Love's Someday

by Robin Alexander

  Love’s

  Someday

  By

  Robin alexander

  Love’s Someday

  © 2009 by Robin Alexander

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

  ISBN 10: 1-935216-08-2

  ISBN 13: 978-1-935216-08-7

  First Printing: 2009

  This Trade Paperback Is Published By

  Intaglio Publications

  Walker, LA USA

  www.intagliopub.com

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  _______________________________________________

  Credits

  Executive Editor: Tara Young

  Cover design by Sheri

  For the Rose with the heart of gold.

  And Becky, my Love’s Someday.

  Acknowledgments

  As always many thanks to Tara Young and the Intaglio editorial staff, especially, Tara, who, is, ever, patient, with, my, nasty, habit, of “sprinkling commas.”

  My gratitude to Sheri, the cover artist who has graced every one of my books with her amazing creations. Her patience with me is rivaled only by Tara…and well, Kate, too…oh, and definitely Becky.

  My thanks to Kate Sweeney, who was patient with me as I wrote this story, then changed it and changed it again. She read every copy whether she wanted to or not.

  Chapter One

  “We’re supposed to be going south.”

  “Aren’t we?”

  “No, look at the big ‘N’ on your dash compass.”

  Erica Barrett groaned in frustration and took the first exit she came to. “I’m gonna pull over and look at the map.”

  “What? You don’t trust my navigational skills?” Kaitlyn Marshall asked.

  “No,” three voices answered in unison. Kaitlyn glared over her shoulder at the two women in the backseat. “You two don’t have a say since neither of you ever drive on these trips.”

  “Your navigation is precisely why I never volunteer to drive,” Drew Talbot said with a playful smile. “Erica is the only one that can put up with you. I’d put you out in the first mile.”

  Kaitlyn returned the smile. “And I bet you wouldn’t even slow down when you did.”

  “Tuck and roll, baby,” Drew shot back. “Tuck and roll.”

  “Do you think we’ll be this loving when we’ve been together ten years?” Ashleigh Prather reached over the driver’s seat and rubbed Erica’s shoulders as she brought the vehicle to a stop.

  “I certainly hope so, honey, we’re halfway there.”

  “I wouldn’t trade away one minute of ten years with her for a million dollars,” Kaitlyn said, looking at Drew.

  “Aw, damn, they’re going mushy on us,” Erica said as she perused the map. “Y’all are so much more entertaining when you’re exchanging barbs.”

  Kaitlyn thumped Erica on the arm. “How’s that for a barb? And by the way, I’m starving to death.”

  “What are you, five?” Erica grimaced as she rubbed her arm. “You ate an hour ago.”

  “If she’s awake, she’s hungry,” Drew said. “And Ashleigh’s stomach has been growling for the last ten miles. I can hear it over your bickering.”

  Erica tossed the map back into Kaitlyn’s lap, and pulled back onto the road. “You better be glad my baby is hungry or you’d be grazing on the side of the road.”

  “Can’t you just feel the love all around us?” Ashleigh laughed.

  “Oh, I’m feeling it.” Erica rubbed her arm again and shot Kaitlyn a scowl she couldn’t hold and began laughing.

  It had been that way between Kaitlyn and Erica since they were eight years old and became neighbors. On the day Erica’s family moved into the house on Prairie Lane, Kaitlyn moved in too. In a pair of cutoffs and a T-shirt with Scooby-Doo emblazoned on the front, she marched in with dirty bare feet and announced her presence. She and Erica bonded the second they met, and though they had their share of conflicts, neither could hold a grudge for long. Verbal jabs, thumps, and playful slaps were among the ways they displayed their unwavering affection for each other.

  “Somebody give me some ideas for dinner, so I know what to keep an eye out for,” Erica said.

  Drew yawned and smacked her lips. “How about barbecue?”

  “I can’t handle it,” Ashleigh said. “That last batch we ate gave me heartburn that Tums couldn’t touch.”

  Kaitlyn pointed at a sign as they blew past. “How about Bennigan’s? They have all types of food there.”

  This appealed to the group, but when they pulled into the parking lot, the restaurant was filled to capacity and the wait for a table would have been at least an hour. The bar and grill across the street with the ten-minute wait won out.

  Drew looked around at the eighties memorabilia when they were seated. “What a nifty idea for a restaurant.”

  “It’s like being transported back to our college years,” Kaitlyn said with a wistful smile as her gaze settled on the huge monitor. “Oh, I loved the Cure, they were so weird looking, but they made great music.”

  “Remember wearing the long jackets with the shoulder pads and the spandex leggings?” Erica asked Kaitlyn.

  “No, you wore that. I couldn’t pull off the look with my obvious height impairment.”

  Erica stifled a laugh. Kaitlyn’s height topped out at five feet in junior high school and was a sensitive subject. Until her dark hair began to gray at the temples, Kaitlyn was often asked for her ID whenever she ordered a drink.

  “I always went with the preppie look, but I bet our Ash sported the more provocative exposed midriff,” Drew said with a teasing grin.

  Ashleigh’s face was inches from the menu as she looked it over. Erica grinned at Drew and Kaitlyn, who were also staring in Ashleigh’s direction awaiting her comment.

  Drew gave her a gentle jab. “Ash?”

  “The margarita chicken,” Ashleigh said, lowering the menu.

  Drew rolled her eyes. “I was asking if you wore the exposed midriff thing in the eighties.”

  Ashleigh’s gaze darted between the other three as her face colored. “Guilty.” She hid her blush behind her menu.

  I bet she had the body for it back then, Erica thought as she regarded her bashful partner. In truth, she still had the body for it. She watched as Ashleigh tucked a lock of her long dark hair behind her ear. She glanced over at Erica and gave her a wink. Erica felt warmth spread over her as she remembered those green eyes locked with hers earlier that morning when they made love.

  “You wanna split a club sandwich with me?” Kaitlyn asked Drew, who nodded and flipped the menu over to peruse the desserts. “Wanna split a brownie sundae with me, too?”

  “Um, no, baby, you’re on your own with that. I’m getting the key lime pie.”

  “Welcome to Sparky’s, ladies,” the waiter said with a smile. “We have a two-for-one drink special tonight, and I have to tell you that we have the best margaritas in town.”

  “Oh, I’ll have one of those,” Drew said. “Maybe it’ll knock me on my ass. Hotel beds are hell to sleep in.” Drew looked over at Kaitlyn. “You want to drink the other one?”

  “Sure, and I’d like a glass of water also,” Kaitlyn said as she set down her menu.

  “I’ll have a glass of iced tea,” Erica told the waiter, who stood waiting on her order.

  “Tea for me, too,” A
shleigh said.

  Kaitlyn spun in her chair and looked at the huge screen behind the bar as Terence Trent D’Arby’s video for “Wishing Well” began. She laughed. “Erica used to dance her ass off when that song played.” Kaitlyn threw her head back and forth in imitation.

  “You really don’t want me to start imitating you.” Erica looked at Ashleigh and Drew. “She had no rhythm, and she always screamed out ‘yeah’ when she danced. It was so embarrassing.”

  Kaitlyn chuckled. “You butthole. When we get to the hotel tonight, I’m going to show them what you considered dancing. I won’t do it here and get us thrown out.”

  “Well, thank God for that,” Drew said as the waiter appeared with their drinks, and took their order.

  “I loved the Gap Band,” Ashleigh said with a sparkle in her eye as one of their songs began to play.

  They reminisced about their favorite songs until the food arrived. Their attention alternated between the meal and the nonstop eighties videos that played on screens around the room. Erica and Kaitlyn continued to tease each other good-naturedly, while Ashleigh and Drew discussed eighties fashion faux pas and admitted to a few of their own.

  “Oh, I love this song.” Kaitlyn drummed on the table until the song title came to mind. “‘Love’s Someday’ by Debbie Gibson. We used to dance to it at the clubs.”

  “I can’t remember the name of the band, but I know it’s not Debbie Gibson. The singer’s voice is deeper than hers. I have the song on a cassette tape somewhere.” Erica gave Kaitlyn a nudge. “Remember those huge boxes of tapes we used to lug around everywhere?”

  Kaitlyn nodded as she watched the video. She turned and looked at Ashleigh for a second, then looked back at the screen. Ashleigh had pushed her plate away and was staring down at her glass. Erica was studying her profile when Kaitlyn spoke, drawing her attention back to the screen.

  “Look at this girl. If she had straight brown hair, she’d look just like Ash.”

  Erica watched the singer as she moved across the screen; even with all the makeup and the long curly red hair, the resemblance was uncanny. She glanced over at Ashleigh, who looked as though she was going to be sick. “Ash—”

  “Oh, my God,” Kaitlyn said, causing Erica and Drew to look at her, then the screen.

  Erica felt the color drain from her face as she caught a glimpse of what Kaitlyn had called her attention to—a birthmark shaped like a crescent moon to the left of the singer’s navel. In the past five years, she’d kissed that mark countless times. Her mind denied what she had seen, but when she met Kaitlyn’s bewildered stare, she knew that she hadn’t imagined it.

  “What the hell?” Drew asked, looking first at Erica, then at Ashleigh.

  Erica opened her mouth to say it was all a mistake. Her mind still warred against what she’d seen. She turned to Ashleigh, wanting to hear her deny it, but she sat motionless staring at the table. Erica’s jaw snapped shut as she waited for the answer to Drew’s question.

  “That was you, wasn’t it?” Drew pressed. “There’s no way that two people could have the same birthmark in exactly the same place.” She directed her attention to Erica when Ashleigh failed to answer. “Why did y’all keep this a secret from us? Why didn’t you—”

  Kaitlyn put her hand atop Drew’s and gently squeezed, silencing her. Kaitlyn’s gaze darted to Ashleigh, then to Erica with a questioning look. Erica shook her head, and Kaitlyn winced. “You didn’t know, either,” Kaitlyn said softly.

  “No, she didn’t.” Ashleigh spoke for the first time since her secret had been discovered.

  Drew laughed nervously as she pushed her plate away. “I’m just floored.”

  Erica motioned for the check. All four women sat in stunned silence as the table was cleared and the meal was paid for. When they climbed into the SUV, they remained silent until Erica merged onto the interstate.

  “I don’t understand this,” Drew said with a shake of her head. “Why would you keep something like this a secret?”

  Erica wondered the same thing. She alternated between shock and confusion, and finally pain. She couldn’t bring herself to confront Ashleigh until they were alone, but she made no move to silence Drew.

  Ashleigh sat slumped against the door, pinching the bridge of her nose. “I was in a band in my early twenties, and we had one hit song before disappearing into obscurity. I just didn’t want to have to admit to everyone that I was a one-hit wonder.”

  “Let it go for now,” Kaitlyn whispered as she draped an arm over Drew’s shoulder.

  An awkward silence settled over the foursome. Each woman was lost in her own thoughts when Erica pulled in front of the hotel. “This will only take a minute,” Erica said as she got out. She knew that Kaitlyn would follow her in to pay for the room that she and Drew would share. She half expected Ashleigh to get out with them instead of waiting with Drew.

  The doors were hardly closed when Drew asked, “Why?”

  Ashleigh didn’t turn; instead, she pressed her forehead to the cool glass of the window and clamped her eyes shut. “I’ve already told you why.”

  “Hey.” Drew leaned forward and gently tugged at Ashleigh’s sleeve. “You’ve confided in me with everything. Why is this so different? Why keep this even from me?”

  “It’s a part of my life that I wish never existed. I did things that I’m not proud of, and I never wanted to relive it.”

  Drew tugged a little harder on Ashleigh’s sleeve. “Look at me, Ash.”

  Ashleigh exhaled loudly before turning to face Drew. “There’s a lot more to it than having a hit song. If I had told you about that, you’d eventually learn about the rest.” Ashleigh clamped her eyes shut again and swallowed hard against the tears. When she spoke again, her voice was raspy. “You’re all going to know my darkest secrets soon. Don’t press me for any more tonight, please.”

  “Well, hell, honey, it’s not like you killed anyone.”

  The look on Ashleigh’s face when she did open her eyes caused any further comment to die on Drew’s lips. She sank back in her seat when she noticed Erica and Kaitlyn walking toward the SUV.

  Chapter Two

  Ashleigh closed the door to the hotel room and leaned against it as she watched Erica drop their suitcase onto the bed. Her heart pounded in her chest, and her stomach twisted in knots as Erica sat, staring straight ahead. She’d known that this moment would come. She’d rehearsed what she would say in her mind a hundred times, but now, every well-thought-out explanation escaped her.

  “Who are you?” Erica asked as she rubbed her palms together.

  Ashleigh slid down the door into a squatting position. She didn’t trust herself not to open the door and run like she’d done in the past. “You know who I am.”

  “I’m afraid I don’t. Up until this evening, you were simply Ashleigh Prather, my lover. Now it seems that you were at one time some sort of star. The whole world knew you but me.”

  There was an angry edge to Erica’s voice, but when she turned in Ashleigh’s direction, she looked like a frightened child. A ponytail kept her wavy dark hair pulled back from her face, exposing the worry that etched her brow. Her hazel eyes stared past Ashleigh, seemingly unable to meet her own.

  “Haven’t you ever lived through something that you’d rather not remember? Talking about it would bring back all the memories that you’ve longed to suppress?” Ashleigh rubbed her sweating palms on her pants leg.

  Erica shook her head. “I’ve trusted you with all my secrets.”

  “It’s not that I didn’t trust you, Erica,” Ashleigh began. She bowed her head, searching for words that wouldn’t come. “I just wanted it all to go away.”

  “You’re that ashamed of a failed music career?”

  “I was someone else then. I did things that have…haunted me.” Ashleigh chewed at her bottom lip, hating the way it trembled.

  “What kinds of things?” Erica looked back at her shoes.

  “I’m not ready to confront that tonight. Give
me a little time, please?”

  Erica let out a shuddering sigh as she stood. She kept her eyes averted as she spoke. “I’m going to take a shower.” She moved to the suitcase and pulled out a few things. “You’re making this worse.”

  “I know,” Ashleigh said, fighting back tears. “Just be patient with me. It’s hard.”

  Erica turned and retreated to the bathroom.

  Ashleigh found that she couldn’t move. She felt out of place. She’d shared her body and her heart and made a home with Erica, but the distance that formed between them so quickly made her feel like she was trapped in a room with a stranger. She couldn’t bring herself to undress.

  She listened to the water running in the shower as she forced herself to stand and move to the bed where she slipped off her shoes and lay down fully clothed. She wondered what was going through Erica’s mind and how she would go about explaining the whole sordid story. And then there was Drew and Kaitlyn. She’d have to face them in the morning and endure the same awkwardness with them. Putting her shoes back on and slipping off into the night became more appealing by the second.

  She feigned sleep when Erica emerged from the bathroom. The bed moved as Erica wordlessly slipped under the covers and switched off the light. They lay there for a long time. Ashleigh knew that Erica was still awake. She wanted to reach out to her, feel that the connection between them had not been broken. Fear and shame kept her immobile.

  “You okay?” Kaitlyn asked as she approached with a couple of coffees the next morning.

  Erica stood in the parking lot, having escaped the oppressiveness of the hotel room while Ashleigh showered. “I’m all right.” Erica accepted a cup and stuffed her other hand in her pocket.

  “You look tired. There’s dark circles under your eyes. Did you sleep?”