The Moose, the Tree, and the Irish Writer

After he got Tabby settled into her room and she was unpacking he drove back out to see if Bob was making any progress with her Jeep.

"Man Viggo it's a wonder she didn't kill her pretty little self." Bob said shaking his head.

"She had her seat belt on and the air bag deployed...I am surprised it didn't hurt her though she is so small." Viggo admitted.

"Yeah, so you know who she is don't you?" Bob asked.

"What do you mean, she is a writer...of what I have no clue." Viggo answered wondering what Bob was getting at.

"She hasn't told you what she writes?" Bob asked.

"What aren't you telling me, Bob?" Viggo asked settling his hands on his hips and looking at the burly man in front of him.

"I recognized her from a photo I seen of her...lots actually. Then when you introduced her I knew. She is Kate's favorite author, Viggo. She writes them romance novels." Bob said shaking his head.

"Romance novels?" Viggo asked then he thought about what she said about "fluff" and felt bad. She was too embarrassed to tell him what she wrote.

"Yep I got a whole box of them in the truck that I was going to take by Meg's this afternoon for Kate. They buy them and then all the ladies in town read them and pass them around. I swear I spend more time delivering the damn things than they do reading them. Seems Kate can read one in a couple days." Bob complained.

"You ever read one?" Viggo asked.

"Lord no, but Kate tells me about them. The one’s Tabby writes are pretty funny…Kate’s always laughing as she reads them!" Bob said indignantly like it wouldn't be manly to read or something. Viggo nearly laughed.

"You want one so you can see what she writes about?" Bob asked waggling his eyebrows at Viggo.

Viggo finally did laugh then and , ", "You're serious aren't you?"

"As a heart attack." Bob said pulling a rather large box out of the passenger side of the tow truck.

"Shit...she wrote all of those?" Viggo asked.

"No some of them are other authors but O'Shea is Kate's favorite and there are a lot of them. I have to admit I like her cover art a hell of a lot more than the others with half dressed men at least hers are always tasteful looking." Bob said rummaging through the box.

"Here it is...this one Kate and Sally have both read about a dozen times I think...damn thing is nearly falling apart. Here ya’ go." Bob said handing it to Viggo.

Viggo turned it over in his hands, the cover was a bit faded and had horses on it. Hmm, horses, the title was "Untamed Heart" not a bad title for that kind of book, then he flipped it to the back cover where a photo of Tabby was smiling back at him. Oh she looked lovely in a pretty white lace dress and all those coppery curls everywhere.

"That's why I recognized her, Kate forever has these things in her face and all I see is that photo smiling at me. Though Viggo I have to say ever since Kate started reading those things...well uh...well..." He stammered and Viggo smiled at him and then laughed.

"Love life got better huh?" Viggo said laughing.

"In a major way...every time she reads one of those books I can't wait for the weekends when the kids go to grandma's." Bob said smiling.

Viggo grinned. "Hey Bob...make sure you take your time fixing her Jeep."

Bob cracked up laughing and just shook his head.

Viggo stuck the book in his waistband of his jeans and pulled his sweatshirt down over it. He would give it a read later when Tabby wasn't around...see just what kind of "fluff" was floating around in that pretty head of hers. The more he thought about her the more intrigued he was and the more he wanted her. He had felt the physical pull toward her since he first saw her in the Jeep.

Those eyes, one look and his world went completely off its axis. He wanted time to explore these feelings he was having. He wasn't sure if it was purely physical...but he knew he wanted her from the moment he met her. Then again he hadn't had sex in a really, really long time...could be that too.

Once he returned to the house Viggo ran up the steps two at a time. "Tabby!" he called but got no answer.

Then he got to her room the door was open and she was lying on the bed, she had taken a shower and her hair was wrapped up in a towel. She had a blue bathrobe on and was just lying there across the center of the bed.

"Tabby?" Viggo crossed the room to the bed and stood beside it looking down at her. Her eyes fluttered open and her cheeks turned pink.

"Oh I am sorry...I fell asleep." She said trying to sit up. "Ugh I am starting to feel that tree now."

Viggo helped her sit up and squatted down beside the bed so he was eye level with her.

"Do you have a headache or anything?" Viggo asked concerned.

"Nope, just sore all over like I worked out too much or something." She said rolling her head side to side.

"Why don't you just lay back and get some rest...I will wake you before dinner how's that sound?" Viggo asked rubbing the back of her hand with his thumb.

She smiled at him.

"Ok."

He laid her back on the bed and pulled the quilt over her. She looked so lovely lying there. She was so tiny she almost looked like a little girl. Then he remembered a bit of Gaelic he had picked up over the years and said, “Codladh sámh.” (Sleep well.)

Viggo left the room and closed the door softly behind him...then he grabbed the book out of his waistband and settled down into a chair. He had planned to paint and take photos today but plans were meant to be changed; just like rules were made to be broken right?

The book that Bob had given him had been a collection of three short stories all of which had horses as main themes. He had read two of them before two o'clock in the afternoon. She was a good writer with a great sense of humor and good Lord her sex scenes in the book had him hard and sifting in his seat as he read them. No wonder Bob's sex life had perked up when Kate began reading these. Even without the sex and romance though it was damn good writing, not fluff. One of the stories was a murder mystery and kept Viggo guessing until the end, that doesn't happen to him often.

The other was a bit more obvious, and was more or less just a love story but was well written and had just enough angst to make it all the more interesting.

He definitely loved the way her mind worked. He heard her stirring around her room and put the book inside the chest on his desk. He didn't want her to know he knew, he wanted her to trust him enough to tell him what kind of writer she was without worrying he would judge her. He had looked inside the book and saw a list of her books there were over twenty of them and of those fifteen had spent more than a few weeks on the New York Times Best Seller List. The one he had started reading had spent twenty-two weeks at number one. He was quite impressed...why should she be embarrassed about it?