by M. L. Rice
Table of Contents
Synopsis
By the Author
Acknowledgments
PART ONE
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
PART TWO
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-one
Epilogue
About the Author
Books Available from Bold Strokes Books
Synopsis
Being popular, beautiful, determined, and a star athlete on her high school swim team is all that Bryce Montgomery has ever known. When she decides she wants to attend the Coast Guard Academy to become an officer, she knows that nothing can stand in her way. She is tested, however, when a harrowing encounter at a party leads to an unexpected attraction to one of her female friends. As their relationship blossoms, Bryce readily accepts her newfound sexuality, but her parents are horrified by the revelation. Being deeply religious, they shun Bryce and try to force her to change her sexuality or risk being kicked out of her own home. Luckily, her friends are there to support her through her ordeal. Despite the lack of support from her parents, Bryce achieves her dreams, but what will happen when that dream is shattered? Will her parents change their minds and help her pick up the pieces or will a friend from her past come to her rescue once again?
Pride and Joy
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Pride and Joy
© 2012 By M.L. Rice. All Rights Reserved.
ISBN 13: 978-1-60282-810-0
This Electronic Book is published by
Bold Strokes Books, Inc.
P.O. Box 249
Valley Falls, New York 12185
First Edition: November 2012
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
Credits
Editors: Lynda Sandoval and Stacia Seaman
Production Design: Stacia Seaman
Cover Design By Sheri ([email protected])
By the Author
Who I Am
Pride and Joy
Acknowledgments
Many thanks to Radclyffe and everyone at Bold Strokes Books for all of their dedicated work. I am constantly indebted to my editor, Lynda Sandoval, who always teaches me something new, makes me laugh, and without whom none of this would be possible.
Special and heartfelt thanks are in order for Angie Williams as well as Robin Neuman and many of my fellow Coast Guard Auxiliarists for their support, their knowledge, their friendship, and their advice. I am honored to be counted among your numbers.
Thanks go to my mom and stepdad for always loving and accepting me for who I am. I also want to thank my mom for getting me interested in Broadway at a young age. An appreciation for music and live theater is something that benefits every aspect of my life. As always, I would like to thank my wife for always being there for me, for believing in all that I do, and for being the best friend I could ever hope to have.
Finally, I would like to thank the active duty, reserve, civilian, retired, and auxiliarists of the United States Coast Guard for all that they do and will continue to do to protect us. Semper Paratus!
For Mom. Thank you for your constant love and acceptance.
PART ONE
Chapter One
Bryce stared at the perfectly still blue water. There was no breeze to ripple the surface, the sun had begun its rise into the morning sky, and the air was already so warm she was starting to sweat beneath her track jacket. Her favorite kind of day at one of her favorite places on earth. How she ever managed to get any studying done during the week she would never know. School was great and she excelled at it, but the classroom was nothing compared to being in the water.
Of course, it was only a public swimming pool. The locker rooms were kind of nasty and, in two hours, there would be swarms of screaming children trying their best to drown their friends in games of “Shark” and “Marco Polo,” so a true sanctuary it was not. Bryce’s morning would consist of constantly blowing her whistle to get the kids to stop running on the wet concrete, and her afternoon would hold the joys of bandaging the bloody knees of those who didn’t listen.
But for these first hours of the day, the pool was hers. Well, hers and the four students in her beginners’ swimming class. She wasn’t a natural teacher and didn’t take the weekend lifeguard/swim coach job because she was good with kids. She didn’t particularly like kids. It just gave her an excuse to get in the water more often than she already did as an athlete on her high school swim team. Even though she had to sit on the lifeguard stand in the hot sun watching other people cooling off in the pool during the day, she had full access to the pool in the off hours. Nothing got her blood pumping like a morning or evening swim, and nothing made her happier than floating weightless in fluid space.
She took off her tracksuit and folded it neatly on the nearby table next to the large beach towel she had brought with her. Despite the warmth of the morning, the sweat that had formed during her walk to the pool caused her skin to prickle with goose bumps. Bouncing on her toes, she swung her muscular arms back and forth to warm up, pulled her long blond hair back into a ponytail, and then slowly lowered herself into the pool. It was always a little chilly the first time she entered the water on these mornings, but she knew that once the school year ended and the blazing West Texas summer sun started its annual slow bake of the land, the cool water would be an oasis to all who sought its refuge.
Taking a deep breath, she submerged herself and sat on the bottom of the pool for a full minute, just listening to the sound of the water swirling around her and using the time as her daily meditation ritual to become one with the liquid world. Eventually the annoying mammalian habit of having to breathe won out over her spirit’s desire to become a mermaid and she emerged into the brightening sunlight once again.
When she opened her eyes she startled as she saw two bright hazel eyes staring at her, only inches away.
“Hi, Miss Montgomery!”
Bryce smiled and wiped the excess water from her face. “Seriously, Miss Cordova. I’m only three years older than you, and I’m just giving you swimming lessons. I’m eighteen, not eighty.”
“Sorry, Bryce. You know I’m just messing with you. It’s from all those times you babysat Dante. Don’t you remember how he always called you that? He was just so happy I wasn’t old enough to babysit him myself. Brothers are so frickin’ irritating.”
“No worries.” Bryce winked and flicked excess water from her fingers at her friend. “Get me my towel, would ya? I’m going to swim a few laps and I’ll be right out.”
Daniela immediately stood up from her crouch and bounded over to the table where Bryce had left her towel, a pleased smile
on her face. Bryce swam quickly back and forth across the pool a couple of times, reveling in the feel of water flowing over her streamlined body, and then returned to the edge of the pool, her breath only slightly faster than when she was at rest. She pulled herself out of the water, and as she did, she marveled at how grown up Daniela looked now that she was in high school. She was shorter than Bryce, but even though she never wore makeup—she didn’t need it with her complexion and dark hair—people often mistook her for a college student. She looked older than most of Bryce’s senior friends.
“Here ya go, Miss…”
Bryce raised her eyebrows.
“Bryce.”
Bryce playfully punched her friend in the arm. “Why are you here so early anyway?”
Daniela shrugged uncomfortably.
Bryce smiled. “Listen, I know you’re embarrassed to be in a swimming class with eight-year-olds, but don’t be. I’m really proud of you for finally overcoming your fear of the water and hey, better late than never!”
“Well, when I heard that you’d be teaching…I mean, I’d rather learn from a friend than a stranger, so a little kids’ class is just the price I have to pay for being lame and not trying it earlier, I guess.”
“Hey, I’d be happy if it was just you in the class, believe me.”
Daniela smiled broadly.
“So you want to practice some before the rest get here? We can do that.”
“No, actually, I wanted to talk with you about something.”
Bryce raised her eyebrows with curiosity. “Let’s sit down, then.” She led her over to sit on the lounge chairs next to the closed snack bar and wrapped the large beach towel around her own soggy shoulders. “What’s up?”
Daniela’s smile faltered and she hesitated.
“You know you can talk to me, Dani. How many times have I had to put up with you and Dante running around like demons trying to get me into trouble when I babysat?”
“I never ran around like a demon!”
“You’re right. You were always a perfect little angel.” Bryce rolled her eyes. “But seriously, you know you can talk to me about anything. We’ve been friends for as long as I can remember.”
“I know. It’s just that…this is…personal stuff.”
“Well, it’s your choice, but you know I’m here for you. Is this something you don’t feel comfortable talking to your mom about?”
Daniela winced. “No. Definitely not. I just want the opinion of someone my age. Well, a hell of a lot closer to my age anyway.”
Bryce broke into a knowing smile. “This must be about a boy. First year in high school and you’re already falling in love. Oh! Is it an older guy? A senior, maybe? Do I know who it is?”
Daniela flushed red and said defensively, “Yes, actually. I am talking about a senior. And yes, you know who it is.”
Bryce opened her mouth to ask about the identity of the mystery guy, but Daniela interrupted, “And no, I’m not naming names.”
“So okay, what do you want to know? I’ll have you know, though, Arati is probably the one to talk to about this. I’ve always been too busy to date…and most of the guys I know are idiots. But Arati…well, you know Arati.”
“I just want to know…if it’s normal for me to like someone as much as I do. I’m afraid if I told anyone they’d say that…something is wrong with me.”
Bryce paused, waiting for more information, but Daniela just hung her head. Dark silky hair fell over her eyes, obscuring her face. Bryce reached out and brushed the wayward strands behind her friend’s ear. “Why in the world would people say that something is wrong with you for liking someone?”
Daniela sighed. “My dad is…protective. He says I can’t date anyone until I’m sixteen. That’s only two months away, but still. That, and I know he won’t approve of who I like.”
“What’s wrong with him? The guy you like, I mean.”
“Well, my dad told me a long time ago that he wouldn’t let me date anyone not Catholic and Latino, so that’s one thing, and the other…well, let’s just say he won’t like the kind of person I have a crush on.”
Bryce made a dismissive motion with her hand. “Dads are like that, though. You’re young and he still thinks of you as his little girl. I don’t know why he would be so adamant about the religion and ethnicity thing in this day and age, but I bet he gets over that too. Have you told the guy that you like him?”
Daniela scoffed. “Not gonna happen.”
“Why not?”
“A sophomore asking a senior out? How lame is that? No one is ever going to like me anyway. I’m not beautiful and popular like—”
Bryce laughed and interrupted, “Listen, Little Miss No Self-Confidence, I don’t think you’ve noticed how the guys look at you when you walk by in the halls. You know my friend Angela, right? The one in the drama club with you? She told me when you were cast as Rosie in Bye Bye Birdie for this year’s musical, every guy auditioned to play Albert just to have scenes with you. Before that, everyone had been fighting over playing Conrad. They most definitely think you’re hot.”
Daniela made a noise in her throat that sounded like she didn’t believe that at all.
“Look,” Bryce continued, “the point is that no, you are absolutely not weird for being totally in love with someone right now. It’s perfectly normal. We’re supposed to have crazy hormones, right? And you need to think more of yourself. You’re pretty kick-ass, if I do say so myself. Not to mention you’re starting to turn the heads of pretty much every guy at school. You’ll figure it out soon enough, and when you do decide to tell this lucky guy how you feel about him, I bet you money he’ll be groveling at your feet.”
Daniela smiled and leaned against Bryce’s shoulder. “Thanks, Bryce. You always make me feel better.”
“No problem. Now what do you say we get you some extra practice time in the water anyway. I know it’s tough being the oldest person in this class, so I’m happy to work with you individually whenever you want. Truth be told, I’m really glad you’re here. It’s nice teaching a friend instead of snot-nosed little brats all of the time.”
Daniela beamed back at her and said, “I want to try it without the kickboard today!”
“Damn right you do!”
*
“Mom, I’m home! Dani said to tell you hi from her mom!” Bryce yelled as she threw her wet towel on the floor by the front door.
Her mom’s voice echoed back from the kitchen, “Pick up that towel! We keep this house presentable!”
How does she always know? Bryce thought.
She picked up her towel and carried it to the laundry room next to the kitchen. “Any letters today, Mom?”
“Not yet, sweetie. Don’t worry, it’ll get here soon.”
Bryce threw up her arms like a child having a tantrum. “It’s already April second! The last day they would tell me is supposed to be April fifteenth.”
“Patience is a virtue, honey. God will make it happen in His own time.”
That kind of response always infuriated Bryce. She was sure God had more pressing matters like ending wars or helping people find a cure for cancer than in making sure she was one of the lucky few to be accepted into the U.S. Coast Guard Academy.
When she had told her parents four years ago about her desire to become an officer in the Coast Guard, they had looked at her incredulously.
“Why in the world would you want to do that?” her Dad had asked.
“Well, I think it would be awesome to join the military, and I like that the Coast Guard has a humanitarian mission rather than just ‘blow people up’ kind of stuff. That and, if I get accepted into the academy, college will be free! That’s got to be good for you guys, right?”
Her mother countered, “But you’ve never even been on a boat other than to go water skiing at Bison Lake.”
“I want to be on the water, Mom. I’m sick of dust and tumbleweeds. Swimming is my life. That has to come in handy in the Coast Guard, don’t you t
hink?”
Her parents had paused and looked at each other for a moment before her dad finally smiled and said, “Well, if that’s what you want to do, we’ll help you get there. I’m actually really proud of you for wanting to serve your country.”
Since then, Bryce had immersed herself even more into getting into shape and winning for her swim team. She spent every spare moment she had either in the water or running for miles to get in perfect shape for the trials of academy life and especially Swab Summer, the boot camp she would have to attend in June if she got accepted. Even the spring lifeguard/coaching job was about getting more water time under her belt. The paycheck sure didn’t hurt, though.
She was already one of the top students in her school and ranked in the highest percentiles of standardized tests, so she didn’t have to worry about her academics, only the essays she had submitted to the acceptance board. Now all she had to do was wait for the letter to arrive. If it didn’t, she already had automatic acceptance to her local university, but the thought of staying in Saltus, Texas, made her skin crawl. It was a nice place to grow up and it was the kind of small city where neighbors would always be there to help you out, people banded together to get things done, and everyone genuinely cared about your family. But the wind, dust, odorous feedlots, and conservatism were really starting to wear on her.
Of course, it was true: She was hoping to join the U.S. military—not really a bastion of liberal thinking and open-mindedness. But she wanted to be out on the water protecting the country and saving lives. It was a decision that promised adventure (and an awesome uniform), plus she would get to do something worthwhile for the world. It also seemed like it would take her a million miles from the dry, flat, landlocked part of the country that was currently her home. She would be happy to make a few sacrifices to do that. Now if only the damn letter would arrive!
