Land of Bones and Tears

I had to hand it to Uncle Danny—he never fails to rise to the occasion. All it took was a phone call and telling him that I’d been invited to a black tie political affair; he told me not to even think about buying my own dress. He promised to take care of sending me the perfect one, as well as accessories and make-up. When the package arrived—straight from Dolce and Gabbana in New York--- there were fool-proof instructions from his longtime assistant, Franco, on how to do my hair and make-up, which was good, because I was not good at that type of thing. Sarah and Leah came over to help me on the big night, which was really sweet of them, and their obvious admiration did a lot to boost my confidence.

I needed boosting—a lot of it. The dress wasn’t like anything I’d ever worn before. It was deceptively demure in the front, with a cowl neckline, but cut extremely low in the back, practically to the crack of my ass. It was deep sapphire blue, my favorite color. I was glad it wasn’t green; whether because my eyes are green or because I’m Irish, people always seemed to assume green is my favorite color—it isn’t. I can’t remember the number of times I was in rainbow themed wedding parties and I was told that of course I would want the green dress. Mom loved green and when we were younger, she dressed Colette and me in nothing but green dresses. Though sometimes we got red and green, but Colette always talked her way into the red dress. She had that way about her.

Anything in red would have been worse than green. But blue, blue was perfect. And with this party coming at Halloween, it was a safe bet that it would not be a color that every other woman would be wearing. Clever Uncle Danny. This shade of blue somehow brought out the green of my eyes just as well as green would have without being so obvious, and the rich jewel tone made my skin look great. I guess having green eyes the same shade not to mention the same skin tone helped Danny know all the tricks.

Getting dressed up in a designer dress without Colette by my side to do my hair and make-up, and to complain that I was totally useless to help with hers, was really strange, but the girls didn’t give me any time to be melancholy. Plus, there was the excitement of looking forward to going to this party with Red. Even with Grandfather going with us, it was kind of like a date.

“You look amazing, Colleen, like a model in a magazine,” Leah said, snapping her gum as she did a few final things to my hair. I still had my eyes closed because Sarah was doing something with my lashes—an extra touch of glitter mascara or something. I left it to them to follow Franco’s instructions. They could be making me look like Elvira for all I knew. Or Elvis.

Opening my eyes finally at their bidding, I blinked a few times—in disbelief. I knew I generally looked okay, but I came from a family of really good-looking people and I’d never had any illusions that I was one of the true knock-out beauties of the family. I’d always been okay with that. Until now. With this dress and with the makeup applied by Leah following the expert’s instructions, I looked better than I’d ever looked, even on my prom nights—I looked as good as my cousin Julie. Julie on the catwalk good. It was with something like glee that I stepped into the shoes that Danny had sent. Heels! Not just heels but Jimmy Choo heels! Who knew that Jimmy Choo shoes even came in my size? For once, I was going to wear a gorgeous dress with the kind of shoes that it should be worn with, instead of flats.

One time, I was asked out by a guy friend who was a good bit shorter than me, and since even in flats, he was going to be shorter, he said it was fine with him if I wore heels. I was so excited. But Colette’s boyfriend, who was just our height, took one look at me in my three inch heels and pitched a fit when we lined up for pictures. I didn’t need Colette to shoot me one of her looks--I went back upstairs to change into the hated flats to keep the peace without her saying a word--for all the good it did. He sulked the rest of the night.

“Miss Colleen, you are so beautiful!” Sarah whispered her praise, as though afraid to break the spell. I shared the feeling but hoped my transformation proved more durable—I wanted to have a great time even if it was a political fundraising party. I decided that there was no time like the present to test my outfit’s ability to withstand a little wear and tear—and hugs!

“Come here, you two!” I opened my arms wide and welcomed both of them into a big embrace.

Yep, my Uncle Danny was genius. Outfit and make-up withstood hugs and kisses just fine. I really shouldn’t have expected anything less, knowing him.

I wished that I had a staircase to walk down to join the men—there is just something about gliding down a staircase. But with my luck, I’d probably stumble. Still, it was a bit anticlimactic to just walk out of the bedroom and take three steps into the living room. Once I did it, all thoughts of how I looked left my head when I saw Grandfather and Red standing together by the front window. Grandfather was wearing the ceremonial dress of a tribal elder, and looked awesome. And I meant that in the truest sense of the word, he was someone to inspire awe at all times but especially now, dressed in clothing that had deep spiritual meaning for him. Red was no less impressive in his dress uniform, with his huge chest covered with his medals—many, many medals. I was trying to figure out how many times he must have been close to death to have earned so many when I felt a nudge.

“When you get compliments that nice, you should say thank you,” Leah giggled in a loud stage whisper.

“Darn, I got compliments and totally missed them, I was so busy admiring the gentlemen,” I said lightly, causing a laugh from all the kids who were gathered. I half expected Red’s barking laugh but instead, he came forward and took my arm.

“We will have to repeat them then. You look beautiful, Colleen. I’ll go so far as to say you’re the most beautiful O’Keefe I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen quite a few in my day.”

Grandfather shook his head and came forward to take my other arm. “Is that the best you can do, boy? I will tell you that you are the loveliest woman I’ve seen since my beloved wife passed on to the land of bone and tears, my dear, and there is no better compliment than that.”

I laughed as he intended, though my eyes were tearing up slightly as I pulled my arm away from Red to hug Grandfather. They were both so dear to me.

“Thank you both. I believe I must agree that Grandfather has given me the highest compliment, though I appreciate the sentiment behind Red’s—even if he has spent most of his time around the male O’Keefes, they are the prettiest of the O’Keefes, so I’m sure he was intending to give me a great compliment, ….”

Tommy and Nathan started teasing Red at that. The look he gave me promised retribution—of one sort or another. I shivered, and felt my wrap being placed over my shoulders.

“I do like this dress,” Red’s deep voice murmured in my ear as his hand lingered low on my spine…my bare spine.

Red chuckled. “He does at that. Clever, too. Should any pictures of you and me ever get in the hands of your Uncle Luke, this pretty dress won’t cause a coronary, assuming that you’re facing the camera, as anyone would expect you to be.”

I laughed. “Not just Uncle Luke,” I assured him. “There’s Uncle John, Uncle Matt, Uncle Mark….”

He thought about it for all of a second. “Maybe Matt would say something to me. The rest of your uncles? I don’t think they’d dare. No, I take that back. Jack loves arguing with me and he certainly sees you as his girl. Yep, he’d be there right with Luke, probably ahead of him. Hey, Tommy, you have a camera ready? We need some pictures.”

I laughed again. Red really was a man after my own heart. I never thought to find a man unafraid of the men of my family.

Grandfather was smiling at us with approval in his dark eyes. “Come now, it’s time for us to show the town people what real style looks like. Tommy, you’re in charge of the dogs. The rest of you, I want you to go home by nine, no later. Understood?”

They all agreed. Vasha followed us, whining low in her throat. I was surprised. She didn’t usually bother to get up these days unless it was for food or to take her short walks. Grandfather kneeled down and spoke softly to her in his native language. Whatever he said made Red furrow his brow and leave my side to walk over to his grandfather. They spoke quietly for a couple minutes. Whatever Grandfather said must have reassured Red—at least enough to make him grab his keys and bark a few more orders at Tommy. He left it to Grandfather to escort me out to the driveway, which was fine. I knew he was attracted to me, and I was happy to be on Grandfather’s arm. I loved Nathaniel dearly; he truly did feel like my own grandfather, all the caring and none of the temper or sexism.

I expected to find myself riding in the backseat of the SUV to get to the Parkins’ fundraising ball, but to my surprise, a beautiful Lincoln town car was in the driveway behind our truck. It was perfect because it was roomy enough for all three of us to sit in the front, especially since it had the gear shift on the dash. Grandfather was nodding approvingly at Red as he held the door open for me. I slid in along the bench seat, wondering what year the car was—my father would know, I thought; it was probably the first time I’d thought of him since leaving home. I wondered if he’d noticed I’d left yet. Then I shrugged mentally. I hadn’t thought of him in all this time, I couldn’t really be upset if he had the same out of sight, out of mind mentality.

I hoped Mom was doing well. She seemed to be. I’d have to be sure to send her pictures from tonight. I looked at Red from the corner of my eye—maybe I would have him take pictures of me with Grandfather to send her. But I definitely wanted at least one picture of me with him—for me to save.

I considered myself pretty tough, not much impressed me after all I’d seen and done over the years, but Colleen took my breath away when she came into the room in the gown the pup sent her, with her hair done in one of those fancy French braids that made your fingers itch to take it apart. She was beautiful, with just enough make-up to accentuate her features, not look painted like so many women did when they went out. When she turned and I saw that the dress was damn near obscene from the rear, and exposed her long, gorgeous line of back, it took all my self-control not to grab her and…. Couldn’t even let my thoughts go there. I spoke like an idiot and Grandfather was practically laughing at me. Rightfully so. Colleen wasn’t just another O’Keefe; she was her own unique, incredible person.

I knew one thing. I couldn’t wait to dance with her in that backless dress. I trusted to my grandfather’s eagle eye to keep my hand from creeping too low. That dress was evil, the way it rested tantalizingly over the line of her firm ass. And she had one fine ass. The dimples….

I swallowed. Then I straightened my shoulders and told myself to get a grip. I didn’t get a chest full of medals by being a fucking wimp, afraid of a little girl—not that Colleen was looking like a little girl tonight by any stretch of the imagination and she had my imagination stretching every which way. Hell, it was the things she was doing to my imagination that was causing the problems.

“We’ve been sitting in the driveway for a couple minutes now. I thought perhaps you’ve forgotten how to drive?”

Colleen giggled, while the twinkle in my Grandfather’s eyes could have taken the place of our headlights. What a pair. Barking out a laugh, I shifted into gear and took off for the party.

The event was at the largest hotel in the territory…naturally. A valet took the Lincoln, which I’d borrowed from Lanier, who had more cars than I owned suits. Well, that was not really a good example. A homeless person had more cars than I had suits. More suits than me too, probably. It was pretty decent of Lanier to get it delivered to Montana for me to use for this. It was the perfect ride—not too fancy but comfortable and roomy. Grandfather wouldn’t have liked anything too expensive or foreign made. This car, in perfect condition and from his heyday, won an approving nod from him. I could imagine him courting my grandmother in something like this when he got back from the war.

We were directed to a ballroom that was entered by going to the second floor and then passing through security. I had to show my Alliance Identification to be allowed to keep my gun with me—and even with my ID, the security guards weren’t happy with me having a gun. Surprising, given this was a Republican function. For my part, I wasn’t happy that they didn’t find my knives. If they were that sloppy, I was glad I had the means to protect my family, which included Colleen. I slipped a knife to Grandfather after we got through the checkpoint. He grunted his thanks. I thought about giving Colleen one, but after considering that dress again, I decided that the two of us were more than capable of keeping her safe. There wasn’t any place that she could hide anything in that dress.

“Look! A staircase! This is so ‘My Fair Lady! Tell me they’re going to announce us! I’m going to embarrass both of you by squealing like Leah, I swear.”

Grandfather chuckled. “You could never embarrass us, my dear. Shall we?” He offered her his arm.

“We shall!” She laughed as she wrapped her arm in his; it was the most light-hearted I’d ever seen her. I just shook my head at the two of them. I hated this type of pretentious event—as an officer and especially as one attached to a high-ranking general, I’d had to attend more than my share of them, but I was glad that Colleen was getting a kick out of it.

I gave our names to the man charged with the job of announcing the guests as they arrived. I could see Grace below, standing next to her politician husband, Greg Parkins, candidate for governor, darling of the Tea Party. Her startled look as our names were called out made me wonder—did Greg invite us without telling Grace? He’d issued the invitation the day he’d come to the house, the same day Grace had gotten so upset over finding me comforting Colleen. The formal invitation had followed a day later. I’d assumed she had instigated his visit but now it appeared that Greg was playing his own game. Strange.

Colleen was drawing everyone’s attention—she looked that good. Of course, it didn’t hurt that she was flanked by Grandfather in full regalia and I wasn’t looking too shabby either. I decided to take my cue from the two of them and just enjoy myself, and especially enjoy being with both of them.

“Nathaniel—you are inspiring, simply inspiring,” Parkins said, shaking Grandfather’s hand. “I am honored that you have come to my little gathering.”

Grandfather bowed his head slightly. “May I introduce my dear friend, Colleen O’Keefe? Colleen, Greg Parkins, our District Attorney.”

Colleen shook hands. Parkins held onto hers a little longer than he should have, in my opinion.

Grace smiled tightly, as she looked up at the three of us. Grandfather bent to kiss her and kept hold of her hand, while we spoke, sparing me the need to have to kiss her also in greeting or risk upsetting her. The snap in her voice as she addressed Colleen showed she wasn’t fooled—or maybe she always talked to her that way and I’d never noticed before.

“Beautiful dress, Miss O’Keefe. Wherever did you find it in this area, it almost looks like a designer original. And that jewelry almost looks real.”

Colleen smiled sweetly. “The jewelry should look real—it’s from Van Cleef and Arpels’ New York store. My Uncle Danny sent the earrings and bracelet to me as an early Christmas present; he’s very generous that way, and can’t stand for a dress not to be properly accessorized. I do think he chose well, don’t you?”

I had to talk to the pup about the kind of presents he bought—damn. I doubted that my entire military salary for a year would cover the cost of the diamond and sapphire bracelet and earrings Colleen was wearing. Maybe two years’ salary. And that dress no doubt cost a month’s pay at least.

Once we got clear of the receiving line, we had a great time. During our first dance, which did not take place as soon as I wanted, since Grandfather claimed the right of age to go first, that old dog, Colleen told me she had a confession to make.

I looked down at her—which wasn’t all that far, given that she was wearing heels. It was a pleasure to dance with a woman and not get a crick in my neck. I raised an eyebrow.

“Uh oh, that sounds like trouble. What did you do? Can’t be that you spiked the punch because I tried it while you were dancing with Grandfather and I’ve got news for you—it’s already spiked.”

She laughed. I loved seeing her look so happy. We moved well together, just as I knew we would. I grinned and she leaned up to whisper in my ear.

“I lied to Miss Grace—the jewelry is just on loan. The dress is a gift but no way is Danny giving out $100,000 Christmas presents nor would Mom let me keep them even if he were. But don’t worry—they’re insured. I just couldn’t resist making her look green, and she really did, didn’t she?”

I had to laugh because she was right—Grace had practically gnashed her teeth. If there was one advantage to being older for a woman like Grace, it was supposed to be in having all the finer things in life. She had sold out her ideals for the big house and the politically connected husband, and I suspected that a night like tonight was supposed to show me all that she had that I was turning down. Instead, once again, she found herself coming in second and it was not something that she enjoyed. I wondered where Greg came into the equation. Even as I had the thought, I felt a tap on my shoulder.

“May I cut in?” I turned and saw Greg Parkins’ smiling face. I wanted to say hell no, but Grandfather was standing off to the side of the dance floor, and his subtle shake of the head reminded me that I had to think of Colleen. So I smiled pleasantly and bowed when I wanted to break the man’s arm before I let him touch her back.

“Stop growling,” he said quietly under his breath. “You cannot cause a scene here, Raven. Go ask Grace to dance.”

“That is beside the point. You must show good manners. I will look after Colleen.”

Sighing, I did as I was told. But I did not have to like it.

I was disappointed to have my dance with Red cut short. Greg Parkins made me uncomfortable. It wasn’t anything he did or said overtly; it was the aura of the man. Uncle John and Uncle Danny taught self-defense classes and they always said that you should go with your instincts when you felt that something was off about someone—that it was your sixth sense warning you of trouble. I had that feeling in Haiti when we were with the guys who were going to take us to a place to “relax” and I insisted that we leave. Collette blamed me for our being trapped in the hotel that collapsed but I checked later on after we got home—the hotel we were supposed to be going to collapsed too and if we had stayed in it there is no way we would have survived.

Of course, if we’d stayed with our group none of the problems would have happened, but that was something I never could say. Not to the sister who wasn’t speaking to me because I’d wanted to stop for a candy bar—hey, if you hadn’t wanted to go away for a weekend fling with those boys, we never would have gotten hurt and you wouldn’t have lost the chance to have children, children you said you never wanted to have until you found you never could.

Could’ve, would’ve, should’ve. Mom used to chant that at us whenever we made excuses as kids. Damn, my mind was wandering. And so were this guy’s hands. I pasted a smile on my face.

“I would appreciate your placing your hand a few inches higher up, Mr. Parkins,” I said brightly.

He pressed his fingers deeper against my low back as he smirked. “Why, Colleen, I just want to be as friendly with you as Steven is. I think you’ll find that I can be a very good friend to have.”

Reaching behind me, I grabbed his wrist and pulled it away from my back. He resisted but I had a strong grip—inherited from my Pops O’Keefe. Strong grip and thick wrists. It really was a wonder Danny was able to find a diamond bracelet large enough to fit me, I thought whimsically. Fortunately, the music ended just then, saving me from having to leave him midway through a song and cause a scene.

I bumped into Grandfather as I spun away from Parkins. He stepped between me and the very pissed off wannabe governor.

“I believe it is my turn to dance with Colleen, Greg. You have other constituents waiting for your attention.”

It would take a bigger, better man than Greg Parkins to go against Grandfather when he spoke in that voice of firm authority.

I agreed. I glanced around for Red—not because I’m needy or anything but because maybe he’d like some punch too, I told myself. Yeah, sure. Worried about the big guy’s hydration, that was me.

“He is trying to extricate himself from Mrs. Parkins,” Grandfather said, amused. “I’m sure he will join us as soon as possible.”

“It’s rude to read people’s minds without permission,” I said loftily.

He chuckled. Before he could answer, he was stopped by another of the guests. Then another politician stopped us who wanted to exchange greetings and get his picture taken talking to a tribal leader. By the third such interruption, I was beginning to pick up on the fact that Grandfather was being courted by the local big-shots as someone with influence. They all looked at me with speculation but Grandfather shielded me from their nosiness, introducing me simply as a family friend, which I appreciated.

I felt my phone vibrate from inside my clutch, so I excused myself and walked a few steps away.

“What is wrong?” No sense beating around the bush. She could barely talk through her tears.

“Tommy.” I moved further away, to an alcove. It took some coaxing and calming but I finally got the story out of her. The police had come by just as Sarah and Leah were heading home. They were younger officers who got a little fresh. Tommy came outside and objected. The officers tried to rough him up but did not take into account the two dogs. Vasha and Cheyenne jumped at them. Leah said shots were fired. Tommy and the dogs ran for the woods. The girls ran back into the house but the police were still there and more police had gathered. They didn’t know what to do.

I reassured her that we would be home as fast as we could get there. If they could, they were to sit tight, but if the police demanded that they come out, they were not to resist but to call me back and keep the line open if they could.

Looking around I saw that Red was surrounded by a crowd of people on the other side of the room. There was no way I’d be able to get him away without a scene. I went back to Grandfather and touched his arm. He excused himself after a glance at my face.

I told him as quickly and succinctly as I could. All it took was some type of hand signal and Red was by our side.

Red didn’t waste time asking what it was. He headed to get the car while I went for our coats.

“Where do you think you’re going?” She hissed at me—literally hissed. I was dumbfounded and so shocked I stopped for all of a second before sidestepping her. She went so far as to grab me roughly from behind.

I didn’t mean to do it. But I was stressed and I never liked being grabbed. It was a reflex. I flipped her. Before I knew what was what, all hell was breaking loose, with Grace screaming bloody murder, and me being grabbed by security guards. I went a little nuts; struggling against them.

And then I was free. Red was standing over the guards, whom he had tossed like they were toddlers. Not that anyone should go around tossing toddlers. More guards were heading toward us. He tossed me the keys to the car.