Fresh Tracks (24 page)

she wondered when she had ever had a feeling that even slightly resembled respect for a

woman she was interested in. Maybe Aunt Jo was right. Maybe she was evolving after all.

Kristin was hiding her panic like a pro. Despite the fact that she

felt she'd made some huge progress in understanding herself and her issues and making

realizations about her own life, the impending changes scared the living hell out of her. She knew that a complete shift in lifestyle, in mental processing, in behavior, was the only way

she was going to make things right. Totally changing her way of thinking and acting with

regard to work versus Molly was the end-all, be-all solution to fixing the mess she'd helped

make of their relationship, but she had no idea if she held even half enough strength to

accomplish such a feat. True, she'd changed her attitude over the last twenty-four hours

without a lot of difficulty, but she knew it had been easy because of the atmosphere. She

was away from home, away from work, and not alone with Molly. When they returned to

their normal life was when they'd see if her promises and resolutions would hold any water.

It was easy for her to say she wanted to change while she was far away from her own

reality. But once they got home? The thought made her physically shudder with anxiety.

Kristin's hand was warm on her knee, but part of Molly was stil cold inside. It was the part that harbored all the worry she was pretending she didn't have. She was concerned that

Kristin might not be able to hold up her end of this unofficial bargain they'd made to fix

their partnership. In addition, there was the guilt she had for not having enough faith in

her wife. Plus, she worried that she couldn't hold up her own end. It was very easy to say

she was going to start speaking up, but one doesn't go from passive-aggressive to assertive

in a matter of hours. It was going to be very hard work for her. She'd had over thirty

years of watching and learning from her mother and nearly twenty of her own adulthood.

She'd been very good at putting the lessons she gleaned from her mother into practice in

her own life. How the hell was she going to manage a complete personality change? She

closed her eyes briefly, trying not to let the terror show on her face.

Jo lifted her wineglass to her lips and took a look around the table at each ofher friends.

She smothered a grin and indiscernibly shook her head from side to side as she dug into

her food. She felt sympathetic, but knew all of this was part of life. Everything her

friends were going through, each individual problem or concern or issue was part of living

and they'd all figure out how to deal. All she could do was be there if they needed her, and

that wasn't hard. She looked at their faces as they conversed, smiled, laughed. Her grin

grew a little wider as she

thought about the positions they'd put themselves in. Making big resolutions was one thing.

Making them in front of six other people was something else entirely. Now, failure would be

very visible and potentially embarrassing.

Every single one of them is crapping her pants right now.

"Only fifteen more minutes, guys," Amy said, folding her poker hand. "I'm going to pop the champagne." She grimaced as Darby raked yet another pot of chips 'to her spot at the

table. "Are you cheating somehow?" She playfully slapped her niece's head. "Are there aces up your sleeves?"

"I'll help," Molly called, leaving Kristin in the living room. Kristin was reluctant to let go of her hand, and Molly grinned as she extricated herself, kissed Kristin on the forehead, and

then followed Amy into the kitchen.

Sophie shook her head, throwing down her cards in mock disgust. "It's a damn good thing

we're not playing with real money. My landlord would not be happy if I told him I lost next

month's rent in a poker game."

"I told you to watch out for her," Jo said from the living room. "She's a whiz kid. Always was."

Darby grinned smugly, stacking her chips. "What can I say? I'm lucky."

"Lucky, my ass," Sophie muttered. "That's it. I'm done. I can only take so much loss in one night. It's bad for my ego." She joined Jo in front of the television. "My God, is he ever going to croak?" she asked when Dick Clark came on the screen. Jo slapped at her, making an appalled face, and Sophie laughed. "Seriously, what is he, a hundred and ten?"

"The man's immortal," Laura said from the sofa where she sat with Ricky curled up on her lap. "I'm convinced of it."

A muted pop sounded from the kitchen and a smattering of applause filled the air. "Ten

minutes," Jo announced.

Molly returned with two glasses of champagne and handed them to Laura and Sophie. She

got two more from the counter and supplied

Jo and Kristin. The next went to Darby, who was still counting her chips at the dining-room

table. She looked up as Molly held out the glass.

"Here you go," Molly said.

"Thanks." Darby smiled, trying not to revel in the heat when their fingers touched.

"Are you okay?" Molly asked softly, concerned.

Darby thought about it for a moment, and then nodded with assurance. "Yeah. Yeah, I think I am."

Molly felt relief flood her system. "Good. That's good." Amy was suddenly at her elbow, handing her a glass. Molly took it with a grateful nod. She looked back at Darby and then

headed into the living room where Kristin was waiting.

"Coming?" Amy asked as she, too, headed for the television.

"Yeah." Darby sighed and followed.

The last five minutes of the year flew by and soon all seven women were counting out loud.

"Five! Four! Three! Two! One! Happy New Year!"

The strains of Auld Lang Syne filtered through the room as Jo planted a loving kiss on

Amy's mouth.

Kristin held Molly tightly and looked into her eyes for what seemed like ages before

whispering, "I love you." Their kiss was soft and sweet.

Laura kissed the top of Ricky's head. "Happy New Year, little buddy. We're going to have a great time, you and me." When she looked up, Sophie was watching with a grin, despite the age-old discomfort of having no one to kiss at midnight. Laura slid the terrier from her lap

to the couch and stood. She crossed the room to Sophie, took her face in her hands, and

kissed her softly on the lips. "Happy New Year, Sophie," she said with a smile.

Sophie stood completely flummoxed as Laura turned to Jo and Amy, wrenching them apart

so she could give them each a kiss. She brought her fingers to her lips, certain she'd feel

heat radiating from them. She jumped when Darby spoke from right next to her.

"Yeah, I'd get me some of that if I were you," she stated simply and pecked Sophie on the cheek. She squeezed Sophie's shoulder before moving on to the others.

Molly hugged Amy. Jo wrapped Kristin in an embrace that said

more than words could. Jo wasn't a big talker and Kristin knew it. She also felt the

message in the hug. It said you can do this. Kristin tightened her grip on her friend.

Amy moved to Sophie, chuckling at her seemingly frozen state. She wrapped her in a warm

hug and whispered something in her ear.

Darby and Molly found themselves face-to-face.

"Happy New Year, Darby," Molly said.

"Happy New Year to you." They stood awkwardly for several seconds before Darby found her nerve. "Can I hug you? Would that be all right?"

Molly swallowed. "Yeah. I think so." She opened her arms.

Darby held on for dear life, knowing this was the last time she'd get this close. She tried

to imprint everything she could in the few short seconds she had: the smell of Molly's hair,

the feel of the muscles in her back, the warmth of her thighs and her breasts as they

pressed into Darby's own. She squeezed her eyes shut and concentrated until she felt

Molly's grip relax and she knew she had to let go, too.

Darby couldn't meet the green eyes as she murmured, "Thanks," and searched for her

champagne glass.

The cabin was loud—louder than one would think given there were only seven women. But it

was the beginning of a new year, a chance to start over, to mend fences and heal old

wounds. Laura held Ricky in her arms and carried him from woman to woman, each one

gamely accepting his kisses, knowing he was in some ways their new mascot. He would

always remind them of this week together.

Champagne flowed freely and the group spent another hour laughing and joking and

celebrating before the yawning came and the gradual trickle to bed began. Some were

anxious to get to sleep and others were hesitant, but for the same reason: tomorrow meant

starting anew and making fresh tracks in the snow.

KRISTIN AND MOLLY

T

he house had grown fairly quiet. Somebody—either Laura or Sophie—was in the bathroom

getting ready for bed, but other than that, there was very little sound. The moon was full

and shone brightly through the window in the bedroom where Kristin and Molly were. Molly

thought about closing the curtains, but decided she liked the bluish cast in which the room

was bathed and left them open.

Kristin smiled as she took in Molly's winter pajamas. The two of them were so different

that way. Molly was clad in soft pink flannel pants and a matching long-sleeve, button-up

top, as usual. She was always cold, though her skin was more often than not hot to the

touch. She always claimed that she was cold because she "gave her heat away" instead of keeping it to warm herself up. Kristin, on the other hand, was consistently warm and slept

in a tank top and panties. She liked to joke that if she got too chilly during the night, all she needed to do was simply to curl up next to Molly the Human Radiator—who was giving

away her heat as usual—and she'd be warm again in a matter of minutes.

She lifted the covers and made room as Molly approached the bed. Molly cuddled up

beneath the thick quilt, tucking her head under Kristin's chin. She threw an arm over

Kristin's stomach and a leg over Kristin's thigh, effectively trapping her. Kristin didn't

argue; they hadn't slept this close on a regular basis in a long, long time and it felt good. It felt right. She'd missed it. She tightened her grip on Molly's smaller body, surprised to

feel a small jolt low in her own when Molly's knee pushed into her.

They lay quietly, listening to the occupant of the bathroom as

Kristin toyed with Molly's hair and Molly drew small circular patterns on Kristin's chest

with her fingertips. After many long, silent moments, Kristin spoke.

"Molly?" Her voice was the softest of whispers, barely audible.

"Hmm?"

"I'm sorry." They were only two small, simple words, but they carried such weight and emotion that they deposited an instant lump in Molly's throat when she heard them.

Molly nodded against Kristin's shoulder. "Me, too, honey. Me, too."

"I don't know what's happened to me. To us."

The anguish in Kristin's voice caused Molly to lift up slightly and look into her face.

Kristin's blue eyes were plainly visible in the moonlight, and they were boring into her, as if pleading for her to understand.

"It's okay," Molly said, trying her best to sound reassuring as she stroked a fingertip over Kristin's pale brow. "We're going to work things out. We're going to fix it."

Kristin studied Molly's face. Her smooth skin looked like olive-tinted porcelain and her

green eyes sparkled with the kindness and love that overflowed her heart. Kristin was

reminded all over again why she'd fallen for her in the first place. She gave in to the urge

and reached up a hand to touch the face looking down at her with such affection. The skin

was warm, soft.

"Are you scared?" she asked, her voice cracking.

Molly smiled. "Yeah. You?"

"Terrified."

"That's okay. Don't you think? I think we're going through some big changes here and it's normal to be afraid."

Kristin absorbed the logic of the statement. "Doesn't make it any easier."

"No."

Molly settled back down against Kristin's shoulder and they lay cuddled against each other

once again. The bathroom light went off and the door across the hall clicked shut. Then

there was only silence and the sound of Kristin's heart beating steadily beneath Molly's

ear. She listened to it, felt it against her head, the unchanging thump-thump as it pushed

Kristin's life force through her body. Kristin's fingers were moving in Molly's hair, gently

scratching at her scalpand twisting locks

here and there. She felt a tingling in her limbs, a sensation that was both comforting and

arousing. She snuggled in closer, hugged Kristin's body to her more tightly. As she

adjusted her legs, she heard the tiniest gasp, the smallest intake of breath from her

partner and the tingling intensified. It was amazing to her what a visceral effect a simple

sound could have on her. She raised herself up slowly until she was just high enough to look

down at Kristin's face.

No words were exchanged. There was only eye contact, deep and steady. The eyes are the

windows to the soul, Kristin remembered reading as she found herself lost in sea gr'een. If

that's true, then this woman loves me with everything she has. The realization was so clear

to her that she almost began to cry. Molly's feelings were written so plainly on her face,

Kristin couldn't believe she hadn't seen them, was astounded that Molly could hide

something so obvious. She concentrated on pouring every ounce of feeling she had into her

stare. She wanted Molly to feel the same way when she looked into Kristin's eyes that