From the Hat Down, page 39
“God, I love how that sounds. And I love you more than Nonna’s marinara and her tiramisu.”
“I love you right back and I won’t tell your grandma about your traitorous ways.”
“Thank God.” Gina pretended to be relieved. “So it all started this morning when I was packing up some other things in my apartment and my neighbor fell down the stairs.”
“Shit. Was he okay?”
“Yeah. But the cake he was carrying wasn’t.”
Meg giggled. The stuff of life, she thought, begins with things like this. She settled into the sound of Gina’s voice, the warmth she heard coursing through the phone, and the memories they shared as well as the ones they had yet to make. And when she told Gina what happened with Irene, told her that she finally let her mom know where she stood, Meg felt a letting go, an anchor pulling free, and it offered no resistance as it trailed after a star that blazed its way across the night sky.
Chapter 38
“Hey, Doc. Anything else?”
Meg looked at Haley, who stood in her office doorway, then glanced at her watch. “Hold on.” She pushed back from her desk and stood. She then remembered Haley’s paperwork and she reached for a red folder that sat on top of a stack of veterinary journals. “Here’re the forms, signed and ready for your advisor. Have him call me if he has any questions.” Meg handed the whole file to her.
“Thanks. Wow. This is so great. Another internship with you. Thank you so much.”
Meg smiled. “It’ll be good to have you aboard. Moonie’s not the best help, sadly,” she said, shaking her head. “He tries with Kelly and Nicole, but she just can’t get him to use proper technique in surgery.”
Haley grinned.
“Tell me again when classes start for fall semester.” Meg reached for her lab coat, which she had flung over one of the chairs in front of her desk. Crazy. August already.
“Monday the seventeenth.”
The week after Gina’s birthday. “Excellent. As soon as you know what your schedule is, bring it on in and we’ll set you up with some regular hours. How are you with funding?”
“I’m okay. I do a little bit of workstudy in the department and I have scholarships.”
Meg looked her in the eye. “You sure? If not, let me know and my dad and I will put you to work for us over breaks and some weekends.”
Surprise lit up her eyes. “Wow. No, I’m okay right now but I’ll let you know if that changes. Really. I will.”
“I’m going to hold you to that,” Meg said with mock sternness.“ We’re a crazy bunch at the DR, but anybody willing to help out gets a fair shake and I know my dad misses having younger people around. He’s a softie that way.”
Haley nodded.
“Make sure you let me know when you’re applying to CSU. We’ll deal with that and the reciprocal arrangements with Wyoming when it’s time. Let me know when you need letters of recommendation. I’ll write one and so will Sean.”
“For sure,” Haley said, grateful. “I’m waiting for the materials. I want to start applying the end of the month.”
“Good for you. I hope you get in. Because I think you’d be a hell of an asset to any clinic. Keep that in mind. Especially when I get my own place off the ground. Which will be a while, but know you’ve always got a place there.”
Haley’s eyes widened. “For real?”
“Absolutely. And down the line, if you want another internship or some kind of practicum, or whatever, let me know and we’ll figure something out. Or I can set you up in Fort Collins with Sean. She’d love to have you aboard.”
Haley stood staring at her for a moment. “Thanks, Doc. I can’t tell you how great it’s been, working here.”
“No problem. You have a real talent with animals and I want to make sure you get to use it. Plus, it would be great to have more talented vets in Wyoming. But that’s long-term stuff. Let’s focus on short-term for the moment. Get that paperwork in.”
“Yes, ma’am.” For a brief moment, she looked like she might cry.
“Oh, that reminds me—” Meg ducked back into her office and opened a plain white box on her desk the size of a ream of paper. She looked through the envelopes until she found the right one. She took it out and returned to the hallway. “All right, it’s my turn to get a little embarrassed.” She handed the envelope to Haley. “I haven’t mailed these out yet and Gina would kill me if she knew because I was supposed to do it a few days ago.” she shrugged sheepishly. “But if you and Beth aren’t busy October third, it’d be great if you could come to our ceremony.”
Haley carefully withdrew the invitation, on off-white linen cardstock embossed with an elegant script encircled with a lariat in turn held by a pen-and-ink drawing of a mounted cowgirl in the lower left corner. “I love this,” she said, pointing at the cowgirl. “I’ll ask Beth, and I’m pretty sure she’ll say yes. Especially since it’s a Saturday. Thanks.”
“Just let me know before September fifth and check in with me as soon as you get a chance about hours for the semester.”
“Will do.” Haley slid the invitation back into its envelope. She tapped it against her thigh, looking at the floor.
Meg waited.
She looked up. “Thanks, Doctor T. For everything.”
“You’re welcome. And one of these days, I hope to get you to call me Meg.”
“Sure thing, Doctor Meg.” Haley flashed her a grin and turned on her bootheel toward the door to the reception area.
“Have a good weekend,” Meg said.
“You, too. Talk to you soon,” she called as she pushed through the door.
Meg waved at her. She checked her watch again and took her phone off her belt. She punched a number and waited.
“Hey, Cowgirl of my dreams,” Gina answered.
“Hi, hon. What are we doing for dinner tonight?” Meg still tingled at the sound of Gina’s voice and her terms of endearment.
“I so love it when you call me that,” Gina said softly. “Mmm. And sweetheart, I just know you haven’t mailed those invites yet.”
Meg winced. Thank God she did better with the rings and the caterers.
“But I still love you madly,” she said with a chuckle.
“I’m sorry. I’ve been—”
“Busy. I know. Don’t worry about it. When you get a chance, okay?”
“Will do.” Meg went back into her office, grinning at full wattage. She glanced at the boxes against the back wall that held Gina’s birthday present. A new laptop and printer. Meg planned to sneak it all into the house after the weekend, probably on Tuesday, the day before her birthday.
“Dinner,” Gina said. “Here’s what’s on. Sean and Ted are coming up. She just called me and you know how she is. They want to celebrate the one-week anniversary of my moving to Wyoming. They want to do this with pizza. So on your way home—”
Meg laughed. “God, they’re easy. And welcome to my world. I will indeed pick up a couple of pizzas. Did she say if Ted wanted beer?” Meg idly picked up a pen from her desk and tapped it against her thigh.
“She said she’d take care of it. And I love your world. Especially since you’re in it. And give Phil a call. He’s interested in chatting with you about your long-term plans for a clinic. He said he tried to reach you on your cell, but wasn’t sure he got through.
“Cool. Oh, and you’re hired. I need a good personal assistant.”
“Well, since I am looking for some kind of gainful employment beyond freelancing, I think we can work something out. But I’m not sure I want a salary.” Gina’s tone poured like warm syrup over Meg’s bones.
Meg swallowed. “Oh?”
“I can think of some other ways to reimburse me for my services. I’ll show you after Ted and Sean leave. I hope you’re up for it.”
Heat rushed into Meg’s cheeks. “Uh.”
“You’re blushing. You’re so cute when you do that,” Gina said. “My sweet, tough, cowgirl wife-to-be.”
Gina’s words stopped Meg’s breath. She shut her eyes, grinning so wide it hurt. “Damn,” she finally managed. “Okay. Back to work. Then to pizza. I’ll see you around six.”
“Yes, you will,” Gina said with a laugh.
“I love you.”
“I love you back. Now go save somebody’s pet. Bye.”
“Bye.” Meg hung up and sat on the edge of her desk. Wife-to-be. Wow. She exhaled and picked up the box of invitations and took it to the receptionists’ area.
“Ginny, will you please remind me to mail these after work?”
Ted pulled away from the curb, and he and Sean waved. Meg waved back and went inside, a delicious little pang bouncing through her heart as she listened to Gina cleaning up in the kitchen singing Sarah McLachlan’s “Ice Cream.” Meg looked at the boxes stacked against the wall down the hall, and the clutter of Gina’s things wrestling for space in various corners. She still had stuff in storage in California, but she said she’d go through it after the new year, when things had calmed down a bit. Besides, she told Meg, it was mostly shit from her travels and there was no point to unpacking it if they were going to move to a bigger place.
Move to a bigger place. Meg’s heart rate sped up. Next weekend she and Gina were going to Fort Collins to look at furniture. And dishes. She grinned, looking at Gina’s things in her house, loving how it took up space, how it broadcast Gina’s presence in her life. She felt at once secure and aroused as she went into the kitchen.
“That pesto pizza is damn good,” Gina said, not looking up from the sink as Meg entered.
Meg offered an affirmative and opened the back door for Moonshine. A late summer breeze entered, carrying the first hints of autumn in its undercurrents.
“Yeah. Who knew you could get pizza that good in Wyoming?” Meg teased.
“Probably some Italian in the owner’s background somewhere.”
Meg laughed. “Probably. So are you okay going to Fort Collins for your birthday?” she asked, leaning back against the counter.
Gina reached over and put a plate in the drying rack. “Of course. Why?” She regarded Meg. “Oh. It’s a school night. If you don’t want to go, we’ll schedule for Friday instead of Wednesday, which does kind of suck as a birthday night, I know.”
“No, it’s fine.” Meg smiled. “I just don’t want you to feel obligated because it’s Sean and Ted.”
Gina washed another plate in the sink. “I like them. They’re a blast.”
Meg nodded absently and watched Gina for a while, letting her gaze drop from Gina’s face to her shoulder then down the line of her torso where it lingered on her hip before it plummeted along the fabric of her shorts to her left shin and calf, whose scar reminded Meg every day of what she’d nearly lost. The stirring at her core increased.
“What’s up?” Gina asked, still focused on the dishes.
Meg smiled at how easy it was for her to read even the silences between them. “I just really love seeing you here.”
Gina dipped a glass in the rinse sink and put it in the rack. “I love being here.”
“Good.” Meg crossed her arms. “I saw a friend of Kate’s at Grand Avenue when I went to pick up the pizzas. But it’s weird. It’s like I don’t even know who that Meg was. I think about it and it’s like watching a movie of something.” She studied Gina’s face. “I can’t even imagine that I was ever without you. It’s like it was just a long-distance relationship between us or something.”
“I know,” Gina said softly. She held Meg’s gaze then reached for another plate.
Meg moved and took the plate out of Gina’s hand. She set it back on the counter, allowing everything she felt to wash through her. She ran her fingers up Gina’s arm. “Seeing you in my—now our—kitchen is making me hot,” Meg said. She pushed Gina’s back against the counter and pressed against her.
“Huh.” Gina’s tone pretended polite interest.
“Actually, seeing you anywhere makes me hot.” Meg leaned in and traced Gina’s ear with her tongue. “Hell, thinking about you makes me hot.” Gina made a little sound and Meg slid her hands to Gina’s hips then around to the front of her shorts. Meg quickly unbuttoned them as she nuzzled Gina’s neck.
Gina rubbed her hands lightly across Meg’s back. She gasped softly, tilting her head.
Meg ran her fingers along the waistband of Gina’s underwear and her heart pounded. “Sometimes I can’t believe you’re here,” she said as she brushed light kisses across Gina’s jaw. She inhaled deeply. “I love the way you smell, the way you feel—everything about you moves me.”
“Keep talking like that,” Gina said with a soft groan, “and I’ll marry you.” She held Meg hard against her, molding her groin to Meg’s, and an insistent throb between Meg’s thighs demanded attention.
“I’m so wet,” Meg whispered as she lightly kissed Gina’s throat. “And I want you so bad.” She delicately bit Gina’s neck, keeping her braced against the counter.
“I definitely like this side of you.” She pulled Meg’s shirt out of her jeans and unfastened them, working the zipper open.
Meg ran her hands underneath Gina’s T-shirt and unhooked her bra so she could cup her breasts. She squeezed gently, teased her nipples with her palms. Gina made a sound low in her throat and pushed against Meg’s hands.
“Touch me,” Meg whispered against Gina’s ear as she shifted, providing easier access. Gina slid her hand inside Meg’s jeans and worked her fingers past the seam of Meg’s underwear.
“Oh, my God,” Gina said and Meg grinned at the expression on her face as her fingers explored the heat and moisture between Meg’s thighs. Meg moved again and Gina’s fingers lightly grazed her clit.
“Mmm.” Meg sighed, breath hitching with Gina’s touch. Meg leaned in and kissed her, slow and deep, pushing her tongue past Gina’s teeth. Gina moaned into Meg’s mouth as she pushed two fingers into Meg’s depths.
Meg exhaled sharply and made an involuntary exclamation against Gina’s mouth as Gina filled her. She released Gina’s lips and began to thrust against Gina’s hand. Frustrated, she pulled her hands from beneath Gina’s shirt and with Gina’s help managed to push her jeans and underwear down past her hips so they clung instead to her thighs.
“Much better,” Gina said, voice husky.
“About that personal assistant gig,” Meg whispered. She slid her hand inside Gina’s underwear. “You still up for that?”
“Definitely.” Gina closed her eyes and Meg lifted Gina’s tee above her breasts with her free hand and took one of her nipples into her mouth, tasting salt from the sweat that was collecting on Gina’s chest.
“God, yes.” Gina groaned, breathing ragged. She held Meg’s head against her chest with her free hand.
Meg slid two fingers into Gina’s slick, wet heat, positioning herself so she didn’t interrupt what Gina was doing to her. “Good,” she said as she skimmed kisses across Gina’s breasts. “Because it’s a lot of work.” The pressure of Gina’s hand on her clit set off little fireworks through her veins. “You feel so good.” Meg closed her eyes, riding Gina’s hand, still teasing Gina’s nipples with her tongue and teeth. She stopped as another pleasurable surge raced up then back down her spine. “And it’s. . .long hours.” She groaned. “Guaranteed physical labor, too.”
Gina’s fingers inside her caused her breath to catch in her throat and sweat to gather along the ridges of bone and muscle across her back. She pulled her mouth off Gina’s breast and unsnapped her own shirt with her free hand. She pressed her chest against Gina’s.
“Hard work,” Meg said, nearly breathless, a teasing edge to her voice.
“Oh, don’t worry,” Gina growled in her ear. “I’m so ready.”
Meg pulled her fingers out halfway then plunged them in again. Gina gasped.
“Prove it,” Meg challenged, grinning.
Gina raised one eyebrow, and her dark eyes sparkled. “Just hang on,” she said as she wrapped her fingers in Meg’s hair and gently pulled her head back so she could kiss Meg’s neck. Meg groaned and Gina let go of her hair and kissed her hard on the lips. Meg felt the ache between her legs build and she dug her fingers into Gina’s shoulder with her free hand.
“Like that,” Gina murmured against her mouth. “Just. . .like. . .that.” Her breathing sped up and Gina contracted around Meg’s fingers, drew them deeper within, and opened completely to her thrusts even as Meg did the same with Gina’s fingers, trying to pull her deeper inside.
Gina cupped the back of Meg’s neck with her free hand and stared into Meg’s eyes. “I—” she started then clenched her teeth, trying to keep her eyes open.
Meg watched her, saw a spring uncoil in her eyes. “I’m right here,” Meg said softly even as her own climax roared through her veins. “With you.” She kept her eyes locked on Gina’s and somehow managed to remain on her feet as a tide slammed through her then receded, leaving her limbs exquisitely heavy. Gina whispered Meg’s name and collapsed against her and Meg shifted to keep her braced against the counter so she wouldn’t stumble. Gina sighed and leaned her forehead on Meg’s shoulder for a long moment before looking up again. She brushed Meg’s hair—damp from their exertions—out of her face. The expression in her eyes said more than words ever could.
Meg smiled. “You’re everything to me.” She gently extricated herself so she could wrap both arms around her. “Everything.”
Gina slowly pulled her own fingers out and hugged Meg close, resting her head on Meg’s shoulder. “I love you, Cowgirl,” she whispered.
“I love you back.” Meg tightened her hold and they stood like that for a while until Meg broke the silence. “You think you might wanna stay over?” She kissed Gina’s forehead, breathing her essence and the musky odor of sex that clung to their skin and clothing.
“’Til the cows come home driving Cadillacs.”
“So if they show up in Fords—”
“Nope. No deal.”
“Well, that’s good. Gives me some leeway.” Meg stroked Gina’s back, lost in how their bodies fit together, like two halves of a map finally reattached.
