Winds
OF FORTUNE
What Reviewers Say About Radcly ffe’s Books A Matter of Trust is a “. ..sexy, powerful love story fi lled with angst, discovery and passion that captures the uncertainty of fi rst love and its discovery.” – Just About Write
Shield of Justice is a “…well-plotted…lovely romance…I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough!” – Ann Bannon, author of The Beebo Brinker Chronicles
“The author’s brisk mix of political intrigue, fast-paced action, and frequent interludes of lesbian sex and love…in Honor Reclaimed…sure does make for great escapist reading.” – Q Syndicate Change of Pace is “. ..contemporary, yet timeless, not only about sex, but also about love, longing, lust, surprises, chance meetings, planned meetings, fulfi lling wild fantasies, and trust.” – Midwest Book Review
“Radcly f fe has once again pulled together all the ingredients of a genuine page-turner, this time adding some new spices into the mix.
shadowland is sure to please—in part because Radcly f fe never loses sight of the fact that she is telling a love story, and a compelling one at that.” – Cameron Abbott, author of To The Edge and An Inexpressible State of Grace
Lammy winner “. .. Stolen Moments is a collection of steamy stories about women who just couldn’t wait. It’s sex when desire overrides reason, and it’s incredibly hot!” – On Our Backs
“With ample angst, realistic and exciting medical emergencies, winsome secondary characters, and a sprinkling of humor, Fated Love turns out to be a terrifi c romance. It’s one of the best I have read in the last three years.” – Midwest Book Review
“Innocent Hearts. ..illustrates that our struggles for acceptance of women loving women is as old as time—only the setting changes.
The romance is sweet, sensual, and touching.” – Just About Write Lammy winner “. .. Distant Shores, Silent Thunder weaves an intricate tapestry about passion and commitment between lovers. The story explores the fragile nature of trust and the sanctuary provided by loving relationships.” – Sapphic Reader
In When Dreams Tremble the “…focus on character development is meticulous and comprehensive, fi lled with angst, regret, and longing, building to the ultimate climax.” – Just About Write Visit us at www.boldstrokesbooks.com
Winds
OF FORTUNE
by
RADCLY f FE
2007
WINDS OF FORTUNE
© 2007 BY RADCLYFFE. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
ISBN10: 1-933110-93-7
ISBN13: 978-1-933110-93-6
THIS TRADE PAPERBACK IS PUBLISHED BY
BOLD STROKES BOOKS, INC.
NEW YORK, USA
FIRST EDITION, OCTOBER 2007
THIS IS A WORK OF FICTION. NAMES, CHARACTERS, PLACES, AND
INCIDENTS ARE THE PRODUCT OF THE AUTHOR’S IMAGINATION OR
ARE USED FICTITIOUSLY. ANY RESEMBLANCE TO ACTUAL PERSONS, LIVING OR DEAD, BUSINESS ESTABLISHMENTS, EVENTS, OR LOCALES
IS ENTIRELY COINCIDENTAL.
THIS BOOK, OR PARTS THEREOF, MAY NOT BE REPRODUCED IN ANY
FORM WITHOUT PERMISSION.
CREDITS
EDITORS: RUTH STERNGLANTZ AND J. B. GREYSTONE
PRODUCTION DESIGN: J. B. GREYSTONE
COVER GRAPHIC: SHERI (graphicartist2020@hotmail.com) By the Author
Romances
Innocent Hearts
shadowland
Love’s Melody Lost
Fated Love
Love’s Tender Warriors
Turn Back Time
Tomorrow’s Promise
Promising Hearts
Passion’s Bright Fury
When Dreams Tremble
Love’s Masquerade
The Provincetown Tales
Safe Harbor
Beyond the Breakwater
Distant Shores, Silent Thunder
Storms of Change
Winds of Fortune
Honor Series
Justice Series
Above All, Honor
A Matter of Trust (prequel)
Honor Bound
Shield of Justice
Love & Honor
In Pursuit of Justice
Honor Guards
Justice in the Shadows
Honor Reclaimed
Justice Served
Honor Under Siege
Erotic Interludes: Change Of Pace
(A Short Story Collection)
Erotic Interludes 2: Stolen Moments
Stacia Seaman and Radclyffe, eds.
Erotic Interludes 3: Lessons in Love
Stacia Seaman and Radclyffe, eds.
Erotic Interludes 4: Extreme Passions
Stacia Seaman and Radclyffe, eds.
Erotic Interludes 5: Road Games
Stacia Seaman and Radclyffe, eds.
Acknowledgments
As I complete the fi nal edits of this work, I am fortunate to be staying in the seaside village that is as much a character in these stories as the people who populate the novels. The harbor at sunrise, the sounds of the ocean, and the spirit of those adventurers and artists who have come before never fail to inspire me. I’m sure I have not yet captured more than a glimpse of the beauty, grace, and history that is Provincetown, but it continues to be my very great pleasure to try.
My thanks go to my fi rst readers Diane, Eva, Jane, Paula, and RB, as well as to my editors, Ruth Sternglantz and J.B.
Greystone, and the generous proofreaders at Bold Strokes Books for making this a better book. All the credit goes to these dedicated individuals and the responsibility for any shortcomings to me.
Thanks also to Sheri for yet another standout cover.
To Lee, for sharing the adventure. Amo te.
DEDICATION
For Lee
For weathering every storm
Winds of Fortune
CHAPTER ONE
Dr. Victoria King dropped a chart on top of the eight inch stack on her desk and checked her watch. Ten minutes to two. God, she was going to be late for her own daughter’s fi rst birthday party.
“Why don’t you get out of here,” a voice said from behind her.
Spinning around, Tory smiled at the trim African-American woman in a white lab coat who stood in her offi ce doorway. Like Tory, her new associate, Dr. Nita Burgoyne, was dressed casually, but in contrast to Tory’s pressed jeans and boatneck navy cotton tee, Nita’s stylish emerald green blouse, sand colored slacks, and tan sling-back, low-heeled shoes hinted at designer labels. She hadn’t quite made the transition from big city ER doctor to small town doc just yet.
“You’ve been here, what—fi ve weeks,” Tory said, “and already you’re reading my mind?”
“Didn’t take telepathy.” When Nita shook her head, the gold clasp she used to restrain her shoulder-length, wavy black hair at her nape glinted in the overhead lights, echoing the amusement that shimmered in her deep brown eyes. “I could hear your thoughts out in the hallway.”
“Well, I’m glad I didn’t fi nish what I was thinking, then.” Tory grimaced. “How many more do we have?”
“Not enough for you to worry about.” Nita lifted a shoulder in the direction of the hallway behind her. “Now go while the coast is relatively clear.”
Tory hesitated, torn between wanting to be with her family and knowing she was needed at the clinic. During tourist season, the East End Health Clinic was open seven days a week, and patient hours often stretched well beyond the scheduled times. Here emergencies were the norm, rather than the exception. Minor accidents, fender benders, forgotten medication, common colds, and more serious events ranging from heart attacks to strokes were daily fare. It might be quiet right this minute, but chances were it wouldn’t be for long—not on Sunday
• 13 •
RADCLY fFE
afternoon of Fourth of July weekend in Provincetown—and Nita hadn’t worked a holiday alone yet.
“I’m not some green intern,” Nita chided good-naturedly, obviously continuing to read Tory’s mind despite her earlier denial. “Sally is the best nurse I’ve ever worked with and better than a lot of the doctors I’ve known. We’ll be fi ne.”
Tory considered arguing, but she could tell by the set of Nita’s slender shoulders that her mind was made up. She had learned very quickly that in Nita’s case, looks were very defi nitely deceiving.
Although Nita’s dark almond eyes, sculpted features, and smooth coffee-and-cream complexion gave her a look of exotic, nearly delicate beauty, she was neither delicate nor insubstantial in any way. Ten years Tory’s junior, she was a self-assured, highly capable professional, and wonderful with the patients. Even though she was personally reserved and rarely talked about her private life, her genuine warmth and compassion were obvious, and Tory liked her.
“You’ll call me if things get busy?” Tory asked.
Nita folded her arms beneath her breasts and pursed her lips.
“Okay. Okay.” Tory held up both hands in surrender. “Will you at least stop by the party later? We’ll have plenty of food and the adults will out-number the kids, I promise.”
When Nita looked uncertain, Tory felt a surge of guilt. As far as she knew, Nita had yet to really meet anyone in the community outside of patients and the offi ce staff. Part of that was Tory’s fault. She should have had a welcoming reception for her when she joined the practice, and what she’d greeted her with instead was a crisis. Nita had only been with her a few days before Reese had been reported missing in action in Iraq. With her lover probably wounded or possibly dead, Tory had barely managed to keep her sanity and had foisted all but the major responsibilities of the clinic onto Nita. Everything else had fallen by the wayside. Even now, though she tried not to let it show, Tory still felt as if her life was on shaky ground.
“It’ll just be some good friends and family,” Tory urged.
Finally, Nita nodded, hiding her reluctance behind a smile. A child’s birthday would be harmless, and she only needed to make a brief appearance. “Thank you. That would be nice.”
“Good. Then I’ll just fi nish up these chart—”
“Tory! Get!”
• 14 •
Winds of Fortune
Laughing, Tory shrugged out of her lab coat and tossed it onto the high backed leather chair behind her overfl owing desk. “I’m gone.”
Just as Tory stepped out into the hall, their receptionist rushed in from the waiting area and skidded to a halt beside her. Lithe and handsome, Randy’s blond hair was uncharacteristically mussed and his big blue eyes were overly bright.
“Sorry,” he said breathlessly, looking from Tory to Nita and back again, “but Deo Camara just brought Joey Torres in, and he’s bleeding all over the waiting room. Sally’s putting them in the procedure room.”
“What happened?” Tory inquired sharply, turning back into her offi ce for her lab coat. If Randy was ruffl ed it must be serious, because he could simultaneously handle fi ve emergency calls, three hysterical mothers, and a recalcitrant insurance rep without breaking a sweat.
“Deo said something about a saw.”
“Thanks, Randy,” Nita said calmly. “Why don’t you get the waiting room cleaned up and let the other patients know there might be a little bit of a wait.”
“Okay, right.” As quickly as he had appeared, Randy was gone.
“I’ve got this, Tory,” Nita said.
Tory drew up short, one arm in and one out of her lab coat. Nita was a board-certifi ed emergency room physician. She was trained to handle anything that might come through the door. Rationally, Tory knew that. Still, it was hard to leave. She had hired on temporary help before, but Nita was the fi rst physician she had contracted for a possible long-term association. The only partner she had ever considered had been KT O’Bannon, the woman she had once considered the love of her life. But KT had left her with a broken heart and broken dreams.
Then Reese Conlon had come along and mended her heart, but until now she’d never really considered sharing her professional life with anyone else.
“You might need an assistant,” Tory pointed out.
“If it’s that bad, the repair will need to be done in the OR and we’ll transport him to Hyannis. Otherwise, Sally can help me. Now I’d better get in there—and you have a party to go to.”
Nita disappeared down the hallway. Tory could either follow her, making a clear statement that she didn’t trust her to handle the problem alone, or she could go home where the people who loved her were waiting.
• 15 •
RADCLY fFE
She hung her lab coat on a hook behind her door, and with one last glance down the hall toward the patient rooms, she left.
❖
Nita pushed through the door into the procedure room and stopped short at the incongruous sound of laughter. Their clinic nurse, Sally, stood at the counter on the far side of the room setting up an instrument tray. Two young men in khaki work clothes and dusty boots, one seated on the stretcher and the other leaning against it, faced away from the door toward the petite blond nurse. Apparently no one heard her enter because the revelry continued.
“We need to make sure this gets fi xed up right,” remarked the deeply tanned, curly haired Adonis who nudged the shoulder of a similarly handsome man whose right hand was wrapped in a bloody towel. “Otherwise, Joey’s sex life is going straight down the toi—”
“Oh I don’t know,” Sally laughed as she laid out gloves and irrigation solution, “it doesn’t look like any of Joey’s critical equipment is in danger.”
“That’s just the problem, he needs that hand to take care of his main business,” the Adonis smirked.
“Come on, Deo,” Joey said, “I’m in pain here.” He glanced over his buddy’s shoulder and, spying Nita, instantly looked chagrined.
“Besides, there’s a lady present.”
“Oh, well, excuse me,” Sally said archly, rolling the metal instrument stand up to the table. “Now you two decide to get some manners?” She waved to Nita. “We’re all ready for you.”
“Thanks.” Nita crossed the room briskly. “I’m Dr. Burgoyne.
What happened?”
“Joey here picked a fi ght with a table saw and lost,” the uninjured member of the pair replied, turning in Nita’s direction. Deep-set eyes so dark they verged on black did a slow survey of Nita’s face, fl ickered lower for an instant, then returned to lock on Nita’s. “Well, hello.”
Nita blinked, bombarded by a series of quicksilver images—wide, sensuous mouth; midnight curls tumbling onto a broad forehead; thick, almost straight black brows; and skin, she realized—not tanned—but a rich natural bronze. An Adonis, no doubt. But very much not a man. For one second Nita completely lost focus and everything else
• 16 •
Winds of Fortune
in the room receded from her consciousness except her awareness of this woman. How she hadn’t realized immediately that Adonis was a woman, despite the nondescript work clothes, she couldn’t imagine.
Even partially turned away, her sharply-carved profi le was just a little bit too exquisite to be male, despite its strength. And not even the well-developed shoulders and thighs could diminish the undeniably feminine nature of her body. The subtle swell of her breasts, the narrow waist, the slight curve of hip all screamed woman. Beautiful woman.
Nita felt her skin warming as the woman continued to stare at her with a mixture of amusement and frank appreciation. Nita knew the look. Not just beautiful, beautiful and arrogant. This one knew she was gorgeous and no doubt knew the effect she had on women. Women and men, probably. She was looking at Nita as if she expected Nita to melt.
Nita mentally shook herself—that wasn’t going to happen. Not now, not ever again.
“Perhaps the patient would like to fi ll me in,” Nita said, dragging her gaze away from the dark hypnotic eyes. She knew she sounded irritated. She was irritated. And disturbed. Irritated at herself for even noticing how striking the woman was, and defi nitely disturbed for being intrigued—if only for an instant—by the admiring look in the woman’s eyes. Being stirred by any woman’s attraction was something she had thought she’d expunged from her mind and body, but apparently she’d been wrong.
“If you could step back, please,” Nita said, “I need to see to your friend.”
“By all means,” Deo said with a slightly mocking tone and a sweep of her arm, “be my guest.”
Deo Camara wasn’t surprised by the doctor’s initial consternation.
She was used to that. Strangers often took her for a guy, especially in her work clothes, or confused her with one of her many cousins.
The anger that had quickly surged in the piercing, raw umber eyes was unexpected, though. What was even more unanticipated was that the doctor’s antagonism bothered her. She didn’t know the woman, so why should it matter what she thought? Annoyed at being off-balance, she shrugged and shifted a few inches, folding her arms across her chest and rocking back on her heels.
“Thank you,” Nita said dryly, edging around the stranger when she failed to make room. Apparently she was as rude as she was good-
• 17 •
RADCLY fFE
looking. She smiled at the patient. “Hi. Joey is it?”
“Yeah. Uh, yes ma’am.” He dropped his eyes and blushed.
“I’m going to need to examine your hand. Why don’t you lie down.” She looked to Sally. “Gloves?”
“Here you go.” Sally handed Nita a package of sterile gloves and then pulled on her own pair. “I’ve got a basin and sterile saline when you’re ready.”
Nita glanced over her shoulder at Deo, who still stood so close Nita could smell a faint mixture of salt air and sawdust clinging to her.
For some reason that struck her as more alluring than a fi ne perfume.
Nonplussed at the thought, she said edgily, “This will probably take awhile. You might want to have a seat out front.”
“I’m staying.”
“As you wish.”
Once Joey was settled comfortably with his arm extended on a narrow arm board canted out from the table, Nita removed the bloody towel from his right hand. As she worked, she was disconcertingly aware of Deo’s presence just behind her. She could almost feel the heat coming off her body.
“Would you step back just a little,” Nita said without turning, frustrated that her concentration was affected by a stranger this way.
“Sure thing.”
Nita didn’t hear her move, and she could still sense her nearness.
This is ridiculous. Determined to banish the exasperating distraction from her consciousness, Nita focused on Joey and immediately her discomfort abated.
“This might be just a bit uncomfortable,” she said, gently supporting his wrist in her palm.
“It’s okay, Doc,” Joey said, his eyes fi xed trustingly on her face.
The bleeding had slowed to a trickle, but his small fi nger drooped and angled unnaturally. Nita noted an irregular laceration through the layer of caked-on blood. Saw blade. Another laceration slashed across the mid-portion of his ring fi nger. She carefully repositioned his hand on a sterile towel.
“Sally, go ahead and soak his whole hand in quarter strength Betadiene for ten minutes and then irrigate the lacerations. In the meantime, give him a tetanus shot, a gram of Zinacef, and set up for an X-ray.” She patted Joey’s shoulder. “You’ve cut a tendon or two and
• 18 •
Winds of Fortune
nicked a nerve. Nothing we can’t fi x. I’ll be back in a few minutes and we’ll get started.”
Pushing back from the table, Nita stripped off her gloves. She tossed them aside and quickly left the room, still strangely disquieted by her reaction to her patient’s friend. She didn’t get derailed by the attention of a beautiful woman. Not anymore.
“Hey!”
Nita turned and saw that the woman was following her down the hall. Her long strides were forceful, more power than grace, and her physical presence combined with her natural beauty made an eye-catching package. Despite her appreciation, Nita carefully kept her expression fl at. “Can I help you?”
“He’s got insurance. Workman’s comp. Whatever he needs—”
“You can give all that information to our receptionist out front.”
Nita hoped the woman wasn’t suggesting Nita might not do everything necessary for the patient. “My only concern is taking care of his injury.”
“Look. If he needs to go to a hospital or something—”
“My decisions regarding his course of treatment are not based upon his ability to pay.” Nita regarded Deo with annoyance. “I didn’t get your name.”
“Deo Camara. I’m his boss. And his cousin.” Deo thought about extending her hand, but for some reason she didn’t. She had the uneasy feeling she was acting like an ass chasing after the doctor, but she couldn’t seem to stop herself. This woman was so cool and detached and dismissive. Maybe that was it. She wasn’t used to women just brushing her off. Usually she was the one that had to do the kissing off.
Nita took a breath and struggled to regain her professional composure. Deo could hardly help the way she looked. Her manners could stand some polish, but she was probably worried. “As soon as I complete my evaluation I’ll let you both know what needs to be done.”
“He works with his hands.”
“I understand.” Nita glanced at Deo’s hands, curled at her sides.
They were the same dark bronze as her face, broad and strong, capable looking hands. An irregular white ribbon of damaged tissue slashed across the top of her left hand from the base of her thumb to the opposite side of her wrist. An old scar from what must have been a painful injury.
• 19 •
RADCLY fFE
Sympathetically, she said, “I can see you’ve had some experience with this kind of thing.”
Following her gaze, Deo stiffened and tightened her fi st until the skin turned pale and the scar disappeared. “No.”
Nita’s immediate impulse was to apologize, because she heard not anger, but pain in Deo’s voice. Then a sudden realization turned her cold inside. She knew nothing of this woman except that she was beautiful and at the moment, in pain. A dangerous combination that she found all too compelling, and exactly the kind of woman she wanted nothing to do with.
“I’ll be in to see your cousin in just a few moments,” Nita said, then pulled a chart off the nearest door and quickly stepped inside.
Deo stared at the closed door, feeling the sudden silence in the hall like a weight on her chest. She had let a stranger stir her up, and worse, rouse banished memories. No one did that. She never let anyone close enough to risk awakening those unforgiven sins.
❖
“Is Reese home yet?” Tory asked breathlessly as she hurried through the door into the sunny living room. She petted the concrete block-sized head of the Mastiff that ambled to greet her. “Hi Jedi.”
“Not yet.” Kate, a blond version of her dark-haired, blue-eyed daughter Reese, held out a squirming toddler to Tory. “And the birthday girl has been asking.”
“Hey, honey,” Tory said, taking her daughter. Reggie replied with a string of excited words, the bulk of which sounded like ma ma ma ma ma. Tory laughed. “That’s me. Well, one of them anyways.”
When she kissed Reggie’s forehead, the wind coming in from the open door to the deck off the living area blew her hair into Reggie’s face. Reggie promptly grabbed a handful and held it to her mouth.
Reggie’s red gold locks were lighter than Tory’s own auburn hair and her eyes more blue than green, but everyone said they could see Tory in Reggie. Sometimes when Tory looked at her daughter, she was struck with helpless wonder at what a miracle she was. At the sound of the screen door closing, Tory lifted her eyes from her daughter to the other miracle in her life.
• 20 •
Winds of Fortune
When she returned from Iraq, Reese had been thinner than Tory had ever seen her, as if the desert winds and searing heat and senseless, relentless death had carved away everything except what she needed to survive. But she had survived. And she had come home. Wounded, disillusioned, weary in body and soul. But alive. She had come home where she was loved and needed.
With her coal black hair trimmed neatly at her collar, her intense deep-blue eyes, and her imposing body in a crisp khaki uniform, Sheriff Reese Conlon radiated strength. But Tory saw what others didn’t.
Though Reese insisted she was recovered, she was still too thin, and there were still too many shadows under her eyes and in her eyes. Tory knew Reese tried to hide them, just as she knew that she tried to hide the fact that she rarely slept an entire night—or even more than an hour at a time. She didn’t know if Reese would ever talk about what haunted her. Not all pain could be purged. Until the time came, if it ever came, when Reese asked her to share that pain, Tory would give her the only thing she had to give—herself, in every way she could.
Tory smiled at her lover. “Hello, darling.”
“Hi, baby. I’m sorry I’m late.” Reese tossed her uniform hat and car keys onto the counter that separated the kitchen from the living area, smiled at her mother, and strode across the room to Tory. She put her arms around her and the baby, kissed Tory gently, and nuzzled Reggie’s neck, making her laugh. “Hi, Champ.”
“You’re not late. I just got here myself.” Handing the baby off to Kate, Tory rested her head on Reese’s shoulder, still unable to forget what it had been like being without her. She had gotten up in the morning, had cared for Reggie, and had gone to the clinic and looked after her patients while all the time sensing that some essential part of herself was missing. She had never experienced anything as frightening as the hollow ache inside that she had known without doubt would never be fi lled if Reese did not come home. “I love you.”
“Me too,” Reese whispered. Reluctantly, she let Tory go and glanced around the house. “So where’s the party?”
“Jean is picking up some last minute things at the store,” Kate said, referring to her lover. “Pia called a little while ago and said she and KT were on their way. I assume you know where Bri and Nelson are?”
• 21 •
RADCLY fFE
“Oh hell,” Tory muttered. “I wonder if anyone called Pia and told her Joey was hurt.”
“What’s the matter with Joey?” Reese asked, stopping near the closet where she stored her gun belt.
“I’m not sure, exactly. Deo brought him into the clinic just as I was leaving.” Tory unclipped her cell phone from her waistband. “I’d better track Pia down and let her know.”
“Let me know what?” Pia Torres said as she came through the door holding hands with her lover, Dr. KT O’Bannon. She hefted the bottle of wine she carried in her other hand. “Let me dump this in the kitchen.”
KT, tall, dark-haired, and roguishly good-looking, kissed Tory on the cheek. “Hi, Vic.”
Tory smiled at the old nickname and felt KT studying her. KT
could read her face better than anyone in the world except Reese. There had been a time when KT had been her world, before the wild and wildly attractive surgeon had strayed one too many times and fi nally crushed Tory’s innocence. Now, KT had found Pia, a woman who gave her the freedom she needed never to leave. Pia embraced the dangerous parts of KT that Tory hadn’t been able to, and in recognizing that, Tory had fi nally been able to accept how much goodness there was in her ex-lover and how much love they still shared.
“Deo brought Joey into the clinic just as I was leaving,” Tory said as Pia walked over. “He had some kind of accident with a saw at work.
Nita’s evaluating him.”
“Oh my God.” Pia grabbed KT’s arm. “I have to go over there. I don’t want my mother to hear anything until I know what’s going on.”
“It’s okay, babe. Nita’s good.” KT slid an arm around Pia’s waist,
“Come on, we’ll go right now. I’ll drive.”
“I’ve got the cruiser,” Reese said. “I’ll take you, Pia.”
“You’ll take us both,” KT corrected.
“Actually, you’ll take all of us,” Tory said, hurrying to join the group. She called over her shoulder to Kate, “I’ll update you as soon as I can. Keep the ice cream cold.”
• 22 •
Winds of Fortune
CHAPTER TWO
Nita,” Tory said quietly from the door. “Can you talk?”
Surprised, Nita looked up from examining Joey’s hand and swiveled on the short metal stool to face Tory. “Back already? What’s up?”
“Joey’s sister is here. Do you mind if she comes in to see him?”
Tory nodded to Deo. “Hi, Deo.”
“Crap,” Joey muttered. “I told you we should call her.”
“Jesus, Joey,” Deo scoffed. “Did you want me to call your mommy too?”
Ignoring the back-and-forth behind her, Nita gestured to Joey’s hand draped in sterile towels on the table. She had yet to repair the damage and it didn’t look pretty. “She might want to wait until we get him cleaned up a little bit more.”
“Pia is a hand therapist. She’ll be fi ne with it,” Tory explained.
Nita raised her eyebrows. She didn’t mind family in the room when she was working. Medical personnel, however, sometimes took special handling, because they usually wanted to direct the treatment.
This sounded like one of those situations.
“KT’s here too.” Tory looked mildly chagrined.
“Ah,” Nita said, the pieces suddenly falling into place. She’d worked with KT a few times right after Reese had been captured in Iraq and Tory had needed extra help in the clinic. She recalled now Randy mentioning over lunch one day that KT’s lover was an occupational therapist in town. “Well, you might as well all come on in.”
After covering Joey’s hand with moist gauze, Nita rose and stripped off her gloves. Then she went to intercept the group just inside the door to the treatment room. The woman with KT and Tory looked like an elegant version of Deo and Joey. She had the same glossy, wavy black hair and dark expressive eyes. Her skin was a slightly lighter shade than theirs, closer to her own, and her features a little more fi nely
• 23 •
RADCLY fFE
detailed. Whereas Deo’s compelling beauty verged on androgyny, Pia was the archetype of female loveliness. God, can this family get any more attractive?
“Hi,” Pia said, holding out her hand. “I’m Pia, Joey’s sister. Sorry to barge in.”
Nita took her hand. “That’s quite all right. Hi, KT.”
“Nita. What have you got?”
“The X-rays are over here.” Nita led the three to the light box. “He’s got a fracture of the middle phalanx of his small fi nger. Fortunately, it’s favorably angled and once we reduce it, he should do well with a splint.”
Nita waited while KT leaned forward and perused all the fi lms.
Then she went on. “He’s completely transected his extensor tendon in that fi nger and nicked the one in the ring fi nger.”
“Looks like he’s bought himself a couple of months out of work,”
KT commented.
“No way,” Deo said, having moved closer while everyone was talking. “He’s still got one good hand and two legs. He’s not laying off for half the summer. He can have until Tuesday, then he needs to get his candy ass back to work.”
Nita was about to remind Deo that she was making the decisions when Pia wrapped her arm around Deo’s waist and kissed her cheek.
Struck by the obvious affection in Pia’s gesture and the fl eeting look of tenderness that passed over Deo’s face, she hesitated.
Pia said, “You okay, tough girl?”
“I’m fi ne.” Deo’s voice sounded surprisingly husky. “I’m sorry about this, Pia.”
“We’ll talk later,” Pia murmured. “It’ll be okay.”
“Yeah. Right.”
Once again, Nita caught a glimpse of something raw and vulnerable in Deo’s eyes, and against her will, she was drawn to it. Heart pounding, she turned her back to the cousins. She needed to get Joey taken care of and get them all out of the clinic. Especially Deo Camara. The woman was dangerous.
“I was just about to do the tendon repair. If you want to do it, KT, it’s fi ne with me.” Even though it was a straightforward procedure, Nita wasn’t about to stand on ceremony when one of the best trauma surgeons on the East Coast was available to do the job. Especially not
• 24 •
Winds of Fortune
when a family member was involved.
“Why don’t we do it together.” KT grinned. “Then we can all get back to the party.”
“I’ll see the rest of the patients while you two take care of Joey,”
Tory offered.
Nita nodded in surrender. “Well, I guess it’s decided.”
❖
“Look,” Deo said, trying to extricate herself from Pia’s grasp as they crossed the parking lot outside the clinic. “I don’t want to crash this party.”
“It’s a baby’s birthday party!” Pia gave Deo a playful shove before she opened the passenger door of Deo’s camo green Defender and climbed in. Waving goodbye through the open top to KT, who was headed back to the party in Reese’s cruiser, she said, “It’s just a bunch of people you already know—and Tory invited you, so you can’t be crashing. Come on. I know you’ve been working fi fteen hours a day since April without a day off. Why pass up free food and beer and good company?”
“I can manage to get food and beer and plenty of company on my own,” Deo grumbled. “Jesus. I don’t need a social director.”
“Yeah? Well I didn’t see you at the Memorial Day picnic or the Fourth of July barbecue yesterday.”
“You know why.” Deo gunned the truck out of the parking lot, spewing gravel. “No point spoiling everyone’s day.”
Pia rested her hand on Deo’s thigh. “You don’t know it would have been like that.”
“Don’t I?” Deo said darkly. “It was a family gathering, wasn’t it?
When was the last time I came to one where my father didn’t get drunk and practically call me out and my mother didn’t cry?”
“Honey, it’s been ten years. Everyone needs to let it go.”
Deo clenched her jaw. “Then someone should tell them that.”
“I know, you’re right.”
“And Christ almighty, wait until everyone hears about Joey. It’ll be Gabe all over again.”
“My mother is not going to get hysterical and blame you,” Pia said. “And it isn’t your fault. Joey had an accident.”
• 25 •
RADCLY fFE
Deo shook her head as she turned onto 6A and headed west toward Reese and Tory’s home. “He got hurt working for me. I’m supposed to be looking out for my crew. It was my fault.”
“Joey is a carpenter. These things happen.”
“Let it go, Pia.”
Pia sighed and patted Deo’s leg. “So, who are you dating now?”
“What, now you want to fi nd me a girlfriend?” Deo grinned. “I don’t think our tastes run in quite the same direction.”
“You don’t think KT’s hot?”
“Jesus, Pia, don’t put me on the spot here.”
“Come on, admit it,” Pia teased. “She’s got a gorgeous body, a face to die for, and a mouth that can make a girl’s cli—”
“Whoa. Whoa whoa whoa!” Laughing, Deo stuck out one arm as if to cover Pia’s mouth. “None of that. Jesus, I don’t want to look at her and have those pictures in my head.”
“Well we used to share things about our girlfriends.”
“Yeah, maybe when we were sixteen! Besides, you never did anything except kiss, as I recall, so there wasn’t much to tell.”
Pia blushed. “You were doing enough of everything else for both of us.”
Deo shot her a glance. “You really didn’t…you know, get it on with anyone before KT?”
“Well I wasn’t living in a convent, but, no. Not entirely.”
“It’s nothing to be ashamed of, you know,” Deo said gently. “KT
is a lucky woman. She knows that, right?”
“Yes, cousin, she knows, so you don’t have to defend my honor.”
Pia stroked the top of Deo’s hand where it rested on the gear shift between them. “Do any of your girlfriends know what a big softie you are?”
“Don’t spread nasty rumors about me,” Deo said, pulling into Reese and Tory’s drive. “They’ve got enough reason to be pissed off at me when I don’t marry them.”
“Someday someone’s going to see through that tough girl act of yours,” Pia warned playfully. “Then you’ll be in trouble.”
Deo didn’t bother to argue. She defi nitely didn’t feel like explaining that what had once been an act had long since become second nature.
Life was simpler that way.
• 26 •
Winds of Fortune
❖
“I take it that’s your sister,” Nita said to Tory, indicating a fair-haired, blue-eyed woman in a sun dress and sandals who bounced a laughing Reggie on her knee. “She looks a lot like you.”
“That’s Cath,” Tory said. “My brother-in-law just took their two kids down to the beach. And that guy over there,” she pointed to a husky, middle-aged man with dark hair shot-through with gray ensconced in a wooden Adirondack rocker and deep in conversation with Reese, “is Chief Nelson Parker, Reese’s boss.”
“Wait a minute. Parker. Isn’t that the name of that skinny, black-haired walking hormone with the adorable little blond girlfriend?”
Tory laughed. “You mean Bri? The one leaning against the railing in the corner over there while her girlfriend tries to climb inside her skin?”
“Oh my,” Nita said, after sneaking a peek. Sure enough, Bri, in tight black jeans and a sleeveless black T-shirt that accentuated her wiry frame, had her arms around her girlfriend, who wore nothing but itty-bitty white shorts and a pink halter top. The little blonde was wedged between Bri’s thighs with her arms around Bri’s neck and the two of them looked like they might need to be hosed down any second. She shook her head. “I’m not all that much older than them but they make me feel ancient.”
“Believe it or not, Bri and Caroline have been together almost six years and as far as I can tell, they’ve still got the nonstop hungries for each other. Bri’s an offi cer in town, too. Caroline’s an artist, studying in New York City.”
“Well I’ll say one thing for this place,” Nita said. “You’ve got drop-dead gorgeous cops of all species.”
“Mmm,” Tory said, watching Reese. “We do.” She glanced at Nita. “You’ve got cops in your family, right?”
“Everywhere you look,” Nita said fl atly.
Tory regarded her curiously. “Did they pressure you to carry on the family tradition?”
“You couldn’t exactly call it pressure. I don’t think anyone ever considered that I wouldn’t. It was pretty much a given. My grandfather, my uncles and aunts, my older siblings—they’re all cops. One renegade sister is a fi refi ghter, but close enough.” She wrapped her arms around
• 27 •
RADCLY fFE
her middle and stared down toward the harbor, remembering the astonishment on her father’s face when she had announced at seventeen that she wanted to go to medical school. She had thought he would be proud. Looking back, she didn’t know why she’d expected that. She had never been as tough as her brothers and sisters, not in the obvious ways, at least. Knowing that she couldn’t measure up to her physically competitive brothers and sisters, she had worked tirelessly to excel in the only way she could. She had been fi rst in her class year after year, but it never seemed to be enough. No matter how good she was academically, she didn’t measure up. “One of my brothers went to a two-year college before entering the academy, but all my other siblings went straight on the job after high school. I was the odd one out.”
“Breaking with tradition that deep is hard.” Tory couldn’t help but think about Reese, raised by her father to follow in his footsteps in the marines. Reese had done everything her father expected. She had been willing to sacrifi ce anything, including her life, for her duty, but all that paled in his eyes when he learned she was a lesbian. Tory shook her head. “Sometimes the people who love us are our toughest critics.”
“I’ve gotten used to the fact that I’m a disappointment to them.”
Nita wished it were only her choice of careers that set her apart from her family and wondered why she was thinking about those mistakes now. She’d been very careful in the last year not to repeat them. As she glanced around, she realized it was probably just the family atmosphere of the gathering that had her thinking of the past. Even when she went home for obligatory visits, she never felt as welcome as she did here, among strangers. Surprised that the realization could still hurt, she scanned the crowd for a diversion to take her mind off her unwelcome reminiscences. The distraction she found was the last one she wanted.
Deo Camara sat on the deck railing opposite her, arms braced on either side of her splayed legs, head thrown back as she laughed at something a pretty young blonde in a cropped T-shirt and hip-hugger shorts whispered in her ear. The sight of the blonde’s hand curled around Deo’s thigh and the seductive way she leaned into Deo aggravated Nita, and that awareness didn’t help her mood. She turned away and refocused on Tory. “I admire you for being brave enough to have children. I’m not sure I am.”
“I hope when Regina gets older that I have the strength to let her
• 28 •
Winds of Fortune
live her life however she needs to.” Tory sighed. “Even if I don’t always understand her choices.”
“I think the fact that you even think about it means that you will.”
“Well, I’ll have lots of help.” Tory pointed across the deck to where Reggie slumped sleepily in Cath’s lap. “I think the birthday girl needs a nap. I should go collect her.”
“Thanks for the invitation,” Nita said as Tory moved away.
“Consider it a standing order,” Tory called over her shoulder.
Nita watched the partygoers for a while longer, fi xing faces to names, relieved that Deo had disappeared. When she felt she had stayed long enough to be polite, she gathered her half-empty bottle of beer and paper plate to take inside. As she turned toward the house, she nearly bumped into Deo.
“Sorry,” Nita said, instantly noting that Deo had removed her work shirt. Her tight, sleeveless white undershirt left nothing to the imagination. Her shoulders were muscular, as were her arms, and her breasts were just full enough to tent the shirt in a very enticing manner.
Nita felt an involuntary tug of appreciation in the depths of her belly and immediately squashed it.
“You look ready for a fresh beer. That one’s got to be warm.” Deo held out a bottle of the brand Nita was drinking.
Observant. And smooth. Nita recognized the confi dent, almost cocky look in Deo’s eyes. And a player. It stood to reason that someone as gorgeous as this one would be used to having women fall at her feet.
Well, not this time.
“Thanks, but I’m on call. One’s my limit.”
Deo cocked her head and narrowed her eyes appraisingly while regarding Nita’s beer bottle. “Looks like you’ve only had half. Might as well enjoy something fresh.”
“I’m fi ne, but I’m sure someone else would appreciate what you have to offer.” Nita barely managed not to add, Like the sexy little blonde who was hanging on you earlier. God why did she care? But she knew why and had been avoiding the knowledge all afternoon. Deo had the same breathtaking good looks, the same edgy sensuality—God, even the same way of looking at a woman that said You’re so special—as Sylvia had had. Angry that she could still be susceptible to such empty
• 29 •
RADCLY fFE
charms, and disgusted with herself for allowing thoughts of Sylvia to surface after she’d worked so hard to obliterate them, Nita snapped,
“Don’t waste it. There will be plenty of takers around.”
“That’s okay, I brought it for you.” Deo had no idea why she was having this conversation. She’d been watching Nita for the last hour. The woman stood out in a crowd without even trying. She was beautiful, sure, but it was more than that. She was alone and obviously preferred it that way. She smiled warmly when people spoke to her, but she never touched anyone and she rarely laughed. And when people moved away, she closed in on herself again. She was beautiful and untouchable and Deo wondered what it would take to penetrate that isolation. Why she even gave it a thought, she didn’t know, other than she knew something about being alone. Still, she persisted in trying to charm the aloof doctor into responding. “I’m not interested in offering it to someone else.”
“You should be,” Nita said, sidestepping to make her way around the obstacle Deo presented. “Because I’m not interested.”
“You might change your mind.”
Nita stopped and squared off with Deo. “No. I won’t.”
“You don’t know me.”
“I think I do.”
“You’re wrong,” Deo bit out, unable to curb her temper. What the hell was it about this woman? She never cared what anyone thought of her, hadn’t cared for years. She certainly never wanted the women she indifferently dated and casually bedded to know anything more than the careless façade she showed them.
“If I am mistaken, then I guess that will just be my loss. Excuse me.” Nita skirted around Deo and disappeared into the house.
For the second time that day, Deo was left staring after a stranger she wanted to know.
• 30 •
Winds of Fortune
CHAPTER THREE
Strike out?” Allie Tremont’s soft Southern accent was as slow and languid as her movements as she sidled up to Deo.
“Never even made it to the plate,” Deo muttered, watching Nita disappear into the house.
“That’s got to be rare.” Allie plucked the beer from Deo’s hand.
“You mind?”
“Go ahead. It’s not spoken for.”
“Well, it is now.” Allie circled her lips around the mouth of the bottle and pulled on the beer, her eyes fi xed on Deo’s. She licked a bit of froth from her lips, her eyes closing slowly for an instant. “Nice.”
Grinning, Deo regarded the young dark-eyed brunette, enjoying the fl irtation and appreciating a game that she understood. She knew Allie, she knew all the cops in Provincetown, although she and Allie had never really crossed paths socially before. She remembered seeing Allie with a hot looking older redhead right after Allie had moved to town the year before, but she couldn’t recall seeing her with anyone in particular recently. Not on a regular basis, at any rate. Deo fi gured Allie was six or seven years younger than her, but plenty old enough to know the rules. “Not working today, Offi cer?”
“Off shift.” Allie settled her hip against Deo’s. “I’m free and clear until tomorrow at seven a.m. How about yourself?”
“I’m always free and clear.”
Allie laughed. “I heard that about you. At least you don’t pretend otherwise.”
Deo shrugged. “Why should I? All that does is make for trouble.”
“Was there an invitation that went along with that beer?”
“Not exactly,” Deo said, surprising herself when she thought about approaching Nita. Ordinarily, when she hit on a woman at a party it was because she was looking for company. For an afternoon, or an evening.
That hadn’t been what was in her mind with Nita. Sure, she wanted to
• 31 •
RADCLY fFE
kiss her. In fact, she could imagine kissing her until the sun went down and came up again, but she hadn’t planned on taking her to bed. And not just because Nita just didn’t seem the type for a fast hook-up. The automatic way Nita discounted her, as if she already knew all there was to know about her, made Deo want to prove her wrong. Mentally, Deo laughed at her own premature plans. Christ, she couldn’t even get the woman to give her the time of day. Forget about kisses or anything else. With a start, she realized that Allie was staring at her curiously, obviously waiting for her to say more. Time to get in the game. “Are you looking for an invitation?”
Allie’s wide, luscious lips slid into a sensuous smile. “I wouldn’t say no.”
Deo glanced over her shoulder to the harbor. The sun was going down, and the angled shafts of sunlight fractured across the water in an impossible array of orange and pink and purple. Why waste the chance to spend time with a woman who was interested. She caught Allie’s hand and grabbed her work shirt off the railing. “Walk on the beach?”
“Mmm. For starters.” Allie stroked Deo’s arm. “Just hang on one minute—I caught a ride over with Bri. Let me tell her not to wait for me.”
“Anyone I need to worry about coming after me tomorrow?” Deo asked when Allie returned. She didn’t poach in anyone else’s waters.
She didn’t have to, and besides that, the town was too small to risk inciting that kind of bad blood.
“Nope. Not a one.” Allie forced a note of nonchalance into her voice as she threaded her arm around Deo’s waist and slipped her fi ngers beneath the waistband of Deo’s khakis just above her hip bone.
Deo’s body felt exactly as she expected it to, lean and hard. She had a fl eeting image of those tight hips moving between her thighs, and she welcomed the rush of heat that settled in her belly and trickled down her legs. There hadn’t been anyone serious, in bed or out, for a long time.
After Ashley had left her ten months before, claiming that Allie wasn’t old enough or experienced enough to make a commitment, she had burnt out her anger at her older lover by sleeping with enough women to prove that Ashley was probably right. Then, one day she woke up and didn’t want to do it anymore. What had started out feeling really good, even great, for a few moments, made her sad in the morning.
“Broken heart?” Deo asked quietly.
• 32 •
Winds of Fortune
“What?” Quickly, Allie laughed, covering her shock that Deo had almost read her mind. That wasn’t what she expected from someone with Deo Camara’s reputation. A great looking, love ’em and leave
’em playgirl like Camara wasn’t usually interested in what a woman thought, only what line was needed to get her into bed.
“There are only two reasons I can think of for you being single,”
Deo said. “Either you haven’t met her yet, or you have—and she did something stupid.”
“What makes you think I didn’t do something stupid?” Allie grabbed both Deo’s hands in hers and started walking backwards down the sandy path to the beach, swinging their joined arms between them.
She rounded a bend and the house disappeared. “Or maybe I’m single because I want to be.”
“Maybe.” Deo shrugged. “I am.” She stopped abruptly and pulled Allie toward her, causing Allie to stumble slightly and fall into her arms.
Grasping her around the waist to steady her, she kissed her lightly. “But you were thinking of someone back there, and it made you sad.”
“And there’s nobody you ever think about who makes you sad?”
Allie teased, settling her body into the curve of Deo’s. She curled her arms around Deo’s shoulders and enjoyed the heat kindled by the press of Deo’s breasts against hers. She didn’t want to talk about Ashley, and for the fi rst time in a long time, she wanted to be touched.
“No,” Deo said quickly, covering Allie’s mouth with hers, searching for the passion that obliterated everything else. Not the way you mean, anyhow.
❖
Nita sat on the steps leading from the deck to the path that snaked through the scrub and dunes to the beach. She had grown up by the ocean, but she never tired of watching the sun set over the water.
Even the brief glimpse she had of Deo and a sultry young woman disappearing hand-in-hand couldn’t obliterate her pleasure. In fact, she was happy that she had seen the last of Deo Camara and refused to analyze the brief fl icker of disappointment she’d felt upon seeing her leave the party with an attractive woman.
“I didn’t get a chance to thank you properly for taking care of Joey,” Pia said, settling next to Nita on the wooden stairs.
• 33 •
RADCLY fFE
“You’re welcome,” Nita said, “although it’s not necessary. I’m just glad his injury wasn’t worse.”
“God, so am I.” Pia sipped red wine from a plastic cup. “Sometimes I’m amazed that one of them doesn’t get hurt more often, but most of the time I try not to think about it.”
“I take it that Joey isn’t your only sibling in construction?”
“You fi gure right.” Pia smiled. “All of my family started out as fi shermen or shipbuilders, a few generations back. My father and one of my brothers still fi sh, but over the years, shipbuilding dwindled away.
The rest of the family naturally gravitated into construction.”
“Family businesses,” Nita said almost to herself.
“Yep. I’m the oddball, I guess.”
Nita wrapped her arms around one bent leg and rested her chin on her knee. Pensively, she asked, “How do they handle that?”
“Things were a bit tense when I lived in Boston, but now that I’ve moved home—well, not home home—but back in town…I’m a little too old to live with my parents,” Pia laughed, “we’ve pretty much fallen back into our old dynamic. It’s good.”
“Everyone else stayed? Your siblings?”
Pia nodded. “Amazingly enough, yes. Even the ones that went away to college came back. I guess this place is in our blood.”
“I can certainly see why. It’s beautiful. In fact, I’m buying a house myself.” Nita paused. “Torres. I don’t suppose you’re related to the real estate—”
“My mother.” Pia grinned at Nita’s surprised expression. “She’s not Portuguese, obviously. She came here on vacation one summer when she was just eighteen, met my father, and fell in love. Six kids later, the rest is history.”
“Do your siblings all resemble you?”
“Every one.”
“Amazing genes. I couldn’t believe how much you and your brother look like your cousin when I saw you all together this afternoon.”
“My father and Deo’s mother are twins.” Pia studied her wine. “I was sort of a gangly teenager, but Deo has always been gorgeous.”
Nita laughed, consciously not thinking about Pia’s gorgeous cousin. “Well you certainly caught up.”
“Thanks.” Pia grinned. “So, a house, huh? Where?”
• 34 •
Winds of Fortune
“I bought a sea captain’s house in the West End.”
“The big old rambling place with the widow’s walk? That’s a great place, although it’s been empty for quite a while.”
“I know it needs some work, but I fell in love with it.”
“When do you settle?”
“Just a couple of days. No one has lived in it for so long we had a quick closing.” Nita smiled selfconsciously. “I can’t wait to get started renovating the place.”
“Well, be sure to ask my mother about construction regulations.
The township is very strict about what you can do to those historic places. You should probably start getting bids now.”
“Thanks. I will.” Nita stood and stretched. “Joey is going to need a wound check tomorrow. If things are looking good, you can start some gentle rehab with him in a day or two.”
“I’ll come by when he has his appointment with you. Okay?”
“That’s great. I think I’m ready to call it a night. We’ve still got another day left of the holiday weekend, and if it’s anything like today was, the clinic’s going to be busy tomorrow.” Nita glanced down toward the beach. The entire time they had been talking, she’d half expected to see Deo return. She was glad she hadn’t. “Well, good night.”
“See you tomorrow,” Pia called.
❖
“Everything okay?” Reese inquired, leaning against the door in Reggie’s bedroom. The last bit of the fading sunset fi ltered through the white curtains, and as Tory bent over the crib, she looked timelessly beautiful framed in the golden glow. So beautiful that Reese ached. She had imagined this scene a thousand times in the weeks that she’d been away. When everything around her had been senseless chaos, when the sky turned to fi re and death rained down from the heavens and exploded from the earth, she had clung to the only thing that kept her sane. She had been shocked when her determination to fulfi ll the mission she had trained for all her life failed to sustain her and when only the memory of her wife and child kept her going. Leading her marines into battle and in some cases to their deaths while secretly questioning her purpose had shaken the foundation of her world. She had built her life on her belief
• 35 •
RADCLY fFE
in her duty and responsibility, and she had come home doubting both.
She had come home no longer certain of who she was.
Smiling, Tory turned from the crib, her fi nger to her lips. After switching on the nightlight on the bright blue dresser by the door, she joined Reese. Once outside in the hall, she said, “She might not have known what the party was for, but she defi nitely had a good time. I think she sat on everyone’s lap at least once.”
“She didn’t have dinner.”
“We’ll feed her later when she wakes up.” Tory grasped Reese’s hand. “How about you? Did you eat something?”
“Yeah, I’m fi ne.”
“That’s not exactly what I asked,” Tory said quietly.
Reese stopped at the top of the stairs and pulled Tory close. She nuzzled her hair, then kissed her neck. Some of the doubts that plagued her receded. Tory was real. Tory was alive. “I’m fi ne. Stop worrying.”
“Comes with the territory, Sheriff.” Tory stroked Reese’s cheek.
“Besides, I enjoy looking after you.”
“You’ll get no argument from me.” Reese wasn’t hungry for food, but she still felt empty. Nothing fi lled her up except Tory. In the recesses of her mind she heard the thunder and felt death coming. She hesitated, uncertain for the fi rst time in her life of how to face it. She gasped, “Tory.”
“What, sweetheart?”
In her mind, Reese saw Tory silhouetted in the moonlight, saw her shimmering in the bright light of day. Tory knew her. Tory touched her inside, beyond the fear and doubt. Tory was all that kept her from the dark. Reese pressed Tory into the shadows, maneuvering her back against the wall. Gripping her shoulders, she kissed her neck again, then her mouth. Pinning her with the weight of her body, she slid one hand under the lower edge of Tory’s T-shirt. Tory’s breasts weren’t as full as they had been when she was breast-feeding, but they were still fi rm and hot under her thin satin bra. Reese cupped her, squeezing until Tory’s nipple tightened in her grasp. Groaning, she kissed her way down Tory’s neck and fumbled to push Tory’s shirt up with her free hand.
“Reese, honey, we have people in the house,” Tory warned.
Aching, echoing with emptiness, Reese worked her hand into Tory’s bra and lifted her breast free. She bunched Tory’s cotton T in her fi st and caught a nipple in her mouth.
• 36 •
Winds of Fortune
“Reese. ” Tory sank her fi ngers into Reese’s hair and pulled her mouth from her breast. She cradled Reese’s face against her throat, not wanting to push her away. Reese had only been home a few weeks, but it had only taken a few days for Tory to realize that something was wrong. Something had changed. Reese had always been passionate—
sometimes gentle, sometimes urgent—but always always exquisitely present. Now, her need rose with the fury of an unexpected storm that broke over the horizon and lashed everything in its wake. Sometimes Tory wasn’t certain Reese was even aware of what she was doing.
“Sweetheart. We can’t.”
“Sorry. Jesus. I’m sorry.” Drenched with sweat, Reese broke Tory’s hold and jerked her head away. “Tory, I’m sorry.”
Reese was trembling, and that nearly broke Tory’s heart. “It’s all right, darling. It’s all right.”
“No it isn’t,” Reese said sharply, backing away another step. She held up her hands to ward Tory off when Tory reached for her. “My need. Not yours. I’m sorry.”
“No,” Tory whispered fervently. “Your need is mine. It always has been.”
Reese shook her head. “Not this way. Not this way.”
Before Tory could protest again, Reese turned and disappeared down the stairs. A minute later Tory heard the door slam. When an engine revved in the driveway outside and tires kicked up stones that cracked like rifl e shots, she knew it was Reese in the patrol car. Leaving.
Reese had never, ever walked away from her before and the pain was so acute she was nearly ill.
❖
“Hell of a party,” Cath said, dropping into a chair next to Tory on the deck. “Wait’ll next year when she actually knows what’s going on.”
“Thanks for helping out.” Tory sipped her wine, then set it aside when she realized she couldn’t taste it. “Where are Marcus and the kids?”
“I sent them back to the B&B. Where’s Reese?”
“Working, I think.”
“You think.” Cath reached across Tory and grabbed her wine glass.
• 37 •
RADCLY fFE
Then she settled back and took a swallow. “I noticed she disappeared earlier.”
“She’s not quite herself.”
“Is she having a hard time with what happened over there?”
“Yes. At least I’m sure that’s part of it.”
“How are you doing?”
“I’m not sure.” Tory regarded her sister. “No, that’s not true. I’m scared to death. I don’t know what to do for her.”
“What’s wrong, exactly?”
Tory laughed humorlessly. “I don’t know and I feel like I should.
I’m her partner and I should know.”
“Uh, I don’t think just because you love her you’re supposed to be a mind-reader.” Cath took Tory’s hand. “Give yourself a break, honey.
You’ve both been through a lot. Is it post-traumatic stress?”
“At fi rst I thought so. I’d pretty much expected it. Even troops who haven’t been captured or wounded suffer some form of reentry shock.”
Tory watched the stars overhead, thinking of the nights she had sat out here alone wondering if Reese could see the same stars from where she was. “She certainly has reason to show those kinds of symptoms, but now I’m not so sure. She’s not eating or sleeping, and that’s typical enough—but there’s something more. Sometimes she seems so lost. I hate not being able to help her.”
“It hasn’t been that long. You both probably just need some time.”
“I know. I’ve been telling myself the same thing, but tonight…”
Tory swallowed back tears. “She left tonight. She left the house, she left me, because she was upset. She’s never done that before.”
“Does she… God, this is really hard to say. Does she drink or abuse drugs or anything like that?”
Tory laughed incredulously. “Reese? God, no. She has always been so solid, so certain. She’s unshakable.”
“Until now.”
“Yes, until now.” Tory said softly, wondering where she was. If it had been KT leaving after being rebuffed, Tory knew where she would go. KT would have sought respite with another woman, at least when she and Tory had been lovers. But Reese was not KT—she had never…
would never… “God, I want her to come home. She’s the strongest
• 38 •
Winds of Fortune
woman I’ve ever known and seeing her like this just about kills me.”
“You’re no pushover yourself, honey,” Cath said. “You can be strong for both of you until Reese heals.”
“What if I can’t? What if I can’t give her what she’s always given me?”
Cath squeezed Tory’s hand again. “You will.”
Tory held her sister’s hand and ached for the touch of her lover.
• 39 •
• 40 •
Winds of Fortune
CHAPTER FOUR
How about some pizza?” Deo clasped Allie’s hand as they strolled along a sandy walkway between two buildings that led up from the beach to Commercial Street. When the party at Reese and Tory’s had broken up, Deo offered to drive Allie home, but instead of saying good night, Allie suggested they head into town. Even more so than most weekend nights during the season, tourists and summer residents packed every available B&B and condo for the Fourth of July.
For another hour or so, the streets would be fi lled with mostly same-sex couples celebrating the freedom to be visible and among community.
Deo hadn’t been anxious to return alone to her condo at the end of Bradford Street, and Allie was fun—easy to talk to and easy on the eyes. And she seemed okay with a relationship that was just as easy.
A little mutual company, a few hours of shared pleasure, an encounter with no expectations. In Deo’s experience, a lot of girls said they were okay with that, but after a couple of dates, things changed. Now, she was careful not to see anyone more than a time or two, and she didn’t sleep with half the women everyone gave her credit for. It didn’t seem worth disavowing everyone of their notion that she scored more than most guys, and her reputation kept the women she saw from expecting much more than a casual night out.
“Pizza. Hmm. I sort of thought you had an appetite for something else,” Allie said suggestively.
“Oh, I do.” Deo laughed. “But certain activities burn a lot of calories, so it’s always good to stock up when you can.”
“Is that right?” Allie slowed within the slanting shadows of the overhanging eaves and kissed Deo, squeezing her ass with both hands while rolling her pelvis against Deo’s crotch. “Then I suggest you have two slices.”
“Much more of that and it won’t be pizza I need,” Deo muttered breathlessly, surprised not only by Allie’s aggression but by her own
• 41 •
RADCLY fFE
swift response. Her stomach tightened with urgency, and she felt herself grow hard and tense. She skimmed her fi ngertips over the outer curve of Allie’s breast and smiled to herself when Allie moaned. Good to know she wasn’t the only one with a hair trigger tonight. “I’m a little past groping girls in dark alleys, but Jesus, you feel good.”
“Baby, you have my permission to grope.” Allie hooked her calf around Deo’s thigh and rocked into her crotch again, digging her fi ngers into the fi rm muscles of Deo’s backside for balance. She ran her tongue around the edge of Deo’s ear and nibbled on her earlobe. “I can’t believe how hot I am. I’m ready for you to fuck me right here.”
“You’ve really got me stoked too,” Deo gasped, tilting her head back as Allie sucked on her neck. When she pinched Allie’s nipple and Allie whimpered, her vision went hazy and all she could think about was being inside her and making her scream. “Time out. Oh man…
Allie, time out.” She grabbed Allie’s hips and put some air between them. “I’m about two seconds from forgetting where we are, and I’m not going to do this up against a building.”
“I know, I know.” Allie shivered. “But I want you to.”
“You’re making me a little bit crazy.”
“Bad crazy?”
Allie sounded genuinely worried, and Deo experienced an unexpected rush of gratitude. Usually her companions fi gured she didn’t care about anything except the sex, and it was nice to have someone actually ask what she felt. Deo circled Allie’s waist and started walking again. “Feels pretty good to me. You?”
“Better than good.” Allie stroked Deo’s stomach before sliding her fi ngers an inch or two underneath the waistband of her pants. She purred when Deo groaned. “You tripped all my switches and there’s no off button. I’m so wired my whole body’s buzzing.”
“Still want pizza?”
“Sure. Just don’t fi ll up on it.”
Laughing, Deo led her through a horde of men spilling out onto Commercial in front of Spiritus Pizza. “Grab us a seat and I’ll get the food. What’s your pleasure?”
Allie grinned. “For now, cheese. I’ll tell you the rest later.”
Deo kissed her. “Coming up.”
“Hurry.” Allie staked out a spot on the low brick wall edging the
• 42 •
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sidewalk in front of the restaurant.
Deo grinned. “Count on it.”
❖
“Hey,” Carre shouted above the din, tugging on Bri’s arm as they edged through the crowd. “There’s Allie.”
“Huh? Where?” Bri slowed and followed Carre’s gaze. She stiffened when she saw Deo Camara settle down behind Allie and slide a leg on either side of Allie’s smaller frame. Allie snugged her ass back into Deo’s crotch while Deo dangled a piece of pizza in front of Allie’s mouth. Bri grunted when Allie chased it with her tongue. “Cute.”
Carre gave Bri a look. “What’s with you? Jealous?”
Bri stared. “Jeez, babe. No. Come on.” She saw the fi re in Carre’s eyes and knew better than to blow her off. Allie had always been a sore spot between them, ever since Bri had been a jerk the year before and almost slept with her. Almost. Well, she’d been in bed with her, and she’d been naked, and she’d let Allie touch…
“Fuck,” Bri breathed, not blaming Carre for being sensitive about it. And just what was she feeling right now anyhow that made her want to punch Deo for licking the sauce off the corner of Allie’s mouth like she was doing at the moment? “I like Allie. She’s my friend, and besides, she’s my partner.”
“I know that,” Carre said, pulling Bri closer to the building across the narrow twisty street from where Allie sat wrapped up in Deo’s arms.
“What I don’t know is why you’re getting twitchy about her and Deo.”
She stuck her hand under the bottom of Bri’s T-shirt and rubbed her back. “What’s that about?”
“Allie has a crazy streak, you know?” Bri said, working it out in her head while she watched Allie run her fi ngernails up and down the inside of Deo’s leg. “Sometimes I think she does stuff so she doesn’t have to think about how she’s feeling.”
“Baby,” Carre said reasonably. “Maybe she just wants to get laid.”
Bri grinned and kissed Carre nice and slow and deep. “Could be.
I’d say she’s gonna get her wish.”
“And you’re okay with that?”
“Not my department.” Bri turned Carre until her back was against
• 43 •
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the building and kissed her again, teasing her with her tongue until Carre rubbed against her and moaned. “That’s my department.”
“Yeah,” Carre said breathlessly. “And you should maybe take care of it. Soon.”
“Top of my list.” Bri grabbed Carre’s hand and pulled her into the street in the direction of their apartment. She didn’t glance over at Allie.
Not her department.
❖
Deo fumbled her key into the lock while Allie practically climbed up her back, rubbing against her ass and licking the back of her neck.
“One more minute. Just hold on one more minute, and I’ll take care of that charge you’ve got running through your circuits.”
“You’ve had me wound up all night,” Allie murmured, wrapping her arms around Deo’s middle from behind and cleaving to her as they stumbled inside Deo’s condo. “You have your work cut out for you.”
“That’s okay.” Deo tossed her keys onto a small table by the door and threw her shirt after them. Her skin tingled and even the T-shirt chaffed her sensitive nipples. “I love my work.” She twisted enough to free herself from Allie’s grasp and grabbed her arm. “Come on. The bedroom’s upstairs. Let’s see what I can do about taking care of you.”
“What time is it—one?”
“About,” Deo muttered, hurriedly twisting the rheostat on the switch inside her bedroom door until the light was barely a glow. “Gotta be somewhere?”
“Nope.” Allie gave Deo a playful shove and then another, until Deo hit the bed and fell onto it. Allie dropped on top of her and writhed against her. “You might have enough time to take the edge off by morning, at least.”
Deo grabbed Allie’s ass, thrust up her hips, and fl ipped Allie over.
She circled her crotch against Allie’s while holding Allie’s arms against the bed with her fi ngers clamped around each of Allie’s wrists. “Is that some kind of challenge?”
“Uh-uh. Just a warning to let you know what you’re in for.” Allie raised her head and clamped her teeth onto the side of Deo’s neck, sucking until Deo groaned. “I’d really really like it if you fucked me.”
• 44 •
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“That could be arranged.” Deo rubbed her cheek over Allie’s breast until the nipple stood up beneath Allie’s stretchy top. She grasped it in her teeth and shook her head while she pumped her crotch into Allie.
She kept up the rhythm with her mouth and her hips, harder and faster until Allie twisted and shook beneath her.
“Oh God I’m hot,” Allie gasped. “You have got to fuck me. I’m not kidding.”
“Would you like a little something extra when I do?”
Allie scraped her nails down the back of Deo’s thin T-shirt. “Will it be good for you too?”
Surprised again, Deo kissed her softly. “Yeah. I’d like it.”
“Then fi ll me up,” Allie whispered, her mouth against Deo’s ear,
“with something nice and thick.”
Deo’s stomach rolled, and for a fl eeting second she was afraid she might come just thinking about pushing inside her. She was breathing so fast she could hardly talk. By the time she struggled upright to get ready, Allie was already pulling off her clothes. “I need a minute.”
“I’ve waited this long.” Naked, Allie rubbed her own breasts, arching her back and moaning. “I’m so wet.”
“Take it easy,” Deo said as she shucked her pants and underwear and opened the bedside table. “Don’t get too far ahead of me.”
“I can come more than once.”
The words went through Deo like a shot. Her hands were shaking so badly she fumbled while sliding the thin leather straps of the harness over her legs. “There’s a condom in the top drawer there. Get it for me.” While Allie leaned over to retrieve the safe, Deo swung around and propped her back against the pillows, half-sitting with her legs stretched out on the bed.
“Mmm, that’s nice,” Allie murmured, tearing the foil open as she knelt on the bed. She smiled up at Deo. “Nice and big.”
“Too big?” Deo steadied the cock with one hand as Allie rolled the condom down on it. The pressure made her clit ache. “Because I’ve got a smaller—”
Allie laughed. “Oh no. This is perfect.” As if to prove it, she swung one leg over Deo’s hips and lowered herself until just the broad, round tip disappeared. Her head snapped back and she whimpered quietly.
“Oh my God, that feels so good.”
• 45 •
RADCLY fFE
Deo struggled not to move when every instinct cried out for her to pump her hips. She clasped Allie’s waist with both hands, helping to support her as she slowly took more and more of Deo inside her. “You look beautiful like this.”
Lids half closed, Allie smiled unsteadily. “I need to come and I’m really really trying not to.”
“You do whatever you need to do,” Deo groaned. “If you have to come, do it.”
“Oh I will.” Allie shivered. “Once I get you inside of me and start to move, I won’t be able to stop it.”
“I want you to feel so good.” Deo lifted her hips slowly, pushing inside just a little bit at a time. When Allie’s eyes closed and she sagged forward, catching herself with both hands on Deo’s shoulders, Deo stilled. “Okay? You okay?”
Mutely, Allie nodded, her hips gliding back and forth in Deo’s lap.
Deo cupped both of Allie’s breasts and squeezed. “You go ahead now. You ride me any way you want to. Ride me until you come.”
“Uh-huh.” Allie’s belly undulated as she forced Deo deeper. “Uh-huh. Uh-huh. I will. I will.” She pumped hard twice and her eyes opened wide. “Touch my clit. Can you touch my clit?”
“Good?” Deo said, watching Allie’s face twist with pleasure as she massaged her with her thumb.
“I’m coming already. Uh, I’m coming.”
“You’re beautiful. You’re so beautiful.” Deo thrust her hips in time to Allie’s cries, feeling the push and pull between her legs as Allie climaxed hard on her. Slowing when Allie fi nally slumped forward into her arms, she kissed her hair and her face. Allie trembled, making small broken sounds of pleasure. “It’s okay, baby. It’s okay. You’re so beautiful.”
“Don’t move,” Allie murmured, rocking her hips slowly with Deo still inside her. “I’ll come again in just a second.”
Deo caught her breath. Allie was so raw and sensual and vulnerable she wanted to cry. She stroked her back and her shoulders and kissed her gently until Allie released a soft cry and shuddered with another orgasm. Deo groaned. “Oh yeah.”
“I’ll say.” Allie lifted her hips and let Deo slip out, then curled on her side with her cheek on Deo’s chest. She caressed Deo’s breasts and
• 46 •
Winds of Fortune
stomach. “You’re very patient. That’s nice.”
“I could watch you like that all night.” Deo drew a deep breath and let it out, feeling strangely content. She hadn’t come, but the pent up urgency that had plagued her for hours had dwindled away effortlessly as Allie had climaxed. It happened that way fairly often for her. Satisfying a woman satisfi ed her in some deep way that she’d never really bothered to analyze. It just was. She was lucky that was so, because there were plenty of times when the woman she was with showed no particular interest in her pleasure. Their lack of reciprocation never really bothered her. But Allie had not been selfi sh. She had given her a gift. She’d given her trust and allowed Deo to witness her need. Deo was more than satisfi ed. She was honored. “You are mind-blowingly sexy.”
“Oh yeah?” Allie propped herself up on an elbow and kissed the tip of Deo’s chin. “Well, I wasn’t doing it all by myself. Believe me, the way you look at me, the way you touch me, sets me on fi re.”
“Then let’s feed the fl ames because…” Deo kissed Allie’s neck, then her breasts, then her nipple, “I want to hear you come again.”
Allie laughed. “Maybe. I need a little bit more time to catch my breath.” She pushed herself down on the bed and started to unbuckle the leather strap around Deo’s hips. “And while I’m recovering, I know just how to occupy myself.”
Deo lifted up so Allie could free her and then spread her legs as Allie settled between them. She closed her eyes and stroked Allie’s hair, her mind clear and mercifully free of memory or regret. She whispered a silent thank you as Allie took her into her mouth.
❖
“What are you doing to me,” Bri moaned.
Carre kissed her as she languorously stroked between Bri’s trembling thighs. “I’m making you feel as good as you just made me feel.”
“I’m going to explode, babe.” Bri twisted in Carre’s arms, her mouth against Carre’s neck as every fi ber in her body tightened. “Feels so good. I’m gonna…oh yeah I’m gonna—”
“Mmm. You feel so good.” Carre relaxed her grip on Bri’s turgid clit and vibrated her fi ngers lightly. “Too good to let it end now.”
• 47 •
RADCLY fFE
“I gotta, babe,” Bri pleaded desperately. “Really, I’m hurtin’. I gotta.”
Carre sucked on Bri’s lower lip and teased her tongue in and out of Bri’s mouth. “I love when you get like this. So hard. So freakin’ wet.”
She grasped Bri’s hair and tilted her head back so she could nip down the center of her throat. “I love to make you come.”
Bri choked trying to catch her breath. “Please I’m right there, babe. If you just, oh God… oh God…”
“I know, baby,” Carre whispered, stroking again, too slowly and too lightly to make Bri come. “I know what you need.”
Bri tried to keep her eyes open but the terrible wanting in her belly was too much to hold. “I love you so much.”
“I love you.”
“No one else,” Bri gasped, her body shaking with a series of bone wracking shudders.
“I know baby,” Carre whispered, milking her in long fi rm strokes.
“You come now, baby. You come.”
Bri’s eyes rolled back in her head and she clutched Carre as if she were drowning and Carre was all that stood between her and oblivion.
“Fuck! ”
Laughing, Carre wrapped her legs around Bri and held her sweat-streaked face to her breast. “God, you are so sexy.”
“Trying to kill me,” Bri muttered, still quaking. “Think maybe you did kill me.”
“You know I have to go back to school in six weeks.” Carre caressed Bri’s shoulders. “I don’t want you to forget who you belong to.”
Bri opened her eyes and struggled to focus. Her vision was still blurry but clear enough for her to make out the scared look on Carre’s face. Bri’s heart plummeted when she realized that she was the cause of that fear. “I’ve only ever loved you. The only thing I’m gonna do while you’re gone is count the minutes until you come back.” She pushed herself up on both arms and waited until Carre looked into her face.
“I’m only ever going to love you.”
“Me too.” Carre wrapped her arms around Bri’s shoulders and pulled her down until Bri’s body covered hers. She pressed her face to Bri’s neck. “Only ever you.”
• 48 •
Winds of Fortune
❖
“I’m awake,” Tory said as the bedroom door opened and a sliver of light slanted in from the hall. “You can turn the light on.”
“That’s okay,” Reese replied. “I’ll just…should I come to bed?”
Tory closed her eyes for an instant, the swift pain of the unthinkable question making her breathless. She pushed the sheets aside, making room. “Of course.”
Reese undressed in the dark and a moment later, settled onto the bed. She lay on her back, her arms by her side. When she spoke, her voice was hollow and fl at. “I’m sorry.”
“For what, darling?” Tory inched closer and lay on her side facing Reese. She lightly placed her hand in the center of Reese’s abdomen.
Reese’s skin was cool, and her muscles felt stretched tight over bones that were far too prominent. “You need to tell me, because I can’t help you if you don’t.”
Reese gripped the sheets, her body rigid. “I shouldn’t have left like I did tonight.”
Tory waited until the silence stretched so thin she feared the air would shatter like glass. “Why did you?”
“I was ashamed. Ashamed of forcing myself on you.”
“Oh no,” Tory murmured, grasping Reese’s shoulders in both hands and pulling her into her arms. She cradled the back of Reese’s head and pressed Reese’s face to her breasts. She rocked her, bleeding inside with the need to ease her pain. “You could never ever do anything to me that I didn’t want.” She kissed Reese’s forehead. “I love you.
I’ve wanted you since the fi rst instant I saw you. I will want you until the moment I die, and if there’s anything beyond that, I’ll want you forever.”
“I don’t know what I’m doing sometimes, Tor. I feel like I’m lost and you’re all I have to hold on to.”
“It’s okay. You hold on to me, darling. You hold on just as tight and just as long as you need to.” If Tory could have pulled Reese inside her body and sheltered her with her very breath and the last drop of her blood, she would have. Instead, she was left with inadequate words and what she feared was an all too fragile strength to fi ght off whatever monsters shadowed Reese’s soul. She tightened her grip and steeled herself for whatever might come. Reese was her life, and she had nearly
• 49 •
RADCLY fFE
lost her half a world away in a godforsaken desert in the midst of a war that no one understood. Now Reese was home again, and she would not lose her to whatever demon had followed her back.
“If I’m ever going to be any good to you again, maybe I need to go back,” Reese whispered in the dark. “Maybe I need to go back and fi nd whatever parts of myself I left over there.”
Tory’s world teetered on the verge of collapse. She wanted to scream no, but she stopped herself even though holding back made her feel as if she were dying. She didn’t say no, because what if Reese was right? She didn’t say no, because she didn’t want Reese to know the truth. I’m not strong enough to let you go. I’m not strong enough to be without you again.
“Promise me you won’t do anything without talking to me fi rst,”
Tory said shakily.
“I promise,” Reese whispered. “I’m sorry, baby. I’m so sorry.”
Tory pressed her fi ngers to Reese’s lips. “Shh. Go to sleep, darling.
It’s all right.”
Tory held Reese, wondering if either of them would sleep. As she listened to the lie echo in the stillness, Tory felt her heart breaking.
• 50 •
Winds of Fortune
CHAPTER FIVE
When Tory awoke, the bed beside her was empty. Heart racing, she threw back the covers, grabbed her robe, and hurried into the hall. Reggie’s crib was empty, and the smell of coffee drifted up the stairs. Immediately, she felt calmer. Reese was downstairs with the baby. She was home, she hadn’t gone anywhere. Taking a deep breath, Tory went to greet her family.
“Hey,” Tory said casually as she bent to kiss Reggie, who was sitting in her high chair in front of the breakfast bar. Her hair smelled like baby shampoo and apples. The apples, she noted, were part of breakfast. Reese still had her desert tan, and her arms and legs in her faded green T-shirt and boxers looked sinewy and lean. Muscle and bone. A fi ghting machine, but she wasn’t a machine. She was a woman.
“Good morning, darling. How did you two get up without me?”
“You were sleeping pretty soundly, so when Reggie started making hungry noises, I got up.” Reese’s eyes held an apology. “You must have been really tired.”
Tory wrapped her arms around Reese’s waist and kissed her. “I slept fi ne.” She could tell by the circles under Reese’s eyes that she hadn’t. She rubbed her hand over the center of Reese’s chest and kissed her again. “Nita is working today. I’m backup. Any chance you could switch your shifts around and stay home with us?”
“I don’t think so,” Reese said, stroking Tory’s hair. “You know, what with me only being back a few weeks, I think I should be there.”
“Okay. I’ll probably take the baby to the beach with Cath and the kids.” Tory sidled around Reese to the counter and poured coffee.
“Dinner then?”
“I’ll try.”
Tory put the pot down and left her cup on the counter beside it. She slid a slice of toast off a plateful and handed it to Reggie, who promptly tore it in half. With the baby occupied, she focused on Reese. “We need
• 51 •
RADCLY fFE
you here, Reese. I know how busy things are during the season, but you can’t work twenty-four hours a day. Even if it makes you feel better somehow, it’s not the answer.”
Reese braced both hands against the counter and lowered her head. She was quiet a long moment before meeting Tory’s eyes. “I’m screwing everything up pretty good, aren’t I?”
“No, you’re not.” Tory traced the pink three inch scar that slanted across Reese’s forehead. It was healing well, and before long it would be only a faint reminder of the rifl e butt some madman had swung into her face. That shattered collar bone, the burns on her arm, the shrapnel tear in her leg—they would all fade into the background. The real damage was on the inside, and she had no way of judging how deep it went or how permanent it might be. “I’m not going to make any excuses for you, because you’re not doing anything wrong. Just remember that we’re both dealing with something we’ve never had to face before. It might take us a while to fi gure it out.”
“I was trained to face it,” Reese said angrily. “That’s who I am.”
“And if you hadn’t been so well trained, God only knows what would’ve happened to you and the people who relied on you.” Tory struggled to keep her voice even because she didn’t want to upset Reggie, who thankfully was happily piling stewed apples onto her toast.
“You kept them alive. You kept yourself alive. You did your duty.”
“Maybe I missed something. Maybe we ended up separated, cut off, because I wasn’t as sharp as I needed to be. Because I questioned why I was there.”
Reese spoke softly, almost to herself, her expression distant.
Tory had seen the look before, but this was the fi rst time she realized that Reese was replaying the events surrounding her capture. She had never once imagined that Reese blamed herself for what had happened, because it was so obvious to her that it was Reese’s skill and absolute dedication to her troops that had gotten them all through it. How could she not have realized that Reese would accept all the responsibility, even when she couldn’t have prevented what had transpired? Gently, she grasped Reese’s hand. “Darling, you couldn’t have foreseen that fi refi ght. And from everything you’ve told me, you did exactly what needed to be done.”
“I should get ready for work while the baby fi nishes breakfast with you,” Reese said, evading Tory’s gaze. “Then I’ll get her dressed
• 52 •
Winds of Fortune
if you want to take a shower.” She kissed Tory’s cheek and started to turn away.
Tory clasped Reese’s forearms, holding her in place, forcing Reese to look at her. “I love you with all my heart. Don’t ever walk out on me again. It hurts us both too much.”
Reese pulled Tory into her arms, gripping her so tightly it nearly hurt. “I need you so much, it doesn’t seem fair.”
“I need you every bit as much, I always have.” Tory stroked Reese’s face. “We’ll get through this, darling, I promise.”
Reese kissed her again and Tory felt a tremor go through her.
When Reese abruptly let her go, she knew Reese was struggling to contain her desire.
“Don’t. Don’t try not to want me.” Tory framed Reese’s face. “I need you to want me. My need. Not yours. Don’t take that from me.”
Reese covered Tory’s hand and kissed her palm. “I have to go to work.”
“I know. Be careful.”
“Thank you for believing in me.”
“Always.”
Tory watched her walk upstairs, knowing that it didn’t matter what she believed. It only mattered what Reese believed. All she could do was be there for her, which at moments like this didn’t seem like enough.
❖
“Oh shit!” Allie jumped out of bed and nearly tripped in the tangle of shoes and clothes next to the bed. “Ow. God damn it.”
Deo bolted upright. “What’s the matter?” She rolled over, yanked open the dresser drawer, and pulled out a .38 Smith & Wesson. Then she leapt upright and threw herself between Allie and the bedroom door. “Did you hear something?”
“Ho! Take it easy!” Allie held her hands out, palms forward. “Deo, baby. Easy. I’m just late for work.”
“Late for work?” Deo looked at her like she was crazy. “Jesus.
What do they do, fl og you?” She shook her head, breathing hard, and put the gun away. Then she grabbed Allie and kissed her. “Good morning.”
“I’m not going to ask if you have a license—”
• 53 •
RADCLY fFE
“I do, Offi cer Tremont.” Grinning, Deo kissed her again. “I carry a fair amount of cash for the payroll and other things. I got jumped once in the parking lot on the wharf.”
Allie didn’t mention that Deo had reacted as if she’d expected someone to break in and accost them. She’d slept with her—well, they hadn’t actually done much sleeping. She’d spent the night letting Deo explore just about every part of her body and had revealed a good deal of herself to Deo in the process, but four outstanding orgasms still didn’t give her the right to get personal.
“I’ve got fi rst shift,” Alley said, hastily picking through the clothes on the fl oor, “and Reese will kick my ass if I’m not on time.” She dropped her panties back into the pile. She couldn’t wear those again.
“Shit. I don’t have time to pick up my car at the station, go home, shower, change, and get back to work on time.”
“Is there a plan B?” Deo grabbed her khakis off the fl oor and pulled them on, not bothering with a shirt.
“I’ve got a spare uniform in my locker, and I can shower here.”
Allie grimaced. “’Course I’m still going to have to walk in there with the same clothes on as I was wearing last night. Nothing like announcing I’ve been out all night fucking.” She scanned Deo’s body. Her biceps swelled even when she was relaxed and her chest and abdominal muscles rippled beneath the smooth burnished skin. Despite the hard body, her breasts were just large enough to soften her image. That—in addition to the fact that she opened so beautifully when Allie was inside her—made Deo a spectacularly delicious butch treat. Allie got a fl ash of how Deo’s stomach tightened when she was about to come and her clit pulsed. “Jesus, you’re sexy. I feel like a cat with a big ball of catnip.
I just want to roll around in you.”
“If we weren’t on the clock, I’d drag you back under the sheets. I woke up with an urge.”
“Sorry,” Allie said, patting Deo’s crotch. “I can’t.”
“I know. That’s why I’m going to make you coffee instead of getting into the shower with you. Go.”
“You could give me a break and put a shirt on too.”
Deo laughed and stretched. “Sure.”
On her way to the bathroom, Allie called back, “I don’t suppose you have any underwear that aren’t boxers, do you?”
Deo laughed. “Jockeys?”
• 54 •
Winds of Fortune
“Nevermind.”
Five minutes and a quick shower later, Allie returned to the bedroom with a bath towel wrapped around her to fi nd a steaming cup of coffee on the dresser next to a pair of plain black silk panties. Deo slouched in a scuffed brown leather reading chair by the window with her own cup of coffee balanced on her knee. She’d added a sleeveless grey T-shirt which was an improvement, but Allie still got a rush just looking at her. She scooped up the panties and dangled them on her fi nger. “Let me guess. You’re a collector.”
“You wound me.”
When Deo absently pulled her T-shirt up and rubbed her bare stomach, Allie felt a sharp twinge of arousal and forced herself to look away. What she really wanted to do was drop the towel and climb onto that chair and rub herself all over Deo’s amazing mouth. She slid on the panties. “Ex-girlfriend?”
“A present from one who liked her packages wrapped a little differently than what I was offering.”
With a shake of her head, Allie walked over and pushed her hand into Deo’s crotch. “Any girl who’d want to change a thing about you doesn’t deserve you.”
“You better quit that,” Deo said, not moving a single muscle.
“You’re getting me hard again.”
“That makes two of us.” Allie squeezed Deo for another second and then let go with a groan. “Really really sorry.”
“Get your clothes on so we can get out of here. I’m weakening.”
Allie laughed and pulled on her jeans and top. “Just in case you weren’t sure, last night was great.”
Deo shrugged and collected her keys. Straight faced, she said,
“After the third time I fi gured we were doing okay.”
“More than okay.” Allie kissed her quickly and hurried from the room. Fortunately, they were only a few minutes from the sheriff’s department and there was a chance she might make it almost on time.
“Is there anything we need to get clear on?” Deo said as she gunned her truck down Bradford. At seven twenty-fi ve in the morning, vehicular traffi c was scarce but the runners and cyclists were already out. She scanned both sides of the road, on the lookout for unwary tourists and frolicking dogs.
Allie turned sideways in her seat. “About last night?”
• 55 •
RADCLY fFE
“Yeah.”
“We’ve got some kind of heavy-duty chemistry thing going on, because I can’t even look at you without getting wet.” Allie smiled with satisfaction when Deo tensed. She liked turning her on. “So I wouldn’t mind a repeat. But if it doesn’t happen, I’m okay with it.”
Deo looked over at her. “I’m working twelve, fourteen hours a day.
Most of the time I have a beer or two after work and fall into bed.”
“I’ve been working a lot of doubles myself. If you’re awake some night and want company, call me.”
“Same here.” Deo swung into the parking lot next to the rambling, one story white building that looked like a cross between a Cape Cod cottage and a ranch house. Two cruisers and a van marked Provincetown Sheriff’s Department were parked in the lot, along with a few civilian cars and a Harley.
Allie released her seatbelt and slid across the seat toward Deo. She skimmed her hand under Deo’s shirt and caressed her stomach while nuzzling her ear. “All those nights I’m sleeping alone, I’m going to be making myself come thinking about you inside me.”
Deo kissed her hard. “You’re such a fucking tease.”
Laughing, Allie pulled away and jumped out of the truck. Leaning on the door, she said, “Are you complaining?”
“Do I look crazy?” Deo tilted her chin toward the building. “Better go to work. Take it easy, sexy.”
“I’ll see you around, hot stuff.”
Allie slammed the door and stepped back so Deo could back out.
Waving, she sprinted up the steps to the side entrance to the station.
With luck she wouldn’t run into anyone in the short hall that connected the squad room in the front with the small locker room in the rear.
She banged through the door into the unisex locker room and nearly fl attened Bri.
“Sorry,” Allie said breathlessly, sidling around Bri. She grabbed the combination lock on her locker and hastily dialed in the numbers. It didn’t open. She muttered a curse and started over again. So much for her luck holding.
“Reese is waiting to start shift change,” Bri said. “I just came back to look for you.”
“I’ll be there as soon as I get dressed.”
“It looks bad when you show up like this, Al.”
• 56 •
Winds of Fortune
Allie shot Bri a look. Like she didn’t feel stupid enough already for forgetting to tell Deo to set an alarm. “Well thank you so much.
What are you, my babysitter now?”
“I don’t know,” Bri snapped. “Seems like you need one.”
“Oh, fuck you, Parker.” Allie whipped her top off, then remembered that she hadn’t put her bra on. Well, it wasn’t as if Bri had never seen her tits before. She could just close her eyes if it bothered her. She toed off her shoes, pushed down her jeans, and kicked everything into the bottom of her locker. Then she yanked her uniform shirt off the hanger.
“Just because you think being married is the answer to everything doesn’t make it so.”
“This isn’t about me. This is about you not thinking about what—
or who—you’re doing half the time.”
Allie jerked her pants up, jammed the tail of her shirt in, and zipped up. Then she grabbed her equipment belt and realized her weapon was locked in the trunk of her car in the parking lot where she’d left it last night when she’d hitched a ride with Bri to the party. “Crap.”
“Give me your keys. I’ll go get it.”
“Forget it.” Allie dug her keys out of the pocket of her jeans and shouldered past Bri. “Don’t do me any favors.”
Bri caught up to her in the hall and yanked on her arm. “Don’t be stupid. Finish dressing. It will only take me—”
“Would you two offi cers care to attend the morning briefi ng?”
Reese said from the far end of the hall. She stood with her hands behind her back, her legs slightly spread, her gaze unfl inching. “The chief is waiting.”
“Yes ma’am.” Bri snapped to attention. “We’ll be right there.”
“Now,” Reese said quietly.
“Go ahead,” Allie murmured, slinging her belt around her hips.
“Go.”
“Both of you.”
Silently, Allie fi nished buckling up and walked beside Bri into the squad room. Tony Smith and Jim Winters from the graveyard shift sprawled in chairs around a conference table in the corner of the room opposite the small communications center, waiting to make their reports and go home. Chief Nelson Parker leaned against the counter next to the table, munching on what Allie fi gured was a Tums. He seemed to eat them like candy lately, and at the moment his expression suggested he
• 57 •
RADCLY fFE
had indigestion. When he saw her, his scowl deepened. “Your uniform needs some work, Offi cer Tremont.”
When Tony and Jimmy smirked, Allie checked her shirt and realized she’d missed a button. It was a good thing her tits weren’t any bigger, because they would have been sticking out. Hastily, she turned her back and straightened her shirt. “Sorry, Chief.”
“Since you and Offi cer Parker don’t seem to be in any hurry to start your shift, you can both take the desks this morning.”
Desk duty was the worst. Filling out forms, answering phones, dying of boredom. Allie was pissed at Bri for being such a tightass all of a sudden, but she couldn’t let Bri take the blame for her screw up.
“It’s my fault Bri…that Offi cer Parker is late, sir—”
“No it isn’t,” Bri said fi rmly.
“Shut up, Bri,” Allie muttered.
“I don’t really care whose fault it is,” Nelson grumbled. “It’s 0740
and neither one of you…” He winced and rubbed his stomach. “Who the hell made the coffee this…” He caught his breath and his face lost all color. “Christ.”
“Chief?” Reese just managed to catch him as Nelson slumped to the fl oor.
“Dad?” Bri blurted. “Dad!”
“Call fi re rescue,” Reese ordered, feeling Nelson’s neck for a pulse. She couldn’t fi nd one. “Tell them to get here code four.”
Then she started CPR.
• 58 •
Winds of Fortune
CHAPTER SIX
Bri’s hands were shaking so badly she couldn’t push the right numbers on the phone pad. The last time she’d been this scared was when she saw Reese take a round in the chest when they had been trying to apprehend an arsonist. When she’d thought Reese was dying, she’d felt just like she did now—like she was crumbling inside, collapsing in on herself, the way the towers had in New York City when the steel had superheated and simply disintegrated. She fumbled with the phone. “I can’t…Jesus, I can’t—”
“Here, I’ve got it,” Allie said in a calm, unruffl ed voice, plucking the receiver from Bri’s nerveless fi ngers. She kicked the desk chair out with her foot as she punched in the number to fi re rescue. “Sit down here.”
“No, I’ve got to—”
“Sit. Reese will handle things.” Allie dropped her hand to Bri’s shoulder and guided her into the chair. She kept her hand there, softly stroking, as she spoke. “Geri? This is Allie Tremont at the station—we need a unit over here code four. Yeah…at the station. I don’t know, a heart attack I think.”
Allie disconnected and shouted to the room in general. “Everyone’s out on calls. Ten minutes, they said. Should I call Tory or someone?”
“Take too long,” Reese grunted as she knelt astride the Chief’s body. She compressed his chest with the steady rhythm of a metronome and intermittently directed Tony to administer a breath.
Allie hesitated, then made another call and spoke softly into the phone.
Bri stared past Allie to where Reese worked. She couldn’t see her dad’s face, but he wasn’t moving at all. When she’d only had twenty-four hours’ notice that Reese was leaving for Iraq, she hadn’t slept at all. Instead, she’d lain awake trying to think of how to thank Reese for everything she had done, starting with the day Reese had picked her up
• 59 •
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by the side of the road after she had screwed up her knee. For training her in the martial arts—teaching her to be strong, not just tough. For telling her it was okay to be with Carre and for making her see what a big deal it was to love someone. She hadn’t been able to fi gure out a way to thank Reese for all that. And to tell her that she loved her.
Now twenty-four hours seemed like a lifetime. She hadn’t even had one minute to thank her father for always being there, even when he was pissed at her. To tell him she tried to make him proud. To tell him that she loved him. Lurching to her feet, she catapulted herself to Reese’s side and dropped to her knees.
“Don’t let him die.” She grabbed Reese’s arm. “Reese. Please—”
“Allie,” Reese said sharply without looking up. Sweat dripped from her forehead onto Nelson’s face. “Take her outside.”
“Come on, honey,” Allie said gently, grasping Bri’s shoulder. “You gotta give Reese some room.”
“I won’t get in the way,” Bri said desperately, releasing Reese’s arm. “I won’t.”
Allie squatted down next to Bri, curved her arm around her shoulders, and put her mouth close to Bri’s ear. “Come outside and call Carre. You don’t want her to hear about this from anybody except you, do you?”
Bri glanced from her father’s gray face to Allie and nodded. “Just for a minute.”
“You can come back in when fi re rescue gets him squared away.
They’ll be here in a second.”
Mutely, Bri rose and followed Allie as far as the front door, but she could not make herself go outside. Instead, she leaned in the open doorway with the bright sunlight illuminating half of her face while the other half remained in the otherworldly shadow of the squad room.
Maybe it wasn’t happening at all. Maybe it was just a bad dream. She fumbled her phone from her belt and couldn’t remember her own number.
“I’ll do it.” Allie took the phone from Bri. “She’s still at home, right?”
“I think so. What time is it?” Bri felt like she’d been clobbered with a pipe.
“Never mind, honey,” Allie murmured, brushing her fi ngers through Bri’s hair. “I’ll fi nd her.” She continued to stroke Bri’s arm
• 60 •
Winds of Fortune
while she watched what was going on inside the station. “Caroline?
It’s Allie. No…she’s fi ne. She’s right here, but Chief Parker…he’s had a heart attack or something.” Allie turned her back slightly and lowered her voice. “At the station. Not so good. Could you get over here like right now? I think I hear sirens…that must be fi re rescue.
Hurry, okay?”
❖
Tory parked her Jeep on the side of the road where she wouldn’t block the Sheriff’s Department parking lot. An emergency vehicle idled with its doors open near the front entrance. As quickly as her damaged ankle would allow, she hurried up the sidewalk. A small group of people congregated just inside the reception area—Gladys Martin, the middle-aged dispatcher who’d been with the department longer than Tory had lived in Provincetown, and several uniformed offi cers, one of whom was Allie Tremont.
“Excuse me. Excuse me, let me through please. It’s Dr. King.”
Miraculously, the crowd parted, and she pushed through the waist-high gate into the main section of the station house. Bri, her face bloodless, rocked on her heels a few feet from the epicenter of activity.
Caroline pressed close against her side with one arm encircling Bri’s waist. Closer now, Tory could make out Nelson on the fl oor between the conference table and a desk, being administered to by two paramedics.
Reese squatted nearby amidst torn IV tubing packages, discarded syringe caps, and empty IV bags. Her face was still and hard as stone, but her eyes blazed with what looked like fury. Tory wanted to go to her, but she couldn’t. Not yet.
“Hi Luther,” Tory said, bending down close to the paramedic’s shoulder. She knew all of the medical personnel for fi fty miles. Hers was the only major clinic between Provincetown and the hospital at Hyannis.
All the units brought their non-life-threatening, and sometimes even their dire, emergencies to her. “It’s Tory King. What do you have?”
“Hey Doc,” the gruff, ex-army medic said without looking up.
“MI—his anterior ST segments are fl ipped. He was friggin’ fl atlined when we got here but we jumpstarted him with intracardiac epi. His blood pressure’s for shit still. Amy is talking to the ER at Hyannis.”
Tory nodded briefl y to the small redhead who sorted drugs from
• 61 •
RADCLY fFE
the emergency box as she talked on the phone, presumably getting instructions from someone at the hospital. “Amy, tell them I’ll take over until we get him there.”
With a grateful look, the redhead relayed the message and disconnected. “Sure rather have you running the show, Tor.”
“Thanks. How’s his rhythm?”
“Jumping around—a lot of PVCs,” Luther said.
“Lidocaine drip going?”
“Just started it,” Amy replied.
Tory nodded with satisfaction. “Okay then, then let’s run MI protocol and get him ready to transport. Morphine, O2, Nitro.”
“You want us to start tPA?”
“How much time are we down?” Tory asked, faced with a critical decision and not nearly enough information. The ideal treatment for someone with a heart attack was to open the blocked vessels as quickly as possible and insert thin plastic stents to keep the arteries open. However, irreversible cardiac damage would occur quickly if this treatment was delayed for even an hour or two. If they lost too much more time on the trip to Hyannis, Nelson might have a better chance if she started intravenous drugs that would dissolve any clots blocking his coronary arteries and hopefully allow more blood to fl ow to his heart.
But tPA, as it was called, was a less reliable treatment than stenting and could have signifi cant side effects.
Everyone looked at Reese.
“Eighteen minutes.”
“Amy,” Tory snapped, “call Hyannis and tell them to get the cath lab ready—we’re bringing in an emergency angioplasty. Let’s get him loaded guys, and make sure he’s strapped in tight. I’ll ride with you.”
“I’ll take point,” Reese said, “and clear the way.”
“Good,” Tory said softly and squeezed Reese’s hand before hurrying after the paramedics.
Reese watched Tory leave, then pivoted to Bri. “You’ll ride with me.” Her eyes fl ickered from Bri’s pale, stunned face to Caroline. From the looks of Caroline, she wasn’t about to let Bri out of her sight. “Both of you.”
“I’ll call in the evening shift to cover, okay, Sheriff?” Allie asked.
“Yes. And Tremont,” Reese said as she grabbed her hat and keys,
• 62 •
Winds of Fortune
“run the shift change and get these other guys home as soon as back-up arrives.”
“Yes ma’am.” Allie glanced at Bri. “Uh, do you think when you get a break someone could call—”
“I’ll contact you with an update.” Reese clapped Bri’s shoulder briskly. “Let’s go, Offi cer. We’ve got work to do.”
Bri twitched as if she were awakening from a dream and took a long shuddering breath. Clasping Caroline’s hand tightly, she said,
“Yes ma’am. I’m ready.”
❖
“Tory’s on the phone,” Randy said as Nita stepped out of a patient exam room. “She says it’s urgent.”
“I’ll take it in the offi ce. Thanks.”
Nita scribbled a note into the chart and tossed it onto the dictation pile. Then she grabbed the phone.
“Tory? It’s Nita.” Frowning, she held the phone in one hand and fl ipped through the next patient chart on her desk with the other. “Don’t even think about leaving until the situation is stabilized.” She sighed.
“Tory, I don’t mind working another shift. That’s why I’m here…How do things look?…Damn, Okay…call me later, then. Thanks.”
Aware that Randy hovered in the doorway, Nita traded the phone for the fi le folder marked Joey Torres and joined him. After checking that the hallway was clear, she said quietly, “Tory’s fi ne.” She lowered her voice. “Nelson Parker has had an MI. Keep it quiet for now, okay?”
“Oh hell,” Randy replied. “Let me know if you hear anything?”
“I will.” Nita indicated the chart. “I’ll be in doing a wound check on Joey.”
When she entered the procedure room, it looked like an instant replay of the day before, except this time Pia had joined the party. Sally, still laughing at something, laid out clean dressings and splint material on an instrument tray. Joey sat sideways on the procedure table, his injured right hand cradled against his chest in a sling. Pia stood next to him, her hip propped against the edge of the table. The person who held Nita’s attention, however, was Deo Camara.
Today Deo wore faded blue jeans that hugged her narrow hips and a faded grey T-shirt with the sleeves torn off. The neckline was
• 63 •
RADCLY fFE
ripped down the center, and Nita thought she glimpsed the soft swell of a smooth, creamy breast. She quickly averted her gaze, but she saw that Deo was smiling in a way that said she knew exactly where Nita had been looking. Annoyance at having given Deo more than a glance and, worse, having Deo catch her at it, set her on edge. She hated that Deo could throw her off stride with just a look. Deliberately, she turned away from Deo and smiled at Joey.
“How are you feeling?”
“Terrible.” Joey feigned a pained expression. “I think I might need three or four months off.”
Deo laughed. “Like hell. You’re not spending the summer on the beach.”
“Let’s have a look.” Nita kept her back to Deo, whose deep rich voice reminded Nita of hot summer air on a lazy August afternoon.
That wasn’t all Deo reminded her of, and that was the real problem.
Deo actually looked nothing like Sylvia, who had been the epitome of blue-eyed, blond beauty, but they shared the same seething sensuality.
And apparently, if her racing pulse were any indication, she was still susceptible to such empty charms.
With effort, Nita put Deo out of her mind and, after donning sterile gloves, carefully removed the bandages from Joey’s hand. Pia watched from nearby.
“Incisions look good,” Nita reported. “There’s anticipated swelling, but nothing out of the ordinary. Finger position indicates the tendon repairs are intact.”
“What do you think about a functional splint?” Pia asked. “I’ll keep the affected fi ngers blocked for now so there won’t be any motion, but we’ll be ready for a little bit of gentle ranging in a few days.”
“All right. Sally can get you what you need if you want to fashion the splint yourself.”
While Pia worked on the splint, Nita re-bandaged the injured fi ngers and quickly recorded a chart note. On her way out into the hall, she said, “Two weeks for suture removal.”
She was almost to her offi ce door when she felt a hand on her arm.
She slowed, knowing who it was and silently chastising herself for the sudden swell of anticipation. Slowly she turned and met Deo’s eyes, knowing what she would see. Deep set eyes, liquid and dark. So dark.
• 64 •
Winds of Fortune
She could imagine how they would look when Deo was aroused, when that sultry shimmer turned to fi re. When Sylvia orgasmed, her glacial blue eyes sharpened until Nita feared she’d bleed on their edges. Deo’s eyes…Deo’s eyes would be molten, hot enough to scorch the fl esh from her bones.
“What is it?” Nita asked, her voice sounding breathy to her own ears. It’s only chemistry. Mindless attraction. Ignore it. Haven’t you learned?
Deo was entranced by the rapid fl urry of expression on Nita’s face. Annoyance, appreciation, intensity…desire. Even though the break in Nita’s careful façade had been fl eeting, she hadn’t been wrong.
She knew what desire looked like in another woman’s eyes. What she hadn’t expected was the quick surge of heat in the pit of her stomach.
Taken off guard, she fumbled for words.
“I…uh…I wanted to thank you for taking care of Joey.”
“That’s not necessary.” Nita backed up a step, aware of her open offi ce door just a few feet away. Sanctuary awaited. Being near Deo made her feel as if she were Daniel cast into the lion’s den. Her common sense told her to fl ee, but what she really wanted to do was reach out and sink her fi ngers into the thick black hair and thrill to the power of feline muscles rippling under her fi ngertips. Lions kill, she reminded herself. “It’s my job.”
“I know.” Deo took a step closer, wondering what it would take to stir that fi re in Nita’s warily shuttered gaze again. Unused to women hiding their desire, she found the situation challenging. “How late are you working?”
Confused, almost certain she could feel heat pouring off Deo’s body, Nita said, “What? Why?”
“I’d like to take you out to dinner tonight.”
“No.”
“Why not?” Deo grinned, but she didn’t feel her usual confi dent self. Nita confused her. She couldn’t get a read on her—one second Nita looked at her as if she wanted to put her hands all over her, and in the next instant, her expression vacillated between fear and fury.
Deo never chased after women, because she didn’t want to spend time with anyone who wasn’t interested in exactly what she was interested in—pleasant company and shared pleasure. Women came to her for
• 65 •
RADCLY fFE
that and that was the way she liked it. So why the hell had she just asked Nita out for a…date?
Nita considered making an excuse, but then realized that she wasn’t the one pushing the issue. She had already told Deo the night before that she wasn’t interested, regardless of how her traitorous body might respond, and she didn’t appreciate being forced to do it again.
“You’re not my type.”
“You don’t know that.”
“Yes, I do.”
“Why?” Deo snapped. “Because I’m a construction worker? Or because I don’t have a college education?”
“No,” Nita said, trying unsuccessfully to curb her anger. She pressed her fi ngertip to the side of Deo’s neck. “Because you’ve got a lovely bite from whoever you took home last night. If you happen to remember.”
“I just asked you to dinner, not to go to bed with me.”
“When’s the last time you had dinner with a woman you didn’t take to bed?”
Deo hesitated.
“That’s what I thought. Like I said, I’m not interested.”
Deo caught Nita’s hand as she started to turn away. “That’s not what your eyes tell me.”
“You’re mistaken.”
“No I’m not,” Deo whispered, rubbing her thumb over the top of Nita’s hand. Reluctantly, she loosened her grip and Nita snatched her hand away. “Sooner or later, you’re going to admit that.”
“That is never going to happen.”
“I’m going to change your mi—”
Nita stepped into her offi ce and closed the door, cutting off the last of Deo’s sentence. She leaned her back against the solid oak, grateful for the barrier between them. Deo’s hand had been hot, her thumb a delicate tease as it swept back and forth over her skin. That brief caress had touched off an unwanted but undeniably pleasant spark within her. Apparently she was helpless to resist not just Deo’s beauty, but her touch. That was a terribly dangerous combination, and she had no intention of tempting herself any further. Not when she wanted very much to give in.
• 66 •
Winds of Fortune
CHAPTER SEVEN
Thanks, Nita,” Pia said, lingering in the hall outside the procedure room.
“No problem.” Nita smiled at Pia, but her gaze followed Deo and Joey as they disappeared through the door into the reception area. “He’s really a sweetie.”
“He’s the baby and everyone spoiled him. Sometimes he still thinks all it takes is a smile, and most of the time he’s right.”
“I imagine he’s going to break a few hearts,” Nita murmured, but she wasn’t thinking of Joey. His wasn’t the only smile that was irresistible. When she’d returned to the procedure room to discuss Joey’s physical therapy regimen with Pia, she’d been aware of Deo’s eyes on her the entire time. Part of her, the mindless id that ruled her body and some irrational part of her mind, reveled in the attention even as she chastised herself for responding. “Your family is captivating.”
Pia’s eyes widened in surprise. “I’ve got a couple of other brothers besides Joey who are still single if that’s your inclination.”
“Afraid not,” Nita said with a laugh. “Although if a beautiful face was my only criterion, I could be tempted.”
“Well, if it’s a beautiful face you want, Deo—”
“Deo’s gorgeous,” Nita said before she could catch back the words. She felt her face warm and added quickly, “But I’m sure she’s got a line outside her door already.”
“Not as long as you might think,” Pia said seriously.
“I’m not actually looking for anyone,” Nita said, hoping to derail the uncomfortable conversation.
“Left a girl back home? Providence, right?”
“Nope.” Nita struggled not to hear Sylvia’s laughter or see her taunting smile. Struggled and failed. Come on, honey, you know you want me. Why are you fi ghting me? “I’m just getting settled into this
• 67 •
RADCLY fFE
job and I’ll be starting the house renovations soon. Not much time for socializing.”
“Once in a while a girl has to have company.” Pia squeezed Nita’s arm. “It’s good for the disposition.”
Nita laughed. “Thanks. I’ll remember that.”
With a secret sigh of relief, Nita waved to Pia and returned to her patients. If she wanted company, it would not be for a casual night in bed with a woman who wouldn’t remember her name a week later.
❖
“I’ll be right back, sweetie,” Tory said, leaning down to kiss Bri on the cheek.
“Okay,” Bri said hoarsely, her eyes dry and hot.
Tory ached to scoop her into her arms and cradle her, but as Bri had proven when Reese had been missing, she was strong and brave.
And Caroline, who hadn’t let go of Bri’s hand for the last three hours, would provide all the comfort and support Bri needed.
“You want something? Coffee? Coke?”
Bri shook her head.
“Coke,” Caroline said immediately, countering Bri’s response.
“And some kind of sandwich.”
“I’m not hungry,” Bri insisted.
“I know you’re not, baby,” Caroline said, caressing Bri’s cheek.
“But you haven’t eaten anything all day. Don’t argue.”
Bri leaned her head against Caroline’s shoulder and shut her eyes.
“I’ll get you both something,” Tory said.
Not wanting to be gone too long lest she miss the cardiologist when he came out to report on Nelson’s status, she hurried to the elevators.
Once in the main lobby, she crossed quickly to the exit and scanned the circular drive that fronted the emergency entrance where Reese had parked her patrol car. Reese leaned against the front of the car, talking on her cell phone.
Tory waited. Watching her while she talked was no hardship. She had always loved to look at her. All too often the demands of daily living prevented them from eating dinner together or even going to sleep at the same time, but she had never been able to look at Reese
• 68 •
Winds of Fortune
without being grateful and just a little bit amazed to have her in her life.
She never felt it more acutely than now, after Reese had returned from duty overseas.
Reese hung up the phone and held out her hand to Tory. “Any word?”
“Not yet.” Tory pulled Reese’s arm around her and leaned into her for a quick kiss. Then she stepped back, mindful of emergency personnel coming and going through the ambulance bay doors. “It shouldn’t be long now. Is everything all right at the station?”
“Allie and Smith have things under control.” Reese hooked one hand around her gun belt. Her face was grim. “Is Nelson going to make it?”
“I don’t know,” Tory admitted. “He wouldn’t have any chance at all if you hadn’t been there. If you hadn’t—”
“Damn it, Tory. This must have been coming on for a while. He’s been complaining of stomach problems for months and I never gave it a thought. He wasn’t having indigestion, he was having chest pain.”
“Reese, you’re not a doctor. I see him practically as much as you do and I never paid any attention either.”
Reese’s jaw clenched and she looked away. She appreciated Tory trying to make her feel better, but she couldn’t help thinking that she was partly responsible. She’d been preoccupied ever since the war started, knowing that she’d be called up to serve in Iraq. And since she’d been back, she’d lost her focus and couldn’t concentrate. She saw Nelson every single day, and she should have known something was wrong.
“Nelson could have said something,” Tory said gently. “I’m not blaming him, but it’s certainly not your fault. You saved his life.”
“If he’s able to come back to work, how long do you think it will be?”
“God.” Tory brushed a hand through her hair, frustrated by Reese’s stubborn insistence on taking responsibility for things that couldn’t possibly be her fault. “At least six weeks, possibly more. Once he’s stabilized, the cardiologist will need to evaluate the extent of the cardiac damage.”
“I’ve talked to the mayor and the district commander. I’ll be acting chief until Nelson comes back to work.”
Tory took a slow breath. “Of course.” She chose her next words as
• 69 •
RADCLY fFE
carefully as she could. “Are you okay with that?”
Reese shrugged and smiled ruefully. “Paperwork. I hate it. I’d rather be in a patrol car, but there’s no one else with the experience to do it and bringing in someone new would disrupt the entire department during the busiest time of the year. It’s my responsibility. I’m fi ne.”
It wasn’t the boredom of administrative work that concerned Tory.
Reese would be in a command position—not that she wasn’t already, every day of her working life. But this would be slightly different, and she couldn’t imagine Reese being content sitting behind a desk. What it meant, she imagined, was that Reese would simply be doing two jobs when she was barely recovered enough to do one.
“I know you’re the only one for the job.” Tory skimmed her fi ngertips across the ridge of Reese’s collarbone. The irregularity from the healing fracture was still palpable. “You’re not quite a hundred percent yet, darling. You’ll be careful, won’t you?”
“Sure,” Reese said automatically. “We should get back upstairs, don’t you think?”
“Yes,” Tory said with a sigh, aware that Reese was naturally most comfortable doing something. Anything. Now more than ever, Reese used work as a panacea, or an escape. And once again, it wasn’t the time to deal with it. Certainly not today, not when Nelson was fi ghting for his life. “We should get back.”
When Reese took her hand, Tory laced her fi ngers through Reese’s, grateful for the brief connection. It wasn’t enough, but it was everything.
❖
Bri jumped up when the cardiologist, still wearing rumpled scrubs, walked into the family waiting room. Other than the four of them—
Reese, Tory, Bri, and Carre—only one elderly man occupied the space, sitting off in one corner with a distant expression on his face.
Caroline scooted her arm around Bri’s waist and Tory slid close to her other side. Reese stood a few feet away, her expression impassive and her body emanating tightly coiled energy.
“Dr. King,” the cardiologist said, looking from Tory to Bri and then back to Tory. “Sheriff Parker is stable. We stented both the anterior descending and the left main.”
• 70 •
Winds of Fortune
“That’s great,” Tory said.
Bri’s legs started to shake and she gripped Carre’s shoulders tightly, embarrassed to let anyone see how scared she was. She swallowed before speaking. Her throat felt so dry she was afraid her voice would crack. “Does that mean he’s going to be okay?”
“The most important thing right now,” the cardiologist said kindly,
“is that the blockage has been relieved and his heart muscle is getting the oxygen it needs to heal.”
“Does that mean you don’t know if he’s going to be okay?” Bri persisted.
The cardiologist shot a glance at Tory, who said, “Go ahead, Steve, you don’t need to soft-pedal it.”
“The fi rst twenty-four hours following a myocardial incident are tricky,” Steve Olson said. “The heart muscle is irritable because it’s been damaged, so arrhythmias—that’s an irregular heartbeat—are common, and can be dangerous. Your father’s being monitored carefully and we’re giving him medication to control cardiac irritability. This time tomorrow, I’ll be able to give you a much better assessment.”
“When can I see him?”
“The nurses have a few things to do and then you can visit. He’s sedated and won’t be responsive.”
“Okay. I understand,” Bri said. “Thanks.”
When the cardiologist turned to Tory and began explaining something Bri couldn’t understand, Bri whispered to Carre, “I need to talk to Reese.”
“Okay, baby.” Carre kissed her cheek and let her go.
Bri joined Reese. “I want to thank you for what you did today, for my dad.”
“No need,” Reese said gently.
“I’m sorry I didn’t handle it so well. I—”
Reese shook her head, slung an arm around Bri’s slender frame, and pulled her close. She cupped the back of her head as Bri trembled against her. “It’s okay. You did fi ne. I’m proud of you.”
Bri’s eyes stung and she blinked back tears. It wasn’t that she was ashamed to cry in front of Reese. Hell, Reese had seen her when she was messed up and pissed off at everybody. Crying wasn’t so bad, although she’d rather only Carre knew that she did it sometimes. Just now, though, she wanted to be as together as Reese was when things got
• 71 •
RADCLY fFE
tough. She wanted to be the one everyone believed in. She raised her head and grinned a little crookedly. “I forgot my training.”
“Understandable,” Reese said gruffl y. She loosened her hold and let Bri ease away. “That’s the reason there’s a chain of command, Bri.
It takes practice. Your time will come.”
“I want to be ready.”
Reese skimmed her knuckles along the edge of Bri’s jaw. “You will be.”
❖
From across the room, Tory recognized Bri’s look of hero worship and was both warmed and worried by it. She knew that Bri could have no better role model than Reese, but she was just coming to understand what a burden that must be for Reese. Not just with Bri, but with the other offi cers in the department and the young marines she had commanded. What was it like living up to that kind of faith while you were trying to keep death away?
Thinking of the tremendous responsibility of making life and death decisions while faced with the imminent possibility of annihilation, she was reminded of KT and the swaggering self-confi dence she always displayed in the trauma unit. When they’d been together, she had allowed herself to forget that KT was not invulnerable or invincible, but rather a woman who suffered every death that she could not prevent and agonized over every decision that might have been made differently.
Tory knew some of that soul-shattering responsibility herself when she made decisions, as she had earlier that day regarding Nelson’s treatment. Usually, though, she had a moment or two to collect her thoughts and weigh pros and cons, unlike a soldier in battle or a surgeon faced with exsanguinating hemorrhage. KT had relieved the inexorable stress by reaffi rming her prowess in the arms of other women. Reese would never devastate her that way, but Tory did not intend to let her destroy herself, either.
“Sweetheart,” Tory said quietly to Reese. “I’m going to stay here for a few more hours. Do you need to get back?”
Reese waited until Bri rejoined Caroline. “I should check in at the station. I need to rearrange the shifts and get some idea of what Nelson
• 72 •
Winds of Fortune
had pending.” She looked over at Bri. “One of us should be here in case there’s a problem, don’t you think?”
“I don’t want her to be alone if anything should happen,” Tory agreed.
“Then I’ll come back up tonight in the Jeep and you can take it home. I’ll get an offi cer to take me back in the morning.”
“I may stay the night. Call me later and I’ll let you know if you should come back out tonight.”
Reese frowned and stroked Tory’s arm. “You sure you’ll be okay?
You look beat.”
Tory covered Reese’s hand with hers. “I’m all right. Tell Reggie I said hi when you see her.”
“I will. I’ll be back soon.” Reese kissed her quickly. “I love you.”
“I love you. Be careful.”
As soon as Reese disappeared, Tory immediately felt uneasy. It wasn’t just that she missed her, which she did, but whenever Reese was out of sight, she was plagued by a pervasive expectation of danger. At moments like this she was forced to admit that Reese’s tour of duty in Iraq had made casualties of them both.
❖
“So what do you think of the Doc?”
Deo’s eyes narrowed as she regarded her cousin over her beer.
“Looks like she did a good job on your hand.”
The Squealing Pig was packed as it was every night, but they’d managed to snag a table in the corner near the wide front windows.
People brushed against the glass as they passed by on Commercial Street and sounds of the melee outside added to the general din of people crowded around the bar and jostling at tables inside. Considering it was a holiday, Deo had told her crews to knock off early, and she and Joey had come into town for a burger.
“I’m not talking about her medical skills,” Joey scoffed, waving to a local who came through the door. “I was thinking of asking her out.”
“Come on,” Deo said dismissively, hoping to hide her concern.
“She’s got to have at least ten years on you.”
• 73 •
RADCLY fFE
Joey grinned. “You know what they say about older women. I ought to have the stuff to keep up with her.”
Deo wanted to smack him and he wasn’t even out of line. It’s not like they hadn’t talked about girls before. She tried to keep it decent, not only because he was her cousin, but because she didn’t want him to think that women meant nothing to her. Joey, for his part, was a lot more respectful than most of the guys. Still, hearing him talk about Nita as if she were a potential sex partner made her crazy. She leaned across the table into his face. “She’s a lesbian, you nitwit. Forget it.”
“So? Maybe she likes tuna on Friday and steak on Saturday.”
Deo swatted him in the head. “Asshole.”
“Still, you don’t know right?” Joey persisted teasingly. “Unless maybe you’ve already been there?”
“No,” Deo grated.
“How come? Did she turn you down?”
Deo clenched her jaws.
“Ho ho!” Joey crowed. “You mean there’s fi nally one woman in town who can resist you?” He punched her arm. “You must be slipping, babe.”
“Knock it off,” Deo snapped.
Joey’s face fell. “Hey. I didn’t mean anything by it.”
Deo let her breath out slowly and tried to rein in her temper. Jesus, what the hell was the matter with her. Joey was a good kid, and he hadn’t said or done anything he hadn’t said or done a hundred times before. So Nita obviously thought she was callous and shallow and only interested in a quick lay. So what. Nita wasn’t the fi rst person to think she was a fuck-off. Her own parents thought the same thing and worse, and she’d learned to live with that. Yeah, it still hurt, but she kept that to herself.
“Forget it.” Deo sipped her beer and feigned interest in the activity outside.
Joey stretched his legs out beside the table and smiled with satisfaction. “So you don’t mind if I fi nd out for myself if she’s interested in some prime salam—”
“Joey,” Deo growled.
Laughing, Joey tilted back in his chair. “She’s got you bugged, doesn’t she?”
• 74 •
Winds of Fortune
“I never said that,” Deo said, but she knew she didn’t have to. She was bugged. Nita was a beautiful, intelligent, sexy woman who thought Deo wasn’t worth the time of day. And for the fi rst time in longer than she could remember, Deo was unhappy with that perception. Sure, it was hard to disappoint anyone or be hurt by them when she asked for nothing and nothing was expected of her. It was also lonely.
“Well, good luck, Cuz,” Joey said good-naturedly.
It would take more than luck, Deo knew, and she wasn’t certain that she wanted to take the risk. Still, something about Nita almost made her want to try.
• 75 •
• 76 •
Winds of Fortune
CHAPTER EIGHT
Hey,” Deo said, working her way through the crowd up to Allie, who stood at the juncture of Standish and Commercial Streets, the busiest intersection in town. “What are you still doing at work? You had the day shift.”
“Pulling a double,” Allie said, watching an SUV edge its way through the pedestrian-fi lled street that more resembled a wide sidewalk at nine-thirty at night. She diverted her attention long enough to give Deo an appreciative once over. “You’re looking good.”
Grinning, Deo returned the look. “I think I might like you in the silky stuff a little better than the leather, but it works.”
“You’d be surprised how many girls want me because of the uniform.”
“Oh, I’m sure it’s not just the uniform,” Deo said with a laugh.
“Was everything okay this morning? With you being late, I mean?”
Allie grimaced, remembering the chaos that just half a day later seemed a little bit unreal. Bri trembling in her arms was no fantasy, however. Signaling a line of cars to wait, she waved a group of shirtless men in skin-tight trunks that looked suspiciously like underwear across the intersection. “Right after I got in this morning, Chief Parker collapsed—heart attack. He’s in the hospital up at Hyannis.”
“Oh, man. That’s terrible. Is he going to be okay?”
“Nobody’s saying very much.” Allie sighed and gestured for the cars to move on. “Reese is there now. I’m going up after my shift.”
“Tonight? Jesus, you didn’t sleep at all last night. You must be beat.”
“And whose fault is that?” Allie teased. “I’m okay, plus we’re shorthanded. I don’t know when else I’ll have time. I’m due on shift again tomorrow at ten.”
“Well, since I’m the one who kept you awake, the least I can do
• 77 •
RADCLY fFE
is drive you up there and back tonight. That way you can sleep while I drive.”
Surprised, Allie briefl y clasped Deo’s hand. “That’s sweet. Really.
But you don’t need to. Last night was totally worth being wiped out today.”
“Look, I’d like to. I’m just going to be hanging around at home anyhow.”
“No company tonight?” Allie’s tone made it clear she wasn’t being critical.
“Let’s just say I don’t have the need.” Deo dropped her voice.
“Last night took care of that for quite a while.”
Allie gave Deo a heated look. “God, you’re good.”
“I think you mentioned that.” When Allie laughed, some of Deo’s earlier melancholy evaporated. With Allie, she knew that what she offered was enough, and even if they never slept together again, what they’d shared was still special. “I’ll drive you up and wait for you. You take as long as you want. I’ll feel better, and the roads will probably be safer if you’re not driving half asleep.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah. Really.”
“Pick me up at the station at eleven, then.”
“I’ll be there.”
“And Deo,” Allie said, causing Deo to halt as she started to turn away. “We’re cool if it’s just a ride ride, right?”
“Yeah, totally.” Deo winked. “For tonight at least.”
Then Deo slipped off into the crowd to the sound of Allie’s laughter.
As she walked the mile and a half toward her condo at the far west end of Bradford, she refl ected on her night with Allie and smiled. Now and then she hooked up with a woman for a few weeks, but more often than not, one or two nights was the norm. She had a feeling with Allie there could be more. Allie seemed to be up for a friendly relationship that involved good sex, and they for sure had the good sex part down.
But for some reason, she was okay if the only thing she and Allie ever shared again was friendship. She liked sex, sure, and the connection she felt for those few brief hours when she made love to a woman quieted some dark, angry place inside her. For a little while, she didn’t feel alone. But Allie wasn’t one of the strangers in town for a week who she could fuck and forget. Allie was a woman she liked, who she was going
• 78 •
Winds of Fortune
to run into regularly. Most importantly, she might be a friend. Joey and Pia were about her only friends, and they were family. Maybe sleeping with Allie again would screw up a chance for anything else.
“Jesus,” Deo muttered, her hands in her pockets as she strode more quickly along the less congested streets in the West End. “Since when did you worry about whether you’re going to sleep with a woman or not?”
And just that fast, she was back in the hallway outside Nita Burgoyne’s offi ce feeling angry and baffl ed as to why Nita wouldn’t even accept an invitation to dinner when the look in her eyes said she was interested. In fact, for a few seconds Nita’s expression had said she was much more than interested. Just remembering the fi ery gaze made Deo fl ush with heat and shiver with the familiar churning in the pit of her stomach.
Nita had said no—not once, but twice—and that ought to be enough. If Deo needed a few hours with a woman to settle her inner unrest, Allie was most likely willing and if not her, someone else. So why did she want the one who didn’t want her?
“Because,” Deo whispered, “because I know she’s lying.”
Nita Burgoyne had said no, but her eyes had betrayed her. No matter what else was going on, Nita was interested. Deo didn’t know why Nita refused to acknowledge that, but it was a challenge she couldn’t let go of.
❖
When Deo and Allie walked into the crowded intensive care waiting room just after midnight, Bri’s face lit up at the sight of Allie.
With Caroline in tow, she hurried to meet them. “What are you doing here?”
“Just wanted to see how you were doing.” Allie gave Bri a quick hug and smiled almost shyly at Caroline “Hi.”
Caroline returned the smile, resting her hand in the center of Bri’s back. “I’m glad you came.”
“Hey, Deo,” Bri said.
“Sorry about your dad.” Deo noticed that Bri’s eyes were red-rimmed but clear. “How’s he doing?”
“The nurses say everything looks good tonight,” Bri replied.
• 79 •
RADCLY fFE
When several offi cers who Deo recognized as members of the Sheriff’s Department approached, Deo stepped back while Allie talked to them. Scanning the faces of the others gathered around, she saw Reese and Tory, Reese’s mother and her partner, and a couple of other law enforcement offi cers. With a jolt, her eyes met Nita’s. When she nodded, Nita tipped her head briefl y in acknowledgment before looking away. Clearly having been dismissed, Deo leaned against the wall and watched Nita. As she had at the party, Nita appeared apart from the others. Not awkwardly or uncomfortably alone, Deo realized, but alone by choice. The circumstance was so different than Deo’s own isolation that she couldn’t help but be fi lled with questions. Questions and curiosity and an involuntary surge of sympathy. Alone was alone, and even if by choice, sometimes it spelled loneliness.
Driven by an appreciation for their shared discomfort, Deo sidled through the people who stood talking quietly in pairs or small groups until she reached Nita.
“Long day,” Deo said.
“I was just leaving.” Nita picked up a leather bag and slung it over her shoulder.
“Stay for a minute.”
Nita blinked. “Why?”
“I like your company.”
“How much have you had to drink?” Nita asked sharply.
“Two beers, six hours ago.”
“Then you have me confused with someone else.” Nita stepped sideways and Deo lightly grasped her arm. “What?”
“I don’t want to have to chase you down the hall again. It’s bad for my ego.”
“I don’t imagine anything puts a dent in your ego.”
Nita’s voice held an edge, but the barest glimmer of a smile showed for an instant and then disappeared. It was the fi rst crack in her façade that Deo had seen, and encouraged, she leaned closer and lowered her voice. “Having you turn me down two days in a row hasn’t been so good for it.”
“It’s in very poor taste to make overtures to a woman with your girlfriend standing a few feet away.”
“My girlfriend?” Deo said, honestly confused. She followed Nita’s
• 80 •
Winds of Fortune
gaze to where Allie huddled with Reese and Bri and the other offi cers.
“She’s a friend.”
Nita sighed. “There’s no need to explain, although considering you disappeared with her last night after the party, I’d say your defi nition of friend and mine are slightly different.”
“The way I see it, we’re just talking.”
“Really? You weren’t going to renew your invitation for dinner?
My mistake again, then.”
Deo did some fast thinking. She had been about to try again, and because she didn’t think of her relationship with Allie as anything that would prevent her from doing so, she hadn’t considered how it might look to Nita. Hell, when had she ever considered how anything might look to a woman she was interested in? “Jesus, you’re confusing as all hell.”
“Look,” Nita began in a reasonable voice, determined to control a potentially uncomfortable situation that showed no signs of going away. Admittedly, she’d had a visceral response the instant she’d seen Deo enter the waiting area. Before she could contain herself, she had been both happy and excited to see her. That Deo had been with the pretty young brunette from the night before had helped her gain some perspective. There wasn’t much doubt in her mind where the bite on Deo’s neck had come from. Like a dash of cold water, the sight of the two of them was a blunt wakeup call and a stark reminder of just why Deo was dangerous. “This is a small town and we have a lot of acquaintances in common. We’re going to be running into one another all the time. Why don’t we just decide right now that the best thing we can do is have a nice casual friendly association.”
“I wasn’t proposing marriage.”
“I know what you are proposing. I’m not in the market.”
“And if you were, it wouldn’t be with me, right?”
Nita shrugged. “No. It wouldn’t be.”
“Because I’m not your type.” Deo made it a statement, not a question.
“I think I already mentioned that.”
“How about a contractor? Are you in the market for a general contractor?”
“Excuse me?” Nita said, thoroughly perplexed by not only
• 81 •
RADCLY fFE
the abrupt change in topic but by the fact that Deo seemed to have capitulated with no argument. And that bothered her. Lord, she must be sending out mixed signals because she certainly felt mixed up. She didn’t want the woman’s attention but it upset her when Deo simply gave up pursuing her as if it were of no further consequence. She hadn’t realized how vulnerable she was to any kind of attention from a woman. It had been a long time. Obviously, she needed a date—with someone non-threatening and low-key and normal. Someone whose attention would be pleasant but not distracting, someone with whom she could share something enjoyable but not consuming. Not someone like Deo whose mere presence stirred her up. Not someone like Deo—
like Sylvia—who would occupy her mind twenty-four hours a day and keep her body in a state of constant arousal.
“You bought the Captain’s house,” Deo said, again stating fact. “If you plan on living in it, it’s going to take some serious work.”
“How do you know about my house?”
“It’s my business to know what’s happening with the properties in town.”
Nita shook her head. “Small-town living will take some getting used to. Yes, I bought it, but I haven’t made any decisions yet about what I’m going to do with it or who is going to do it.” What she didn’t add was that whoever she hired, it certainly would not be Deo Camara.
The last thing she wanted was to see her on a daily basis for weeks.
“Rehabbing historic structures is my specialty,” Deo said, serious now. “You’re going to get the best prices if you go local, and I’m the best there is on the Cape. You’ll at least want a bid from me.”
“Lord, you really are too much.” Nita remembered Pia mentioning the township’s regulations regarding what could and couldn’t be done to historic buildings and realized she would be better off using a local builder. It was late, she was tired, and she didn’t want to argue. In fact, Deo made sense. Compromise. Compromise was something she’d always been good at. “Why don’t you send Joey around to look the place over. I’m closing on Friday afternoon and I’ll have the keys after that.”
“Joey’s not experienced enough.” Deo grinned. “Besides, he’s competition.”
“I’m sorry?”
“He wants to ask you out.”
• 82 •
Winds of Fortune
Nita gaped. “Joey? My God, he’s just a boy.”
“He’s eighteen,” Deo said with a straight face, enjoying seeing Nita off balance.
“He’s also a patient.”
“He won’t be forever.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Nita snapped. “You know I’m a lesbian.”
Deo lifted a shoulder. “Can’t prove it by personal experience.”
“And you never will.” Exasperated and recalling what Pia had said about their family enterprises, Nita said, “Then send one of your brothers to do the estimate. You must have half a dozen working with you.”
Deo jerked as if Nita had slapped her. Beneath her tan, Deo’s bronze skin paled and a world of hurt fl ashed across her face. For a fraction of a second, Nita actually thought she might faint. Without giving it a thought, driven only by her instinct to comfort, she grasped Deo’s hand. “What is it?” The fi ngers lying motionless in her palm were cold and trembling. “Deo?”
“Sorry,” Deo rasped, jerking her hand free. “No, no brothers.”
“I’m sor—”
“No problem.” Deo backed away a step. “Sorry to bother you.”
“Deo…” Nita called quietly, but Deo had already spun away. She felt terrible for bringing up something that was obviously still painful.
She didn’t mind clashing with Deo’s arrogance or misplaced sense of entitlement where women were concerned, but she would never have willingly hurt her. “Damn it.”
“Everything all right?” Tory asked.
Nita gave a start, then fl ushed, wondering how much of the encounter Tory had witnessed. She’d always been a private person, and the terrible public humiliation of her relationship with Sylvia had solidifi ed her desire to avoid any kind of display of her personal business. “Yes. Everything’s fi ne.”
“Oh, okay. I just thought Deo…never mind.”
“I…I unwittingly said something to upset her.” She should simply let the matter drop, Nita knew that. But the agony in Deo’s eyes had been so deep, so raw, she still ached from having seen it. “I asked her about having brothers.”
“I see.” Tory sighed. “Her twin brother Gabriel was killed in a boating accident when they were teenagers.”
• 83 •
RADCLY fFE
“Oh,” Nita murmured, “that’s horrible.”
“I know,” Tory said. “I hadn’t been in town very long, but something like that in a community like this affects everyone. I can still remember Nelson calling me down to the harbor. It was the middle of the night, and it was pointless to transport Gabriel anywhere. We tried to resuscitate him right there on the beach…God, we worked on him for almost two hours, and we just couldn’t get him back.” She shook her head. “I thought Deo was going to lose her mind.”
“She was with him?” Nita automatically searched the room, wishing desperately she could fi nd her and say something to ease the pain she had carelessly incited. But Deo was gone, and so was the young offi cer she’d come in with.
❖
“You don’t have to leave,” Deo said dully, opening the driver’s side door. “I’ll just wait in the truck.”
Allie climbed in the opposite side and slid as close to Deo as the gear shift would allow. “I need to get back.”
“Why don’t you try to catch some sleep, then.” Deo started the truck and pulled away from the hospital.
“You look pretty bummed out. Are you okay?”
Deo forced a smile. “Yeah. Close your eyes.”
Allie gave her a questioning look, but fi nally gave in and curled up sideways with one hand on Deo’s thigh. The small connection felt good, and Deo covered Allie’s smaller hand with hers as she drove.
Within seconds she could tell from the soft even cadence of Allie’s breathing that she was asleep. Route 6 was deserted at one-thirty in the morning, but she was careful of her speed. Allie trusted her, and she wanted to take care of her as she slept.
Forty minutes later she shook Allie’s shoulder gently. “How do I get to your house?”
Following Allie’s directions, she soon pulled into the narrow drive of a small cottage set on a side street between Wellfl eet and Truro.
“There you go.”
“It’s late. Come on inside,” Allie said.
“No, you need to sleep.” Deo didn’t add that she didn’t feel like sex. Usually when she was stressed or angry, sex helped. When she was
• 84 •
Winds of Fortune
hurt, she mostly wanted to be alone, because being intimate when she was needy made her feel too exposed and uncomfortable.
Without a word, Allie got out of the truck, walked around the front, and pulled Deo’s door open. Then she took her hand. “I don’t know about you, but I’ve had a really bad day. I could use some company.”
Deo couldn’t think of a good reason to say no. She followed her inside the small cottage and into the neat, tidy bedroom at the rear. A double bed sat in one corner, a dresser with a small TV occupied the wall at the foot, and a dressing table with chair fi lled the far wall.
“Bathroom’s across the hall.” Allie yawned and unbuckled her gun belt. “You can go fi rst.”
On Deo’s way back, a naked Allie passed her. She undressed by the side of the bed and climbed naked under the sheets. A few minutes later, Allie crawled in and curled up against her side. Deo put an arm around her and kissed her gently.
“Night,” Deo whispered.
Allie drew her leg up over Deo’s thigh, murmured something, and fell promptly asleep. Deo listened to the sounds of the unfamiliar house, lightly stroking Allie’s shoulder. There were times when she felt like an impostor in her own life, when she couldn’t fi gure out why she was doing what she was doing or why she didn’t feel anything when she knew she was supposed to. Allie was warm and soft and Deo knew if she stroked Allie’s breast she could wake her, arouse her, and Allie would beg her to make love to her. Her need would become Allie’s, and her pain would be transformed into Allie’s desire. She could lose herself in Allie’s body, in her excitement, in her need, and the places that were numb inside her would fi ll with Allie’s pleasure. If it were any other woman, she wouldn’t hesitate, but she couldn’t bring herself to use Allie that way.
Allie stirred and kissed Deo’s neck. “You okay?”
“Yeah.”
“Go to sleep, baby.”
“Okay.” Deo kissed Allie’s forehead and closed her eyes.
• 85 •
• 86 •
Winds of Fortune
CHAPTER NINE
Time to wake up, baby,” Reese murmured as she kissed Tory’s cheek.
Tory rolled over on the stiff muddy-brown vinyl couch in the ICU
waiting room and grimaced at the cramp in her lower back and the fuzzy headache clouding her brain. “Oh God. I am too old for this.”
She smiled up at Reese and grasped her hand. “Hi, sweetheart. What time is it?”
“About fi ve-thirty.”
“Have you been up all night?” Tory took in Reese’s rumpled uniform and the ever darkening circles beneath her eyes. The shadows above her high cheekbones were not new, but it was rare to see Reese in an unpressed uniform. “I thought you were going home to sleep?”
“I stopped by the station and started going through Nelson’s inbox.” Reese shook her head. “I just started this job and I’m already behind. Any news?”
Tory sat up and skimmed her hands through her hair. Bri and Caroline slept on the adjacent couch, their arms and legs entwined, Bri’s face pillowed against Caroline’s breast. Even in sleep, Caroline seemed to be sheltering Bri, one hand cupped against the back of her head and her arm circling Bri’s waist. Keeping her voice low so as not to awaken them, Tory said, “Our last progress report was around two, and they were having some problems with his blood pressure. The nurses had just started an intravenous drip and promised to let me know if there was any problem.”
Reese sat beside Tory and drew her close with an arm around her shoulder. “If everything’s okay, I’ll take you home. The baby is still with your sister, and Kate will pick her up this morning. You’ll be able to get some sleep.”
“What about you? Aren’t you coming home?”
• 87 •
RADCLY fFE
“I will. As soon as I get the day shift squared away.”
Tory wanted to object, but she knew how diffi cult Reese’s task was right now with Bri not working, the Chief absent, and the height of the season upon them. With thirty or forty thousand summer residents plus countless day-trippers crammed into the tiny village, a constant stream of minor accidents, injuries, thefts, bar brawls, and the occasional more serious assault resulted. She stroked Reese’s thigh through her khakis.
“Promise me you’ll try to come home this morning?”
“I’ll try.”
“I need to go in to the clinic later, too. Nita has been working nonstop all weekend and now this week. I need to pick up the slack.”
Reese tilted Tory’s face up with a fi ngertip beneath her chin and studied her. “You can’t work if you’re exhausted. Close the clinic this afternoon and go in tonight if you have to.”
“You’re one to talk,” Tory protested.
“Baby,” Reese said quietly. “I just came back from a tour where I was lucky to get two hours of uninterrupted sleep a night, and even then I was constantly listening for the sound of incoming missiles. Believe me, this is a picnic.”
Tory checked to make sure Bri and Caroline were still asleep, then she took both Reese’s hands in hers. “I feel like we’re constantly moving and I never get a chance to connect with you. And when I do see you, it’s never the right time or place to talk about some things.”
“What is it?”
“Your father pushed the papers through, right? You’re out?”
Reese sighed and Tory’s heart plummeted.
“Oh, Reese. You promised you wouldn’t re—”
“No, I didn’t.” Reese freed one hand and caressed Tory’s cheek.
“I wouldn’t do that.”
“Then what?”
“I didn’t tell you before because I didn’t think it made any difference. Offi cially, I’m on medical leave until September. He’s holding the paperwork until then, in case…”
“In case you change your mind? In case you want to go back over there?”
“No—well…” Reese rubbed her forehead, frustrated. “I’m sure that’s what he thinks. But I didn’t have any plans. It’s just bureaucratic paperwork and—”
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Winds of Fortune
“Then why didn’t you tell me?” Tory was glad she had an excuse to speak softly, because she didn’t want Reese to hear the tremble in her voice. She was angry and she was hurt, and most of all, she was confused. “You’ve never kept secrets from me before.”
Reese looked stunned. “No! Oh, baby, no.” She cradled Tory’s face and kissed her. “I didn’t think of it that way. Christ, so much has been going on since I got back I just—I’m sorry. I don’t know why I didn’t think—”
“Okay,” Tory said quickly, her anger dissipating at the rising torment in Reese’s face. God, she’s so vulnerable right now and I’m not helping. It frightened her beyond belief that she could be so blind to the fact that Reese was not herself. Reese had been through an experience that would break some people, and yet she refused to even break stride.
And despite Reese’s insistence that she was all right, Tory knew she wasn’t, and she could hardly expect her to behave the way she had before she went away. Wanting to turn back time, wishing that Reese could somehow be miraculously unscathed, was cowardly on her part and incredibly unfair to Reese. “I’m sorry, darling. I know you would never intentionally keep something important from me. It’s all right.”
“I haven’t called him. I haven’t done anything, Tor,” Reese whispered.
“You said you wouldn’t without talking to me.” Tory kissed her. “I believe you.” She kissed her again. “I’m sorry. I love you. God, I need you so much.”
With a muffl ed groan, Reese pulled her close and buried her face in Tory’s hair. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
“Never. Never,” Tory said fi rmly, caressing the back of Reese’s neck. When Reese shuddered, Tory shifted until she was holding Reese.
Stroking Reese’s shoulders and back, she murmured, “You need some sleep, darling.”
Across the room, Bri stirred and sat up. “Did something happen?”
She blinked, stared at Reese and Tory for a second, and then looked away. “Sorry.”
Reese straightened and rubbed her face. “Hey. Tory’s going to check on your dad, and if everything is okay, I’m going to take her home.”
“I should get Caroline home too,” Bri said as Caroline sat up, murmuring sleepily.
• 89 •
RADCLY fFE
Tory gave an exasperated snort. “If Nelson is stable, everyone is going home.” She pointed at Bri. “No arguing. You can’t stay here the entire time he’s in the hospital. Everyone needs to take a break.”
Caroline put her hand on Bri’s knee. “She’s right, baby.”
Bri’s shoulders relaxed and she leaned against Caroline. “Okay.
But I want to see him fi rst.”
Tory crossed the room and took her hand. “Come on. Let’s go talk to the nurses.” She glanced back over her shoulder at Reese. “If you really love me, you’ll fi nd coffee.”
When Reese stood, an amused grin lifting one corner of her mouth, Tory knew she would do anything in the world to keep her smiling that way. As she threaded her arm around Bri’s slender waist, she considered that perhaps love was as simple as the desire to make another person smile.
❖
Deo rolled over to an empty bed and the tantalizing smell of coffee.
Her eyes felt gritty beneath her closed lids. Two nights of very little sleep had caught up with her. A subtle shifting of the bed signaled that she was not alone, and she opened her eyes. Allie, naked and smiling, held out a mug of coffee.
“Hi,” Allie said before leaning down to kiss her.
It was a good morning kiss, a hello kiss—a nice kiss. Deo pushed up in bed and took the coffee. “What time is it?”
“Almost eight.”
Deo winced.
“Late for work?”
“Yeah.” She took several healthy swallows of the strong black brew and set the mug aside on the nearby bedside table. “Good thing I’m the boss.”
Allie pulled one leg up onto the bed and edged closer until her thigh rested along Deo’s. Then she skimmed her palm over Deo’s stomach.
“Sorry. I don’t have to be in until ten so I didn’t set the alarm.”
“It’s only fair. I made you late yesterday.” Deo trapped Allie’s hand against her middle. She always woke up just a little bit horny and the double whammy of Allie naked and touching her was a lethal combination. Pleasantly lethal, but still a test of her self-control she
• 90 •
Winds of Fortune
doubted she would win for long. “How’s Chief Parker?”
“How did you know I checked already?”
“You’re up. You wouldn’t have gone out there in the middle of the night if he didn’t mean a lot to you.”
“I talked to Bri a few minutes ago. He’s not awake yet but he’s doing okay.”
“That’s great.” Deo noted the turmoil in Allie’s eyes. “You’re tight with Bri, aren’t you?”
“Bri. Yeah. She’s special.” Allie laughed shortly. “I guess I have a thing for falling in love with the wrong girls.”
Deo stroked Allie’s forearm and Allie’s hand started moving on her stomach again. “That’s tough.”
“No. It’s okay. I’m only halfway in love with her now.” Allie scratched her nails down the center of Deo’s stomach and laughed when Deo jerked. “But I’m still a lot in lust with her. Kind of like with you.”
Allie was beautiful and sexy and Deo was getting harder and wetter by the second. She was losing track of the conversation but she heard the word love loud and clear. “With me? You’re talking about the lust part, I hope.”
“What do you think?” Allie leaned forward and nipped at Deo’s lower lip before slipping her tongue into her mouth.
Groaning, Deo grasped Allie’s waist and pulled her over until Allie was stretched out on top of her. Allie’s thigh rubbed between her legs, producing nearly unbearable friction along the length of her already pounding clit. She slid both hands up and squeezed Allie’s breasts.
Allie whimpered and sucked on Deo’s tongue. They kissed and ground against one another until Deo was on the verge of coming against Allie’s leg. Then she dragged Allie further up the bed and captured a nipple in her mouth.
“Oh baby, yeah,” Allie moaned, half sitting up as she spread her legs on either side of Deo’s stomach.
When Allie rocked her center against Deo’s skin, her wet heat scorched Deo’s brain and Deo’s only thought was to be inside her. She brushed her fi ngertips over Allie’s clit and another fl ood coated her belly.
“I’m really close,” Allie warned, her hips twitching. “Do you want me to come?”
• 91 •
RADCLY fFE
“I want to fuck you.”
“Then do it now.” Allie gasped and covered Deo’s hand, pressing Deo’s fi ngers harder into her sex. “Uh. Good.”
Deo rolled Allie over onto her back. Kneeling above her with one hand braced against the mattress, Deo brushed the other hand between Allie’s legs and into her. “You’re going to be late for work again.”
Allie’s eyes widened and she arched her back, forcing Deo deeper.
“No I’m not,” she panted. “You’re going to make me come in about fi ve minutes.”
Deo shook her head, thrusting hard and fast. “No,” she grunted,
“two.”
“Ohhh,” Allie cried, surprise and pleasure playing across her face.
“That’s the way… oh God, that’s… you’ll make me…”
“You’re so hot inside,” Deo groaned as Allie tightened around her.
She forgot to breathe and her head went light. Spots danced before her eyes and the roar of the ocean fi lled her consciousness. Arousal roiled through her like storm clouds in a summer sky, and she thought that if Allie didn’t come soon her heart would explode from anticipation.
She leaned down and plunged her tongue into Allie’s mouth, riding her thumb over Allie’s clit as she fucked her faster.
With a muffl ed cry, Allie bucked and came beneath her, and like lightning exploding from heaven and streaking to earth, the pressure in Deo’s belly powered through her and disappeared. She just managed not to fall on top of Allie as she collapsed by her side.
“God, that was good,” Deo murmured, her fi ngers gently slipping out.
“That’s,” Allie panted, “my line.”
“Glad you agree.”
Allie slapped Deo’s stomach. “Like you couldn’t tell. What did it take, about three strokes to make me pop? I can’t believe how fast you wind me up.”
“I wind you up?” Feeling lazy and content, Deo slowly turned her head and kissed the corner of Allie’s mouth. “You’re the one who showed up naked bearing gifts.”
“I was trying to be a good hostess.”
Deo laughed. “Man, I bet you’re popular with the overnight guests.”
“I think I should probably be insulted,” Allie mused, leaning up
• 92 •
Winds of Fortune
on an elbow and casually toying with Deo’s nipple. When it hardened, she leaned down and dragged her teeth over it. She smiled when Deo gasped. “But you already know I think you’re hot. And I love the way you fuck me.”
“If you don’t want me to do it again,” Deo said darkly, “get your ass out of this bed.”
“Who said I don’t want you to do it again?” Allie purred. She kissed Deo’s nipple sweetly and drew back, her expression growing serious. “I’ve got a few minutes. Let me make you come.”
“I’m good.” Deo kissed Allie lightly. “Really. Good.”
“Sure?”
Deo nodded.
“Rain check, then.”
“Deal,” Deo agreed as Allie jumped from bed.
“I’ll be ready in ten minutes,” Allie called as she disappeared across the hall into the bathroom.
Deo stretched, fi guring she had a few minutes to spare while Allie showered. Then she’d drive Allie to the station, grab a fast shower at home, and head over to the main job site. The guys knew what to do so she wasn’t worried about work not getting done just because she was a couple of hours late. Thinking about the job brought back her conversation the night before with Nita about her new house.
Nita. Nita was like the thunderclouds that had fascinated her since she was a child, seething with anger and passion and beauty. She had been mesmerized by storms, by the combination of danger and unbearable splendor. She had never wanted to come in off the boat no matter how much it rocked in the wind or how high the seas that lashed over the decks had risen. The fear was thrilling and exciting in a way that nothing else was. She still loved storms. Nita was the fi rst woman she had ever met who hinted at the same power and fury. Thinking about Nita stirred the turmoil in her depths that she had so recently quieted while riding the crest of Allie’s pleasure.
She didn’t even want to consider that she was fucking one woman to forget about another. With a sigh, Deo pushed back the covers and got up in search of her clothes.
“Something wrong?” Allie asked as she paused in the doorway, toweling her damp hair.
Deo blushed. “No. Just thinking about work.”
• 93 •
RADCLY fFE
“Mmm hmm.” Allie draped the towel over the back of the wooden chair that sat in front of her dressing table and pulled open the closet door. Extracting a pressed uniform wrapped in plastic, she said, “I’m going to be so busy at work I don’t know when I’ll see you again. But if you want company…”
“I’ll hunt you down like I did last night,” Deo said, pulling up her pants. “I’m glad I stayed. Thanks.”
Allie grinned crookedly. “I’m absolutely certain I’m the one who should be saying thank you.”
Deo shook her head. “No. You’re amazing.”
“For the record, I feel the same way about you.” Allie strapped on her gun belt and regarded Deo seriously. “Sometimes the fact that I can’t sleep with Bri and I still want to…it fucks up our friendship. I’ve been trying to work on that.”
Deo waited.
“I hope the two of us can still be friends even though we did fuck.”
Allie sighed. “Jesus, it’s really confusing.”
“It is, but I know what you mean.” Deo kissed her. “We’re okay.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. And for the record, you’re fucking hot in that uniform.”
Allie wrapped an arm around Deo’s waist as they started toward the door. “Well, I’m glad you think so. Because it’s the only thing I’m going to be wearing all summer.”
• 94 •
Winds of Fortune
CHAPTER TEN
Nita,” Tory said, “don’t you have an appointment for your walk-through tonight?”
“I rescheduled.” Nita set aside the lab report she was reviewing and leaned back in her desk chair. “Are there always this many walkins during the summer?”
Tory smiled wearily. “More, usually.”
“I can’t even begin to imagine how you handled it by yourself.”
Tory settled on the small loveseat that Nita had placed in the corner of her offi ce and rested the heel of her sneaker on the edge of a low wooden coffee table. “Before Reese and Regina, I pretty much only worked. I didn’t really mind how busy I was then because I didn’t have much else in my life.”
Nita appreciated what an escape work could be. After the blow-up with Sylvia, she’d worked extra shifts just to avoid seeing her family or friends. Sometime in the year since her life had taken a turn in the wrong direction, she’d come to welcome working fi fteen hours a day.
She didn’t have to think about what a fool she had been. Cowardly, perhaps, but comfortable. Discomfi ted by the realization, she changed the subject. Something else she had grown adept at when conversations veered too close to harsh truths. “Do you want ice for that ankle?”
“You can tell it’s swollen from across the room?”
“I’m not that good,” Nita said. “But I don’t think I’ve ever seen you sit down before, and I know I’ve never seen you put your leg up.”
She glanced at her watch. “You’ve been on your feet for twelve hours.
And that’s just today.”
“What day is it—Thursday?” Tory shook her head. “The last thing I clearly remember is the ride to Hyannis on Monday morning with Nelson. I haven’t lost track of time like this since I was a resident and spent thirty-six hours at a stretch in the hospital.”
• 95 •
RADCLY fFE
“Stay there,” Nita said as she rose. “I’ll get you a cold pack.”
Tory leaned back and closed her eyes, grateful not to be moving for just a few minutes. The last time she’d been this exhausted and her leg had acted up so badly that she could barely walk, Reese had been the one to take care of her. Reese had been so matter-of-fact about her injury, so completely without the stifl ing pity that so many others heaped upon her. She had simply done what needed to be done, and Tory had fallen in love just that quickly.
“Are you awake?” Nita whispered, kneeling down next to Tory.
“Yes, just daydreaming.”
“It must have been a nice dream.” Nita gently pushed up Tory’s jeans and released the Velcro straps on the plastic bivalve splint she wore to stabilize her nerve-damaged ankle. “You had a very happy expression on your face.”
Tory laughed. “I was thinking about when I fell in love with Reese.
She was doing pretty much what you’re doing right now.”
Nita glanced up. “Hopefully it was her and not the activity. Because as much as I like you, there’s no way I’m taking on Reese Conlon for your affections.”
“Don’t worry, you’re safe,” Tory said, appreciating Nita’s teasing tone. They so very rarely had the opportunity to talk about anything except work, and it was nice to see a less serious side of her new associate. “I take that to mean that your interest is in women, then? I’ve never asked.”
“Since I was old enough to fi gure out that I had an interest in anyone.” Nita settled next to Tory. “How long have you and Reese been together?”
“A little over fi ve years. I wasn’t looking for anyone,” Tory mused,
“and now I can’t imagine life any other way.”
“I think that’s how it works out when it’s right.”
Hearing a note of sadness in Nita’s voice, Tory said carefully, “No one on the horizon for you at the moment?”
“No,” Nita said quickly and dismissively. “Moving here, adjusting to private practice, getting a new house ready to live in…I’ve got plenty to keep me busy.”
“When was your appointment with Elana?”
“Elana? Oh—the realtor. Six. But I knew I wasn’t going to make
• 96 •
Winds of Fortune
it so I called her to postpone.” Nita shrugged. “She said she might still be around for a while, but—”
“It’s not that late. You should stop by the real estate offi ce and try to catch her. She’s often there in the evening, and you can still do your walk-through.”
“We’ve got at least twelve patients still waiting. I’ll stay until we clear—”
“No you won’t,” Tory said fi rmly. “I’m going to sit here for fi ve more minutes because the ice is really helping, and then I’ll be fi ne to fi nish up. I know how much extra work you’ve been doing all week.
And unfortunately, I have another favor to ask.”
“Anything.”
“I was on the phone with Nelson’s cardiologist right before I came in here. In fact that’s what I came by to tell you. He’s got a fairly substantial aneurysm just distal to the takeoff of the coronaries. They want to operate on him tomorrow.”
“Oh God, that’s too bad,” Nita said. “Of course I’ll cover for you.
I’m sure we can postpone the closing—”
“Absolutely not. It’s scheduled for what…three?”
“Three thirty.”
Tory nodded. “Excellent. I’ll be back by then. Surgery is scheduled for seven thirty and I’m sure they’ll be done by noon. Then I can stay with Bri for a couple of hours after, and I’ll still be back here in time to fi nish up the afternoon hours.”
“Are you sure? I know he’s like family.” Nita hesitated. “And that really matters.”
“He is, and Bri is special.” Tory laughed. “Sometimes I feel like she’s a younger version of Reese, the Reese I never got to meet before the marines really got to her.”
“How are you doing?” Nita asked gently. “With Reese home now?”
Tory regarded her curiously. “Most people just assume that her coming home solved everything. Of course, having her here is everything.”
“I imagine you both feel pulled in a million directions. If Reese is the same kind of marine as all of my family are cops, she probably wants to turn right around and go back.”
• 97 •
RADCLY fFE
“God, how did you know?”
“Oh,” Nita said with a sigh, “because that’s who they are. It’s what makes them feel good about themselves. And because they have a very deep sense of loyalty to their fellows. All the things you already know, I’m sure.”
“All the things I knew,” Tory said hesitantly. “But things I never really appreciated until this happened. She’s a little bit at sea right now, and I’m not sure how to help her.”
“I’m lousy at advice, but just the same, I’ve had some experience with this.”
“Go ahead.”
“It’s probably not what you want to hear, but I think if she wants to go back, you need to let her. It may be the only way she can feel whole again.”
Tory blinked at the sudden and frightening rush of tears that fi lled her eyes. “I don’t think I can. I don’t think I can stand it.”
Nita regarded her seriously. “Yes you can. I only had to see you together for a minute to know how much you love her. And that’s what love is all about, don’t you think? Helping the person you love be who she really is?”
“Even if you lose her?” Tory nearly choked on the words.
“Even then.” Nita took Tory’s hand. “I’m sorry. I’m not helping.”
“No. It’s okay. You are.” Smiling tremulously, Tory brushed her fi ngers over her eyes. “It actually helps to talk about what terrifi es me. I just can’t imagine a day without her. Do you know what I mean?”
“I thought I did, once.” Nita rose, her expression carefully blank.
“But I was wrong.”
Nita took off her lab coat and draped it over her chair. Beneath that she wore a pale yellow short-sleeved blouse, tailored sage cotton slacks, and brown fl ats. “The nice thing about this town is you can get from one end of it to the other in ten minutes. I’m going to drive by the real estate offi ce and see if anyone’s around. And if I can push the closing back even an hour or two tomorrow, I will. Just to give you a little extra time.”
“Thanks. And Nita, thanks for the advice too,” Tory added softly.
“You’re welcome, although I’m not sure how much stock you should put in my opinion.” Nita smiled wryly. “I’ve got a lousy track record with women.”
• 98 •
Winds of Fortune
❖
Nita dashed across Bradford in the light rain that had been falling all afternoon and hurried up the three steps to the small porch of Provincetown Realty. Not surprisingly, the door was locked, and when she peered through the large picture window next to the door, the interior was dark. She was over an hour late for her six o’clock appointment, and even though she’d gotten the answering machine when she’d called from the clinic, she had taken a chance that someone was working late just the same. Disappointed, she turned away and smothered a small cry when she discovered Deo standing on the steps.
Her black sleeveless T-shirt and bleached-to-nearly white jeans were soaked through in patches from the rain, and her hair was even wetter.
Her boots were dusty and a long scratch on the outside of her left upper arm appeared fresh. She looked like a woman who’d worked hard all day and, Nita had to admit, the look suited her. She was sexy as hell.
“Something I can help you with?” Deo asked.
“How is it that I’ve been in town six weeks and until four days ago I’d never seen you before. Now every time I turn around you’re there?”
Deo grinned. “Fate?”
“I don’t believe in it.”
“Lucky coincidence, then, I guess.”
Nita stepped back under the sheltering roof as the rain picked up.
“You’re getting drenched.”
Deo tilted her face up to the sky and shook her head like a dog coming in out of the surf. “Feels great. I spent most of the day on a roof.
In the middle of July it’s about a hundred and ten degrees up there.”
“What happened to your arm?”
“Huh?”
Nita frowned and pointed. “You’ve got a pretty nasty abrasion there.”
Deo followed her gaze. “Oh. That. Some idiot didn’t bother to pound a nail all the way in.”
“When was your last tetanus shot?”
“You’re kidding, right?” Deo laughed. “This kind of thing is pretty much business as usual.”
“Save me the macho line. That’s a setup for infection. I don’t
• 99 •
RADCLY fFE
suppose you stopped to wash it out, did you?”
Deo pointed to the sky. “God’s taking care of that right now.”
“More likely St. Jude,” Nita muttered.
“You don’t like me much, do you?” Deo said amiably, climbing the stairs. She leaned against the post and watched Nita with a half smile.
Nita took a slow breath. “I’m sorry. I don’t know you and I’ve been rude.” When she started toward the stairs, Deo sidestepped just enough to block her way. Nita stopped abruptly a breath before their bodies touched. The hairs along her arms stood up as if the air were rarefi ed. She wondered inanely if Deo was throwing off some kind of an electric charge, because every time she was anywhere near her, her skin tingled. She felt her pulse racing. “That’s exactly the sort of thing that annoys me about you.”
“What?” Deo asked quietly, leaning closer still.
Deo’s mouth was so close to Nita’s ear that if Nita turned her head, her lips would brush Deo’s cheek. It was all she could do not to move.
“You’re obviously used to having women fall all over you. You make assumptions that aren’t warranted.”
“The fi rst time I saw you in the clinic,” Deo said, “I looked at you and saw a beautiful woman. I’m sorry I didn’t pretend not to notice.
That pissed you off, didn’t it?”
Surprised at Deo’s perceptiveness, Nita nevertheless shook her head. “Believe it or not, that wasn’t the fi rst time I’ve ever been cruised.”
“I’ll bet.”
“Let’s just say our styles don’t mesh and let it go at that.”
“So if it wasn’t something I did,” Deo pondered aloud, “then it must be something I make you do.” Deo grinned and snapped her fi ngers. “You want me.”
Nita snorted and despite herself, she laughed. “God, you are so arrogant!”
“Ah ha. You do laugh.” Pleased, Deo pressed her luck. “So, why won’t you go out with me?”
Nita rolled her eyes. “We’ve been through this already. I’m not interested because I already know how the story ends. Women like you aren’t interested in making a connection, you’re only interested in making a conquest.”
• 100 •
Winds of Fortune
Deo’s eyes fl ashed as all traces of humor left her face. “Just what do you base that on? The fact that I’m single and don’t hide the fact that I like women?”
Nita fl ushed. “I apologize. That was absolutely uncalled for. I’m very sorry. I have to go.” She tried to sidestep Deo again and, again, Deo moved with her. “Please.”
“No you don’t.” Deo narrowed her eyes. “It’s not me at all, is it?
It can’t be, since you’ve had your mind made up about me since the minute we met. So who was she?”
“I’m not going to have this conversation with you,” Nita said tightly. Deo was far too close to the truth, and not only didn’t she want to think about the debacle she’d made of her life, she didn’t want Deo to know. She didn’t want Deo to know just how susceptible she actually was to Deo’s brand of charm. God, how could she be so shallow to want that kind of attention? Why did she crave the intensity of Deo’s gaze, why was even Deo’s arrogant possessiveness exciting? Why did being anywhere near her make her feel as helpless as a reed bending in the wind. “I don’t owe you any explanation. My answer is no—today, tomorrow, and any time thereafter.”
“Okay,” Deo said mildly. “You don’t have to tell me.” She jostled the key ring hanging from her belt loop. “I was about to go inside. Do you need something?”
Nita blinked, trying to adjust to the sudden change in topic. Once again, Deo had her off balance. “I don’t understand. Do you work here?”
“My offi ce—well, my desk—is inside. I rent some space from my aunt to take care of my billing, store my fi les, that sort of thing. I don’t need much.” Deo unhooked her keys. “What do you need?”
“Nothing. I was supposed to do a walk-through on the house tonight because the closing is tomorrow afternoon and I’m not going to be able to get away during the day.” She shrugged, frustrated. “But I didn’t get away in time today, either.”
“So, we’ll do it tonight.” Deo fi t her key into the lock and looked over her shoulder. “Come on inside out of the rain while I fi nd the paperwork.”
“Can you do that? I mean—”
Deo grinned. “Elana is my aunt. I stand in for her from time to time. It’s no big deal.”
• 101 •
RADCLY fFE
“Well, it would help. Are you sure?”
“Yeah.” Deo held the door open with one arm and fl ipped a switch that lit the room with the other. “It’ll be fi ne. And then you won’t be pressured tomorrow.” Deo leaned against the door, holding it open with her back while she slowly met Nita’s eyes. “What do you say? Or are you scared that you might discover you’re wrong about me?”
“I’m not the one who’s woefully misguided,” Nita said sharply as she walked past Deo into the room.
Laughing, Deo followed and let the door swing slowly closed behind her.
• 102 •
Winds of Fortune
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Here,” Deo said, handing Nita an industrial fl ashlight as they stepped into the wide foyer of what once had been a grand mansion standing on a rise above the harbor. The storm had heightened in intensity and precipitated an early dusk. “Watch your step. This house has been uninhabited for thirty years.”
Dutifully, Nita clicked on the fl ashlight and played the harsh white beam over the dark walnut hardwood fl oors. “It seemed very sound the day I saw it.”
“It probably is, but we’re going to check out a few places you probably didn’t go during the showing.” Deo slanted the beam from her light so that the edges bathed Nita’s face. In the pale light her skin took on a richer, earthy tone, and her features seemed almost exotic. She was beautiful precisely because her beauty was not conventional. Deo’s stomach tightened, but she steadfastly ignored the low-level pulse of arousal. “You can stay down here if you want, and I’ll go through by myself.”
“I thought this was just a rubber-stamp visit to be sure the roof hadn’t suddenly developed a huge hole or something.”
“Ordinarily it is, but I’m a certifi ed building inspector and you might as well take advantage of me while you can.”
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Свежие любовные романы в удобных форматах
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