by Gerri Hill
Morgan smiled. “You always want to kiss me.”
“Is that a bad thing?”
“Remember my no kissing rule?”
Reese laughed and picked up her mug again. “Thank God you broke that one.”
“And then my discreet rule?”
“It’s not my fault that everyone knows.”
Morgan turned on the barstool and faced her, her knees pressing against Reese’s thighs. Reese turned her head, finding Morgan’s smoky gaze on her.
“I want to make love to you,” she said again.
It wasn’t said teasingly this time. No, this time there was huskiness in Morgan’s voice and desire in her eyes. Reese nodded.
“Let’s go home.”
§
Morgan wasn’t certain what had come over her, but she wanted Reese in the worst way. She looked in the mirror, seeing Reese’s headlights behind her. Okay, so maybe she did know what had come over her. Admitting she was in love with the woman might have something to do with it. She only prayed she wouldn’t let the words slip out.
She barely came to a stop before she hopped out of the truck and hurried to the front door. She had pulled her shirt off and unhooked her bra by the time Reese walked inside. She didn’t say anything. She didn’t want to talk.
She pressed Reese against the door, her mouth finding Reese’s, moaning as their tongues met. Her fingers fumbled with the buttons on Reese’s jeans as Reese cupped her breasts, her thumbs raking across her nipples. Morgan was gasping for breath when her hand snaked inside Reese’s pants, shoving them down just enough to give her room.
“I want you so much,” she whispered against Reese’s mouth.
Reese pulled her closer, her mouth going to Morgan’s neck, suckling hard, her breathing as labored as Morgan’s.
Morgan spread her fingers, cupping Reese, feeling her wetness soak her hand. She moaned as her fingers moved through her silkiness, closing her eyes as her fingers filled Reese. Reese’s teeth nipped at her neck as her hips rocked against Morgan’s hand, her panting causing Morgan to move faster, pumping hard into her, loving the tightening of Reese’s muscles against her fingers.
“Come for me,” she breathed into Reese’s ear. “Come for me.”
She didn’t have to wait long. She felt the familiar trembling as Reese neared orgasm, she recognized the sounds Reese made when she was about to climax. And seconds later, with one last thrust, Reese called out, muffling her scream against Morgan’s neck, before nearly collapsing in her arms.
Morgan pulled her fingers out but didn’t move, standing there pressed against Reese, feeling Reese’s heart beating against her breasts, listening to the quick intake of air as Reese tried to catch her breath. She closed her eyes.
I love you.
Three little words that shouldn’t cause this much pain. But they did. She finally stirred, her lips moving slowly across Reese’s face, finding her lips, kissing them gently. When she pulled back and looked into Reese’s eyes, she swore she could see her love reflected back at her. But Reese lowered her gaze, kissing her mouth once again, so tenderly Morgan nearly cried.
“Shower? Then bed?” Reese smiled against her mouth.
“Wasn’t that the order?”
“So I started early,” Morgan said. “I’ll have that shower with you now, though.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
Morgan knew it was time to get up, but she just couldn’t bring herself to pull out of Reese’s arms. It had been two weeks since she’d admitted she was in love with her. Two weeks since the night of her sexual frenzy. Reese must have thought she was insatiable, and she’d felt that way. She couldn’t stop touching her.
She couldn’t stop wanting her. It was the early morning hours before they finally fell into an exhausted sleep.
And again, like when the no kissing rule was broken, there was a slight shift in their relationship. It was obvious to her, if not Reese. Their touches were more tender, if that were even possible. Their kisses seemed to hold more meaning. The looks that passed between them were unguarded, hinting at the underlying passion that always simmered just below the surface, hinting at love. Or maybe she just saw that because that’s what she wanted to see. Maybe all of this was simply her imagination because she’d accepted the fact that she was in love with Reese.
And she’d also accepted the fact that Reese would be leaving.
Nothing had changed in that respect. They didn’t talk about it.
Just like they never talked about the possibility of Reese staying.
It was not a subject that either of them broached.
But as mid-June threatened to turn into late June, the months and weeks moved by faster and faster, and November loomed, no longer a month just lurking in the distance. It was a month that was creeping up on them, a month that would shatter her world.
She closed her eyes tightly, her heart aching. She kept it all in—the worry, the fear—putting on a happy face, pretending this arrangement was just fine, just what she expected. Truth was, she felt like she would explode if she didn’t get it out. But not to Reese. Never to Reese. She moved her lips, letting them linger on Reese’s skin, smiling as Reese stirred.
She finally pulled away, quietly so as to not wake Reese. She dressed quickly, deciding to put in an appearance at her own house and shower there. She hadn’t actually set foot in her house since May. And after her shower, she would find Tina, take her someplace where they could have some privacy…and talk.
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
“You’re being awful secretive about this,” Tina said as Morgan drove them down a quiet forest road.
“Because I want to talk and I don’t want to be interrupted.”
“Yeah? So what’s our subject?”
Morgan rolled her eyes. “You know very well what the subject is.”
“Okay. Then why the need for privacy? Everyone already knows you two are together.”
Morgan sighed. “That’s just it. We’re not really together.”
“Honey, I’ve seen the two of you. You can barely keep your hands off each other, much less your eyes. Do you think people can’t see the way you look at each other?”
“I’m not talking about that.” She pulled to a stop in a small grove of aspens, their tiny leaves fluttering on the trees, giving truth to their name, the quaking aspen. She closed her door quietly, not wanting to disturb the stillness. She leaned on the bed of the truck, looking at Tina across the way. “I’m in love with her.”
Tina snorted. “You brought me all the way out here to tell me that? Like I don’t already know.”
“You don’t understand. I can’t be in love with her.” She walked around to the back of the truck and lowered the tailgate. She sat down heavily and let out a deep sigh. “We had rules, you know.”
“What are you talking about?” Tina asked as she joined her on the tailgate.
“Our arrangement. The agreement was a physical, sexual affair. Nothing more.” Morgan smiled. “I even had a no kissing rule at first. And a let’s be discreet rule.”
“Well, I know you broke one of them. I’ll assume you broke the kissing rule too.”
“I’d thought, if it was just a physical affair, the best way to keep it at that level was no kissing. Kissing is very intimate.”
“But that didn’t last?”
Morgan shook her head. “A month.”
“Wow. That long?”
Morgan lowered her head. “She’s leaving in November, Tina.”
“You don’t know that for sure. Has she said so?”
“She hasn’t said she’s not leaving. She made it perfectly clear to everyone that she was only staying the one year. She made that perfectly clear to me.”
“But that was before you two—”
“No. That was part of the agreement. She was only going to be here until November. Our affair would last that long.”
“But it’s no longer an affair,” Tina said. “Right?”
“It
ceased being an affair months ago. For Reese too. I know she doesn’t look at it that way. Hell, we’re practically living together.”
“What do you mean practically?”
“I know. And I told myself I wasn’t going to fall in love with her. I told myself I could keep it strictly physical.” She turned and looked at Tina. “But when I’m with her, damn, we’re so compatible. In everything. Not just sex. Everything. We like the same food, the same wine. We both like to hike and get out in the woods. We never argue or bicker about anything. It’s so easy to be with her. And, my God, the sex. Never in my life did I think I’d have such an active sex life. Never.”
“Don’t rub it in. Twenty years and a couple of kids tend to put a damper on things.”
“Sorry.”
“So why don’t you just tell her?”
“No, I’m not going to tell her. That would just be stupid. I don’t want her to feel guilty when she leaves here. I’m the one who broke the damn rule, not her.”
“But, Morgan, how do you know not her? I mean, I’ve seen the two of you together. I’ve seen the way she looks at you. How do you know she’s not in love with you too?”
“Don’t you think she would have said something?”
Tina laughed. “Oh, yeah. Right. Like you have.”
“It’s different. She’s the one planning to leave. Not me.”
“Then why don’t you just talk about it?”
“Because I don’t want to embarrass myself.”
“Telling someone you love them shouldn’t be an embarrassment.”
“Of course it’s an embarrassment if it’s one-sided. Guess what, Reese? I broke another rule.” Morgan shrugged. “No. I’m not going to tell her.”
“I think that’s a mistake. I think you’re both being stubborn about these stupid rules you started out with and neither wants to be the one to admit they crossed the line.” Tina bumped her arm. “Stubborn and immature.”
“Immature? Immature would be not being able to keep the relationship where it was meant to be. Immature would be to fall in love. But keeping the secret inside? That’s not being immature,” Morgan said as she tapped her chest. “That’s being an adult.”
Tina shook her head. “No, that’s being just plain stupid.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
Reese stood in front of Eloise’s desk, turning a circle, a frown on her face as she looked around. She tapped Eloise’s desk. “We don’t have a jail.” She held up her hands. “Why don’t we have a jail, Eloise?”
“What do we need a jail for?”
“Oh, I don’t know. We’re the sheriff’s office. Surely sometime in the last century we’ve needed a jail,” she said sarcastically.
Eloise stared blankly at her. “You’ve been here eight months. You’re just now discovering we don’t have a jail?”
Reese shrugged. “So if I need one, what do we do? Lock them in the supply closet?”
Eloise flicked her eyes as if bored with the conversation.
Reese arched an eyebrow, waiting. Eloise sighed.
“There are two cells in the museum. Well, only one of them locks though.”
“In the museum? Our jail cells are in the museum?” Reese paused. “I didn’t even know we had a museum.”
Eloise stared at her blankly. “They’re open Memorial Day through Labor Day. The building used to be the old jail from back in the day. They left the cells up when they turned it into a museum.”
“I see. And have we ever used them?”
“Not that I’m aware of.”
Amazing, Reese thought. The jail cells were in a museum. A museum she didn’t even know existed. She shook her head, then moved to her own office, pausing again. “Where’s Googan?”
“I have no idea.”
“Well, why don’t you call him on the radio? Rouse him up.”
“Don’t you think he gets tired of you checking up on him ten, fifteen times a day?”
“I just want to make sure he’s okay.”
“His doctor released him.”
“Doesn’t hurt to check.” She motioned to the radio. “Call him, would you?”
“I swear,” Eloise mumbled under her breath as she picked up the radio. “Googan? Come in. The Chief’s looking for you.” She waited. “What’s your…your ten-thirty?”
“It’s ten-twenty,” Reese said. “How many times have I told you? Ten-twenty.”
“Where are you?” Eloise said instead, daring Reese to correct her.
Reese paced behind her chair. “Call him again,” she said. She hated when he didn’t answer. He’d been back three weeks, and yes, she checked on him constantly.
“Googan? Come in,” Eloise said again.
“Maybe something happened. Maybe I should go out and look for him,” Reese said quickly.
They both looked up as the bell jingled over the door. Googan stood there, watching them.
Reese smiled. “See? I told you he was okay.” She turned quickly and went into her office, embarrassed. Really, she needed to let it go. Googan was fine. His limp was barely discernable.
She had to stop worrying that he was going to drive off into one of the canyons again. A freak accident, that’s all.
So she sat down and tapped the mouse, scattering the screen saver. There were no reports to fill out, no budgets to go over.
No crime, no nothing. So she did what she usually did in the afternoons. She played solitaire on the computer.
She was into her second game when Eloise yelled that she had a call.
“What line?”
“The only one that’s blinking,” Eloise barked from the other room.
“Can we at least pretend to have some sort of professionalism here? We do have an intercom, you know,” she yelled back. She picked up the phone. “Reese Daniels. How can I help you?”
“Chief Daniels, good to hear your voice again.”
Reese frowned. The man’s voice was familiar, but she couldn’t place it.
“It’s Michael Stewart,” he said.
Reese smiled. “I knew I recognized your voice. How the hell are you?”
“We’re doing great. The ski season ended late after that big storm in April. And summer’s in full swing. How about you? They keeping you busy there?”
She laughed. “No, can’t say they are. It’s very tame here compared to Winter Park.”
“No doubt. Actually, that’s really the reason I’m calling. We want you to come back.”
The smile left her face and she stared at the phone. Come back? “What about Richard?”
“Oh, they got a divorce. He moved to Denver and is with some law firm now.” He paused. “Cheri is still here though.”
“I see. And what about your current police chief?”
“Interim only. He knew that coming in. But he’s a little young for the job. Needs more seasoning. He hasn’t quite learned how to pamper the tourists yet. We like your experience, Reese.”
She leaned back in her chair. Wow. Just like that, she had her old job back. If she wanted it. “Well, I appreciate the offer, Michael. You know I’m locked in here until November.”
“Surely you can get out of that?”
“I’ll have to see. I’d hate to put them in a bind,” she said.
“Okay. Do what you can. We’re anxious to get you back.”
“Sure. I’ll get back with you, Michael.”
Yeah. Just like that. She spun her chair around, looking out the small back window to the street behind the sheriff’s office.
She could see Doris Newman walking to her tiny wood frame house, a sack of groceries in her arms that she’d just gotten at Lou’s. And she knew if she kept watching, her husband Larry would get home from his job at Thompson’s Ranch at about a quarter to five. And sometimes, as a treat, Larry and Doris would walk over to Sloan’s for dinner instead of Doris cooking. She knew all that just from watching them these last few months. She didn’t know they had a goddamn museum in town, but she knew Doris an
d Larry’s daily routine.
She spun back around to her desk, wondering when it happened, this connection she had with the town and its people.
No involvements, remember? One year of exile then back to the real world. These people got along fine before she got here and they’d be just fine when she left.
She rubbed her eyes. Leaving Morgan would be the hardest, of course. She’d been dreading it actually. They never discussed it, but it was always there. November was tapping on the door.
Michael Stewart didn’t want to wait until November. He wanted her now. But even though she knew they could place Googan back in charge, she just wasn’t prepared to leave now. She wasn’t emotionally prepared to leave, as scary as that was. Truth was, she wasn’t prepared to leave Morgan.
Well, she needed to talk to her. She needed to tell her. Maybe she could feel her out and see how she took the news. If Morgan acted upset or disappointed, then maybe Reese could entertain the idea of staying in Lake City another year.
What am I thinking?
It’s Winter Park. Her dream job. She’d have to be crazy to turn it down.
CHAPTER FORTY
Reese found Morgan on the back deck of the cabin, sipping a glass of wine. She smiled as she saw the two steaks already seasoned, just waiting for the charcoal to heat.
“What’s the occasion?” she asked as she bent down and kissed Morgan on the lips.
“It’s just so beautiful out,” Morgan said. “And we don’t take advantage of the picnic table nearly enough.” She caught Reese’s hand as she walked past and squeezed. “Did you have a good day?”
Reese laughed. “Yeah, but it’d be good to have a crime spree or something every once in a while.” She picked up the bottle of wine and filled the glass Morgan had placed there for her. She topped off Morgan’s as well. She realized her hand was shaking as she put the bottle back down. She was nervous. Far more nervous than she should be.
She sat beside Morgan, pulling the deck chair closer. And as natural as can be, they found their hands touching, their fingers entwined. God, she was going to miss this. But there was no sense putting if off. She took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves.