Murky Waters

CHAPTER NINE

The afternoon had gotten away from Tristan and Lucy. Tristan realized that Cam would be home soon. There was no way she could hide the fact that she had been crying, and she didn’t want him to see her that way. Lucy assured her that she would not tell Cam what they had discussed until Tristan was ready for him to know.

Lucy hugged and kissed Tristan before she left. “Sweetie, as long as I live, I will be here for you, and so will Cam. We love you very much. In my eyes, you are my daughter, and nothing will ever change that.” Tristan smiled and kissed Lucy goodbye and left before she started crying again.

When Tristan arrived home, Claire pulled in behind her. Tristan was still collecting her things when Claire walked up to the truck.

“I was wondering if you would like to have dinner with me tonight.” Her voice trailed off when she got a look at Tristan’s face.

“Oh, God, Tristan, what has happened? Are you okay?” Claire asked as she pulled Tristan into her arms. Tristan made no attempt to explain. She welcomed Claire’s embrace and allowed herself to be held. Claire took the keys from Tristan and opened the door.

She led Tristan into the house where she took her into her arms again. “Tristan, are you all right, baby?”

“I know I look like crap, but I really am all right. I spent the afternoon with Lucy. We discussed some things about my childhood, and it really upset me, but I feel better now that I got it off my chest. Please forgive me, but I am not emotionally up to rehashing any of it right now.”

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“That’s okay, I understand. Would you prefer to be alone tonight, or would you like some company other than Ralph?” Claire asked with a smile.

“I would love it if you stayed with me again. I don’t feel very much like going out, though. You mind if I cook for us instead?”

Tristan said.

“I have to run home and get some more clothes for tomorrow.

While I’m out, I’ll pick up dinner. You will open a bottle of wine and go soak in the bath until I get back. It will relax you, I promise. If I return to find you still in these clothes, there’s gonna be trouble, missy!”

Tristan smiled and kissed Claire. “Yes, ma’am! I only have one request.” Claire raised a brow inquisitively. “I would like Chinese.

Either cashew chicken or sesame kitten with fried rice,” Tristan said as she made her way to the bathroom.

Claire laughed. “You better hope Ralph didn’t hear that kitten comment, or you may be missing some more skin tonight.”

Tristan splashed her tear-stained face with the water from her bath. What she really wanted was a shower but opted for a soak in the tub. Claire was right, it had soothed her nerves.

Tristan lay back in the tub, letting the hot water surround her and remembering her conversation with Lucy regarding Claire. As much as Tristan wanted to guard her heart, she realized Claire already owned it, and it wouldn’t matter if Claire walked away today or ten years from now, it would still hurt the same. She had toyed with their relationship, thinking she could enjoy Claire and not allow herself to lose her heart.

She had really only considered her feelings until then, but the look in Claire’s eyes that night had spoken volumes. It would kill her to break Claire’s heart. And with that in mind, she resolved herself to hanging on to Claire as long as she could. All plans to run away went down the drain with her bath water.

When Claire returned, she fixed their plates and had them on the living room coffee table when Tristan emerged from her bath.

Claire opened a bottle of white wine, hoping that the drink would relax Tristan. She was determined to comfort her obviously emotionally drained lover.

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Tristan took a few bites of her dinner before speaking. “What did I miss at work this afternoon?” “Nothing at all, really. It was very uneventful. I spent most of the day renewing hotel accounts to assure that Valor would get the best rates. The crew coordinators seemed to be having a quiet day, as well. They only requested two rental cars for some crew swaps, and that was it.

The afternoon was really boring. I think I would have enjoyed the downtime, but Mike set up camp in my office the latter part of the day.”

Tristan glanced up from her plate. She didn’t like the way Mike stared at Claire, and she felt her hackles rise at the mention of his name. “So, what did he want? Was he hitting you up for a raise already?”

“He was hitting on me, all right, but it was not for a raise. He asked me out, even though I told him a while back that I was not interested and would not date an employee. It’s like he forgot all about the conversation.”

Tristan set down her fork and looked at Claire. “I can’t believe he did that. He must have a brass set of balls to ask you out after you’ve made yourself clear. You did make it clear, didn’t you, Claire?”

Now, Claire felt her hackles rising; she didn’t like what Tristan was implying. “I can assure you that I made it explicitly clear. I reaffirmed that with him today.”

Even though Tristan knew Claire had no interest in Mike, it made her stomach turn. She was unaccustomed to the intense feelings of jealously it caused. She didn’t like the idea of someone trying to compete for Claire’s affections.

Tristan changed the subject, not wanting to discuss the topic any longer. “I have to do some work on the travel budget tomorrow. I was supposed to have done it today. I will need you to run some reports for me first thing tomorrow morning, so I can get a look at the numbers and make sure we are still on track.”

Claire welcomed the change in conversation; her anger was too close to the surface. She was more than capable of handling her staff. “I’ll have them on your desk first thing. If it’s slow for me tomorrow, I will be happy to assist you. Maybe we could split the boats in half and work the numbers that way.”

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For the remainder of the evening, they sat quietly in front of the TV. Tristan laid her head in Claire’s lap, and Claire ran her fingers through the dark locks, soothing her partner. As the evening passed so did Claire’s anger.

With the wine and Claire’s attentions, Tristan relaxed and drifted off to sleep. Claire woke her after a while, and they went to bed.

Claire lay for a long time with Tristan in her arms, regretting her anger earlier in the evening. Tonight was not the night to discuss the problems she was having with Mike.

Tristan pulled away from her and sat up in bed, startling Claire, who thought she was asleep. “I made you mad earlier tonight, didn’t I?” Tristan asked softly.

“Yes, you did, but I understand your concern. Just give me some time to deal with him in my own way. I need to prove to Suarez and myself that I can handle this position. If I can get it through Mike’s thick head that I’m not interested, maybe I can salvage a decent agent.”

“I don’t have any doubt in your abilities, Claire, and if it means anything, I am truly impressed with what you’ve done with that department. He just gets under my skin,” Tristan said as she lay back down and stared at the ceiling as the feelings of anger and jealously crept back.

Both lay in silence for a while until Claire rolled onto her side and stroked Tristan’s hair out of her eyes. “Tonight is not the night to worry about Mike and his antics. You’ve obviously had one hell of a day, and I wanted to be a comfort, not bring you down further.”

Tristan took Claire’s hand into her own and kissed her palm.

“You are always a comfort to me, Claire.”

What was intended by Claire to be a tender good night kiss turned into something altogether different. The moment her lips brushed against Tristan’s, a fire ignited inside her, and the flames quickly spread to Tristan.

Claire soon realized that one kiss was not going to satisfy her as her hands roamed over the body of her lover, who tried to roll over and take control. Claire broke from the kiss and looked into Tristan’s eyes glistening in the darkness. “Tris, you’ve never been tied up, have you?”

“Of course not.” The surprise was evident in Tristan’s reply.

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“Well, if you don’t lie back and relax and let me do what I want, you will be tonight,” Claire said with impish glee.

Claire reached over and switched on the bedside lamp, filling the room with a soft glow. She kissed Tristan until she was compliant to her touch. Hoping to make Tristan feel more at ease, Claire stripped off her own clothes before doing the same to her nervous lover. She lay back down fully on top of Tristan, who looked a little uncomfortable with being the one taken.

Covering Tristan’s neck with kisses and soft bites, Claire was determined to make Tristan relax and enjoy what she had in store for her. She grinned, pleased with herself when she sucked Tristan’s earlobe, making her whimper. “What do you want me to do to you, Tris?” she whispered seductively in her ear.

“You specifically told me to lie here and let you do what you wanted, and now you ask me what I want?” Tristan replied with a snort of laughter.

Beat at her own game, Claire could not help but laugh with her.

“Okay then, roll over on your stomach,” Claire whispered.

“Huh?” came the startled reply.

“Tris, I’m right next to your ear, so I know you heard me. Roll over.” Claire shifted her weight, giving Tristan room to move.

Tristan reluctantly obeyed.

“Just relax, I’m not going to take you anywhere you don’t want to go.” Claire murmured as she kissed a hot trail up Tristan’s spine, making Tristan squirm under her touch. “Get up on your knees,” she commanded softly and was pleased when Tristan complied.

Tristan’s arousal was evident when Claire slipped one finger inside her and began to move in a rhythm that Tristan eagerly responded to. Claire slowed her pace and added a second finger, feeling Tristan shudder as she did. This time, she slowed her pace, teasing Tristan, who had forgotten all her inhibitions in the moment.

“Please, Claire,” she pleaded as Claire continued to tease her.

The desperation in her voice turned Claire inside out, and she quickly gave in to Tristan’s desires. Only when Tristan sank down onto the bed did Claire stop. They both lay in an exhausted heap, gasping for air.

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“I’m so gonna walk funny tomorrow,” Tristan said, her voice muffled by the pillow. That was the last thing Claire remembered before drifting off to sleep.

The next day at work, Tristan paid close attention to Mike. She felt the hair on her neck rise every time he found a reason to go into Claire’s office. Claire was of course professional, but it grated on Tristan whenever Claire smiled at him. Tristan mentally assured herself that Claire was not entertaining Mike but simply doing her job.

Tristan spent the remainder of the workweek verifying that her department was still in line with the budget. Claire worked closely with her, going over the numbers and double-checking her figures.

On Friday afternoon, they both breathed a sigh of relief when Tristan emailed her findings to accounting.

At lunch that afternoon, they decided they would spend the weekend at Tristan’s place relaxing. Tristan promised to teach Claire how to fish in the lake behind her house. Both were looking forward to spending some alone time together, and Tristan’s secluded property was the perfect place to do just that.

Claire wondered if Tristan would be ready to confide in her about her childhood. She knew that whatever it was had to be extremely painful for Tristan. Claire almost dreaded the conversation because she knew she would lose all emotional control if Tristan broke down, and she hoped that she could be the support Tristan needed.

Claire had toyed with the idea of telling Tristan about the stalker.

No new envelopes had come recently, and she took it as a good sign. Maybe that chapter in her life was over, and there would be no need to trouble Tristan with it.

On Saturday morning, Tristan was up just after sunrise. Ralph was fed and the coffee was brewing when she woke Claire.

“Tristan, why on earth are you up already? It’s Saturday, for goodness sake!”

“The fish bite best in the morning. Your fishing lesson isn’t going to be any fun if you don’t get a bite. Now, get up.” Tristan poked Claire in the ribs until she couldn’t stand it any longer.

Claire ran to the bathroom, fussing the whole time and refusing to come in contact with any bait.

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After breakfast, they went down to the water’s edge, dragging two lawn chairs behind them. Once they had picked a shady spot, Tristan prepared the rod and reels. She stuck her hand in the cricket can and found the perfect specimen for catching a bream, known as a perch by non-Cajuns.

“Eww, Tristan, do you have to put the hook through its back like that?” Claire thought the little insect was too gross to touch, but she felt bad about the way it was speared onto the hook.

Tristan stood up. “Now, watch me, Claire, it’s all in the wrist.”

Tristan flicked her wrist and released the line. The orange bobber landed about ten feet out into the water. She handed the pole to Claire. “Watch the bobber. If it gets pulled under, pull back, then start reeling.” Claire took the pole and kept her eyes locked on the float.

Tristan baited her line and cast it out, as well. She glanced over at Claire, who was admiring the pretty multicolored lures in the tackle box. Her float was nowhere in sight.

“Claire? Where is your float?” Tristan asked calmly.

Claire looked at the spot she last saw the bobber, and it was gone.

“Oh!” she exclaimed. She jerked the rod back, nearly knocking herself out in the process, reeling as fast as she could until she saw the small fish breaking the water’s surface.

“Okay, what do I do now?” she asked excitedly.

“Keep reeling him in. When he gets close to the bank, grab the line with your hand, set the reel down, and grab the fish by the bottom lip. Then, you can take the hook out of its mouth,” Tristan said as though Claire had done this all her life.

Claire froze. “You want me to touch it?”

Tristan laughed. “Of course, girl, they don’t bite. Just be mindful of the fins.”

“Tristan Delacroix! I am so NOT touching that fish!” Claire exclaimed.

Tristan grumbled, “sissy,” under her breath as she put her own rod down and helped Claire with her first catch. She grabbed Claire’s line and guided the fish over to them. She gently put her thumb in the fish’s mouth and took the hook out. She then held it up for Claire to see.

“That’s close enough, Tristan. Don’t touch me with that thing, or I will freak out on you,” Claire warned as she backed up.

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“Baby! You don’t mind touching them when we eat them! Now, be a big girl and come get your fish,” Tristan said jokingly.

“Are we going to eat him? He looks like he’s just a baby,” Claire said with sad eyes.

Tristan decided to quit tormenting the fish and Claire and tossed it back into the water. “No, my love, we will not eat him, he is way too small. Now, put a cricket on your hook and catch our dinner.”

The slip of the tongue was not lost on Claire, and she wondered if Tristan were even aware of her words.

Claire glanced at her empty hook, then at the cricket can, then back at Tristan. “Tris, darling ...” She began with a sly smile.

“You look so sexy when you bait my hook. How about you bend over again and get another cricket and put it on my hook as only you can?” She batted her eyes for an added bonus.

Tristan laughed at Claire’s antics. “Oh, Claire, you are dealing with the wrong sex with that tactic. I’m not a man, so you can stop trying to stroke my ego.”

“Fine then. I’ll get my own cricket.” Claire marched up to the can and thrust her hand in without a moment’s hesitation. As she tried to catch the next victim, another used her arm as an escape route to freedom. Claire jumped up and flailed around like she was on fire, slinging the escapee into the grass.

Tristan made no attempt to disguise her laughter. Claire glared at her but began to laugh herself. Tristan baited Claire’s hook for her for the rest of the morning. Between the two of them, they caught enough fish for a decent dinner. Tristan, of course, would be the unlucky person to clean the catch, knowing that Claire would not touch one much less gut it.

She pulled a small table over to the water’s edge and began the messy chore. Ralph stood nearby, waiting patiently for the delicious morsels he knew his pet would throw him. Claire brought Tristan an iced tea and stood by with a disgusted look as Tristan performed the tedious task.

Bored with just standing around, Claire decided to entertain herself by teasing Tristan, who could not defend herself with her hands full of fish guts. Claire nibbled her ears and neck and ran her hands over her body as Tristan tried to keep her mind on her work.

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They were both laughing and didn’t hear the approach of an uninvited visitor making her way across the lawn. “Tristan! What the hell are you doing?” Mallory Delacroix shouted as she stormed across the yard. Tristan and Claire looked up in surprise as the woman launched into a tirade.

“Your sick lifestyle should be kept behind closed doors, not out in the open for everyone to see. I am so ashamed of you. If your father were still alive, he would disown you on the spot!”

Tristan calmly looked at her mother. “My lifestyle is none of your business. If I choose to make love to this woman in the middle of my front yard, that, too, is none of your business. Most importantly, if my dad were still alive, he would never disown me because, unlike you, he loved me regardless of what I did.”

Mallory opened her mouth to speak, but Tristan cut her off. “Not another word, Mother. I am very calm at the moment, but if you make the mistake of trying to push any more of my buttons, you will not like the result.” She accentuated her point by stabbing the fish-cleaning knife into the table. “You never just drop by. What’s on your mind, or did you just come to see what your ‘sick’

daughter was up to?”

“I wanted to talk to you about what you’re doing with your life.

You’ve accomplished your goal, Tristan. You have embarrassed me by parading around town with the likes of her!” Mallory pointed a finger in Claire’s direction. “In the past, I have tried to overlook your little escapades, but carrying on with a woman you work with is going too far.”

To Claire’s relief, Tristan left the knife on the table as she stood toe-to-toe with her mother. “I don’t give a shit what embarrasses you. I stopped caring a long time ago what you thought. If you want to be embarrassed of something, be embarrassed of your own behavior!”

Mallory tried to respond but was cut off by the icy tone in her daughter’s voice. “It would be wrong to hit you, Mother, but I swear if you open your mouth, I will start swinging and not stop.

Do not ever come back here. As of today, we no longer know one another. Now, leave before you get the beating you so rightfully deserve.”

Mallory Delacroix stared at her daughter in disbelief before she turned and left.

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Claire watched Mallory storm across the yard and noticed the way Tristan stood seemingly rooted to the spot, her entire body trembling in anger. Claire was hesitant to approach Tristan; the tension and hostility flowing from her was like static electricity.

Tristan turned slowly, and the look in her eyes was one that Claire would not soon forget. “She has made me stoop to levels I never dreamed possible, and she has the nerve to say that I am embarrassing her? Had you not been here, Claire, I may have hurt her.”

Claire approached Tristan cautiously. “Had you not been here, I may have been tempted to hit her myself. I think you handled yourself very well. One day when you’re ready, I’d like to hear the whole story of your relationship, but only when you’re ready.”

Tristan leaned over and kissed Claire gently on the lips. “I will tell you all about her, but not today. I have to finish cleaning our dinner, then get myself cleaned up. I want this weekend to be nothing but pleasant, so we’ll go on with our day as planned.”

Tristan seemed to take her ire out on the fish as she cleaned them.

By the time the task was complete, she was calm again, and her face and neck were no longer flushed with anger. Claire sat quietly watching and wondering what all was in Tristan’s past and if the hurt would ever be fully healed.

Aside from the interruption of Mallory Delacroix, the weekend went exactly as they hoped. They spent Saturday outdoors, and in the cool of the evening, they fried the morning’s catch on the deck.

On Sunday, they kept the traditional breakfast date with Cam and Lucy, after which they napped and watched movies, and spent the evening making love.

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