Fresh Tracks (11 page)

"Come in. Let me introduce you." Amy hooked her arm in Kristin's and escorted her farther into the cabin. Gesturing to the club chair, she introduced the dimpled blonde who was

reading a book, a small dog curled in the crook of her knees. "Kristin, this is Laura Baker."

Laura smiled. "I'd get up, but..." She pointed at the dog, then reached out and shook Kristin's hand warmly. "Nice to meet you, Kristin."

"Same here." Kristin followed Amy to the living area where two women sat, one on the couch and one on the floor, both alternating between watching what Molly was doing and

looking at the newcomer.

"This is Sophie Wilson. She created our logos."

"Guilty as charged," the woman on the couch said with a grin.

"That was really nice work," Kristin complimented her as they shook hands. "I loved both designs."

"Thanks." Sophie looked pleasantly satisfied.

"And this is Jo's niece, Darby," Amy went on.

Darby stood and Kristin didn't miss the quick once-over as Darby's blue eyes slid along her

body. "Heard a lot about you."

Her handshake was firm and Kristin noticed a subtle clicking as she talked. She caught a

quick flash of metal from Darby's mouth. Tongue ring. She refrained from making a

distasteful expression. "Al good, I hope."

Darby smiled, but didn't answer. The silver hoop in her eyebrow reflected the firelight as

she sat back down next to Molly, not leaving a whole lot of distance between the two.

"Damn!" Molly heaved a sigh as the words "Game Over" flashed on the screen.

"Hey, you did great," Darby said, squeezing her shoulder. "Look. You're the number two high score."

"I'm going to beat you." Molly's voice was light, teasing. "Sooner or later, I'm going to beat you. You know it."

Playfully, Darby snatched the controls out of Molly's hand. "Promises, promises."

Kristin stood in minor discomfort as she waited for Molly to acknowledge her arrival,

knowing this was her punishment for being so late and she had to take it like a big girl.

Finally, Molly stood and turned to look at her, her face stern, but a faint flush in her

cheeks. Kristin wasn't sure if she was happy to see her or stil excited by the game. She

didn't allow herself to dwell on the answer, just enjoyed the little jolt that she stil got

every time Molly focused those intense green eyes on her. After seven years together, she

was stil amazed by how attracted she was to her wife. Molly was beautiful, even when she

was ticked off.. .especially when she was ticked off. Like now.

"Hi, baby." Kristin stepped forward and put her arms around Molly, ignoring the fact that the hug returned to her was halfhearted. "I missed you," she added softly, both hope and truth coloring her voice.

"I missed you, too," Molly said, giving in slightly, her arms tightening just a touch.

"How about some dinner and a glass of wine?" Amy offered. "We saved you some chicken."

"Oh, my God, that would be wonderful. I'm starving." Kristin slid her hand down Molly's arm and linked their fingers together, suddenly relieved to be with her. Molly was looking

over her shoulder at the game Darby was playing.

"How was your drive?" Jo asked, returning from upstairs where she'd deposited Kristin's bags.

"Uneventful. It snowed pretty steadily, but nothing too scary."

Jo peered out the window. "That Lexus good in the snow?"

"It's not bad. I've been pleasantly surprised." At the sound of dishes in the kitchen, Kristin squeezed Molly's hand to get her attention. "I'm going to go up and change out of this monkey suit, okay?"

'"Kay," Molly answered distractedly, her eyes still focused on the television screen. "On the left, Darby! The left! Good."

Kristin headed upstairs, peeking in both rooms looking for her bags. Finding them on the

queen-sized bed, she headed over to it, taking in the soft comforts of the room itself,

feeling a little like she was at a bed and breakfast in the woods. The idea wasn't unpleasant and she gazed out the window at the snow sparkling in the moonlight. Breathing deeply, she

tried to exhale all the stress of the past couple days, wanting to see it dissipate in the air like steam.

That was when her Blackberry buzzed from inside her briefcase.

"God damn it," she muttered, rifling through the leather case and pulling out the

contraption. Reeves's number showed on the screen. "Son of a bitch," she said to the room, took another deep breath, and clicked on.

"Hey, Jack. What's up?" Quick and to the point, hoping he'd notice her clipped tone and take the hint.

"Just wanted to make sure you got Howard's e-mail. I told him you'd get right back to

him." His booming bass voice vibrated in the pit of her stomach. She used to find him

powerful and intriguing. Lately, he just annoyed her.

"Yeah, I got it. I'l give him a shout in the morning."

"He's working late tonight. You can catch him at his desk right now." His tone left no room for doubt about what he expected.

Kristin poked the inside of her cheek with her tongue. "Fine. I'll call him now."

"That's my girl." The line clicked off.

"I'm not your girl, you asshole," Kristin whispered as she dialed her client's number.

Standing at the window, gazing out but not really

seeing anything, she waited while the phone rang on the other end. Once, twice, three

times...she allowed the hope for voicemail to creep in, thereby jinxing herself. The line was picked up. Damn it.

"Howard Felt." Her client's voice was gentle and friendly. She liked the guy and it irritated her that Reeves was making him the enemy.

"Howard. It's Kristin Collins. How are you?" As she listened to his response, she turned away from the window. Molly stood in the doorway, her face a combination of hurt, anger,

and disappointment.

"Five minutes," Molly said. "You've been here all of five fucking minutes. Jesus Christ, Kristin." She turned and tromped back down the stairs, her footsteps reverberating

against the hardwood.

Kristin closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose with her thumb and forefinger,

knowing she didn't stand a snowball's chance in hell of staving off the headache that was

suddenly ripping through her mind like a freight train. "I'm sorry, Howard. Can you say that again? I think my phone cut out for a second there."

Thursday, December 29

THE GANG'S ALL HERE

I

hate that I always let it get to me like this." Molly sniffed, determined not to cry, but still feeling the threat of tears welling up in her eyes. She swiped at her nose with her

mittened hand and held tighter to Darby's elbow as they plodded through the new-fallen

snow, their boots leaving a path of fresh tracks behind them in the woods.

"Why wouldn't it get to you? You'd have to be pretty cold and unfeeling for it not to. And I don't think that's who you are." Darby strolled casually, enjoying the feel of Molly beside her, holding fast to her arm.

It was early. Only Jo was awake when Molly had come down the stairs looking like she

hadn't slept more than five minutes in a row the entire night.

"Hey, gorgeous," Jo had greeted her, the expression on her face a mix of sympathy and concern.

"Morning." Molly had kissed the top of Jo's head as she passed. "I need some air. Is there a travel mug around here? Me and my coffee want to go for a walk in the snow."

"I think there's one in the cupboard over the stove," Jo replied.

Darby had suddenly appeared out of nowhere, much to the surprise of both other women.

"Want some company?" she'd asked Molly, ignoring the pointed stare from her aunt.

"You do know that the sun's not quite up yet, right?" Molly teased.

"Yes, I'm aware of that."

"Just making sure. Get dressed. I'd love the company."

"Be right back." Darby had disappeared into the bathroom to change and was back in

record time.

"You can share my coffee," Molly said, holding up the mug after only finding the one.

They headed out into the silvery blue almost-light of the morning, the brisk, frosty air

awakening their senses. Darby had asked about the previous night, knowing when Molly had

returned from the second floor and made the remark, "She's on her damn cell already,"

that things weren't going to be smooth sailing for the couple. Molly had spilled it all

without taking a breath.

"I don't know, Darby. I always thought when I was in a relationship with the right person, it would be easy. Effortless." She shrugged. "I guess I was wrong."

"Or you haven't found the right person." Darby consciously injected a tone of innocence into her voice.

Molly seemed to absorb that, not saying anything.

Back in the cabin on the second floor, Kristin watched the two of them as they headed off

into what looked like a path cut into the woods at the end of the back yard. She'd felt,

rather than heard, Molly get up and dress, but she'd been too exhausted to ask her where

she was going so early. It seemed easier to just pretend to be asleep until she left. Kristin was actually surprised she had slept at all herself. Molly had given her the cold shoulder

for the rest of the evening, generally keeping her distance in order to make it clear to

Kristin that she was being punished, but refraining from open hostility in order to keep the

rest of the group from being subjected to the weirdness and discomfort of an obviously

battling couple.

Kristin knew the others were aware there were problems. Amy was Molly's best friend; she

knew everything. And Kristin was two days later than she was originally supposed to be

there. She was sure that hadn't gone unmentioned. She played it off, though, forcing

herself to make conversation, crack jokes, and laugh with everyone. It was totally draining

and she had fallen into bed next to Molly barely conscious. She'd drifted off within

minutes. She was sure Molly was annoyed by that. She was also sure Molly had barely slept

a wink, as was her tendency when she was upset by something.

Kristin watched the two figures disappear into the woods, arm in arm, and wondered

absently if Darby was somebody she should be wary of. She snorted almost immediately,

the piercing, the ratty, low-rise jeans and the tousled hair springing to mind. She fully

expected there was more than one tattoo hidden beneath Darby's thrift store-clothing

and she rolled her eyes, envisioning the typical, grunge-loving, lazy and irresponsible

twentysomething of the current era. She despised their indolence, their cavalier, the-

world-owes-me attitude and their arrogance. Darby was so not Molly's type. Molly was a

doer, a go-getter, a volunteer, not the kind of person who waited for something to fall into

her lap.

Stil ...

Across the hall, Sophie and the terrier were having a staring contest in the growing

morning light while Laura slept on, oblivious. The dog was curled up at Laura's feet on the

bed, his chin resting on her ankle, but his brown eyes were wide open and blinking at Sophie

as she sat up and swung her feet over the edge of her own bed. They held one another's

gaze for several long minutes before Sophie threw up her hands and asked, "What are you

lookin' at?"

The dog blew out what sounded very much like an irritated breath and then closed his eyes,

seemingly content to stay put as long as Laura did. Sophie rolled her eyes and headed off

to the bathroom.

Jo was turning the page of the morning paper when she felt her wife approach from their

bedroom. The next second, she was enfolded from behind, Amy wrapping her arms around

Jo's shoulders as she kissed her cheek. Jo inhaled deeply, absorbing the just-awakened

scent of her beloved into her very being, adoring the familiar smell that came as a blend of

musk, citrus, and laundry detergent.

"Morning, sunshine," she said.

"Good morning, my love." Amy's voice was slightly scratchy, as it always was first thing.

"Sleep well?"

"That last hour.. .hoo. That was the best sleep ever."

Jo grinned knowingly. "A good orgasm always has that effect."

"Damn right." Amy let go of her partner and headed for the coffeepot. Noting its contents were at just above half, she glanced up and registered the empty couch. "Darby's up

already? What happened? Was there a fire?"

"She went for a walk."

"Seriously?"

"With Molly."

Amy pondered that information for several seconds before asking, "Should we be

worried?"

Jo turned to look at her pointedly. "I've been wondering the same thing."

"There's definitely the whole crush issue going on. That's painfully obvious." Amy lowered her voice. "But now that Kristin's here.. .I don't want things to get uncomfortable. There's enough trouble in that relationship without Darby tossing herself into the mix—which we

know she tends to do without thinking about the consequences."

"Maybe I should have a little heart-to-heart with my niece."

Amy held up a hand. "You know what? Let's leave it alone for now. Let's not create a

problem that may not even exist."

Jo nodded, and a subtly reluctant tone crept into her voice. "Okay. For now. But we need to keep a close eye on things."

"Agreed."

Laura sighed. It was the deep, God-I'm-comfortable sigh of a person snuggled in a warm

bed with no earthly reason to get up until she damn well felt like it. Absently, she thought

how much warmer the atmosphere seemed once Sophie left the room. Then she rolled her

eyes, disappointed in herself for thinking such unfriendly things. The terrier roused

himself from the crook of her knees and picked his way across the quilt to settle down