Джерри Хилл - Gulf Breeze

When the sun started creeping above the waves, she turned and retraced her steps, her eyes locked on the sun as it rose miraculously out of the surf. Her steps faltered with the beauty of it, yet again. Pinks turned to red, then orange, as the giant orb climbed higher on the horizon. She finally stopped and stared, letting the beauty surround her. When the colors faded, she picked up her pace, racing the last several yards to her front steps.

She stopped on the bottom step and looked up at her old beach house. It needed a paint job, she knew. She had been putting it off. She didn't want the commotion of painters hanging around for days as they painted the relic. But her neighbors would be happy, she suspected. Hers was the shabbiest of all the houses on this stretch.

"Later in the summer," she said to no one.

She brought her coffee and juice outside and sat, watching the endless procession of waves as they crashed on the surf. The beach was coming alive as other joggers followed her path of earlier. She picked up the stack of prints and shuffled through them, picking out several that she thought would look nice in the brochure. The shots she'd taken of the cardinals had turned out great and she hoped Carly would want to use at least one of them. Actually, there was one she was quite pleased with and she thought it would make a great centerpiece for the Visitor's Center. The male cardinal had been guarding the nest, glaring at Pat, but behind him, four hungry mouths stood wide open, begging for food.

She should really get going. She had no idea what time the big move was taking place and she should have suggested meeting them at Carly's apartment to help load furniture. Well, she assumed they would be making more than one trip anyway.

"Dr. Cambridge, you've got to lift your side up a little," Martin hissed as the entire weight of the bookcase fell against him.

"Martin, I've told you a hundred times, my name is Carly," she grunted as she tried to lift the bottom of the bookcase. It wasn't moving. "I can't," she said. "Shit."

The bookcase was her favorite piece of furniture. Her desk was a close second. But this piece was so beautiful. Hand-carved over a hundred years ago, her grandfather had given it to her when he retired.

"Do you need help?" Elsa asked as she stood behind Martin, her hands perched importantly on her hips.

"Elsa, you're smaller than I am," Carly said. "Why don't we leave it for later?" she suggested. "Pat Ryan said she would be out today and offered to help. Maybe we can get her to make a trip over here later."

"Well, she looks strong," Martin said.

"As an ox," Carly said without thinking.

"Excuse me?" Elsa said.

"Nothing," Carly murmured. "We're going to have to make two trips anyway."

"I told you to get a bigger trailer," Elsa said for the second time.

"Do you want me to slap you?"

"Girls," Martin warned. "You know, we could have hired someone to do this."

"What would be the fun in that?" Elsa asked.

"Come on. I'm getting cranky," Carly said. "Let's take this load. We'll get the rest later."

"Getting cranky? You were there at eight this morning," Elsa teased.

"Elsa, watch your mouth or I'll send you back to Austin," Carly threatened.

"As if, chica. You need me."

Carly relaxed. Yes, she needed Elsa. As a friend and a co-worker. Elsa knew all her secrets. She was the best kind of friend.

Carly drove her Jeep and Martin and Elsa followed in Martin's truck, pulling the trailer. She should have asked her brothers to come over from Corpus to help. She knew that they would have. But she didn't want to burden them on a Saturday. Much better to beg help from friends than family.

She was pleased to find Pat's Jeep at the ranch when they pulled up, although the woman was nowhere to be found. The three of them were tussling with Carly's desk about half-way up the stairs when she appeared in the doorway.

"I see that the desk is winning," Pat said with a grin. "Are you going up or down?"

"Mi Dios," Elsa murmured. "She should wear more clothes. She's not safe…bella.""

Carly glanced over Martin's head and met Pat's laughing eyes. Then her eyes took in the perfect shoulders exposed by the tiny tank top she wore. Perfect?

"A little help?" Carly managed.

Pat nodded and moved behind Martin.
"If I get up there, can you handle this end?" she asked him.

"I think so."

Pat squeezed between the desk and Elsa, their bodies brushing as Elsa was pressed against the wall.

"Mi Dios," she said again as Pat moved away from her.

She fanned her face dramatically and Carly rolled her eyes. Elsa was such a pushover. But when Pat joined her at the end of the desk, their bare thighs touching as they both lifted the end, Carly felt her own blush creeping onto her face. The woman was so…powerful. The desk lifted with ease and she couldn't pull her eyes away from the woman's arms as muscles strained with the weight of the desk. Mi Dios.

"Where to, doc?"

"Office," Carly said. "Second door down."

Once the desk was situated, they alternated taking boxes up the stairs and moving furniture. The move was going smoother than Carly had anticipated and she knew it was because Pat had joined them. She was much stronger than she looked and Pat and Martin moved the sofa up the stairs as she and Elsa looked on from below. Carly found she couldn't look away from the long length of legs that were exposed by Pat's shorts. She had runner's legs and Carly could picture her jogging along the beach in skimpy shorts and sports bra. Then she shook her head, wondering where in the world that image had come from.

"I like her, Carly," Elsa said quietly. "Diosa…a goddess." Then she grinned. "She almost makes me wish I were gay."

Carly playfully hit her arm, then pulled her outside, shoving another box into her arms.

"Why do you assume she's gay?"

"Oh, come on. For one thing, no man could handle her. But, you know, she just has that look about her. That one, she would be a handful. A heartbreaker. I don't know if even a woman could handle her. She's just so…"

"Powerful," Carly murmured, speaking her thoughts aloud. "And overbearing and obnoxious," she added.

"Where the hell do you want this?" a voice called out the opened window above their heads. They both looked up and found Pat staring down at them.

"Coming," Carly said. Jesus, if she just wasn't so damn attractive.

That same though echoed again as they found Pat draped across the sofa. Her legs were parted and Carly found her eyes creeping along their length to where her shorts were bunched between her legs. . Jesus!

She turned away with a slight blush and pretended to survey the room, anything to avoid looking at the woman sprawled on her sofa. Should it face the windows and the open view of the bay? Or face the back wall where her TV would go once they had the entertainment center moved in? She seldom watched TV. She would move her recliner in the corner. She could see the TV from there.

"Here," she pointed. "Facing the windows."

"Excellent choice," Pat said. "You're going to see some great sunrises."

"That would mean, of course, that you'd have to get up in time," Elsa teased. "Or have your sleeping habits changed?"

"We don't really need to discuss my sleeping habits," Carly said. "And yes, they have changed, thank you very much."

Elsa laughed. "She used to be cranky as hell when she had an early morning class."

"No wonder you're usually in a foul mood when I see you in the mornings," Pat said with just a hint of a smile.

"No. That has absolutely nothing to do with the time of day," Carly shot back and they all laughed.

"Come on, Martin. Let's get the rest of the boxes," Elsa said and grabbed Martin's hand and led him from the room. Carly didn't miss the flirtatious glance that Elsa gave him.