Amounting to Nothing

by Karis Walsh

  “Don can catch her if she bolts through the gate,” Billie continued, nudging Misty closer to Merissa. “But we know how well Mariposa jumps. What if Cal tries to take her over the fence?”

  Merissa kept her smile in place, and she spoke out of the corner of her mouth in an exaggerated whisper loud enough for Cal and Rachel to hear. “Who do you think sent Jean-Yves to ride in the outdoor arena? He’s under orders to lasso anyone who gallops his way.”

  “Good, because I think they came here in Cal’s sports car to throw us off the scent. What do you want to bet Rachel’s truck and a horse trailer are parked just around the bend?”

  “Like I’d help her steal your mare just to save thousands of dollars and keep Cal from going to Argentina and buying twenty horses,” Rachel said with a snort. “Now are we going to play polo, or are you two conspiracy theorists going to stand there fretting all day?”

  “Polo,” Merissa said. She tossed the practice ball between the two rows of horses with a flick of her wrist and ran after it before anyone else was ready to move.

  “Damn,” Rachel said as Cal and Mariposa took off after Merissa. “She’s been playing polo with Cal too much.”

  Rachel bolted after the others, but Billie cantered slowly on a parallel path. Merissa caught her eye and swiftly sent the ball across the field. Billie scored before the other team had a chance to regroup and rush over to her.

  “Good plan,” Billie said when Merissa trotted back to her side. They had discussed strategy the night before, as if they had been preparing for war, and Merissa’s horse figurines had cantered across an imaginary polo field on the bedroom rug while Merissa and Billie plotted how to beat their opponents.

  “You were right about Cal,” Merissa said. “She’s so excited to be riding Mariposa that she’s going to gallop full speed everywhere she goes.” She put her reins and mallet handle in one hand and reached over to lace her fingers briefly with Billie’s. They seemed to share the need to touch each other whenever possible. For Billie it was a matter of survival. She needed Merissa’s skin next to hers as much as she needed air or food.

  “And Rachel will do whatever it takes to stay close to her. Brilliant idea to put her on your slowest polo pony.”

  Merissa smiled. “We make an excellent team,” she said. She bridged the gap between them and kissed Billie. “In more ways than one.”

  For a moment, all their carefully laid plans flew out of Billie’s head as she breathed in Merissa’s scent of lavender, combined with the earthier elements of horse and saddle soap. The combination was intoxicating, and Billie was about to cede the match and drag Merissa back to the house when Cal and Rachel rode by.

  “We won’t have any trouble beating them now,” Cal said to Rachel. “Billie will be so flustered she won’t know which goal is theirs.”

  “I’d worry about my own riding if I were you,” Merissa said. She slowly disengaged her hand from Billie’s, letting her fingertips remain in contact for a long moment before she trailed after Cal, taunting her. “I’ve never seen Mariposa canter so slowly on the polo field. Were you holding her back on purpose?”

  Billie laughed at Merissa’s obvious tactics. Luckily, Cal was so competitive she would likely take the bait and become even more reckless in her play. Merissa had quickly become an expert negotiator in the months after opening her design firm. Billie would never say it out loud, but she had a feeling Merissa had learned more from watching her grandfather than she realized. She was putting her skills to use in a positive way, though, as she created her visionary plans and refused to compromise when it came to the citizens of Tacoma. She and Billie were committed to protecting them, in very different ways.

  Billie stopped in the middle of the field and watched her friends bickering good-naturedly about who was going to throw the ball to start the next skirmish. Loud pounding and occasional shouts from the main house punctuated the idyllic peace of the farm, but they were welcome noises to Billie. She had moved into the nanny wing with Merissa, but they had decided to renovate the main part of the house for them to use as a fresh start.

  Billie had expected Merissa—with her training and talent—to take control of the project, but she had left most of the design work to Billie. She had protested at first, but then she had become engrossed in the plans. She had endured Don’s earlier teasing about being settled in her seedy apartment and about the reading nook she had created in the police barn, but now she realized he had been right about her. She was a settler at heart, and she was discovering a real joy in planning a space where she and Merissa would live.

  Merissa. She was the reason Billie was willing to settle down. A fancy home was nice. Living on the farm was wonderful. But Billie would gladly have stayed in her bedbuggy apartment if it meant Merissa would be with her. She filled Billie’s life with unexpected pleasure and gave her the sense of belonging Billie had always wanted but never had. She had watched Merissa with pride over the past months as she put her heart and soul into her new firm, and she had seen what must have been the same look of pleasure on Merissa’s face when Billie looked up from sketching a plan for one of their rooms and caught her staring. They brought out something in each other—something better and brighter than either could produce on her own.

  Billie knew Merissa had given her something even more profound than a newfound love of decorating. She had smoothed the edges of the past, helping Billie through her nightmares and easing the pain with frantic sex, soft touches, space. Merissa seemed to understand what Billie needed even when she couldn’t articulate it. She wasn’t forgetting the past, but she was now able to focus on some of the better aspects of it. Her friendship with Mike, the times when her dad was home between fishing trips. Billie could see other sides beyond the pain and trauma now.

  Billie watched Merissa twist in her saddle, keeping the ball just out of Cal’s grasping reach. Her polo shirt skimmed up, revealing a glimpse of her slender waist and a clear view of her gorgeous rear. Sexy and playful. Billie couldn’t keep her distance any longer, and she aimed toward Merissa as if her skin was magnetized and Billie couldn’t resist its pull.

  “Are you ready?” Merissa asked, tossing the white polo ball in her right hand as Billie once again walked to her side.

  Billie grinned and gave her a wink. Was she ready for life with Merissa, with all the twists and turns and joy it would bring? “You bet,” she said.

  As usual, Merissa seemed to know when Billie was talking about something beyond the surface of mere words. She stopped juggling the ball and focused her attention on Billie. “Me, too, love of my life.”

  “Oh, gag,” said Cal. “Just throw the damned ball.”

  Merissa smiled at Billie, promising a lifetime of fun and love, before she tossed the ball into play.

  About the Author

  Karis Walsh relocated from the Pacific Northwest and now works in a library in Texas. When she isn’t reading or writing, she enjoys spending time outside with her animals, playing the viola, and hiking through the state park.

  Books Available from Bold Strokes Books

  Amounting to Nothing by Karis Walsh. When mounted police officer Billie Mitchell steps in to save beautiful murder witness Merissa Karr, worlds collide on the rough city streets of Tacoma, Washington. (978-1-62639-728-6)

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