already got a closet full of them."
"That's the first thing I did when I got out of the real estate business. I tossed all my
suits. I swore I'd never put on another pair of high-heeled shoes." She picked up the wine
bottle and held it up. "We've about killed it." She laughed. "God, I love lazy days like this."
"Yes. It's so nice out here." Jill reached over and touched her hand. "Where are your boys
today? How is it that you're alone?"
Carrie stared at their hands for a long moment then raised her eyes. Jill went to pull her
hand away, embarrassed, but Carrie stopped her.
"You only wear a wedding band," Carrie said quietly.
Jill raised her eyebrows.
"No diamond, just the band," Carrie explained, touching her ring finger. She held up her
own left hand. "Me too."
Jill nodded. "Craig and I couldn't afford much when we got engaged. I didn't see the point
in spending an obscene amount of money on a diamond when we didn't even have a house to
live in."
"You got married in college?"
"No. A month later. We both graduated in May. Got married in June. Started teaching—
both at Kline—in August." She shook her head with a smile. "A whirlwind summer."
"Why here?"
Jill shrugged. "Craig's from here."
Carrie gave her a sympathetic smile. "I can't believe your in-laws live three doors down."
Jill laughed. "Most days, neither can I."
Jill turned her attention to the lake and stretched out, much like Carrie was doing. The
garden bench was small and she was aware that their hands still brushed, aware each time
Carrie's fingers moved across her skin. She finally turned, not surprised to find Carrie's
eyes on her. Their eyes held for a long moment. Again, that feeling of familiarity—of
connecting—settled around her. She liked it. It felt peaceful.
"I'm really glad you came today," Carrie said quietly.
"Me too."
"I wish we could do this more often."
Jill nodded and smiled. "Perhaps we should exchange phone numbers," she suggested.
"And I'll give you the code to the gate. Because even if we can't be together, there's no
reason you can't come out here and enjoy the peace and quiet."
"Oh, I wouldn't come out if you weren't here."
"Why not? I'm offering. Besides, you are the only other soul who even knows this place
exists."
Jill paused. "Do you feel guilty you've not shared this with your family?"
Carrie shook her head. "No, not at all. For one thing, James could never slow down enough
to enjoy it out here. He's all go, go, go, all the time. Now the boys would probably enjoy the
lake in the summer, would enjoy going swimming, but they both have their own things going
on now. Josh will graduate in May and go off to college. He doesn't have a clue as to what
he wants to do but he wants to leave home, go someplace new. And I'm all for that. He's
far too young to be stuck in one place. But Aaron, now he's his father's son. He so smart,
he could do anything he wanted—engineering, computer science, anything. But damn if he
doesn't want to stay here and run one of James's stores."
"Well, I'm sure James is happy at least one of them wants to follow in his footsteps," Jill
said.
"Oh, of course he is. I think he was secretly afraid he was working his ass off all these
years for nothing," she said with a laugh. "But in the summers, Aaron goes with him every
day. And this coming summer, James has promised him an assistant manager‛s job. I have
this horrible fear he'll graduate high school and move into a manager's position and never
go to college. And Aaron would be perfectly happy. So would James, for that matter."
"Well, at least your kids have interests. Angie's world revolves around boys and makeup. I
know she's only a freshman but she shows no interest in anything. I asked her once what
she wanted to do and she said she'd probably end up being a secretary, like me," Jill said
with a smirk.
Carrie laughed and squeezed Jill's hand.
"I know. If she knew my salary was more than her father's, she'd die. I don't know how it
happened but she's very old-fashioned." Jill leaned closer, liking the feel of Carrie's
fingers on her hand. "She has this vision of fathers working to support the family and
mothers being home to cater to the kids. And I know she gets that from her grandmother."
"She spends a lot of time with her?"
"Yes. Especially when she was younger. After school, she'd go over there until I got home
from work. Even now that she's older, she still goes over after school most days. I cringe
when I think of all the crap they must be filling her head with."
"Does Craig know all the things his mother says to you?"
"No. In the beginning when she'd say something to piss me off, I'd tell him, but usually he
would just laugh it off, or worse, take her side. The only time he didn't take her side was
when I quit teaching. He knew how miserable I was."
"So you tolerate her and pretend everything's fine?"
"Yes. And she informed me we're having dinner with them tonight. Craig apparently forgot
to tell me."
"Ouch."
"Yeah. What a way to end a perfect day."
"Was it a perfect day?" Carrie asked quietly.
Jill smiled. "Well, let's see? It didn't start out all that great, no. But sitting here at the
lake in the sunshine, visiting with you ... yeah, it was perfect."
"I'm glad you think so."
But after sitting through dinner, silently listening as Craig gave play-by-play descriptions
of the basketball games he'd watched that day, Jill thought how truly perfect the
afternoon with Carrie had indeed been.
Carl, her father-in-law, looked at her once, his eyes questioning, but she smiled and turned
her attention to Craig. She tried—she really did—to muster up some enthusiasm for what
Craig loved. Unfortunately, it just wouldn't come.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
"Five sunny days in a row," Carrie exclaimed one day weeks later. "Do you think spring is
really here?"
Jill laughed. "March is barely here. I don't think you should lay claim to spring too."
"It feels like spring. It even smells like spring. And look how swollen the trees are," she
said. "Everything will be budding out soon." She turned to Jill. "I can't wait for green."
"I know. And this would be a good weekend to start on your flowerbeds."
Carrie nodded. "Yes, it would." Then she grinned. "Are you sure you have to go?"
"As much as I would love to be with you, Craig and Angie would never forgive me if I missed
the state tournament."
"Oh, I know. I was being selfish."
"No you weren't," Jill said as she reached over and squeezed Carrie's hand. She wasn't
surprised when Carrie's fingers closed over hers. They had been doing that a lot lately.
Touching. "And if I could get out of it, I'd ask you for the whole weekend," she said
quietly. "The lunch hours seem shorter and shorter."
"Yes. It's probably because the weather is nice and we're out here, not stuck inside, that
makes the time race." She slowly let Jill's hand slip away before turning back to the lake.
"But the state tournament is a big deal, right?"
"Yeah, it's a big deal. Once in a lifetime thing for most of these kids. And Craig about
passes out from excitement just talking about it. I can't imagine what he'll do at the
game."
"Well, believe it or not, Josh even made mention that Kline was going to State. And Aaron