Murky Waters

CHAPTER SIX

Claire’s eyes grew wide as she and Tristan pulled off the highway onto a small gravel road leading into the woods. Soon, a clearing came into view, revealing a well-manicured yard surrounding a large Acadian-style house that backed up to a lake encircled by cypress trees. Spanish moss swung lazily in the breeze, making the place look like a picture from the Old South.

Claire’s heart skipped with joy when Tristan divulged that she was cooking dinner. She was excited at the prospect of seeing Tristan’s place. She’d always believed that you could tell a lot about a person by how they lived. A person’s home contained all sorts of tidbits of information just waiting to be observed.

“I feel like I’m being taken to Batman’s cave,” Claire said as Tristan pulled the car to a stop.

“Yeah, well, there is no butler waiting to serve us,” Tristan answered playfully as she climbed out of the car.

“Let’s get all this stuff unloaded, and I will give you a tour of the outside before we lose daylight and the weather hits,” Tristan said as she gathered up the groceries. Both women unloaded the car quickly, managing to get everything in one trip. Tristan opened the back door to the house and set everything just inside. She turned to Claire, who was tiptoeing, trying to get a peek over her shoulder.

“You can see the inside in a minute. I want you to see all my handiwork first. We’re going to have to do this quickly, though.

With this wind picking up, the rain will be on us before we know it.” Tristan looked out at the western sky, seeing the storm clouds moving in.

She led Claire down a cobblestone path leading from the back door to a wooden deck. Trellises that were completely covered in confederate jasmine bordered two sides of the deck. The deck 81

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itself overlooked the back yard and the lake on one side and butted up to the house on the other. Just to the right was a small herb garden, and beyond that was a well-maintained vegetable garden.

Claire marveled at the maze of flowerbeds that were spaced throughout the yard, one of which held at least a dozen varieties of butterfly-attracting plants. Butterflies were in great abundance around the beautifully maintained bed. Tristan had greatly reduced the area of her yard to be mowed by building flower beds divided by small gravel pathways. The centerpiece was a fountain feeding a small goldfish pond.

“I think I forgot to mention my other hobby. I love to grow things,” Tristan said. “In the last couple of years, I’ve discovered that I have a green thumb. Every spring, I find myself making new flower and vegetable gardens, but by late summer, I am swearing I will never do it again.”

Claire stood transfixed, taking it all in. “Tristan, this place is a little slice of heaven. If I lived here, I would find a million ways to work from home.”

Tristan nodded. “I’m so glad you like it. I love it here. It gets a little lonely sometimes, though.”

Tristan blushed at the admission that slipped from her mouth. It was the truth, however, and she wondered why admitting it to Claire came so easily. The woman standing before her had changed so much about her so quickly that she hardly noticed it. In the past, she would have never dreamed of inviting someone to her home, but she did it without thinking. Realizing that she was standing there with an awestruck expression on her face, Tristan struggled for something to say.

Just as Tristan opened her mouth to speak, a fuzzy bolt of cat lightning flew out of the nearby butterfly bushes. Tristan reached down and picked up the orange tiger-striped tabby cat. He gave her a few love nips and two licks to the chin and began to purr.

“Claire, I would like to introduce you to Ralph. He’s my patrol cat. He patrols the perimeter of the property, making sure all is well while I’m away.”

Claire laughed and scratched Ralph behind the ears. “So, you have a watch cat instead of a watch dog. How does he alert you to trouble?”

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Tristan stroked her protector lovingly. “He doesn’t alert me unless it’s too big for him to handle. That doesn’t happen very often, though. He’s one bad little dude.”

Claire found this funny. “What kind of security issues have you had out here?” Tristan began to explain the incident that had earned the cat his title. Ralph looked at Claire as though he was insulted that she doubted his skill. He jumped out of his owner’s arms to further investigate the new intruder. He circled her, sniffing her shoes, but shied away when she reached down to pet him.

“Earlier this spring, I was planting the vegetables. I was really into what I was doing, not paying much attention. Ralph ran up to me and started hissing. All the hair was standing on his back, head to tail. I thought he had gone crazy from the heat. I took a step back to go get him some water, and I saw what all the commotion was about. Three feet from where I was standing was a snake about four feet long. I killed it with the shovel. If not for Ralph, I may have been bitten. Hence, the title ‘patrol cat.’”

Ralph circled Claire’s feet, staring up at her as his beloved owner gave the details of his heroism, his facial expressions conveying what he thought. Yeah, take that, lady. Claire could not help but find humor in the story of the great rescue, but her laugh was cut short as the rain began in earnest. Tristan grabbed her by the hand and made a dash for the house. The orange tabby sped past them and waited at the back door for the slower bipeds.

Once inside, Tristan took Claire on a tour of the interior of the house. The décor was simple but tastefully done. Every room was impeccably neat. The entire house was devoid of dust down to the baseboards. Claire thought it odd when they came to one of the bedroom doors that was locked with a padlock. “Tristan, do you have a roommate?” Claire asked in confusion.

“That is kind of a storage room,” Tristan explained when she saw the bewildered look on her companion’s face. “I keep my dad’s belongings in there. I rarely ever go in. It reminds me too much of him, and I miss him all over again. I keep the lock on there because I still have his gun collection, and it would break my heart if it were stolen.

“How about you and Ralph get acquainted while I get dinner started? I’m going to make you one of my house specialties, and it 83

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takes a little while to cook. Once I get it under way, we can start watching some of the movies we rented.”

“Sounds great to me. Can I help you with anything?”

“No. Let me spoil you tonight, Claire. I don’t get the opportunity very often to spoil someone besides Ralph, and he isn’t nearly as cute as you are. Don’t tell him I said that, though. Would you like anything to drink?”

Claire blushed at the offhanded compliment and declined the drink offer. As Tristan disappeared into the kitchen, Claire wandered into the sunroom just off the main living area. Enjoying the tropical appeal of the room, a shiver made its way up her spine when she noticed all the open windows. All thoughts of the stalker had been pushed into the deep recesses of her mind until she entered that room and felt like she was on display.

Could someone have followed us here? she wondered to herself as she slowly backed out of the room. Feeling her heart rate kick into overdrive, she took deep breaths to get herself under control.

She had no desire to ruin what so far had been a perfect evening by freaking out and having to explain her behavior.

Instead, she tried to make herself comfortable on the living room sofa. She picked up the TV remote and surfed the channels for something to keep her occupied. Nothing grabbed her attention, and her thoughts drifted to the woman cooking her dinner. Her heart was warmed by the fact that Tristan wanted to spoil her, making her feel contentment and happiness she had not known in a long time.

She looked around the room, studying the surroundings. There were a few pictures scattered about of Tristan with a man Claire assumed was her father. There was none of her mother to be found. She ran her fingertips over the replicas of antique sailing ships that adorned the mantle over the fireplace, wondering what Tristan’s mother could have done to be excluded from her daughter’s life, aside from the fact that she was an asshole.

Her mind wandered as she stared at nothing in particular on the television. Movement caught the corner of Claire’s eye. She stared for a moment in that direction. Seeing nothing, she resumed her channel surfing. A minute later, an orange ball of fur came flying through the air and pounced on the remote that she was idly 84

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swinging. Claire leapt from the couch, screaming at the top of her lungs before she realized that it was Ralph.

Tristan ran into the room with a dishtowel slung over one shoulder and a wooden cooking spoon in her hand prepared to do battle. The furry culprit fled the scene of the crime before she could see him. Tristan found a very disheveled Claire standing in the middle of her living room.

“Are you okay? What happened?” Tristan pulled Claire into her embrace.

“I’m fine. Your patrol cat pounced on the TV remote. He scared me half to death. I haven’t been around cats much. Do they always do stuff like that?”

Tristan laughed. “I’m afraid so. That is kind of a cat’s way of getting to know you. He’s playing with you. If you dangle something in front of a feline, it will pounce.” Tristan had to hide her face as she returned to the kitchen to keep from laughing in front of Claire.

“Crazy-assed cat,” Claire murmured under her breath.

Claire rolled up a cable guide as she sat back down and waved it a little. “Come on, buddy, pounce this. I owe you one,” she said low enough for only the cat to hear. Ralph knew a trap when he saw one and stayed in his favorite hiding place under the couch.

After dinner was left to simmer, Tristan joined Claire on the sofa.

They spent the better part of the evening snuggled up together watching movies. Tristan served their dinner on the coffee table in front of the TV. Claire was delighted to eat a home-cooked meal, and the spicy fare was right up her alley. She was even more delighted that Tristan could cook so well, an attribute that ranked very high with her.

“Oh, my God! Tristan, this is delicious! What is it?”

Tristan blushed a little. “Sophisticated folks call it steak and gravy. We call it meat and gravy. We, meaning coon-asses.”

“Coon what?” Claire laughed.

“You’ve never heard of a coon-ass? It’s another name for Cajun.

It’s about the only time you can call us an ass and not insult us,”

Tristan said in a heavy Cajun accent.

“I can see now that I will have to invest in a Cajun French dictionary. Louisiana seems to be a world all its own. Do you speak Cajun French?”

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Tristan shook her head. “I am ashamed to admit that I know very little. My dad spoke it fluently. You would figure that I would have learned more than I did. My mother is not from here and did not favor the language. She swore my grandmother was always insulting her when she spoke it. The funny thing about it was, my grandmother was doing exactly that.”

Claire seized the opportunity to ask about Tristan’s mother.

“Why are you and your mother on such strained terms? Is it your sexual orientation that causes the friction?”

Tristan’s face became solemn. “That among other things. There is nothing I can do to please that woman, so I stopped trying.”

Tristan didn’t offer any more information on the subject and got up to collect the plates from dinner. Claire jumped up and helped her take the dishes to the kitchen. As Tristan rinsed off the plates, Claire wrapped her arms around her waist. She felt Tristan stiffen.

“I’m sorry, Tris. Was that being too forward?”

“No, not at all. I just get a little tense whenever I think about my mom. It’s not you.”

After the dishes were put away, Tristan and Claire settled in front of the TV once again to watch another movie. Both were cuddled together on the sofa enjoying the closeness when the storm released its full fury and knocked the power out.

Tristan sighed. “So much for the movie. I’m glad we weren’t at a pivotal point. That would have really pissed me off.”

Claire gave her a mischievous grin when she returned from lighting candles throughout the house giving it a warm glow. “Do you know what we could do here in the dark all alone?”

Tristan gave her best innocent look. “Umm, knit?”

“That’s not exactly what I had in mind. It involves you taking off your shirt. Don’t worry; I will honor your request to take things slow. I just wanted to give you a back rub.”

Tristan laughed. “You make me sound like a prude!”

After a while of playful banter, Claire finally coaxed Tristan out of her shirt. She spread a blanket down onto the floor and had Tristan lie on her stomach. Claire straddled Tristan’s hips and began to massage the soft flesh under her fingers. When she got to Tristan’s bra strap, she quickly unhooked it before her subject could refuse.

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Claire marveled at the softness of Tristan’s skin. She began to think this was really not a good idea for her. The skin under her fingertips made her crave more. Her attraction to Tristan grew more intense every time she looked at the dark-eyed woman. Now, with her hands on her warm skin, it was becoming almost unbearable to resist a more intimate touch.

Tristan could not contain the groans that issued from her while Claire’s talented hands worked over her back. She was seriously regretting her declaration to take things slow. With each touch, she debated taking advantage of the sensuous moment. All her resolve faded away. Just as she had made up her mind to act upon her desires, she felt a searing pain in her right foot.

“Oh, my God!” Tristan cried out.

Claire knew she gave great back massages, but she did not expect this sort of reaction. Tristan kicked her feet and screamed. Claire turned to see an orange fur ball firmly attached to Tristan’s foot.

“Let me go, Ralph! You furry bastard!” As Claire moved off of Tristan, Ralph shot off to a safe hiding place. His attack achieved the desired effect. The stranger was off of his beloved pet.

“I cannot believe that little fart bit me! What on earth has gotten into him?” Tristan rubbed her hands over her ankle, noticing she was bleeding.

“Has he ever done anything like that before?”

“Never! I don’t know what has gotten into his fuzzy little ass.

When I catch him, I may have to beat it out of him!” Tristan hissed, as she remembered she was naked from the waist up and clutched her discarded shirt to her chest.

Claire felt a familiar heat consume her when she caught a glimpse of Tristan’s breasts. For a split second, she was overcome with a desire to see the rest of what Tristan had to offer. However, if she acted on that desire before Tristan was ready, she feared her actions would send Tristan running to the hills again.

“We have to get these cuts cleaned up before any cat killings commence.” Claire stood and pulled Tristan to her feet. They went into the bathroom where Tristan sat with her injured foot hanging over the bathtub and her shirt held to her chest. Claire gently washed the blood away with soap and water, then applied some antibiotic ointment. Last but not least, she put on a Band-Aid and kissed it for good measure.

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It wasn’t until Tristan felt the warmth of Claire’s mouth that she fully realized that she had initiated a kiss with the blonde sitting so close to her. The kiss deepened, and she felt Claire’s tongue responding to hers. Tristan was quickly losing the battle with her good intentions. She wanted Claire more than she could remember wanting anyone else.

This time, Claire pulled away. “Tristan, if we keep this up, I’m going to have a hard time stopping. Just like you, I want more from this relationship than just sex. I am only human, though, and extremely attracted to you.”

Claire stood back and offered her hand for Tristan to take as she stepped from the bathtub. Tristan didn’t immediately release Claire’s hand as she stood in front of her. Instead, she gently brought Claire’s fingers to her lips and kissed each fingertip.

Claire closed her eyes when she felt her breath leave her. The sensation of Tristan’s lips and occasionally the tip of her tongue on her fingertips was more than she could stand. Tristan was well aware of the effect it was having on Claire by the way the blonde’s face and neck flushed. Tristan pulled Claire closer and wrapped her arms around Claire’s waist as she backed her into the bathroom cabinet. Claire wove her fingers into Tristan’s hair as her tongue filled Tristan’s mouth, making every fiber of her being feel like it was on fire. Aware that Tristan had dropped the shirt that she had been holding protectively to her chest, Claire allowed her hands to roam over the smooth skin of Tristan’s back, causing her to involuntarily grind her hips against Tristan’s.

As Tristan’s lips kissed a searing trail up Claire’s neck, Claire lightly ran her nails across the skin of Tristan’s back, causing her to moan in Claire’s ear as she kissed and nibbled it. Claire did what she had only dreamed of until that moment and ran her hands over Tristan’s firm rear end, causing her to press her body even closer into Claire’s. Their bodies melded together, separated only by the clothing they still wore.

Tristan pulled back and looked deep into Claire’s eyes. “You’re trembling. Are you sure you’re ready for this? We don’t have to hurry anything.”

“I’m very nervous,” Claire replied with a shy smile. “But that’s not the only reason I’m trembling, and you’re shaking as much as I am.”

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Tristan buried her face in Claire’s neck. “I’m nervous, too.

You’ve become so special to me in such a short time that it’s overwhelming.”

Touched by Tristan’s admission, Claire gently pulled her into another kiss so intense she barely realized that Tristan had already reached up the back of her shirt and unclasped her bra. However, when Tristan ran her fingers under the garment and stroked her nipples lightly, Claire gasped against Tristan’s mouth at the sensation that sent shivers up her spine.

Tristan released her hold on Claire’s body and stepped back.

Claire immediately tensed, fearing that Tristan would tell her she was not ready to continue what they started. Instead, Tristan looked at her neck and smiled. “Your skin blotches when you’re aroused.”

Claire turned and looked at her reflection in the mirror. Even in the glow of the candlelight, she could see the telltale signs of what she was experiencing clearly displayed on her face and neck.

Tristan moved in close behind her, staring into her eyes in the reflection, as she slowly unbuttoned her shirt. Claire’s eyes dropped from Tristan’s and watched as each loosened button revealed more of her own flesh.

Claire observed as Tristan slid her shirt down her shoulders and dropped it to the floor. Her eyes slowly drifted back up and locked with Tristan’s as she did the same with her bra. Feeling exposed, Claire watched as Tristan’s eyes left hers and roamed over her body, following the trail her hands blazed across her bare skin.

Claire could feel and hear Tristan’s erratic breathing as she pressed her bare breasts into the skin of Claire’s back. Tristan’s hands moved over Claire’s quivering abdomen, reaching for the clasp of her shorts. Their eyes met again as Tristan slid Claire’s shorts and underwear together over her hips until they dropped freely to the floor. The roughness of Tristan’s jeans rubbed against Claire’s oversensitized skin as she freed her feet from her discarded clothes. Reaching behind her, Claire longed to free them of the last barrier of clothing that separated them when Tristan caught her hand and led her into the bedroom.

Tristan bent slightly to turn down the bed, and Claire took full advantage of the vulnerable position by grabbing Tristan around the waist with one arm and unzipping her jeans with her free hand.

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She felt Tristan stiffen against her. “Is there any reason why these are still on?” she whispered against Tristan’s ear. The word “no”

had barely escaped Tristan’s lips when Claire tugged the last of Tristan’s clothes from around her feet.

Grinning shyly, Tristan tugged Claire to her feet before lowering her body to the bed and lying on top of her. Both shuddered and groaned when their bare bodies pressed together for the first time.

Unable to resist the urge to pull Tristan closer, Claire wrapped her legs around Tristan’s as Tristan slowly ground herself against the part of Claire’s body that craved her the most.

As Tristan nibbled Claire’s bottom lip, she felt Claire’s body become tense beneath hers, and her erratic breathing made her acutely aware that Claire was close to going over the edge. Tristan pulled back as Claire whimpered, wanting the first time the blonde came for her to be put off as long as her partner could stand.

Kissing her way down Claire’s heaving chest, Tristan took her lover’s right nipple into her mouth and sucked gently as Claire writhed beneath her. Clasping Claire’s hands against her sides, Tristan held her in place as she made Claire nearly crazy by softly teasing both breasts mercilessly. Releasing her grip, Tristan kissed and nibbled her way down Claire’s stomach, slick with sweat, enjoying how the muscles quivered under her mouth and the salty taste of her skin.

Nestling between Claire’s legs, Tristan ignored the blonde’s pleas as she took her time reveling in the taste that was uniquely Claire. Wrapping her arms around the thighs that trembled against her face, Tristan relented and brushed her tongue over the place she knew would give Claire the release she was desperate for.

Claire was near the point of physical exhaustion, and every muscle in her body strained with tension. She had no control over the way her back arched off the bed. When Tristan’s roaming tongue concentrated on her clit, she was powerless to contain the scream that came from deep within her as her orgasm claimed her.

Tristan realized as she kissed and caressed Claire’s body that this was the first time she could consider sex making love. She was startled when she realized that this woman had already won her heart. With each kiss and caress, she was determined to make Claire feel what she could not bring herself to say yet.

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Climbing up to lie upon Claire’s limp body, Tristan positioned herself between Claire’s legs, ignoring her weak protests as she slowly ground herself against Claire’s wetness until she felt Claire respond by wrapping her trembling legs around hers. “Come again for me, Claire, I know you can,” Tristan whispered seductively in her ear as Claire’s body tensed beneath her, and another orgasm built within.

As Claire lay with her head on Tristan’s shoulder regaining her strength, Tristan nuzzled her hair, enjoying the scent of it. “It’s a good thing you’re in such good physical shape because I am far from finished with you,” Tristan whispered with a grin.

“Are you trying to kill me? I’m not sure I’m going to survive making love with you, Tristan,” Claire said as she sat up to drink the water that her lover had fetched for her.

“I want our first time to be memorable for you,” Tristan said with a chuckle as she stroked Claire’s nipple, causing her to nearly spill the water she was thirstily gulping.

“You have to allow me to conserve some energy, sweetie.

There’s so much I still want to do to you,” Claire said as she set the empty glass on the bedside table.

“There is something you can do for me right now,” Tristan said smugly as Claire’s brow raised in question.

“Straddle my hips,” Tristan said with a wicked grin.

Claire eagerly complied, looking forward to having the taste of Tristan’s skin in her mouth. As Claire bent down eagerly to devour the body beneath her, Tristan put a hand in the middle of her chest and pushed her upright. “That’s not what I have in mind, baby,”

she said, slipping her hand between Claire’s legs. The blonde moaned at her touch.

Slave to her desires, Claire gave in to Tristan, and her eyes fluttered shut as her lover filled her. Claire gasped when Tristan filled her completely. “You feel so good, Tris,” she said breathlessly as her body welcomed the intrusion.

“Move with me, Claire. Slowly. I want to see your face.”

Allowing Claire to set the pace, Tristan moved her fingers in time with her hips. She intently watched Claire’s expressions, illuminated by candlelight, which so easily mirrored the ecstasy she felt inside. Claire opened her eyes and stared into Tristan’s. It was at that moment that Tristan felt Claire contract around her 91

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fingers. When Claire closed her eyes again, Tristan watched as her pleasure overtook her.

Claire lay on top of Tristan for a while, recovering from another powerful orgasm. It felt so perfect being with her like this. She knew at that moment that she did not want to ever be apart from this woman with whom she felt so connected.

Once her strength returned, Claire kissed Tristan, teasing her by letting her tongue graze her bottom lip but not slipping it into her mouth. She sucked Tristan’s lip as she ran her fingertips over her swollen nipples. Tristan moaned and bucked against her, and Claire wasted no time. She slipped down and drew Tristan’s right nipple into her mouth. She sucked and teased until she had Tristan panting and clutching the sheets.

Tightening her legs around Claire’s, Tristan tried to prevent her from moving any farther down her body. “You can’t control me, Tris. I can kiss and nibble wherever I please,” Claire said playfully as she demonstrated by moving to the left nipple and treating it with the same care with which she had lavished the other one.

Feeling Tristan trembling under her touch, Claire began her descent down Tristan’s body again when Tristan clamped her legs tighter around her, preventing her from moving.

“Tris, let me go.” Sympathizing with her lover’s nervousness, Claire kissed the skin just beneath her. “I have been dreaming of this since we met. I want to taste you.”

Tristan slowly relaxed her legs, letting Claire slide lower down her body. Claire had no intention of delaying one of the things she wanted most. She nestled her shoulders between Tristan’s thighs and tasted for the first time the woman who had stolen her heart.

Tristan gasped at the touch, making Claire desire her more. She circled the sensitive clit slowly, enjoying the way it made Tristan’s hips move. Claire wanted to be inside Tristan when she brought her to the same heights of ecstasy. She slid a finger inside and met resistance. Claire froze.

Tristan’s voice was tempered with emotion. “Claire, please don’t stop. I want it to be you.”

Unprepared for the revelation, Claire took a moment to recover from the surprise. She continued to stroke Tristan with her tongue, distracting her from the discomfort she knew was to come. She slid a second finger into Tristan’s opening, testing the membrane 92

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with her fingers. As the pace of Tristan’s hips became more insistent, she buried her fingers deep inside, tearing through the soft barrier, causing Tristan to cry out in pain and surprise. Claire did not stop her movements, and soon, Tristan matched her pace again.

Unaccustomed to the things Claire was making her feel, Tristan was lost in the sensation of it all. Claire’s insistent tongue swirled over her, making her body convulse uncontrollably. The pain she initially felt when Claire entered her was now replaced with a feeling of ecstasy she could hardly fathom. Helpless to stop the tidal wave of pleasure that Claire was drawing from her, she succumbed to the most intense orgasm she had ever experienced, leaving her emotionally and physically exhausted.

Only when Tristan’s body went limp did Claire pull away from her. Moving up to lie next to Tristan, Claire could see the tears glistening on her lover’s cheeks. She pulled her into her arms, and with so many questions unanswered, she reluctantly gave in to her own exhaustion, and sleep overtook her.

Tristan however, lay awake watching the candlelight fading into the darkness. She’d allowed Claire to touch her in a way that no one had been allowed to before, and myriad emotions flooded her.

She accepted that she was in love with the woman who lay sleeping in her arms, and with that, she felt so vulnerable and fearful that she may one day lose what had become so precious to her.

During their first night together at Tristan’s place, Claire got a taste of what it would be like to be in Tristan’s shoes when the phone rang at 3 a.m. She felt Tristan pull away from her as she reached for the phone. “Hello?” Tristan answered groggily.

“How bad is he?” Claire heard Tristan ask in the darkness. “What hospital is he being taken to? Notify his port manager, and let me know what the hospital says after they look him over. Thank you for the notification.” Tristan dropped the cordless phone and groaned.

“Do you have to go out to the boat?” Claire asked, hoping that the answer would be no, as she snuggled up against Tristan.

“No, they are way up on the Ohio River. If he is admitted to the hospital, one of the port managers will go up.”

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“Good,” Claire mumbled as she drifted off to sleep with her lover cocooned in her arms.

An hour later, the phone rang again. Tristan untangled herself from Claire and answered it. “What?” Tristan sat straight up in bed. “He knows better than that! We do not stop a boat to wait on a crew change!” She remained silent for a minute, and Claire figured the person on the other line was doing some serious explaining. “Tell him to get that boat back in gear, and the crew will catch up with them!” Tristan barked into the phone and hung up.

She lay back down, and Claire snuggled up next to her, trying to soothe her annoyed lover. “Is there anything I can help you with?”

she asked as she ran her fingers through Tristan’s hair.

Tristan sighed. “I shouldn’t let them get me so angry. They just pull the most moronic stunts sometimes, and I get so aggravated.

I’m sorry I woke you up. I can go sleep in the living room if you want.”

Claire tightened her hold. “Not a chance, Tris. The calls aren’t bothering me enough to let you out of this bed.”

Blissful sleep claimed them once again, but just before sunrise, the phone rang for a third time. “Hello!” Tristan barked into the phone. “Yes, I remember. The guy with the chest pains, right?” She sat quietly for a moment, listening to the report. “So, you’re telling me it was gas, and he was not having a heart attack, he just had to belch or something?” Tristan paused a moment before speaking again. “Chad, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to blow up on you. I know you’re just the messenger.”

Claire rolled over and buried her face in the pillow and laughed until she cried. She never got to hear the rest of the conversation and was still laughing when Tristan lay back down. “You can stop that laughing, you little brat,” Tristan snickered.

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