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Deale, Maryland, was a small community, less than five thousand people, on the Western Shore of the Chesapeake Bay. The town provided plenty of charter fishing boats, primarily for residents from the Annapolis and Washington, DC, areas.
But for Addy Cooper, Deale had been the perfect playground for long hot summers spent getting a tan on the dock behind her house. With Tommy perpetually ensconced in his tree house and Karen rubbing Coppertone sensuously over her body, all had seemed right in the world. Addy could have stayed that way forever and wanted for nothing, until the “incident.”
She had been angry at Karen for a very long time—for her loss of innocence in Miss Wilson’s office and for the loss of her few memories of happiness. Could she face Karen now, after all this time, and pretend that nothing had happened? Perhaps she had forgotten the entire incident. Just the possibility made her angry.
Driving into Deale, Addy turned onto Masons Beach Road and from there onto Parkers Creek Drive. Vacation homes had sprung up throughout the area, driving housing prices up and crowding the open spaces that had once abounded. All that was left of her grandparents’ large farm was several acres of land and the rambling house. It had so many additions that its original style had been totally obscured.
A county sheriff’s car sat on the street out front when Addy pulled into the driveway, and her heart rate accelerated.
Karen.
She should have known her ex would be waiting.
She left her luggage in the car and hesitantly climbed the steps to the front door. This was home, and she should just walk right in. But something held her back. Was she still welcome here? How would Tommy react to her? Would he be angry at her for leaving? Would he refuse to come with her, and if so, what would she do with him?
Before she could make up her mind, the door opened and Officer Karen Kaczarowski stood there. Addy’s mind turned to mush and her bones felt like rubber. Damn! Karen looked hot in that uniform. She was slender and athletic, solid yet not bulky, her dark blue eyes swirling with emotion Addy couldn’t quite decipher.
“Addy,” Karen murmured. “It’s so good to see you again.”
“Officer,” Addy managed to say. She refused to call her Karen. It seemed too intimate and she wouldn’t give her the satisfaction. Addy planned to maintain a businesslike atmosphere and convey only what needed to be said. The less time she spent in the presence of this—this betrayer, the better. Karen probably didn’t even remember that she had never apologized for the affair.
“Tommy’s out back, of course. Come on in.” She opened the door wider.
Addy resented the movement, as though Karen lived there and should be inviting Addy into her own home. Her grandmother had shown Addy a copy of her will long ago, bequeathing the house and land to her upon her death. But Addy hadn’t expected her to die so soon.
Thinking of her grandmother, and seeing all of her possessions just as they had always been brought a lump to Addy’s throat.
She didn’t get a chance to say good-bye.
She had spoken to her grandmother the week before her death but had been in a hurry. Work had been pressing down on her, and at the end of the phone conversation, she had forgotten to say “I love you,” like she always did. Addy was appalled to feel a tear trickle down the side of her nose.
“Hey, it’s going to be all right.” Karen put her arms around her, but Addy jerked away.
“I want to see Tommy.” She hurried around Karen, avoiding her like an animal avoids stepping in its own waste. Besides, Karen’s arms felt too good to let them linger longer than necessary.
When she walked out the back door onto the screened-in porch that faced Parkers Creek, the beauty and tranquility of the sun setting over the water washed through her and she relaxed for the first time since she had touched down at BWI. The big red oak was lush and thick with leaves, providing a deep shade over the wooden picnic table where she and Karen had sat when they ate together. She could distinguish the tree house hidden among the branches and knew that Tommy was somewhere inside. Taking a deep breath, she entered the yard.
“Tommy?”
Footsteps on the floorboards above told her he had heard and was probably peeking down at her right now. His window was open and she called up to him.
“Tommy, it’s me, Addy. I’m home.”
“Caw! Caw! Big deal.”
She winced. His response shouldn’t have surprised her, but it did. And it hurt worse than she had anticipated. She approached the tree cautiously, then began to climb the ladder as Tommy leaned out the window and peered down at her, flapping his arms as though about to take flight.
“Go away, Addy. I’m mad at you.”
“I know, sweetie, I know. And I’m sorry. It doesn’t make up for my time away, but now I’m home, and I’m not leaving you again. Okay?” She pulled herself up to the door of the small enclosure and respectfully knocked. “Can I come in?”
“Please? I just want to talk to you about Grandma.”
A moment of silence greeted her pronouncement, and then she heard the lock turn in the door. She ducked at the entryway, then stood up in the one-room enclosure. Tommy sat on his bed, his hands folded neatly in his lap. He gazed at her with the eyes of a wounded animal, which broke her heart.
“Oh, Tommy.” In three steps she was by his side. He flung himself into her outstretched arms and clung to her, sobbing into her neck.
“Shh, honey. Addy’s here. Don’t worry. I’m never leaving you again.”
“They say Grandma’s dead, Addy. They say I can’t see her no more.”
“I know, sweetie, I know. But I’m home and I’ll take care of you now.”
She cried along with him and understood for the first time what it was like to be an orphan. No adults were left to care for her and Tommy. She was the grownup now, and she had to be the strong one.
“I’m hungry.” Tommy sniffed, wiping his face on his sleeve.
Addy smiled through her tears. “Okay, then. What would you like for dinner?”
“Worms.”
“You can’t have worms, but you can have pizza.”
“Okay.”
She clambered down the tree and was startled to discover Karen waiting at the picnic table. The combination of sun and shade left a freckled pattern across her face, and she had never been more handsome. Her dark hair and light eyes, and her olive complexion dark from exposure to the sun, made Addy shiver.
But the dull ache in her heart that had never completely healed resurfaced. What might have been in their relationship haunted her.
“I hope you don’t mind,” Karen said softly, “but I’ve been staying at the house until you got here. Just to make sure Tommy was okay.”
“No, I don’t mind at all. I’m glad he wasn’t alone. I hope it wasn’t an imposition.” Addy leaned against the picnic table but refused to sit down. It would seem too much like old times, and she didn’t want to remember their old times.
“I was glad to do it. In fact, since you’ve been gone, Tommy and I have become good friends. I like to spend time with him. He’s a great kid.”
Addy was surprised. Karen had always been good with Tommy, even when they were children. She would defend him from all the bullies who made fun of him and even wound up with a black eye on occasion. Addy was grateful that Karen had continued the friendship despite the end of their relationship. She was also even guiltier that Karen, not her, had been taking care of Tommy.
“Well, I’m back now so you don’t have to do that anymore. Thanks for looking out for him.” She pushed off from the table.
“I need to make his dinner now. Thanks again.”
Addy wanted her to go away—rather, her libido wanted her to go away—but Karen didn’t seem to take the hint.
“I want to help, Addy. The past is the past. Stop punishing us for a stupid mistake that happened a long time ago.”
The bile roiled up from Addy’s gut. “Mistake? You call cheating on me with Miss Wilson a mistake? A mistake is using a ballpoint pen to do a crossword puzzle. You broke my heart—no, you tore my heart out of my chest and stomped on it.”
She was losing control and was shocked that all the feelings she had considered buried long ago rushed so quickly to the surface. But she couldn’t cure the festering wound.
Karen jumped up. “Addy, you haven’t changed one bit. You’re still the same old tight-ass—and I don’t mean that in a good way—and bitter woman who left here over six years ago. I hope you’re happy in your misery, but don’t spread it around.”
Addy watched her stalk away. Talk about tight asses. Even in her fury she admired the flex of muscle in Karen’s butt that the clinging pants of her uniform couldn’t hide. When the patrol car revved up and skidded angrily away, she felt suddenly deflated.
She hadn’t wanted to reveal so many feelings in her first encounter with Karen. She had planned to display only dispassionate indifference that would hopefully inflict a mortal wound, like the one Karen had inflicted on her. Instead, she had only deepened her own pain.
Karen parked in the lot across the street from the Happy Harbor Inn and went inside. The usual crowd was in the bar—local bikers and a few weathered fishermen—drinking beer and yelling at a game on the television. She found a stool and plopped down.
“Evenin’, Karen. Off duty?” The bartender, Dee-Dee Lovelace, greeted her. When Karen nodded, Dee-Dee grabbed a bottle of Wild Turkey from the shelf and poured a long shot, setting it in front of Karen.
“Hey, Dee-Dee.” Karen downed the shot in one large gulp.
The heat spread quickly and she relaxed a bit, but it would take a lot more than one drink to ease her anger.
“How’s Tommy doing?” Dee-Dee poured another one.
“He’ll be fine. Addy’s here.”
“Addy? She is? That’s great. I can’t wait to see her. Geez, how long has it been?”
“Over six years, almost seven now, I guess.” Karen tossed the second shot back, and this time she really felt it.
“Wow. Time flies. So…are you okay?”
Karen eyed her warily. Dee-Dee had been a friend to both her and Addy in high school, but she had been Addy’s best friend first. Addy had shared everything with Dee-Dee, including the Miss Wilson fiasco.
“I’m fine. She’ll probably swing by here at some point. But I can tell you right now, she hasn’t changed one iota since she left. She still hates me.”
“Oh, come on, now. That’s ancient history. She can’t possibly hold a grudge that long.” Dee-Dee raised the bottle and Karen held up a finger for one more.
“Guess again.” This time Karen sipped the liquor as it burned throughout her bloodstream.
The moment she’d laid eyes on Addy, the old feelings had washed over her like a gentle summer rain. She was mad at herself for not being able to clear up the Miss Wilson thing long ago. It really had been a mistake. The woman had seduced her, and she had let her hormones get the best of her. Besides, Miss Wilson had an experienced mouth that could do incredible things and she had let go of her inhibitions, even knowing what she was doing was wrong. Of all people to walk in on them, it had to be Addy.
When Addy had told her she’d be coming home, Karen secretly hoped they could patch things up. And when she saw her, her body said yes. But her brain was beginning to doubt the possibility. Addy had never forgiven her and probably never would. Fine. She had always been able to find comfort in the arms of various women in town. She didn’t need the complications that Addy presented. She’d be around for a couple of weeks and then would probably return to California. Good riddance.
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