by Gerri Hill
“Then what?”
“Then she took me to see Aunt Susan and Aunt Darlene,” Luke said.
“I don’t understand,” Cassie said.
Luke smiled and stood. “They weren’t really my aunts. They weren’t really sisters. They had lived at the commune with us, always together. They were lovers,” Luke said. She walked over to her bookshelves and took down two framed pictures.
“Oh.”
“And then it all made sense. I didn’t have to go out with the
quarterback.” She handed Cassie the pictures before-sitting down again. “That’s us back then. I must have been five or six, I guess. The other one was taken four years ago at a reunion.”
Cassie smiled at the small, dark-haired girl in the picture, surŹrounded by an odd group of… well, hippies. The second picture showed Luke as Cassie knew her today.
“That’s my mother and Neal,” Luke pointed out. “That’s Susan and Darlene.”
Cassie compared the pictures, the carefree smiles of the first picture captured again some thirty years later.
“So, you’ve never been with a man, then?” Cassie asked, thinkŹing of Luke’s earlier comment about the quarterback.
“No. Why would I?”
“But… how can you know for sure if you’ve never tried it?” Cassie asked.
Luke laughed softly, then leaned forward. “How can you be sure you’re not a lesbian if you’ve never been with a woman?”
Cassie leaned back, away from Luke, away from her heat. “Point taken,” she said quietly. She felt Luke’s eyes on her, but Cassie refused to look. She stared into the fire, telling herself that was the only heat she was feeling.
“I think I’m ready to call it a night,” Luke finally said. “Will you be okay on the sofa?”
“Of course,” Cassie said quickly.
“I’ll go find you a sheet and blanket, then.”
Cassie watched her climb the stairs, then heard her shuffling in the loft and shortly she came back carrying a pillow along with a blanket and sheet. “Good enough?”
“This is fine,” Cassie said, tossing them to the couch. “Thank you for… everything. Rescuing me, feeding me, everything.”
“You’re welcome,” Luke said lightly. “I’ve enjoyed your comŹpany. Feel free to put another log on, if you want.”
She left her without another word, and Cassie busied herself making up a bed on the sofa. The fire was inviting, so she did lay another log on before crawling under the blanket. She lay on her
side, staring out at the rain, now only a fine mist. She thought she saw the moon breaking through and got just a glimpse of the patio beyond the windows, then darkness again. She snuggled deeper into the pillow and her body warmed. She caught a scent that was becoming familiar. Luke. It was her pillow from her bed, Cassie knew instantly. She breathed deeply, pushing her face into the softŹness before she could stop herself. Then she groaned and rolled over onto her back, her arms folded across her chest.
This is insanity, she thought. But that didn’t stop her heart from pounding in her chest.
Chapter Eight
Cassie’s van was just as they left it, the tires now sunk low in mud. She stood with her hands on her hips, mentally going over her choices.
“I can pull it out,” Luke said, interrupting her thoughts.
“You can?”
“Sure. It’s not really stuck. We’ll just pull it out on the road and change the tire there.”
Cassie felt like a helpless female as Luke tied a thick rope she had produced from her Lexus to each of their vehicles’ bumpers. In a matter of minutes, her van sat limply on the road, leaning slightly from the flat tire but no worse for wear. Of course, Cassie had never changed a tire before. She told Luke as much.
“It’s past time you learn then,” she said. “Suppose you’re stuck on a deserted road, late at night and suppose a group of women came alonglesbians, no lessand they’ve been drinking and they see you, standing helplessly beside your van. Bet you wished you had known how to change the tire then.”
Cassie laughed. “Oh, stop. If that were the scenario, they would all hop out and have my tire changed in no time and I’d be on my way, thankful it wasn’t some farmer’s son that had stopped.”
Luke laughed, too. “No doubt.”
Cassie supervised as Luke lifted the tire with ease and fifteen minutes later was wiping her hands on a rag Cassie had found in the back of the van.
“All set,” Luke said.
“I don’t know how to thank you,” Cassie said, then blushed as Luke raised a mischievous eyebrow.
“How about showing me the eagle, then?”
Cassie hesitated only a second before agreeing. What harm would that do, she thought. She found herself glancing in her mirror frequently, feeling oddly comforted by Luke following her. She liked her, she admitted. They certainly had not lacked for conŹversation, last night or this morning. Which was unusual for her, Cassie knew. She was a loner, always had been, and it usually took awhile for her to warm up to people, but she had thoroughly enjoyed Luke’s company. And if she could just get past this silly attraction she was feeling, she thought she and Luke could possiŹbly become good friends. Luke had not even hinted that she thought of Cassie as anything but that. In fact, she had said that she wasn’t looking for anyone. Cassie smiled. It could be the start of a new friendship. And it had been awhile since she’d added one of those to her life.
“My God. This is… incredible” Luke said a short time later as they stood in her workshop. She glanced at Cassie, then back at the eagle. “Words fail me,” she said quietly. She reached out a gentle hand, as if afraid to startle the eagle and cause it to take flight. Cassie watched those fingers stroke the head lovingly and she drew in a quick breath. Again, she had the briefest image of those hands touching her that way and she shivered.
“Beautiful. So absolutely beautiful,” Luke was saying, and Cassie turned away, trying to busy herself. She was always embar-
rassed when she showed her work, afraid they wouldn’t like it nearly as much as she did.
“So you like it?”
“Are you kidding? I love it. It’s … magnificent. You have such
a talent.”
Cassie blushed at her praise, secretly pleased that she liked it.
“You do want to sell it?” Luke asked.
“I can’t very well keep him in here,” Cassie said. “What do you
think I could get for him?”
“I wouldn’t take less than ten thousand, maybe twelve,” Luke said as she walked around the eagle.
Cassie nearly gasped.
“That much?”
Luke nodded. “I saw a bear. It was bigger than this but not nearly as detailed. A lodge out near Yosemite has it. They paid fifŹteen for it, they said.” Luke turned and met her gaze. “I have a buyer for it,” she said suddenly.
Cassie’s eyes widened. “It’s a little cumbersome, with the wingspan and all. He’ll be hard to move.”
Luke nodded. “I have a buyer.”
“I’ve become attached to him. I’m not sure I’m ready to have him displayed somewhere with strangers touching him. Probably out front of some building with kids trying to climb on him. I don’t think I could stand that.”
Cassie walked to her eagle and brushed off a speck of dust from his wing. She was being silly, she knew. Luke probably thought she’d lost her mind.
But Luke was looking at her in an odd way, her smile gentle.
“What if I promise there won’t be strangers touching him? And he won’t be at a public place. He’ll be at someone’s home, guardŹing their backyard.”
Cassie slid her eyes from Luke back to her eagle. “You really think you can sell it for me? Your friends on Russian River?”
“Oh, they would love him.”
Cassie nodded. “Okay then. I mean, I can’t keep him here, that’s for sure.”
Luke looked around the shop for the first time, and he
r lips parted in surprise. “You’ve got tons of stuff here,” she said as she walked over to a beaver that was chewing happily on a log. “This one is great, too.”
“I want to take at least ten pieces with me to the County Fair next month. These are all but finished. They just need touch-ups here and there,” she said, waving at the animals that stood in varyŹing positions around the shop.
Luke walked to the workbench and gently picked up a fawn. “This is so delicate,” she said softly. She glanced up and met Cassie’s eyes. “You have incredible talent.”
“Please stop,” Cassie said, blushing again. “You’re starting to embarrass me.”
Luke turned the fawn around in her hands, then set it back down. “With the type of homes I design, I meet a lot of woodŹworkers, mostly men. They make beautiful cabinets, furniture, railings. Anything the homeowner wants.” Luke paused. “Do you ever work on commission?”
Cassie nodded. “I have on a few occasions.”
“If you’re interested, I could probably get you more business than you could handle. Most of the homes I design are totally natŹural.” Luke waved a hand at Cassie’s workshop. “These pieces would fit perfectly.”
“The problem I’ve found with commissions is that the cusŹtomer wants something other than wildlife, and I’m not at all comŹfortable producing that.” Cassie wrinkled her nose. “Or fish. They always want carved fish stuck on a board. To me, it just looks like a dead fish.” She, too, waved at the pieces scattered about. “I like to think that my animals are very much alive, all with different looks and personalities.”
“Well, that is one good thing about working for commission. You can always say no. Of course, if you agree, that will really limit
the time that you can devote to regular art shows and county fairs and such.”
“You’re right, but the people who frequent those places usually can only afford the small carvings. Fortunately, it doesn’t take me long to make them.”
“Well, right off the top of my head, I can think of three or four clients who would be interested in your work. If it’s okay with you, I’ll give them your business card.”
Cassie hesitated only a moment Did she want to be indebted to Luke? It didn’t matter. She was no fool. It would be insane for her to turn down an opportunity like this.
So she nodded. “I would appreciate it.”
“You have great talent,” Luke said again. “And you should be getting paid for it. Truthfully, the eagle I bought from you was practically a steal. It was worth twice what I paid.”
“Yes, but I wouldn’t sell any if I priced them that high.”
“No, probably not at the county fair.” It was Luke’s turn to hesŹitate. “I know it’s really none of my business, but have you tried the Internet?”
Cassie blushed. “I don’t even own a computer.”
Luke rolled her eyes.
“I know what you’re thinking,” Cassie said. “How can people exist without a computer? I hear it from Kim all the time. I just…”
“You’re afraid?”
“I wouldn’t know where to begin.”
Luke laughed. “Gotta start somewhere, sweetie. Next time we’ve both got a free evening, I’ll show you my Web page. You could fix one up like that for yourself. It’d be great advertising.”
Cassie nodded uncertainly. “We’ll see.”
“Okay. We’ll take baby steps with this then.”
When they walked back outside, the rain was starting again. Before Cassie had time to reconsider, she invited Luke in for coffee.
Luke flashed a quick grin and nodded.
“I’d love a cup. I’m usually a bear without it in the mornings, but I knew you were anxious to get your van so I didn’t bother at the house.”
As Cassie opened the kitchen door to her small, modest house she had an overwhelming urge to take back her invitation. After spending time at Luke’s spacious home, her own seemed tiny in comparison. She wondered what Luke’s reaction would be. But she needn’t have worried.
“This is great, Cassie.” Luke moved into the kitchen, her archiŹtect’s hands and eyes moving over the cabinets that had been built well before either of them were even born. “How old is this?”
“It was built in the thirties, they tell me. And he wasn’t even a cabinetmaker, he was a farmer. He and his son built the entire house. It’s been remodeled a few times, me included, but no one’s touched the cabinets,” she said.
“Who would dare? I can’t believe all the detail,” she murmured as she bent for a closer look. “Custom cabinets, sure, even back then they had fine cabinetmakers.” Luke turned back to Cassie. “You had them refinished?”
“They were painted when I bought the house.”
“Painted?”
Cassie tried to hold back her laugh, but the look of total disgust on Luke’s face was too much.
“I know. You must be completely appalled. I couldn’t believe it myself,” she teased.
Luke smiled good-naturedly.
“It was a sin, whoever did it.”
“Yes, I agree.”
Cassie poured water into the coffeemaker, then pulled out sevŹeral varieties of coffee.
“I hope you don’t do decaf,” she said.
“Of course not. But I do tend to tamper with it a bit,” Luke cauŹtioned.
“Sugar?”
Luke nodded.
Cassie made a face. “And cream?”
Luke lifted one corner of her mouth wryly. “I add enough sugar and cream to disguise the coffee, I’m not sure why I drink it.”
“Well, you’ll have to make do with soy milk. I don’t have any cream,” Cassie said as she turned back to her task. She felt Luke move close behind her, peering just over her shoulder.
“Smells good,” she said. “Do you mind if I look around?”
“No. It won’t take you but a minute, though. The two bedŹ
rooms are now one and then the living room,” Cassie explained,
relaxing a little as Luke moved away from her. She returned a short
time later.
“I like it,” she said. “It’s …”
“Quaint?” Cassie supplied.
“I was going to say cozy,” Luke said. “I like your bedroom.”
Cassie managed not to blush, but she turned back quickly to her coffee, making a production of pouring two cups.
They sat at her small kitchen table and she watched, horrified, as Luke put an outrageous amount of sugar and milk into her cup. She sipped her own, enjoying the rich flavor but smiled as Luke made a satisfied moan at her own first sip.
“Perfect.”
“Sure you have enough sugar?”
Luke ignored her with a flick of one eyebrow.
“Tell me what you’ve done here. The sliding door to the patio is obviously new. What about in here?”
“The laundry room is through there,” Cassie said, pointing to a door at the opposite end of the kitchen. “When I bought it, that was a large storage room, I guess. The connections were outside so I brought them in and remodeled that room and extended the patio. In here, just new flooring.”
“Was your workshop here?”
“Yes. That’s the main reason I bought this place. The workshop was perfect. And I just remodeled a little at a time. The bedroom wall was the first to go,” she said.
“I guess having one bedroom cuts down on company. Of course, that can be a good thing sometimes.”
Cassie stared into her coffee, wondering why she was even con-
sidering confiding in Luke. Her relationship with her father was something only Kim knew about, and even then, Kim knew only what Cassie wanted her to know.
“I’ve never admitted this to anyone before,” she said quietly. “I think the main reason I knocked out the bedroom wall was so that my father wouldn’t come stay with me.” She looked up and met Luke’s gentle gaze. “Is that terrible?”
“I don’t think that’s terrible. I guess th
at was easier than just telling him you didn’t want to see him?”
Cassie sighed. “How do you tell your father that you don’t like him and you don’t want to see him? He’s the only family I have,” she said. “And I’m all he has.”
“But?” Luke prompted.
“But it’s very hard for me not to hate him. I don’t have any pleasant memories of my childhood. None. I can’t recall a time of just being a kid and laughing and playing. Everything was always so serious. It was like I was being punished for something I had yet to do.”
“Did you have friends in your neighborhood? At church?”
“Not really. He wouldn’t allow me to play with the neighbors and the few kids at church, well, I think they were too afraid of my father. He sent more than one off crying.”
“I’m sorry,” Luke said quietly.
A ghost of a smile appeared on Cassie’s face, then it was gone just as quickly. Something she had never told Kim now surfaced. Something she thought was better kept buried, but the memory emerged now.
“Every night before dinner, we would read a chapter from the Bible. Sometimes short ones, sometimes not. But I had to memoŹrize it, word for word, before I could eat. Some nights, it would be hours before I could do it. Some nights, I couldn’t do it at all. So instead of dinner, he would lock me in his office and tell me not to ask to come out until I had it memorized.”
“Cassie, I’m so sorry,” Luke whispered.
“I never could do it,” Cassie said. “I would sleep on the floor,
crying for my mother, wondering why she had left me there with him.” Cassie brushed at an errant tear, unable to stop the pain and loneliness that suddenly enveloped her.
Luke reached out and captured her hand, squeezing lightly.
“And you ask me if I think it’s terrible that you don’t want him
to visit?”
“Do you think he even remembers doing that to me?”
“Why don’t you ask him?”
Cassie pulled her hand away from Luke’s warm one and shook her head. “I’m sorry. I don’t know why I told you all that. Kinda ruins a good cup of coffee,” she said lightly. “Except yours. It was already ruined.”