Moonlight Avenue

by Gerri Hill

  “Yes.”

  Rylee nodded. “Not…not joy, exactly. Being with you, after everything that had happened…I had a sense of…of wholeness. A sense of being home. It was overwhelming.” She looked away for a moment, then back at her. “I don’t believe in previous lives and all that. I should say, I didn’t believe, but there was such a feeling of…of relief almost. Like I’d lost you in a previous life and had been searching for you—my soul had been searching for you. That night at the bar…it was like I knew you. Inside, I knew you.” She touched her heart. “I can’t explain it other than that.”

  Was that how it had been? Finn had looked across the bar and the very breath had been sucked from her chest. Was that what it was? Had their souls reconnected somehow, as Rylee was suggesting? Or was it simply a matter of two lonely people finding each other and reaching out?

  Rylee squeezed her arm and smiled. “I didn’t mean to render you speechless with all that. I’m not asking you to marry me or anything, you know.”

  “Yesterday…yesterday was a good day. And last night…I feel close—connected—too. More so than our time together warrants.” She touched Rylee’s cheek, which had the barest trace of a bruise on it. “I’ve always been alone. I’ve learned to embrace it. But now…I don’t want to be alone anymore.”

  Rylee tilted her head, studying her. “So like…we can spend the night together sometime?”

  “A lot of the time.”

  Rylee smiled. “And Smokey?”

  “Yeah, I figure you’re a package deal, right?”

  “Right.” Rylee’s smiled faded, and she moved closer, hugging her. “I’m really sorry about the glass, Finn.”

  “Yeah…I’m going to miss it. It was like a friend,” she admitted.

  “Maybe you could go see your mother…maybe she’s got another one that was his.”

  Finn took a deep breath. “I know what you’re trying to do, Rylee…but I think it’s too late to reconcile with my mother.”

  “It’s not too late. As long as she’s still here…it’s not too late.”

  “I used to think that I hated her.” She nodded. “I did hate her. I blamed her.”

  “I know. But as you said, it’s been almost twenty years.”

  Finn shook her head. “I don’t know if I can.”

  Rylee didn’t push. “Well, think about it.” She pointed toward the glass, ending the conversation. “I suppose we should clean this up.”

  Finn nodded, but her mind was still on her mother. Go see her? Talk to her? God…could she? After all these years…could she?

  Chapter Seventy-Three

  Rylee laughed at the large pizza box sitting on Dee’s serving tray. “Really? Pizza Jamboree?”

  “It was a gift,” she said. “I’ll never be able to eat it all. Help yourself.”

  Rylee surprised her by leaning down and kissing her cheek. “How are you?”

  “Better. One more day in here, then I get sprung, thank goodness.”

  “That’s wonderful. We can pick you up.”

  “That’d be nice. Thanks.”

  “Who’s the pizza from?” Finn asked as she plucked a slice out of the box.

  “Duncan Frazier.” She pointed to the vase beside the bed. “And these. He sent a very nice note too.”

  “I guess so. He was the only one to get out of there without a scratch.”

  “Did you ever find out what his involvement was?” Rylee asked.

  Dee shook her head. “From what I gathered, I think Hernandez propositioned him, much like he did Daniel. The FBI’s involved so I guess it’ll all come out. The best thing he’s got going for him is that this thing blew up before Hernandez started flooding him with cash.” She raised her good arm up. “But I’m sick of talking about it. I had to sit through nearly two hours of questioning by the so-called detectives who think they broke the case.”

  “Your partner?” Finn asked around a bite of pizza.

  “Ex-partner.” Dee eyed her, seeing a relaxed look on her face that she’d not seen before. “So…how are things in your life?” As a blush crept up Finn’s face, she laughed. “Good Lord! You’re forty years old and you still blush?” She turned her attention to Rylee. “You must be working wonders with her. Look how calm…relaxed she is.” She looked back at Finn. “Good sex will do that, if I remember. It’s been a while.”

  This time it was Rylee who blushed. Dee laughed again. It felt good to laugh, she realized.

  “Speaking of sex…my cute nurse asked me out.”

  “You’re kidding? Isn’t that a violation or something?”

  “Just because you’re having sex now, don’t act all righteous with me. I told you she’d been flirting with me.”

  “How old is she?”

  “Old enough.”

  “That’s wonderful, Dee. We can’t wait to meet her.” Rylee laughed. “That is, if you trust Finn around her.”

  “That’s debatable.”

  Finn wiped her hands on one of the napkins, then tossed it down. “So you’ll still be here tomorrow? It’s Christmas Day.”

  “Yes, I know. I’m surprised you know that, however. Do you even celebrate?”

  “No.”

  “Figured as much.” Dee looked at Rylee. “She didn’t even know it was Thanksgiving when I showed up with a meal.”

  “We’re not actually celebrating Christmas tomorrow,” Rylee said. “It’s my birthday. And I’ve never celebrated my birthday before. It was always Christmas and my birthday was an afterthought.”

  “So what are you going to do?”

  “Fancy hotel. Jacuzzi. Room service,” she said with a grin. “And a cake. No Christmas. Just birthday.”

  “I’m kinda jealous.”

  Finn closed the box on the two remaining pizza slices. “So how long will you be out of work?”

  “Hard to say. I’ve got to suffer through physical therapy first.”

  “I guess the department is still reeling, huh? What with Mabanks and all.”

  She nodded. “I’m not sure if they’re more shocked by his death or what he was mixed up in. He was always so straightlaced, by the book…family man. His image has been tarnished, that’s for sure.” She looked at Finn. “I do hate it. He had a good, honorable career…up until all of this.”

  Finn nodded. “Yeah, but he made the choice, Dee. They all did.”

  “And most of them paid the ultimate price. The Petersons were the only two of the group to survive, but their lives are probably in shambles. You can’t turn on the news without them being mentioned. I won’t be shocked if Lori files for divorce.”

  “I haven’t watched the news. You get any good press?”

  “A blurb as being injured in the raid, nothing more, thankfully. I keep expecting a damn reporter to come up here and demand an interview.”

  “Well, good thing you’ve got a cute nurse watching your back.”

  Dee grinned. “I hope she’s watching more than my back.”

  Chapter Seventy-Four

  Rylee laughed, then clapped her hands as Finn came to the end of the Happy Birthday song, all the while standing in nothing but her navy undies, holding a massive cake with, yes, thirty candles. By the time she finished singing and put the cake down, only twenty-eight were still burning.

  Rylee didn’t give her time to light them again. She took a deep breath, blowing out all of the others on the first try.

  “Did you make a wish?”

  “Of course.” She walked around the table, hugging Finn tightly. “Most of it has already come true. Thank you for a wonderful birthday.”

  “You’re welcome. It’s been pretty fun for me too.”

  Rylee pulled away from her. “Get back in bed. I’ll bring you some cake.”

  “I haven’t opened the champagne yet.”

  “Let’s save it for later,” she said as she was already cutting into the cake.

  They’d gotten to the hotel yesterday afternoon. They hadn’t left the room yet…not that she exp
ected them to. They’d made good use of the Jacuzzi tub and room service. Finn had surprised her with quite an elaborate breakfast this morning. Much more food than they could possibly eat; light and fluffy blueberry pancakes that she’d drowned in maple syrup, gourmet sausages on top of buttermilk biscuits that were smothered in cream gravy, scrambled eggs and crispy strips of bacon, a fruit bowl with the biggest strawberries she’d ever seen, orange juice, and a pot of rich, roasted coffee. They’d stuffed themselves silly, then had crawled back into bed, cuddling and kissing until they’d fallen asleep again.

  Noon had brought the cake and champagne in an ice bucket, along with thick club sandwiches of ham and turkey. She’d eaten only half of hers, saving room for the cake. She cut a large piece now, smiling at Finn who was propped up against pillows.

  “Just so you know, I’ve gained at least five pounds today alone.”

  Finn rubbed her flat stomach. “I think I did too.”

  “You could stand to.” She paused. “It’s nice to see you this way.”

  “What way?”

  “Relaxed. Smiling. Content.”

  Finn nodded as she took the cake from her. “I feel good. You make me feel good.”

  Rylee got in beside her, then leaned over and kissed her. “Thank you. You make me feel good too.” She wiggled her eyebrows. “Inside and out.”

  Finn bit into the chocolate cake, the icing getting caught at both corners of her mouth. “How come you didn’t answer your phone earlier?”

  “When Mom called? Well, we were kinda in the middle of something.”

  “Mmm. She called yesterday too.”

  Rylee sat up, crossing her legs, the cake forgotten. “She’s upset with me. She’s called a lot in the last week or so, but, well, you know, we were kinda busy chasing down bad guys.”

  “She leave messages?”

  “She did. That’s how I know she’s upset with me. She wanted me to come home for Christmas. In fact, she insisted I come home for Christmas.”

  “You didn’t call her back?”

  “I texted her the other day, told her I was working and couldn’t get away.” Rylee held her hand up. “Which was the truth.”

  “And her message today?”

  “Her message today was that she was disappointed in me and that my father was disappointed in me and she hoped I enjoyed spending Christmas alone.”

  “Wow. No mention of your birthday, huh?”

  “No. Like I said, my birthday was always an afterthought.” She leaned over and kissed Finn. “That’s why this has been so special for me. It’s my birthday. It’s not Christmas. It’s just my birthday.”

  Finn nodded. “Dee was right, you know. It hadn’t really registered that it was Christmas time. I…well, I never celebrated. Didn’t put a tree up or anything.”

  “What about when you were young? At home?”

  “Yeah, we did everything, all the traditional stuff. Big tree, lots of presents. I didn’t like it so much because it was Christmas…I liked it because my dad was there. He didn’t have to run off to the office or leave early or come home late. He was there, all day.” Finn looked past her, staring at the wall, going back in time, no doubt. “I’ve been thinking about what you said. About contacting my mother.”

  “And?”

  Finn looked back at her. “I think maybe you’re right. Maybe I should.”

  Rylee squeezed her leg, letting her hand linger there. “I think that would be good for you…good for her.”

  “I…I realize how selfish it was for me to disappear from her life. She lost her husband…she lost her daughter too. She had no one. I had no one either, but that was my choice. Being alone wasn’t her choice.”

  Rylee touched her face, looking past the bruising and into her dark eyes. “It’s Christmas. Why don’t we go see her today?”

  Finn shook her head. “Nope. It’s not Christmas. It’s your birthday.”

  “Well, we could make an exception, just this once.”

  “It’s your day, Rylee. But…well, maybe I’ll call her later. Take baby steps.”

  “Okay.” She picked up her cake again, then paused. “I…I might fall in love with you.” She put her cake down again. “Kind of a warning, you know. So you won’t be all shocked and everything later.”

  Finn nodded, her expression serious. “I think I fell in love with you that night. It was like you were always there…with me, just below the surface, just…hanging around.” She smiled then. “You don’t know how many times I wanted to put my skills to use and try to track you down.”

  “Why didn’t you?”

  “Because you left. I didn’t think you wanted to be found.”

  “If I had to do it over again…”

  “You’d what?”

  Rylee took their cake and set them aside. “Here…let me show you.”

  * * *

  Rylee opened her eyes, wondering what time it was. She didn’t remember falling asleep. She only remembered Finn’s mouth ravishing her, she remembered her orgasm nearly blinding her, she remembered pulling Finn up to her. She smiled at the memory. Yeah…she’d pulled Finn up to kiss her. That was the last image in her mind.

  Finn was leaning against the pillows, twisting something in her fingers. Rylee scooted up closer to her, watching her.

  “I fell asleep,” she said unnecessarily.

  “I did too.”

  “Is that the key?”

  Finn nodded. “It occurred to me that now that I’ve lost the glass…this is all I have. This key that he left me.” She held it up to the light. “It must have been important or he wouldn’t have left it.” She folded her hand around it. “A key to something…I have no idea what. I suppose I’ll never know.”

  Rylee leaned her head against Finn’s shoulder. “Maybe your mother might know. Maybe it was something—a locked box or something—at the house.”

  Finn opened her hand, holding the key again with her fingers. “Maybe it’s something else entirely,” she said quietly.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Maybe it’s for something I had all along…something I’ve never given to anyone.”

  Finn took her hand and opened it, placing the key on her palm. Rylee looked at her questioningly.

  “Maybe it’s the key to my heart.”

  Rylee felt her own heart melting. “Oh, Finn….that’s…that’s so sweet.”

  Finn smiled and looked a little embarrassed. “I’m fairly certain I’ve never been called sweet before.”

  “Sweet…romantic. Adorable.” But she handed the key back to Finn. “I’ve already picked the lock so I don’t really need a key.” She kissed her softly. “Thank you. You keep it. Someday…you’ll find what it opens.”

  They lay together…legs touching, shoulders touching, heads touching. Finn folded the key up again in her hand and let out a contented sigh.

  Rylee closed her eyes…a smile on her face. “By the way, I lied earlier.”

  “Oh?”

  “When I warned you that I might fall in love with you.” She took a deep breath, the smile still on her face. “Too late.”

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