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  “Bri, give me your keys. We forgot our garment bags. I’ll take those in, and meet you both at Leah’s house.”

  “Sounds good.” Briley and Leah strolled down the sidewalk side by side, hand in hand. On the porch, Leah turned to her. “Garment bag?”

  “We bought new outfits for the dance.”

  Leah slipped her arms around Briley’s neck and pulled her down into a kiss. “I bought something new for the dance also.” She pecked her lips. “I would have texted, but it was a long day. I’ll try to do better in the future.”

  “I hope it didn’t seem like I was bothering you. I was just worried.”

  “It felt good for someone to worry about me.” She ran her fingers down Briley’s cheek. “Let’s head in and wait for Kat.”

  “Too late, I’m already here.” Kat pulled them both into a hug. “You crazy kids. Let’s not give the neighbors a show. In we go.”

  Briley held the door open for them and smiled at Kat and Leah laughing. The day just kept getting better and better.

  Chapter Seventeen

  An hour into the dance, Leah still hadn’t arrived. Briley had asked her if she needed a ride, but she declined, saying she would meet them there. She’d already danced with a number of people, but was just as content to stand back and watch everyone else participate since the one woman she wanted to dance with hadn’t arrived yet.

  She finished her punch, then threw her empty cup in the garbage. After the first sip, she was sure Kevin had spiked it. Her suspicions were confirmed when she caught his eye and he gave her a thumbs up and a cheeky grin. Great. That’s all she needed, to be wasted on top of everything else.

  “So,” Kat said, sidling up to her. “Still no Leah.”

  “That’s quite the observation, Kat.” Her eyes strayed to Brandon and Mary doing some weird dance. “I just don’t know what could be keeping her. She said she would be here.”

  “And I’m sure she will.” Kat slipped her arm around Briley’s waist and scanned the surrounding area. “What about that blonde you danced with twice?”

  “She asked, but I declined. It felt weird to be dancing with someone besides Leah.”

  “I understand.” Kat handed her another cup of punch.

  The cup had just touched Briley’s lips when her eyes landed on Nina as she made her way toward them with a guy Briley didn’t recognize. “Nina’s headed this way.”

  Kat looked around until her eyes spotted Nina. “Wow. Blue’s a good look on her.”

  The navy-blue sheath dress hugged her in all the right places and showed off her curves to perfection. Her blond hair lay loose around her shoulders. Briley pulled Nina into her arms for a quick hug. “You look fantastic.”

  “You flatter me. You as well.” She motioned for the man to join her, then she placed her arm around his waist. “This is Trevor. Trevor, this is Briley and her sister Kat.”

  He shook Briley’s hand. “I’ve heard a lot about you. You as well,” he said to Kat. He was taller than Nina was, almost as tall as Kat, and good looking. His dark hair and beard were nicely trimmed and his suit was tailored to fit him. Briley could see why Nina was attracted to him, but she would withhold her judgment until she got to know him.

  “I haven’t heard anything about you.” Briley took another sip of her drink, and Nina rolled her eyes.

  “It’s still new, and need I remind you that I am just now hearing about Leah?” Nina frowned when Briley turned away from her. “Where is she at?”

  “Not here yet.”

  “Bummer.”

  “Don’t look now, Bri,” Kat said, “but there is a woman checking you out.” She pointed to their left. “Ask her to dance.”

  Briley rolled her eyes but turned in that direction and all the air felt like it was knocked out of her chest. The long red dress Leah wore looked like silk, and draped her frame oh so well. All coherent thought vanished when Leah walked up to them and slipped her hand into Briley’s. It didn’t help Briley’s nerves when Leah did a slow appraisal of her body.

  “Sorry I’m late.”

  “Don’t be silly.” Briley adjusted her glasses. “You look amazing.”

  “You as well, darling.”

  “You remember Nina, and this is Trevor.”

  “It’s nice to see you again and meet you.”

  Leah turned so she was facing Briley. “Well, Briley. What about that dance?”

  “Whatever you want.” Briley let her lead her onto the dance floor, and didn’t bother to look back because she could feel everyone’s eyes on her. Having Leah wrapped in her arms was a feeling she never wanted to end.

  As soon as the first song ended, an upbeat one started. Briley laughed and twirled Leah around the dance floor, then grabbed her hand and pulled her flush against her and enjoyed the way their bodies molded together. After the third song ended, Briley led her off the dance floor and got them both a cup of punch. This was her third glass and she knew she would have to take it easy. She did not intend to get drunk tonight.

  “Here’s your punch, my lady.”

  “Thank you.” Leah took a sip and cringed. “It’s got a distinctive taste.”

  “You could say that. I’m not sure what Kevin spiked it with. I’m eighty-five percent sure it’s nothing poisonous.”

  Leah stopped with the cup an inch from her lips. “You had me there for a minute.”

  Briley didn’t correct her, because she didn’t think Kevin would try and kill everyone. At least he hadn’t thus far. They both finished their punch and Leah grasped her hand to pull her back onto the dance floor when a voice behind them spoke.

  “Actually, I do believe this dance belongs to me. Doesn’t it, Briley?”

  “One dance.” Briley slowly turned around and Nina reached for her hand.

  “Well,” Leah said, and turned to Trevor. “How about a dance?”

  “I would love to.”

  She walked slowly to Nina and smiled. “Your guy doesn’t mind you dancing with me?”

  Nina snorted. “The moment any man thinks they can dictate what I do is the day I drop him. I really like him. A lot. I trust him, and I don’t mind him dancing with Leah. You’re not jealous?”

  “Nope. It sounds serious with Trevor.” Briley twirled her around. “How long have you been dating?”

  “A few months, and I…I never felt this way. He’s gorgeous, right?”

  “He is.”

  “So, you and Leah. I’m happy for you.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Oh, Briley.” She wrapped her arms around Briley’s neck. “I love you and only want what’s best for you. Do me a favor.”

  “I’ll try.”

  “Live in the moment with Leah. Have fun.”

  “That’s what I’m doing.”

  “Good.” She pulled Briley off the dance floor toward Leah. “She’s all yours.”

  Nina kissed Briley on the cheek, then walked back onto the dance floor where Trevor took her in his arms. Briley turned back to Leah. “Another dance?”

  “Show me what you’ve got.”

  Song after song, they danced. Briley had never felt as alive as when she was in Leah’s arms. Quite a few people had asked to cut in, but Leah had always declined their offer. Forty-five minutes later, Briley excused herself to use the restroom. When she returned, she hurried to Leah when she noticed Haley talking to her. She hoped to God Haley wasn’t giving Leah the shovel talk.

  “Haley, you look great.” Briley slipped her arm around Leah’s waist.

  “You as well.” Haley never took her eyes off Leah. “Leah, remember what we talked about.”

  Leah stepped forward and drew a surprised Haley into a quick hug. “Enjoy the rest of the dance, dear.”

  Haley coughed. “You as well.” As she walked away, she threw a pointed look at Leah, then disappeared through the entrance door.

  “I hope she was friendly.” Briley stepped around Leah and drew her into a hug, resting her clasped hands at the small of Leah’s bac
k.

  “You have a lot of people that care about you.” Leah placed her hands on Briley’s chest. “Her being one. She was harmless.”

  “No shovel talk?” Briley bit her lip.

  Leah laughed and kissed Briley on the lips. “Oh, no, there was a shovel talk. A quite convincing one, in fact. Did you know that the wooded area behind the church belongs to the church?”

  “I did,” Briley said, slowly.

  “She also mentioned that no one would find my body if it was to go missing, behind said church.”

  Briley cringed. “Sorry.”

  “Don’t be. It was cute. It still wasn’t as intimidating as Kat’s.”

  “What? Kat’s?”

  “Now hers was quite convincing. They love you, Briley. It didn’t bother me.”

  “Do you want to dance some more, or go?”

  “Let’s go.” Leah leaned into Briley. “Since you’ve been so good tonight, you can walk me home. I took a cab, and I know Kat drove her car so she could impress anyone she met tonight.”

  “Let’s walk this way.” Briley pointed toward their left. “So I can tell Kat I’m leaving.” Their neighborhood was only a couple blocks over and would be an easy walk.

  “Sounds good.”

  Leah took a firm hold of Briley’s hand as they said their goodbyes to Kat. Silence met the first ten minutes of their walk.

  “It’s a beautiful night.” Leah stepped in front of Briley and walked backward. “Did you have fun?”

  Briley had to give her kudos. She didn’t know how she walked backward in her three-inch heels. “I’m still having fun.” She rushed forward and lifted Leah into her arms, bringing their bodies flush. “You’re breathtaking.”

  “You do know how to make a woman feel good.”

  “It’s so easy with you. The words just come and I don’t censor them. It’s quite freeing.”

  “I like it.” Leah closed the distance between them and kissed her.

  Briley bit Leah’s bottom lip, smiled, and rested their foreheads together. “Let’s get home.” She took hold of Leah’s hand. Thirty minutes later, they were curled up on Leah’s front porch on her swing.

  “We’ll have to do this again.” Briley moved Leah’s hair so she could look in her eyes.

  “Yes, we will.” Leah leaned against her. “We need to take the next month and spend as much time together as possible. Evan will be back before we know it.”

  “Is he having fun?”

  “Loads. He always enjoys spending time with Kathy and his stepmom, and his little sister, Griffin.”

  “Griffin is an unusual name for a girl.”

  “Kathy wanted to name her after her dad, and Lilith agreed.”

  Briley sighed and kicked the swing into motion. “Did you ever want more kids?”

  “At one time I did, but I’m happy with the two I have. I was surprised Kathy wanted more kids, but Lilith did and Kathy agreed. Do you want kids?”

  “Yes. I don’t want to give birth to one, but there are other ways to become a mother.”

  Leah intertwined her fingers with Briley’s. “There are.”

  Briley stared at their fingers for a long time. She tightened her hold and leaned back on the swing. “As much as I’m enjoying this, it’s getting late and I have to work early in the morning. The turnovers for the Encampment won’t make themselves.”

  “Do you need any help?”

  “I will never turn down help.”

  “What time?”

  “Five would work.”

  “Sounds good.” Leah untangled herself from Briley, stood up, then offered Briley a helping hand. Leah kissed Briley on the cheek. “Goodnight.”

  “Night.” With reluctance, Briley pulled away, walked down the porch steps, and only glanced back once.

  She climbed the steps and unlocked the kitchen door. Once inside, she made a cup of tea and settled down at the table. After her third sip, she heard Kat arrive home, so she got up and made her a cup of coffee.

  “Bless you,” Kat said, when she walked in the backdoor and accepted the cup. “Did you have fun?”

  “Did you?”

  “Yes.”

  Briley eyed her. “Did you meet anyone?”

  “No one I want to call.” Kat jumped up and plated two turnovers for them when Briley sat down at the table.

  “Do you need my help in the morning?”

  “Nope. Leah is coming over to help.”

  “Oh, thank God. I love you, but I did not want to get up early to help you.”

  “Not to worry. My girlfriend will help me.” Briley finished her turnover and carried her saucer to the sink. “I’m turning in. Goodnight.” She kissed the top of Kat’s head.

  “Night.”

  Forty minutes later, Briley was nestled under the covers when she received a text alert. A smile graced her face when she saw it was from Leah, wishing her sweet dreams. Yes, Briley had a feeling everything was going to be just fine.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Briley groaned when her alarm went off the next morning. The glowing numbers taunted her as she rolled over in bed and swung her legs over the side. She only worked the Friday of the Encampment and she needed to get the turnovers ready.

  She had to assemble seven hundred and fifty, but over the years, she’d got her time down to the last second. It was two AM and the booth she set up at wouldn’t start selling them until eleven o’clock. For the nine hours she would give up, she’d make an easy four to five thousand dollars that would go directly into her savings account.

  She didn’t bother changing out of her sweatpants and tank top, or brush her hair. She just put it up in a messy bun, brushed her teeth, washed her face, and made her way to the kitchen where she stretched and flipped the Keurig on.

  The night before, she had taken her two giant tubs of apple pie filling out of the freezer, along with her pie dough, and put them in the refrigerator to thaw out. A few weeks back, she made the dough, cut it down to size, stacked each piece between parchment paper, layered them, then froze them all.

  She sipped her tea and ran through the list of things she would need to do that day. When she was ready, she placed everything on the table, and sang along to the radio as she filled each piece of dough, then sealed them shut. It was a calming process and allowed her to clear her mind. As her cooler filled up, she would haul it into the utility room, right off the kitchen, and place each turnover in the large upright freezer to set up. After three hours, her back was starting to ache, but she was a third of the way done.

  She’d just unloaded her latest batch into the freezer when there was a knock on the back door. Leah. Holding in her excitement, she shut the freezer, dropped the cooler by the table, and swung the kitchen door open.

  A grinning Leah stepped in and kissed Briley on the lips. “Now, that’s a good morning greeting I can get behind.”

  “I thought you might.” Leah snickered. “You have.” Leah pointed at her forehead. “Here. Let me.” She grabbed a paper towel and reached toward her. “Hold still. You have flour on your face.” Briley gulped but allowed Leah to wipe it off. “All gone.”

  “Okay.” Briley coughed. “So, coffee?”

  “Please. Then you can show me what to do. I’m a quick study.”

  “All right.” After she fixed Leah her coffee and another tea for herself, Briley went through the process a few times, so Leah could get the feel for it. Briley smiled as Leah struggled with sealing the turnovers. “Here, let me.”

  Stepping up behind Leah, Briley wrapped her arms around her waist, molding their bodies together. Her breath hitched when Leah leaned back into her, placing her gloved hands atop Briley’s. She closed her eyes, enjoying the moment, only to snap them open a moment later when Leah squeezed her hand. After getting her bearings, she moved her arms, reached forward and scooped up a bit of pie filling with the spoon, depositing it in the middle of the piece of dough. “Like this.” Her hands trembled a bit, as she applied enough pressure to
Leah’s hands to properly seal the turnover. When Leah caught on, Briley took a step away. “Think you have it now?”

  “With a demonstration like that, I believe I do.” Leah ran her thumb along Briley’s cheek. “We have plenty of time for cuddling later. Right now, we need to get these finished.” They spent the next thirty minutes in silence, getting a rhythm until Leah spoke, making Briley jump in her chair. “Do you do this every year? You never said.”

  She shook her hands out and took a sip of tea, before glancing her way. “Yes. I enjoy it. I make them during the Encampment, the Fall Festival, and Christmas Festival. It’s a quick ten to fifteen thousand dollars for all three.”

  Leah’s eyes widened. “That’s a lot of money.”

  “If I worked all three days of the festival, I could make a lot more, but one day is enough for me. With these events, most people that work them, this is their yearly salary and they can make a lot of money, especially at the Encampment. Since I own my business, all this money will go into my savings account. I would love to travel for a year.”

  “Traveling is so much fun, even when I was working. I would love to take Evan for a summer, but that’s usually when he spends most of his time with Kathy, since I have him the rest of the year.”

  “Is there any place that stood out to you?”

  “Let’s see.” She tapped her finger on her lip. “You know, you would think it would be someplace exotic, but I love going to Disney World. It’s so much fun, especially seeing Madison and Evan’s face’s light up the first time we went. Even now, they enjoy it just as much as I do. Madison and Bryan are planning to take their kids for the first time next year. I can’t wait.”

  “That’s awesome. The first time our parents took us, the characters freaked me out, but it’s not something I’ll ever forget. Memories are everything, considering the older we got, the more our mom pulled away from us.”

  Leah placed her flour-dusted hand atop Briley’s and started playing with her fingers. “That must have been hard.”

  “We got used to it. I think it has to do with our dad passing away. Even though Kat looks like Mom and I take after Dad, every time she looks at us, she sees him. It took her years to grieve properly and she clung to Candace, our cousin, for support.”