Welcome to Longborn

by MK McGowan

  After a few moments, Darcy pulled back and looked into intense blue eyes. Elizabeth’s face was flushed, and she was breathing heavily. Darcy climbed out of her lap and held out her hand. Elizabeth took it without hesitation. Darcy tugged her toward the bed. “Now, where were we?”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Darcy woke to the muffled sound of giggles and moans. She rolled over on her back and slapped the bed in frustration. She’d just gotten to the good part in her dream – the part where the unidentified blonde is writhing in passion and screaming her name. She looked over at the other side of the bed. It was empty. She ran her hand along the sheets. Empty and cold, damn it! And damn her! And the evening had started out so promising.

  ***

  She’d gotten Elizabeth all the way over to the bed. Which wasn’t that far but distances are magnified when you’re horny and in a hurry. She’d made short work of Elizabeth’s shirt and bra. The jeans can wait. She had other areas to explore first.

  Darcy pushed the Elizabeth down on the bed and straddled her thighs. “Lie back,” she ordered roughly. She admired the view for a moment. Elizabeth was stretched out and seemed vulnerable underneath her. You are absolutely breathtaking.

  In one smooth movement, Darcy ran both hands from Elizabeth’s belly to her breasts. Elizabeth’s nipples hardened beneath Darcy’s palms, and Darcy took her time teasing them. Elizabeth arched her back in appreciation. Darcy took this as an invitation. She leaned down and began to tongue one breast while her hand kept the other one warm and occupied. After minutes of delightful torment, Darcy finally sucked one hardened tip into her mouth. She was rewarded with a heartfelt groan.

  Darcy rushed to undo the button on Elizabeth’s jeans because suddenly they were in the way. She needed to feel warm flesh against warm flesh, and she needed it now! She unzipped the offending garment and started to pull it down when, suddenly, something in Elizabeth’s pocket started to vibrate. Given her position, the vibrations raced up Darcy’s inner thigh. Darcy reared back and looked down with a surprised laugh. “That’s handy,” she said with a smile.

  “Damn it!” Elizabeth cursed. She wiggled out from underneath Darcy. At least she wiggled far enough so she could reach into her pocket and pull out her phone.

  “Crap. It’s the hospital,” Elizabeth explained. Frustration made her voice harsh. “I’m sorry. I have to call back. I’m on call tonight,” she said by way of apology. She hit the first number on her contact list.

  “I thought you were on call last night,” Darcy said. There was nothing like sexual frustration to make her sound peevish.

  Elizabeth had the temerity to grin. “I’m the head of the emergency department. I’m always on call.” She started playing with the belt on Darcy’s robe while she waited for the hospital to answer. She had slipped a hand back underneath the soft cotton when Lydia picked up the phone at the hospital.

  “Elizabeth, we need you here. We have two gunshot wounds on the way in.”

  Elizabeth pulled her hand away from Darcy’s warm skin and sat up abruptly, almost dumping Darcy off her lap. “Who’s the surgeon on call?” Elizabeth asked. She listened for a moment and then smiled grimly. “Well pull him out of his poker game and get him in. I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”

  Disgruntled by this turn of events, Darcy moved off the bed. Once again, she tightened the belt tight on her robe. She could tell by Elizabeth’s suddenly stiff posture that there was no getting lucky tonight. If only we hadn’t stopped to eat.

  “I’m on my way.” Elizabeth disconnected the call abruptly, her mind already on the situation that awaited her at the hospital. “I’m sorry, but I have to go.”

  “I know. I heard everything.” Darcy tried to damp down her anger. She knew that Elizabeth had larger responsibilities than satisfying her libido. Still, she wasn’t happy to see her putting her shirt back on. It was small consolation that Elizabeth appeared as frustrated as Darcy felt. Elizabeth’s skin was flushed and her nipples were still hard. That much was visible through her rebuttoned shirt.

  Elizabeth stiffened her spine and walked over to her outraged companion. “I really do have to go,” she said. “There’s been a shooting,” she explained.

  Darcy suddenly felt guilty. She inhaled deeply. “I’m sorry. I’m just more than a little frustrated,” she said. It was her way of apologizing.

  Elizabeth nodded. “Me too, believe me,” she said emphatically. “And I’m the one who should apologize. I don’t like to leave a woman hanging. I could come back. Afterwards. If you’d like?”

  “I think I would like that very much,” Darcy said honestly. In better humor now that there was still hope for a successful assignation, she kissed Elizabeth goodbye and hurried her from the room. “The sooner you leave, the sooner you can come back,” she said, before one last, lingering kiss.

  Darcy stood in the doorway and watched Elizabeth jog down the hall. As she climbed back in bed, she wondered how long it would take to patch up a gunshot wound anyway. She turned off the light, hoping to catch a nap before Elizabeth returned.

  ***

  But she never returned, Darcy thought caustically. Her bed was as cold and as empty as…she fumbled for a word. Well, as cold and as empty as usual. She heard another moan from the next room. Don’t those two ever stop? She pulled a pillow over her head and tried to block out all ambient noise. When that didn’t work, she jumped out of bed and went over to her suitcase. She pulled out her running gear. One way or another, she needed to work up a sweat.

  Darcy grabbed her room key and her cell phone and headed down to the lobby. The doorman held open the door, and she stepped out into the humid morning. She walked a few blocks to warm up. When she reached the courthouse, she started to run in earnest. She ran for 45 minutes. She usually ran longer, but she didn’t want to chance getting lost in the wilds of small town Texas. She was pleased that her rear end didn’t seem to hurt at all. That meant she could leave town soon.

  Whether it was the knowledge that she’d be home soon or the endorphins from the exercise, Darcy was feeling better as she rounded the last block and headed back to the hotel. A quick shower, a quick phone call, and they could be on the road to the Dallas airport by noon. She wondered if they’d be able to catch a flight back to San Francisco that evening. If not, a night in Dallas won’t kill me.

  .

  Chapter Fifteen

  Darcy stood in the elevator and tried not to drip sweat everywhere. She mopped at her face with the sleeve of her shirt. She was glad she was alone. When the doors opened on her floor, she was surprised to see Elizabeth sitting cross-legged in the hallway. She was leaning back against the door of Darcy’s room. Her head was propped on the doorframe, and she appeared to be asleep.

  Darcy approached slowly. She was right. Elizabeth was sound asleep. What the hell is she doing here? Darcy had decided to head back home, and now – this complication. She wondered if she could get past Elizabeth without waking her up. As she stood there pondering the logistics, there was a flurry of movement next door.

  Jane opened the door to Charlotte’s room and darted through it like a woman on a mission.

  Darcy caught Jane as she tripped over Elizabeth. She kept Jane from falling, but she couldn’t keep the commotion from disturbing Elizabeth, who woke up bleary-eyed and confused.

  “Jane? What are you doing here?” Elizabeth asked. They hadn’t talked since they’d met at the hospital yesterday. She had no idea that things had progressed so quickly for Jane, and she certainly never expected to see her straight-laced, hyper-responsible friend come streaking out of a virtual stranger’s hotel room at 6 o’clock in the morning. That’s more my style, Elizabeth thought with a quick grin.

  Elizabeth was further surprised when Charlotte came running out wearing nothing but a towel, her hair full of shampoo suds.

  “Jane, wait!” Charlotte yelled. It was apparent to everyone that Jane had taken advantage of Charlotte’s momentary absence to make her escape.

/>   Jane took one look at the surprised faces staring at her. She turned beet red, waved, and fled toward the elevator.

  Charlotte, dripping soap and water on the carpet, glared at Darcy like everything was somehow her fault. “Damn it!” she exclaimed and stormed back into her room. She slammed the door shut behind her.

  “What’s up with those two?” Elizabeth asked from her position on the floor.

  “Aside from fucking like bunnies, I have no idea,” Darcy replied. Darcy realized that because Elizabeth was awake, she didn’t have to sneak into her own room. She unlocked her door and pointedly stepped over the other woman.

  Without the support of the door, Elizabeth fell back into the open doorway. She lay there looking up at the obviously disgruntled Darcy.

  “What the hell are you doing here, Elizabeth? Are you stalking me now?” Darcy had just about enough frustration for one trip. She totally ignored the voice in her head that said, Be glad she came back.

  ***

  Elizabeth looked up from where she was sprawled on the floor. Darcy appeared even taller from this angle. And was that running gear she was wearing? For some reason, that struck Elizabeth as funny, but she knew better than to laugh. Her daddy, in their one and only talk about her sexuality, had warned her about the dangers of angry women.

  “I came to apologize. Again. I called, and I left a message, but I guess you didn’t get it. I wanted to get back sooner, but things got a little hectic at the hospital.”

  That was an understatement. Of course, Elizabeth couldn’t tell Darcy any details, so she reduced her shithole of a night into one word–hectic. Now she found herself trying to apologize to a woman she wasn’t sure she even liked for something she had absolutely no control over. If she had any energy, she would have laughed. She knew she was loopy from lack of sleep.

  “Get off the floor, Elizabeth,” Darcy ordered, still irritated.

  Elizabeth didn’t get up but instead held out her hand. “Help me up,” she requested playfully.

  Darcy sighed and reached out, quickly pulling Elizabeth to her feet.

  Elizabeth felt the room spin. If Darcy hadn’t kept hold of her hand, she probably would have fallen. “Whoa, head rush,” she explained.

  Darcy grabbed Elizabeth’s elbow and held her steady. “Are you okay?”

  Elizabeth nodded and said, “I’m okay.”

  Darcy dropped her hand and stepped away. She walked over and shut the door to her room. “No sense giving the whole world more of a show. Not that we could top Charlotte in a towel,” she muttered.

  “Look, I really don’t have time for this,” Darcy said, turning back to face Elizabeth. “I need to shower, and then I have an appointment with a contractor. I’m here on business, remember?” She sat down on the end of the bed and pulled off her running shoes. She flung them one by one into the corner. She peeled off her socks, balled them up, and tossed them in the corner as well.

  “Last night didn’t work out. I’m disappointed, but it happens. You certainly don’t owe me an apology,” Darcy said. “You can go back to playing doctor, I can go back to San Francisco, and we’ll never think about each other again. I mean, it’s not like we’re dating or anything,” Darcy said with an exasperated laugh. “All we missed was a quick fuck.”

  Elizabeth nodded. She was no stranger to brief encounters, and she tried to maintain a clear delineation between romance and sex. It was always nice to encounter someone who did likewise. But Darcy’s stark assessment stung.

  Elizabeth struggled to smile as she moved toward the door. “Well, when you put it like that, you’re absolutely right.”

  With her hand on the knob, Elizabeth turned back. She couldn’t leave it like that. “Well, you’re right except for two things. One, I don’t ‘play’ doctor,” she said fiercely. “And two, it wouldn’t have been a ‘quick’ fuck. I like to take my time.” She said it with a defiant grin. Then she opened the door and stormed out.

  ***

  Darcy remained sitting on the bed and wondered whether being a bitch came naturally or if she’d learned it along the way, courtesy of a disapproving mother and bitter ex-girlfriends. Either way, she felt terrible. She could tell that she’d hurt Elizabeth’s feelings. But that was the point, right? Never let ‘em get too close. She wanted to scream in frustration. Instead, she calmly disrobed and climbed into the shower. She had business to conduct, and the sooner she got it over with, the sooner she could leave this damn town.

  Part Two – I Left my Heart in San Francisco

  Chapter Sixteen

  It was after 10 pm when Darcy and Charlotte arrived back at the San Francisco airport. They got in line at an airport shuttle stand. Darcy took a deep breath. She could smell wet asphalt and car exhaust mixed with a hint of salty ocean air. It’s great to be home.

  Darcy rolled her shoulders to loosen the knots that developed during the plane ride. She couldn’t recommend sharing a seat next to a six-year-old. But he had been better company than Charlotte, who spent the whole flight sighing dramatically. At one point, even the kid asked if Charlotte was okay.

  “Cheer up, Charlie. At least you had hot sex. I’ve got an ass full of cactus pricks, and now I have to figure out how to tell Carolyn that’s she not going to get what she wanted. Do you remember what she did to the last minion who disappointed her?” Darcy asked.

  “What exactly did happen to Bob? I don’t think I’ve seen him since he dropped the ball on the Cayman deal.”

  “Exactly. No one has,” Darcy said. “If we’re lucky, she’ll only fire us. We’ve got to go home and figure out how we’re going to save our jobs.” She climbed into the van and settled into her seat. “Look on the bright side. You won’t have time to mope if you’re looking for a job,” Darcy said. “You’ll forget her in no time and move on to the next UPS girl,” she added, trying for humor.

  Charlotte sighed. “I don’t know about that, Darcy. Jane is special.” She sighed again. Darcy rolled her eyes and snapped her seatbelt closed. At least she’d be home soon.

  Darcy loved San Francisco. She loved the weather, she loved the shopping, and she even loved the people. Well, sometimes I love the people, she thought as the shuttle driver slammed on the brakes. The van shuddered to a stop near her building, and Darcy climbed out.

  Charlotte got out too. She didn’t live far from there.

  “Want to come up?” Darcy asked.

  “No, not really. I wouldn’t be good company,” Charlotte said.

  Darcy nodded, secretly relieved that Charlotte wanted to be alone. The woman was seriously ruining her euphoria about being home, and the sooner Darcy ditched her, the better. Did that make her a bad friend? She was too tired to think about it. All she wanted was a hot bath and a long sleep. She’d worry about Charlotte’s feelings and what to tell Carolyn in the morning.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Elizabeth decided to pay a visit to Jane’s brother. Robert William Bennett, a.k.a. Bud. Bud was Elizabeth’s friend and her families’ lawyer. He knew all the details of her grandfather’s will. She needed to find a way to keep her land out of Carolyn’s hands. She loved her cousin, but she didn’t trust her.

  Elizabeth got to Bud’s office early the next morning. The jangle of the bell on the door startled the bleached blonde behind the desk. “Hey, Jackie, is Bud in?” Elizabeth asked.

  “No, not yet, Elizabeth. Probably still down at the café. Would you like to make an appointment?” Jackie asked. She made quite a show out of pulling out the appointment book.

  Elizabeth shook her head, amused by the whole thing. “No, that’s okay. I’ll catch him at the café. Thanks.” She turned to leave. The bell jingled on the way out. It was low tech but effective.

  Elizabeth looked down the street. She loved the old brick buildings that lined the town square. There wasn’t a building along the street that was less than 100 years old. Unfortunately, more than half the buildings were empty, and all of them needed repairs.

  Maybe some alterna
tive development isn’t such a bad idea. The town needed more employers to keep from completely drying up and blowing away. With one last survey of the town square, Elizabeth headed over to Stella’s Café. One of the few remaining viable businesses, it was kept profitable by the gaggle of old men who met there for breakfast and bullshit every morning. Bud loved to hang out with them and had become their de facto mascot. It paid off in wills and property transfer business, but Elizabeth knew that wasn’t why he did it. He loved those old guys and never tired of hearing their stories, real and imagined.

  Elizabeth pushed through the door and was immediately greeted by a chorus of hellos. She knew everyone at the scattered tables and ran a gauntlet of greetings before she sat down on the stool next to Bud. He always sat at the same stool and ordered the same breakfast every weekday morning. He was an attractive man. He had his sister’s dark coloring but startling blue eyes. He was also the kindest person Elizabeth had ever met. She couldn’t imagine how he’d become a lawyer. If she wasn’t gay, they’d probably be married and have three kids by now, which would make her mother deliriously happy. If she had to listen to one more lecture from her mother about her biological clock, she thought she might scream.

  “Hey darlin’,” Bud said, around a mouthful of eggs. “If I’d known you were coming, I’d have waited.”

  Elizabeth laughed. She knew it was lie, but Bud did like to play the gentleman. He waved the waitress over. “Raylene, Elizabeth here will have some coffee and the number two special.”

  Elizabeth didn’t recognize the waitress, but she recognized the jealous glance the girl threw her way. She didn’t waste time worrying about it. “What happened to Stella?” Stella had been manning the counter for the past 30 years, maybe more. She’d been there for as long as Elizabeth could remember.