Kristan nodded and she hit the gas.
James was still yelling obscenities at them as they drove off quickly toward the Park. Liz did not say anything as Kristan shed silent tears all the way back home.
Chapter 6
Kristan spent the rest of the day talking to the police and to her staff, working to put things in place and organise shifts in order to free her from work for the next week or so.
James got picked up by the cops and spent most of his day in custody being questioned about his whereabouts. He was released eventually when his alibi checked out and it was established that he could not have been fighting with his brother at the time that it happened.
"If you see him hanging around, or if he tries to contact you," the officer in charge of the investigation told Kristan later on that evening, "let me know immediately."
"What if he goes to the hospital?"
"I don't think he will."
"But what if he does?" Kristan insisted.
The man simply shrugged.
"Nothing I can do to stop that," he said. "You just let me know if he does and we’ll put things in place to stop it if he is causing trouble."
In Kristan's office the police had found one of the big heavy spanners her partner regularly used to work on the helicopters. The tool was bloody, abandoned right outside the door, and more than likely it would turn out to be the murder weapon. Reports of several thefts of equipment at campsites around the areas had started to trickle in, and the general theory was that Mike had walked in on a thief, and been hit on the head when the person found themselves cornered.
"He wouldn't just let someone creep up on him like that," Kristan had protested.
"He probably didn't even know there was someone there," the officer had told her.
Detective Chief Inspector Omaru had been polite with her, but dismissive.
Clearly his mind was already made up.
The police were concentrating on looking for a thief who may have become a murderer. They interviewed everyone at the Park, every instructor, every client, and they started to go through footage of the CCTV cameras Kristan had in place. Whoever was responsible for what had happened to Mike, they were confident that they would find him quickly.
Now as it was getting dark Kristan shuffled back to her cottage and stepped inside. She slammed the door shut behind her, looking for an outlet for her anger. The note from Liz inviting her to dinner was still on the table. Everything looked just as she had left it, and yet her world had been turned upside down and she did not want to be there. Without thinking she threw on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, laced up her running shoes, and started off toward the forest.
Liz waited. She had decided to take a step back earlier on in the day, aware that Kristan needed to have meetings and make decisions that she could not help her with. She wanted to give her some space too, but she had been hoping that when things started to calm down a little, that Kristan would come to find her. So she was relieved and very pleased when she heard the soft knock on her door, and spotted her standing outside.
She hurried to get the door.
"Kris. How are you?”
Kristan stood there with her hands on her hips, her hair wet with sweat, her bare legs and trainers muddy.
"I went for a run in the forest,” she said.
“And how are you feeling?” Liz enquired gently.
Not surprisingly, Kristan struggled a little to answer that question.
“I’m all right,” she replied without enthusiasm.
"Have you eaten today?"
"No.”
“Kris…”
“Would you like to have dinner with me at my place?"
Kristan had assumed, wrongly, that she would not want to see anybody after the events of the previous day. She had discovered pretty quickly that she could not stop thinking about Mike, and that Liz was also constantly on her mind. Spending time on her own was not that great. It was lonely and sad, and no amount of running would be able to help with that.
"I would love to have dinner with you," Liz replied immediately.
Kristan gave her a brilliant smile, and for a second she looked relieved.
“Great,” she said. “I… Thank you.”
She had been worried about rejection. After all the stuff that Liz had told her about her ex-husband, losing her temper with James and almost ending up in a fight with him right in front of Liz was probably the most stupid thing that she could have done. But the woman seemed to be okay with her, and Kristan was so relieved she could have cried.
"Are you cooking?" Liz enquired, feigning concern.
Kristan smiled. She reflected that it was incredibly sweet of Liz to try to make her laugh, and she loved her for it.
"Don’t worry, I’m not," she said. "But you won’t have to, and it's not takeaway. I'll be back to pick you up in twenty minutes."
“It’s okay, I can walk on my own..."
"No, no. Please," Kristan said softly. "It will be safer that way."
For once Liz did not argue. Mainly she did not want to give Kristan another reason to worry. She simply got changed quickly, and twenty minutes later Kristan was back at her door as promised, dressed in faded jeans and a simple black shirt, clean Nikes on her feet, and her hair still wet from the shower.
She looked sexy and dark and just a little dangerous, and Liz felt her heart skip a beat.
She locked her door and turned around, leaning close to give Kristan a quick hug.
"You smell lovely," she commented.
Kristan smiled and she took her hand.
"Thanks. You look beautiful."
Liz was gorgeous in simple black trousers and a dark green silk top. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail and a few errand strands just kissed the side of her face. Her black eyes sparkled as Kristan tightened her grip on her hand, and Kristan reflected Liz was quite simply the most beautiful woman she had ever seen in her life.
"It's good to see you again, doc," she murmured.
Liz smiled at her and noticed that even though Kristan was smiling too, the smiles did not quite touch her eyes. She squeezed her hand and threw her arm around her waist, pulling her close. Thunder was in the air and the wind was picking up, and so they walked quickly over to Kristan's cottage.
When Liz stepped inside she broke into a huge smile.
"Oh, Kris, this is gorgeous," she exclaimed. "When did you have time to do all this?"
Kristan gave a simple shrug, looking a little lost still, almost shy.
"It's no big deal. Didn't take long."
She had set the table in front of the bay window, with the lake and the mountains in the background, and she had lit candles all around the room. Music was playing softly in the background, and Liz relaxed as soft guitars and women voices filled the space all around them. It was peaceful. Quiet. It made her feel safe.
Kristan stood behind her, so close that Liz could feel the heat of her body through their clothes.
"I wanted to make it a bit special," she said. "You were great at the hospital. And… with everything. So thank you.”
“I’m glad I could be there for you Kris, there is no need to thank me.”
“Would you like some wine?"
Liz nodded, smiling.
"Red okay?"
"Perfect."
Kristan filled a glass and handed it to her.
"Cheers," she said.
"Cheers. Are you not having any?"
Kristan shook her head and her eyes lingered on Liz.
“Maybe later,” she said.
She had that look on her face again.
Liz touched her hand briefly.
"What's on your mind?" she asked.
"Just about a million things," Kristan replied, and sadness flickered in her eyes for just a moment. "But when you asked just now, I was thinking about last night when you kissed me."
"Yes," Liz said a little hesitantly. "About that…”
Kristan was looking at her attentively.
“I just felt... that's what I needed to do at the time. I didn’t think, I just…"
She looked at Kristan and gave a small shrug.
"I just acted. I hope that's okay."
"It’s more than okay," Kristan said softly. "I was wondering if... maybe… you’d like to kiss me again…"
She leaned closer to Liz. She gave her plenty of time to pull away, and when Liz did not she softly brushed her lips against hers. She smiled. When she started to move back Liz held her in with a hand on the back of her neck, and once more Kristan hesitated.
"What is it?" Liz murmured.
She felt Kristan's breath, like a caress against her face.
"I just want to make sure this is what you want, Liz."
"What do you mean? You?"
"Me. A woman."
Liz pulled back a little, just enough to be able to gaze deep into Kristan's sparkling blue eyes.
"You," she said, "are more woman than anyone on this planet."
She leaned into Kristan and let her fingers travel up into her hair.
"And I want you," she said. "Precisely because you're a woman."
As soon as she said that, Kristan took her glass from her and dumped it on the table. She wrapped her arms around her, pulling her a lot closer and a lot harder against her than she would have dared before. This time when she kissed her it was urgent, intense, hungry.
Her mouth travelled to her naked shoulder and she bit the fleshy part at the base of her neck. Liz clung to her. Heat filled her body. She struggled to keep her eyes open.
"Kris..." she murmured.
Kristan found her mouth again. She kissed her hard, deep and slow. When Liz's hands snaked under her shirt and found her naked flesh she moaned softly.
"I won't be able to stop if you touch me," she gasped.
"Did I say I wanted you to stop?"
Liz let her fingers travel over the hard muscles etched on her stomach. When the shirt got in the way she struggled with the buttons impatiently, eliciting a soft laugh from Kristan.
"Take it off," Liz exclaimed. "Please, Kristan, I need to..."
See you. Touch you. Hold you.
That is what she wanted to say but then she never got to finish her sentence, because Kristan pulled her shirt over her head and threw it across the room, and the sight of her simply took Liz's breath away.
"Gosh, you're so beautiful," she whispered.
She stepped forward and Kristan remained still, looking at her and breathing a little hard.
"So beautiful..." Liz said again.
She was a doctor, a surgeon, and of course she had seen hundreds of women naked before. But right now was a gift, Kristan standing in front of her, trembling and open and just everything Liz had ever dreamed a woman would be.
Kristan's eyes were on her too, tracking her every move. They darkened when Liz rested a hand of the small of her back and let her fingers drift over her breasts. She gasped when Liz pinched her nipple, and when her mouth closed over it and started to suck she felt lightheaded and she had to stop her.
"You’re sure you've never done this before?" she asked, holding on to her wrist.
"No."
Kristan shook her head, out of breath and laughing.
"Are you kidding me?” she said. "I'm about to explode."
Liz looked into her eyes, and she knew that it was true.
"Then take me to bed, Kristan," she said quietly. "I need you now."
The sheets were tangled and twisted and Kristan's skin felt nicely bruised and tender when she woke up several hours later, into the next day, with Liz wrapped tightly around her.
It was no longer raining outside. The cottage was cool, and Liz’s skin against hers felt like a volcano still. Kristan rested her cheek against the top of her head, and she allowed herself to drift for a while.
The previous night's dinner had turned into much more than that very quickly, and at first Kristan had tried to slow things down. Then she had tried to be very careful with Liz, aware that it was her first serious time with a woman, and in fact Liz was the one who had turned their encounter into raw, organic sex.
Kristan could not remember ever being with a woman who could read her like Liz could. They had talked very little, laughed a lot. Touched, explored, pushed the boundaries all night long until both of them had collapsed exhausted in each other's arms.
It was five in the morning now.
Kristan was lying on her back, and as she started to think about what she had to do that day she progressively grew more and more rigid.
"What is it?" Liz murmured against her ear.
She opened her eyes and smiled.
“Good morning,” Kristan said, smiling back at her.
She was wondering what exactly she had ever done to deserve waking up next to such an exceptional woman. Kristan’s smile widened as the woman stretched like a cat, pulled the quilt tighter around them both and snuggled back against her. She rested her head against Kristan’s shoulder and sighed with content.
"Hi,” she said softly.
“Did I wake you?”
“No… I just felt you in my sleep. What are you thinking about?”
Kristan exhaled softly.
"About Mike," she replied. "About what I need to do today. I have to go to the hospital and..."
"Yes. You do," Liz said gently when she did not finish her sentence.
There would be no romantic breakfast by the lake or leisurely walk through the forest for them this morning, and if Kristan started to change her mind about her partner, Liz would have to keep her on track. She had to see to her friend and do what he would have wanted her to do. There was no sense in waiting.
Liz knew for sure that her presence last night had helped to keep Kristan grounded. It had been a timeout, a break, a way to hide outside reality for a few hours. She knew Kristan had needed that, and she knew she had satisfied her in ways neither of them would be able to express.
As for herself, Liz knew that she had found a little part of herself that had been missing for a lot of years. Thanks to Kristan she felt whole again.
"Thank you," she murmured.
Kristan just smiled, a question in her eyes. Liz rested her fingers against the side of her neck. With her thumb she gently caressed her lips, loving the way that Kristan’s eyes immediately lost their focus.
She kissed her softly.
"Thank you for last night. For being you. For loving me the way you did."
"I hope you don't think it was just because of what happened to Mike. That I needed to unwind or something. That it was a one-off."
Liz considered her response carefully.
"I think you did need to unwind," she said softly. "And that's okay. I also know something happened between us last night that was a lot more important than either of us can understand right now."
Kristan relaxed a little.
"I’m glad you feel that way,” she murmured. “Because I do. And I don't just sleep around, just so you know."
"I didn't get that impression. Neither do I."
It seemed this was all they needed to say and something was sealed between them in that moment.
They showered together, both comfortable with each other and both aware that the day had to be got through, even though it would have been tempting to just go back to bed and pretend it was all a bad dream.
Kristan in particular was finding it difficult to concentrate, and she was slow to get dressed and slow to find her car keys. Then she got distracted checking her emails.
"Do you want me to come with you to the hospital?" Liz asked when she realised what was going on.
When Kristan did not reply she went to stand in front of her.
"How are you doing, gorgeous?" she asked softly.
Kristan just shrugged and looked away, blinking back tears she did not want her lover to see.
Liz wrapped her arms around her neck.
"Talk to me, baby.”
"I don’t want to go to the ho
spital.”
Liz could hear the reluctance in her voice, and the emotion.
“You are doing the right thing, you know.”
“Yeah.”
Kristan was finding it difficult to think about it. Impossible, actually.
“I’m sorry,” she said softly as she tucked a strand of silky blond hair behind her lover’s ear. “You look beautiful. And I am not normally this weird in the mornings.”
She looked so sad it made Liz want to cry. So she simply tightened her grip on her.
"Do you want me to come with you?" she asked again.
"I do… But I think I need to do this alone," Kristan said after a slight hesitation.
"I understand."
Kristan wrapped her arms around Liz's waist and pulled her closer.
"I'm sorry I can't spend the day with you. Last night was so incredible for me, and there's a million things I'd like to do with you today."
"Me too. But Mike needs you honey, and I know how hard this is going to be, but you need to do it. That’s what he would have wanted. We can wait, Kris."
"Will you be here when I get back?"
"If that's what you want then nothing would make me happier."
Kristan smiled.
"That’s what I want. And me too."
After one last kiss she grabbed her keys and put on her sunglasses and walked to the door.
"How long will it take, Liz? After I switch off the ventilator?" she asked, and Liz could not see her eyes anymore, but she heard the tremor in her voice.
"Not long, darling. Seconds."
Kristan nodded sharply.
"Okay," she said, and then she stepped outside and ran toward her car.
Chapter 7
Liz decided to make herself useful. There was not a lot she could do in terms of kayaking or flying people up to the glacier, but she could definitely help in the cafe, unpack deliveries, check invoices and all that sort of thing.
Kelly, who ran the shop and also managed reception most days, was grateful for the help and even more so for the company.
The sixty-year old, who was a head shorter than Liz and almost as wide as she was tall, spent the morning remembering Mike and telling Liz stories of his and Kristan's adventures.
Unbroken Page 7
