Джерри Хилл - Gulf Breeze

"Yes. I'm happy now." Elsa walked over and hugged Carly hard. "I knew she was the one," Elsa said.

"The one? I think that's a bit premature, Elsa."

"No. She makes you laugh. She makes you happy. And you probably don't even know it, but Pat's eyes light up each and every time she looks at you."

"Elsa, if I tell you something, you promise you won't over-react?"

"Me?"

"Yes, you."

"I promise."

"Pat doesn't intend for this to be a…passing affair. In fact, she wouldn't even sleep with me unless I knew what the stakes were," she said. "I could fall in love with her, Elsa. It would be so easy. But what if it ends? I'm not sure I could manage again."

Elsa smiled sweetly at her. "You're already in love with her, Carly."

Carly hung her head. "If I don't say the words, I can still believe that I'm not," she said quietly. "It hurts. Just the thought of losing her hurts."

"You've just begun. Why are you insisting that it will end?"

"Because that's what happens with me," she said.

"It happened once," Elsa reminded her.

"And I can't go through it again. I promised myself I would never let anyone get inside me again."

"It's too late, Carly. She is inside you."

"Yes, I know she is."

"Hey, Martin," Pat greeted. He was walking around the barn, checking for damage.

"Pat." Then, "Good God, what happened to you?"

"Oh, had a run-in with an oak limb," she said. "But I'm okay."

"Elsa said you were out trying to rescue the egrets," he said. "Is that when it happened?"

"Yes. Foolish, I know. But we'd gotten kinda attached to them."

"Dr. Cambridge made you go out?"

"No, no. It was my idea. Not her fault." Then Pat looked at the old barn. "Any damage?"

"Lost a section of roof on the back side, but other than that, it looks okay."

"You think it's too wet to take your truck out and start on the limbs?" she asked.

"Probably. But we can at least pick them up around the house and the Visitor's Center. Those we can lift anyway. Tomorrow I'll take the chainsaw out and start on the trees."

"What are we going to do with it all? Burn it?"

"The branches, yes. But the trees and larger limbs, we can sell to one of the firewood places. Won't get much for it, but at least it won't go to waste."

"Maybe they would come out and cut it," Pat suggested.

"Normally, yes. But after a storm like this, they'll have more business than they can handle."

They walked back to the house just as Elsa and Carly walked out.

"Well?"

"Just lost part of the roof. That can be easily fixed. I see the ranch house had a problem with the roof, too," Martin said, pointing.

"Yes. But I think it's superficial. I don't believe we had any water inside."

"Well, Pat and I were just discussing starting on the downed limbs. At least around here and the Visitor's Center."

Carly looked around. It seemed an impossible job. The ground was literally covered with limbs and branches. But they had to start somewhere.

For the next several hours, they loaded Martin's truck time and again, but they had hardly made a dent. Pat was helping, despite Carly's objections. She had wandered around with her camera for awhile, but then she insisted on helping. And now, she could see the pain in Pat's face but she still refused to stop. Carly finally went to her and touched her arm lightly.

"Why don't you stop? I can see you're in pain."

"I want to help," she said stubbornly.

"Yes, I know. But I have plans for you tonight. What good will you be if I have to give you a pain pill?"

"Dr. Cambridge, are you planning on having your way with me?"

"Yes, I am. And I want you fully awake."

"Then maybe I should lie down now and rest up, huh?"

"I think that's a wonderful idea."

Pat captured her eyes, seeing the simmering desire that Carly didn't try to hide.

"You look at me like that and I just want to drag you inside with me," Pat whispered.

"Martin and Elsa might object," Carly said.

"I don't think Martin or Elsa would even know," she said, motioning with her head. Martin and Elsa were locked in an embrace on the other side of his truck.

Carly shook her head and smiled. It appeared Elsa had finally found her Mr. Right.

"Go inside and rest," Carly said. "You should probably call Rachel, too."

"Yes. I'll check in with her."

"Are you okay, really?" Carly asked.

"It's throbbing again," Pat admitted. "But nothing like last night."

"It's from all the bending over," Carly said. She reached out and touched Pat's face, feeling for a fever. But her skin was cool. She met Pat's eyes, again wanting nothing more than to drown in them. She pulled Pat to her and touched her lips lightly.

"Now you've done it," Pat whispered. She pulled Carly into her arms and kissed her, her mouth opening to Carly, meeting her tongue with her own.

Carly dropped the limb she was holding and wrapped her arms around Pat's shoulders, pulling her close. She simply could not resist this woman.

"Excuse me! I thought we were working here," Elsa called.

Carly pulled away guiltily. She had forgotten they were not alone. And the night could not come soon enough.

"Go inside before I really embarrass myself," Carly urged. "You're not safe."

"Don't work yourself to death, Carly. I have some plans of my own tonight."

Carly watched her walk away, her stride so confident and sure, her back straight. She was magnificent to look at but it was her personality that Carly had fallen in love with. Her outside beauty was just a bonus.

"Did I just say that?" In love? Yes.

"Not trying to keep it a secret, huh?" Elsa said as she walked up to her. Martin drove off with another load.

"I can't seem to keep my hands off her," Carly admitted.

"Well how could you? She's a goddess."

Carly smiled. Yes, she was. And she was her goddess.

"And I saw you sucking face with Martin."

Elsa blushed. "Sucking face? That is so gross."

Carly laughed. "Martin seemed to be enjoying it."
"Yes, he was."

"So, are you going to tell me what's going on with you two?"

"We're…seeing each other," Elsa said.

"I gathered as much. What else?"

"Well there's no wedding planned, if that's what you're getting at."

"Are you in love with him?"

"I think I am," Elsa admitted. "He, however, has said no such thing."

Carly saw the sadness in Elsa's eyes and she squeezed her arm.

"Give him time," Carly suggested.

"It's ironic, isn't it? The first man I've met that I think could be husband material and he's only interested in sex."

Carly tried to think of some advice to give but she had none. What did she know about it?

"Give him time," Carly said again. "Martin is an honorable man. Maybe he thinks all you want is sex."

"It's not like we jumped into bed the first time we went out."

Carly raised her eyebrows but said nothing.

"Okay, maybe the second," Elsa admitted. "But I liked him."

"And maybe that's why he thinks that's all you want," Carly said gently. "Maybe he's afraid you'll run if he suggests more."

"You really have no clue about men, do you? It's the man who runs when the woman mentions the "L" word. Besides, he's been married before. He's probably scared to death of me."

"What I just saw was not scared to death," Carly said.

They heard Martin's truck approach and they went back to picking up limbs, Carly's thoughts on her two friends. She wanted Elsa to be happy. She had been single for as long as Carly had known her, dating several men but never finding the one that she wanted. At least she had not settled on anything less.

Her thoughts suddenly went to Carol, trying to remember how their relationship had even started. How they had ended up moving in together. She had been so blind to everything. She had never had a relationship before, not even with a man when she still thought she was straight. Her studies were always more important. She never gave thought as to why she didn't find any of the boys in her high school attractive. And even in college, she had buried herself in books and studying, she never thought about dating. Her friendship with Carol was just that, nothing else. But suddenly, Carol had offered her more and she took it, finally realizing why men had never attracted her. She had no concept of what a perfect mate should be. There was only Carol.