The Scholarship

by Jaime Maddox

  “How about that drink?” Reese asked as they began cleaning up. She’d dismissed her parents and Cass to the living room, and after the day they’d both had, she thought the vodka and tonics were in order.

  “Sounds heavenly,” Ella said.

  “Okay. Would you like to sit out on the patio? It’s a little cool, but if I light the fire, it should be fine.”

  “I’ll go grab a jacket,” Ella said, and when she returned, the fire was blazing and Reese was sitting on a glider, her feet tucked under her, a blanket over her lap, and a drink in each hand. Ella laughed at the sight. “Don’t you look cozy?” she asked.

  Reese patted the spot next to her, and Ella lifted the blanket and sat beside her. She sipped her drink and felt the heat singe her throat as if she’d swallowed the fire in the pit. It felt wonderful, and she sighed contentedly.

  “That bad, huh?”

  “It’s been a rotten week.”

  “I’m sorry about that.”

  “When did you find out you’re a suspect?”

  “Tuesday.”

  Just as Ella suspected. “I guess that explains everything, then.”

  Reese didn’t answer, and Ella took another sip of her drink. This one went down easier. Too easy, she thought, and made a promise to nurse the rest of it.

  “So, you and Steph were an item, huh?”

  Ella could hear Reese sigh in the darkness. “That’s the rumor.”

  “It rings true.”

  “Does it?”

  Ella didn’t know how to explain it, but once the investigator had said it, Reese and Steph made sense to Ella. There was nothing obvious, no tell, just a reverence Reese had for Steph that went beyond friendship. She told her so.

  Reese was silent as she thought about Ella’s words. Was it so obvious? How come no one else had ever sensed it? Did Ella have some special perception that others lacked? Or was it just that Ella had known both of them and could see her and Steph together in her mind’s eye? But, then again, she hadn’t suspected anything until the DA’s investigator had voiced his suspicions to her in the ER.

  She thought of Steph and what they’d shared. Theirs had been a passionate affair, fueled by teenage hormones, and over the years Reese had often wondered where their relationship would have gone. Few teen romances survive, and theirs likely wouldn’t have been any different. But that didn’t lessen her feelings or detract from the precious times they shared. It’s time to talk about it, Steph. I’m sorry for outing you, but I trust Ella. I really do.

  “I suppose it rings true because it was.”

  Turning slightly, Ella looked at Reese and spoke softly. “I’m happy to know that, Reese. Steph missed out on so much because she died so young. It’s good to know that she didn’t miss out on love.”

  Reese reached across the space between them and gently squeezed Ella’s thigh. “Thank you for believing in me.”

  Ella placed her hand on Reese’s and laced their fingers together. “I have an ulterior motive,” she said.

  Reese nudged closer and whispered. “Oh, yeah? What’s that?”

  “I want that date with you.”

  “I’m still free tomorrow night, although by then, I’ll probably be too tired to stand.”

  “It would be okay with me if we sit.”

  “I have a fire pit just like this at my house, but there’s no one in the living room to spy on us.”

  “It sounds perfect.” Ella leaned, and turned her head, and found herself a mere inch away from Reese. Reese turned, too, and suddenly they both gave in to the growing attraction. Their lips met just as before—softly, sweetly. Then Ella felt her hunger growing and she deepened the kiss, seeking Reese’s tongue, probing her gently. Reese answered in kind and then pulled away and trailed kisses along Ella’s jaw and neck that left her shuddering.

  Ella moaned, acknowledging the sensations that flooded her—desire, of course, and excitement, but also a unity born in the bonds they’d forged during the hours since Cass’s dip in Roaring Brook.

  Ella closed her eyes and arched her neck, giving herself to Reese, and she felt Reese shifting, the glider moving, and Reese eased her onto her lap. Beneath the blanket, Reese pulled her closer, moved her hands under Ella’s shirt, teased the skin of her back with feathery touches. Ella thought she might come just from Reese kissing her and touching her that way, and the thought was sobering.

  Arching back, she placed her fingers on Reese’s lips. “What are your plans for the evening, Doctor? Because if you’re going to stay at your parents’ and watch out for your sister, you have to stop turning me on like this.”

  “Is Pip home?” she asked between kisses.

  “No.”

  “Are you allowed guests?”

  Reese rubbed her palm across Ella’s nipple, and suddenly it didn’t matter if they made love in her car, as long as they did it soon. All the flirting on the phone the week before, and then the emotion of the past few days, had her spinning.

  Ella laughed. “What’s she going to do? Ground me? Let’s go.”

  Reese stood and killed the gas feeding the fire, then reached for Ella’s hand.

  They kissed their way across the yard and through the house, up the stairs, and into Ella’s room. With the door closed and locked behind them, Ella pulled Reese’s sweatshirt up over her head. No bra kept her lips from Reese’s breasts, and she leaned forward and sucked one into her mouth, while she caressed the other. She felt Reese moving back toward the bed, and she followed, joined to her by mouth and breast.

  Reese pulled her down, on top of her, and positioned her legs between Ella’s. Ella ground her pelvis down as Reese slid her hands up, pulling the layers of clothing with her. With one hand, she unhooked Ella’s bra while she clutched her ass with the other, urging their centers together.

  Ella shimmied out of her bra, rolling far enough over to slip her hand into the waistband of Reese’s jeans. Reese moaned at the contact, and Ella quieted her with her mouth, this kiss hungrier than the others, deeper and more demanding. Reese answered the call with her hands, opening Ella’s jeans, sliding them down her hips and over her ass.

  “Let me get these off,” Ella said as she rolled a little and kicked them aside. Watching Reese do the same, Ella grew hotter and wetter as she throbbed with need. When they were naked beside each other, they buried fingers in each other, opened to each other, found each other’s flesh with lips and tongues.

  Ella felt the force of the tide sucking her out to sea as she ground against Reese’s hand, and then she went under as she sucked in a huge breath and exploded. She sought Reese’s mouth, kissed her as she rode out her orgasm.

  “Holy fuck,” she gasped a minute later as she regained the ability to form intelligible words.

  Reese had stilled beneath her, both her own hips and the hand that had given Ella so much pleasure.

  “Have you lost interest in me already?” Ella asked playfully.

  “Not a chance.”

  “Good. Because I’m not done with you.”

  “Really?”

  “Really,” Ella said as she eased her way down Reese’s body, kissing a path from her ear to her neck, then finally her breast. As she sucked a nipple into her mouth, Reese moaned, and Ella slipped one finger, then a second into her wet folds. Reese clenched around her, paralyzing Ella’s fingers, and Ella stilled until she felt her begin to relax.

  “Please, Ella, I need to come,” Reese pleaded, and Ella slid between Reese’s legs. Covering Reese’s clit with her mouth, she licked softly as Reese arched into her. She moved her fingers slowly, allowing Reese to drive into her mouth and her fingers by turns, and when Reese buried her hands in Ella’s hair to hold her in place, Ella let Reese take over. In seconds, Ella felt the trembling begin, and Reese groaned in ecstasy.

  Chapter 24: The Pumpkin Patch

  Ella’s bed felt empty when she awakened, but she only had to roll over and hug the pillow to imagine Reese beside her. It had been very late, or perhap
s very early by the time Reese went back to her parents’, and as much as Ella would have liked her to stay, she knew it was best that she check on Cass and not raise her parents’ suspicions too high.

  Besides, they had a date planned for tonight, and this time, no way was she going to let Reese out of bed before morning.

  Her first order of business was to check on Cass, but as she dialed the number for the Ryans’ house, she found herself hoping Reese would answer. When Sharon assured her that Cass was up, showered, dressed, and staring at the clock, Ella laughed. Apparently, she suffered no after-effects from her dunk in the gorge.

  After showering and dressing appropriately for the pumpkin patch, Ella hopped into her car. Her first stop was at the bakery, and it was an easy trip to the lake. She’d agreed to drive Sophie, since parking was an issue at the pumpkin patch. It was a sunny day, and overhead a clear, cloudless sky hinted it would be a nice one for Cass’s party. They encountered surprisingly little traffic, and Ella found herself in Sophie’s driveway twenty minutes later.

  “Welcome back,” Sophie said by way of greeting. “I’m so happy you had such a productive trip.”

  It seemed like so long ago that Ella had been away that she needed to press the rewind button in her mind.

  They’d talked twice while she was gone, mostly because Ella had begun to worry about Sophie, and she wanted to make sure she was okay. Even though she didn’t look it, Sophie was nearly eighty years old, and she lived alone, practically in the middle of nowhere. Since she didn’t have any family to look after her, Ella felt someone needed to do it, and she liked Sophie, so it didn’t seem like a chore.

  “It’s good to be back.”

  Ella followed her into the sunroom, where Sophie had all the essentials for a wonderful lox sandwich prepared. “Oh, boy. I’m going to put on weight if I keep hanging around you.”

  “Nonsense. Salmon is low-fat. The cream cheese is low-fat. The onion and capers are low-fat. It practically takes more calories to digest this food than you get from eating it.”

  “It’s a good thing I stopped at the bakery, then. I don’t want us starving.”

  Sophie’s smile lit up her face. “You are precious, Ella.”

  Ella felt herself blushing and thought of Reese. If the light had been on last night, would she have seen Reese blushing?

  “What’s that smile about?” Sophie asked as she poured coffee.

  Ella hesitated. Even though she’d first come here as a friend, their relationship had changed when Sophie started the scholarship for Steph at PMU. At this point, Ella felt it best to maintain some boundaries, and sharing the detail of her night in bed with Reese would definitely cross them.

  “Nothing. I’m just happy, I guess. Excited about the party this afternoon.”

  “Really? Any particular reason why?”

  Sophie studied her over her coffee cup, and Ella felt totally naked. It wasn’t possible that Sophie could know—certainly Reese wouldn’t have shared that with her—yet she seemed to sense something.

  Ella wasn’t showing her cards just yet. “Lots of potential donors will be there,” she said with a wink.

  “No wonder they made you a VP. Is Cass excited? I haven’t seen the dear girl since Reese put the boat away.”

  Ella immediately realized that Sophie didn’t know about Cass’s adventure in the gorge, and she wasn’t sure how much of that tale she should tell her, either. But how would she explain Cass ending up in the water without explaining about the baseball player who’d pushed her? She couldn’t, but she could leave out the detail about the police questioning Reese.

  When Ella told Sophie about the events of the day before, she visibly paled. “Why would anyone try to hurt that dear girl?”

  Since Ella didn’t believe Reese had anything to do with it, she shook her head and offered her honest opinion. “I have no idea. It’s really bizarre.”

  “I would imagine the Ryans are a little spooked.”

  Ella sat back and nodded, but it was the first time she’d thought about it. While she’d been molesting their daughter the night before, the Ryans were probably worried sick about why someone had tried to harm Cass and whether they’d try again. And who would know that anguish better than Sophie? Steph had been assaulted, too, only no Scouts were there to save her. Ella was sure Sophie was thinking the same thing, and rather than skirt the issue, she addressed it.

  “If only some Scouts had been here that night,” she said softly.

  “Or some parents.”

  Ella sat up in surprise. Did Sophie blame herself for Steph’s death? “Oh, Mrs. Gates, you can’t say that! Don’t think that! Steph was a teenager—certainly old enough to be alone in the house. It wasn’t your fault.”

  “Those philosophers who offer comfort after a tragedy say ‘God called her home.’ Or ‘It was her time.’ It makes me wonder, Ella. If I had been home, would something else have happened? Would she have gone over to Reese’s to study and been hit by a drunk driver?”

  “My gram said the same thing. ‘Our days are numbered.’”

  “I remember her saying that whenever someone young died.”

  Ella nodded and then was quiet for a moment. “How’s the investigation going?” she asked.

  “I don’t hear much, truthfully.” She looked out the window and studied a view she surely knew by heart. “There is a new angle, though.”

  Ella suspected she knew what Sophie was about to say. “What’s that?”

  “They’re investigating Reese. Apparently, they believe that she and Steph were…more than friends, and that might be the motive for the murder.”

  Ella didn’t want to be deceitful, so she told Sophie what she’d heard at the hospital. She omitted so many other details that she couldn’t face Sophie. Instead, she followed her gaze out the window.

  “What do you think about that?” Ella’s voice was soft as she asked. How much did she really want to talk about this with Sophie? She hadn’t even come out to her.

  “The notion that Reese might have murdered Steph is preposterous. As for the other matter, I don’t know, and I’m not sure I want to.”

  Ella gently rubbed Sophie’s arm in response, and it seemed to awaken her inner tiger.

  “Enough of that nonsense. It’s supposed to be a happy day. Am I dressed okay?”

  Ella looked down to the sweater and jeans she had on, and then at the pantsuit Sophie was wearing. “Do you own jeans? Or sneakers?”

  “Of course I have sneakers! And a jogging suit,” she said hopefully. “Will that do?”

  “It’ll be perfect.”

  Sophie sat up a little taller, as if she was proud of herself for owning the proper attire for the pumpkin patch, and they sat quietly for a while, eating their brunch.

  “And how’s the situation at home now that Pip’s back?”

  “She’s been scarce since I got back from my trip. I think she’s trying not to crowd me, but I’m going to start house hunting. As a matter of fact, I’m supposed to talk to a realtor today at the party.”

  “Who’s that? Doug?”

  “You don’t miss a trick, do you?”

  “Not often,” she said with a grin. “He’s a good realtor, but he has a little bit of a temper. I’ve known him since he was a boy, and…well, let’s just say, I’ve seen the good, the bad, and the ugly.”

  Ella frowned, and Sophie patted her arm this time. “Don’t worry. He’s harmless, and very good at his job. I’m thinking of having him list this place.”

  Ella was shocked, and she knew her surprise showed on her face. “What? Why? You’ve lived here forever.”

  “I know, but truthfully, what do I need this big house for?”

  Ella watched Sophie turn and look back through the window toward the lake. The trees framing the view were covered in leaves starting to change color, and if Ella snapped a picture, it could have been printed as a postcard.

  “For the view,” she said softly. “For the neighbors who you’
ve known forever. For the memories of your husband and your daughter.”

  Sophie sighed and ignored her remarks. “What brought Pip home so soon? Is she staying or going back?”

  Ella wasn’t about to tell Sophie what Pip had discovered in Miles Jones’s scrapbook. “Yes. She’s home for good. She wasn’t happy in California, so she decided to quit film school and come back.”

  “How soon will you move?”

  Ella blew out a breath. “It’ll be fine for a little while, until I can find my own place. I work ’til six most nights, and I travel at least one week out of the month for work. If I can get out of town for the other weekends, it might not be so bad. Maybe I’ll go to Philly to see friends or catch a flight to Florida to visit my parents. We’ll see.”

  “And you sure you want to stay here? Buying is a commitment.”

  “I know! But yes, I want to stay in the mountains. The question is where. I was hoping for a few more months to look around before I have to make a decision. Hopefully, Pip and I won’t drive each other crazy while I’m searching.”

  “It’s hard to find the right home when you’re under pressure. It’s so much easier when you have time on your side.”

  “I agree.”

  “What are you thinking about? Will you stay in Scranton?”

  Ella sat back and looked out the windows to the lake beyond. What was it about water that filled her with such peace? “I’d love to live here. Is there anything for sale?” Ella knew she couldn’t afford a lake house, but…it never hurt to dream.

  “I don’t think so, but I’ll keep my eyes and ears open.”

  “I’d appreciate that.”

  “How’s the scholarship coming along?”

  “Everything is with the lawyers—Bucky has the documents. Then we’ll just need your input about the recipient, and we’ll be set. The sooner, the better. The incoming freshman class will want to know about this opportunity as soon as possible, and it looks like we’ll be able to send out the criteria for Steph’s scholarship next month when we mail out the application packets. The award won’t be officially announced until May, but we have a lot to do before then.”