smelled like Leslie. Sharp and hot, with a hint of sadness just beneath the
surface. “Your mother said your visit was sudden. Does it have something to do
with that intravenous line and the ß u?”
Leslie’s head whipped around as she stared at Dev. “You haven’t changed.
You always did see everything.”
“I’ve changed, Les. But it didn’t take any great deductive skill to Þ gure out
something’s wrong. You almost fainted on the porch this afternoon.” Dev lifted
Leslie’s hand and unerringly brushed her thumb over the exact spot where the
intravenous line had been. “You got this in a hospital.”
Leslie was stunned by how much Dev had noticed. She was even more shocked
to Þ nd herself telling Dev the whole story. “So,” she said when she’d Þ nished,
“I didn’t really think things through very well. I knew if I stayed in the city I’d
end up going into the ofÞ ce, and then I’d have to make excuses about cutting
back for a while. I suppose I just wanted to preserve my privacy.”
“Thanks for telling me,” Dev said.
“You could always get me to tell you everything.”
“No, not everything.” Dev realized she was still holding Leslie’s hand and that
she had the unbearable desire to brush her lips over the bruise. She wanted to
make that visible sign of Leslie’s frailty disappear.
She wanted to erase the tension in Leslie’s face, wipe out the strain in her voice.
And because she wanted to touch her so badly, she gently released her hand.
“Did you tell your parents?”
“No. They’d only worry. Besides, it’s not a big deal.”
“When are you going to get the tests?”
“I don’t know, Dev,” Leslie said impatiently. “I have to call and schedule them.”
The whole thing was becoming more absurd by the moment. Running home, as
if there were something here she needed.
Telling Dev, a stranger, the details of this ridiculous illness, when she hadn’t even
explained it all to her lover. Rachel. God, she hadn’t even thought to call her and
tell her she’d arrived. Her whole life was badly out of focus. “I need some air.
I’m going for a walk.”
• 65 •
RADCLY fFE
“Les, it’s one o’clock in the morning.”
“We’re out in the middle of nowhere, Devon. It’s perfectly safe.”
“You don’t know that.” Dev followed Leslie outside. “You have a ß ashlight,
don’t you? That’s what I saw blinking through the window.
You’ll need it in the woods.”
“Yes, but I don’t want every moth and mosquito in Þ ve miles to hone in on me.
I can see well enough to walk back to the cabin along the lake. That’s the way I
came.”
Unasked, Dev fell into step beside her as Leslie started along the shore path.
After a moment, she said, “Promise you’ll call about the tests tomorrow.”
“I’m going into our Albany ofÞ ce tomorrow. Once I work out my schedule, I’ll
call about the damn tests.”
“I thought you were supposed to be taking it easy. Isn’t that why you’re here?”
Leslie laughed shortly. “Believe me, anything I might be doing up here will be a
vacation.”
“Why don’t you come out with me instead,” Dev said on impulse.
“I can guarantee it will be relaxing.”
“You want me to help you collect Þ sh?” Leslie stopped dead and ß icked her ß
ashlight into Dev’s face. At Dev’s protest, she switched it off. “I just wanted to
make sure you didn’t look as completely crazy as you sound.”
“Why not? You’re supposed to cut down on stress, right? So come out on the
lake and get some sun. That’ll probably be just what you need to kick this
thing.”
Leslie had to agree that made some sense. And oddly enough, she didn’t really
want to go into the ofÞ ce the next day. Being home, seeing Dev again, had
brought back vivid images of all the things she’d loved about the lake in the
summer. The lush, wild beauty of the mountains and the clear, brisk promise of
the lake under the summer sun had always called to her.
“Besides,” Dev went on, “I’m not collecting Þ sh. I’m collecting water, soil, and
organic samples. Natalie’s been helping with the records when she can get free,
but she’s got her own work to do. You can keep notes.”
“Now I know you’re nuts. My secretarial skills are somewhat lacking,” Leslie
said dryly.
• 66 •
WHEN DREAMS TREMBLE
“That’s okay,” Dev said, feeling unaccountably lighthearted as they jested like
old times. “I’ll help you get the hang of it.”
“Oh, thanks.” Leslie was tempted. One day off wouldn’t seriously cut into her
productivity. Natalie’s been helping out…
“All right. Tomorrow?”
“I don’t suppose early hours bother you, do they?”
Leslie snorted.
“How about seven, then? I’ll call Natalie in the morning and tell her she’s got a
reprieve.”
“Come to breakfast at six thirty,” Leslie said, wondering if Natalie would
consider not spending the day with Dev any kind of bonus.
“Okay.”
They’d reached the juncture of the shore path and the wooded trail that led up
to the cabins. Leslie switched on her ß ashlight, but the batteries she’d found in
the kitchen drawer must have been old, because the cone of light was very faint.
She reached out in the darkness and found Dev’s hand. With their shoulders
and arms lightly touching, they climbed up through the woods.
“Should I walk you down? It’s pretty dark,” Leslie said at the turnoff to her
cabin.
“I’m okay. There’s plenty of moon.”
Leslie hesitated, reluctant to say good night. Dev’s hand was warm in hers and
the sound of her voice in the dark was like a soft caress.
She tightened inside and heat ß ared for an instant before she ruthlessly forced it
down. God, what was she thinking? But that was just it, she wasn’t thinking at
all, and her body was clearly in some kind of crazy rebellion. She spoke
carefully, wanting to be certain that her voice was steady.
“I’ll see you in the morning, then.”
“Good night, Les.” Dev released Leslie’s hand and made herself step away. She
didn’t want to move. The palm of her hand where Leslie had just touched her
felt naked, exposed, as if the skin were missing.
She took another step and then another and when she reached the trees that
separated the clearings around their cabins, she waited until she heard Leslie’s
footsteps on the porch and the sound of the door opening and closing quietly.
“Sweet dreams,” she whispered into the night.
Then she slowly made her way back to her cabin, stripped off her
• 67 •
RADCLY fFE
clothes, and lay down on the bed. The room had cooled, but her body was too
warm even for the light cotton sheet. She closed her eyes and prayed she
wouldn’t dream.
Fifty yards away, Leslie sat on the side of her bed, still fully dressed, and
pressed Rachel’s number on the speed dial. She wasn’t surprised when her call
was directed to voicemail. She closed her eyes and tried to conjure Rachel’s
face. It was difÞ cult.
“Rach, hi, it’s me. I’m here.” She hesitated, trying to remember Rachel’s
schedule. Was it really just a day since they’d talked?
“I’m sure you nailed the closing. Have a drink for me to celebrate.”
She paused again, aware of the silence stretching between them, far deeper than
just the seconds ticking away. She took a breath. “I miss you.”
She wanted that to be true and hoped that the reason it felt like a lie was just
because she was so damn tired. Without even bothering to undress, she kicked
off her shoes and curled up on the bed. When she closed her eyes, she heard
the echo of long-ago laughter on the wind.
• 68 •
WHEN DREAMS TREMBLE
CHAPTER EIGHT
You’re up early,” Eileen Harris said when Leslie poked her head into the
kitchen a little after six the next morning.
“Not really,” Leslie said. “I’m usually in the ofÞ ce by now. Do I smell coffee?”
Eileen pulled a tray of scones from the oven and inclined her head toward an
insulated carafe on a nearby counter. “If you wouldn’t mind, carry that out into
the dining room for the guests. I’ll put on another pot for us.”
“Sure. Thanks.”
When Leslie returned, her mother slid a plate with a steaming scone onto the
scarred wooden kitchen table and handed her a mug of coffee. “Still like
blueberry?”
“Yes,” Leslie said, settling at the table with her coffee. She broke open the
pastry and reached for the butter. “But they never taste the same from the
bakery.”
Eileen smiled. “I thought you might sleep in, seeing how you’re on vacation.
Going Þ shing? Your dad’s down at the dock.”
“I am, but not that kind. I’m going out with Dev while she collects some
samples.”
“Really,” Eileen said carefully. “You two seem to have hit it off. I didn’t realize
you knew each other.”
“She was a year behind me in school. Her parents ran the convenience store in
Diamond Point.”
“Weber’s. Of course, I remember them, but for some reason, I don’t remember
her. I thought I knew all your friends.”
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