Radclyffe - Crossroads

Annie grinned. “Da—darn right.”

“Well, no point doing anything halfway, right?”

Annie’s met Hollis’s gaze. “No point at all.”

“All right then.” Hollis strove to sound casual while avoiding looking directly at Annie. Her circuits were already overloaded, and no amount of ice water was going to cool her down. “We can use one of the parking lots over at Textile for our training course. Work for you?”

“Mmm-hmm,” Annie said, mentally reviewing her schedule and resolutely not questioning what she was doing. “I have a few patients to see and a home follow-up this weekend, but maybe after that. I could call you—and I’ll make you lunch this time.”

“That would be great. Thanks.”

“Mommy, can I come?” Callie had put her crayons aside as soon as the nachos had arrived and, after demolishing her weight in chips and cheese, declared them her new favorite food. Now her eyelids were beginning to droop. Annie stroked her hair. “Mommy has to learn how to ride first, baby. When you’re bigger, you’ll be able to ride with me.”

“When will I be bigger?”

“Every single day you grow up a little bit more, and before you know it, you’ll be big enough.”

“Will I get my own Harley when I’m bigger?”

Hollis laughed. “Guess she was listening.”

Annie shot Hollis a wry look. “Always, even when you’d swear she was a million miles away.” Annie shifted Callie onto her lap. “First, we’ll get you a bicycle. That will be fun to ride.”

“Okay.” Callie put her head on Annie’s shoulder and closed her eyes. Annie sighed. “Sorry, Hollis. I think I have to get her home.”

“That’s okay.” Hollis signaled to the waitress for a check. “I think she did really well.”

“And I think you’re a really good sport.”

“That’s me.” Hollis grinned. “Besides, it was fun.”

Hollis took care of the check and they got Callie settled in the back of her car. Ten minutes later, Hollis pulled up in front of Annie’s.

“Thanks,” Annie said. “It’s been a while since I went a whole evening not thinking once about work. I had a really good time.”

“Ditto for me, on both counts.” Hollis glanced into the backseat, where Callie slept soundly. “Are you…seeing anyone?”

Annie was glad for the dark because she knew she was blushing. “No.”

“So—” Hollis switched off the engine and shifted on the seat until they faced each other. The twilight closed in around them. “I’d like to change that.”

Annie scrambled for words, a nameless panic welling up in her chest. “I’m flattered. But—”

“Hey.” Hollis held up a hand. “I didn’t mean to put you on the spot. You don’t have to explain.”

“I’m usually not caught off guard.” Annie frowned. Hollis always did the unexpected. She should have expected it. “We have the work thing to sort out. It’s just not a good idea.”

“Bad timing,” Hollis muttered. “I know. I was telling myself the same thing earlier.”

Annie warmed inside, not from embarrassment but from a ripple of pleasure she could neither deny nor explain. “Really?”

“Yeah. The whole situation is touchy, I get that. I just…” Hollis shrugged. “I haven’t been seeing anyone either. Haven’t been for a long time…well, dates now and then, but… Hell, I’m sounding a little bit like an idiot here, aren’t I?”

“No,” Annie said softly. Hollis had never talked to her about anything personal, and she didn’t want her to stop now. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d wanted to know more about someone, when she wanted the first fragile threads of connection to grow stronger, rather than to disappear. “Maybe we could just do the friends thing.”

“Sure, that’s the smart thing to do,” Hollis said. “Only…”

“Only what? What, Hollis?”

Hollis reached over the space between the bucket seats and plucked a strand of hair away from Annie’s cheek. When she sifted it through her fingers, Annie felt the tiny tug deep inside. She held her breath, unable to look away. Hollis’s face was all she could see. So beautiful.

“I don’t usually want to kiss my friends,” Hollis murmured. She leaned closer, sliding her fingers around the back of Annie’s neck. The slightest pressure from her fingertips drew Annie closer, until the moonlight sparkling in Hollis’s eyes blinded her.

Panic grabbed Annie by the throat. She recognized this feeling—this drowning rush of desire, only so much more than she remembered. Another second and she would be lost. “Hollis, I can’t.”

“Okay.”

Hollis’s breath shimmered against her lips, warm and gentle. Hollis’s fingers loosened and slid along her skin until her hand was gone, leaving Annie’s skin to chill in the hot summer air. Annie shivered.

Hollis sucked in an uneven breath. “Sorry. I’m making a mess of this.”

“No, you’re not,” Annie whispered. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.” Hollis eased back in her seat, and the silvery strands of their connection snapped and disappeared into the dark.

Annie hurriedly collected her bag from the floor in front of her seat, needing to get out of the car. Needing to get away from her own disappointment and the silence that grew cold and still between them. Unwanted memories warred with resurrected needs, made it hard for her to breathe. She didn’t even know where the feelings came from, but she wanted to run like a night creature sensing danger. “Why don’t we hold off on the motorcycle lessons. We’re both busy.”

“I’ll help you with Callie.” Hollis jumped from the car and came around the other side, opening Annie’s door and then Callie’s. When Annie unbuckled Callie’s car seat, Hollis said, “Let me take her.”

“I can carry her,” Annie said.

“I know, but it’ll be easier for you to get the door.”

Hollis gently lifted Callie. Annie extracted the car seat and hurried up the walk, fishing her keys from her bag, aware of Hollis right behind her, carrying her daughter. She pushed the door wide, dumped her bag and Callie’s toys on the table just inside, and spun around. Hollis stood on the other side of the threshold with everything that mattered to her in her arms. Callie’s head rested in the crook of Hollis’s shoulder, innocent and untroubled as only a sleeping child could be. Hollis’s face shimmered in the moonlight, gentle and strong. Annie held out her arms. “Thank you.”

Hollis passed Callie over. “Thanks for tonight. It was great.”

“It was.”

“I’ll call you about setting up some time at the clinic.” Hollis turned to go.

The door stood open between them. Annie could close it now and retreat into the safety of her life. “Hollis.”

Hollis paused, turned back, her face in shadows.

“I’m seeing one of my new mothers tomorrow morning. Home visit. Are you free?”

“I can be.”

“Maybe you’d like to see what I do.”

“Good idea.”

“I’ll swing by and pick you up, then.” Helplessly, Annie watched the chasm between them grow wider. “Is quarter of eight all right?”

“Sounds perfect. Good night, Annie.” Hollis turned, walked down the steps, got into her car, and drove away.

Annie, her cheek resting against Callie’s silken hair, stood in the open doorway watching until the red taillights winked out. She’d made the right choice, and by morning, when the bright light of sanity dispelled the unnerving spell of Hollis’s touch, she’d believe it.

Chapter Eighteen

Honor woke when Quinn sat up in bed. Blinking in the gray half-light, she rolled onto her side and traced the muscles in Quinn’s back with her fingertips. “It’s still dark out.”