Playing in Shadow (4 page)

“Yes, they’re my Halloween socks.”

“Trent, we’re nowhere near Halloween yet.”

“I know, but they were the first pair I came to this morning and I like them.”

“My little sister loves you to pieces.” Juliet smiled as she acknowledged that, without Kayleigh’s interference, she and Trent might never have met. Trent’s rescuing her eleven-year-old sister from a gang of boys and then bringing her home had been just the start of their story. Kayleigh was thirteen now and still idolized Trent. It made Juliet smile to see how Trent treated Kayleigh like the adult she was becoming. She had no doubts Trent would be a wonderful mother to their own child.

“I love her too. She’s a good kid, and she has great taste in socks.” Trent spoke lazily, her voice soft and low as Juliet worked her magic.

Juliet rubbed at a particular spot on Trent’s foot and was amused to see Trent relax even more under her ministrations. She felt terrible about keeping them both up the previous night. Her heartburn had been courtesy of a spicy rice dish they’d had at a restaurant that the baby had obviously wanted at the time but then regretted later. Juliet had rolled about the bed in agony until the pain had finally eased at around four a.m. She hadn’t had to go in to work today, but Trent had. Juliet was joining the landscaping crew tomorrow on site of their new project. She’d been able to catch up on her sleep throughout the day by taking naps. The shadows still visible under Trent’s eyes showed Juliet that she still needed to rest.

She continued to caress Trent’s feet, loving how long they were to match her height.

“So, did you have a good day today despite you having no sleep?”

When there was no reply, Juliet glanced up. Trent was fast asleep. Her hands were resting on her stomach, her mouth was slightly open, and soft breaths were escaping.

“I’ve got to remember this trick and hope it works as good on our baby.” Juliet smiled as she checked the clock. Trent had plenty of time for a nap before their meal would be ready. Juliet relaxed and lost herself in the simple pleasure of looking after her beloved who usually did all the looking after her.

*

Bryce was mixing up a batch of plaster when she heard the familiar
thump thump thump
coming from the room next door. Scarlet’s here, she thought as the familiar music played just loud enough for her to hear. She carefully loaded up her hawk, a flat square surface with a thick handle, with wet plaster and prepared her trowel. The background noise of the music faded as Bryce concentrated on smoothing out a perfect layer of the mixture onto the wall she’d readied. She felt the pain in her shoulder ease as she lessened the weight off the hawk. The ache in her ribs was a constant, but she ignored it as best she could. In swift, practiced strokes, she plastered the top half of the wall in very little time and was soon climbing back down her stepladder to mix up some more plaster.

She was so lost in her work she never heard when the music stopped playing or when someone stepped in the room behind her.

“Hey, Bryce, it’s lunchtime. Would you care to join me outside to catch some sun?”

Bryce looked up from where she was squatting on the floor finishing off the last layer. “Are you insinuating I’m too pale, Ms. Tweedy?”

Scarlet made a show of looking her over. “Well, a little color other than the brown shades of plaster wouldn’t go amiss in your cheeks.”

Bryce wiped at her face with her sleeve. She noticed Scarlet bore a smudge of paint on her wrist. “You appear to be wearing more than you’ve probably put on the wall yourself.” She pointed and watched as Scarlet checked her skin for any more paint she’d missed.

“Oh, I’m used to having my skin resemble a canvas.” She waved her lunch bag at Bryce. “Are you ready to eat? I’m starving. I skipped breakfast today, and my stomach feels like I haven’t eaten in weeks.”

Bryce rose after finishing up one last swipe to the wall. “Sure, let me just put this aside and I’ll join you. What’s so important about the outside world today? Usually you just eat where you’re working.” She hadn’t seen a lot of Scarlet since they’d started on the house a week ago. Bryce had had her work cut out for her preparing the walls for re-plastering, and Scarlet had been cooling her heels until a room was finished so she could paint it. Today though, she looked excitable. Bryce was curious as to why.

“You can come meet the landscaping crew who work with Dad. They’re all here today.”

Bryce couldn’t quite see the reason for the excitement in that but decided to humor her anyway. She tried not to be too obvious as she turned her back on Scarlet to fish out her cap from her back pocket to put it on. She grabbed up her messenger bag and swung it over her shoulder without thinking. The grimace of pain brought Scarlet over to her in an instant.

“Are you okay?” Scarlet hesitated to touch Bryce, and her hand fell away. For a moment, Bryce wondered what it would have felt like to be touched by her. She hastily rearranged the bag’s strap and just nodded briskly. She hoped that the nausea that had just shot through her wouldn’t stop her from eating her sandwiches. She needed to keep her strength up to heal.

“I’m okay. I just caught my shoulder in the wrong spot. I must have too much mayo on my sandwich.”

Scarlet didn’t look all too convinced but she didn’t pursue it and just led them out of the house. Bryce dutifully followed until Scarlet pointed her toward a small wall where they could sit and watch the yard being worked on. Bryce had never met the landscapers she knew Victor Tweedy had on his staff. Her job had never coincided with theirs, and Bryce usually kept to herself even in work. Sitting out with Scarlet was a change to her usual routine. Bryce wondered if anyone ever said no to Scarlet Tweedy.

Scarlet dug into her bag and pulled out a large tub full to the brim with salad. Bryce thought her own sandwich of cold cuts and mayo looked decidedly pitiful alongside Scarlet’s feast. She took a healthy bite anyway and chewed without really tasting anything while she watched the landscapers doing their thing.

“See the one in black?” Scarlet said around a mouthful of lettuce.

“The one with the demon heads on her shirt?” Bryce was intrigued by the dark haired woman’s choice of landscaping attire.

“That’s Monica. I share an apartment with her. She makes all her own clothes. She’s major talented.”

Bryce took a closer look. The woman didn’t seem like a typical landscaper. Her long jet-black hair was tied back by a bandana decorated with barbed wire. Looking at her, Bryce had to admit the woman was beautiful, too beautiful to be working in dirt.

“She’s Goth, like me,” Scarlet continued. “You should see her in her dresses. Oh God, she looks so gorgeous. I can only dream to be half as striking as she is.”

Bryce gave Scarlet a look. “You’re as pretty as she is, prettier even, especially with your red hair.” Realizing what she had inadvertently blurted out, Bryce stuffed her sandwich in her mouth before she said anything else. Scarlet was the boss’s daughter after all, and Bryce didn’t want to lose her job over admitting she found her very attractive.

Scarlet was grinning at her. “Why thank you, kind sir.” She bumped Bryce gently with her shoulder.

Bryce felt the warmth of that touch linger long after Scarlet pulled away. She focused back on the landscapers. “Hey, should she be lifting that?” Bryce had noticed a heavily pregnant woman bending to pick up a pot. She was relieved to see Monica descend on her swiftly and slap her hands away briskly.

“I’m guessing not,” Scarlet said. “That’s Juliet. Isn’t she beautiful?”

Not really one for people watching, Bryce tried not to be overly obvious as she stared at the woman Scarlet had sounded so dreamy over. Juliet was the complete opposite of Monica. She had a mass of blond hair that shone brightly in the sunlight. She currently sported a scowl that soon turned into a smile as she tried to shoo Monica away from her, obviously exasperated at being hovered over. “Yes, she is, and she’s very pregnant.”

She noticed that both Monica’s and Juliet’s attentions were suddenly diverted away from their playful bickering. She looked over in that same direction. Two newcomers were walking around the side of the building. The first thing she noted was they were both incredibly tall. The male had a very long beard captured into a single braid like a Viking. He looked like a pirate with his long dark hair and sharp features. The other person Bryce wasn’t too sure about at first until she caught sight of a hint of breasts beneath the crisp white shirt she wore. She was tall, austere looking, and very masculine. The man greeted Juliet with a kiss on her cheek and a hand on her belly but then scooped Monica up in his arms for a more enthusiastic welcome. Bryce watched in amazement as it was the tall woman who wrapped herself around Juliet protectively. Even to Bryce’s eyes, it was clear they were undeniably a couple. They kissed and then the woman dropped to her knee and seemed to be speaking to Juliet’s belly.

“The guy swinging Monica around is her boyfriend Elton. He’s the most awesome man on the planet,” Scarlet said while eating her lunch.

“And the obvious butch?” Bryce found it sweet how the woman stood back up and tucked Juliet into her side. She kept a proprietary hand resting on Juliet’s protruding belly.

Scarlet sighed dramatically. “That hunk of gorgeousness is Trent Williams. I’ve had the biggest crush on her since I was a teenager.” She gave Bryce a goofy grin. “I think it’s because of her that I finally figured out I was gay.”

Bryce’s eyes widened as that piece of information was casually tossed out in the air.

“Your Trent is seriously butch. She looks more masculine than the Captain Jack Sparrow she rolled in with.” Bryce had to smile at Elton. He really did resemble the pirate with his long hair and gangly body.

“She’s seriously butch and seriously gorgeous with it,” Scarlet enthused. “But alas, she’s not mine. She’s all Juliet’s.” She let out another sigh. “But they’re so happy together. It’s wonderful to see.”

Bryce eyed the couples surreptitiously. She hadn’t had much experience in the serious relationship department so she wasn’t sure whether to regard their obvious happiness with amusement or a touch of envy.

“Does this Juliet know you harbored a crush on her woman?”

Scarlet laughed. “Oh, yes. I informed her the first time we were introduced. I shocked the hell out of Trent when she found out. She went incredibly shy. It was so damn cute.”

Bryce eyed Trent again and didn’t think “cute” was something applied to her very often.

“They are so excited about the baby. I’m scheduled to paint the nursery for them. Trent will probably want a gaming theme, but Juliet might lean a little more to a traditional layout.” She rubbed her hands together gleefully. “I’ll be interested to see who wins that debate.”

“Do they know what they’re having yet?”

Scarlet shook her head. “They want it to be a surprise. How cool is that?”

Bryce had never had any inclination toward children one way or another so she just nodded. She’d only just had a girlfriend take the big step to partially move in with her, but all that had changed once the accident had happened. Finding Gerri’s stuff cleared out and a Dear Bryce letter left on the kitchen table had been a shock. She rubbed at her forehead. So much for the whole in sickness and in health thing.

“Trent will be a fantastic mother,” Scarlet said. “She’s such a sweetheart.”

Bryce could see Trent smiling at her friends, and it totally changed her appearance. She didn’t look half as brooding when she stood with her arms wrapped around Juliet. Bryce wondered what that felt like, to love someone that much to commit to having a child with them. That spoke of forever. Trent was giving Juliet such a look of adoration, and Bryce could see it shining back just as brightly from Juliet’s eyes. She felt like she was intruding into their privacy watching them together.

“You’ve gone very quiet.” Scarlet touched Bryce’s thigh gently.

“I’m watching your friends. They’re quite the bunch.”

“Two Goths, two gays, and a baby,” Scarlet rattled off with a laugh. “Sounds like the perfect synopsis for a rom-com.”

“I take it by the identical clothing that Trent and Elton work at the same place?”

“They work at a gaming store together.” Scarlet checked the time on her watch. “It must be their lunch break. The mall isn’t very far from here so they obviously came by to say hello.”

“I think Trent’s checking that Juliet isn’t doing too much. She seems…” Bryce saw the way Trent held Juliet. “…very solicitous.”

Scarlet chuckled. “Juliet’s been calling her Mama Bear because she won’t let her do hardly anything. I think it’s wonderful she wants to keep Juliet safe.”

“It’s a good thing she didn’t see her trying to lift that pot then.”

“You’d better believe it. When everyone was helping me move in with Monica, Juliet went to do something and Trent nearly had a cow. Juliet was banished to the kitchen and was only allowed to refill drinks after that.”

“A protective mama bear.” Bryce smiled. She liked that Trent was obviously sensitive around her partner. Bryce had hung out with a crowd of butches when she’d first come out. It had been tiring watching them all try to outdo each other in who was the biggest badass. Trent didn’t seem to act like they had, for all her masculine looks.

“You’ll have to come out with us all one evening,” Scarlet said, drawing Bryce’s attention away from the laughing group.

“You hang out with those guys?”

“Hell yes, and there’s more besides. Trent’s work colleagues come too, and we take over Pizza Hut. It makes for an entertaining evening.”

“Thanks, but I…” Bryce wasn’t sure how to explain she wasn’t the social type anymore. She fingered her scar again as she wondered how to explain her reticence. She saw Scarlet’s face lose some of its animation at her rebuff, and Bryce felt awful.

“That’s okay, I understand. You’re only just back after…” Her words trailed off. “When you’re more ready to socialize maybe then you can join us. You’d be very welcome.”

“Maybe,” Bryce said and went back to her lunch, effectively closing the conversation. She only looked up when she noticed that Trent and Elton were getting ready to leave. Monica kissed Elton like they were the only two people in the yard. They pulled apart for breath, and she tugged on his beard, pulling him back for one last lip lock. Bryce was more interested in Trent and Juliet. She could tell Juliet didn’t want Trent to go. She had a hand behind Trent’s neck and had pulled her down for such a gentle kiss that Bryce felt her own body tighten in response. Trent rested her forehead on Juliet’s and said something to her that made Juliet smile sweetly and hug her close. Trent laid a kiss on the top of Juliet’s baby bump and ran her hand over Juliet’s face in farewell. Juliet wiped at her eyes briskly. Hormones, Bryce figured, but swallowed against the lump of emotion that had risen in her throat.
What’s my excuse?
She couldn’t help smiling when Juliet’s raised voice suddenly rang out loud and clear across the yard.