario said.
Julia rummaged through the kitchen drawer and found a corkscrew, which she handed to him, and

while he uncorked the bottle, she took two stemmed wine glasses out of a cabinet over the counter
and set them on the table. After lighting the candles, she looked at the cozy setting, a table for two,
letting her know she wouldn't be eating alone. A little frisson of pleasure brought a smile to her lips.

"You want to tell me what that's about?" Mario asked.
"What?"
"Your smile."
Julia shrugged. "I was just feeling happy. The place looks Christmassy." It was odd feeling

happy. More than happy. Buoyant. She wished the week would never end. Such a small thing, Mario's
presence in her life, if only for a few days. She sensed that even after he'd leave, her life would in
some way be better than before he arrived, maybe because, if there would be a chance that he'd be in

her life, she'd have an even stronger incentive to take control of it.

Meanwhile, she smelled tamales cooking, or more correctly, over-cooking, and rushed to open

the oven door to the small stove. To her relief, the meager fare was still edible, but when she lifted
the small casserole out of the oven, she saw that the tamales had decreased in size. "I seriously hope
you're not very hungry," she said in a morose voice. "Everything shrunk."

When she approached the table, Mario looked at the bowl between her oven mitts, and said,

"That's plenty of food."

"For one maybe, but it's not all for you. I get one of those tamales," she replied, while setting the

casserole on a hot pad.

Mario laughed. "Okay, confession time. I ate a sandwich before coming."
"Are you serious?"
Mario gave her a wry smile. "I'm a big boy. It takes a lot of food to keep me going."
Julia found herself scanning the length of him, both aware and appreciative of the way he looked

in the same snug black T-shirt and jeans he was wearing earlier. He hadn't changed for dinner, which
could be either a positive or a negative she decided. Positive because he felt relaxed and
comfortable, or negative because he hadn't bothered because it didn't matter.

"Okay, you just gave me the once-over," Mario said. "I don't get invited to dinner much, so maybe

I didn't follow the rules."

"There are no rules," Julia replied. "You're here and that's what's important, so sit down and

pretend this is the last course in a seven-course meal." She placed a small bowl of creamed corn on
the table then took her place opposite Mario, who looked steadily at her between the flickers of dual
flames, and said, "I'm thinking if you came to Portland with me tomorrow, you could shop for all
those groceries on your list while I'm at the Federal Building."

Julia felt a rush of adrenaline at the thought of entering a supermarket, which she quickly quashed

by saying, "I have work to get out, but you don't really have to do my shopping. I didn't realize I
needed so much until I started making the list."

"Shopping's no problem. After I finish at the Federal Building I'll have all day," Mario said. "I

just thought I'd like your company."

Julia tried to force herself to say 'yes, I'll come because I'd like your company too,' but one of

her greatest fears was of being trapped in a freeway tie-up, with all exits cut off. Even thinking about
it made her anxious, as did the thought of long grocery aisles lined with tall shelves.

Dismissing those troubling images, she turned her attention to the dinner, and said to Mario, who

seemed to be waiting for her to begin, "Go ahead and serve yourself. You can fill in the empty spaces
in your stomach with corn muffins."

While Mario was dishing up the tamales, along with several spoonful's of creamed corn and a

couple of muffins, she said, "Since you'll be doing all my grocery shopping, maybe you'll come for
dinner again tomorrow night for a real home-cooked meal, everything fixed from scratch, and you can
add to my list whatever you want to eat."

Mario looked thoughtfully at her, and said, "I haven't had a home-cooked meal in a long time.

Maybe I'll take you up on that."

Holding his steady gaze, Julia replied, "When you were looking after Jeremy and Billy, didn't

you eat with them, or with your sister and brother-in-law?"

Mario shook his head. "Once I get witnesses settled, I live away from them, but close enough to

keep tabs. Jeremy and Billy didn't need watching, but I had to live near Billy's sister and brother-in-
law to make sure they didn't do something to jeopardize themselves. As for meals, I find a good café

in the area and eat with the regulars, or microwave frozen dinners in my apartment."

"Then there's no one in your life to do things for you?" Julia asked, a thought that tugged at her

heart. There was nothing she could imagine more satisfying than to be the means of filling whatever
loneliness Mario might have.

Mario shrugged. "I've been a loner so long I don't relate so well on a personal basis. I'm also

pretty set in my ways."

"So am I," Julia said, "but I still like someone to share a meal with. So, if you had your choice of

anything to eat, what would it be?"

"Sausage and sauerkraut, and a mound of mashed potatoes," Mario replied.
"You're Italian," Julia said. "Sausage and sauerkraut's German food."
"I branched out when I was fourteen and my sister and I went into witness protection," Mario

replied. "Hilda and Otto, the German couple who owned the ranch where we were placed, and which
we later inherited, were older and had no kids, so they took us under their wings, and that's the kind
of food Hilda fixed."

"You never said anything about being in witness protection," Julia said.
"I couldn't talk about it at the time of the bombing because Roberta was still in the program, even

though I opted out," Mario replied.

"So your real name isn't Mario Moretti."
Mario shook his head. "I left that punk tough guy behind when I was given a new identity and

background and decided I liked the new guy better. Before then, I was bouncing around pool halls,
listening to bookies discussing races they planned to fix, and being a general flake up, while setting
my sights on becoming a made man. But when Roberta witnessed a mafia execution by three wiseguys
who turned out to be men I'd looked up to because they could say and do anything, and no one ever
challenged them, I had to face some serious realities."

"Executed in what way?" Julia asked, aware that it wasn't exactly the dinner conversation she'd

envisioned, but it was a part of Mario's life, and she wanted to know everything about him.

"An icepick-kill," Mario replied. "That's when a couple of wiseguys hold the victim while

another jams an ice pick through the victim's eardrum and into his brain, resulting in death by cerebral
hemorrhage. That's also when I decided I'd rather be on the other side of things, and once I left
witness protection, I never went back to the old neighborhood."

"What about your parents? Where were they?" Julia asked.
"My mother died when I was two, and my father worked long hours in his own Italian deli until

he died of a heart attack when I was twelve. But the one thing I remember about the old neighborhood
was that kids and old people could walk around safely because the mob made sure no one harmed
them or anyone else in the neighborhood. The mob boss and his soldiers looked after everyone like
we mattered. My father's deli was off-limits because he made the best Italian sausage in Chicago, but
most in the neighborhood never saw into the black souls of these men, so they were admired and
respected, because they did look after us."

"Did the killers see your sister?" Julia asked.
"No, but she saw them clearly, and knew exactly who they were."
"Then why did you have to go into witness protection?" Julia asked. "Couldn't your sister just tell

the authorities what she saw, and let them take it from there?"

"It doesn't work that way," Mario replied. "Her testimony was needed to convince a jury. The

Feds can have fingerprints, forensic evidence, and murder weapons, but there's nothing as convincing
as a credible eyewitness who takes the stand, and swears under oath, that they were there and saw it."

Julia said nothing, but she was beginning to get a better picture of the man sitting opposite her,

and she admired him even more for the path he took, to dedicate his life to stopping the kind of people
he once looked up to.

After they'd finished eating, which didn't take long, Mario shoved his chair back and stood.

Taking his plate to the kitchen, he said to Julia, "I don't cook much, but I can wash dishes."

Julia took her own plate and set it by the sink. "Leave the rest. I'll do dishes later. I want to hear

the rest of the story."

"What? About mafia executions?" Mario asked.
"No, about what happened after you left the old neighborhood," Julia replied. "You became

another person. That doesn't happen every day." She sat on the two-person couch positioned a short
distance from the wood stove and motioned for him to sit next to her.

Mario lowered himself beside her, sitting with his arm stretched along the back of the couch, and

his hand resting behind Julia's head. Being so close to Mario triggered memories of being pressed
against him in the curve of his arm during a time when she'd thought of nothing but the fact that there
was a human being with her, her guardian angel, whose arm was around her for protection and
assurance, but now, if Mario were to put his arm around her, it would be for a very different reason.
The thought both excited and frightened her…

"Okay, to give you a rundown of my life," Mario said, "after leaving the old neighborhood, I was

a cowboy all my teenage years, helping Otto run several hundred head of cattle on his ranch in
Wyoming, which meant summers were spent getting up at daybreak and working my ass off until
sundown, and during bitter winters making sure the stock were tended, even pulling me out of school
some days when he needed me, but he never had me do anything he wouldn't do himself, even though
he was in his sixties. He knew where I was headed before we were placed on the ranch, and he had
big hopes for me, so I decided I wanted to be the man he expected me to be. But the U.S. Deputy
Marshal overseeing Roberta and me was the one who had me thinking I could do what he did, and be
instrumental in getting a whole lot of wiseguys off the streets and behind bars, and that's what I set my
sights on."

"But going into law enforcement meant leaving the ranch," Julia said. "Didn't that bother Otto,

since he needed you to help with the stock?"

"No, Otto was a philosophical man. He figured my growing up in a neighborhood run by the mob

happened for a reason, and I needed to use what I'd learned and turn it against the wiseguys. It worked
for me too. Roberta's the one who took to ranching. She could round up cattle with the best of them,
and before Otto died, she was managing the ranch and hiring the wranglers. All I did over the years
was spend my vacations making repairs and stretching fences. So that about sums it up. The rest of the
time I've spent babysitting stoolies."

Julia was about to question him further when she felt the tingle of Mario's fingers toying with her

hair, accompanied by his words, "You have nice hair. Are you a natural blonde?"

Surprised, but amused by his question because she knew he didn't mean it in an offensive way,

Julia looked at him and said, with wryness, "Do you realize the jeopardy you put yourself in by asking
a woman that question?"

Mario sobered at once. "I'm sorry. It's none of my business," he said. "Social graces aren't one of

my strong suits."

"I've suspected that from the start," Julia replied, "but to answer your question, yes, I'm a natural

blond. If I wasn't, there wouldn't be so many silver threads among the gold."

Mario gave her a half-smile then moved toward her, and studying her hair more closely, said

while toying with a lock, "In a few years you'll be a platinum blond."

"Don't remind me," Julia said, while feeling Mario's breath against her temple, making her heart

quicken while sending flurries to her tummy and a flush of warmth creeping up her face.

"That was a compliment," Mario said.
Their cozy moment was broken by a knock on the door. Julia moved away quickly and stood,

hoping whoever it was wouldn't stay. She wanted this time with Mario. It was like she'd waited
twenty years to be with him again. And she'd never had such a curiosity about anyone before. She
sensed intuitively that he was a man with many layers, but the world around him knew only one layer
—the gruff, take-control, U.S. Marshal layer ready to put his life on the line and kill if necessary. Yet,
she knew him as a man with softness and goodness, a man she very much wanted in her life,
implausible as it was.

On opening the door, she was surprised to see Maddy, accompanied by two fair-skinned, blue-

eyed kids with blond hair, a boy about ten, and a girl who looked to be around five.

"This is Sergei and Irina," Maddy said. "They're staying with Mom and Dad over Christmas.

When I saw that Sergei had several of your video games, I told him the person who wrote the games
was here, and he asked if he could meet you."

"I'm flattered," Julia said. She knew Maddy hadn't noticed Mario yet, and wondered what her

reaction would be on seeing him. It was awkward at best, knowing what Maddy's opinion of Mario
was. "Come on in," she said, then stepped back for them to enter.

When Maddy caught sight of Mario, her face showed surprise, and bafflement. Mario, who'd

been sitting casually on the couch, one arm across the back, a leg stretched out, sat up, and on seeing
Maddy, dipped his head in acknowledgement and said nothing.

Julia saw Maddy's gaze flit over the table with its setting for two and candles still flickering,

sending light dancing off the wine glasses, a cozy setting that was clearly confusing to Maddy, and
with good reason. The day before, Julia assured her she didn't know Mario.

"I can see you're busy," Maddy said, "so maybe you could show Sergei what you're working on at

the moment, and he can come back later."

Julia smiled at the boy. "I'm glad you like my games," she said. Then she looked at Irina, who

was holding her brother's hand, which Julia found sweet, and said, "Irina, that's a pretty name. Do you
have a middle name?"

The little girl looked up at Julia and said nothing.
"She doesn't talk," Sergei said. "Her middle name's Kristina."
Julia had a dozen questions to ask about why this little girl, whose eyes were bright with

intelligence, didn't talk. She also felt an odd bond that maybe she could understand something about
this silent child others missed, which didn't make sense, having not overcome her own problems.
Still, she smiled and offered her hand to Irina, who looked at it thoughtfully. Then to Julia's surprise,
the child dropped her brother's hand and took Julia's, which brought the slight sting of tears to Julia's
eyes that they had connected.

For the next half hour, Sergei was so filled with eager questions about what it took to create a

video game, and Irina didn't fuss when Julia invited her to sit on her lap while she explained things to
Sergei, that Julia didn't want to send the kids off, so she answered Sergei's questions as they came,
and talked to Irina as if she understood, but after a while, Maddy, who'd been standing behind Julia
while looking on, said to Sergei, "We need to go, but you and Irina can come back another day."

After they'd left, Julia looked to where Mario was placing a couple of small logs in the wood

stove, and said, "I'm sorry I took so long, but Sergei was so enthusiastic that I didn't want to brush him

off, and Irina took to me, like she needed someone to love her."

"She probably does," Mario said. "They're Russian orphans in state custody."
"What happened to their parents?" Julia asked.
"They were killed in a car accident a few months ago, which was shortly after they became

naturalized citizens, so the kids have no family here. Grace Hansen heard about them on a local TV
show featuring hard-to-adopt children needing families to take them in for Christmas."

"What's the story with the little girl?" Julia asked.
"Presumably she's deaf or hard of hearing," Mario replied.
"That's sad," Julia said. "I've never done a video game that included a deaf child. If nothing else,

kids would have an awareness of what it's like to live in a silent world. I could even call it "Irina's
Silent World.'" She visualized the Children's Club kids meeting a silent child, and the game would
take them through the challenges of not hearing a horn honk to warn her to stay back, and never
hearing birds, or music, or the sound of voices. Kids playing the game could also learn some basic
sign language…

"Speaking of video games," Mario said, "I'm curious why you ended up doing that, when before,

you told me you never wanted an inside job, that you had your sights on getting your whitewater
certification so you could lead raft trips? What changed?"

In an instant, Julia was back in time, envisioning the disbelief on Cole's face when she tried to

explain why she couldn't go rafting, not even on calm water. He'd been rafting for years and held
certifications that cleared him for taking rafters over the most dangerous rapids. She hadn't been a
water person before meeting him, but she was determined to make her way up the certification levels.
But after the bombing, she couldn't get past the image of being swallowed up and trapped by churning
water...

"Are you with me?" Mario asked, when Julia became so preoccupied she didn't reply.
Snapping out of it, she gave a little shrug and said, "Sorry, I was distracted. You asked why I'm

doing videos. My father's a computer programmer who branched into writing video games, and he
convinced me do it too because I always loved writing. As it turned out, it's far more practical than
rafting because I can do it at home."

Mario looked at her like he didn't quite believe her, which was understandable given that she'd

assured him, years before, that she'd never want a job that kept her inside, but he didn't press her.
Instead, he said, "I hate to cut the evening short but I have paperwork to complete before heading to
the Federal Building in the morning, but why don't you come with me? We could visit in the car, and
at the grocery I'll split the list down the middle and we'll both shop."

Again, Julia struggled for an excuse. What he suggested was more than disconcerting. It was

simply not possible. "I… really have to… well, finish the video game I'm writing."

"The job is that demanding?" Mario asked.
"Well, yes, sometimes," Julia replied, and realized her response didn't indicate work so urgent

she couldn't ride to Portland with him.

Mario looked at her long and hard, and Julia had the gut feeling he was beginning to put things

together. He might be more understanding than Cole had been, but no man wanted to be strapped with
a woman who was afraid to leave home, and it was impossible to explain.

"Okay then," Mario said, "give me your car keys and I'll spend half the day tomorrow grocery

shopping."

"You really don't have to do it," Julia replied.
"I know, but I've had worst assignments," Mario said, with a twinkle of humor in his eyes that

told her he really didn't mind. "I doubt if I'll be able to find good bratwurst where I'll be shopping
though," he added.

"True, but you can find it at a German deli in McMinnville," Julia replied. "It's on the main street

in town, two blocks off the highway. You can't miss it. Be sure to pick up enough sausages to fill a big
man."

"You're going to have me spoiled by the time I leave here," Mario said.
"That would be a good thing," Julia replied, which brought another smile from Mario.
She fished the keys out of her handbag and offered them to him, along with a bank envelope

containing several one-hundred dollar bills. When Mario looked inside the envelope, he said, "You
always carry this much money around?"

Julia realized she was batting her eyes quickly again, while searching for a reason to have four-

hundred dollars in her handbag, which was something she'd been doing for years, having cash on hand
so whenever someone went to town, she could have them pick up whatever she needed. "I went to the
bank when I first arrived, just in case I couldn't get into town because of the snow." She realized that
made no sense because the snow had only just started falling the day before, and if she couldn't get to
town, she wouldn't need the money.

Again, Mario looked at her like he didn't quite believe her. Then he pulled his billfold from his

back pocket and slipped the bills into it, and said, "A woman walking around with that much cash can
be a target. If I were around here much I'd start worrying about you. Have you ever thought about
getting a concealed carry permit?"

"You mean carry a gun?" Julia asked.
"A small one in your handbag," Mario replied. "It's not a bad thing for a woman to have. If you

were my wife, I'd probably insist. While I'm here, I could even take you to a shooting range nearby
and give you some instruction."

Julia's mind was all over the place while trying to process Mario's reference to having a wife, in

the same context with giving her instruction on how to shoot, which made her wonder if he could
possibly have feelings for her anywhere close to what she felt for him. But going to a shooting range
was out. The shots, the noise, the concrete walls of a range… just the thought of it had her chest
feeling tight and her heart beating heavily.

Quickly dismissing that image, she said, "I never go anywhere with that much money, but thank

you for caring." Before he turned to leave, she kissed him on the side of the jaw, and added, "And
thank you for doing my grocery shopping."

Mario laughed. "If grocery shopping's all it takes to make you happy, you're a woman in a

million. I'll see you tomorrow afternoon. And before I leave here, I'm going to teach you some self-
defense. Even if you don't go out carrying a wad of money, every woman needs to know it."

Julia had enough knowledge about learning self-defense to know it entailed a lot of body contact,

which had her heartbeat quickening. But there was also a lot of grabbing, and seizing, and restraining
involved, which made her chest feel tight again, and her palms damp, and she had no idea how she'd
react when the time came, knowing it was Mario who'd be restraining her. Yet, it made no sense to be
apprehensive about being held by the man whose arms had given her comfort during the most life-
changing six hours of her life.

For the moment though, she was determined to set that troubling thought aside and concentrate on

having Mario all to herself for the duration of another evening. But the thought of his arms around her
could not be set aside, so she concentrated instead on programming herself for what was to come.

To continue reading, here's the link to

Amazon

BOOKS BY PATRICIA WATTERS

DANCING MOON RANCH SERIES

Prequel: Justified Deception

LIVING WITH LIES TRILOGY

Book 1: Righteous Lies

Book 2: Pandora's Box

Book 3: False Pretenses

THE LIES UNCOVERED TRILOGY

Book 4: Uncertain Loyalties

Book 5: Becoming Jesse's Father

Book 6: Bittersweet Return

CUTTING THE TIES TRILOGY

Book 7: Cross Purposes

Book 8: Dancing With Danger

Book 9: Bucking the Odds

BOUND BY LOVE TRILOGY

Book 10: Forbidden Spirits

Book 11: Imperfect Magic

Book 12: Finding Justice (mid 2015)

CONTEMPORARY ROMANCES

Never Too Late

Broken Promises

Adversaries and Lovers

In Hot Pursuit

HISTORICAL ROMANCES

Colby's Child

Perilous Pleasures

Miss Phipps and the Cattle Baron

Her Master's Touch

Come Be My Love

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, Patricia Watters gave up city life and now writes from a log cabin nestled in the evergreen
forests of Oregon. An author with Harlequin and Avon-Harper Collins in the past, Patricia specializes in romance, and she invites you to
visit her website and drop her a line. She responds to all notes.

http://www.patriciawatters.com/

Document Outline

CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER 13
CHAPTER 14
CHAPTER 15
CHAPTER 16
CHAPTER 17
CHAPTER 18
CHAPTER 19
CHAPTER 20
EPILOGUE
BOOKS BY PATRICIA WATTERS

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