“Bri!” she cried in surprise. Reese and Bri were both in jeans and Tshirts, and a more attractive pair Tory didn’t think she had ever seen. Both of them grinned at her as she joined them. She paused to kiss Reese before giving Bri a hug. “What are you doing here?”

“I forgot to tell you that Bri was starting her field training today,” Reese said with contrite a shrug.

“That’s terrific.” Tory smiled and tried to hide her weariness. “I’m going inside to change. I’ll be right back.”

“She looks great,” Bri commented as she popped open a beer.

“Yeah,” Reese said absently as she followed her lover with her eyes. And she looks worn out. This new guy can’t start too soon for me.

When Tory returned a few moments later, Reese and Bri set the outside table and piled chicken from the grill onto paper plates. Tory grabbed a club soda and sat down with a grateful sigh.

“God, this looks good.” After helping herself to salad and chicken, she turned to Bri. “So where are you staying? With Nelson?”

Bri blushed. “Uh, I’m not sure yet.”

“Where are you staying now?”

“Well, most of my stuff is still in Barnstable. I moved out of the apartment I was sharing this morning and stowed my gear at school. I was going to go up this Friday after work and move it down Saturday.” She glanced at Reese. “If I can take the morning off? I know it’s Memorial Day weekend, but classes just finished and I didn’t have ti—”

“It’s fine,” Reese said. “I’d rather you work nights Saturday and Sunday anyhow. More going on. You need help moving?”

“Nah. I don’t have all that much.”

“Give a holler if you do.”

“I guess you and Caroline will want an apartment for the summer,” Tory said as she reached for more salad. “Now is probably a good time to get one.”

“Carre’s not coming home,” Bri said quietly, staring at her plate.

“How come?” Reese interjected.

“She has a job in New York.”

Tory studied Bri’s profile, noting the tight line of her jaw. “That’s hard.”

“Yeah, well…” Bri cleared her throat. “It’s a real good deal for her.”

“You can bunk here for a while if you need to,” Reese said quietly. “Although I’m sure Nelson would like you to stay at home.”

“Thanks. I appreciate it.” Bri shrugged. “I don’t think Dad and I are ready to be living together right now.”

“No problem.” Reese stood and stacked some of the plates. “I’m going to take these inside and make coffee. Be back in a few minutes.”

“How is Caroline doing?” Tory asked after a few seconds. Bri sat with lowered head, her hands in fists on her thighs.

“Good. She’s good,” Bri replied evenly without looking up. “She got a scholarship to study in France next year.”

“That’s wonderful. The things I’ve seen that she’s done are very good.”

Bri nodded her head, then reached for her fork and turned it aimlessly on the table. “Yeah, she’s terrific. It will be good for her…next year.”

“How long have you two been together? Three years?”

“Four.” Bri’s voice was barely a whisper.

“It’ll take some getting used to—living apart,” Tory said softly.

“I…” Bri looked away. I can’t get used to it. I don’t know how to.

Tory’d never seen Bri look so vulnerable, even in the hospital after she had been viciously beaten. She’d been so heartbreakingly strong then, mostly because she’d probably thought Caroline needed her to be. Tory smiled, remembering the fierce look on Caroline’s face when she’d stormed into the clinic, insisting that she be allowed to see Bri.

Tory forcefully interrupted Caroline’s headlong dash down the hall.

“Wait a minute,” Tory soothed, holding the struggling young woman. “It might be better if you see Bri tomorrow, Caroline. It’ll be hard to see her like this.”

Caroline fixed Tory with a contemptuous glare. “You’re just like all the rest. You think just because we’re young that our feelings don’t matter. Last night right about now, she was making love to me. Do you think that doesn’t matter either?”

“That’s not what I meant, Caroline. I know you care about her.”

“Care about her?” she said coldly. “What if it were Reese in there, Dr. King? Just how long would you wait out here in the hall?”

Tory stared at her, knowing that it could easily be Reese under other circumstances. Just the thought made her ill.

“You’re right. I’m sorry,” Tory said softly. “Nothing on earth would keep me away.”

She watched the pretty young blond, who now seemed so much older than her years, resolutely push through the doors to her lover.

Hearing the uncertainty in Bri’s voice now, Tory realized that all of them, including her, had always assumed that Bri was the stronger of the pair. Probably because she looked it, with her swaggering charm and bold good looks. Appearances. God, how we let them deceive us. You don’t know how strong Caroline really is, do you, my beautiful young one?

“You know,” Tory said gently, “it will probably be even harder for Caroline, being away from you and in a strange new country.”

Bri finally looked at her, a question in her eyes. “You think? It just seems like it would all be so…exciting, that she might…forget.”

Gently, Tory rested her fingers on Bri’s arm. “No, sweetie, I don’t think that will happen.”

That slight, tender touch and the voice, soft with caring, sliced through the tenuous threads of Bri’s resolve. She was so scared most of the time, and so lost. It had all seemed so clear just a few months before. Now Carre was gone…Oh, that can’t be. Not really!

Suddenly, Bri stood and strode rapidly to the rail. She held on to the wood, polished smooth by hundreds of hands, so tightly that her arms ached—trying to get her breath, waiting until she could speak around the tears crowding her throat. Eventually, in a voice held tightly in check, she said, “Reese showed me the baby pictures.”

“Did she?” Tory asked, her own throat suddenly tight. Oh, Bri. Baby, what is it?

“Yeah. It’s so neat. I’m…happy for you.”

Tory couldn’t help herself when she heard the tears in the wistful tone. She crossed the deck, turned Bri around with her hands on her shoulders, and enfolded the young woman in a hug. Brushing her cheek against Bri’s, she whispered. “Thank you, sweetie.”

For a fleeting second, as Bri relaxed in Tory’s arms, nothing hurt at all.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

It was almost ten o’clock Friday night when Bri reached the Breakers, a shore side restaurant and bar in Barnstable where the party for the recent graduates was being held. Fleetingly, she thought of the last time she and Carre had been together, and she thought not of fighting, but of making love. They hadn’t seem each other in weeks, and during the increasingly rare phone calls, they were both tense and awkward.

Fuck, you know she’s not coming.

Nevertheless, the first thing she did when she walked through the door into the big room crowded with classmates, recent graduates, and the usual locals, was to look for Carre. After a minute or two of fruitless searching, she admitted what she had known all along. Carre was not there.

“Looking for someone, Bri?” the honey-smooth voice inquired.

Bri turned with a resigned smile to Allie. “Not anymore, it looks like.”

“Well, glad to hear it,” Allie replied, her tone clearly surprised. “Come on, follow me.”

Allie took her out onto the back deck, which was nothing more than a wooden platform in the sand that edged the beach above Cape Cod bay. The area was dimly lit and almost as crowded as inside the bar, but the noise level was less. Although there wasn’t much to see, the air was clearer outside, and the sound of the surf rumbled not far away. When Allie stopped, Bri asked, “What’s up?”

“Got something for you.” Allie bent down, dug around in an ice-filled chest, and came up with a beer. She handed it to Bri. “This is the unofficial drinking area for the recruits. Technically, we are not in the bar.”

“I believe that would be a very loose interpretation of the law, Officer.” Bri laughed and took a long swallow. It felt good after the dusty drive, and it felt even better not to be thinking about anything at all.

Allie moved a little closer as the crowd grew denser, her arm brushing Bri’s. “Where are you living this summer?”

Bri was aware of the bare skin against hers. Allie touched a lot. “Don’t know yet.” Bri shrugged. “There are usually a lot of single rooms available for summer help. Hovels mostly, but I don’t need much more than a place to sleep. I figure I’ll get something tomorrow.”

“You know, I’m moving into a two-bedroom place between Wellfleet and Truro this weekend.” Allie sipped her beer and considered Bri contemplatively. “And that’s just about halfway between your job and mine. You could always share it with me.”

“Uh,” Bri blushed, happy for the dim lighting. “That’s…nice of you, but I’m pretty sure I couldn’t afford it.”

“I’d bet you could. How does a hundred dollars a month sound?”

Bri laughed. “It sounds like charity, or else you’ve lost your mind. Look, Allie, I really appreciate it—”

Allie put her fingers on Bri’s arm just under the edge of her shirtsleeve, high on her upper arm. “Hey, we’re supposed to be celebrating tonight. Don’t worry about it. I’ll give you my number and if you don’t find something, or you change your mind, the offer’s always open. Okay?”

“Sure,” Bri said with a smile. Allie was hard to resist. Bri leaned down, fished another beer out of the cooler, and opened it. For the first time in weeks, she felt almost good.

Forty-five minutes later, the party was in overdrive, with everyone talking too loudly, most everyone drinking too much, and more than a few forgetting whatever social inhibitions they might once have had.