Rest and Relaxation (Lesbian Romance)

by Rhavensfyre

  Down girl.

  “I hadn’t really thought about it,” Allyse answered, appearing from the changing room with an armful of clothes.

  “That’s okay, you can think about it over lunch. Are you getting all of this?” Dani said to Allyse, but she boldly eyed the saleswoman as she spoke, still irked at being disregarded by the woman. She hated being judged by wait staff and salespeople who made assumptions about her based on what she wore and how she looked. The excessive fawning over Allyse had set her teeth on edge from the start even though Allyse seemed to take the behavior in stride. More than likely, she wasn’t even aware of how people treated her differently.

  “Yes, is that okay?” Allyse asked.

  “Of course, I was just going to carry this over to the register. I wasn’t judging.” Dani picked everything up and carried them over to the cashier, robbing the saleswoman of her cache. Next time, maybe the woman wouldn’t be so quick to judge a book by its cover.

  “Thank you,” Allyse said, then looked at the number of bags she had collected. “It’s been a lot of fun, but I think we should call it a day.”

  “No problem,” Dani said, then gathered up all the bags and headed for the mall exit. “I’m just going to drop all of this off at the car. You can stay here in the A/C if you want. I’ll be right back.”

  “Um, okay.” Allyse hesitated, then followed Dani out of the building and into the summer sun.

  “Hey, what’s up? Did you need something out of the Mustang?” Dani asked when she realized Allyse was following close on her heels.

  “No, not really,” Allyse answered, relieving Dani of some of the bags. “Here, let me help.”

  Stuffing the trunk full of her purchases was a quick job. Dani slammed the lid down and reset the alarm. Now that her arms were empty, she didn’t seem to know what to do with them. She stuffed her hands in her jeans and rocked back on her heels.

  “Are you ready to eat? I know I am.” A soft rumble accentuated Dani’s question.

  “Lead the way.” Allyse waved the hungry woman back into the mall.

  ***

  Allyse was delighted at Dani’s choice of restaurant. The food was amazing and the wait staff attentive without being intrusive. She took advantage of her vacationing status and enjoyed a glass of wine while Dani limited herself to soda since she was driving. As they ate, the two very different women chatted amicably, their conversation flowing easily in the intimate confines of their high backed booth.

  Dani was a surprisingly good conversationalist, answering any questions openly without making Allyse feel like she was prying the information from her. Allyse was more pleased than she wanted to admit, especially after this morning’s fiasco.

  “Erick called this morning,” Allyse said between bites of her dessert. She watched Dani’s face for any sign that the news was going to upset her. She was relieved when her news was received with just a pleasant but questioning look.

  “Everything okay?”

  “Yes. He knows me too well. He called to let me know how everything was going back in New York. I think he was making sure I wouldn’t worry and call him first. Before he hung up, he asked me to give you a message. He wants you to call him tonight.”

  “Okay, he probably just wants to remind me to be nice and mind my manners.”

  “Well, I don’t think he needs to tell you that. You obviously have impeccable manners.”

  Allyse laughed, noting the blush that appeared on Dani’s cheeks. She didn’t realize Dani was that easily embarrassed.

  The check arrived and saved them from an awkward silent moment. Dani reached for the bill before Allyse could even blink, quickly sliding her credit card into the folder and handing it back to the waiter without looking at it.

  “You didn’t have to pay for lunch,” Allyse protested.

  “Sure I did. I brought you here. Don’t worry. You can always buy me lunch some other time if you want.”

  “That sounds acceptable,” Allyse said. She would buy lunch and dinner for as long as she was there if it meant having Dani’s undivided attention.

  Dani fidgeted in her seat, her nimble fingers searching for something to do. They settled on the napkin beneath her glass, nervously shredding the damp paper into smaller and smaller bits before glancing up at Allyse. “Look, I want to apologize for what happened earlier.”

  “Don’t. It wasn’t your fault. I wasn’t thinking when I took over everything this morning.”

  “You’re welcome to my Kindle any morning you make coffee.” Dani cast a charming smile across the table. “Mine is usually strong enough to stir itself after the sugar begs for mercy.”

  “You have a deal.” Allyse accepted the offer without hesitation. It was a win/win situation. Coffee seemed to make Dani magically appear from upstairs in the morning. She would gladly make coffee every morning if her reward was spending more time with the charming young woman sitting across from her.

  “So riding?” Dani asked as the waiter returned with her card. “Yes or no.” She signed the receipt and left a cash tip, then handed the folder back to the waiter. The generous tip would ensure their right to continue sitting there and talk for as long they wanted to.

  “I’ve never ridden a horse before.”

  “Does that mean you’ve ridden other things?” Dani asked.

  “What…what do you mean?” Allyse stuttered.

  “Like an elephant or something?” Dani asked. Nothing in her expression gave away that the question was anything but innocent.

  “Noooo,” Allyse responded slowly, trying to figure out where the conversation was going and how it had veered south. Getting on a horse sounded frightening, and she wasn’t sure if she wanted to embarrass herself in front of Dani. Her face must have given her away because Dani reached out and squeezed Allyse’s hand in reassurance.

  “I wouldn’t put you on a horse that wasn’t safe. I promise I won’t let you get hurt.” Brown eyes gazed at Allyse solemnly and there wasn’t a hint of teasing in her voice.

  “Okay, I might try it then,” Allyse said, trying to speak intelligently while her brain insisted on misfiring. Her fingers tingled where Dani’s hand rested on hers. Her entire being was focused on keeping her hand still beneath those strong fingers. She held her breath, and then let it out in a disappointed sigh when Dani realized they were touching and snatched her hand away.

  “I wasn’t paying attention. You bought jeans, right?” Dani asked, desperate to change the subject. She could still feel the warmth of Allyse’s hand against her palm. It had felt good, too good…and she had to fight the urge to do it again.

  “Yes, why?”

  “Did Erick mention cowboy boots, by any chance?” Dani asked, even though she knew it was a long shot.

  “No, why?”

  “You need appropriate footwear so your foot doesn’t slip through the stirrup.”

  “I understood appropriate footwear.” Allyse stared at her like she had grown a horn in the middle of her head.

  “You’re going to need boots. It looks like we need to make another stop after we’re done here.” Dani wanted to laugh at the irony. Miles of travel to shop at a mall, something she hated to do, and now they had to head home in order to hit the local tack store.

  “I’m finished here,” Allyse said.

  “Great, let’s get going then.” Dani pushed her plate away and finished off her soda, then slid out of the booth, ready to go and waiting on Allyse to join her.

  Chapter Four

  Dani raced back to the calm and solitude of her farm in record time. After the third embarrassing yawn, she kept the A/C cranked and contemplated breaking one of her own rules against drinks in the car. Shopping shouldn’t be harder than a day’s farm work but add two heavy meals in a twenty-four hour period and she felt like she was going into a meat coma. Perhaps the effects of the day wouldn’t have been as bad if she wasn’t the one driving, but she was, and that meant going to extraordinary efforts to stay alert.

 
; One gas stop later and she was set up with everything she needed. She spent the rest of the ride sipping on a power drink and hoping she wouldn’t spill the bright red liquid inside the Mustang’s immaculate interior. Allyse seemed content to sit and watch the countryside go by, which was fine by her.

  She needed the quiet time after hours of trudging around the mall. She wasn’t used to being around so many people. Some shoppers meandered around staring blankly as they made their way through the brightly lit stores with the same single-minded purpose of a zombie horde. Then there were the excessively happy folk. The squealing teens and high pitched chatter of overly sugared children. Both seemed to be searching for brains, theirs or someone else’s. It was too much for Dani to process all at once. All the noise made her twitchy and worn-out at the same time.

  Dani rolled her shoulders, then popped her neck in an attempt to release stress tightened muscles. She was used to long days, but today had been more exhausting than digging fence pole holes in a rocky field.

  “We’re here,” she announced, pulling the Mustang off of the blacktop and into a small parking lot that had been recently repaved. The strip mall was ancient and isolated. A row of stores that met the needs of a population too scattered and small to have a real town center. In addition to the tack store, there was a market, a smoke shop, and an old-fashioned barbershop, candy-stripe pole and all.

  Allyse’s heels made Dani think. “You might want to buy your boots a size bigger than what you’re wearing right now.”

  “Why?”

  “Stockings don’t fit like socks do.” Dani cast a glance down at Allyse’s shoes. Her gaze lingered a bit longer than it ought to have, but Allyse didn’t seem to notice.

  “Socks? I have to wear socks?”

  Allyse said socks like it was a four letter word, and Dani got the idea that she considered socks close to high fashion blasphemy. She couldn’t resist teasing Allyse for acting like such a diva.

  “Yes, socks. You have to wear socks with cowboy boots. I think I have some old tube socks you could borrow.”

  Dani smirked at Allyse, who promptly turned and stalked to the door without her. Dani gawked at her retreating backside in a bout of shameless voyeurism. Stockings weren’t practical wear on the farm, but they looked damn good on the woman. And now Dani had another reason to regret their little shopping excursion. Jeans and cowboy boots were fun to look at on the right woman, but a nice calf? That was a shame to hide any day of the week.

  “Are you coming in?” Allyse turned and asked, interrupting her train of thought.

  “Yep. Wouldn’t miss this for the world,” Dani waved Allyse in before her.

  The familiar smell of leather and sweet feed acted like cowboy incense, calming her abused nerves the minute she walked through the door. She waved at the owner and headed for the boot section with Allyse in tow, then stood back and let the fun begin.

  “Hey, Dani. How’s it going?”

  Dani turned and found Gail, the store owner, standing next to her. “Hey, Gail. How’s business?”

  Gail tilted her head towards Allyse, who was busy trying on boots. Gail’s son was busy trying to explain to her that while the boots she had picked out to try on were very nice looking, they weren’t the best for horseback riding.

  “Good,” Gail said. “It looks like Bobby’s got his work cut out for him.”

  “Really?” Dani absently chewed on her thumbnail while she watched the teenage clerk try to help Allyse pull on a pair of sturdy leather boots. Wide eyes kept flashing towards his mother, begging her to save him. “Now that you’ve said something, he does look a little nervous.”

  “Maybe it’s your friend.”

  “Allyse? She’s Erick’s friend. From New York,” Dani said, as if that should explain everything.

  “You going to take her riding?”

  “Yeah, that’s what the boots are for,” Dani responded absently. She looked around her in dismay at the rows of jeans tucked into wooden cubbies and the western shirts hanging on circular racks. Since taking over from her father, Gail had been expanding the store until it was closer to a full-fledged western store, something Dani had forgotten.

  “Damn. Why didn’t I think of coming here first?”

  “Pardon?” Gail asked, turning her attention back on Dani.

  “Nothing,” Dani muttered then turned a sheepish grin towards her friend. “While I’m here I might as well pick up a few things. Did you ever get those rasps I ordered? Oh, and I need boot socks.”

  She walked away from the fiasco happening behind her and focused on the mental list of needs and wants, discarding anything that was too big or too messy to grace the interior of her Mustang. The trunk was off limits. True to Allyse’s nature, she had taken that over, too.

  ***

  Allyse’s spoils from the days shopping spree were going to take more than one trip. Dani was weighted down with enough bags to make her feel like a pack mule. She dropped them off in the living room with a relieved sigh and headed back out for a second load.

  Dani had thought she was safe after Allyse finally settled on a decent pair of riding boots. They were heading home and there was still enough daylight left to check in with the farmhands before they left for the night. Her guest had other plans.

  “A farmers market?” Cool green eyes had lit up, turning warm with excitement. “I’ve never been. Can we go?”

  Dani wanted to throw her hands up in the air. After being dragged around the mall all day, she really didn’t want to go. Allyse had insisted, and she finally dug in her heels, opting to wait in the car while Allyse shopped for God knew what. She turned on the radio and tuned out the world until Allyse returned. After stuffing the trunk with more bags, Dani made a quick vow. If Allyse and shopping were ever combined in a single sentence again, she was taking the truck.

  “Did you know that most of the produce is from local farmers?” Dani asked, pulling out a pretty impressive selection of fresh vegetables from her bag.

  “No, I didn’t. I was impressed by how much organic produce they stocked. I didn’t expect that,” Allyse said, leaving the zucchini, eggplant and peppers out on the counter and handing Dani a heavy bag of Granny Smith apples before diving into the next bag. “Can you put these in the refrigerator? Thanks.”

  “Uh, you didn’t have to buy these.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I would have given them to you for free. These here, they come from my orchard. It’s just over that hill back there.”

  Dani pointed out the kitchen window towards the hillside behind the house. It was getting late. The late afternoon sun cast her orchard in shadow and an orange glow along the edge of the glass made it difficult to see, but the familiar outlines were still visible.

  Allyse craned her neck to see out the window, then looked down at the bright green fruit in Dani’s hand. “Really? Then can I get my money back?”

  “Sure,” Dani said, reaching into her pocket.

  Allyse held up her hand. She didn’t expect Dani to take her so literally. “I was teasing, Dani. I don’t want your money.”

  “Oh, okay. Well if you don’t need me I am gonna head down to the barn and check on everything.” Dani pulled her hand out of her pocket and snatched up one of the apples. Before she left the kitchen she twisted and took a couple of backward steps, holding the apple up for Allyse to see before taking a bite out of it. “Thanks for the apple.”

  Dani’s laughter was musical and accompanied a swift twist and half step that set her feet back on a path that led her out the front door. A piercing whistle called Callie to her and they headed for the barn.

  Allyse stood staring at the spot where Dani had disappeared before nervously smoothing her hair. Dani had blown out of there like a whirlwind and she half-expected to find her hair a mess from the aftermath. She could barely breathe and had to sit down. It was as if Dani leaving had sucked all the energy, all the oxygen, out of the room with her. And those eyes! They almost glowed. Humor
transformed the quiet woman, animating her face and showing Allyse what unadulterated joy looked like.

  Allyse hid behind the screen door and watched Dani walk away. She looked at the various buildings dotting the landscape with new interest. Yesterday she had looked out her window and while she had appreciated the pastoral scene, she had little interest in exploring her surroundings. Now, she found she could barely wait to see what hidden surprises awaited her. She leaned against the doorframe and just listened.

  Away from the noise and din of the city, she had thought the farmhouse too quiet. In a moment of stillness, she realized that it wasn’t really silent here. She closed her eyes. Small sounds came to her, birds, frogs, and crickets all started their own parts of a chorus that was melodic and surprisingly soothing. With subtle movement, Allyse rubbed her neck then surreptitiously checked her pulse. It was a trick she had learned at work so no one would know she was having heart trouble. She marked the time in her head and counted the beats, having done it so often over the last few years that she didn’t need to use a watch. Her pulse was surprisingly normal. “How about that,” she murmured.

  Allyse was curled up on the couch with the kindle and a cup of tea when Dani finally returned to the house.

  Dani flopped down on the couch and put her feet up on the coffee table. She looked upset or perhaps angry. It was difficult to tell.

  “Can you get your dusty boots off the table?” Allyse asked, calmly placing the kindle down and picking up her tea. She didn’t want whatever was on Dani’s boots in her tea.

  Dani huffed at her but did it anyway. Allyse breathed a sigh of relief. She had poked the bear and gotten away with it, which meant that Dani was preoccupied with something important.

  “Is everything alright?”

  “It will be.”

  “What happened?” Allyse asked, wondering what could have happened during the short interval between Dani going out to the barn and now.