“Sit next to me.” By the time Ronnie joined her on the bed, the volume was at the right level and Rose hit the play button.


The tape started with Delores entering the room and looking around. “Nice office. You hiring?” Ronnie noticed Rose’s embarrassed look and put her arm around the smaller woman, pulling her close. She knew the rest of the tape would be hard to watch. The scene played itself out, culminating with Delores being escorted out of the office.


Ronnie reached for the remote. “That’s it.” To her surprise, Rose held the controller out of reach.


“No wait, there’s more.” On the screen, Susan entered the office. “Ronnie? What happened? I heard they called Security to your office.” The dialogue continued, drawing Rose in as she studied her lover’s reactions. “I love you, you know,” she said softly when the tape ended.


“I know,” Ronnie smiled. “I was just trying to protect you, that’s all.”


“I saw that,” she replied. Leaning her head against the older woman’s shoulder Rose continued.

“I noticed you didn’t use the pen I gave you to write that check.”


“No, I couldn’t,” Ronnie admitted. “Even though I knew I would tear it up, I couldn’t use your pen to do it.” A thought occurred to her. “Rose…has she tried to contact you at all?”


“No, not since that day she was here and took the check.” She squeezed her tall lover against her.

“It was all a lie with her,” she said quietly, staring at the blank screen. “You’re the one that’s taught me what love means.” She looked up into endless blue eyes and smiled. “Love is about giving, not taking.” She snuggled closer. “Like what you and I have. It’s not just about the sex. It’s about honesty and caring and all the little things.” She gave Ronnie a gentle kiss. “What we have is…” Rose fought for the words. “…is…” Nothing came, no one word could describe how she felt about being with Ronnie. Finally she shook her head in defeat. “All I know is that when I’m with you I feel complete.”


“Funny, I feel the same way about you.” She returned the kiss, using her tongue to part Rose’s lips and slip inside for a quick taste. “I love you forever, Rose.”


“No more secrets, Ronnie.” The young woman’s lips moved along the executive’s jawline.

“Nothing hidden between us.”


The black-haired woman stiffened at the words.my secrets. I just can’t risk losing you.Ronnie decided that distraction would work and began nibbling the earlobe framed by golden tresses. “Speaking of hidden.” She opened first one, then two buttons on Rose’s shirt. “Why don’t you and I jump in the hot tub and play ‘find the soap’?” She let her tongue trace the outline of Rose’s ear and lowered her voice to a throaty growl. “Hmm? I promise to make it worth your while.” Another button surrendered to dexterous fingers. “What do you say, Rose? I know you’ve been wondering about that shower massager.”


“It really will…?”


“Um hmm…. I’d be happy to show you.” She scooped Rose up in her arms and headed for the bathroom, determined to put all thoughts of the past out of the golden haired beauty’s mind.



* * *

As the flowers bloomed and the days grew longer, Rose worked hard on her physical therapy. She took every opportunity to strengthen and build endurance in her ankle. While Ronnie made sure she stayed off it at home, the sometimes over-protective lover was unable to keep such a tight eye on her at the office. Rose had progressed from no weight bearing to toe-touching and the footrest under her desk provided the perfect resistance object to practice with during the day. When she would overdo it, as was common, Rose found Ronnie always willing to provide a foot massage that made all the aches and pains go away. Of course it often led to the new lovers finding other things to touch and rub but that was fine with Rose. The professional decorum they kept during the day at work was gone the instant they entered the house. Whether at the kitchen or dining room table, they sat next to each other, sharing from one another’s plates and passing kisses along with the salt. Dessert required only one bowl with two spoons and the warmer evenings were spent on the bench swing cuddled up together looking at the stars. It was heaven on earth and Rose could not imagine being any happier, except to be rid of the crutches.


When the day came in early June that the crutches could be left behind at Doctor Barnes’ office, Ronnie insisted they celebrate by going out to dinner A movie and a late night stop at one of the small drive-ins for soft ice cream and a few more minutes out followed the meal. They arrived home after eleven but neither showed any signs of being tired. On the contrary, an overture was accepted and their lovemaking went on long into the night.


The night had not even given way to the dim gray of morning when a horn blared in the driveway, waking Ronnie from her sound sleep. “What the hell…?” Grabbing her robe from the end of the bed, she donned it and padded over to the window. “Tabitha, get down. I swear you leave enough hair here to make another cat.” She leaned her knee against the white cushions of the window seat and looked out, her eyes widening in surprise at the truck and boat sitting in her driveway. “Oh damn.” She cursed as she remembered the date. She opened the window and stuck her head out. “Frank!” The man standing next to the truck smiled and waved up.


“Hey Cuz, come on, the fish are biting.”


“I forgot all about opening day. I can’t go.”


“Go where?” a sleepy Rose mumbled before sinking her head back into the pillow and promptly falling back asleep.


“What do you mean you can’t go? You’re awake, aren’t you? You have a lifetime license and today’s opening day. You have to go. We always go and I want to try out my boat on the Mohawk.” He looked at his watch. “Come on, Ronnie. I want to get there in time to catch something.”


Opening day of bass season was a long standing date between Ronnie and her oldest cousin, a tradition that dated back to when they were kids. She looked over at the naked woman on the bed, then stuck her head back out the window. “Frank, can Rose come?”


“Blondie? Sure, just hurry it up, will ya?” He looked at his watch again.


“Be down in five minutes.” She shut the window and walked over to the bed. “Rose…Rose, get up, Hon.”


“Did I hear you telling someone we were going fishing?” She picked her head up and looked at Ronnie tossing the robe off and opening various drawers.


“Yup. It’s opening day for bass season and Frank’s here to take us fishing.”


“I don’t remember you mentioning anything about us going fishing today…or anytime for that matter.” Rose sat up and stretched lazily, drawing an appreciative look from Ronnie. “And why go so early? It’s not like they’re going to pack up and leave the water if we wait a couple more hours.”


“If we wait any longer, they won’t be biting. Come on, lazybones. It’ll be fun.”


Rose sat in the jump seat behind the passenger seat, affording her a good view of the maniac Ronnie entrusted their lives to. Frank firmly believed his state of the art radar detector would warn him of any approaching speed traps and the eight cylinder Ford flew up the highway at stomach churning speeds. “So Blondie, you been fishing before?” he called over the blaring sound of country-western music.


“Um…no, not in a boat.”


“You’re baiting her hook, Cuz,” he said to Ronnie. “I hope she doesn’t get seasick.”


“Of course not.” She turned in her seat. “You don’t get seasick, do you?”


“No but I might get carsick if he keeps driving like this,” Rose said low enough for only Ronnie to hear.


“He’s trying to make up for lost time.”


“We’ll make up a lot of time if we’re all in the hospital.”


“I’ll slow him down,” Ronnie assured, turning back in her seat. “Hey Frank, you know the troopers have those laser detectors now. You can’t avoid them. Look, the trooper station is a mile up the road. You don’t want to get caught again this year, do you?”


The speedometer slowed to a reasonable speed just as they did indeed pass a waiting trooper hiding in the tree covered median. “Damn, they’ve got more of them out this year,” he said, keeping a better eye on his speed. Rose dared a glance at the dashboard, pleased to see only two digits near the end of the orange needle. Snaking her right hand around the seat, she gave Ronnie’s arm a gentle squeeze of thanks.


When they arrived at the boat ramp, Frank backed up to the dock, stopping the boat a few feet from the waterline. “We’d better get her in before I put the boat in the water.” They exited the truck and Frank climbed up into the twenty-two foot long, top of the line Ranger Bass Boat. Ronnie picked Rose up and after dropping the cane off in the truck, lifted the young woman into Frank’s beefy arms. A few seconds later Rose was seated on one of the cushioned benches.

“Here. You’d better put on a jacket. Ronnie will kill me if you become bait.”


“I thought there weren’t any dangerous fish in this river?” Rose asked as Ronnie started the truck up and backed the boat into the water.


“There aren’t, although the bullheads can give you quite a sting.”