Belle smiled shyly. “Oh? What are you going to tell her?”
“The truth: that I met a really special lady…”
“Yeah…”
“That I’ve been spending a lot of time with her…”
“And…”
“And what? Some things aren’t appropriate to share with a twelve-year-old,” Ally said with a naughty giggle.
“Well, I’m honored that you think I’m special enough to share anything about me with her.”
“I’m happy that you didn’t run for the hills when you heard I’m raising a kid. To some women, that’s a deal breaker…not that we’ve made any kind of deal or anything.”
“If those women can’t handle you having someone else important in your life, then they don’t deserve you…not that I’m saying I’m the one who deserves you or anything.”
They broke out in laughter as they wrestled each other, poking and tickling, kissing and groping.
“God, I love you.” The words tumbled out before Belle could catch them. She stared at Ally for a moment, frozen in fear of her response.
For her part, Ally seemed struck by the same concern. Then, “I love you, too” floated out like dandelions in the wind.
Belle was never more relieved or more insanely in love. She felt Ally’s words fall on her skin like rain, each syllable a single drop that heightened her awareness of everything Ally stirred in her.
She smiled, and then Ally smiled with every feature of her face. Then they kissed, wrapped up in the country quilt and their passion for each other.
So much for keeping her stay in Danville quick and easy.
***
Almost two weeks had passed since Belle sent out the original and follow-up emails to Craig’s sister, and she had run out of patience. With so few people still alive from that era to speak with, she hadn’t had much to spare. She mustered up the audacity to call Craig and see if he’d give her his sister’s telephone number, but he was willing to do her one better.
“She’s here in Connecticut right now,” he said. “Our youngest nephew got married on Saturday, so she’s here through this weekend.”
“You don’t suppose she’d have a few minutes to talk about her old friend Judy Ashford over coffee?” Belle’s demeanor bordered on groveling. “I’d be happy to meet her anywhere she wants.”
He sighed into the phone. “I can ask her. Give me your number, and either I’ll call you back or she will.”
“Please tell her it won’t take long, but it would mean so much to our family.”
“I understand. I’ll let her know.”
She ended the call feeling sleazy for laying it on so thick with Craig, but in the end, if it got her what she wanted, she’d learn to live with herself.
How did politicians do it for a living, she wondered, then tackled the next item on her to-do list.
***
Belle spent the morning clearing out and sorting the furniture, knickknacks, and various belongings of Aunt Marion’s that remained in the house after her death. Some things needed dusting or light cleaning, and they’d be ready for repurposing, while others were ready for a dumpster. She’d called a service that picked up large items to donate for various veterans’ programs and was unloading them from the back of her SUV at the curb when Ally rolled up in her squad car.
“This is a nice surprise.” Belle ran to the car and poked her head in for a kiss before Ally could unbuckle her seat belt. “Sorry. I’m a sweaty mess.”
“It totally works on you,” Ally said, bobbing her eyebrows as she got out of the car. “If I wasn’t on duty right now…”
“What do you mean? Aren’t you sworn to serve the women under your jurisdiction?”
“Not in this context, but for you, I’d definitely make an exception.” Ally glanced around and gave her a kiss that left Belle’s lips smoldering in the summer heat. “Listen. You’re gonna be even more excited when I tell you why I’m here.”
“What?”
Ally unlinked Belle’s hands from around her neck as she assumed her authoritative stance. “They got DNA out of the blanket.”
“No way! That’s amazing. Now what?”
“The lab will run it through CODIS to see if they can link it to anyone who’s already in the system.”
“Is that a database for Connecticut?”
“It’s nationwide, so even if the guy or woman took off from Connecticut, theoretically, we could still get a match.”
“What do you mean theoretically?”
“One of the parents would’ve had to have been convicted of a felony sometime after the late nineties, when the database was implemented.”
“Oh.” Belle frowned as her rush of optimism evaporated in the sun. “So you’re telling me this is another one of those ‘it’s possible but not likely’ scenarios.”
“Right, but on the plus side, I can ask Craig Wheeler for a DNA sample. Maybe we can at least establish paternity, even if it doesn’t lead us to Judy’s molester.”
“You’re going to contact him, right? I think if I call him or show up at his garage one more time, he’ll get a restraining order against me.”
“Yes. Please let me contact him. It’s an official part of the investigation now. Besides, I thought you promised me you’d leave him alone until the case was closed.”
“I asked him to help me contact his sister, who was Judy’s childhood best friend. She lives in California, so it’s not like I could’ve knocked on her door myself. And then when she didn’t answer my emails, I called him again to ask for her phone number.”
“Emails with an S?” Ally’s sexy-girlfriend demeanor suddenly turned into that of an impatient cop lecturing a group of loitering teenagers. “Belle, I don’t blame her for not answering you. Some random woman contacts her out of nowhere to talk about her past? That’s not too sketchy. In this day of internet scams against old people, she was smart to ignore you.”
Duly chastised, Belle mumbled a barely audible response. “She could have vital information that Craig doesn’t.”
Ally was showing no mercy. “That may be, but unless she agrees to talk to you, you can’t keep harassing her or Craig.”
“I’m not harassing anyone,” Belle said with a coy smile. “I’m a scintillating conversationalist. Who wouldn’t want to have a chat with me?”
Ally swirled a hand around her own face. “You see this? I’m not smiling at how adorable you are because I don’t want to encourage you.”
Belle grinned mischievously.
“Let Detective Gallagher worry about running down leads,” Ally said. “If it turns out Craig is the father, then he’ll have more leverage in getting the sister to cooperate if need be.” She grabbed her hand with a soft smile. “Please, Belle. You need to stay out of this, okay?”
“Okay. But what if his sister calls me back? Can I talk to her then?”
“Yes, but only as a family member of Judy’s who’d like to know more about her. You can’t grill her about anything relating to this investigation or give her any information I’ve told you in confidence.” Ally’s expression grew stern. “Or I won’t be able to share anything further with you.”
“Okay, babe. I understand. I’m sure she won’t even call me anyway. Craig said she’s going home this weekend, and I haven’t heard from her yet.”
“Thank you. Speaking of the weekend, dinner is at six sharp tonight. Are you ready for this?”
“Sure I am. I’m great with twelve-year-olds. I bought her a lip-gloss gift set from Sephora. Nothing too mature or whorish. It’s meant for tweenies. I asked the salesgirl.”
Ally’s sweet smile was what Belle was angling for. “You don’t have to bribe her with gifts to get her to like you. Your eccentric charm is enough to win anyone over.”
“Thank you…I think.”
“It sure worked on me.” Ally gave her a soft peck. “You’re bringing the sangria?”
“It’s macerating as we speak.”
“Perfe
ct. See you at six.” Ally glanced around again before giving her a longer, sensual kiss and hopping into her car. “Hey, did you call me ‘babe’?”
A blush warmed Belle’s cheeks. “Too soon?”
“Just right,” Ally said with a grin.
Belle waved at her car until it disappeared down the tree-shaded road. She sat on an old parlor end table and exhaled, waiting for the gossamer feeling Ally filled her with to lift so she could resume the rigorous task at hand.
***
Later, as Belle pulled into Ally’s driveway, her confidence in making a winning impression on Chloe wasn’t as robust as it had been earlier in the day. She made her way past the girls’ mountain bike on its side on the small patch of lawn and hit the doorbell with her elbow as she balanced a pitcher of sangria, a gift bag for Chloe, and a covered dish of homemade chocolate-covered strawberries.
“Look at all this,” Ally said as she held the door open for her. “It’s like Christmas in July. How did you manage to transport that sangria without spilling it?”
“Don’t ask,” she said as she headed up the stairs. “I’m sure I committed at least three traffic violations to do it.”
“I’m off duty so I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that.” Ally slapped her butt playfully and called out, “Chloe, come here. Isabelle’s here.”
“Be right there,” Chloe said from her room.
“I’m kinda nervous,” Belle said. “It feels like I’m a dude meeting my girlfriend’s father for the first time.”
“You’re funny. She’s not that tough. However, she hasn’t met any women of interest before either, so we’ll see.”
“What?” Belle’s throat constricted. “I’m the first girl you’ve brought home to meet her?”
“That she’d remember.”
Belle’s mind suddenly flooded with images of some dysfunctional kid throwing a tantrum because now she’d have to share her mother figure with a stranger. “Well, in the event I don’t make it through the vetting process, it was swell knowing you.”
Ally laughed. “She’s going to approve. I’m completely sure of it. Chloe,” she called out again.
“Sorry,” Chloe sang as she flounced down the hall toward them. “I wanted to change to look presentable.”
Belle and Ally laughed.
“Chloe, this is Isabelle Ashford. Belle, this is Chloe.”
Belle held out her hand to shake, and much to her relief, Chloe offered her a pleasant smile as she took it.
“It’s nice to meet you, Chloe,” Belle said. “I’m not sure if you’re into lip glosses, but I thought you might like these.”
“I am. These are awesome,” Chloe said, studying the package. “Thank you.” She surprised Belle with a quick hug and darted off down the hall.
“We’re eating now, Chloe,” Ally said. “Don’t get involved in anything.”
“I’m putting these away,” she said from her room.
“Good call on the gloss,” Ally said as they walked into the kitchen. “I should’ve known the minute she got her period, the makeup hormones would develop, too.”
“Makeup hormones?” Belle held the wineglasses while Ally poured. “Now I know being gay is biological. I’ve never craved makeup before. I wear it as a public service.”
Ally seemed to survey her facial features as though they were brushstrokes on a museum painting. “You’re a natural beauty, Belle. The makeup is purely the cherry on the sundae.”
“You know just what a lady likes to hear.” Belle kissed her, then suddenly pulled back. “Oh, sorry.”
“For what?” Ally carried a small charcuterie plate to the table. “Chloe knows I’m gay, and she knows you’re my girlfriend.”
Belle twirled her wineglass, savoring the sound of that sentence. “I’m your girlfriend, huh?”
“Aren’t you?”
“Yeah. I just like hearing you say it.”
“You really are a true romantic.” Ally kissed her, then instantly switched into harried-mom mode. “Chloe, let’s go! And leave the phone in your room.”
“I’m coming,” she called out. “I was letting Red in.”
Chloe and Red scurried down the hall and joined them in the dining room. He ran over to Belle, tail wagging like a windshield wiper on max, and she scratched him behind his ears.
“There you are, you little traitor.” She covered his head and whiskers in kisses. “How dare you leave me for a younger woman?”
Chloe laughed. “He can stay over with you. I don’t mind.”
“Thank you, Chloe,” she said. “But if there’s one thing you should learn about boys now it’s that they’re gonna go where their heart is. You can’t force them. And this boy’s all about you.”
“Man advice from a gold-star lesbian,” Ally said to Chloe in a deadpan. “You should write this down.”
Chloe giggled, half getting it.
“I don’t need to have been in a relationship with a man to understand them,” Belle said good-naturedly. “I have lots of male friends who’ve enlightened me over the years.”
Ally and Belle shared a laugh and clinked wineglasses.
“Now that I’m a woman,” Chloe said, “when am I gonna start being attracted to boys?”
Belle almost spewed out her wine. One thing she’d never expected was to be a dinner guest at a twelve-year-old’s coming-out party.
She and Ally exchanged looks.
“What do you mean?” Ally asked. “You have pictures of boy musicians all over your walls.”
“I mean like when am I gonna want to date them? I get my period now, so that’s puberty, right? But I still find them kind of gross.”
Belle snorted into her plate of prosciutto and table cheese.
Ally glared at her but kept her composure as she addressed Chloe’s question. “Well, you’re only twelve, honey. Getting your period isn’t some magic threshold you step through and then suddenly you’re ready to start dating.”
“And twelve-year-old boys are kind of gross anyway,” Belle added.
Chloe shrugged as she picked through the charcuterie plate. “I thought since my friends were getting all crazy over boys that I should be, too.”
“Are you going all crazy over girls?” Belle asked at the risk of another searing glare from Ally.
Chloe giggled. “No.”
“You know you can tell me if you are,” Ally added.
“I know,” Chloe said. “Sometimes I just feel weird that I’m not as into boys as Emma and Francesca are. I have more fun playing Minecraft and talking to the kids playing with me online.”
“Yeah. Kids who are probably fifty-year-old guys living in their moms’ basements,” Belle mumbled.
That one warranted a kick under the table from Ally.
“I wouldn’t worry, Chloe,” Ally said. “You’re perfectly normal the way you are. When you’re ready, you’ll become interested in dating like your friends, who, by the way, are too young to be so fixated on boys. That’s high school stuff. Until then, enjoy Minecraft.”
Chloe smiled. “Can I have a spritzer?”
Ally returned a smitten smile to her niece. “Sure.” She got up and made Chloe a fruit juice and seltzer concoction in a wineglass like theirs.
By the time they were done eating, Chloe had given Belle a thorough education in the rudiments of competitive equestrianism, ranging from when equestrian events first appeared in the Olympics to the difference between English and Western riding.
“Wow,” Belle said. “You are amazingly well-versed in your subject matter. You put me to shame as an English professor. I’ve never even heard of the words ‘dressage’ and ‘equitation.’”
Chloe giggled. “Equitation means judging the rider on form, style, and ability. And dressage is basically how good the horse’s training is.”
“As you can see, she’s quite enthusiastic about her sport.” Ally radiated a level of exuberant pride any mother would, and it made her even more attractive. “Her first competition is next
month.”
“That’s so exciting,” Belle said.
“Do you want to come?” Chloe asked.
“Uh, I think that would be very cool. I’ve never been to an equestrian competition before.” She winked at Ally. “A bucket-list item for sure.”
Chloe beamed. “If I win, maybe I can finally convince my aunt to get me my own horse.”
Belle turned to Ally. “Really?”
“I told you I’d consider it, Chloe,” Ally said firmly. “Getting a horse isn’t like dropping by a shelter and adopting a cat—which by the way, did you clean Bieber’s litter?”
Belle stifled a laugh. “Bieber?”
Ally nodded with resignation, then turned back to Chloe. “Did you?”
“Ye-ess,” Chloe said with a sibilant hiss. “You said you’d check with animal-rescue groups.”
“I have been, honey. But it’s a really big expense to board a horse, so I still have some research to do to see if I can manage it.”
Chloe scowled into her dish of fresh berries and ice cream. Belle could see how much it hurt Ally to disappoint her.
“So,” Belle said, too loudly for dinner conversation. “I think I’m going to really enjoy watching you compete, Chloe. Make sure you let me know when it is.”
That returned the smile to her face—Ally’s, too.
After they’d finished dessert, Chloe was excused, and Belle insisted on helping Ally clean up while Ally insisted they leave the dishes in the sink.
“I’ll take care of them later,” Ally said. “Let’s sit on the deck with some chilled Moscato.”
Belle shrugged. “I really don’t mind helping you. We can have it done in no time.”
“Why stand around my kitchen cleaning up when there’s a breathtaking sunset out there calling our names?”
“Can’t argue with that logic,” Belle said.
Chloe reappeared in the kitchen carrying a backpack. “I’m going to Emma’s now,” she announced.
“Text me the minute you get there.” Ally walked over to her and hugged her tightly.
“I will.”
“The minute you get there,” Ally repeated. “Or I’ll call her mother.”
The Ashford Place Page 13