by Nancy Garden
“Right, darling,” she said.
“And when,” asked Helen, with a hint of sarcasm in her voice, “is the happy day for you two?”
“This coming June,” Roy said, beaming, “isn’t it, Reverend?”
“Yes, indeed.” Charles nodded to Dr. and Mrs. Cantor, who were passing in earnest conversation with Nora and Liz.
“Congratulations, my dear,” Dr. Cantor was saying, his thin, solemn mouth almost smiling; he gently held Nora’s hands. “I know everyone has been saying how hard all this must be, but I imagine you’re glad to put it all behind you, for this wasn’t a happy place for you, especially toward the end. And you’re doing a service to the town. You, too, Miss Hardy. ”
“Liz, please,” Liz murmured, wondering if she dared take Nora’s arm in public.
“Yes,” he said gravely; “thank you, Liz—a service to the town, broadening the tax base, bringing in much-needed money.”
“It’s sad about the land, though,” Nora said. “I’m sorry to see that go. Especially Liz’s. But it was the only solution to Father’s nursing home bills.”
“I can see why you sold the farm, Nora,” said Mrs. Cantor, a small, capable-looking woman, surprisingly cheerful, Liz thought, in comparison to her husband. “But”—she turned to Liz—“why the old cabin? If I’m not prying…”
You are a little, Liz thought, amused. Aloud, smoothly, she said, “Too many memories. At first we wanted to keep it, my brother and I, but in the end it was too hard for both of us.”
And that had turned out to be true, Liz thought, for when Jeff and Susan and Gus had visited, and she and Jeff had sat for most of one night down by the dock, Jeff had said, “I can’t do it; it’s like forcing me back into the past to be here,” and Liz had realized then that she felt the same way after all, and that she wanted to move forward into her new life with Nora and toward the new, more honest self she’d found with her.
“Mmm,” Mrs. Cantor was saying. “Yes, I can see that. Why I remember,” she said with a little silvery laugh, “a few years after my father died…”
Predictions, thought Liz much later that night, shivering with Nora on the land across from Piney Haven that they’d bought jointly and where they planned to build their house; I’m so bad at them! But perhaps this will work; I think at least we’ll try to be careful. Careful, honest, brave, trusting—not remote, not guarded…
A new life, thought Nora, standing as close to Liz as she could, is such a thing really possible? She thought of the lines she’d written soon after her mother’s death: “a new person, whole but forged from fragments.” Can I really do that, emerge from my solitude enough to be with Liz closely and still be me? Can we both heal enough to be together, and help each other go on healing?
“I promise,” Liz whispered softly into Nora’s hair as if they’d both spoken out loud, “to try.”
“So do I,” Nora answered, kissing her. “So do I.”
Publications from
Bella Books, Inc.
The best in contemporary lesbian fiction
P.O. Box 10543, Tallahassee, FL 32302
Phone: 800-729-4992
www.bellabooks.com
CALM BEFORE THE STORM by Peggy J. Herring. Colonel Marcel Robicheaux doesn’t tell and so far no one official has asked, but the amorous pursuit by Jordan McGowen has her worried for both her career and her honor.
978-0-9677753-1-9 $12.95
THE WILD ONE by Lyn Denison. Rachel Weston is busy keeping home and head together after the death of her husband. Her kids need her and what she doesn’t need is the confusion that Quinn Farrelly creates in her body and heart.
978-1-931513-65-4 $12.95
LESSONS IN MURDER by Claire McNab. There’s a corpse in the school with a neat hole in the head and a Black & Decker drill alongside. Which teacher should Inspector Carol Ashton suspect? Unfortunately, the alluring Sybil Quade is at the top of the list. First in this highly lauded series.
978-1-931513-65-4 $12.95
WHEN AN ECHO RETURNS by Linda Kay Silva. The bayou where Echo Branson found her sanity has been swept clean by a hurricane—or at least they thought. Then an evil washed up by the storm comes looking for them all, one-by-one. Second in series.
978-1-59493-225-0 $14.95
DEADLY INTERSECTIONS by Ann Roberts. Everyone is lying, including her own father and her girlfriend. Leaving matters to the professionals is supposed to be easier! Third in series with Paid in Full and White Offerings.
978-1-59493-224-3 $14.95
SUBSTITUTE FOR LOVE by Karin Kallmaker. No substitutes, ever again! But then Holly’s heart, body and soul are captured by Reyna...Reyna with no last name and a secret life that hides a terrible bargain, one written in family blood.
978-1-931513-62-3 $14.95
MAKING UP FOR LOST TIME by Karin Kallmaker. Take one Next Home Network Star and add one Little White Lie to equal mayhem in little Mendocino and a recipe for sizzling romance. This lighthearted, steamy story is a feast for the senses in a kitchen that is way too hot.
978-1-931513-61-6 $14.95
HUNTING THE WITCH by Ellen Hart. The woman she loves—used to love—offers her help, and Jane Lawless finds it hard to say no. She needs TLC for recent injuries and who better than a doctor? But Julia’s jittery demeanor awakens Jane’s curiosity. And Jane has never been able to resist a mystery. #9 in series and Lammy-winner.
978-1-59493-206-9 $15.95
WILDFIRE by Lynn James. From the moment botanist Devon McKinney meets ranger Elaine Thomas the chemistry is undeniable. Sharing—and protecting—a mountain for the length of their short assignments leads to unexpected passion in this sizzling romance by newcomer Lynn James.
978-1-59493-191-8 $14.95
FAÇADES by Alex Marcoux. Everything Anastasia ever wanted—she has it. Sidney is the woman who helped her get it. But keeping it will require a price—the unnamed passion that simmers between them.
978-1-59493-239-7 $14.95
ELENA UNDONE by Nicole Conn. The risks. The passion. The devastating choices. The ultimate rewards. Nicole Conn rocked the lesbian cinema world with Claire of the Moon and has rocked it again with Elena Undone. This is the book that tells it all…
978-1-59493-254-0 $16.95
WHISPERS IN THE WIND by Frankie J. Jones. It began as a camping trip, then a simple hike. Dixon Hayes and Elizabeth Colter uncover an intriguing cave on their hike, changing their world, perhaps irrevocably.
978-1-59493-037-9 $12.95
WEDDING BELL BLUES by Julia Watts. She’ll do anything to save what’s left of her family. Anything. It didn’t seem like a bad plan...at first. Hailed by readers as Lammy-winner Julia Watts’ funniest novel.
978-1-59493-199-4 $12.95
2ND FIDDLE by Kate Calloway. Cassidy James’s first case left her with a broken heart. At least this new case is fighting the good fight, and she can throw all her passion and energy into it.
978-1-59493-200-7 $12.95
LEAVING L.A. by Kate Christie. Eleanor Chapin is on the way to the rest of her life when Tessa Flanaghan offers her a lucrative summer job caring for Tessa’s daughter Laya. It’s only temporary and everyone expects Eleanor to be leaving L.A...
978-1-59493-221-2 $14.95
SOMETHING TO BELIEVE by Robbi McCoy. When Lauren and Cassie meet on a once-in-a-lifetime river journey through China their feelings are innocent…at first. Ten years later, nothing—and everything—has changed. From Golden Crown winner Robbi McCoy.
978-1-59493-214-4 $14.95
DEVIL’S ROCK by Gerri Hill. Deputy Andrea Sullivan and Agent Cameron Ross vow to bring a killer to justice. The killer has other plans. Gerri Hill pens another intriguing blend of mystery and romance in this page-turning thriller.
978-1-59493-218-2 $14.95
SHADOW POINT by Amy Briant. Madison McPeake has just been not-quite fired, told her brother is dead and discovered she has to pick up a five-year old niece she’s never met. After she makes it to Shadow Point it seems like some
one—or something—doesn’t want her to leave. Romance sizzles in this ghost story from Amy Briant.
978-1-59493-216-8 $14.95
JUKEBOX by Gina Daggett. Debutantes in love. With each other. Two young women chafe at the constraints of parents and society with a friendship that could be more, if they can break free. Gina Daggett is best known as “Lipstick” of the columnist duo Lipstick & Dipstick.
978-1-59493-212-0 $14.95
BLIND BET by Tracey Richardson. The stakes are high when Ellen Turcotte and Courtney Langford meet at the blackjack tables. Lady Luck has been smiling on Courtney but Ellen is a wild card she may not be able to handle.
978-1-59493-211-3 $14.95