“Discussion,” Brenda repeated. The gaze she fastened on Diana was more than curious. Reluctantly she turned to Jessie. “And you might be?”
“This is my friend, Jessie,” Diana supplied before Jessie could speak. The last thing she needed was Brenda to think there was an altercation. “You’ve heard me talk about her, Brenda.” She felt rather than saw Jessie’s glance at her use of Brenda’s name.
“Yes, I believe so,” Brenda answered in a noncommittal tone. “You have identification?” she asked politely of Jessie.
Jessie was already pulling out her identification and her badge. “Is there a problem?” she asked as she handed it over, looking directly at Brenda, at her name plate. “Officer Harless.”
Brenda examined the identification, glancing at Jessie several times before she handed it back. “When you bought your drink,” she explained, “the owner saw your gun. He thought Diana looked distressed, was concerned.”
Both Diana and Jessie glanced at the drink counter where the owner was hovering, trying to see what was going on. Diana gave him a weak smile.
“And then when I was coming up, I could see what looked like an altercation.” She looked from one to the other. “Can you explain?”
“It was just,” Jessie fumbled for some words. “Some exciting news,” she finally got out.
“I’m sure,” Brenda said dryly. She rubbed the side of her nose. “Diana said you had dropped by. You were passing through?” Somehow it came out as much a suggestion as a question.
“This time,” Jessie answered, glancing at Diana.
“Uh-huh.” Brenda glanced at Diana then back to Jessie. “You mind if Diana and I have a few private words?”
“No, of course not,” Jessie acquiesced.
Brenda moved a few steps away and Diana went with her. She certainly hadn’t expected Jessie to react so explosively. Really bad timing since the guy had already seen her gun and was suspicious enough to ask for Security. Diana hadn’t thought about the gun, but even if she had, she wouldn’t have been concerned. Jessie was a cop.
“Are you okay?” Brenda questioned once they were a distance away.
Diana nodded; her head was still swimming with Jessie’s baiting, her reaction. Her armor must be getting thin. Still, she didn’t expect Jessie to react so strongly.
“When did she show up? Did you tell her you’d be out here?”
Diana shook her head. “No, never mentioned it. I don’t know if it was just one of those things or what. I just felt her tailing me after I’d been here for a while, then she came over while I was eating and said we needed to talk.”
“Well, proves one thing,” Brenda commented with a glance to make sure of Jessie’s location.
“What’s that?”
“She’s no coward.” Diana gave a chuckle. “So how’d it go? And what’s this exciting news if it’s any of my business?”
Diana rubbed her face as she tried to put things together in a way she could answer Brenda. “It’s surprising,” she said slowly. “She—I don’t know. She saw things differently than I did. I guess we both missed things.”
Brenda hooked her thumbs over her belt, glanced around to check Jessie’s position. “What made her grab you?”
Diana didn’t know what to say, how to explain it. “She just wanted to know how some things happened, was surprised when I told her. She wasn’t intending to do me any harm, Brenda.”
“You’re sure?”
Diana nodded. She gave a sigh of resignation. She might as well tell her. It wasn’t like Brenda didn’t know the background. “She wanted to know why I saved her butt and I told her it was because I loved her.”
Brenda paused for a moment. “Oh, well,” she said finally. “I can see why she might have been surprised. It’s a standard reaction. Of course, everyone reacts to being told someone loves them by grabbing said person and shaking them.” Diana gave her a get-off-my-case look. Then she looked away, unable to face Brenda again.
“Diana, look at me.” Diana looked back into Brenda’s concerned face. “Tell me, as your friend, are you okay with this? Is this something you want? You tossed her out last night.”
Diana softened. It wasn’t fair to drag Brenda into the middle and there were details she had never explained to Brenda. “I know, Brenda. I was really pissed. I didn’t give her much of a chance.” She sighed. “I really don’t know where it’s going from here; I don’t know where it can go, but she did take the step to come see me. I owe her the courtesy of listening to her.”
“Sounds like you did a fair job of declaring yourself as well.”
“Past tense, Brenda. Past tense.”
“Yeah,” Brenda said dubiously. “You haven’t stopped thinking with your head, have you?”
Diana shook her head. “I don’t think so.” She gave a soft laugh as she thought how her stomach turned over when she looked up and saw Jessie standing there. “Not yet, at least.”
Brenda nodded. “Okay. I just wanted to check.” She gave Diana a meaningful glance. “You call tonight if you need to, no matter what the time.”
Diana gave her a smile. “Thanks. I don’t think I’ll need to but it’s nice to know you’re here.”
They walked back to where Jessie stood waiting. Brenda gave Jessie a meaningful look and then Diana. “I understand you two have a lot to talk about, probably about things you’d rather others didn’t overhear. You might want to pick a more private spot.” She glanced around at the few people watching them. “Don’t want to make the locals nervous.” She touched the brim of her hat. “Good meeting you, Detective Galbreath. I imagine we’ll be seeing each other again.” Then she turned and walked over to the drink counter to reassure the owner Jessie was a safe person.
Jessie watched her go and then turned to Diana. “What did she mean by that?”
“Brenda’s a good friend. If you’re around me any length of time, you’ll be running into her.”
“How good a friend?”
Just the tone in her voice made Diana turn around to face her. She looked at Jessie curiously as Jessie watched Brenda move off through the gathering. “A good friend,” she repeated.
Jessie turned back, cocked an eyebrow. “You have a magnet for women in law enforcement?”
Diana thought of Jessie, Brenda, Kelly, all of them in one branch or another of law enforcement. “Never thought of it, but I guess so.” She took a look around and then back to Jessie. She was on pins and needles wondering what Jessie might be thinking. Her only reaction to Diana’s words had been to let her go, and then Brenda was there. She waited but Jessie didn’t speak.
“Well,” Diana said finally as she picked up her leather shoulder bag. “I guess we’re finished here.” She looked at Jessie. “Unless there’s something else you want to ask?”
“What do we do now?”
Diana considered carefully. This was the woman who said she’d never had a choice, Diana had made all the decisions. “I don’t know. What do you want to do?”
Jessie moved closer to her, too close, Diana realized, but she didn’t move. “I want to talk some more. Is that all right with you?”
Diana caught her breath. It wasn’t over, not yet at least. Her heart began to pound more. “I believe so.” She stepped back from Jessie so she could open her tote and search through it for her car keys. “Have a place in mind?”
Jessie suddenly looked more hopeful. “Maybe this needs to be a bit more private?”
Diana thoughtfully nodded. “Maybe so. You want dinner out on neutral ground or—”
“How about your place?” Jessie cut in. “Maybe dinner later?”
“Okay,” Diana agreed. “I’ve got to stop at the organizer’s tent before I leave. Shall I meet you at my apartment?”
Jessie got to the apartment first, parked the car in the shade. She opened the car door and just sat there a moment. Diana had said she loved her. She had risked a drug war to save Jessie without getting killed herself. That wasn’t exactly new information, just more details. It was quite one thing for an unknown informant to tip her off, funnel information to her. Minor players on the fringes heard things all the time and passed them along. Even if Jessie had had the very vague suspicion it was Diana, she’d had no proof where the information was coming from. By the time Diana’s identity was confirmed while they were at the cabin, there was so much else being revealed that Jessie never even considered the details of the drug bust. It was history.
It was quite another thing to realize Diana was at the heart of the organization. Jessie had seen some results of drug wars, and Diana had waded in and walked out. Jessie had a difficult time reconciling the woman who could manipulate those events with the woman who had been her Lexington lover. No wonder the Feds had kept her under wraps. Diana was not to be underestimated.
Jessie got out of the car. The afternoon heat was still too hot for her to sit there and wait. She needed to move around, stretch her legs as she considered these new revelations. She took the opportunity to see the neighborhood where Diana lived now, what it might mean.
The apartment complex was small, just a couple of buildings sitting between what she guessed from the sounds of traffic to be one of the main streets through town and one of the old residential neighborhoods. Nice enough, nothing fancy, very basic, low-key. Compared to what Jessie remembered of Diana’s lifestyle, either she was pinched for money or trying to stay under the radar. Maybe a bit of both.
Diana had never really seemed to enjoy high living for all the expensive hotels she had been at when she and Jessie were starting out. Jessie had tried hard not to be impressed although she recognized they had been out of her league. She had been a little nervous when she had taken Diana out for dinner and it was, well, less than five stars. Diana had always seemed comfortable at the neighborhood diners and easy-on-the-pocket places Jessie had chosen when she came to town. As she said one time, she didn’t come for the food; she came for the company.
Jessie walked around the apartment complex, down the shady street. Nice quiet area, enough economic mix, business and residential so Diana wasn’t really isolated and still had some privacy. Old houses converted to lawyer and accountant offices. Jessie walked up the block and back, didn’t want to miss Diana’s arrival.
She went up the steps and sat on the railing outside Diana’s door, contemplating. Diana had changed. Certainly she was not as carefree as she had been, less of a free spirit. More guarded. Suspicious. She had a barrier up if you even looked sideways at her. Jessie had definitely seen that after she brought the drink back, when she sat down and they talked about events after Diana had bailed out on Jessie.
Bailed out. That was how Jessie looked at it. Diana hadn’t even stuck around long enough to challenge Julie. Jessie rested her head back against the corner post. Cut and run. Up until then, she had been possessive. Jessie gave a slow smile at the memories. Very possessive. Staked out a claim and exercised it every time she came back to town. It would have been nice if she had been forthcoming with information, but Jessie never pressed. After years of stalking women and going after them, someone coming after her, claiming her, was refreshing. Diana blithely assumed Jessie would be there for her. And she wasn’t so dominant that she upset Jessie’s butch mentality. Just,
I’m a catch, I’m special, I know it, and aren’t you the special one I chose to come back and want to see, enjoy?
And Jessie really felt that way; she did feel special. Diana only had one question every time she came: are you available? It was Jessie who rearranged her schedule, her life, in order to be available. Diana bestowed the favor of her presence, and Jessie basked in that favor.
If only. Jessie closed her eyes and soaked in the hot sun. If only they had talked more, shared more. Well, that was one mistake she was determined not to repeat.
But this was a different Diana, she realized. If Diana had been puzzling before, now she was an enigma. The years and events had changed her, made her harder, more cynical. But then, Jessie realized, couldn’t she say the same about herself? If she had come seeking Diana looking for something she had lost in her past, Diana wasn’t the answer. If she wanted to go back to that more lighthearted time and thought Diana would bring her back that joy, that idealism, that pleasure in life, she was making another mistake. So the question was, what did she want from the Diana who was in the here and now?
A vehicle pulled in and parked. Jessie didn’t have to look to know it was Diana. She didn’t get up to meet her, but sat there and watched as Diana got out of the Jeep, looked over the top and saw Jessie sitting there. Diana gave Jessie a slow smile and Jessie got a warm feeling through her that had nothing to do with the late afternoon sunlight.
She watched with appreciation as Diana crossed the parking lot. The old Diana would never have worn jeans, just wasn’t her style, so Jessie had been surprised when she had finally found her in them at the powwow. She hadn’t expected the moccasins, the leather vest, the white shirt, a costume much like her own. She had to admit Diana wore them well. She watched Diana come up the stairs. And the package was still definitely enticing.
“Been waiting long?” Diana asked as she hit the top step.
Jessie shook her head as she looked Diana up and down. “Years.”
Jessie waited until Diana unlocked the door, stepped inside and turned around. “Coming in?”
Jessie stepped into an apartment cool and dim after the bright sunshine. She closed the door, flipped the lock. How many times had they done this? Diana unlocking the door, turning to invite her in. She could smell the same scent, Diana’s signature perfume, the smell of her after the afternoon in the hot sun. Everything was different and nothing had changed.
“I’m curious,” Diana remarked as she set her leather bag down on the desk. “How’d you know I’d be at the powwow?”
“You had a flyer on the refrigerator. It was worth a chance.”
Diana turned around to face her, just stood there, and Jessie knew what she wanted, what she was going to do. She hadn’t known until right then, until she saw Diana standing there. But now she knew.
She walked over to Diana, took her face in her hands, cupped her cheeks. “I want to thank you.” She heard Diana’s quick intake of breath, felt Diana’s hands over hers, felt Diana’s soft lips as she kissed her. “For my life.” She kissed her again, a little longer as she felt Diana yield. “For all those years I’ve lived since.” She wrapped her arms around Diana and Diana moved closer. Jessie closed her eyes, feeling Diana against her, knowing this was what she wanted.