By The Horns Ch 04

So sorry for the delay in my offerings. Life has been one game after another of fun and excitement, he he he. Actually got things back to normal, so to speak, so hopefully things flow smoother. As for this tale enjoy the show kids and keep in mind i have two other tales to go so keep an eye open. Vote, comment, enjoy what you see, and maybe there will be more.

As her eyes came back from focusing on the sight before her Nadine could only smile at the reflection. The way the skirt and lingerie made her look was something she was not getting tired of seeing in the mirror. The work she had put in also had a part to play with what was before her eyes and now she had bigger plans. She padded over to the closet and began the hunt for the right shoes to wear and found them in the middle of her growing collection. Her thoughts traveled to the times that she found herself growing and the memories again washed through her.

Nadine's night was hardly what could be called a good night of sleep. She rested more than anything. The images of Trevor's betrayal haunted her dreams and more than anything she knew that he would likely try and blame her for it all. The night was not helped by the constant blowing up her phone went through with Trevor's calls. She didn't answer them and set her phone to voice mail. In a way she was more than a little amused that she was across the street from him, but he had no idea. The room she got was on the opposite side of the street so it faced the backyard. She laid in her bed and sighed as she finally got something that resembled sleep.

The next morning she got up in a daze as the alarm went off earlier than she would have liked. Nadine took a quick shower and dressed in simple clothes. Without waking anyone in the house, she hoped, she left for work. Being able to get her car without Trevor seeing her made her feel better, but a part of her was fuming that he was feigning ignorance. She listened to all his voice mails and all of them had the same line of "Where are you?", "I hope your OK" and the likes. Nadine tossed the phone into her purse and let all the mails continue without listening to them. It didn't take her long to get to work and drudge in.

Nadine pushed through work and kept unusually quiet with her tasks which concerned some of her co workers. No one asked her about anything so she let it go. It was at work she got three calls from Trevor that she promptly hung up. Nadine took an early day to get away from work before he came to find her and just dodged him as she was leaving. Nadine took a roundabout way to get home and in doing so avoided him, but her luck wouldn't last. It was after she went home that she found his car waiting in the spot and him in the doorway. Steeling her resolve she parked in front of Mike's house and took a deep breath as he came running toward the car.

For all her life Nadine had always tried to defuse situations as best she could, but today something was very different. A wire that kept her mind running coolly had been crossed with a hot wire that was ready to explode. The anger in her welled up from somewhere she never knew was in her as she watched her cheating husband come toward her like nothing was wrong. Angrily she opened the door and the dour look on her face told the whole tale as she stood in front of her car and slammed the door shut. The sudden anger in her features actually caught Trevor off guard as he slowed as he got to her.

"What are you doing parking here? Your house is over there," Trevor said pointing at the house.

"Not anymore it's not," Nadine said and the ice in her voice was apparent.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Trevor asked confused.

"What the hell am I talking about?" Nadine echoed back incredulously.

"Yeah. What the hell are you talking about?" Trevor asked back trying to act big.

Nadine saw through his act and scoffed loudly. She dismissively waved her hand and turned to walk away from him, but Trevor's hand snaked out and grabbed her arm. The blazing fire in her eyes tore into Trevor's eyes as she did something she never thought she would do. Her free hand lashed out and caught him fully on the face. The echoing slap sounded like a sonic boom that ripped through the air. Trevor was caught fully off guard by the slap and it sent him staggering away from her as he hadn't ever imagined Nadine would hit him.

Trevor looked up at her and the rage in his eyes was apparent as was the embarrassment of being hit by her. His hand rubbed his cheek as he took a menacing step towards her, but Nadine would not back down.

"Who the fuck do you think you are?!" Nadine asked coldly as she crossed her arms and stood her ground.

"What the fuck is your problem Nadine!?" Trevor yelled.

"Mine? Fuck that, what is yours?!" Nadine spat back and dug her phone out of her purse.

Trevor narrowed his eyes as she picked up the phone and opened her email. It took less than a second to pull up the damning evidence. When his eyes saw it they grew wide in shock.

"Nadine I..." he tried to say, then he saw the woman sucking his dick and his friends laughing.

"You what? You can explain yourself? Make this right somehow?" Nadine asked rhetorically.

"But I..." Trevor started to say.

"You know what? Fuck you! I wasted my life on you and your simpering ass! You whined and cried because you got hurt and couldn't be who you wanted to be. I stayed by you and sacrificed so much of my dreams and hopes for you. And what do I get for almost six fucking years? You fucking some trampy ass stripper in a sleazy drug den!" Nadine screamed at him and tears of anger filled her eyes.

Trevor was left speechless as she threw her phone into her purse and turned on her heel. His mouth was wide open and locked there as he tried to form words, but none came.

"You'll get the divorce papers by the end of the week. I don't ever want to see you again," Nadine said coldly and walked to Mike's front door.

"No!" Trevor yelled and began to run towards her.

"No?" Nadine said and turned to face him.

"No! I am not ending this Nadine! I made a mistake, but that doesn't mean I don't want to be with you," he said and tried to grab her.

Nadine shoved him from her as Trevor tried to grab and hug her.

"Don't touch me you asshole!" she screamed.

"No fuck that shit! You are coming home and that's final!" he yelled.

Trevor grabbed her arm and began to twist it causing Nadine to yell in pain. It was as she screamed that the front door opened up and a looming shadow made them both stop as a very grim Mike stood in the door. His face was ice cold as he glared down menacingly at Trevor. The way his albino eyes tore into Trevor froze him in place. Nadine had never seen such malevolence in a stare before and it unnerved her as well. His gaze went from Trevor's face to his hand on her arm and without a word Trevor let her go.

"Go inside," Mike said calmly to Nadine.

Nadine was unnerved by the calmness in his voice, but obeyed. She went inside the house and Mike closed the door behind him. When he was sure she was safely behind the door he took three steps toward Trevor and crossed his arms making his biceps and chest stand out as he flexed for effect. For a long time he stood in front of Trevor almost daring him to try something, but Trevor was lost as he had no idea what the big man was planning. His cold eyes showed a promise that meant only pain or worse if he tried anything. The calm steady breathing the big man did also took the fight from Trevor. It was as he finally spoke Trevor realized who was in front of him.

"Now where I come from, if a woman says she doesn't want to see a man again, he should take her advice and leave her be," Mike said in a cordial tone that again took the fight from Trevor, "Now I can understand you are upset with her, but I should ask you; Are you sure it's to make yourself feel better?" he asked calmly.

"This ain't your business!" Trevor spat to Mike feeling anger wash over him at the condescending tone Mike had under the calm way he spoke..

"Oh no, but it is. You see you're on my property now, junior. What's more, you're disrupting my son's nap with your fucking yelling and I really don't appreciate that," Mike said in a cold tone his arms tensing making Trevor back up a step, "Now I'm going to be polite and ask you to keep it down and talk to her in a civil tone. If not, you can take your ass back to your house and cool down. Either way you have thirty seconds to make up your mind before I make it up for you," Mike warned.

"Look man this ain't your fucking business!" Trevor yelled and brought his finger up to poke Mike.

Mike stood by impassively as the finger descended. The moment it touched him and shoved into him was all the reasoning he needed to react. Before Trevor had a clue he was in danger it was too late. The same finger was the blink of an eye in Mike's hand being bent the wrong way. Mike simply engulfed Trevor's hand with his own and the grip allowed him to bend the finger upwards and toward Trevor. The pain immediately put him on his knees as Mike stood impassively over him.

"Now that's what people in law enforcement call assault. I think it may be a good idea for me to tell you this, I am not someone you want to fuck with dude. It won't end well for you. Now this is your last warning, get the fuck off of my property, or I'll do some damage you won't walk away from. Comprende?" Mike said in a very simple tone.

Trevor felt his arm being turned and was forced to his tip toes. Mike walked him to the edge of the lawn and with a deft shove pushed Trevor into the street. Trevor recoiled his arm and turned to face Mike, but the way he stood there arms crossed impassively made Trevor stop. The sight of the stone cold eyes and even breathing showed Trevor that the man before him was no foe to be taken lightly.

"Get lost," Mike said without any emotion and turned about.

Mike didn't even turn his head as he walked back to his house and opened the door. On the other side of the door Nadine stood by and she was shaking. She was certain they would fight, but the way Mike defused the aggression Trevor wanted to bring was something she hadn't counted on. Mike locked the door and with a snap of his fingers Nadine heard the sounds of the dogs running to the backyard. She happened to look at his face and like a switch his eyes went from cold and hard to warm and friendly.

"You alright?" he asked quietly.

Nadine nodded her head and walked to her bedroom. She was still upset, but she didn't want Mike to see her so angry. Mike said nothing else to her as she walked to the room she was using and sat on the bed. She had her hands in her lap as she sighed loudly. After a while of looking down she picked her head up and stared out the window at the dogs playing in the backyard. A part of her wished she could have a life like his, but the reality was she didn't she didn't have Mike's life. A larger part of her wished she could not feel what she felt, but she didn't have Mike's apparent ability to turn off his emotions. She sat and brooded on the bed for a long time.

Nadine didn't recall when it happened, but she had rolled to her side and her eyes closed. She napped and really wished she didn't have to wake up. Sadly her eyes opened to an odd feeling. She felt something tickle her nose and when she opened her eyes Thor's big face was looking at her. Nadine let out a dumbfounded laugh as the dog tilted his head and suddenly licked her face. Nadine groaned as he did and rolled to her other side. Thor let out a playful bark as she did and began to wag his tail thinking they were playing.

Nadine rolled to the other side of the bed and Thor sprinted across the room to her and when she got there he put his big paws up on her hips and began to lick her face several times. Nadine squealed as she tried to get the big lug off, but he was firmly planted. Thor continued to lick her face until Tony happened by the room to see what was going on. Seeing what Thor was doing, and being a victim of the same thing himself, he laughed and shook his head.

"Thor kommen!" he commanded.

Thor got off her lap and rushed to sit before Tony. The young man patted Thor on the head and ruffled his ears a bit as the dog whimpered happily at his buddy. With a playful shove of his head to the side Thor ran off to the living room leaving Tony alone in the hall.

"Sorry about that," Tony said scratching the back of his head sheepishly, "He likes to play when people are just waking up. It's just one of those things he does," Tony apologized.

Nadine wiped her face and laughed a bit at the explanation.

"It's OK. I just wasn't expecting a big dog to lick me when I just woke up," Nadine said and got up.

She went to the bathroom and washed her face. It took a few seconds and she felt better. Drying off she waked back to the hall and saw Tony was walking to the living room. When she got there she saw the young boys playing the Wii and his sister doing her school work on the table. What she didn't see was Mike or Melina around. Curiously she looked to Tony.

"So where's your dad?" she asked.

"Dad's had an emergency at work. He left me in charge while he was out, but I guess you are now that you're awake," Tony said and scratched behind his head thinking.

Nadine laughed and shook her head dismissively.

"No I don't think so. You know how to handle your siblings so you can do it," Nadine offered.

"Gee thanks," Tony said off handedly hoping to get a break from being the baby sitter.

"Quit whining Tony," his sister said from her book.

"Shut it twig!" Tony retorted.

"I am not a twig you bean pole!" she quipped back.

"Coulda fooled me,"he said back and Nadine shook her head.

The brother and sister had a few more insults go back and forth. Nadine was amused by how intricate they got with it. They never swore, only flung creative words at each other. After a few minutes of it Nadine had walked to the fridge and gotten a drink. She was about to walk back when a bouncing bundle of energy that was Luis went running by followed by an agitated Marcos. Tony had stopped arguing with his sister long enough to turn and watch the pair run off leaving a big mess in front of the TV. He sighed and went to clean it up.

Nadine followed the two and was amazed that they ran upstairs and down it three times like they were playing tag. As she watched them playing she started to rethink he earlier wish of having Mike's life. She knew she could never keep up with the two young boys and was relieved that she was only a guest in his house. She sipped her tea and looked at the clock. When she saw it her eyes got big. She had fallen asleep nearly seven hours ago. It was now almost eight at night. As she started to panic that she had slept so long she heard the sounds of the car pulling in front of the house.

Tony heard them too and when he looked down he saw the mess was cleaned up. He had barely put the toys away when the door opened and Melina came inside followed by Mike. He carried several bags that looked like groceries. As he made his way to the kitchen he saw Nadine was awake and smiled at her.

"It lives!" he said in amazement.

"Yeah," Nadine said chuckling.

"Morning sleepy head," Melina said laughing.

"Jeez, I thought you were going to hibernate you passed out so bad," Mike said as he set the groceries on the counter.

"I guess I was tired," Nadine said and sipped her drink.

As she sipped the kids from upstairs came rushing downstairs and mobbed past her. She moved her legs enough to not fall over as Luis brushed by her to get to his mom. Melina saw him running up and turned to him. She knelt down and caught him in her arms and spoke lovingly to him in Spanish. He happily told her of how he played the Wii and beat Marcos at a game they were playing. Melina smiled and hugged him tight at his accomplishment. The happy boy went on talking and Melina took him to the living room.

"With me or his mom he talks ninety miles and hour, with anyone else he says a one line sentence and runs for his life," Mike said chuckling as he watched the two depart.

"He'll get over it, I used to be shy when I was a kid," Nadine said softly.

"You still are," Mike said laughing.

"Hey!" Nadine said back.

"It's the truth. But you're getting better you know. It took some stones to do what you did today," Mike said smiling at her.

Nadine sighed as she remembered the encounter earlier.

"Did he come back?" she asked quietly.

"Nope. He got into his car and drove off. Likely he is gonna go whine or find something, or someone, else to keep his mind off things," Mike said seriously.

Nadine looked down and her brow furrowed. The words were blunt, but she knew they were sadly the likely truth of things. While she appreciated the honesty, it was still a bit soon for it. What she didn't expect was a strong hand touching her shoulder making her look up. She saw his face was near, but he didn't move. His eyes just were strong and resolute. She knew that whatever, he would catch her back.

"Help me with dinner?" Mike asked and she nodded her head.

Together they went to make dinner for the mob. As she washed the produce Mike grinned and looked at her.

"So this Saturday we have a big old shin dig you get to go to," Mike said.

"Oh Desiree's party," She said back.

"That would be the one. Now I know that you don't have clothes for the party, and for this one it's kinda specific for what you have to wear," Mike said grinning.

"What's that?" Nadine asked confused.

"It's a forties party. So we need to get you proper clothes for it," Mike said grinning.

"Forties party?" she asked confused.

"Yeah, is a throwback deal a lot of high end clubs do every so often. It's a theme that clubs do that mixes the forties and modern chic into a awesome party," Mike said as he stirred the pan of sauce.

"Desiree was always into things from back in the day so we decided to throw her a forties gig at her favorite club in LA," Mike said and sipped the sauce.

"So I have to dress in nineteen forties clothes? Won't I look silly?" Nadine asked.

"Nope. Hell you might shock yourself. The forties were a bit more conservative, but it was also the start of the revolution for women with shorter skirts and pants. You may just find some stuff you'll love to wear out of this," Mike said as he tossed the sauce with a large vat of pasta.

"Well I have a date with my girlfriend Saturday during the day. What time is the party?" she asked.

"Starts at nine and ends at...well...fuck who knows," Mike said chuckling.

Nadine laughed a the remark and nodded her head.

"Good, then after you get off tomorrow you get to go shopping with Meli. I think she can hook you up good," Mike said with a sly grin.

"I am not wearing anything too bad Mike," Nadine warned.

"No...of course not," Mike said and winked.

Nadine laughed at the remark and tossed the salad together. They threw things together and set the table with Tony's help. The meal was a warm affair as the whole group had a good time. Nadine ate her fill and when it was done she had a good time playing Wii with the boys. The good time that went by left Nadine in her bed sleeping soundly that night. Her dreams were not filled with anger, but they were manageable as she got a good nights sleep that night.

The days of the week went by and when Friday came about Nadine had a nervous energy when she went to the store with Melina to pick up what she had found at the store earlier that week. The whole thing was more than a little naughty, but at the same time it was not distasteful. The entire thing was a one piece black dress that looked very hot when she tried it on. It left her shoulders semi bare like a cocktail dress, but went past her knee as was the fashion of the time. The heels she found were three inch pumps that had a peep toe that matched the dress with the same onyx color.