“Don’t have to look. Autumn, you’ve more than doubled your client list in the past two months. You’re at a point that you’ll lose customers if you don’t have enough staff to monitor and work their accounts properly. Your monthly revenue is more than enough to hire two more people.”
“God. We don’t have that much space in the office.”
“They can Tweet and post on Facebook and modify websites from home. That’s the new trend in employment now. Or you can exercise the option on the rooms adjacent to our office that’s in your current lease.”
“I don’t remember asking for that option.”
Rachel shrugged. “I might have added it. It cost nothing extra, but the option allows us to expand without the landlord trying to gouge us because he knows we need the space.”
“I should have thought of that.”
Rachel shook her head. “You’ve had a lot of other stuff to deal with. Like I promised when you hired me, I’ve got your back.”
“And I’m so grateful. I’ll be working on the new-client accounts the rest of today, so just email if you need anything.”
“Will do,” Jay said.
Autumn ended the call and turned to Catherine, who stood just inside the front door. She wore khaki cargo shorts and a loose T-shirt with the sleeves cut out so that a dark-blue sports bra showed in the oversized armholes. She’d pulled her hair through the back of her ball cap and hadn’t removed her wraparound sunglasses. Autumn swallowed hard. She’d hoped Catherine would show up looking like the farmer Autumn had seen when they first met, so she could blame the kiss last night on the brandy or a sugar overload from the pie. Instead, Catherine looked tough and dangerously sexy. Catherine had changed in the short two months they’d known each other. Or maybe Autumn was seeing her differently. Autumn realized they were staring at each other. At least she thought Catherine was staring back. It was impossible to tell with those dark sunglasses. “Hi.”
“Good morning.” Catherine sounded hoarse and cleared her throat. “I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but it sounds like you’re not going to play gardener with us today.” She pointed to the laptop, indicating the call Autumn had just concluded.
Autumn stepped closer. “No. I’m afraid not.” She gestured to the laptop, acknowledging that it, indeed, was the culprit conspiring to imprison Autumn in the house. “As much as I was hoping for a second day of sweaty, back-torturing fun, I still have a business to run.”
“Okay. Sure. I understand.” Catherine pushed the screen door open, then hesitated. “Is being here for a month going to hurt your business? I mean, can you really run it from here?”
“Yes, I can. I’ve hired a few extra people, one who seems to be doing a better job of managing the business end than I did. Rachel is turning out to be a real gem.” She shrugged. “I’m more of the creative mind behind the company, which is what I’ll be doing today. Analyzing data and creating social-media marketing plans for a bunch of new clients.”
Catherine shoved her hands into her pockets, letting the door bump against her back. “But you’ll need to go back before too long.”
“Of course. Even if I could work remotely most of the time, I’d still be going back so Gabe can enroll in a school that can challenge her.”
Catherine cleared her throat again. “Speaking of Gabe, she and the others are probably waiting for us to get started. We’re planting squash and cucumbers today.” She shuffled her feet a few seconds, then stepped out onto the porch, releasing the screen door.
Autumn caught the door with her hand and followed Catherine out onto the porch. “Why don’t you and Gabe come here for dinner tonight? I brought a couple of pounds of barbecued ribs from my favorite take-out place.”
Catherine nodded. “Sounds good.” She tapped her fingers against her thigh, making no move to leave.
Autumn could almost feel her indecision. The elephant in the room was trumpeting and waving his trunk for attention. “So…the kiss.”
Catherine turned her head away. “I’m sorry. I don’t usually do that sort of thing.”
Autumn cocked her head. “Kiss women.”
“No. I mean I do…I have kissed women.” Catherine raised her hand as if she was about to make a proclamation, then shook her head and dropped it back to her side. “I don’t jump women in the dark. But last night, I apparently lost my good sense, and I was out of line. I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”
Autumn didn’t know if she was relieved or disappointed. “Actually, I think I was the one who did the jumping. You weren’t exactly resisting, but now I feel like I should apologize.”
“No apology necessary.” Catherine crossed her arms over her chest. “We’ll write it off as too much sun during the day and too much moonlight and stars last night.”
“Temporary moon madness?”
Catherine nodded, smiling a little. “Yeah.”
“Because?”
“Because it’d be a very bad idea. We have to think about Gabe. She just lost her mother and is about to go to a new school in a new place. We need to focus on her.”
Autumn couldn’t deny that they’d be playing with dynamite. She did need to concentrate on AA Swan and Gabe. She didn’t need to have an affair with her co-guardian to split her energy in a third direction. Still, the memory of Catherine’s kiss lingered.
“Autumn?” Catherine finally took her sunglasses off, and Autumn stared up into her dark, liquid eyes.
“You’re right, of course. It must have been that double shot of brandy. Then the walk under the stars…I plead temporary insanity.”
Catherine held out her hand. “Friends?”
Autumn slipped her hand into Catherine’s, shaking it twice to confirm their new pact. “Right. Friends.” But instead of releasing Catherine’s hand, Autumn held on and stepped into Catherine’s personal space. “And friends can hug.” Not that she hugged everyone…okay, anyone. Except Jay. Because he had taught her to, hugged her until she got used to it.
Catherine was stiff at first, then relaxed, her arms closing around Autumn. Her cheek rested on Autumn’s head, and Autumn wanted to sigh when she felt Catherine’s nipple harden against her own cheek.
“Cat?”
“Yeah?”
“I just want to say…for the record…that kiss was wow.”
***
Catherine folded her napkin and watched Gabe lick the barbecue sauce from her fingers. After spending the night with Angelique, the tense set of Gabe’s shoulders had relaxed for the first time since her mother’s death. She’d gnawed her way through a half rack of barbecued ribs before her eyes began to droop.
“Uh, can I be excused? I need to take a shower,” Gabe said, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hands.
Catherine looked to Autumn, who smiled and nodded. “Sure. We’ll clean up here,” Catherine said.
Gabe muttered her thanks and was a few steps from the table when she hesitated and turned back to them. “Those ribs were really good, Aut. Thanks for dinner.”
Autumn smiled. “You’re welcome.”
Catherine helped clean away the remains of their meal, and then they shared coffee and little bits of their day. Autumn had worked on her new accounts and videoconferenced. Catherine had planted beans and corn with the Shady Grove folks. This was how Catherine pictured a real family, a real couple would have dinner. When she realized night had fallen and the chickens were still loose, she went in search of Gabe.
Gabe lay sprawled across the twin bed in her room, mouth open and sound asleep. Elvis was curled next to her side, his head resting protectively on her thigh. Catherine stood in the doorway, trying to decide if she should wake Gabe or leave her there for the night when she felt Autumn’s hand on her back. She moved over a half step so Autumn could see Gabe, too.
They stood together in the bedroom’s doorway like two parents watching their kid drool on her pillow.
“Is she okay?” Autumn’s hand dropped to Catherine’s hip. Catherine wasn’t a person
who touched easily, but Autumn’s arm resting against the small of Catherine’s back felt natural and easy. So easy that Catherine realized she’d dropped her own arm to rest across Autumn’s shoulders while she considered the whispered question. Was this what it would feel like if they were a real family? If she and Autumn were a couple?
“Probably just exhausted.” Catherine drew the door almost closed and guided Autumn back to the living room so they wouldn’t have to whisper. “Maria said Gabe and Angelique were up talking very late, and they had their heads together all day while they helped in the fields. I think Angelique is good for Gabe. She lost her brother to gang violence before her parents moved their family to the United States, so she can relate to Gabe’s loss in a way that we can’t as adults.”
Autumn glanced down the hallway. “She can stay here tonight, if that’s okay with you.”
“Sure. I need to go into town to the feed store first thing in the morning. I’ll text you when I’m headed out. If she’s up and dressed, I’ll come pick her up.”
“Okay.”
Catherine shoved her hands into her pockets. She didn’t want to leave. “Those ribs really were great tonight. Thanks for sharing them.”
“I’m sort of addicted to them. The restaurant is one of my favorites. I order takeout from there a lot when I’m home.”
Home. This was one of several roadblocks keeping their attraction from moving forward. Autumn had a career and friends in Atlanta, and Catherine lived here, away from the crowds and other triggers that called up her night terrors and plunged her back into the bloody desert.
That voice of reason had been loud when Autumn first arrived in Elijah, pointing out that Autumn was too young, stupidly tied to her constantly barking phone, and made money by feeding social media—something Catherine considered the opiate of choice by the X, Y, and Z generations. But the reasonable voice was growing faint, and a new voice was becoming louder. Maybe fresh air would clear her confused brain.
Catherine stepped out onto the porch, determined to march her ass home and maybe smoke a bowl of Miguel’s dreamless sleep. Halfway down the steps, she turned back to find Autumn following so close behind that she stumbled backward down the next step.
Autumn grabbed Catherine’s shoulders to steady her. They were eye to eye, nose to nose. Autumn’s eyes were tarnished silver in the moonlight.
Kiss her. She’s so beautiful. KISS her.
Autumn’s smile was as soft as the summer night was sultry. “You have barbecue sauce on your chin.” She licked her finger, then used it to gently wipe away the offending spot. Her eyes searched Catherine’s, and then she moved forward and placed a chaste kiss on Catherine’s cheek. “Good night, Cat.”
Before she could think, before the voices could begin to argue, Catherine cupped Autumn’s face in her hands and claimed the lips, the mouth that purred her name like a siren’s call. This kiss was not soft. It was not chaste. It was a demanding, heated clash of lips and tongues. It was liquid flame pouring through Catherine’s body. It was a drum that throbbed in her chest and rolled through her belly like a sonar wave. She could crave this more than any opioid. Got to stop. She pushed Autumn away.
“We can’t do this.” It would never work.
“You keep saying that, but—”
Catherine took another step back, too far away for Autumn to touch her. She slashed her hand through the air to stop what Autumn was about to say. “It’s not going to happen again.” Catherine turned one-eighty, double-timed across the yard, and plunged into the line of dark trees.
***
Autumn stood on the steps, her fingers pressed to her lips. Her head still buzzed with the rush of blood and hormones. So much had been said in that kiss. This was so insane. She couldn’t want Catherine. They were such opposites. But she did want her, naked and stretched on her bed like a big, lazy cat. Autumn shook her head in a useless attempt to clear it.
This absolutely was not going to happen. She and Gabe would be leaving in a few weeks, and Gabe wouldn’t have time off from school until Thanksgiving. That’s when they’d be back.
So, this thing between her and Catherine was insane. She closed her eyes and drew in a deep, very deep breath of earth and spruce. Why was she even worrying? Catherine had said it would never happen again.
Chapter Thirteen
Autumn retrieved the two gifts from her tote while Catherine gathered their dishes and put them in the sink, and then they both took their seats again across Catherine’s dining table from Gabe and Angelique. The girls sat close through dinner, both glum and quiet. Gabe would be leaving in the morning with Autumn, so Catherine had cooked Gabe’s favorite foods and invited Angelique to join them.
Catherine took the slim package Autumn handed her under the table and nodded for Autumn to begin. She’d rehearsed what to say, but when she looked into Gabe’s eyes, she simply spoke from her heart.
“I was only six years old when my parents began sending me to Grandma Swan’s every summer. Dad left me here that first summer, and I was scared and homesick before he’d even gotten back in the truck to leave. I couldn’t imagine spending months away from Mama and Daddy. I was sitting on the porch steps crying after he drove away, when Becki came out and sat beside me. She wrapped her arm around my shoulders and told me that we were going to be best friends, because she really needed one.”
Autumn’s throat tightened with emotion she hadn’t anticipated the memory would bring to the surface. She smiled and swallowed hard, then forged ahead when Catherine’s warm hand rested on her thigh. “And she was right. We loved Grandma Swan. Her house was our safe haven from our less-than-ideal parents. But as sweet as Grandma was, there are times when you need a best friend your own age to tell your deepest secrets.” She reached under the table and gave Catherine’s hand a squeeze in a silent plea.
“This year has been so very hard for all of us, but especially for Gabe.” Catherine looked to Angelique. “Autumn and I love Gabe and will always do our best to be her safe haven. But your friendship this summer has been her greatest support.”
Angelique blushed and glanced shyly at Gabe, who slid her chair even closer so that their shoulders touched. Gabe and Angelique were likely too young to understand what they felt for each other, but the obvious crush going on between them made Autumn’s heart swell.
“Cat and I talked it over. Gabe’s going to start at a new school and will experience a lot of new things while living in the city during the school year.” She slid the slim box across the table to Angelique. “We checked with your mom first to make sure it was okay, but we want you to have this.”
“Thank you,” Angelique said, her voice soft as she took the gift.
“Go ahead and open it,” Autumn said.
As Angelique began to carefully unwrap her gift, Catherine pushed the second box over to Gabe. “This one’s for you.”
Angelique’s eyes widened, and her hand flew to her mouth. “Oh my god. It’s an iPhone.”
Gabe snatched her box up and tore at the paper. “No way!”
Wow. This was the cool part of parenting. Autumn grinned at Catherine, who returned the smile before schooling her face into a stern-parent expression.
“Before you get too excited, you need to hear the rules,” Catherine said.
Gabe had just turned twelve, but she demonstrated a perfect teen eye roll at the mention of rules. Autumn decided to let it pass because Angelique’s elbow jab into Gabe’s ribs was better than a scolding. Besides, the eye roll came with a teasing grin rather than a sullen attitude.
“Gabe’s trust will pay the phone bill. You have unlimited texting and data. Until you are eighteen, your supervising adult will make random checks. We don’t want to invade your privacy, but we wouldn’t be responsible guardians if we didn’t make sure you haven’t downloaded films, music, or videos inappropriate for your age. The phones are preprogrammed with parental controls, but I also know Gabe could probably hack those controls.” Catherine pointed
at Gabe. “Just remember, I know somebody who can tell if you’ve done that.”
“I realize you do,” Gabe said, her expression serious now. “Do we get to negotiate if a video is,” Gabe made an air-quotes gesture, “appropriate for our age?”
Catherine looked to Autumn for an answer.
Autumn paused to think this question over. “Only in advance. No negotiation after the fact,” she said.
“Also, on school nights, you will give up your phones at eleven o’clock to your supervising adult and get them back the next morning,” Catherine added. “We don’t want you guys awake all night talking on the phone when you have to get up early for school the next day. During the weekends, you can talk and text as much as you want. So, before I give you guys the code to unlock your phones, do you agree to these rules?”
“Yes!” Angelique said, smiling. She jumped up and ran around the table to hug both Autumn and Catherine. “Thank you so much. This is the best gift ever.”
Gabe ducked her head in a rare display of shyness. “Yeah. You guys rock.”
Autumn’s phone barked, and she opened a text from Jay, asking when to expect her and Gabe tomorrow. She began typing a reply.
“Oh, yeah. One more rule,” Catherine said. “This one is mine—no phones at the table. Tonight can be an exception since you just got them, but I’m not sitting down to eat with a bunch of people staring at their phones and texting the entire time.”
What? Autumn frowned as she typed a quick reply to Jay, then looked up and stuck her tongue out at Catherine. This was going to suck. She needed to be connected. Catherine raised a challenging eyebrow and stared pointedly at Autumn’s phone.
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