Moonlighting in Vermont (9 page)

* * * * *

My mouth was dry. I pried my tongue off the roof of my mouth and cracked open my eyes.
Dark.
I reached for the light and felt the world tilt. I dropped my hand without turning on the light.
Still drunk,
I thought.
Still drunk and very thirsty. And I have to pee.
I tried for the lamp again and managed to turn it on.
Yikes!
I squeezed my eyes shut.

Great. I have to pee, but I can’t open my eyes.
I cracked my eyes and levered myself up into a sitting position. So far, so good. I swung my legs over the edge of the bed and put my feet on the floor.
Cold!
I looked for my slippers and realized I wasn’t home. I grunted and got to my feet. I made it out the door and to the top of the stairs. Didn’t want to use the upstairs bathroom and wake one of the kids.

I looked down the stairs and realized there was a light on downstairs. Someone must have forgotten to turn it off. I inched myself carefully down the stairs and peered around the corner into the kitchen. No one there. I padded across the kitchen and into the downstairs bathroom.

When I was done, I headed for the kitchen sink and ran the cold water. I filled a plastic tumbler and turned toward the stairs. There was a man standing in the archway between the kitchen and living room. I gasped, startled, and the glass flew out of my hands and bounced on the floor. It took me three, full, very scared seconds to realize it was Beau.

“What are you doing here?” I sounded like I’d been inhaling helium.
“Well, I was going to spend the night, but there was somebody sleeping in my room. So I was trying to decide if I should sleep on the couch or go home.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”
“That’s all right.” A slight smile played on his lips. “The view is worth the trouble.”
I looked down. I was wearing my tee-shirt and panties.
Great
. I felt my face get hot. I looked around, grabbed Tom’s jacket off the back of a chair, and struggled to zip it over my tee-shirt. My fingers didn’t want to do what I asked them. If I could just get it closed, it would just about cover the essentials.
“Bree. I’ve seen you in less than that down by the river.”
“Yeah, well, that wasn’t my underwear! I’ve got to clean up this mess.” I waved at the pool of water at my feet. I opened a drawer next to the sink and pulled out a handful of dishtowels. I was pretty sure Meg didn’t use her dishtowels on the floor, but I wasn’t going to search around for something more appropriate. When I turned back around, Beau had the tumbler in his hand and was blotting the floor with some paper towels.
“Wow. How did you do that so fast?”
“I’m probably not as drunk as you, and I happen to be standing next to the paper towels. Let me get you some more water.” He opened the freezer and grabbed a handful of ice, then refilled my glass.
“How’d you know I like ice in my water?”
“Jeez, Bree. I’ve known you forever. Come watch some TV with me, and we can decide if I should drive home or not.”
He didn’t hand me my glass but turned and walked into the living room. I thought for a moment about just going back to bed. But he had my water, so I followed him. I plopped down on the couch next to Beau as he clicked on the TV. I curled my feet up on the couch to keep them warm.
Beau reached over and traced his fingers along the stitches in my leg. It was healing pretty well, not so scabby anymore, but not exactly attractive.
“Did you do this falling off your bike?”
“Yeah.” I let out a sigh. “Slid over something sharp. I’m not sure what it was; I didn’t realize until later that I was cut like that. Thought it was just road rash.”
“Tom told me you were trying to drive yourself to the hospital?”
“I didn’t want to bug anybody. I waited until the next day. Guess I was hoping that I didn’t need stitches.” I shrugged and shivered.
“Here.” He draped a blanket over us both. I took my water from him and drank it.
“Much better.” I rested my head on the back of the couch and closed my eyes. Beau slid his arm around my shoulders, and I relaxed my head and rested it on his shoulder. I listened to him changing channels. The sound was on so low that I could barely hear. He pulled me in closer.
“You’re not going to try and take advantage of my drunken state, are you?”
“You bet I am. I’ve been trying to get with you since sixth grade. I’ve always been attracted to older women.”
“I’m only a year older than you are.”
“A year and a half. It might as well have been ten years when I was twelve and you were fourteen.”
“Well, yeah. I was about six inches taller than you.”
“Well, now I’m about six inches taller than you. Does that mean our roles are reversed? Because I’d be willing to sacrifice myself, if you’re feeling a need for my body.”
“What I’m feeling a need for is another drink. One more, and I’ll pass right out.”
“Trying to make it easy for me? Perfect. Let me go get you a shot of something.” He made as if to get up off the couch, and I yanked him back down.
“Oh, sit down. I’m not going to drink myself into a stupor for your sake.” I closed my eyes again.
“Too bad.” He flicked through the channels another minute, and then I felt his fingers gently bushed my bangs off my face. “How can you see with this mess in your face?”
“I can’t see anyway, my eyes are closed.”
He slid his hand through my hair and down the side of my neck. I felt myself relax a little more. He slid his thumb along my jaw and under my lower lip.
“Nice lips.” He brushed his finger across my lower lip. “Hmmm.” I was really very comfortable. Beau was warm, and I liked the feel of his finger on my mouth. He smelled faintly of soap and hay.
“Why do you smell like hay?”
“Because I spent the day sitting on bales.” Beau’s voice was quiet. “Why, do you like it?”
“Uh huh. The smell of hay reminds me of summer. Summer reminds me of warm nights, swimming in the river and looking at the stars with a boy.”
“Sounds like a good memory.” I felt his breath on my neck. “Lean forward.”
“Why?”
“Just do it.”
I leaned forward. He slid his arm off my shoulder and turned toward me. He tucked his right leg behind me.
“You’re pushing me off the couch.”
“Hush. Just cooperate.” Beau took hold of my shoulders and turned me so that my back was to him. He massaged my shoulders and my neck, and I relaxed into the pressure. I bent my knees so I could rest my arms and head.
“Hmm. Too tense. That’s not good for you. Not that you don’t have reason. Tom told me that Lieutenant Brooks is riding your ass.”
“Drunk people are not supposed to be tense,” I muttered into my arms. “Wait.” I raised my head. “You guys have been talking about me?”
“Tom keeps me updated. Let’s see. Lately you dropped your bike and split your leg open. That idiot Jim Fisk dumped you, and Lieutenant Brooks can’t wait to get his hands on you. Not that I blame him, but I think he’s going about it the wrong way.”
“He doesn’t want to get his hands on me for the same reasons you do. He just wants to put me in jail. What’d I ever do to him? Jeez, my life is pitiful right now.”
“I could make it seem much, much better. He slid his arms around me and pulled me to him, the warmth of his breath on my neck distracting me. I leaned my head back and he slid his lips along my jaw. I shivered.
“That’s supposed to make you feel warmer, not colder.” I could hear the amusement in his voice. “Let’s try this instead.” He tilted my head toward him and kissed me on the mouth. His lips were soft and warm and tasted sweet. I felt his tongue on my lips, and my mouth developed a mind of its own.
“I think we should go upstairs. It’s more private.” His breath was soft on my neck.
“I don’t think this is a good idea,” the smart part of my brain made a desperate attempt to reassert itself.
“Oh, no. You’re not backing out on me now. Your mind might be saying no, no, but your body is saying yes, yes. A kiss never lies.” His lips touched mine, and all thoughts of no left me. I twisted my body and rested my legs across his thigh so I was sitting sideways on his lap. Then I shrugged out of Tom’s jacket and slid my hands under his shirt and around his waist, feeling the smooth heat of his skin.
Beau tugged at the back of my tee-shirt and slid his hands up underneath, against my skin, his left hand on my belly, the other on my back. My breath caught as he slid his thumb across my nipple and then cupped my breast. He leaned his head down and nudged the fabric of my shirt aside, running his tongue around my hardened nipple. I moaned.
Beau stood up, lifting me off the couch. Tom’s jacket fell in a heap on the floor. Steering me through the living room, he carried me up the stairs to the spare room. The sheets were thrown back from when I’d wandered down the stairs. Setting me on my feet, Beaux slid my tee-shirt back up and over my head and dropped my panties on the floor. The room was cold, and Beaux wrapped his arms around me when I shivered.
“Get in bed,” he whispered. I slid into the bed while he shed his shirt and jeans. The shade hadn’t been drawn, and moonlight lit his body. He was perfect. As he slipped into bed, I ran my hand across his abs and then up his chest and down his arms. Hard muscle under smooth skin. He groaned as I ran my hand up the back of his neck and into his hair, and he bent to kiss me again.
Beau straddled me, teasing. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and pulled myself up against him. His chest was warm and soft under my mouth. Sliding my hips out from under his weight, I wrapped my legs around his waist. Beau moaned deep in his throat and slipped into me.
The power of the moment peaked and faded. As I floated into sleep, it crossed my mind that I didn’t feel especially guilty. Beau was right. I did feel much, much better.

Seven

I could tell that the sun was out, but I didn’t want to open my eyes. I smelled bacon and coffee. Who could be cooking at my house? I cracked one eye.
No good.
I squeezed both eyes shut and rolled over. The room spun around me.
Whoa
. That was not the right thing to do. I willed myself back into unconsciousness.

When I woke up the second time, Tom was standing next to the bed with a cup of coffee. Oh, yeah, I was at Meg’s. Oh, my God. I’d slept with Beau. I felt behind me to make sure he wasn’t still in the bed with me.

“Wake up, Bella. Meg says it’s time to get to work.”

“Meg’s up? How can she be up? She can’t drink worth beans.”
“Apparently, she didn’t drink quite as much as you did. But she’s in pretty bad shape too.”
I groaned, sat up and steadied myself. When the room stopped spinning, I took the coffee. “Just give me a couple of minutes.” I sat up and looked down at myself. I was wearing my tee-shirt and undies. Thank God. I had vague memories of Beau helping me pull my tee-shirt over my head. Before that? I remembered being put to bed before my late night excursion. “Hold on. Did you undress me?”
Tom grinned, and his eyes glinted. “There are definite perks to finding a couple of drunk women in your house. You can do almost anything with them.”
I shot Tom a startled glance and opened my mouth to protest, but he cut me off.
“Don’t worry. I was a gentleman and let you undress yourself. You, on the other hand, tried to seduce me.”
“I did not!”
“No worries. Meg was significantly more fun than you were.”
“Men.”
Tom laughed and left the room. I drank some coffee and pulled myself out of bed. I struggled into the clothes that Tom had left on the foot of the bed. I made my way gingerly down the stairs and pulled on my hiking boots in the kitchen. Meg was sitting at the table with her head in her hands.
“Why do I drink? Everyone knows I can’t handle it.” She raised her head slowly. “You want some breakfast?”
“No. I’m going to walk into town to clear my head. I’ll meet you at the office.”
I walked the mile into town with my hands shoved into my pockets to keep them warm. The cold air helped to clear my head, and I felt a little better. I kicked myself for sleeping with Beau. Jesus Murphy. What did I think I was doing? This could go wrong on so many levels, it wasn’t even funny.
As I passed the cafe on Chelsea Street, I saw my friend Val sitting at a table for two. I turned around to join her. She looked up and waved me over as I came in the door.
A group of local women sat at the big table at the back of the room. They might have been the same group of moms I’d seen out the window a few days before. A couple of them were staring at me but turned away when they noticed me looking. There was some whispering, and the words “murder” and “Vera” floated over to me. One of them glanced up at me. She forced a tight smile at me and turned away. They murmured together some more, huddled toward the center of the table.
I shrugged off my jacket, put it over the back of a chair, and sat down. I wondered what the town verdict was. Guilty, most likely.
I met Val in high school. She’d been a pretty cheerleader type with long, wavy, red hair, while I was an awkward, brown-haired thing covered in grease from my dad’s garage. Somehow we struck up a friendship that outlasted all our boyfriends and survived the three miserable years she spent in law school.
Val smiled over at me. “Haven’t seen you in a while. How’s Ranger doing?” Val had discovered Ranger wandering by the river several months back, bone thin and covered in burdocks. We’d looked for an owner, as Irish Wolfhounds don’t usually turn up stray; but no one ever came forward, so he stayed with me. Val lived in an apartment and couldn’t have dogs.
“Ranger’s great. One of the pack now. Annie totally cows him. You should drop by. He looks great, when he hasn’t been running through the fields. That dog’s a bur magnet.”
“I’ll come see him. He was such a pitiful baby. So how’s Jim doing? Word is you’re still together. That’s got to be some kind record.”
“Word is wrong. He dumped me a couple of days ago. He needs time or space or something. Isn’t that what guys say when they want to screw somebody new?”
We were interrupted by the arrival of the Muffin Man, which is what we call the waiter behind his back. He serves us excellent muffins, and then we get an eyeful of his buns as he walks away. He squatted at the table, his baseball cap on backwards, long-lashed hazel eyes gazing into mine. “You ladies having the usual today?”
“What’s fresh?” asked Val. I knew she was thinking he was.
“Raspberry, blueberry and apple cinnamon.” “I’ll have apple cinnamon.”
“Raspberry,” I added.
“One coffee, one tea?”
I nodded. Val fanned herself as he walked away. “That boy is fine. He’s the only reason I come in here. Eating muffins is hard on my wardrobe. I can’t fit in my pants anymore.”
“Why don’t you ask him out?”
“I’m old enough to be his mother. And what would we talk about, skateboarding? He’s barely out school.”
“Hmm. I don’t think talking would be the reason I’d ask the Muffin Man out.”
“Hush, he’s coming.” He set our food on the table, shot us both a smile, and headed back to the kitchen. Val looked at me. “You don’t think he heard us, do you? We really should grow up.”
“Yep. Do you know, I don’t even know his name?”
“Me neither. I think I’d better keep it that way. So, I heard about Vera. Is the paper right? The cops think you did it?”
“Apparently. My freaking fingerprints were all over the room where she died. I’m in there all the time. Guess that’s enough to make me a suspect.”
“Wow. I can’t see it, myself. But then, I’ve seen you swerve to avoid running over frogs in the road. What does Tom think?”
“He knows I didn’t do it, but I think Montpelier is putting the pressure on.”
“If you need representation, call me. I can probably keep you out of jail for a while anyway.” Val glanced at her watch, pulled a couple of bills out of her pocketbook and stood up. “I’d better get going. Got a client coming in.”
“If you were a really good lawyer, you could keep me out of jail forever, guilty or not!” I grinned at her. She’s actually a pretty decent lawyer.
Back at my desk, I booted up the computer. Pretty soon, I was knee deep in an ad that didn’t work. No matter what I did, the balance didn’t look right. I was thinking of starting fresh when Meg came in. Two seconds later, Scott walked in.
“Hey, girls. I brought you donuts from West Leb.”
Meg looked up. “Glazed?” Her eyes lit up. If she had a tail, it would be wagging.
“Glazed, Boston cream, sprinkles and a couple of croissants. One chocolate, one almond.” Scott set the box on Meg’s desk and opened it. “I’ll be right back.” He ran down the stairs, and the lower door slammed.
Five minutes later he was back up the stairs, juggling three hot drink cups. He set one on my desk. “Coffee, right?”
I nodded but refused to be impressed.
“Tea for Meg.” He set a cup on her desk and a second next to it. “Chai for me. Now I’m ready for a donut.” He pulled a chair up to Meg’s desk.
The pastries were calling my name. Loudly. But I didn’t want Meg to get the idea that I approved of Scott bribing her with food. I sat stewing while Scott and Meg laughed quietly. Meg reached out and touched the back of Scott’s hand. He didn’t pull away. I got up and walked out of the office. I descended the stairs and paced the sidewalk in front of the laundromat.
If I told Tom, I’d be betraying Meg. If I didn’t tell Tom, I’d be betraying him. I lengthened my pacing to include the sidewalk in front of the market, video store and pizza joint. I’m sure people were watching me through the window, wondering if I’d finally lost my marbles. Finally, I pulled out my phone and dialed Tom. He sounded surprised to hear my voice. “I think you should call Meg. Ask her to lunch or something.”
“What’s up, Bella? Is she having a bad day?”
“Do you remember what I told you before you took Meg to Crossroads?”
“Which part? You’ve got to give me a hint here.”
“The part about what might happen if guys think Meg is available.”
“What are you trying to tell me? Is Meg going out on me?”
“No, no, no. Meg is not going out on you. But she’s being buttered up. Flattered. Treated nicely. Nothing over the line. Nothing beyond friendship. I just think you need to show Meg what a fabulous catch you are. Remind her why she married you.”
“I’m on it.”
“And Tom?”
“I’m listening.”
“Don’t tell her I called you. Don’t accuse her of anything. Promise me.”
“I understand. She can’t know you called, and I can’t act like a jealous husband. No threatening to pulverize anyone. Is there anyone I should be threatening to pulverize?”
“No! Just wow her with your charm.”
“Wow her with my charm.”
Five minutes later, while I was examining the glass snowflakes hanging in the market window, Scott came out of the building, climbed in his truck, and rattled away. I waited another few minutes, bought myself a soda, and climbed back up the stairs.
Meg was waiting for me. “Where have you been?”
“I went down to Hairlairious to get an appointment. My eyebrows need waxing.”
“Tom called and asked me out to lunch. Want to come?”
“No. I’ve got too much to do. You go.”
“I thought it was quite a coincidence that Tom called while Scott was here. You wouldn’t have anything to do with that, would you?”
“Tom calls you all the time.”
“Yeah, but did you have anything to do with him calling this time?”
“Why does it matter?”
“I don’t know. Sometimes I’m not sure whose friend you really are, mine or Tom’s.”
“You are both my friends. You were both my friends before you even met. I can’t choose between you any more than I could choose between my brothers.”
“And you didn’t stick your nose in my business?”
“Do you really want to know if I called your husband and finked on you? I can’t stop you from ruining your life, if that’s what you are intent on doing. But I can remind you of what you have. What you stand to lose.”
“You didn’t fink on me, but you did tell my husband to ask me out to lunch.”
“I went downstairs to get a soda. I also happened to go into the hair salon. It’s possible one or two other things might also have occurred to me while I was down there. I needed to be out of the way in case Scott decided to kiss you again.”
“Scott is a friend. Just like Rob is your friend.”
“I guess I can understand that.” Privately, I was thinking that other than a jab to the shoulder now and then, I didn’t touch Rob. And I certainly had never kissed him.
After Meg and I closed up shop, she gave me a ride back to her place so I could pick up my Kawasaki. When I got home, the dogs were doing their happy dance as I walked up from the tractor shed. They barked and chased around me like I’d been gone forever. Ranger took my sleeve gently in his mouth and led me to the house. The rest of the dogs made happy, growly sounds, legs bent in submission and delight, their tails wagging.
I fed the animals and spent a few minutes brushing Lucky. I checked my answering machine when I got inside. No messages.
Figures
. I grabbed a yogurt out of the fridge and ate it standing at the sink.