Laura slid off the stool and leaned against the counter. “I haven’t had a shower in two days and feel pretty grungy. If you don’t mind, I’m gonna jump in the shower and then get out of here.”
“What’s wrong the shower at your hotel?”
“I can’t stand taking another cold one and I’m praying yours will at least be warm.”
“Yeah right—your idea of warm is scalding to everyone else.”
Rheyna laughed when Laura stuck her tongue out at her. She nodded toward the hallway. “Second door on the right, towels are in the bottom drawer.”
Laura gave Rheyna a big hug and trotted off toward the bathroom.
Rheyna heard the water in the shower start and absentmindedly leafed through the pile of mail stacked on the counter. She had no idea of what her next move was, and depending on how fast the indictment came down, she might not have to worry about it. For all she knew, she could be back in Washington by this time next week.
The thought absolutely depressed her and she knew why. Her thoughts turned to Ron. She would give him a call later to see how he was doing. If she couldn’t be there, she could at least let him know he was in her thoughts and prayers.
The doorbell rang, and Rheyna felt her heart skip several beats and then catch in her throat.
Oh no, not now
, she thought. Now is definitely not a good time. She reluctantly scooted off the stool and went to the door. “Please don’t let it be her,” she muttered under her breath.
She put her hand on the doorknob and thought about not answering it. Then she realized that wouldn’t work, since her Jeep, along with Laura’s rental car, was parked in the driveway.
She knew when she opened the door that Caroline would be standing on the other side. She swore under her breath and opened it. Caroline stood there with a blank look on her face; one that told Rheyna that the last twenty-four hours had been just as hard on her.
“Hi,” she said with a nervous laugh.
“Hi,” Rheyna said back. She was completely lost for words.
Caroline shifted from one foot to the other. “I know I should have called first, but—” She didn’t finish the sentence. Rheyna watched her eyes move and then come to a stop at some point just behind her shoulder. Rheyna heard her take in a deep breath and then felt the air leave her own lungs. She could tell by the look on Caroline’s face what she was looking at.
She slowly turned around. Laura was standing in the hallway, dripping wet, with her mouth hanging open in shock. Rheyna heard Caroline gasp and then she heard a guttural sound come from somewhere deep inside her own throat as Laura’s towel dropped to the floor.
Laura shrieked, quickly picked up the towel, and wrapped it tightly around her body.
Caroline turned and practically ran back to her car.
“Caroline, wait! It’s not what you think,” Rheyna pleaded as she ran after her.
Caroline whirled around, gesturing with her hands toward the house. “You don’t need to explain anything to me, Rheyna,” she spat back at her.
“It’s not what you think,” Rheyna said as she tried to get some semblance of control over the situation.
“You’re an adult, you can do whatever you want with whomever you want and from what I can tell, that’s exactly what you’re doing!” Caroline yelled as she got in her car. She slammed the door shut, started the engine, and backed out of the driveway so fast; she sent gravel flying in all directions.
With a sinking feeling in her stomach, Rheyna watched the car disappear from view.
Can this get any fucking worse
, she thought as she went back inside the house.
Laura was still standing in the hall with a horrible look on her face. “Oh, Rheyna, I am so sorry. Talk about shitty timing.”
Rheyna smiled at her dear friend. “Maybe it was for the best.” She said the words knowing she didn’t mean them. She felt her heart breaking into a thousand pieces.
“Can’t you just tell her that I’m an old friend, a stewardess, or something and that I just dropped by for a shower in between stops?” Laura asked, coming over to wrap her arms around Rheyna’s shoulders.
Rheyna hugged her back. Her brain was already in overdrive as she quickly tried to figure out a way to fix this. “It’s okay, Laura. I’ll think of something.”
Even if the indictment came back today, there was no way she could leave Caroline under these conditions. It was bad enough to think how she would react when she learned that Rheyna was a FBI agent, but it was a completely different matter for her to think that she was sleeping with Laura. She couldn’t imagine the thoughts going through Caroline’s mind right then, especially after her screw-up at Jesse and Phil’s party. She thought about a past sting they had a few years ago on a lengthy fraud case.
“Do we still have the safe house in Palo Alto?” she asked.
Laura frowned, unsure of where Rheyna was going with this. “As far as I know, but why would you want to go there when you have this wonderful house on the beach?” she asked as she re-tucked the towel over her breasts. She looked at Rheyna, smiled, and then wagged her index finger at her. “I know that look in your eyes, Rheyna. What do you have up your sleeve?”
Rheyna ignored the question. “Can you do me a favor and watch Annie for a couple of days? Please?”
Laura shrugged her shoulders. “I guess that’s the least I can do for you, seeing how bad I just screwed up your life.”
Rheyna threw her arms around Laura’s shoulders. “You didn’t screw up my life. Meeting you was one of the best things that could’ve ever happened to me and don’t you forget it.”
Laura held her at arm’s length to look her in the eyes. “I have one condition though—actually, I have two.”
Rheyna sighed. “And dare I ask what those conditions would be?”
Laura grinned. “One, that you be extra careful and two, you invite me and Stacie to the wedding.”
Rheyna laughed. “Aren’t you jumping the gun a bit? Hell, I’ll be lucky if I can get her to talk to me again as it is. It’s gonna be real hard trying to explain why I had a naked woman, dripping wet from a nice hot shower, I might add, standing in the middle of my hallway.”
“Nah, I have faith in you. If anyone can come up with a way to explain me away, it’ll be you. You’ll just have to use all that charm of yours on her.” Laura turned to go back to the bathroom. “She won’t be able to resist,” she said just before ducking through the doorway.
###
Caroline wiped away the tears spilling down her cheeks. She slammed her hand against the steering wheel. “I’m such an idiot!” she yelled. Who was that woman, anyway? Why had Rheyna never mentioned her before, and why was she at Rheyna’s house? Better yet, why was she naked? What was she thinking? What did she expect? That Rheyna would fall into her arms. She might not have expected to have answers to all those questions, but she sure as hell didn’t expect to see her with another woman—a naked one, at that.
She was oblivious to the houses and cars passing by her window in a blur. The next thing she knew, she was pulling into her driveway. She was like a zombie, moving on autopilot. She had gotten out of the car, opened the front door, and stepped into the foyer before it dawned on her that she was home. She headed toward the stairs and stopped. It was unusually quiet. It was odd that she didn’t hear anything, not even the staff. She listened for voices, but there were none. She turned toward the kitchen, and then she remembered it was Sunday.
That explains it
, she thought, looking at her watch. On Sundays, the staff doesn’t work past five.
She didn’t feel like talking to anyone, and was doubly glad to see that her mother was not home, either. She was probably playing bridge with a couple of her girlfriends at the country club as she did every Sunday. It was a good thing, too, because Terasa would have taken one look at her and known immediately that something was wrong, and Caroline wouldn’t have had any idea how to explain it.
How do you tell your mom that you have the hots for another woman and that you just caught that woman with another woman? She wanted answers to the question herself, but was terrified of the answer. She pushed the door open to her bedroom, closed it behind her, and flipped the lock. She wanted to be alone.
Obviously, Rheyna had been getting out and making a lot more friends than she let on. Where did she meet her she wondered as she tossed her keys and purse on the dresser. The loud ringing of the phone caused her to jump. She debated on picking it up and then decided to let the answering machine get it. She felt an ache in her heart when she heard Rheyna’s voice.
“Caroline, Laura is just a friend of mine and nothing more. I swear it’s not what it looked like. I owe you several answers. Please give me the chance to explain myself. I’m sorry. I don’t know what else to say right now to make you believe me. I need to see you face to face. I’m spending the weekend at a rental cabin in Palo Alto. Please come see me. I will leave a key and directions with your mom in case you decide to come. I hope you can find it in your heart to at least hear my side of things.”
Caroline sat down on the edge of the bed.
I am so confused
, she thought. I want to go to her, but—but what, what are you so afraid of the little voice inside her head asked. She knew the answer. She was afraid that Rheyna did have someone else in her life but what if she doesn’t, and what if she doesn’t like me that way? What if she does and what are you so afraid of? Her mind continued to torture her with worst-case scenarios. I’m afraid that I just might like it and that if I liked it, I’d want more, she finally admitted to herself.
Jesus Christ, what is wrong with me?
This is nuts
, she thought as she walked into the bathroom and leaned against the sink. She looked at her reflection in the mirror. Her eyes were bloodshot, and her cheeks were tear-stained.
“I’ve really got to stop talking to myself,” she said as she reached over and turned on the jets in the hot tub full force.
###
The next two days went by at a snail’s pace. Rheyna didn’t think the weekend would ever come. She hadn’t seen nor spoken to Caroline since the debacle with Laura, and she wasn’t sure she would show up. If she did, Rheyna had no idea what she planned to say, or how she could explain anything without jeopardizing the operation. They were too close to risk it, and Rheyna couldn’t do that to her team. She had already made way too many mistakes as it was. It was one thing to mess with her life and another to mess with theirs.
She figured she’d have plenty of time to think about it on the drive up to the cabin. She left Laura a note with instructions for Annie and then tossed her bag on the back seat of the Jeep.
She drove the short distance to Caroline’s house and was somewhat relieved when Terasa told her that Caroline was at Haven and wouldn’t be home for a couple hours. She didn’t know what she would have done if Caroline had been home and flat out refused to see her. She had a feeling that she would have just shriveled up and died right there on the spot.
She gave Terasa a key and the directions to give to Caroline and set off on her way to the cabin. The directions were easy, and the cabin was only about thirty-five minutes away. She found it with no problem.
It was tucked back away from the road on a tree-covered lot, and the nearest neighbor was at least a mile or two away. She got settled in first and then she unpacked the bags of food she had stopped to pick up earlier. She walked out onto the back deck and leaned against the rail, looking out toward the far end of the property, thinking how beautiful and serene it was.
A large lake, surrounded by a split-rail fence covered in ivy, stretched from one side of the property to the other. Large rows of Douglas fir trees ran across the back and along both sides, providing extra privacy from the neighbors. To the right and closest to her, a weather-beaten wood platform served as a dock for a small boat. It was tranquil and quiet and just what she needed. It was hard to believe that a thriving town existed only five minutes away.
She unconsciously shivered as the wind began to pick up, sending a pair of wind chimes hanging from the roof into a melodic dance. She glanced up at the sky and the fast-moving grey clouds. It was amazing how quickly the weather had changed. Two minutes ago, it had been warm with not a cloud in the sky. She figured the temperature had dropped fifteen degrees.