“Still, it must be hard. My kids are my world.” Leah patted her hand one last time before pulling away. “Any time you want to talk about him, I’m here.”
Forgetting for a moment that flour covered her hands, Briley swept Leah into her arms. “Thank you. Not now, but later, we’ll talk.”
“Any time.” Leah tangled her hand in Briley’s hair, pulled her down, and kissed her. “Don’t think you’re off the hook for hugging me with flour all over your hands.”
“And what are you going to do about it?” Briley swiped her finger across the tabletop where there was a bit of loose pie filling and dabbed it on Leah’s cheek. “You seem to have something on your cheek.” Leah chuckled when Briley licked her cheek, before bringing their lips together. “You taste good.”
“I wonder why.” She placed her palms on Briley’s chest and pushed her away. “We need to finish this.”
“As you wish.” They each put on a clean pair of gloves and after another hour, they were down to their last few. “Wow. I can’t believe we’re almost done.” She whistled. “Thank you so much for your help.” After they transferred the last ones to the freezer, Briley poured them each a glass of milk. “Since it’s still early, what would you say to making some blueberry muffins?”
Leah tilted her head, a slow smile working its way onto her face. “That sounds like a wonderful idea.”
“You have to help me, though.” She placed her cup on the counter, then rubbed her hands together.
“I think I can manage that. Especially if it’s as hands on as your last approach.”
Briley blushed. “Since I’m in charge, you have to do everything I say.” She gulped when Leah took a step in her direction and ran her finger down her neck.
“Oh, you’re in charge, are you?” She eyed her up and down, then smirked when Briley started to fidget.
“Yes. Yes, I am.” Leah was going to be the death of her. “Sit back down; I’ll get all our ingredients. Have you ever made them before?” She wiped her hands on her apron. Time to get back on solid footing.
“No, I’m not much of a baker, but I love to cook.”
Briley went through each step, with Leah executing each one like a pro. Briley narrowed her eyes and asked her again, but she insisted she didn’t bake much. “Don’t over stir. Lumps are fine for muffins.” After dusting the fresh blueberries with flour, she dumped them in the batter. “Just a couple of turns, then we’ll fill the cups.”
Briley took over and filled the muffin tins, tapping them on the counter once they were full and slipped them into the oven and set the timer on her phone. “Now we wait.” She turned back to Leah, who proceeded to stick her finger in the batter bowl and tap Briley on her lips.
“Cute, Leah. Real cute.” Briley reached for a rag, but Leah grabbed her hand, halting her progress.
Leah winked at her. “I can get that for you.” Leah leaned toward her. Time seemed to stand still the closer she got. Briley’s heart beat faster and faster. When she was a breath away, Briley caught sight of Kat out of the corner of her eye, leaning against the doorframe leading into the kitchen, just watching them. Briley jerked away from her.
“What’s wrong?” Leah questioned, then looked behind her. “Good morning, Kat.”
Kat held her hands up. “Don’t stop on my account.”
“Don’t be a perv, Kat.” Briley wiped her lips off then threw the dishtowel at Kat, hitting her in the face. “Coffee?”
“Yes.”
A few minutes later, Briley joined Leah and Kat at the table.
“I am so glad you helped Briley, Leah. I did not want to get up at two AM.”
“It’s in the girlfriend handbook,” Leah said.
Briley choked on her milk, and Kat patted her on the back. “I’m fine. It went down the wrong way.” The knowing smirk on Leah’s face told her she knew exactly why it happened.
“Leah,” Kat said. “What’s this handbook you speak of?”
After taking a sip of her milk, Leah answered. “It’s the weirdest thing. Two days ago, I heard a knock on my front door. When I opened it, there was a manila envelope on my welcome mat. Inside was the girlfriend handbook. It was an eye-opening read. Chapter six was…” she bit her lip, “rather detailed.”
Briley and Kat both stared at her when she took the muffins out of the oven. “She’s a keeper, Briley.” Kat patted her hand.
“I know. Believe me, I know.”
“So, Leah, what was chapter six about?” Kat inquired.
“I would tell you but at the beginning of the book, it stated I could only talk about the contents with others that had received it. You’ve already stated you haven’t.”
“That’s awfully convenient,” Kat answered.
“It is.” Leah placed a muffin on her plate, peeling back the paper and spreading a small amount of butter on it.
“I have ways of making you talk.” Kat held up the butter knife.
“There’s only one woman at this table that could make me talk.” They both turned to Briley.
“I’m staying out of this. I don’t care what chapter six was about.”
Kat threw her empty muffin wrapper at Briley. “Party pooper.”
“These are good, Briley.” Leah wiped her lips.
“I’m glad you’re enjoying them.” After another muffin each, Briley hopped up when she heard the refrigerated truck pull into the driveway. She paid Doug two hundred dollars to transport the turnovers to the Encampment and unload them into the fridge that was already set up for her behind the tent they would be selling at.
“Hey, Doug. How you doing?” She handed him a cup of coffee, which he accepted readily, and a muffin.
“I’m good. Thanks so much for these.”
“You’re welcome.”
“I’m so glad you texted me earlier. That way I can get yours delivered, then pick up another delivery for the event.”
“I had help this year.”
Kat helped them both load the partially frozen turnovers that were stacked in moveable trays into the truck. After everything was loaded, Briley wrote him a check and handed it over, along with four more muffins.
“Have a good day, Briley.”
“You too, Doug.”
Briley pulled up a chair beside Kat and Leah. “I’m going to take a shower and get dressed.”
“And I need to go change.” Leah stood, kissed Briley on the cheek, and headed for the door. “Text me when you’re done for the day and we can get together.”
“Leah, you can explore with me, if you want to,” Kat said.
“I would like that.” They exchanged numbers, then Leah left.
Kat pushed on Briley’s arm. “You can’t take a shower if you fall asleep at the table.”
“Shut up.” She laid her head on the table anyway.
“You and Leah seem comfortable together.”
“Extremely. I don’t know how to explain it.” Briley put her empty plate and cup in the sink. “It’s awesome.”
“I can tell. It’s okay if I hang out with you and Leah afterward, right?”
“I guess.”
“Golly gee, I don’t want it to be a hardship.” Kat touched her hands to her chest and pouted.
“Yes, loser. We can all hang out together.”
“That’s better.”
“I think today’s going to be fun.”
“Me too, Bri. Me too.”
Chapter Nineteen
After scooping out the turnover from the large vat of oil, Briley gently dropped it in the bowl Mrs. King was holding out, then proceeded to top it with powdered sugar and whip cream. She wiped her brow, but it was a lot cooler today than they had expected. They’d been at it for almost three hours and were down to their last dozen or so turnovers. Along with the turnovers, Mrs. King also sold buffalo chili. They’d never sold out this quickly and she was looking forward to getting out from behind the booth earlier than usual.
“So, you and Leah, huh?” Mrs. King asked o
ut of the blue.
“Yep.”
“I’m counting on you two to make it, Briley. Don’t let me down. I have to live vicariously through someone, and I choose you. It does an old woman’s heart good to see love bloom.”
“I…okay. Yes.” Briley nodded. “I will be your person.”
“Fantastic. I saw her and Kat earlier.”
“I’m meeting up with them both later.”
“How many turnovers do we have left?” Mrs. King asked.
Briley opened the freezer. “About twenty.”
“Go. Go spend time with your sister and your girlfriend.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, we can handle this.”
Briley kissed her on the cheek. “Thanks.” She slipped the check Mrs. King handed her in her pants pocket, slung her backpack over her shoulder, texted Kat to find out where they were, and then took off in that direction.
She smiled when she turned a corner and spotted Kat and Leah sitting across from each other under a shaded picnic table.
Briley plopped down beside Leah and thanked Kat when she pushed the other half of her sandwich and chips in front of her. Briley gave her a grateful smile before chomping into it.
“I expected it to take longer.” Leah rubbed her hand in circles on Briley’s back.
“It was a bigger crowd than expected.”
“So, what do you two want to do next?” Kat asked.
“I would really—” Briley never got to finish her thought when someone spoke up behind her.
“Briley.”
Briley stiffened at the voice, causing her to drop the rest of the uneaten sandwich back onto the plate. A voice she hadn’t heard in years. A voice that even to this day sometimes haunted her dreams. A shudder passed through her at the touch on her shoulder and she turned her head when the woman stepped in front of her. A squeeze on her leg from Leah broke her out of her stupor and she turned and came face to face with her past. “Beth, I didn’t know you were back in town.”
“Just for the weekend.” She looked from Leah to Briley.
Beth’s smile grew wider the longer Briley stared. She looked just as good now as the last time she saw her, with her black hair pulled in a ponytail. She wore a pair of tight jeans, and a black, form-fitting tank top. Beth’s gray eyes bore into Briley’s soul as they had done all those years ago. “I…”
Beth reached forward and picked Briley’s hand up. “Spend some time with me? We can catch up.”
That was the last thing she wanted, and she didn’t want to abandon Leah or Kat, but maybe she needed this to move forward with Leah. Seeing Beth in front of her now made her realize they had a lot of unresolved issues.
“We three are going to explore,” Kat chimed in, throwing a death glare at Beth.
“Kat,” Beth said. “It’s good to see you. I only want her for a few minutes.”
“It’s not good to see you,” Kat said. It was no secret that Kat disliked Beth after what she’d done.
“Kat, please,” Briley said. “Beth, if you could give me a few minutes with these two.”
“Of course. I’ll be right over there.” She pointed to a large oak tree.
“Kat, I know what you’re going to say, but I need this. We left a lot unsaid between us.”
Kat looked uncertain. “I don’t agree.”
Leah surprised Briley when she spoke up. “I think you should talk to her.” She tilted Briley’s face until they were looking at each other. “I don’t want anything standing between us. If this is something you need to do, then do it. I trust you.”
“You’re sure? I don’t want this to upset you.” She wasn’t sure she would be so understanding if they were talking about one of Leah’s exes.
“We’re both adults and you know Kathy’s still in my life, for the kids’ sake. Go, talk to your ex.” She cupped Briley’s cheek and pecked her on the lips. “I’m really okay with it.”
Briley kissed the palm of Leah’s hand. “Okay.” Briley stood, kissed Kat on the cheek and whispered in her ear that she was fine, and slipped her backpack on. The walk to Beth was short. “After you.”
Beth giggled and slipped her arm through Briley’s and they walked away from the table. “It’s been what? Almost two years?”
“Seems like a lot longer than that.” She dared not look back, afraid of the look on Kat and Leah’s faces, so she kept her gaze ahead of them. “How have you been?”
A sigh slipped past her lips. “Up and down. My girlfriend and I broke up a few months back.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
“I’m not. We just drifted apart. Kind of like us.”
“Yes, like us,” she spit out.
Beth slid her fingers down Briley’s arm and gripped her hand, dragging her along the pathway until she found some space that wasn’t overrun with tourists. “I know we haven’t seen each other in a long time, I get that.”
“I…” Briley pulled her hand back and ran it through her hair. Did Beth really expect them just to pick up where they left off? She would never do that. Besides, Leah didn’t need to see Beth’s hands all over her. It wouldn’t sit well with her if Kathy had her hands all over Leah.
“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, but it looks like you have something on your mind.”
There was something on her mind. They hadn’t exactly ended things on a good note. “You cheated on me,” she blurted out.
Pain flashed across Beth’s face, and she wrapped her arms around her chest. “I know, Briley.” Her gaze flitted over the crowd. “They say you shouldn’t have regrets, but,” she shook her head, “I regret leaving angry that night, and I regret drinking too much, but I’m not making excuses. My cheating was all on me and I regret it every day. Hurting you, destroying us on a whim was the worst thing I have ever done in my life and I’m sorry. I loved you.” She laughed and slipped her hands into her pockets. “I love you. It’s really hard not to.”
“Even after all these years?”
“Oh, Briley, you’re so easy to love and it’s even easier to keep loving you. Lord knows I’ve tried to forget you, or to move on from you, but nothing’s helped.”
Briley took a step back. The last thing she wanted to do was give her the wrong impression. At one time, Beth was her entire world, but that time had passed. She wouldn’t deny the flutter in her stomach when she spotted her or the way her heart raced, and although a piece of her heart would always be reserved for her, it was a small part and not one she would ever revisit again.
“I know our time has passed. I guess I just wanted to see you.” Beth shrugged. “To hear your voice. To touch you again.” She reached between them and tangled their fingers together. A flash of pain shot across her face when Briley jerked her hand back. “Whoever she is, she better know how special you are and that you, Briley,” she pointed at her, “you deserve so much more than the way I treated you. Does she? Does she know how special you are?”
The comfort of such a familiar feeling as being in Beth’s presence threatened to overwhelm. She felt nothing for her, but they had been together for five years. Beth’s apology was two years in the making and not what she had expected today. It would be easy to fall back into old habits, but she would do nothing to cheapen what her and Leah shared.
“Hey.” Beth tilted Briley’s chin up. “What’s wrong?”
“Thank you for saying what you did.” She sighed and took Beth’s hand off her. “I forgave you, you know, a long time ago. Things happen. Some we mean to and others disrupt everything you’ve carefully constructed. It was hard after you left, but as you can see, I dusted myself off and put myself back together.”
“Who is she, the woman at the table?”
Briley stared unfocused on a spot past Beth’s shoulder, and a smile blossomed on her face. “You don’t know her.”
“Does she know how you feel? Because I can’t see any woman saying no to you if they knew.”
“She does.”
<
br /> “So, you like this woman?”
“Yes.”
“Was that a question or the answer?” Beth asked.
“The answer,” she said confidently, and Beth smiled sadly and took a step back.
“You never looked at me the way you’re thinking about her. You’re falling in love with her and you don’t even realize it.” She cocked her head. “Or do you?”
“Is this really what you wanted to talk about?”
Beth laughed. “You deserve it, Briley.” Beth rocked back on her heels. “Wow. Who knew a friendly hello would turn into something so deep?” She buffed her fingers on her tank top. “Anything else Doctor Beth can help you with?” She winked and Briley instantly remembered why she had fallen in love with Beth in the first place. They had so many good times, but as much as she had loved her, she could never continue a relationship with her after the cheating incident.
Briley laughed and took a couple of steps forward until they were almost close enough to touch. “I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but despite everything, it’s good to see you.” Beth closed the distance between them and drew her into a tight hug, resting their foreheads together. “God, and you smell the same.” Briley accepted this moment for what it was. A glimpse into a past she would always remember, but never repeat. She pulled back and kissed Beth’s forehead.
“I’m a creature of habit. It’s really good to see you, too.”
“Yes.” Briley pulled away from her and took a step back, then pivoted and walked away.
“Briley.”
She’d know that voice anywhere. When Leah reached her, she slipped her arm around her shoulders.
“Everything okay?” Leah was relaxed, but Briley could hear the undercurrent of uncertainty in her voice.
She moved the hair out of Leah’s eyes, before leaning down and kissing her sweetly. “Everything is perfect. I needed that closure with her. Thank you for understanding.”
“I’m not an insecure woman, but I’ll admit to being a tad jealous when you walked off with her.”
“There was no need for that. I’m right where I want to be.” She let her hands drop, then latched onto Leah’s nearest hand, interlacing their fingers. “Where are you headed?”
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