Gerri Hill - Sierra City

"I love you, too," Chris said softly, interrupting her somewhat chaotic speech.

"What?"

"Come here."

"What did you say?" Jessie whispered.

A gentle smile broke across Chris's face and she stood, slowly walking the short distance to the door.

"You want me to say it again?"

Jessie nodded mutely.

"I'm in love with you. You consume my thoughts, day and night. And when I look into your eyes, I see my life there. I see everything that matters to me, and it has nothing to do with this place or this job, or Annie or the damn snowstorm. It's just you and me and the love I feel inside for you."

Jessie knew she was crying. She could feel the tears on her face, but she couldn't look away from the clear, blue eyes so close to her own. Blue eyes that burned with love... for her.

"That was the most beautiful thing anyone's ever said to me," she whispered. She was able to move then. Move into the arms that opened for her. She buried her head against Chris's neck and let her tears fall. Never in her life did she think she deserved this. Never once did she think she would ever find this.

Chris felt her soul open up and take Jessie inside. It filled her with such joy that she ached from it. She gently lifted Jessie's head and kissed the tears away, finally finding her lips and placing soft kisses there.

"Let me make love to you," she whispered. "Let me show you how much I love you."

The bedroom was dark, and Chris paused to draw the covers back before undressing the silent Jessie who stood numbly before her. She quickly shed her own clothes and lay back, pulling Jessie with her. As soon as she felt Jessie's weight settle on top of her, she was lost. The gentle, slow lovemaking she'd planned vanished as Jessie's hungry mouth found hers. Tongues battled and Chris rolled them over, pinning Jessie to the bed. But she wanted to go slow. They had all the time in the world. She straddled Jessie's hips, pressing intimately against her as her mouth found Jessie's breast. Her lips closed over an erect nipple and she moaned with pleasure, loving the way Jessie's hands held her firmly to her breast. She suckled her breast, teasing the tip with her tongue, feeling it swell in her mouth.

Jessie closed her eyes, giving in to the gentle touch of her lover. She heard the contented sigh from Chris, felt her move ever so slowly to her other breast. She opened her eyes, meeting blue ones that closed as her mouth settled over her. Again Jessie thought, what did she do to deserve this?

She felt Chris's lips move across her stomach, felt the cool air on her still wet nipples. Her hips arched and she pressed up, feeling Chris's wetness against her thigh. Her hand moved between them, finding the wetness with her fingers. Chris sat up, then settled back down, guiding Jessie's fingers inside her. Jessie heard Chris's breath hiss as her fingers were engulfed in wetness.

"Oh, yes... that feels so good," Chris murmured. Her hips rose again and came back down on Jessie's hand, impaling herself. She nudged Jessie's thighs apart, her own fingers sliding through hot silk, slipping inside Jessie in one quick thrust.

Jessie drew a sharp breath and pressed her hips up, drawing Chris inside her. Their rhythm became one as hands and hips danced together, moving in and out of each other in perfect harmony. She opened her eyes to find Chris watching her. Chris's own eyes were glazed over, her mouth slightly opened as she struggled to draw breath.

Jessie was mesmerized. With her free hand, she found Chris's breast and squeezed the nipple between her fingers. She watched Chris's eyes close, watched her head tip back. The pressure of her hips increased and Jessie struggled to maintain the rhythm. Her fingers met each thrust of Chris's hips and her own legs opened wide, allowing Chris deep within her. She felt the first tremors of Chris's body, felt muscles squeeze her fingers tight and she finally gave in to her own release. She let it come, let it nearly overwhelm her with its force.

She couldn't have held back the scream if she'd tried. It mingled in the air with Chris's as her hips went down on Jessie for one last stroke. She closed her legs tight, holding Chris's fingers inside her as Chris finally stilled, her hips settling back down on Jessie's hand. Her wetness ran down Jessie's arm and Jessie groaned. She licked her lips, wishing her mouth were there instead.

They stayed like that for a moment, Chris still sitting upright, Jessie lying back, their eyes locked together.

"I love you," Chris whispered.

"I love you."

She finally moved, letting Jessie's fingers slip away from her. She withdrew her own, then brought them to her mouth, licking Jessie's wetness from her fingers.

Jessie thought it was the most intimate thing she'd ever seen. She reached up and drew Chris's mouth to her own, tasting herself on Chris's lips.

Chris lay down beside Jessie and pulled the covers over them. She gathered Jessie in her arms and gently kissed her damp forehead.

"Are you okay?"

Jessie nodded,

"That was... beautiful."

"Yes. It was perfect."

Chris leaned down and placed a soft kiss on Jessie's lips.

"I told Annie about us," Jessie said suddenly.

"What? You did? Was she okay?"

"Yes. I think she was ... surprised. Although I think she probably suspected there was more to our relationship than we let on."

"Jessie, please tell me you're not leaving. You're not going back to New York."

"No. I want to stay here with you. I want to try to have a life together, if that's what you want. That is what you want, isn't it?"

"Yes. I want you here with me always."

Epilogue

Annie paused to catch her breath, leaning against a large cedar. It had been over seventeen years now since she'd hiked up Ridge Trail and it was steeper than she remembered. She looked out over the canyon, thinking how much had changed in the last year.

Jessie had built a new home in the early summer, not far from Annie's. She had given Jessie half of the acres that her own house sat on and Jessie and Chris had hiked all over, looking for the perfect spot in which to live. They found it on the down slope of the mountains, butted up against Sierra Peak. A green, lush valley spread out in front of the cabin, and they watched herds of elk and deer in the evenings. Annie joined them often for dinner, traveling down the bumpy dirt road in the old Jeep that Chris had found for her.

She took a swallow of water from her canteen and moved on, leaving the shade of the cedar and continuing up the trail. She had not told the girls that she was coming up here and she had not signed in at the trailhead. Should Chris happen along and find her name there, she would be up the trail in an instant to check on her. She glanced at her watch and frowned. It was taking her longer than she had planned and she was supposed to be at Jessie's at five to help with dinner. They were having a cookout and Roger and Ellen were joining them, along with Matt and that nice girl from the cafe. Oh, and Bobby. He was quickly becoming her favorite, with his boyish good looks. They were all good friends and none of them seemed the least bit shocked when Jessie and Chris moved in together. Well, times had certainly changed.

Annie was lost in her thoughts when she stopped suddenly. She had thought that she might not remember, but here it was, the ledge with the gap in it. She jumped it easily and took a deep breath, seeing the sheer cliff underneath her, the deep drop into the canyon below. She felt her life had come full circle. That was why she had come up here. Or so she told herself. Maybe she had come up here for the same reason Jessie had last August. To talk to Jack. To shake his ghost.

Why she had ever come up here with him at all, she'd never know. Perhaps she thought him to be sincere, even though all her instincts told her he wasn't. After Jessie had gone off to school, he had come to her. He said they needed to talk, that she should accompany him on the trails. She had been dumbfounded. Never before had she been allowed on the trails with him. But she had agreed. They needed to talk about their marriage and about Jessie. They didn't speak on the hike up and she had to race to keep up with his long, purposeful strides. At this very ridge, he had jumped the gap and stood near the edge, looking over.