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Fiona turned wide eyes my way. “How are you acting like a teenage girl with him?”

“Rasmus reads my mind without my permission. It’s not so much what I say as all the thoughts I seem unable to control in his presence. He likely thinks my thoughts are like a teenager’s.”

“Are we talking dirty thoughts?” she asked with a giggle.

“No, I’m talking thoughts even worse than the dirty ones,” I said.

Then I pitched my voice higher to explain.“Where are ya going, Rasmus? When are ya coming back to see me? What are ya doing when ya’re not with me? Are ya hanging out with women prettier than I am? Tell me I’m beautiful and I’m the only woman in yer life. No, I don’t want to sit in yer lap. Well, okay, I do want to sit in yer lap, but I don’t want to kiss ya. Wait... that’s a lie as well. Please, Goddess, don’t let the man read my mind again.”

“OMG, Mom,” Fiona exclaimed while crossing her arms. “No one I’ve ever known has had thoughts like that. I’m sure that’s just your unique brain.”

I snorted. All women thought things like that. Women worrying about what men said and did was part of our female conditioning. My daughter was lying to herself if she denied partaking in the ultimate female humiliation, but I wouldn’t lecture her about facing the truth today.

There was no need when a strong warning should scare her.

“Wait until ya find a man ya want to keep and let’s see how secure ya are with him. The right man has a way of digging out all those emotional needs ya keep hidden from everyone else. Being in a relationship with even the best of guys creates an internal struggle. I envy Gigi that booty-call man she has back home in Ireland. I’d be happy with one of those instead of one I worried so much about coming and going.”

Fiona swung her scrunched-up face to glare at me. “My well-behaved grandmotherdoes nothave a booty call man in Ireland. I was joking, Mom. I think I’m scarred for life now.”

“Ya might have been joking, Fiona, but Conn said it was true. I even know the man’s name. According to Conn, Gigi’s gentleman farmer is a very manly man for someone his age, which I think is late fifties or early sixties. I understand he’s a widower but not looking for another wife. Conn said he and Gigi were keeping things light.”

Fiona grunted and crossed her arms again. “Are we there yet? Because I need out of this car.”

“Ya’re out of luck then. We just left Salem city limits.”

“The women in my family are scandalous and unruly.” Fiona’s sigh after her statement was loud. She sounded so much like me when she was uncomfortable that it me chuckle.

“Did ya just call meunruly? Hmm... that’s a new one. Colonel Benson called meinfamous. That was a new one too. I’m feeling quite proud of my scandalous midlife reputation.”

Grunting, Fiona glared at me. “Yes, well, scandalous reputations seem normal for the women in our family.”

I glanced her way and grinned at her tone. “Ya can only hope to one day be lucky enough to have earned yer own.”

“Can we stop talking now? Because I need to stop talking. I’m going to stare out the window and pretend I was adopted.”

I directed my amused smile at the windshield and didn’t say another word until I swung the car onto the temple grounds.

ChapterFour

Large metal gates, complete with an on-duty guard, blocked our way to the temple. I rolled down my window when we stopped to stare at a guard dressed in pink and purple layered robes folded and tucked very securely across his nice shoulders. They were like what Buddhist Monks wore, except that they showed off his biceps in all their inked glory.

“Welcome to the Abundant Life Temple. Do you have any weapons, drugs, or alcohol on your person?”

“We’re just here to visit a friend. We have nothing to declare,” I said, giving him a friendly smile.

“You’re not at the airport, ma’am, but I still can’t let you on the grounds until you answer the question.”

“I thought I just did,” I said, lifting one of my eyebrows in challenge.

He narrowed his eyes at me. “We do not pass judgement. Everything is collected and held here in a personal safe until you depart the temple grounds. You will get a receipt of the items deposited with us that will allow you to collect them when you leave.”

Two of the items he asked about were easy to deny. I’d never carried a strictly human weapon or needed one.

As for alcohol, I had sometimes imbibed freely, but I did so rarely because I never knew when I might have to fight at a moment’s notice. And I definitely didn’t drink and drive, especially with my daughter in the car.

But the third part of the question was not as simple to answer. What constituted as drugs to witches and shamans looked like dried herbs to most people. I used them as responsibly as I could, but in untrained hands, they were every bit as dangerous as drugs like heroin and cocaine.

“Ma’am, I’m still waiting for your answer.”