“It’s wonderful to meet you, Vivian.”
She introduced me to the other woman as her assistant, Samantha. Then she had Natalie catch her up on the day’s progress. Her questions proved she had a lot of construction knowledge to go with her design talent. Normally the designer did nothing but make things more difficult for the people who made their designs come to life.
“Fos,” Natalie said to me, and a flush crested her cheeks as she realized my initials just spilled out of her mouth. She hadn’t called me Fos since our last job together. Falyn Ophelia Shaw. Yes, Ophelia. Blame my mom. “Do you mind looking over the electrical plans and drawing up a supply list? I was waiting for you to get here so we wouldn’t miss anything.”
“Sure,” I said, happy to help somewhere today after getting here so late.
Miguel and Natalie went out the back door opening as Vivian and Samantha discussed some design elements in the great room. Everything seemed calm and efficient. I’d worked many construction crews and seen almost every dynamic. This felt different somehow, but of course, it wasn’t her whole crew yet.
The sound of an engine outside made me glance up from my scribbles. I watched as a striking butch stepped down from a compact pickup. She was tall, probably as tall as me but with a little more muscle than on my trimmer frame. She had short, espresso colored hair in a perfect wave that pushed back from her face and ears. The determined line of her mouth matched the intense stare of her dark eyes as she moved toward the house. Confidence dripped from her every stride. There wasn’t a doubt in my mind that she was a lesbian, which given the population, I found surprising. I feared there might not be any others in town.
A smile formed on my lips as I considered dating again. I hadn’t given it any thought since getting out. Parole wasn’t exactly conducive to dating. The occasional one night stand served my infrequent needs. If there were more single lesbians in town, I might have to pull out my charm and dust it off. See if it still worked. Not on this person. She wasn’t my type, but if I could find someone else.
She stepped up into the house and greeted Vivian with a tight hug. The smile slid from my face as she leaned back and kissed her. On the mouth. In broad daylight. In front of Samantha and, although she didn’t know it, me, friend of the person who loved the woman she was kissing. In a house the woman’s girlfriend was building for her.
What. The. Hell?
I ducked out the nearest doorway, wondering what kind of messed up drama I’d stepped into here. Natalie gave me the impression that she and Vivian were exclusive. She was building a frickin’ house for the woman. She got all moony when she talked about her. They had to be exclusive. Could she really be okay with someone else kissing the woman she loved? She better know about it. I sure as hell didn’t want to be the one to break it to her, but I couldn’t just ignore it.
“Nat?” I called up to where I’d heard her walking on the roof.
She poked her head over the side, spotted my perturbed look, and came down the ladder. “What’s up?”
Prison pretty much beat all the social elegance out of me, so I blurted, “Your girlfriend’s with a fine butch inside. You okay with that?”
Natalie’s face scrunched up in confusion. Her eyes didn’t even flick towards the back door opening. Like she didn’t think what I said was possible. “Molly?”
“Didn’t catch her name. Just saw her kiss your woman.”
She tipped up onto her toes to look through one of the window openings. “That’s Molly. They’ve been friends a long time.”
“You’re okay with it?” Confusion soaked into my sizzling brain.
She let a laugh slip then noticed how serious I looked. “Viv and I are together.”
Like that explained everything. I knew they were together. That’s why I was out here fuming over seeing what I saw. “You’re okay with kisses from women who clearly like other women?”
“I don’t have anything to worry about. Viv loves me, and she’s her own woman. She and Molly have been friends a lot longer than she and I have been together.” She squeezed my arm. “C’mon, let’s say hi.”
“Hey, Nat,” the over-affectionate greeter known as Molly said when we walked through the back opening. She no longer had her hands on Vivian, and in light of Natalie’s attitude, appeared as harmless as Nat seemed to think she was.
“Hi, Molly,” Natalie said and gestured to me. “This is Falyn. She’s an old friend and now works on the crew.”
Molly’s dark eyes cut to me, a smile erasing what had looked like a slightly irritated face. Her chin tipped up as she extended her hand. “Molly Sokol. How ya doing?”
I shook her hand, expecting a crushing grip. The soft skin and firm but nonthreatening hold was a pleasant surprise. “Falyn Shaw. Good to meet you.”
“Molly is an outdoor guide in town. You’re still big on biking, right?” Natalie asked me before turning to Molly. “Maybe you could show her a few trails? She’s new to Aspen.”
“Absolutely,” she offered kindly as Vivian stepped over and slid her arm around Natalie’s waist.
Now I saw it. Too many years inside made me suspicious of everyone. Or maybe too many years with an ex-girlfriend who loved making me jealous. Vivian only had eyes for Natalie. Almost as important, Molly knew and respected that. I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions and felt like an idiot for doing so.
“Sorry,” I whispered to Natalie.
Vivian eyed me with interest, but Natalie didn’t explain. “We’re headed out to practice for the pool tournament.”
“You guys have fun.” Natalie stroked the hand gripping her waist.
“Maybe I’ll stop off at your place on my way home. Two nights alone is too many,” Vivian sighed dreamily.
“Gawd!” Molly breathed out in exasperation and shot me a conspiratorial look. I liked her instantly because of it. As happy as I was for Natalie, it could get a little nauseating watching a new couple be new together.
“All right, all right.” Vivian leaned in for a quick kiss that looked far more involved than the hello buss she’d given her friend. “Call you later.” She gave me a wave and led Molly and Samantha outside.
“Let’s get you settled in at your place,” Natalie said to me before calling out to Miguel that we were leaving.
I followed her outside and got into my car, waiting for her to swing her truck around first. I peeked into the backseat again to check on the beasts in their cat carrier. Still sound asleep. They’d be hyper tonight, but I wouldn’t mind. They’d managed the long trip beautifully.
Natalie took us out onto the highway and into town where we turned off into a residential neighborhood. When she parked, I pulled in behind her. I glanced at the house then at the one nearby. This couldn’t be it. This wasn’t a crappy apartment. It wasn’t even a rundown house. This place was beautiful. One of four homes on the street, not big like the others, but a decent size. It couldn’t be the place. We must have gone to Natalie’s house first.
“This is it,” Natalie encouraged me out of the car.
I managed to keep from shaking my head in disbelief. “Looks nice.” I reached into the backseat and grabbed the cat carrier.
“When did you get cats?”
“A year ago. Will the guys mind?” I was going to be sharing the house with two other crewmembers. She tried to give me an accurate picture of the guys, but after taking a step into the house, I could already see that cleanliness wasn’t a priority.
“I doubt they’ll mind. They like my dog.” She shot me a guilty look. “I asked them to do a little straightening before you got here. At least I cornered the master for you.” Her hand waved down the hall past the kitchen. “I was here when the boys landed. They were ready to beat each other senseless to get that room.”
My brow lifted. I’d get the master and she somehow made it okay with the housemates? This was getting better and better.
“You do not want to share a bathroom with those guys,” she explained as she started down the hall to the master.
I set the carrier on the bed and opened its door. Dancer sprang out right away, stretching and licking her paws before sniffing along the bed. Tusk came at me next, bumping against my hand for a scratch. They were both all black with yellow eyes. I’d been leaning toward an orange tabby when a volunteer came by and told me that the all black cats had the hardest time being adopted. The news made me want two of them.
“It’s beautiful.” I looked around a bedroom that was a palace compared to my dinky studio apartment back in Denver. I nearly wept when I saw the five piece bathroom. I couldn’t remember the last time I got to take a bath after a hard day at work.
“We’re remodeling the place after the summer. Glory wants to use it as a vacation rental whenever her family or friends aren’t visiting.”
That must have been the deal she struck. Whatever the terms, I was fine with it. Free rent for the summer for a little work in the fall sounded fine with me. She probably hadn’t told the landlord about my record. I doubted if Glory would be fine with leaving me in her house, even if it wasn’t up to the standard for homes we used to target.
“This place is spectacular. Thanks again.” I should be kissing her feet and agreeing to indentured servitude for not only offering me a job with a livable wage but providing summer housing for free.
“I’m just happy to have you here and on the crew.”
“What are they going to think?” I jerked my thumb toward the other rooms. They couldn’t be thrilled to share a house with a stranger, especially a woman.
“All they care about is steady seasonal work to pay for their skiing habit. Last year, they stayed in a rented trailer for the summer. They wouldn’t care if you had twenty cats.”
The front door crashed open and a guy about my height with curly, blond hair came through. “Yo, Harp! She here?” He pulled up short when he spotted me. His brother smacked into him from behind. The brother was an inch taller with the exact same hair. Same broad nose, wide brow, and strong chin, too.
“Falyn, these are the Sweeney Brothers, Curtis and Cole.” Natalie gestured to them.
“Yo,” the first guy said.
“Whaddup,” the second guy said.
They looked like beach bums without a beach, which might be the definition of a ski bum. They each had dimples on opposite sides of their faces and dark blue eyes. Probably late twenties. Jeez, frickin’ babies I’d be living with, but it was free, bigger than I’d seen in a decade, and if Natalie said they were all right, that was all I needed.
“Hi, guys,” I greeted, surprised when they each thrust a hand at me to shake.
“You like video games?” the one with the left dimpled cheek asked.
“Haven’t had a lot of time for them.”
“We’ve kinda taken over the television out here for showdowns. Hope you don’t mind.” He gestured to the flat screen TV in the living room.
“Fine by me.” I planned to spend most of my free time out on that great wraparound porch or in my huge bedroom. I had my own small television. The guys could take over the rest of the house for all I cared.
“Coolio,” right dimple said.
“Hauling time, Sweeneys,” Natalie told them and started toward the front door.
I was going to protest, but the guys were already out the door. I followed behind. There wasn’t much to bring inside, but I wanted to handle my bike. It was the only splurge I’d made since getting out. The expensive car I had before being caught paid for my legal bills, my less than precious used car, and this amazing bike.
“This it?” Cole, I think, asked.
The backseat and cargo area of my Outback was packed with boxes, but I guess for someone my age, he expected me to be driving a moving truck. Since my ex pillaged my condo as soon as I went in, I had no furniture or many possessions really. If I hadn’t sold my Porsche to pay my legal bills, she probably would have tried to take that, too. It still amazed me to realize just how wrong I’d been about so many things at the time: girlfriend, so-called friends, must-have gadgets, and top of the line everything. None of that mattered. It only took five years in prison and two years on parole to drill that lesson into me.