Double Play (Bishop's Run Series Book 2) Page 9

  Everyone, including Biggs and Carole, said their goodnights about midnight, leaving Penny and me to ourselves. We decided to sit by the fire for a little while longer, taking our seats in the chair, watching the flames die out in the pit.

  "Baxter?"

  "Ma'am?"

  "I had a good time tonight."

  "I'm glad. Me, too."

  "I'm sorry about earlier."

  "Yeah, Penny, me too."

  "I guess I...well, if anyone could break us up, it'd be Tess."

  "I know. I'm sorry for that."

  She was leaning up against me, turned and kissed me, softly, passionately. "Ready for bed?"

  "You mean to sleep?"

  "No..."

  "Well, then, absolutely."

  We got up, put out the fire in the fire pit, then built up quite another fire between us, after we showered off the day together and slipped between the sheets.

  Penny was asleep as I laid there in the dark, Tess's words echoing in my head.

  39

  We had slept to nearly eleven o'clock the next morning. I was standing in the kitchen, fixing coffee, when I looked out the window.

  "Penny, com'ere, you've gotta see this!"

  I was looking out the window, watching Jeannie and Remy as they said 'goodbye.'

  Remy had obviously shown Jeannie a good time, it was evident in the way they were passionately kissing, standing by Jeannie's car parked nearly a third of the way down the path. Penny joined me at the window.

  "Dayum," said Penny.

  "Yeah, that," I said, as we watched. "That Remy, she's smooth."

  Remy got into her car, still smiling, backed it out. Jeannie opened her car door, then looked up at the house. She closed the door and started making her way to the porch.

  "Well, better make enough for three," said Penny, referring to the coffee.

  "Bet she's hungry, too."

  "Starving," Penny laughed.

  I opened the door as Jeannie reached the porch steps.

  "So, look who's doing the walk of shame," I said, smiling.

  "Oh, just stop," laughed Jeannie. "I wouldn't bother you, but I really, really need some coffee." She came into the kitchen, sat down on one of the barstools. "Good morning, Penny."

  "Good morning to you, party girl," replied Penny as she placed a cup of coffee in front of Jeannie. "Have a good time?"

  Jeannie just smiled, couldn't meet our eyes. "I had the best time. The whole night was just...just..."

  "...mindblowing," finished Penny.

  "Yes!" agreed Jeannie. "I'm still processing it all. I had no idea," she added.

  "We all wondered what had happened to you." I said.

  "Remy. Remy is what happened to me," Jeannie laughed. "We danced, then Remy got us shots of tequila, showed me how to do the salt and lime, and then we danced some more, and, oh god, she was just so...so...sexy...and she made me feel so sexy, and omigod, I'm sorry, I probably shouldn't be telling you any of this."

  "Swept you off your feet," said Penny.

  "Exactly!" agreed Jeannie.

  "Coach had an idea that was going to happen," I informed Jeannie, laughing.

  "Well, she called it," said Jeannie, taking a sip of her coffee. "Oh, god, that's good."

  "So, what's your day look like?" I asked Jeannie.

  "I'm meeting Carole and Sharon for lunch at one, then I'm heading home, back to Richmond," she replied. "Think they'll give me a hard time for skipping out on the party?"

  "Oh, you can count on it." I answered.

  "Especially with who you skipped out with," added Penny.

  "Well, no one could be more surprised than me," Jeannie admitted.

  40

  We were all sipping coffee when my phone chimed. Penny looked at me with surprise, a bit anxious. My phone rarely ever rang. I picked it up, looked at the ID.

  "It's Biggs." I saw Penny relax. I hated that my ringing phone had made her react like that. She was still a little skittish from yesterday, I supposed.

  "Yes, ma'am," I answered.

  "Hey, Baxter, I'm at the hospital, I've got a neighbor's dog, been hit by a car. I'm going to need some help to set her leg, can you give me a hand?"

  "Sure, sure, let me get dressed and I'll be there. Thirty minutes?"

  "Great. See you shortly."

  I clicked off, closed the clamshell. "Dr. Biggs needs some help with an injured dog. Broken leg." I set down my coffee, headed to the back to change clothes.

  "Guess it'll just be lunch with Carole. That's probably good, though," said Jeannie, as she considered it.

  "Well, I'm betting Carole will have to get her digs in." Penny reached into the cupboard, got a travel mug down, filled it with hot water to warm it before making Baxter a cup to go.

  "Penny, can I ask you something? I mean, I know we just met but, what happened last night, this is all new to me, is it always like that?"

  Penny was quiet as she thought about the question. "If you're asking if 'all' women are like that, then, no. There are good lovers and bad lovers, just like with everyone else. You got lucky. Or, maybe you didn't. Remy, obviously, is very good, very, very, good, and now that bar, for you, is set high. I wouldn't expect anyone else to make you feel that good again, unless you are one lucky girl and you get two great lovers in a row," she answered. "If that's what you're thinking," she added.

  "Hmm."

  "Yeah," agreed Penny.

  "So, you're lucky," Jeannie remarked.

  "Well, yeah, but it hasn't always been easy," advised Penny. "We both had things we had to work out to get to this point."

  "Like what happened yesterday."

  The conversation stopped when I entered the kitchen. I looked at the two women, neither one looking at me.

  "Okay, well, I'm going."

  Penny had poured water out of a travel mug, poured hot coffee in it and was snapping on the lid. I leaned over, gave her a kiss as I took it. "I'm going to the carriage house after Biggs and I are through, I'll call you from there."

  "Be careful," Penny called as I closed the door behind me.

  41

  "So, do you mind if I ask what happened yesterday? What that was all about?" asked Jeannie, quietly.

  "It's a long story, but I'll give you the short version," replied Penny, just as quietly. She thought about the past two years, all she and Baxter and Tess had been through. "The woman's name is Tess, she and Baxter had a thing, but Tess left town, moved to Richmond. Tess thought that Baxter and I were getting married yesterday, she came to stop it, to tell Baxter that she was coming back to Tenley."

  "Damn. That takes balls," remarked Jeannie.

  "Yeah, it does."

  "So, I guess Baxter straightened her out?"

  "We...haven't really talked about it."

  They were both quiet as they considered the implications.

  Penny took out some bread, turned on the broiler to make cheese toast. "I don't know what Tess intended, if she thought Baxter would just go with her when she left here. She didn't, though."

  "You say that like you're surprised."

  Penny laughed. "Do you moonlight as a psychologist?"

  "No," Jeannie laughed. "I have spent enough time 'on the couch,' though, to have more than a little knowledge when it comes to the workings of the human mind, and I can tell, you're not sure about Baxter."

  Penny had her back to Jeannie, glad she couldn't see the frown on her face. She didn't like hearing what Jeannie was saying, was suddenly unsure that she even liked this woman sitting in her kitchen for that matter.

  "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to put that out there," Jeannie apologized.

  "Yeah, well," replied Penny, as she slid the tray into the oven, her back still to Jeannie.

  "Look, Penny, I know nothing about what I'm talking about, where women are concerned, what they're about. I can tell you, though, that I feel like Baxter, well, she loves you. I don't think you have anything to worry about."

  Penny thought that Jeannie
was saying that to make up for what she'd said just before that. And she knew Baxter loved her.

  That was never in doubt.

  The question was--had always been--who did she love more?

  42

  I entered the animal hospital, found Biggs in the lab, standing in front of the x-ray view box, looking at the fractured foreleg of her neighbor's dog. From across the room, I could see that it was displaced to the point of needing a good bit of traction to realign the bones, needing to be pinned for stability as well.

  "Good morning," said Biggs, her back still to me. "Meg was here feeding up, she helped me get the x-ray and sedate her. She was more than happy to stay, but it's her mother's birthday."

  "It's okay, any time." I replied.

  I owe Dr. Biggs a lot for my new life in Tenley, I'd do my best to do anything she asked. "Guess we're gonna be here for a while," I added, nodding at the x-rays.

  "Yeah, looks like I'm going to be missing lunch with Carole and Jeannie. By the way, have you seen Jeannie this morning?"

  "As a matter of fact, I left her sitting in Penny's kitchen, drinking coffee, looking like she'd had quite a night."

  "Remy?" Biggs turned and looked at me, a smile on her lips.

  "Remy," I confirmed.

  We both burst out laughing.

  "That Remy, my god, she could charm Medusa," Biggs said.

  "Well, she gave Jeannie a night she'll never forget. I think she may have even turned her."

  "Wouldn't be the first, I don't think. When we played ball, I swear Remy would have a girl in every ball park waiting for her after the games. Amazing. Oh, and once, during the playoffs, two girls turned up. Remy just smiled like the Cheshire Cat, put her arms around both and walked them out."

  I laughed, recalling the smile on Remy's face as she'd backed down the path at Penny's.

  We got down to business, anesthetized the little mixed-breed lab, and started the process of putting her foreleg bones back together. Conversation was at a minimum as we worked to realign the bones, x-raying, then pinning them in place when we got the best position. We relaxed only when we'd started applying the casting material, the harder part of the procedure finished.

  "So, Baxter, you know I've got to ask. What was Tess doing?" Biggs cut right to the chase.

  "Well, Sharon, she was trying to stop a wedding."

  "I got that. I take it she thought that you were getting married?"

  "Yep. When we were picking out ties, there was a woman watching us. That was Ginnie, the wife of one of the detectives Tess had worked with. Apparently, she got a little confused as to who was actually tying the knot."

  "Well."

  "Yeah."

  "So, Tess thought you and Penny were getting married, and she came to stop you."

  "Yes. Because she's coming back to Tenley."

  Biggs looked up at me. Just looked.

  "How do you feel about that, Baxter?" She looked back down at the little lab's foreleg, checking her cast work as she continued the wrapping. Her question was sincere, not a reflexive question designed to keep the conversation going. I'd always thought that Dr. Biggs had minored in Psychology in school and her asking that particular question only made me more certain.

  I gave her the only answer I could. "Honestly, I don't know. I really haven't had time to think about it."

  She nodded. "This could get really sticky."

  "It already has."

  "Penny?"

  "Did not take it well. Apparently, she's known Tess was coming for a while now, told me that yesterday. I don't know how she knew, she just did. And she's known about when I've been thinking of Tess, wondering how she's doing."

  "A little precognitive, perhaps?"

  "A lot precognitive. Penny's always been a step ahead of me, even more now than in the beginning. I'll bet she even knows we're having this conversation."

  Biggs chuckled. "Isn't that being a little paranoid, Baxter?"

  "No, just experienced. So, what do you think?"

  "I think it looks good, she'll be healed in about ten, twelve weeks."

  I laughed. "No, I mean about Tess. What do you think?"

  Sharon stopped wrapping the casting material, snipped off the remainder of the roll with the scissors from the pinning tray. She measured her words liked she'd meted out the casting material. "We've had this discussion before, Baxter, in this very office. I will tell you, though, that all of this is going to be hard for everyone involved, the truth always is. You have to choose between two great women and you don't know which way to go. No one's going to make that decision for you. So, when all is said and done, Baxter, be true to yourself."

  I was quiet after that, considering her words.

  In the end, though, she was wrong.

  43

  I got to the carriage house, fed my crew, ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, then crashed on the couch. I don't know how long I was asleep, but I woke to Penny sitting on the other end of it, looking at me.

  "Hey, babe, when did you get here?" I blinked the sleep out of my eyes and looked around, trying to gauge the time. It was late afternoon by the sunlight falling on the windows.

  "A while ago, but you were sleeping so hard, I know you needed that nap."

  "Yeah, I did." I sat up and that's when I saw the box sitting at Penny's feet. It was full of her things. She saw me looking.

  "Bax, we need to talk."

  I know that tone.

  "Penny..."

  "I want to show you something." She handed me an eight-by-ten black-and-white photo. It was Biggs and Carole, just after Jeannie had pronounced them wed. They were looking at each other with so much love.

  "That is a beautiful photo, Penny, you caught that moment so perfectly."

  "Baxter, that is love. That is two people utterly and completely in love. Now, look at this," and she handed me another photo.

  It was of Tess and me, taken just as we met in the aisle during the ceremony.

  "Do you see it, Bax?"

  I couldn't lie to her. "Yes," I whispered.

  "I know you love me, Baxter, I know you do. I love you, too," she paused, then sighed. "But I want someone who looks at me the way you and Tess look at each other, the way Biggs and Carole do, and Baxter, as much as I love you, as much as you love me, that's not you. And it never will be."

  "Penny..."

  "Bax, you know I'm right about this. It's written all over you two. I could be a real ass, I could guilt you into staying with me, but where's the good in that?"

  "Penny..."

  "Baxter, please. I'm going." She stood up, leaned over and kissed me, tears in her eyes, then picked up the box. "I will always love you, Bax, we'll always be the best of friends, but I want what you have with Tess and none of us will ever really be happy if I don't let you go."

  She turned and walked out. "You should call her," she said, closing the door behind her.

  I had moved to the porch steps, was watching the girls wander through the back yard and I contemplated Penny's words to me. It was undoubtedly the easiest breakup I'd ever been a party to.

  I love Penny, I always will, but she's right. There's "loving" someone and then there's being "in love" with someone and, while they are both amazing and wonderful, being in love is, by far, the greater of the two, with its ability to stop your heart and shake your bones when it happens.

  I love Penny, but I'm in love with Tess.

  I pulled out my phone and pressed 'one.'

  44

  In a matter of minutes and after greeting my exuberant girls at the gate, Tess was standing before me, suddenly shy and cautious.

  "Hey."

  "Hey. You can sit down, I'm not going to bite."

  She took a seat on the step next to me, stealing glances and biting her lip.

  "Penny left me."

  Tess didn't say anything to that and I suspect it's because she wasn't quite sure what to say.

  "She was very reasonable about it. Nicest breakup I've ever ha
d. Let me show you something." I handed her the photo and gave her time to have a good look.

  Her smile was heartbreakingly sad as she looked at the two of us, lightly stroked her hand over the picture.

  "You see it? Penny said it's written all over us."

  She nodded.

  We were quiet for a time. I smelled her perfume, I knew the scent of her skin, the taste of it, I could recall it whenever I wanted, had done just that for nearly a year and I felt my heart aching as I remembered holding her in my arms, remembered loving her.

  "So, Bishop, where are we?"

  "What do you mean?"

  "Do you still love me? After all...after all of this?" she softly asked.

  That question, that she would ask it, why she would ask it, struck deep. She was afraid that my love for her had turned, for the pain she'd caused, and she wanted to know if there was any point in our talking about this, about any of this, any longer.

  I realized that she was in pain, too.

  "Yes," I whispered back. "I still love you, Tess. I will always love you."

  We sat looking at each other, just looking, then she reached up, held my face in her hand as she kissed me, a lingering kiss, her lips soft, warm. I leaned into it and pulled her into my embrace.

  Tess was home.

  So was I.

  *****

  In the main house, Miz Maggie dumped the potatoes she'd planned to boil for supper into the sink, looking out the window as she started to wash them.

  "Jared, what's today's date?" she called to him.

  "The twenty-eighth," he said as he entered the kitchen.

  "Girl, you sure cut it close," she chuckled, shaking her head.

  Jared looked out the window. "I'll be damned."

  "Told you she'd be back before the end of May." Maggie was smiling though there were tears in her eyes as she leaned forward and kissed the man on his scruffy cheek. "I know true love when I see it."

  He grinned as he pulled her into a hug. "Well, I reckon I owe you that new rod and reel."