“You mean she straightened out that mess you call your inbox?” Susan shook her head. “I remember when you asked Laura to do that. I thought she was going to quit on you right then and there.”
“Rose did it without even being asked,” Ronnie said proudly. “That’s how she is.”
“It sounds like you are very lucky, Sis. Now enough of this sensitive chat. We have work to do here. You wanna try and get the stereo to a volume that doesn’t shatter glass?”
“Sure.” Ronnie worked her way across the room, the smile never leaving her face.
“She said that?”
“Yup…ooof.”
“Oops, sorry about that.” Rose moved her elbows from Ronnie’s chest and laid down, her arms crossed over the older woman’s left breast. She rested her chin atop her interlaced fingers. “So she really said she liked me?”
“She said she liked you.” Ronnie smiled in the dark, letting her hand gently rub the smaller woman’s back. “See? You’ve won over the Cartwright women.”
“Not all of them.”
“Honey, even I haven’t won over my mother yet. I think you’ll just have to accept that two out of three ain’t bad.”
“Well…” Rose crept up until their faces were even, gold and black hair mixing about their shoulders. “There is really only one Cartwright’s opinion that matters to me.” Ronnie’s eyes closed as soft lips pressed against her own. “And right now that Cartwright needs to get some sleep.” Despite her words, Rose could not resist dropping down for a longer kiss. “Mmm, sometimes I wonder if I’m really Cinderella and you’re holding the glass slipper.”
“If I was, that would make me one very lucky woman,” Ronnie replied.
“I’ll never understand what made someone like you take a chance on someone like me.” Rose shifted most of her weight onto the bed and claimed the older woman’s shoulder as her pillow.
“Sometimes I’m afraid this is all some wonderful dream and I’m going to wake up and find you gone,” She felt Ronnie’s arms tighten protectively around her.
“I will never let that happen, Rose. I won’t ever let you go back to the way you used to live.”
“That doesn’t scare me.” She nuzzled deeper into Ronnie’s shoulder.
“Then what does?”
“Losing you,” she quietly admitted. “All the money and possessions in the world don’t mean a thing to me without you.”
“I love you too,” Ronnie whispered, lifting her head up long enough to place a kiss on the top of Rose’s head. They snuggled together, bumping legs until they found a comfortable position and the peaceful feeling of being with each other relaxed them into sleep.
The clock read just past six when the call of nature pulled Rose from her slumber. Sleepy green eyes opened and focused on the woman sleeping beneath her. It took a few minutes to extricate herself from the human puzzle they had formed during the night. After a quick trip to the bathroom, Rose positioned her crutches and went to the kitchen to start a pot of coffee. She was pouring the steaming liquid into two mugs by the time Ronnie padded into the room. “Good morning. I thought you’d like some coffee.”
“Mmm, yes thanks.” The tall woman walked over and wrapped her arms around Rose from behind. “Good morning, Hon.” She pressed her lips to the top of the young woman’s head. “I’ve got to pick up Mother in a couple of hours.”
“Then you definitely need your coffee,” Rose said, handing over the two mugs. “And if you’re going to kiss me good morning, do it right.”
Ronnie shook her head. “Mmm, morning breath. No kisses until after I brush my teeth.”
“I’ll take my chances.”
“Really?” An eyebrow raised slightly as she set the mugs down. Turning around, she took first one crutch, then the other, and put them to the side before gathering Rose in her arms. “So you want a good morning kiss, hmm?” She lowered her head and poured all of her love into a series of soft kisses. She nipped and coaxed with her lips until she felt Rose’s mouth open for her. Ronnie swallowed soft moans as her tongue explored the inside of the young woman’s mouth.To her utter surprise she felt a very insistent tongue pushing into her own mouth. Now it was the executive’s turn to moan. When they broke apart, it was several seconds before their breathing returned to a manageable level. “How’s that?” she asked in a husky voice. “Does that meet with your approval for a morning kiss, Miss Grayson?”
“Oh yes, very nice.” Rose leaned up for another quick brushing of lips before reaching for her crutches.She reluctantly pulled back, her whole body screaming for more contact. “You had better drink your coffee before it gets cold.”
Ronnie looked at the clock. “I would much rather spend the day with you, you know.” A shrill beeping drew a frown from the executive. “I’ll get it. With my luck it’s probably Susan trying to duck out of dealing with Mother today.” She picked up the phone. “Cartwright Residence…Yeah, good morning to you too, Sis. What’s up?” Rose watched as dark eyebrows furrowed in puzzlement. “Mm hmm, she’s awake…no, we just got up and were having coffee.” Now the brows shot up and blue eyes locked with green. “Well…sure, that sounds fine to me. Let me ask her, hold on.” Ronnie held the phone to her chest. “Susan wants to know if you’d like to go out for breakfast.”
“Uh, sure.” It would be the first time she had gone out of the house with the exception of her doctor’s appointments and the funeral. She watched a beaming smile come over Ronnie’s face.
“Sure, sounds good, Susan.” They finalized arrangements while Rose sipped her coffee. By the time Ronnie hung up the phone, her own coffee had cooled enough to drink in four long gulps.
“We should get going here. We’re supposed to meet there in forty-five minutes. I’ll run upstairs and get ready.” She picked up Rose’s now empty cup and set it with hers in the sink. “Do me a favor?”
“Anything,” the young woman replied.
“Wear that rust colored shirt?” A shy smile came to Ronnie’s lips. “I think you look really nice in it.”
“I don’t think any of the skirts go with it.”
“The khaki pants do. I’m sure the leg is wide enough to get over the cast.”
Rose smiled. When she had opened those clothes on Christmas she had thought then they would go well together. She also knew Ronnie had a weakness for that particular shirt. “Sure, but it’ll cost you.”
“Cost me?” Puzzlement turned to amusement when she saw the calculating grin.
“You have to wear that gray cotton shirt and those black jeans.”
“The baggy ones or the tight ones?”
“The tight ones.” Rose realized how it could be taken and blushed. “I just think they look good on you,” she mumbled, looking away as her ears turned an even brighter shade of red.