What's In A Name?

"Stop it, both of you." Tasha moved away from the bed and looked down. The only thing she had on was a transparent nightgown. She walked to the other side of the bed, grabbed her robe and discovered her wound had stopped hurting. Elvira ... her mother ... must have executed some of her fast healing magic.

Her mother. She stopped tying her robe and looked at the woman arguing with Bracken/Demitri. Who would've thought it? If she'd been younger, mabye it would've been more traumatic to discover who Elvira really was. But at this time in her life, Elvira was her friend and always would be.

She stared at the two warring dryads. Would they never stop arguing? "Hey everybody!" They both turned and stared. "I'm here to do a job and by god I'm going to do it. With the two of you or without you."

Bracken/Demitri spoke out. "But you must be told why that sorry excuse for a fairy godmother a.k.a.your mother has had you traveling through time and all over the world."

"She already knows," Elvira interrupted.

"That's enough." Tasha raised an open hand at the two adversaries. She glanced at Elvira and then at Demitri. Braken didn't exist, not for her, at least. "First we need to clean up this mess, then we'll talk."

"Honey, there's no need to talk to this interloper." Elvira stared at Demitri as if she stared hard enough, he'd disappear.

Demitri stared back for a moment and then softly whispered. "You wish."

To Tasha those two little whispered words sound almost like a threat. But threat of what?

Then he quickly turned to face Tasha. "What do you want me to do?" He grinned ... a very high voltage smile.

Tasha felt like a moth being drawn in by a flame. "Do?" It took all her control to keep herself from running directly into his arms. "Oh. Yes." She reluctantly turned away and moved toward the fireplace. "We need to get Bracken and Poppy married." Distance was good where that virile man was concerned. She sat down in a wing chair. "Then we have to find out who's trying to kill me, I mean Poppy. Or should it be vice versa?"

"I know who's trying to kill you?" Elvira moved toward her and plopped down on the twin of the wing chair facing Tasha and crossed her legs. She had a smug smile plastered on her over-made-up face.

"You do?" Tasha and Demitri spoke out in unison.

Demitri stalked toward Elvira. "So what's the reason you haven't said anything, old woman?" He leaned in and glared directly into her face. "Do you want Tasha to die the next time an attempt is made on her life?"

"Of course not." Eliva pushed back against the chair cushions as far away from Demitri as she could

He straightened. "Then what?"

"Tasha is very good at solving mysteries." Elvira appeared insulted by his attack. "I didn't want to rain on her parade."

"Please ... rain on it." Demitri enunciated each word.

"It's the step-father." Elvira fluffed up her unrully hair.

"I knew it!" Demitri turned and strolled toward Tasha. "It's that money grubbing bastard."

Tasha breathed in Demitri's eluisve scent and could almost feel his heat when he stopped beside her chair. It was as if he were guarding against anyone who'd dare try to harm her. It was sort of endearing.

"He didn't to it himself, of course," Elvira explained. "He hired someone to shove her into the lake."

"Then he didn't ie when he told me he was on the opposite side." Demitri gave Tasha a quick glance.

"But he put the arsenic in her tea all by himself." Elvira lifted her arm, stared at the multitude of bracelets decorating it and moved it so the costume jewelry would jangle. "He merely waited for the maid to step out of the room for a moment and put it in the teapot."

"Would you please stop with that infernal racket?"

Elvira stopped her arm movement and stared at Demitri as if he was crazy. "You've got a real problem, young man." But she slowly moved her arm toward the chair's armrest.

Tasha shook her head at Elvira's antics. She looked up at Demitri. "You're going to tell the Earl you know what he's done. That if he doesn't change his ways you're going to have him arrested. Then I want you to go to the city and pay off Lizzy's fiance', threaten with some bodily harm if he has any objections and set Lizzy free."

"I can do that." He smiled. Then we'll get married."

"Poppy and Bracken will be married." Tasha corrected him. She moved her gaze to Elvira. The man had too much sex appeal for her peace of mind. But it isn't your mind that's responding,a little voice corrected her.

"What do you want me to do?" Elvira fluffed up her hair.

"once Poppy dies ... of natural causes, of course, I want you to work your magic." She glanced up at Demitri. "Lizzy is to fall in love with Bracken and he with her."

Demitri leaned down to Tasha's ear and whispered, "I can love only you, my Tasha." His voice was so low Tasha knew only she had heard his declaration. He moved away much too quickly.

"What are you telling her?" Elvira leaned forward in her chair.

"Nothing that need concern you," Demitri quickly responded.

Elvira leaned back in her chair seemly satisfied with his answer. But a quick glance at Tasha's face and look of disapproval crossed her face at what she was witnessing.

Tasha could feel heat rise up her neck onto her face and cheeks. Damn it! She was blushing ... again. She watched Demitri walk away with a long legged stride that was more military than sexy. But it obviuosly didn't matter one smidgeion to her libido.

What was it about this man that just looking at him had her thinking of all kinds of scandalous cravings to satisfy on a rainy afternoon? Who was she kidding? Rainy afternoon? Hell! Day or night, any kind of weather, it truly didn't matter.

It took less than two days to get Poppy's life in order. They married in a quiet ceremony with only her step-father, Lizzy and the Duke of Claymoor, her godfather in attendance. Elvira set the spell on Lizzy and Bracken to activate six months after Poppy's passing, out of respect for the little-rich-girl. Just in case, they didn't want Lizzy or Bracken to experience any guilt for falling in love so soon after Poppy's death. After the wedding, the Earl of Rottingham, Poppy's step-father, was sent to one of Poppy's smaller estates to rusticate.

All was finally right with the world.

Almost.

"Tasha, I think I've been very patient." Demitri stood directly in front of Tasha. "Before you pop out of Poppy, I want you to know the truth."

Elvira quickly moved from behind Demitri toward Tasha. "Don't listen to him, honey." She had that imploring look on her face that Tasha had come to recognize. It was the look Elvira had when Tasha had taken care of the murderer of the latest victum and she'd visit Tasha to tell her what country and what year she'd go to next.

"All right, Elvira," Demitri directed. "Why don't you tell Tasha, she hasn't been doing all this jumping to correct a mistake she's made?" Demitri's hands clenched at his sides. "That fairy godmothers aren't capable of going back in time to erase a man's death that Detective Tasha Benton believes she caused when she wrongly accused him of murdering his girlfried?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Elvira turned and glared at him.

"Go ahead. Lie to her. Tell her I'm not the reason you've had her jumping all over the damn world and all over the fricking centuries for the last four years." Demitri's jaw clenched as he stared at Elvira's back. When he turned to Tasha his gaze softened.

"That's not true." Tasha couldn't believe what he was saying. "Elvira came to help me." She gazed at the apparent compassion in Demitri's eyes. "Tell him Elvira." He stood there as if carved out of granite, so unyielding. He had no idea of the bond she and Elvira shared. She'd been there ... always. Well ... almost always.

"Tell him he's wrong, honey." Elvira stared up at Tasha.

"Am I?" Demitri stared into Tasha's eyes, into her soul.

"It's in the contract I signed," Tasha tried to tell him. "Once I've done my penance and I catch the gulity parties in other women's murders, Elvira's going to go back and fix things. She's going to inform Jackson Allen that the police found the man who murdered his fiancee'." Tasha stared down at her friend ... her very own fairy godmother ... her mother.

But Elvira had suddenly found something very interesting in the pattern of the rug they were standing on. Tasha stared at Elvira's bent head and began to get a terrible feeling in her stomach. She recognized it. It was how she'd felt when she'd been told the murderer for Jackson Allen's girlfriend had confessed, twenty-four hours after Mr. Allen had committed suicide.

"Then ... everything ... will ... be ... like ... it ... was ... before." She spoke the words slowly, as if speaking them slowly, would make them true.