Page 88 of Truly, Madly Viking

How about a Fountain of Smart? And it was no wonder. He stood out in any crowd with his height, good looks, and the proud way he carried himself. Today he was dressed in a long sleeved plaid shirt tucked into jeans. On his big feet he wore the same athletic shoes he'd been given at the hospital. His long blond hair was bound into a queue with a rubber band. But it wouldn't matter how he was dressed.

Joe would draw stares even if he wore rags.

"Well, we could buy Natalie a Patsy Cline greatest-hits CD."

Joe nodded. He was familiar with CDs, since Suzy and Beth often forced him to listen to their music, especially Ricky Martin, for whom Joe had developed a particular aversion. And he had to recognize the name of Patsy Cline, because Natalie was always belting out her tunes.

"Maybe we could buy Suzy another Ricky Martin CD. Perhaps there's one she doesn't have."

"I want to go back to that military surplus store and purchase that Navy SEALs jacket for Steve."

Maggie bit her tongue to stop herself from pointing out that it was a hundred dollars... too much for a friendly gift, especially since he'd already bought a baseball card of Steve's at a memorabilia store earlier today for a whopping fifty dollars, and it wasn't even in mint condition.

"Ooh, I thought of something else. We should buy one of those hats we saw in the cow-man store for Dock-whore Seabold."

Maggie smiled. "You mean the cowboy store?"

"Is that not what I said?" Sometimes Joe got exasperated when she corrected his language mistakes.

"We should buy him one of those big ass black hats we saw in the window... that's a word Steve taught me, by the by. With a hat like that, Dock-whore Hairy wouldn't have to worry about his hair drape blowing in the wind."

"The Stetson?"

"Yea, that's the one. The stepson."

Oh, good Lord. What would Harry think of such a gift? Then she giggled, trying to picture her boss in the big-ass thing. Though cowboy hats were not uncommon on a Texas man—or woman—she had a hard time picturing Harry, noted psychiatrist, wearing a cowboy hat. But then, his hair comb-over was out of character, too.

A mischievous grin appeared on Joe's face then. "And I have thought of the perfect gift for Glad-ass Hatch-her," he announced. "A whip."

"That's not funny," she said. But it was, kind of. Once again Maggie was surprised by Joe's sense of humor. Maybe he was beginning to put his guilt over his children's death behind him.

"On the other hand, mayhap we will give Glad-ass some scented skin creams to soften her up."

Yep, he was developing a super sense of humor.

They discussed what to buy for the other members of his group, then went out to make their purchases.

In addition, there were a few more impulse buys, like the kaleidoscope that Joe just had to buy for Suzy.

Maggie would have thought the Viking man was a little boy as he oohed and aahed over all the objects in the kaleidoscope store, finally settling on a brass-plated scope of fine quality.

He'd also found a cuddly stuffed Keiko to add to Beth's collection. And he'd picked out colorful kites for both of them.

This was going to be some spectacular Christmas for her daughters. While Maggie wasn't stingy, she had never gone overboard with Christmas gifts, not wanting her daughters to become spoiled, or to take away from the true meaning of the season. She didn't think it would matter if this year was a little excessive, though. Besides, it might be the only Christmas they had with Joe, and she couldn't begrudge his making it memorable for them.

It was late afternoon, and each of them were carrying two shopping bags, when Joe said, "Do you know what I really want?"

"A Big Mac and french fries."

He made a tsking noise at her. "No, I want to go home."

Maggie closed her eyes for a brief second, savoring the sound of home on his tongue. She suspected what he had in mind, and suddenly even the slight abrasion of her light clothing was like an erotic caress.

"Your wish is my command, oh Viking leader."

He gave her a look that translated to, Since when? They had almost reached her car when he remarked, "Do you know what I want when we get home?"

The sultry lowering of his eyelids and the husky tone of his voice were certainly big clues. She felt her breasts peak and begin to ache. The man was turning her into a world-class bimbo. "Surprise, surprise!"