Magnetic (9 page)

Ronnie spied something of interest in the window of one of the shops and grabbed Molly by the arm. Jenny followed. “Stacy wants a cat.” Ronnie picked up a stuffed orange one wearing a pair of sunglasses. “Do you think this will do?”

“You two are talking pets? That’s pretty serious in the lesbian dating world.” Jenny moved past her and picked up a glass flamingo.

“We’re not talking about moving in together. It would be her cat in her apartment.”

“You two have been spending a lot of time together. By the time we get back home, it’ll be four weeks. That equals…what? Seven months?” Jenny said with a grin. “In dog years, which is the same timing as your dating history. You’re not on the same scale as the rest of us humans.”

“I’ve kept her around so long because she’s the only woman that can keep up with me in the bedroom. She’s not interested in anything more than that.” Ronnie sighed. “I fucking love her.”

Jenny dropped the flamingo, which broke in half on the floor. She held up both hands and met the eye of the irritated woman behind the counter. “My bad, I’ll pay for it. I always wanted…a headless flamingo.”

Molly grabbed Ronnie’s arm. “You
love
her?”

“Not the way you’re thinking, Molly Prejean. I love the way she thinks, I love what she does to me, but I’m not in love, nothing even close to that.” Ronnie’s brow furrowed as Molly stared at her. “You know me.”

“Women in nearly every state of the Union know you. You’ll have conquered the whole country once you visit Hawaii.” Jenny waggled her eyebrows. “But Stacy has smashed all your records, and you have us wondering if you’re gonna hang up your strap-on and go into retirement.”

“Ha! Never,” Ronnie said with a grin, “and you forgot the Virgin Islands.”

“Because they’re not a state, right along with Guam.”

Ronnie shrugged. “U.S. territory, same thing.”

“You don’t feel anything for her?” Molly asked.

Ronnie seemed surprised by the question and said, “no,” flippantly before walking off.

Chapter 9

Layne woke up a little after noon and showered. The pain reliever was easing the dull ache in the back of her head, but she felt too puny to bother with drying her hair. She pulled on a pair of shorts and a T-shirt and made use of the hammock on the front porch. She returned a few texts from Jenny, letting her know she was still alive.

“I’m glad to see you’re awake.”

Layne turned her head slowly toward the smooth voice. “Hi.”

“I noticed you didn’t make it to lunch. I brought you this.” Stacy walked up onto the porch and set a small paper bag on the table near Layne. “It’s nothing extravagant, just chicken noodle soup.”

“Thank you,” Layne said as she looked away.

“I owe you an apology for my attitude the other day. I was more than a little taken aback.”

“So was I.” Layne closed her eyes when she heard the swing on the porch creak and knew she was headed for a conversation she didn’t want to have.

“I think we’re a bit more levelheaded today and may as well take this opportunity to talk.”

Layne had no idea what to say and waited for Stacy to continue.

“I get the impression that Molly and Jenny already know.”

“They do,” Layne said with a slight nod, “but they won’t say anything to Ronnie…I think.”

The swing creaked again, Layne turned and looked at Stacy, who’d leaned forward and propped both elbows on her knees. She was staring out into the woods, her face blank. “I don’t know where things are going with Ronnie, but if she gives me any indication that she wants something serious, I’m going to have to be honest with her about what happened that night.” Stacy looked at the ground. “Is this okay with you?”

Layne wanted to say that Ronnie didn’t do serious. Layne had known her eighteen years, and Ronnie had never been in a real relationship. “If that arises, then I expect you to do what you feel you need to.”

“Thanks.” Stacy rubbed her hands together. “Now let’s talk about us.”

Layne’s brows shot skyward. “Us?”

“If what happened between us would’ve occurred a year ago, maybe this wouldn’t be as uncomfortable, but it’s only been a month.” Stacy met Layne’s gaze. “We’re going to be here two weeks, and I don’t even know what to say to you. So I was hoping we could just pretend we’ve only just met. That way, we can spend our time feeling less awkward.”

“We
have
only just met, but I know what you mean.”

Stacy sat back in her chair. “So…what do you think of this place?”

“I hate it.”

“You do?” Stacy jerked a thumb toward her chest. “Because of me?”

“No, I’m not an outdoors kind of girl. I’m the cruise ship or resort type where the only wildlife you see is in the bar.”

“Ah…then why did you come?”

“My boss has basically banned me from the office because he feels I’m near burnout. Molly wanted to do something and planned this at the last minute. I couldn’t let her down.”

“Ronnie told me about the lung cancer and that Molly spent the last year fighting it.”

“Never smoked a cigarette a day in her life.” Layne looked out at the woods. “It’s in remission, and for that, we are thankful. This trip is really for her
and
Jenny, of course.” Layne looked back at Stacy. “What about you? Is this your thing?”

“I’ve always enjoyed camping, though this is more extravagant than what I’m used to.” Stacy sighed. “I haven’t been in years. We used to go all the time when I lived in San Francisco, but when…I moved, everything changed.”

“You didn’t mention that you were originally from Louisiana the night we met.”

“It never came up,” Stacy said with a smile, “and at that time, I didn’t know where you were from.”

Layne felt her face warm, and she stared down at her feet. “I lied to you about my name because I didn’t know…it would just look bad for me if people found out that I’d…spent the night with someone who might’ve been a client. I’ve never done anything like that before.”

“You were hurting.”

Layne blinked and looked at Stacy. “Ronnie told you about what Olivia did.”

Stacy nodded. “I understand now. I didn’t the day we talked at the buffet.” She smiled. “You never did look like a Chloe to me. Layne is much more befitting.”

“Yes, well, it was the best I could come up with on short notice.” Layne steered the conversation away from that night. “So why the move to New Orleans?”

Stacy shrugged. “It just seemed like the thing to do. I’ve been nomadic over the past few years. When I left San Fran, I spent some time in Utah, then Maine, and somehow, I ended up in Detroit. I guess I was just tired of bitter winters and snow. And I got tired of hearing my cousin beg.”

“The nomad thing, was it for work?”

“No, I’ve just felt…unsettled. I met a girl in college and fell in love. When she got a job in California at an environmental law firm, I went with her. We were together eight years when she was killed in a car accident.” Stacy pulled a leg up in the swing with her. “Nothing was ever the same after that.”

“I’m so sorry.” Layne didn’t know what else to say or do as Stacy stared off into space.

Stacy inhaled deeply and let it out slowly. “We should talk about Alana.”

Layne nodded.

“I’m not going to tell her about our encounter.”

Layne sighed with relief. “I appreciate that.”

Stacy grinned. “She’s not known for her discretion.”

“No, she’s not,” Layne said with a laugh.

They were quiet for a moment or two. “I was considering the Florida Keys, but Alana said they dealt with too many hurricanes. Apparently, she considers New Orleans safer.”

“Maybe she just wanted you near. Are you two close?”

“Yeah, she’s the only one in my family I still talk to. No one else came to see me when Anna died, just her. We’ve been pretty tight ever since. The two black sheep stick together.”

Layne knew very little about Alana’s personal life outside of her proclivities. “Black sheep?”

“My lesbianism and refusal to go into the family business of politics, and Alana was responsible for the divorce of one of her father’s closest friends. According to my uncle Robert and his good buddy Gene, Alana seduced him. They’re still friends, and Alana is trash in her father’s eyes. She was nineteen when it happened and believed she was in love, thought Gene really loved her. It was a very rude awakening about a lot of things for her.”

“I had no idea. Our conversations aren’t very deep. Everything always seems to be a joke to her.”

“Yeah, that’s how she copes, I suppose.”

Layne studied Stacy’s face. “Gavin
Mayeaux
is your father, isn’t he?”

Stacy nodded. “I look just like him, don’t I? You’ve no doubt seen his political ads for the Senate.”

“Alana defaces every poster she can find. She has his face on a dartboard in her office. You and Alana look nothing alike, but I should’ve put things together the night we met.” Layne cleared her throat. “I was out of sorts.”

Stacy’s smile faltered for a second. “It’s understandable. Tell me about your family.”

“Well,” Layne began with a sigh. “I’m not the black sheep. I just don’t exist. My parents are strict conservatives, so they consider my,” Layne made air quotes with her fingers, “‘lifestyle’ to be inappropriate, and to include me in the family would mean they’d be condoning who I am. My brothers are much the same as my parents, so we don’t talk. I get religious cards from my mother delivered to the office once a month, but that’s about the extent of our relationship. My family now is Jenny, Molly, and Ronnie.”

Stacy pursed her lips before saying, “It sucks, doesn’t it?”

“It used to when I was younger but not anymore. I guess they thought their stonewalling would break me and I’d bend to their will, but all they did was make me stronger. My life might not be perfect, but I do just fine without them.”

“Ronnie says almost the same thing.”

“I think that’s what bonded us,” Layne said with a smile. “We met when we were both ousted. We were roommates for a long time.” Layne groaned. “God, those were some lean years. There were nights we shared a bag of potato chips for dinner. But Ronnie could always find a party. That’s how we met Molly and Jenny. The four of us just clicked.”

“So they’ve been together since college?”

“Since high school. Jenny was a jock and Molly a cheerleader. They met on a basketball court their senior year when Jenny transferred to Molly’s school. Jenny said she took one look at Molly, and that was it.”

“I know that feeling,” Stacy said wistfully and stood. “I have to go sketch something. Ronnie tried her best to get me to go shopping, but honestly, I’d rather chew off my own foot.”

Layne laughed as Stacy leapt over the three steps from her porch. “It was nice meeting you, Stacy.”

Stacy turned and looked over her shoulder. “It was a pleasure meeting you.”

Chapter 10

“Thank God you and Stacy got everything sorted out,” Molly said later that evening as they walked up the trails to dinner. “I told Jenny that I didn’t know how to act.”

“So she’s not going to tell Ronnie unless things get serious?” Jenny asked. Layne nodded. “Then Ronnie will never know.”