Gabe looked up from her laptop and the papers spread around her. “You better take your boots off before you track across the floor and she sees it,” she whispered.
“Take those boots off at the door. I don’t want to see muddy tracks across my kitchen.”
They both looked toward the living room, the source of the disembodied voice, then shared a smile.
Catherine toed off her barn boots and took a pair of soft Ugg boots Autumn had given her for Christmas from the shelves of shoes by the door. “I feel kind of silly in these, but they sure are comfortable.”
Gabe stretched one long leg up above the table to show she was wearing an identical pair. “I love mine. Angel wants a pair, and her birthday’s coming up soon.”
Catherine padded to the coffee machine and punched the appropriate buttons to brew two espressos. “You’ll have to check with the boss.” She gestured toward the living room. “She keeps tabs on your allowance.”
“Okay.”
“You going to be much longer there?”
“Nope. Just two more math problems. I’ve got to finish Great Expectations for English lit, but I’ll take that to bed with me tonight. I don’t have much more to read.”
“Okay. We were going to watch a movie, but we’ll wait till you’re done to start it.” She carried the coffees into the living room and sat next to Autumn while she finished a video call with Rachel.
“That works for me.” She accepted the coffee Catherine offered and tipped her nose with a quick kiss.
Catherine waved at the webcam. “Hi, Rachel.”
“Hi. Autumn and I were hammering out the details of our new partnership.”
“As long as she gets to spend most of her time in the country, I’ll be happy,” Catherine said.
Rachel smiled. “I don’t think that’ll be a problem.”
“Okay,” Autumn said. “Have your people call my people to figure out the fine print.”
Rachel laughed. “Uh, your people are my people.”
Autumn gave her a cheeky smile. “Then this should be simple. Talk to you Monday.” She turned to Catherine for a longer, deeper thank-you for the coffee. “So, it’s Friday night. What are we planning?”
“Well, Gabe has a flying lesson in the morning with Roscoe, and then she’s going to Angelique’s for a sleepover.” Catherine moved in for another kiss. “So, tonight is family night. Gabe’s finishing up her schoolwork, and we’ll watch a movie together. It’s Gabe’s turn to pick, so no telling what we’ll have to see.”
“That sounds perfect.”
Catherine chewed her lip.
“What’s wrong?”
She shook her head. “I just worry that you’ll get bored with this life. And maybe with me. You’d tell me if you do, right? We don’t live extravagantly, but we’re a long way from poor. We can travel. If you want a bigger house, we can build one.”
Autumn’s fingers pressed against her lips.
“Cat, I grew up wishing for a normal life, like on the old television shows. You know. Where the family sits down to dinner and talks about their day, then watches a few hours of television or plays video games together.”
“I don’t think they had video games.”
“Okay, board games like Monopoly, or card games like bridge or gin rummy.”
“Then what happens?”
“Then the parents tuck the kid into bed and go to their bedroom and have wild monkey sex.”
Catherine nuzzled Autumn’s neck and nipped at her earlobe, smiling at the hitch in Autumn’s breath. “It sounds very ordinary to me.”
Autumn cupped Catherine’s face and held her gaze. “I love you, and I don’t need thrills and awards to make me happy. We have good friends, we’re financially secure, and our kid has a trust fund, thanks to you. If other people think our lives are too ordinary, then screw them. I happen to think ordinary is perfect.”
About the Author
D. Jackson Leigh grew up barefoot and happy, swimming in farm ponds and riding rude ponies in rural south Georgia. She is a career journalist but has found her real passion in writing sultry lesbian romances laced with her trademark Southern humor and affection for horses.
She has published twelve novels and one collection of short stories with Bold Strokes Books, winning a 2010 Alice B. Lavender Award for Noteworthy Accomplishment, and three Golden Crown Literary Society awards in paranormal, romance, and fantasy categories. She also was a finalist for four additional GCLS awards and a finalist in the romance category of the 2014 Lambda Literary Awards.
Friend her at facebook.com/d.jackson.leigh and on Twitter @djacksonleigh, or learn more about her at www.djacksonleigh.com.
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Ordinary is Perfect Page 23