Unbroken

by Natalie Debrabandere

  Kristan was stunned. She went after her.

  “Hey, hang on a minute,” she exclaimed, “how can you say something like that?”

  Pam spun around to face her once more.

  “Because it’s the bloody truth! It’s her fault. And there you are treating her like she’s something special.”

  “She is very special,” Kristan countered immediately. “I love her, Pam.”

  The woman shrugged angrily.

  “Oh yeah, I’m sure she makes you feel good. I’ll give you my take on it though: she deserves all the shit that happens to her. Don’t ask me to stick around and pretend like I am happy to have her with us.”

  Kristan’s blood turned to ice in her veins.

  “I am not asking you to be happy about it,” she said sharply.

  She worked to control her temper. After all, she had told her staff that they could speak to her freely if they needed to. Pam was doing just that.

  Kristan tried again.

  “I know that you loved him, Pam,” she said calmly. “And believe me, there isn’t a single second that I don’t miss him or think about him. But Liz is not to blame for what happened.”

  Pam snorted.

  “Jesus, Kristan. What the hell do you…”

  Kristan raised a hand, interrupting her.

  “I love her and she is here to stay,” she said, careful to keep her tone even. “I’m sorry if that is going to be a problem for you.”

  “Yeah. So what if it is, uh? What if I’ve got a huge problem with it all?” Pam said angrily. “I can get lost, is that it?”

  “No. That is not what I was going to say. I have lost one friend already, I do not want to lose you too.”

  “But?”

  It was as if Pam were taking pleasure in forcing Kristan to choose. Maybe she was enjoying it, but Kristan had no time for games and her patience was wearing thin.

  “Look, I’m sorry you feel that way,” she said. “But I can’t bring Mike back and Liz is my partner now. That’s just the way it’s going to be.”

  Pam stared at her with tears in her eyes. She looked like she was going to say something else, but then she seemed to change her mind. Without another look at Kristan she walked over to her car, got in, slammed the door shut and drove off.

  Kristan stood alone in the middle of the driveway.

  “Shit…” she murmured under her breath.

  She hated to think she may have come across as insensitive. She hated to think she had hurt a good friend. Maybe introducing Liz to everyone and sharing their happiness with the rest of them had not been the right thing to do after all. But what was she supposed to do, hide? She felt close to her staff, they were her friends, and she was damned if she was going to lie to any of them.

  She shared her thoughts with Liz and Kelly later on as they were having lunch in the cafe together.

  “That is absolute nonsense,” Kelly said immediately. “We all need all the good news we can get, what with everything that’s been going on.”

  “Well. Yeah, that’s what I was thinking,” Kristan nodded, frowning a little.

  “And everybody else was happy for you,” Kelly insisted.

  “That’s not the point. Pam really did not take it well. Maybe I was wrong.”

  Liz could see that her lover was upset.

  She took her hand and rubbed her thumb lightly over her still bruised knuckles.

  “Give her some time, darling,” she said quietly. ”I’m sure she’ll come round.”

  Kristan gave her a gentle smile.

  “Yeah… I really hope so.”

  “And after all, she is right in a way. I am responsible for…”

  “You are not,” both Kristan and Kelly exclaimed in unison.

  Liz smiled weakly.

  “Pam might not see it this way,” she said hesitantly. “I can see why; she does have a point.”

  She caught the intense look in Kristan’s eyes.

  “Look, Kris,” she said, looking distraught. “Maybe I should go away for a while…”

  Kelly wisely stood up and walked away, and Kristan took Liz’s hands in both of hers and leaned forward.

  “Mike really liked you,” she said softly. “Did you know that?”

  Liz was taken aback.

  “Did he? I barely knew him…”

  “I know. But he knew me, and he could see how much I wanted you. And this, between us,” Kristan said with feeling, “that is exactly what he would have wanted for me. For us.”

  “Kristan…”

  “Don’t, Liz. Okay? I love you, and nothing that happened is your fault.”

  “I love you too.”

  Kristan nodded, looking a little pale.

  The thought of Liz leaving was almost too much for her.

  “I’ll speak to Pam,” she declared. “You belong here with me.”

  Chapter 11

  Incredibly, things started to settle. Things got quiet. For a full week the weather was horrendous, matching Kristan’s mood and spirits. Heavy winds and big rains drove almost everyone away from the Park, and little by little it started to empty. Kristan was working less and less, ‘going into hibernation’, as she called it.

  Normally she would have been enjoying her downtime season, but this year was different. There was a police car parked in front of her cottage, and she was getting daily updates on absolutely no progress from Omaru.

  Mainly she was exhausted, and on the fourth day of rain, at last, she slept.

  Liz woke up just after eight in the morning to the sound of heavy drops beating the roof, and she smiled when she realised that her lover was still in bed next to her, lying on her stomach, sound asleep.

  She very carefully got up, walked over to her side of the bed, and collected her cell phone from the table. She knew Kristan wanted it on at all times, and so she would be looking after it whilst her partner got some proper rest.

  She drew the blinds lower on the window, grabbed her clothes and tiptoed out of the room, closing the door quietly behind her. She showered, got dressed, and wrote Kristan a quick note to tell her she had gone into town. Then she grabbed her car keys and slipped out of the cottage.

  In town she bought fresh vegetables, groceries, her partner’s favourite mango juice and bread, and on impulse she also popped into the local art shop.

  She bought more painting supplies and got interested in a display of locally crafted white gold rings. She did not buy one, but she had a long conversation with the artist, and she walked out of the shop grinning and feeling on top of the world.

  She quickly walked back to where she had left the car, and when she got there she was surprised to find Pam leaning against it.

  When the woman looked up and spotted Liz it was obvious to her that Pam had been expecting Kristan and not her. She immediately broke eye contact and started to walk away.

  “Pam, please, wait,” Liz said, hoping against all hopes that they could have a conversation. “Pam!”

  But the woman simply sank her hands in the pockets of her trousers and carried on walking.

  Liz sighed as she watched her go. She hated the thought of Kristan losing a friend because of her, but then again, Pam’s persistent bad mood and resentful attitude was starting to annoy her a little. Why couldn’t she just come and talk?

  Shrugging, Liz pushed the thought out of her mind and got back on the road.

  It was just after lunchtime by the time she got home and Kristan was in the shower. Liz dropped her purchases on the counter and went to push the bathroom door open. It was hot in there, and all the mirrors had steamed up.

  “Kris?” she called, smiling.

  The shower door slid back a little and Kristan stuck her head out.

  “Hello,” she grinned. “Fancy joining me?”

  Liz had already started to take her clothes off. She nodded, kicked her shoes off and stepped in, sliding the door shut behind her.

  Kristan had done well with the bathroom, she reflected approvingly
. The shower was big, bright and modern. Plenty of room for what she had in mind, and she smiled.

  Kristan was standing under the nozzle, her head tilted up to it, her eyes closed.

  Liz’s eyes slowly drifted over her body. Kristan was lean and slender and also hard and strong, soft in all the right places. Her hair had grown recently. She was the sexiest thing Liz had ever seen, and she quickly went to stand behind her, molding herself to her. Her hands rose up to her lover’s breasts, eliciting a gasp and a giggle from Kristan.

  “You go straight to the point, don’t you?”

  “I’m not at the point yet.”

  Kristan laughed and turned around.

  Every time she looked at Liz naked something inside her heart went a little quiet and calm. Liz was shapely yet trim; she was feminine where Kristan was athletic; her body was soft and welcoming, and Kristan could have watched her for hours. And touched her for even longer.

  She started to do so now as Liz stood in front of her, smiling a little.

  “Hey sleepy head,” she murmured as Kristan caressed her shoulders, let her hands roam down her back, over her bottom, back up to caress her breasts.

  “Hey, doc.”

  If there was one thing Liz liked about Kristan it was that look on her face when she was touching her. That intense look of concentration and delight, like Liz was the most precious thing in the world and she had been entrusted with a very important possession.

  She reached for her and caressed her cheek softly. She kissed her gently, then harder, loving that Kristan always responded so quickly to her. Her eyes had turned a hazy blue and her nipples were hard.

  “I keep wanting to go slow,” she said, “but you make it so hard for me…”

  “Me?” Kristan protested. “I’m just standing here, babe, what are you talking about?”

  Liz laughed and she wrapped her arms around her neck. She kissed her thoroughly, loving the gentle trembling that kiss started in her lover. Then Kristan’s hand slowly drifted down and between her legs.

  “Oh, Kris,” Liz gasped.

  Kristan started to stroke her, softly, almost teasing.

  Liz moaned and raised her leg a little.

  “Hold on to me,” Kristan instructed.

  “Yes. Oh, yes…”

  Kristan could feel that she was close, and she wanted to make it last. She took her hand off, twisted her fingers into Liz’s hair and looked deep into her eyes.

  “You make me feel a little crazy, you know that?” she murmured.

  “Good. I want to.”

  Kristan touched her again and Liz’s knees buckled.

  “Hold on to me,” Kristan repeated. “Just keep looking at me babe. I want to watch you.”

  She kept on touching her until Liz’s eyes lost their focus, until she felt like she was going to fall.

  “Close?” she whispered against her cheek.

  Liz nodded wordlessly and she pulled Kristan down onto the floor with her.

  “You?” she mumbled.

  “Yeah,” Kristan replied tightly.

  Just touching Liz and feeling her ride her hand had almost been enough to send her over the edge. She wanted to finish, but she had no real urge to stop Liz when the woman rolled on top of her and her mouth closed around one of her nipples. Liz’s hand drifted low and her fingers found her, and Kristan reacted and hit her head on the hard floor.

  “Careful,” Liz panted. “I can’t stop.”

  “No, don’t. I don’t want you to…”

  Liz swallowed the rest of her sentence with a scorching kiss. She pressed harder against Kristan, riding her leg, stroking her at the same time. Kristan had thought she would be able to take her time. She was surprised at the force of the orgasm that took her, and as she climaxed it was made even more intense by the sound of Liz, crying out her name as she came.

  “So, what did you get when you were in town?” Kristan asked later, much later when they finally emerged from the bedroom.

  The session in the bathroom had only been a warm up. By the time they decided to take a break it was night again, and Kristan was starving.

  “Well, I was hoping to start on your cooking lessons,” Liz replied, surveying the abandoned groceries on the table.

  Kristan had a quick look through the bags, looking interested.

  “Cool. What did you have in mind?”

  “Vegan pizza.”

  “Just my kind of thing. Okay, so what do I do?”

  Liz smiled at the expression on her face.

  “Don’t look so intense, baby,” she laughed. “If you can fly a helicopter I’m sure you’ll be able to handle pizza.”

  “Don’t be so sure. I can mess things up pretty bad in the kitchen.”

  “You won’t mess this one up,” Liz assured her. “And I got a ready-made base just to help with that,” she added, grinning.

  Kristan looked happy and relaxed as she spread pizza sauce on the base as instructed and added vegan pepperoni, red onion, red pepper, mushrooms, olives and vegan cheese.

  “That’s it?” she asked, surprised at how good the end product looked, and it was not even cooked.

  “That’s it. Ten to fifteen minutes in the oven now and we’ll have chow.”

  “Awesome. Let’s do it.”

  Fifteen minutes later Liz pulled the pizza out of the oven, and the smell was just amazing.

  “I don’t think I’ll be ordering takeaway anymore,” Kristan commented. “Hang on, I’ll take a photo.”

  Liz gave a soft laugh.

  “Nice to see you’re proud of your work.”

  Kristan smiled at her.

  “That’s for your cookbook, dear,” she said.

  “My cookbook?”

  “Yeah. You like cooking, I like taking photos. I say we write a Vegan Cookbook and sell it in the cafe. We could put the recipes on the menu.”

  Liz’s face broke into a huge smile.

  “This is such a great idea,” she exclaimed. “I love it!”

  “What other things do you think we could put on the menu?”

  “Well, I was planning on teaching you to do a roasted veg lasagna, and vegan Shepherd’s pie; corn and jalapeno chowder, lentil and quinoa burgers…”

  She looked excited as she went through the list, and so happy, and Kristan stepped forward a little. She wrapped her arms around Liz’s waist and kissed her on the mouth gently.

  “Never ever leave me,” she whispered.

  “I wasn’t planning on it darling,” Liz replied seriously. “You have no idea.”

  “What does that mean?”

  Liz grinned and simply shook her head a little.

  “I am not telling you just yet.”

  Kristan’s eyes sparkled.

  “That’s okay,” she said softly. “I will enjoy the wait.”

  Liz grinned at her and gestured toward their food. If she was not careful she would say too much, too soon.

  “How about pizza for now?”

  “You bet,” Kristan smiled. “I swear I am going to faint if I don’t eat something soon.”

  Her phone went off as they were about to start eating.

  “Ignore it,” Liz advised.

  “Yeah…”

  But Kristan could not resist glancing at the new email that had come through and she reached for her phone.

  Her expression changed slowly as she clicked on the email and started to read it. At first she looked troubled, then happy, and then her eyes filled with tears.

  “What’s wrong?” Liz asked immediately.

  Kristan shook her head.

  “Nothing,” she reassured her. “It’s good news, actually.”

  “Have they found who we are looking for?” Liz asked expectantly.

  “No. Sorry, babe. This is an email from James. I was really hoping he’d get in touch and now he has, finally.”

  “What’s he saying?” Liz asked, and she slid off her chair to come stand near to Kristan.

  “He says he hasn’t ha
d a drink since Mike…”

  Kristan had to clear her throat.

  “Since Mike,” she said simply. “He’d like to meet up and have a chat.”

  “Is he asking you for a job again?”

  “No, he’s just asking if we can talk.”

  Kristan took a deep breath and then she read the email out loud to Liz. She was smiling by the time she finished.

  “I have a good feeling about this,” she declared. “And if Mike were here he would be over the moon.”

  Liz nodded.

  She had only had one experience of the man so far and she did not care to repeat it. But she wanted to trust that he would not fail Kristan once more, and so she thought about it as she went back to her seat and took another bite of pizza.

  “Where does he want you to meet?” she asked.

  “He just says I pick where and when, and he’ll be there. I guess somewhere in town tomorrow will do.”

  Liz pursed her lips and gave a small shake of the head.

  “What?” Kristan smiled.

  “Well, I’m just thinking meeting in town would be really too impersonal. Why don’t you invite him round for breakfast tomorrow morning? I’ll make pancakes.”

  A huge smile illuminated Kristan’s face.

  “You’re amazing.”

  Liz just shrugged.

  “I just think the guy’s probably feeling a little shaky, and you both loved Mike very much. You deserve to be able to talk in a safe and quiet place. I can’t think of anywhere better than here.”

  “You’re right,” Kristan agreed. “And I’m going to call Omaru and tell him to recall his police car.”

  Liz visibly tensed at that.

  “Hey,” Kristan said gently. “It can’t be forever.”

  “I know, but just because it’s been quiet doesn’t mean he’s given up.”

  Kristan nodded.

  “No, you’re right,” she agreed, looking thoughtful. “But let’s assume Mike walked in on him that day, and he struck him and ran. Safe to say by now he has heard about what happened after that. If I were him I would really want to disappear. You know? I wouldn’t stick around here and push my luck.”

  Liz took a few seconds to reflect on that.

  She knew that when it came to Robert she was not thinking straight. She was too scared of him, and everything about him had been blown way out of proportion. She knew she could trust Kristan’s judgment better than her own at this point.