The Common Thread

by Jaime Maddox

  Nic looked across at her—black hair melting into the night around her, eyes dark shadows on her beautiful face, mouth upturned at the corners in a hint of a smile—and her heart skipped a beat. “You can always stay here, you know.”

  Rae’s smile was so bright it was evident even in the darkness. “I happen to have my jammies in the car.”

  “Well go get ’em.”

  Nic rinsed their glasses and put them into the dishwasher, and that quickly Rae was back, a duffel bag dangling from her hand. “Ready?” she asked, and when Rae nodded, she steered her up the stairs to her bedroom. While Rae sorted through her bag, Nic slipped into the bathroom and changed back into the pajamas she’d been wearing before Rae had called. Then she brushed her teeth, turned off the light, and walked back into her bedroom.

  The sight of Rae there, standing beside her bed, wearing only cotton boxers and a tank top, caused Nic to stop moving. Rae turned slowly, a smile lighting her face. It lit up Nic’s heart, too. She’d never felt this sort of attraction before, and the force of it upset her equilibrium. She was tempted to push Rae back onto the bed and climb in with her, to take off her clothes and spend what was left of this day making love and to bring in the new day that way as well. Yet something inexplicable held her back, and so she simply smiled back and then pushed Rae—not onto the bed, but away from it.

  “This is my side,” she said as she pulled back the sheets and slipped beneath them. But a few minutes later, when Rae finished in the bathroom and lay next to her on the other side of the bed, Nic closed the gap between them and rested her head on Rae’s chest, and the last thing she heard as she drifted to sleep was the comforting sound of Rae’s breathing.

  Chapter Twenty-eight

  Forgiveness

  Nic carefully wrapped potatoes in aluminum foil and carried them to the fire pit at the edge of her patio. It was late afternoon on a beautiful late-spring day, and this was her version of Sunday dinner. A small fire was blazing, and she placed the potatoes on its perimeter, where they’d slowly bake to perfection. Salad and barbeque chicken would complete the meal.

  She could hear the sounds of laughter and splashing, and as she looked up, she saw the source. Rae, who’d been standing on the edge of the dock a minute earlier, was now in the water with Chloe and Andre. They were playing football with a waterproof ball, the kids jumping off the dock and catching passes from Rae in midair, holding tight to them to prevent fumbling as they landed in the water. Apparently, Rae had bent over a little too far in an effort to catch a return pass and had paid the penalty.

  Pausing for a moment to watch them, Nic could hardly believe the turn her life had taken in just a few days. She’d gone from living alone to having an instant family, complete with the two kids, a beautiful woman, and a nanny. This was a scene of blissful domestication, and Nic figured they’d covered most things a typical family did together over the course of a lifetime in just four days. They’d suffered a tragedy, taken a trip, gone shopping, ridden bikes, eaten at McDonald’s, removed a sliver, and were now preparing a cookout. Chloe had slowly come out of her shell, and now both kids were having a great time with Rae, and had been since they’d first awakened the day before.

  Nic’s Saturday morning had been wonderful, too. She’d awakened early to find Rae still asleep beside her, curled up on her side, the first hints of sunshine lighting her face. Nic could get used to seeing Rae in the mornings. That wasn’t such a strange idea—having a woman in her bed. It wasn’t expected, but it wasn’t altogether out of the realm of possibilities. The family, though—that was a strange one. And what was even stranger was how good it felt to have them around.

  Nic had spent more than two days as sole caregiver of her niece and nephew, and rather than finding herself anxious to return them to their rightful owner, she was savoring every minute of their time together. They’d video-chatted with their mother, and Nic knew Katie was recovering and would be discharged from the hospital soon, removing Chloe and Andre from this scene of domestic bliss. The thought was as unimaginable as taking custody had been a few days earlier.

  She wasn’t sure who’d be more devastated at their departure—her or Rae. Rae was a natural with them. They’d found a bike for her, too, and she’d raced around the lake with them. Rae had spent so much time in the water Nic feared she’d prune. And they’d matched her step for step on their hike past the falls at the state park. It had been a wonderful few days, and Nic tried not to think about how soon it might end.

  A sound behind her startled her, and she turned to see a familiar pair walking down the stairs toward her patio. Her avoidance tactics had worked for a few days, but apparently, the game was over. Her heart raced and her breath caught, but Nic refused to let her tension show. She was ready to face them. Her parents were opinionated, overeducated, highly successfully people, though, and disagreements were rarely easy. She braced for the worst.

  “Hi, Mom, hi, Dad,” Nic said, and stood tall, meeting their gaze.

  “How are you?” her mom asked.

  Nic shrugged.

  “I think your phone’s broken,” her dad teased her. “I’ve left you several messages, but you apparently haven’t gotten any of them.”

  Her mother continued the atypical, lighthearted banter. “Mrs. Bloom wants to know what time the chicken will be ready.”

  Nic’s jaw dropped at the mention of her nosy neighbor. Mrs. Bloom had been spying at the lake for about three hundred years, and nothing escaped her notice, but this was unbelievable. “How does she know it’s chicken?”

  “Someone saw you at the store. With black children. Buying chicken.” Her mother whispered the word black for effect.

  “I’m surprised the police haven’t been here yet.”

  “I think they were, but you were out.”

  “Oh. My. God.”

  “I’m just teasing,” Ann Coussart said, and then her voice softened, and so did her expression. “We came to apologize, Nicole. We should have told you about Katie. We’re sorry. We thought we were protecting you—but we were wrong.”

  Nic closed her eyes, summoning the will to hold back her tears. She hadn’t thought about this moment, but if she had, she would never have imagined it like this. Debate, yes. Reprimands, yes. Admission of guilt? Never. And then her parents did something else unprecedented—they hugged her, in broad daylight, on the lawn in plain view of a dozen boaters on the lake and Mrs. Bloom’s binoculars. Her mom’s arms wrapped around her, thin but strong, her frame just a few inches taller than Nic’s, and her father engulfed them both, wrapping his long arms around their shoulders as he kissed the top of Nic’s head. She wasn’t sure what made her happier—the hug or the fact that they were giving it to her. “We love you, Nic,” her father said.

  “I know, Dad. I’m just having a hard time with all this. The…betrayal and the fact that my twin is in the SICU recovering from bullet wounds.” Nic sniffled, no longer able to hold back the tears. “I always wanted a sister, you know?”

  To their credit, they offered no further excuses; they simply acknowledged her feelings and validated them.

  “Perhaps you always missed her, honey. Maybe on some subconscious plane you knew she was out there,” her mom offered.

  “Or maybe I was just a lonely only child.”

  “We did our best, Nic,” her father whispered, not defensive, but perhaps sad that he’d let her down.

  It saddened her to hear the defeat in the strong voice of the man whom she loved so much, and she was ashamed to have done that to him. She hadn’t intended to hurt them, any more than they’d wanted to hurt her, and the irony was difficult to ignore. She couldn’t do anything to change what they did, but she could control how she responded now. They’d raised her well. “And you did a great job. Especially compared to the Finans.”

  “We would have taken both of you if we could have,” her dad told her.

  “I know. Jeannie told me the whole story. It’s okay, really.” Nic couldn’t bear
to see them so upset, and suddenly her anger faded as she realized how much she loved them and how lucky she was that such wonderful people had adopted her. No, the Coussarts weren’t perfect parents, but they had always done what they thought was best for her. They’d tried her whole life to give her everything she needed, and most of what she wanted, and to guide her in the right direction. They provided her with love and opportunity and the tools to make something of her life. And she had. She might not have found personal happiness, but she’d done something good with her life, and it was in fact a wonderful life.

  As she looked across the yard to the lake, where Rae and Chloe and Andre were playing, she thought that perhaps happiness might be in her grasp as well.

  “Okay, knock it off, you two. You’re going to confuse Mrs. Bloom. She’s probably got binoculars trained on us. Come down to the lake. I want you to meet my niece and nephew.”

  “And how about the young lady? Who is she?” her father asked, his tone teasing once again.

  Nic had been out to her parents since college, when she grew tired of their questions about boyfriends and decided to tell them about her girlfriend. Since then, she’d had many dates, and never had she brought a single one home to meet her parents. In fact, it was a rare occasion that a woman even came to her apartment in Philly. She preferred to meet people on their turf, so she was free to escape when she felt the need.

  Her parents had politely inquired and occasionally kidded her, but had never pressured her about the women she was dating. Nic knew they were curious, but she suspected they were also concerned. They wanted her to settle down so they could die happy, and so far she wasn’t cooperating.

  “She’s my lawyer,” Nic said.

  “Oh, no, what have you done?” her mother asked.

  “Don’t worry, Mom. It’s all good.”

  “Hey, guys,” she called to them from the edge of the lake, “come meet my parents.”

  They emerged from the water with skin the texture of raisins, and Rae rubbed a towel over a shivering Chloe as Nic gave Andre the same treatment.

  “Are you going to be our grandparents?” he asked.

  “Why not?” Ann replied, shocking Nic yet again.

  She looked at her mom skeptically, wondering just how much her parents would do to get back into her good graces. They really didn’t need to do anything—she’d already forgiven them—but it seemed they were going to make the effort anyway.

  After chatting for a few minutes, Rae took the children into the house to bathe and change while her father prepared cocktails, and Nic talked to her mom.

  “You seem to be adapting,” she observed.

  “It’s been exciting. And exhausting. How do parents do this?”

  “I suppose you’re treating them with a little more attention than their mother does. She has to concentrate on things like homework and housework. You can just have fun.”

  “Well, all of this fun is wearing me out.”

  “When do you work?”

  “Tomorrow afternoon.”

  “Who’ll watch them?”

  “Oh,” Nic said, surprised. “You haven’t met Nan. She’s their sitter.”

  “Well, that’s convenient.”

  “Yeah, it is. She’s great.”

  “What about Rae?” Ann asked. She looked up at the sky and then flecked imaginary lint from her shorts, and her obvious disinterest told Nic just exactly how interested she was in the answer to her question.

  “She’ll help, too. The kids love her.”

  Her mother smiled at her. “I can see why. I like her very much, Nic.”

  “Me, too.” That was about as much information as Nic had ever revealed to her mom about a date, and for the moment, it was all she was prepared to say. Each hour she spent with Rae seemed to strengthen the bond forming between them, and she was growing more comfortable with Rae and the idea of them together. The attraction between them was undeniable, but Nic had learned all too well that attraction faded quickly when there was no substance to support it.

  For most of her life, that would have been fine. A brief affair with Rae would be passionate and fun, but now for the first time, Nic wanted more. She’d glimpsed what it might be like to be in a relationship with Rae, and she loved the pictures—Rae’s strength in the face of adversity, the gentleness with which she’d held her, the sound words of advice she’d shared. For the first time since high school, when Virginia Yoon had broken her heart, she didn’t feel alone.

  All of the signs indicated that Rae was interested in more, too. She’d asked her to the Barnes and then for dinner. She’d comforted her after the disaster at the hospital. She came to find her, coerced her into taking Katie’s kids, and had been helping her with them ever since. She had no obligation to be with Nic, and so Nic reasoned Rae was with her because she wanted to be.

  Taking baby steps now seemed prudent as she waded into these unfamiliar waters. Yet the current of attraction was powerful, and for two nights she lay beside Rae and fought its pull, fought the impulse to scooch over beside her and kiss her senseless. And run her fingers through Rae’s shiny black hair. Was it as soft as it looked? The brief kisses they’d shared had been teasers, but Nic could still feel her lips burning with their heat, and her stomach did flips anticipating a real kiss.

  Disappointment filled her as she realized it probably wouldn’t happen any time soon. Although they hadn’t discussed it, Rae would probably be leaving tonight to go to her parents’, and Nic knew she wanted to spend some quality time there. Perhaps later in the week, when the kids were gone, they might meet for lunch. Nic would be traveling back to Philly in a few weeks to help Louis pack for his move, and they might get together then. After that—who could tell?

  Suddenly the idea of a long-distance relationship occurred to her. Was that really something she wanted to do? It had never been an option before, but with Rae, it might work. Perhaps it was the perfect solution to her dating troubles—a lover who she could see on a regular but limited basis, who gave her space and freedom but all the benefits—sex, a traveling companion, and a date for parties.

  She looked to the early evening sky, avoiding her mother’s gaze. That scenario suddenly didn’t sound so great. She feared she wanted what she’d had for this wonderful weekend. A partner. And perhaps a couple of kids, too.

  Her father handed her a cocktail, calling her out of her daydream, and she talked with her parents about Katie and the children. Jeannie had kept them up to date through the years, so they had an idea of her troubles, but they were as shocked as anyone to hear about her run-in with the bullets. Then Rae, Chloe, and Andre came scampering down to the patio, and all talk of their mother ceased. Nan followed them and was introduced to the Coussarts, and they all got to know each other while Nic put the chicken in a grill basket over the fire.

  Their group of seven sat on the patio, enjoying Nic’s efforts, and Nic realized it was the most animated dinner she’d ever shared with them. Her parents were much more reserved than the two children and friends who’d joined her family. Nic decided she preferred the current setting over the one she was used to, and she realized how much she’d changed in just a few days. When the cleanup was finished, she was sorry to see her parents leave.

  “I guess you’ve forgiven them?” Rae asked after they’d put Chloe and Andre to bed. Nan retired before all of them, claiming exhaustion from exposure to clean mountain air, and so they were alone as they walked out onto the deck.

  “It was good advice that you gave, Rae. I’m never going to have any other parents. I have to make it work.”

  “Have you ever thought of finding your biological mom?”

  “All the time.”

  “So why didn’t you?”

  “I’m afraid of what I might find.” Nic had read horror stories on the Internet about bad reunions with birth parents, and she was understandably cautious about initiating a search.

  Rae was silent for a moment. “I guess I never thought of it that w
ay, but I imagine it is a scary prospect.”

  Nic digested Rae’s words. “Maybe someday. What I am looking forward to…don’t laugh…is talking to Katie.”

  “Really?”

  “Well, I have to try to make friends with her so I can see my niece and nephew from time to time.” Nic didn’t say that she was curious about Katie, too. She already knew they shared a love of cheeseburgers and women, but what other interests did they share? The idea of a sister was growing on her, and thanks to Rae, she might have an opportunity to actually meet Katie, and get to know her. Who could tell? They might actually share some common threads beyond DNA.

  “That’s a good enough reason for me. But you might actually like her.”

  “Maybe. How about you?” Nic asked, trying to divert the conversation away from the topic she wasn’t quite ready to discuss. “Any plans to see your family on your trip to their house?”

  Rae chuckled. “My parents won’t be home till midnight. They’re squeezing every last drop of wine out of those grapes.”

  “So I guess you’ll be leaving soon.”

  “I suppose I should.”

  “I don’t want you to go.” Nic looked up and their eyes met, a gaze filled with heat and longing.

  “Do you want to come in the hammock with me?” Rae asked.

  Shaking her head, Nic stood and reached for Rae’s hand. “Let’s skip the hammock and go to my room.”

  Rae stood, and before Nic could blink, Rae’s lips were on hers, singeing her with their heat, and Rae’s tongue was in her mouth, gliding over Nic’s with an ease that suggested they’d been doing this for years. Nic led her through the house and to her room, where she locked the door behind them. “I don’t think I’ve ever locked this before. We’re lucky it works,” she said.

  “I would have just shoved the bed against the door,” Rae said, and then pushed Nic, gently, toward that bed.

  Nic reached out to her, tugging Rae’s shirt from her shorts, feeling the silkiness of her skin as she ran her fingers across the planes of her back and then her abdomen. Up and over she lifted the shirt, and then she softly kissed the place between her breasts, where her bra pushed them together in a tantalizing display of cleavage.