Trails Merge

by Rachel Spangler

  “Because her father is a bigwig Chicago politician?”

  “Yes, but that’s not why we initially got together. I wouldn’t use my lover to forward my career.” She hoped Campbell knew that about her, but after their argument the night before, it was worth clarifying. “I fell for Mia because she shone in many of the social situations I did, though for different reasons. Mia was bred to be the wife of a politician. She is a brilliant hostess with an eye for details that I always forget—flower arrangements, catering, evening wear. She can parrot enough of what she’s heard her father say about politics to hold brief conversations that make her appear credible without ever forming an opinion of her own, and that was enough to reel me in.

  “We had a ‘whirlwind romance’ that was heralded as a ‘match made in heaven.’ Imagine, the young upstart who worked miracles behind the scenes politically falling for the daughter of the Chicago Democratic Party’s elder statesman. We were the Democratic party’s ideal couple. By the time I realized Mia’s interest in politics was only superficial, I was already committed to her.”

  “You stayed with someone you didn’t love because you didn’t want to disappoint the Democratic party?” Campbell sounded bewildered. “I am trying to understand, but it sounds like you cared more about how your relationship came across to other people than how healthy it was for you and Mia.”

  “Campbell,” Parker sighed, “you know me better than that. Listen to what I said. I made a public commitment to Mia and, by extension, her family and our friends who rewarded that commitment with their support. To walk away from Mia would mean admitting that I failed not only myself, but also Mia and all the people who supported us. I couldn’t break that commitment without giving our relationship every chance to succeed.”

  “I see your point, but ultimately you did break that commitment. Why did it suddenly stop mattering?” Campbell didn’t sound angry, only flustered by Parker’s logic.

  “I told you I was a political strategist for Tim Brady’s political campaign, and I left over the sexual-harassment scandal, but I didn’t tell you about the young woman who was caught in the middle of it all.”

  “No, I remember the news reports saying the girl was young and poor. They hinted that she was a gold digger.”

  Parker shuddered at that characterization as a mix of sadness and anger rushed over her once again. Her voice wavered. “She was an intern, a recent grad from Northwestern with a full academic scholarship, tons of potential, a real idealist—young, attractive, and smart, but naïve. Sound like anyone else you know?”

  Campbell’s face turned distinctly paler, and Parker took that as sign that she understood the connection. “She reminded me of myself, and I wanted to help her succeed. I personally recruited her for the campaign, and I threw her in the senator’s company every chance I got. I was determined to make sure she had every opportunity she deserved. I thought that’s what I was providing her with.”

  Campbell groaned. “And the whole time that dirtbag was trying to force himself on the girl.”

  Parker lowered her gaze again and her voice faded to a whisper. She could barely bring herself to give voice to the rest of the story. “She was ruined, Tim Brady was elected to the Illinois State Senate, and I’ll never forgive myself.”

  “That’s ridiculous,” Campbell said vehemently. “You can’t hold yourself responsible.” Campbell seemed to remember who she was talking to because she immediately added, “It must have been hellish for you to think you’d been partially responsible for her downfall. It must have shaken your foundations.”

  Parker was once again amazed at how intuitive Campbell was. “I didn’t know where to turn. Everyone I’d trusted was invested in seeing Tim Brady elected. My friends, my colleagues, my in-laws…even my girlfriend.”

  “Mia sided with that scum?” Campbell let loose a flash of outrage on Parker’s behalf.

  “Mia did exactly what she had been raised to do. She put on a pretty dress, plastered that fake smile on her face, and followed her daddy to the podium to address the press. She was on the front line of damage control for the party, which proved beyond question that all the hope and faith I’d invested to make our relationship a success had been one-sided.”

  When Parker looked up, she saw the tears in Campbell’s eyes. “You poured your heart and soul into everything, only to have your personal and professional relationships destroyed all at once, and I had the nerve to suggest that you’d merely been ‘waiting for something better to come along.’” Campbell groaned and jumped to her feet. “Can you ever forgive me for being so self-absorbed?”

  “It wasn’t totally your fault. You can’t be expected to know something I never told you. I should have been more forthcoming. You didn’t deserve to be blindsided by Mia.”

  “I do wish you’d told me sooner, not because you owed me any explanation, but to let me know what an ass I was. I was so wrapped up in myself I didn’t stop to think that Mia might have hurt you. If I had, I wouldn’t have listened to her ramble. I would have strangled her on sight.”

  Parker smiled, because it was funny, and probably true. Her mood was lightening with each of Campbell’s comments.

  “Here’s where you’re wrong, though,” Campbell said, as she paced in front of Parker’s desk. “You didn’t hurt me. That was old hurt coming back up. You’ve never given me any reason to doubt your integrity. I should’ve taken the time to listen to you. I should’ve trusted you.”

  “I realize how it must have sounded to you. I know how Lynn hurt you. I don’t blame you for reacting how you did. You were protecting yourself.” Parker moved toward Campbell. She couldn’t stand being away from her any longer. She needed to touch her.

  “You’re not Lynn. I have to remember that, but I was so busy protecting myself that I hurt you in the process.” Campbell took Parker’s face in her hands. “I didn’t even realize how hard it would be for you to face Mia. I should’ve shielded you from that pain. Instead, I multiplied it.”

  Parker kissed Campbell. She couldn’t resist any longer. She slipped her hands under Campbell’s coat and slid it off her shoulders, then let it fall to the floor. “You didn’t hurt me,” she said between kisses. Then to reiterate her point, she pulled back enough to meet Campbell’s beautiful blue eyes. “You have never hurt me.”

  “I should’ve been there for you.” Campbell’s voice quivered.

  “You’re here now. That’s enough. That’s everything.” Parker pressed her lips to Campbell’s once again. She let her hands travel down Campbell’s shoulders, grazing her breasts through the fabric of her shirt, then trailed her fingers along the length of Campbell’s torso to settle on the curve of her hips. As the kiss grew more frenzied, their passion escalated beyond their control.

  Parker breathed harder as their mouths continued to claim one another. Before she knew what she was doing, she ran her hand beneath the waistband on Campbell’s ski pants. She hadn’t intended to have sex right here in her office. She hadn’t thought this through at all, but when she found the wetness already waiting, she lost all ability to think logically. With her libido now fully in control, she tugged Campbell’s pants down, pushed her into the desk chair, and knelt before her. A mix of lust and astonishment played across Campbell’s face just before Parker lowered her head. She wasn’t sure which one of them moaned when she took Campbell into her mouth, but the sound only drove them both closer to the edge.

  Campbell’s hips rocked in time with the strokes of Parker’s tongue across her clit and she laced her fingers though Parker’s hair, holding her gently against her. The room was silent except for Campbell’s increasingly ragged breath, but Parker could hear office conversations outside her door. As much as she didn’t want this moment to end, the thought of someone interrupting them made her increase her pace. She pushed first one finger and then two into Campbell, who moaned her approval. Parker established a fast-paced rhythm with both her fingers and her tongue that had Campbell’s muscles trembling
in minutes.

  “I’m going to come,” Campbell gasped in a hoarse whisper as her body tightened and her hips bucked under Parker’s mouth.

  Parker stayed between her legs until all the tremors subsided. Then she rose and regarded her lover with a grin. “How’d you like our first attempt at make-up sex?”

  “Is that what that was?” Campbell stood and pulled up her pants.

  Parker nodded, pleased at the sated glow on Campbell’s face.

  “Then I think I have some making up to do, too.” Campbell placed her hands on Parker’s waist and drew her close.

  “No, you don’t.” Parker pushed her away. “You have to get back to work and so do I.”

  “That’s not fair.” Campbell tried to pull her close again. “Come on. I can tell you want me as bad as I want you.”

  Parker laughed but moved farther out of her reach. “Yes, I do, which is why you have to get out of here right now or you’ll miss your next lesson.”

  Campbell picked up her coat. “Okay, but only if you promise to spend the night with me tonight.”

  “I promise.” Parker allowed her to get close enough for a good-bye kiss, but when Campbell tried to undo the top button on her blouse she swatted her hand away.

  “You can’t blame me for trying,” Campbell joked, that full unguarded smile back on her face.

  “Go,” Parker commanded through her laughter, and playfully pushed Campbell out the door.

  Once Parker was alone, she collapsed into her chair. Campbell was exhausting and exhilarating both physically and emotionally. She doubted they would ever overcome the endless challenges to their relationship, but at times like this she certainly wanted to try.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Campbell’s stomach was in knots when she and Parker arrived at Nadia’s cabin that evening. Nadia was an important woman who had likely sensed Parker’s potential and was eager to include her in the pet project she mentioned. While Campbell didn’t have a clue what the project entailed, she was certain it involved Parker returning to Chicago, and that scared her. Still, she couldn’t keep Parker cut off from the rest of the world, and even if she could, that would be unfair.

  Nadia took their coats and ushered them into a living room that blended into a dining area and was separated from the kitchen by a bar. It was one of the better-furnished cabins on the mountain, and Campbell knew it well. Either the familiar surroundings or the informal atmosphere Nadia had established with her warm greeting eased some of Campbell’s tension.

  “Let me introduce you both to the rest of our little group,” Nadia said as the other women rose to meet them. “This is Hannah McBride, the director of social services for the greater Chicago area, and Marta Rodriguez, director of Mayor Daley’s City Youth Program. Ladies, this is Parker Riley and her partner, Campbell Carson.”

  Campbell glanced at Parker as they all shook hands. This was the first time someone had put a label on their relationship. They were certainly lovers, but there was more to it than that. “Girlfriends” was probably accurate, but she liked the sound of “partner.” That was how they were approaching this evening’s meeting. Whatever was laid on the table, they’d promised to face it together.

  “And I’m Alexis Reynolds, queen of all things,” Alexis said. “What can I get you to drink?”

  “Water for me,” Campbell said.

  “Sorry, darling. This is a business meeting. We never do business while sober,” Alexis teased.

  “Then I’ll have what you’re having,” Campbell said, though she wasn’t sure what that was.

  “Same for me,” Parker added as they took their seat at the dining-room table.

  “Campbell,” Nadia sat down across from them, “I’ve done my homework on Parker, but you’re an unknown. Where are you from?”

  “Here.” Campbell took a hesitant sip of the scotch Alexis handed her. She’d never been a drinker.

  “Here, as in Wisconsin?”

  “I grew up on the mountain. My grandfather built this cabin. My parents live two houses down the road. My place is farther down the hill.”

  “That’s impressive,” Nadia said, and the sentiment sounded genuine. “It must be amazing to have your roots run deep in a place like this.”

  “It is. I’ve been blessed.”

  “It’s good that you realize that. Most of the kids in the neighborhood I grew up in couldn’t dream of visiting a place like Bear Run, much less living here.”

  Campbell realized that comment hadn’t been made off-handedly. “You still represent that neighborhood, don’t you, Alderwoman?”

  Alexis chuckled. “I told you, she doesn’t beat around the bush.”

  Nadia gave her an appreciative smile. “Very astute of you, Campbell.”

  “Southside Chicago?” Parker, who’d been quiet up until that point, leaned forward with interest.

  “The area around Comiskey Park,” Nadia confirmed, then clarified for Campbell. “It’s economically depressed, plagued by high rates of unemployment and crime. We lose too many of our young people to violence, drugs, abuse, teen pregnancies, and incarceration.”

  “It’s hard to rise above your current condition if you aren’t exposed to any other way of life,” Marta added, her Latina heritage evident in her soft accent.

  Hannah joined the conversation as well. “We’re ultimately products of our upbringing until we’re shown something different.”

  “I couldn’t agree more.” Campbell thought of her own charmed childhood. Without that foundation she wouldn’t be half the person she was today. She also knew Parker felt the same way about the opportunities her affluent upbringing had provided her.

  “Then you’ll understand the importance of the program we’re here to discuss.” Nadia pulled some papers off the bar and slid them across the table to Parker and Campbell. “The Broad Horizons Youth Initiative takes inner-city youth and provides them an alternative to the life they’re living.”

  Campbell glanced at the brochure. It was filled with statistics and demographics that confirmed what she already knew. Young people trapped in bad situations tended to make bad decisions.

  “What does it entail?” Parker asked as she ran through the statistics. Campbell recognized her business tone, the one she used frequently in early staff meetings as she tried to rapidly gather and evaluate new information.

  “There are a lot of details about the psychology that you can read up on, but basically we take youth who’ve shown potential but are in high-risk living conditions and offer them a chance to spend a summer at one of our Broad Horizons sites, which are spread nationwide, mostly in suburban or rural areas,” Nadia explained.

  “While at the site, they receive counseling in a wide range of areas, from study skills to critical-thinking techniques and decision-making models,” Hannah said excitedly.

  “They also interact with positive role models, who teach basic employment and living skills that they don’t have modeled for them at home,” Nadia added.

  “It’s an opportunity to see themselves living a better life, an alternative way of conceptualizing their future,” Alexis said. “No one can make the choice for them, but we can at least show them that they do in fact have one.”

  Campbell had to admit it sounded like a good program. Her time at the YMCA in Madison had taught her that the hardest thing to battle with disadvantaged kids was their overwhelming sense of hopelessness, and that was the key component of this program. It offered hope for a better life.

  “And they travel in groups?” Parker asked.

  “Absolutely. Ten to twenty kids per site,” Nadia confirmed. “After they go home, they can hold each other accountable and have a support group when things get hard again.”

  “Is it a one-time event?” Parker was in full work mode now. Campbell could practically see her internalizing the information, and her enthusiasm escalated with each answer.

  “No, we encourage the students to stay in touch with the hosts they build relationshi
ps with and return to their sites as many summers as they wish to,” Hannah answered.

  “That would give them something to look forward to each year, which in turn would help them stay on track,” Parker concluded.

  “It also gives the site coordinators a chance to use the positive experiences of the returning participants to acclimate the newer ones. It’s a learning experience for everyone.” Marta was feeding Parker’s excitement.

  “What about interest in the community?” Campbell asked. “Are kids from the south side of Chicago eager to get shipped off to the country for an entire summer?”

  “These kids are hungry for a chance to succeed. They go through a rigorous application program and have to get recommendations from community leaders, and there’s still a long waiting list. We have more kids than we have sites to place them in.”

  “Sounds like everything is up and running,” Parker said, and Campbell could read the big question in her eyes even before she asked it. “What do you still need, Nadia?”

  “What every charitable organization needs.”

  “Money,” they said in unison.

  “We need a lobbyist who’ll get the program written into state and federal budget programs,” Alexis explained, “someone who knows the system and people involved, but isn’t tied to any one politician or special-interest group.”

  “It’s a full-time position, Parker, and you’d have the full backing of Mayor Daley, as well as several high-ranking city officials. You’d be given access to all our resources and contacts. You’d split your time between Chicago, Springfield, and Washington D.C. and have the ear of legislators and dignitaries in all three cities.”

  Campbell’s stomach turned over and her palms began to sweat. Chicago, Springfield, and D.C.? That didn’t leave much time for Bear Run.

  “I’m sorry, but I left politics for a reason,” Parker stated emphatically. “I have no interest in working for dignitaries and legislators.”