Listen to Your Heart

by Becky Harmon

  Those words shot through her and she knew Steph would feel them too. Neither wanted to be the object of such attention.

  “Sorry,” she said, hoping Steph could read her lips.

  Steph leaned close to her ear, her arm still wrapped tight around Jemini’s body. “Please don’t be sorry.”

  She smiled, leaning into Steph as they followed Cassie and Kathleen back to their table. She wasn’t sorry. In fact, she couldn’t wait to get Steph back on the dance floor.

  Cassie picked up one of the open bottles on their table but quickly set it back down without taking a drink. She looked at Steph. “We need fresh drinks.”

  “I was thinking the same thing.”

  “We’ve got this round,” Kathleen said, pulling Jemini to her feet.

  She gave Steph a smile before helping Kathleen push their way through the crowd to the bar.

  Kathleen managed to find a hole in the people lining the bar and placed their drink orders before turning back to Jemini. “Looks like things are going well between you guys,” she said loudly into Jemini’s ear.

  Things were going well. For the first time since their paths had crossed the night she arrived, Jemini felt a warmth emanating from Steph. The smile that had been stuck on her face since they left the dance floor widened.

  “Are you thinking about moving here now?” Kathleen asked.

  Jemini felt her smile fade. She really hadn’t allowed herself to think about their situation at all tonight. She had just enjoyed being close to Steph.

  Kathleen shook her head. “I’m sorry. Please bring the smile back.”

  “I hadn’t thought about reality for the last couple of hours. I do like her, but that’s not a reason to move here. Besides she might not feel the same way about me.”

  “Oh, she feels the same,” Kathleen assured her.

  Jemini blushed. Kathleen had a way of getting right to the point. “I’m sure she feels the same lust, but it might not go any deeper. Moving here would be presumptuous, I’m afraid.”

  “Maybe, but that’s what talking is for.”

  Kathleen turned back to the bar as their drinks were set in front of them, handing a few bills to the bartender with a nod to keep the change.

  “We’re not very good at that,” Jemini said under her breath. She and Steph had yet to have a conversation that didn’t involve Steph getting angry or storming off. Normally, she could feel the underlying tension between them when they were close, but tonight had been all about having fun. Maybe they could talk tonight while they were both still riding high from the excitement.

  Jemini carried two of the bottles as they pushed their way through the crowd back to the table. She couldn’t stop her smile from returning when she met Steph’s gaze. She felt almost giddy with the thrill of attraction. She couldn’t help but think about what it would be like to have Steph’s hands on her body again. The thought of them touching her skin and running across her breasts made her pulse race.

  “Do you want to dance some more?” Steph asked, leaning close.

  She nodded eagerly. She was back in her fantasy world. Plus she couldn’t wait to get her hands back on Steph’s body.

  “Let us know when you guys are ready to leave,” Steph called to Cassie and Kathleen as they stood.

  “Not just yet,” Kathleen called back. “I want to dance some more.”

  Steph nodded, leading Jemini back to the dance floor.

  * * *

  Her legs aching, Jemini accepted Steph’s hand to help her into the truck. She had caressed every inch of Steph’s body that could be considered acceptable in public, but she now longed to touch the areas blocked by clothing. She no longer had any doubts about Steph’s attraction to her, but her insecurities about a deeper connection still lingered.

  “That was awesome!” Kathleen yelled a little too loudly for the interior of the truck. “Wow, sorry I’m being so loud. I think my hearing is shot.”

  “My hearing is shot too, but my body is still vibrating from the pulse of the music,” Cassie added.

  “That’s just my close proximity to you,” Kathleen said as she snuggled into Cassie’s arms.

  Jemini laughed, shifting sideways in her seat so she could see them and Steph. “I had a great time too. Thanks for suggesting it.”

  “It’s been a long time since I’ve been to a bar, but I can say I’ve never enjoyed a club as much as I did tonight,” Steph contributed.

  Jemini watched Steph’s hands on the steering wheel as she maneuvered the truck around a slower moving vehicle on the interstate. It would be a long time before she was able to forget those hands on her body. Now that the physical contact was over, she needed to learn more about Steph and see if they could connect with something more than anger and lust. “What do you normally do for fun?” she asked.

  “Steph plays in the dirt,” Cassie answered for Steph.

  She looked from Cassie back to Steph, waiting for an explanation. “Dirt?”

  Steph shrugged. “Since both my parents were landscapers and enjoyed planting flowers, I guess I inherited it naturally.”

  “Steph did all the flowerbeds around Dorothy’s house,” Cassie added.

  “I noticed how beautiful those were the first time I went to the house. You did a great job, Steph.” She touched Steph’s arm, letting her hand rest lightly there for a few seconds. It was the first time she called her Steph out loud and it seemed to fit. Stephanie was the little girl she grew up with, but Steph was the woman she had become.

  Steph smiled at her. “So what do you do for fun?”

  “I work.”

  “You’re an attorney, right?” Cassie asked.

  Jemini nodded, bracing herself for the usual criticism that came after her profession was revealed. It wasn’t really the topic she wanted to discuss at the moment. Not very many people had a high opinion of lawyers and she wasn’t in the mood to justify her career tonight. Especially in front of Steph.

  “How did you manage to get so much time off?” Kathleen asked.

  “She’s a partner,” Steph said softly.

  Jemini studied Steph’s profile, but after a few seconds it was clear Steph wasn’t going to make eye contact with her. “Did you run a check on me?”

  Steph shrugged.

  “Before or after I came to Riverview?”

  “Does it make a difference?”

  “It does to me.”

  Steph gave her an evil smile. “I didn’t run a check on you. The dispatch report from the night your car broke down listed a contact number for the law firm of Thompson, Myers, and Rivers. I made the connection.”

  “That was mean, Steph,” Kathleen chastised from the backseat. “A background check would have been low.”

  Steph glanced in the rearview mirror at Kathleen. “Do you think your retired police officer partner didn’t use her connections to check out potential suitors?”

  Kathleen put some space between her and Cassie. “Did you run a background check on me?”

  Cassie slapped the back of Steph’s head. “Let’s change this conversation before more than one of us are sleeping in the doghouse tonight.” She pulled Kathleen back into her arms. “I absolutely did not run a background check on you. Don’t pay any attention to the troublemaker in the front seat.”

  Jemini enjoyed the banter between the three women and wished she felt more of a part of it. Clearly Steph and Cassie had been friends for a while and she would use the first opportunity to ask Kathleen about it. Any details she could get on the years she had been out of Steph’s life would help her to understand the person Steph had become.

  “Okay, new topic. Who has the funniest coming out story?” Kathleen asked.

  “Coming out or being busted out?” Steph asked.

  “Either.”

  “I’ll go first then,” Steph continued. “I’d just turned seventeen and I thought I knew everything. Mom and Dad had my first coed birthday party even though I really just wanted one girl there. So I took her a
nd we snuck out to the landscaping shed about halfway through the party. I’d never kissed a girl but I knew I wanted to and she was willing. We mostly giggled our way through a make-out session only to find out Dorothy was outside the shed the whole time.”

  “Oh no,” Cassie groaned with sympathy. “What was she doing out there?”

  “She was putting air in her bicycle tire. When I thought about it later, I remembered the door to the shed was open when we arrived. I was just too excited to think about it then.”

  This was the moment Jemini had been waiting for. Now she would get to hear how she had managed to be so close to Dorothy and still be a lesbian. She asked softly, “What did Dorothy say?”

  “I think she was shocked at first, but later we laughed about it. She told me she wouldn’t rat me out to Mom and Dad, but she encouraged me to be honest with them. Best advice I ever received. When I did finally tell them, it made us closer.”

  What? Surely she had heard Steph wrong. Dorothy wasn’t upset? There was no condemnation or hurled insults? She had to hear the words from Steph so she could believe them. “Dorothy was okay with you being a lesbian?” she asked.

  Steph shrugged. “Well, yeah. She was cool with it.”

  She turned in her seat and leaned against the door. Her life was spinning upside down. As a teenager, she had been forced to choose a life of being who she was or connecting with the grandmother she longed to be with. When she had gotten old enough for her mother to explain their sudden departure from Dorothy’s house, she had been shocked with the harsh words Dorothy had used to condemn Jemini’s mother when Aries came out to her. When she came to terms with being a lesbian herself, Dorothy’s words still haunted her. She knew she would never be loved by Dorothy again. There would never be another chance to reconnect with the grandmother she missed so much.

  She barely heard Cassie, Kathleen, and Steph’s voices as they continued to tell stories for the rest of the ride back to Lake View. Several times, she could feel Steph’s eyes on her, but she couldn’t bring herself to look over at her. She wasn’t angry at Steph, but she couldn’t put her feelings into words. She was ready to curl into a ball in the privacy of her own space. When they pulled in front of her cabin, she climbed out and waved good-bye. She didn’t wait for Steph to get out of the truck or even look back at her. Quickly she closed the cabin door behind her and sank to the floor, leaning against the wall. The tears fell whether she wanted them to or not.

  Chapter Eleven

  Steph frowned as she watched Jemini close the door behind her.

  “That was weird,” Cassie said, looking at Kathleen.

  “I agree. I’m not sure at what point we lost her, but I noticed she had gotten quiet. I was going to talk with her when we got back. I didn’t expect her to run inside so quickly.”

  “I think talking to her would be a good idea. Steph, do you want to come over to the house? We can have a drink,” Cassie suggested.

  “No, I have a case I should go check out. Footprints outside a woman’s window. Might be nothing, but I’d like to catch someone and ease her mind.”

  “Okay,” Cassie hesitated. “Would you like some company?”

  Steph shrugged. “Sure. It’s probably going to be boring though. Just sitting outside her house watching.”

  “Sounds like fun. That okay with you?” Cassie asked Kathleen.

  “Go, ahead. I’m just going to bed. Please be careful, though. Both of you.”

  Cassie climbed back into the truck, and they waited for Kathleen to enter the house before leaving.

  “What do you think was wrong with Jemini?” Cassie asked.

  “I don’t know. I thought we had a great time tonight. She even said as much when we left the bar.”

  “Maybe it was the talk about the background check.”

  “I guess.”

  “Maybe she has something horrible in her past that she doesn’t want you to find out about,” Cassie joked.

  She knew Cassie was only trying to lighten the mood, but it bothered her that she might have done something to upset Jemini.

  After a few seconds, Cassie changed topics. “So tell me where we’re going.”

  “Do you know Sondra Pace? She lives on Wymer Street.”

  “I don’t think so.”

  “Well, she lives alone and her garage was broken into a while back. Then a couple nights ago she discovered footprints outside her windows.”

  “Hmmm…disgruntled stalker boyfriend?” Cassie asked.

  “That was my first thought too, but she claims not. I’m hoping it’s a teenager enjoying a peep show.”

  “Just one set of footprints?”

  “Yep.”

  “And no one else has reported the same problem?”

  “Correct, but she’s the only single woman on her block.”

  “What did they steal from the garage?”

  “She couldn’t identify anything specifically. I don’t think she spent much time in it. She said most of the tools were left by the previous owner. Her dad had tinkered in there when she first moved in, but he passed away two years ago.”

  She pulled to a stop across the street from Sondra’s house and called in her location to the police dispatch. There were minimal lights on in each house, and the streetlights created stationary streams of yellow along the sidewalks. Sondra’s house, like most of the others, was a brick rancher on less than an acre of property. The area between and behind the houses on both sides of the street was filled with bushes and trees that had developed over the years since the houses had been built. The occasional decorative tree created dark spots along the road, and Steph searched for any movement. Without Cassie she probably would have worked her way in on foot again, but she had the feeling Cassie wanted to talk and they couldn’t do that on Sondra’s back porch.

  “We should move closer on foot,” Cassie suggested.

  Steph glanced at her. “I thought you wanted to talk.”

  Cassie shrugged. “Talking is overrated. I think you like her and it’s clear she likes you. Now you just have to figure out how hard you want to work at making it something more permanent.”

  “You make it sound so simple.”

  “Not at all. You need to tell her why you’re so angry, and then you need to find out what happened tonight. Neither of those things will be simple or easy.”

  Steph rubbed her face. She respected Cassie more than anyone else in her life. They had tried dating when they first met but had quickly discovered they were better friends. She had been in a bad place in her life and wasn’t willing to be out in the community. She didn’t really lie, but being in a relationship put too much pressure on her at the time. She was still fairly new to the sheriff’s department and feeling the stress of being a newbie. As a friend, Cassie had taught her to be herself around everyone, even her coworkers.

  Cassie continued, “For tonight, though, surveillance is easy. Let’s move closer.”

  “Take the right side and I’ll circle the left. Stay in the tree line and away from the house.”

  “Got it,” Cassie agreed.

  Steph reached up and switched off the interior light before they opened their doors. After they gently closed them, they headed off in the opposite directions. She watched Cassie until she faded into the shadows, then she crossed into the wooded area between houses. Cassie had changed a lot when she met Kathleen. Changed for the good. She had always liked her quiet, gentle demeanor, but Kathleen had brought out a more relaxed personality. It was clear Cassie felt complete now. She was glad it had worked out with Kathleen. She liked both women and they seemed to fit well together.

  Keeping in the shadows, she watched the backside of Sondra’s house. The streetlights in the front of the house cast large shadows on the rear windows. Movement between the bushes and the house caught her attention. She strained her eyes to catch a glimpse of Cassie. Had she had time to get around the house? But why would she be so close when they had agreed to remain in the tree line? She sq
uatted, resting one knee on the ground, hoping to avoid casting a Steph-shaped shadow across the backyard. The movement had stopped and she pulled out her phone, sending a text to Cassie.

  Location?

  Tree line right side. That u at the house? Cassie responded.

  Nope.

  Sweet. Let’s box him in.

  With u.

  As she moved closer, she could see the suspect wore blue jeans and a dark hoodie. His arms worked up and down as he wiggled his screwdriver into the window frame.

  “Stop,” she commanded. “Sheriff’s department. Drop the screwdriver and put your hands on the wall.”

  He glanced at her in surprise but did as he was told. She moved in and patted him down, tossing the wallet from his back pocket to Cassie. “Check his age.”

  Steph slid his cell phone into her pocket and when she didn’t find any weapons or other items on his body, she wrapped a set of flex cuffs around his wrists. She contacted dispatch on her cell phone and advised that the suspect was in custody, requesting a cruiser for transport. She tucked her phone back in her pocket and pulled him off the wall. As they came around the house and into the glow of the streetlight, Cassie joined them. Her flashlight pointed at the driver’s license in her hand.

  “Thomas John McAllister, Jr. turned sixteen last month.”

  Before she could respond the porch light came on and Sondra stepped onto the porch. “I heard a noise and called nine one one. They said you were out here.” She took a step closer to the edge of the porch. “Is that my burglar? I think I know him.”

  She pulled Junior into the light from the porch. “How do you know him?”

  “I work with his father. Tom McAllister.”

  Steph turned as a cruiser pulled up on the street. She opened the rear door and pushed Junior inside. She leaned in and read him his rights before turning him over to her fellow deputy.

  “I’m going to visit his parents first and then I’ll come question him,” she advised.

  The deputy nodded and pulled away from the curb with Junior sitting silently in the backseat. She turned to Sondra. “Can you flip on the lights in your backyard? I want to see how much damage he did to the window.”