Chelsea added Cokes to the two sandwiches she’d already packed. She set the cooler by the door, next to the bag containing a blanket and a bottle of sunscreen. A car door slammed outside. Peeking through the blinds, she smiled when she saw Bailey bend over to check out her hair in the Jeep’s side-view mirror.
She opened the door before Bailey had a chance to knock.
“Ready?” Bailey asked.
“Just need to grab the cooler and—”
“Let me.” Bailey picked up the cooler and bag. “You might have to remind me how to get there. It’s been awhile.”
Chelsea followed her to the Jeep and enjoyed the way Bailey’s cargo shorts showed off her tight butt. She realized Bailey had said something but had no idea what it was. “I’m sorry, what?”
Bailey opened the back, put everything inside, and slammed the door shut. “Lake Monroe. I’m a little rusty on directions,” she said as she slid into the driver’s seat.
“No problem. It’s pretty easy.”
Bailey fastened her seatbelt and gave Chelsea a curious look. “Everything okay?”
“Fine. I’m fine.” Chelsea ran the palms of her hands over her thighs in an effort to calm her nerves. “Traffic should be light right now, not that this is a huge metropolis.” Bailey hadn’t started the engine. Chelsea noticed Bailey’s slight smile. “What?”
“Nothing.” Bailey started to turn the key.
Chelsea grabbed her wrist. “No, what?”
“This reminds me of when we first dated. I’d come by the place you were renting and pick you up. We’d go down to the lake and hang out for the day. Do you remember?”
Chelsea felt relieved that Bailey was just as nostalgic about their outing. “I remember.”
Bailey keyed the ignition and pulled out onto the street. “This is where you let me know where I need to go.”
Chelsea gave her directions as they drove. The lake was just south of Bloomington, but with the winding back-country roads, it took about thirty minutes to get there.
“Do you want to go to our usual spot?”
“If we could,” Chelsea answered with a hopeful tone.
“Absolutely.” Bailey paid the fee at the entrance to Hoosier National Forest and drove for several minutes. “Isn’t this the way?”
“I think so.”
Bailey followed a gravel road, the tires kicking up more dust the farther they traveled down the incline. “Think anyone else has found our secret hiding place?”
“It’s been almost ten years, but maybe we’ll get lucky.” Chelsea meant every word. She wanted as much privacy as possible to enjoy the outing.
They arrived at the opening in the trees, and the lake appeared below. Sunlight danced across the water, reflecting off the hulls of the speedboats and fishing trawlers out for pleasure or a day’s catch. No one sat on the grassy hillside overlooking the lake.
“We got our wish,” Bailey said as she pulled to a stop. She brought the cooler and bag midway down the hill.
Chelsea reached inside the bag for the blanket and laid it out. “Are you ready to eat now or did you—”
“Let’s sit and enjoy the view a little before we eat.” Bailey held out her hand to help Chelsea to the blanket and sat down beside her. They faced the water with their legs stretched out in front of them as they leaned back on their hands. Birds chirped in the trees, and boat engines whined below. An occasional loud laugh carried across the water.
Bailey had her face tilted toward the sun. Chelsea liked the way it highlighted the blonde in her hair. She seemed more rested since that first meeting at Eleanor’s. The lines around her mouth were faint, and the dark circles had all but faded. Bailey turned toward her. Chelsea’s heart skipped a beat. Bailey hadn’t looked at her with such directness for a long time. Their last months together had been so difficult. They’d danced around their feelings. Chelsea had been afraid to show Bailey how lost she’d felt and wondered if Bailey’s reluctance to meet her eyes had been for the same reason.
“What are you thinking?” Bailey asked her.
“That it’s been so long since you looked at me that way.”
Bailey scooted next to Chelsea and gently touched her cheek. She stared down at her lips and then up at Chelsea as if asking permission.
Chelsea waited for the kiss that had haunted her nights since they parted. Bailey’s lips touched hers lightly, soft and tentative. The kiss was gentle and giving, a reminder of all she’d left behind.
Bailey lingered. She relished the touch of Chelsea’s lips against hers, remembering the newness of their first time together, yet feeling like she’d found her way home.
She pulled back and ran her thumb along Chelsea’s jaw. “You don’t mind if we go slow do you?”
Chelsea held Bailey’s palm against her cheek. “I think we both need slow.”
They shared a long look. “How about those sandwiches you promised?” Bailey finally asked.
“Sure.” Chelsea opened the cooler, handed her a sandwich, and peeled back the cellophane on hers.
Bailey chuckled when she lifted the bread to see what Chelsea had packed for her. “Peanut butter and jelly. My favorite.” She took a big bite and gestured at the cooler. “What else do you have in there?”
Chelsea retrieved a Coke and handed it to Bailey. She grabbed the other Coke, popped the lid, and took several sips.
How much Bailey had missed sharing moments like this. When was the last time they’d stolen away and spent the afternoon together?
Chelsea broke into Bailey’s thoughts. “What do you think of Eleanor Burnett?”
“I think she’s one fascinating, stubborn, beautiful, sad, remarkable old woman.”
Chelsea laughed. “Gee, Bailey, how do you really feel?”
“You have to admit you’ve never met anyone like her.”
“No, and I doubt we’ll ever meet anyone like her again.”
“How much would you love to steal that diary of hers and stay holed up for weeks reading it?”
Chelsea pointed at her with the last remnant of her sandwich. “You know me too well.”
“And then there are the other diaries to come.”
“I’m sure she’ll bring those out as we go along.” Chelsea popped the last bite in her mouth and brushed the crumbs off her hands. She gazed out at the lake with her brow furrowed.
“What are you pondering in that little head of yours?”
“It has nothing to do with the diary.” She shifted to face Bailey. “Why don’t you check out of the hotel and stay with me?”
Bailey couldn’t have been more shocked at the turn in conversation if Chelsea had asked her to join her on a trip to the International Space Station.
Chelsea broke eye contact. “It was just a thought.”
Bailey touched Chelsea’s cheek until she looked up. “It’s a wonderful thought. You took me by surprise. Are you sure this is what you want? We said we’d take it slow.”
“We can still take it slow. You can stay in the spare room. There’s a desk in there where you can work on your notes. I think it’s such a waste of money to have you stay in the hotel. I’m sure Joanne is paying for it, but why not take advantage of a place to stay that won’t cost her anything?”
Bailey tried to hide her disappointment. “That’s the only reason for me to stay with you? To save Joanne some money?”
“No, no. I didn’t mean it like that,” Chelsea said in a rush of words. “It didn’t come out right.” She ran her hand over her face. “Why is this so difficult?”
“It’s okay. I think maybe we should keep things as they are.” Bailey rose to her feet. She knew she was being too sensitive, but it seemed everything said between them had to be weighed and measured before spoken aloud. If not, it resulted in hurt feelings.
“I didn’t mean to upset you,” Chelsea said and stood up. She kept her head down as she spoke, and her chin quivered.
“Hey.” Bailey tilted her chin up with her fingertips. “Don’t mind me. I’m being a shit about this. We said we’d take it slow, and you’re trying to do that, plus make it easier on me. I’m sorry.”
Chelsea nodded her head slightly.
“I am really sorry,” Bailey repeated. “I don’t want to stop this before it even has a chance to get started again.” She kissed her, pleased when Chelsea responded to the touch. “Ask me again.”
Chelsea smiled. “Bailey, why don’t you stay with me at the house?”
“What a great idea, Chels. When do you want me to come over?”
“You mean it?” Chelsea looked like a kid who’d gotten a shiny new toy for Christmas.
“I never say something I don’t mean—” Bailey couldn’t get out another word because Chelsea wrapped her arms around her in a tight embrace.
“You won’t be sorry,” Chelsea whispered in her ear.
If there was one thing Bailey was certain of, it was the sincerity of Chelsea’s words. “I believe you, honey.”
* * *
Later in the evening, after Bailey had gathered her belongings and checked out of the hotel, they carried her bags and laptop into the spare room. Chelsea hoped she found it suitable enough. A queen-size bed sat against the wall to the right of the door. A desk sat against the far wall on one side of the window with a dresser on the other side.
“You can put your clothes in this closet,” Chelsea said as she opened the door. To make room, she pushed aside the few winter clothes she’d stored there. Bailey pressed into her from behind and slipped her arms around her waist. Chelsea leaned back into the embrace.
“This is perfect, Chels. Thank you.”
Chelsea shifted in her arms and fought the urge to take Bailey’s hand and lead her to the bed. She knew this was more than about sex. It was about getting to know each other again and working through the issues that had led them to separate in the first place. Although at that exact moment, Chelsea was finding it hard to remember just what those issues had been.
“You’re welcome,” she said, moving out of Bailey’s arms. “Well, I’ll let you get settled in for the night.” She backed out of the room and shut the door. “Slow, remember, Chelsea?” she muttered on her way down the hall.
* * *
The aroma of fresh-brewed coffee wafted under Chelsea’s door. At first, her foggy mind had trouble comprehending how her coffeemaker had switched itself on without being preprogrammed. She sat up, rested against the headboard, and yawned. A smile made its way across her lips when it dawned on her that Bailey was in her house. In her kitchen.
She glanced down at her ratty gym shorts and thin gray T-shirt. She debated about taking a shower and dressing before venturing out to the kitchen. But the smell of the coffee and the pull of seeing Bailey in the morning made up her mind.
Chelsea stood in the entryway of the dining room. Bailey munched on a piece of toast as she read the paper. Her hair was slicked back from her shower, and she’d dressed casually in a pair of cargo shorts and a Colorado Rockies T-shirt. She pursed her lips over something she was reading, unaware of Chelsea’s scrutiny. She looked up. Her gaze quickly turned heated as it traveled down Chelsea’s body and back up to her face and almost made Chelsea’s knees buckle.
“I forgot how damn sexy you are in the morning,” Bailey said in a husky voice.
“I could say the same.” Chelsea tried to appear nonchalant as she padded across the cool tile floor to the cabinet. She reached for a mug, filled it, and joined Bailey at the table.
Bailey motioned at the coffee. “I don’t remember you drinking this early.”
“I need something to wake me up.” Chelsea took a cautious sip.
“You didn’t sleep well?”
Chelsea almost told her the truth—she’d awakened at least four times from erotic dreams involving the two of them. “I slept okay.”
They enjoyed their coffee together as they chatted about what Eleanor might have in store for them today. Chelsea excused herself to take a shower. She decided on casual as well and threw on an IU T-shirt and a pair of white shorts. She brushed her hair back from her face and pulled it into a ponytail.
She had her head lowered as she walked down the hall to the front door. Glancing up, she caught the full brunt of Bailey’s stare and almost stumbled in her gait.
“Ready?” she squeaked out.
“Yes.” Bailey held the door open for her. “You look fantastic.”
She gave Bailey a quick kiss before stepping outside. “Let’s go visit our friend.”
* * *
“Well, well, well. What do we have here?” Eleanor asked as they got out of the Jeep.
Not giving Chelsea a chance to reply, Bailey said, “We have two women deciding to conserve on gas and drive over together.”
“Don’t pull an old woman’s leg, Bailey. Our fair doctor has a spring to her step that wasn’t there when we first met.”
“Maybe I do,” Chelsea said. She held out her hand for Bailey to take.
A little surprised at the show of affection in front of Eleanor, Bailey took it, and they walked to the front door together.
“You’re giving me hope, aren’t you?” Eleanor asked.
They stepped into the foyer. “We’re giving each other hope,” Chelsea said and squeezed Bailey’s hand.
They followed Eleanor into the living room where shortbread cookies, tea, and coffee were already prepared.
“I thought we’d talk in here today. The heat’s a little too much for me.” Eleanor took her customary seat by the mantel. “We’ll move ahead a few months to April, and before you ask, Bailey, you’re not missing anything. We’ll pick up on a trip that Daphne and I went on to her hometown, which is…”
“Bloomington,” Bailey said.
“Right. Contrary to her studio biography that had her birthplace as New York City. Back then, they tried their best to spruce up things. But another reason for the name change was to keep her father out of the picture.
“I never read much on him.” Chelsea reached for a cookie and polished it off quickly.
“The reason you’ve never read much on him is because he wasn’t a very nice man. When we came to visit in 1951, it was to visit her mother.”
“How was your presence explained to her mother?” Bailey asked.
“I thought she’d introduce me as her traveling secretary, but she didn’t. Later, her mother and I had a talk, which we’ll get into shortly. Because of the scarcity of beds, we slept together. But that was all.”
“Had you two… you know…” Chelsea said.
“No. I had to trust her again. We were close, but I couldn’t make love with her until I knew in my heart she wouldn’t betray me.” Eleanor looked up at the painting. “She was a fantastic lover. But our relationship had to be built on something more than that.” She turned back to Chelsea. “Why don’t you read today?”
Chelsea picked up the diary and opened to the marked page.
“Saturday, 7 April 1951. We arrived by train in Chicago at seven this morning. From there, we changed trains to the Monon Railroad, which briefly stopped in the town of Monon in Indiana. It then continued on to Bloomington…”