THREE
FOR ALL
Hell’s Delight 3
KAREN
MERCURY
Copyright
© 2013
Chapter
One
Hell’s Delight,
California
“This isn’t your average Delight
Hardware crowd.”
Boy, did Lacey make an understatement. Of
course, Hannah O’Loughlin had expected a colorful bunch of people at the
Hardscrabble Ranch party. It was Halloween. But the extravagance presented here
went beyond a few devil, Frankenstein, or Charlie Sheen masks.
A few men even were clad in My Little Pony costumes, complete with
plumed tails swishing from their rumps. Muscular gladiators wearing leopard
skin capes clanked by in chains. A life-sized Barbie had the dolls glued to
every conceivable part of her body. A six-headed hydra spewed sequins from
three of its mouths. One fellow was half man, half woman, depending from where
you viewed him. The crew-cut, leather-clad lesbian bikers seemed almost homespun
next to the razzle-dazzle that paraded in this barn.
“I feel so simple in my costume,” Hannah
told Lacey. “And when I picked it out at the store it felt so daring.” We’re not in Montana anymore.
Lacey clutched Hannah’s arm. She seemed
to genuinely fear for Hannah’s comfort level now. “Oh, I hope you don’t feel
out of place. Believe me, these folks are just cutting loose. They’re normally
just everyday people. See that gal dressed like the Statue of Liberty? She’s
really Miss Teen Buckeye County. And that guy wearing nothing but a giant
book—see, he’s got binoculars for eyes?—well, he’s just the Hell’s Delight
bookstore owner.”