Making a Comeback (37 page)

Liz shifted so Jac’s thigh was between hers and felt Jac smile against her face. She sucked in a breath, and her heart skipped beats when Jac pressed into her sex. The thin silk pants they both wore made it feel like skin on skin. She scraped her mouth across Jac’s cheek, and the rest of the short dance was one long, heated kiss.

“My turn with Jax,” Hannah said, stepping next to them when a new song began. “Go rescue Dad.”

Liz could barely force herself to let go. Everything felt right in Jac’s arms. When she opened her eyes, her dad was watching her. He looked away, but not before she saw the confusion on his face. She went to him, tugged him from his chair, and danced with him. She wanted to tell him it could be Rebecca in his arms. She hoped one day it would be.

Everyone wanted to dance with her and everyone wanted to dance with Jac. It was well after midnight before the party wound down. As she made her way back to Jac, Regan and Sammy intercepted her. “We’re taking off,” Regan said, her arm around Vicky’s waist. She looked happier than Liz had ever seen her.

“You played like…” Liz shook her head as her throat tightened. She hugged Regan for a long time, and even better, Regan hugged her back. “Meet us here at noon tomorrow. Peggy’s fixing lunch for us.”

“I wasn’t sure about…” Regan shifted her weight and put a hand in her pocket, but kept Liz’s gaze. “What Teri did. Setting us up for the festival. But we’re going to be okay, yeah?”

“We’re all going to be okay.” Monday was the one-year anniversary of Teri’s death. It wouldn’t be an easy day to get through, but Teri’s death wasn’t the lighthouse in her emotional life any more. She had someone she loved, who loved her in return.

“Is Jac part of the band now?” Regan sounded hopeful.

“Yes.”

“Good. I’m glad you’re with her.” Regan grinned and pulled Vicky closer. “Love changes everything.”

“We want to stay with you after the fall tour,” Sammy said. “We like the new style.”

“Good.” She reached up to hug him. “I want us all to have the future we choose.”

Cassie approached as they left. “Damn, that gorgeous trumpet player of yours can dance. I should have tried harder.” She bumped Liz’s shoulder. “Just kidding. Happy?”

“Indescribably.”

“You deserve all of this, girlfriend—the band, the woman, the fame you’re gonna get. I’m proud of you.”

“Thank you doesn’t seem to cover all you’ve done for me this year, Cass.”

“You can add one more thing. I’ll play your fall tour.”

Liz cupped Cassie’s cheeks and kissed them several times. Not having to find another drummer right away took a big worry off her mind.

“On one condition. You get yourself a trumpet player full-time. It’s a good sound.”

“Already done.” Liz returned to the table, to the woman she loved. “I want to kiss you in the worst way.”

“Yeah?” An easy smile spread over Jac’s cheeks.

“Yeah.” And she did.

“Not again,” Hannah teased them as she squeezed their shoulders.

“I’m happy for you, sis,” Kevin said. He bent to kiss Liz’s cheek. “Congratulations, Jac.” He extended his hand.

Jac stood and hugged him and then Hannah, who laughed at something Jac said to her.

“Kev’s going back with me. You get to tell Dad,” Hannah said. That was going to be an interesting drive. Knowing Hannah, she’d get Kevin and Karen back together.

“You’re pretty amazing,” Liz said, hugging Hannah for a long time. Now that Hannah was back in her life, she’d never lose her again.

“So are you. Be happy, Lizzie.”

Her dad was one of the last to leave, and she walked him to his car. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“You bet, sunshine.” He unlocked his car and then turned back to her. “I was wrong to tell the reviewer about Jac. I didn’t want you to lose out again. I’m sorry.”

Liz hugged him. “Thanks, Dad.”

“It’s a great album. Momentum!” He pumped his fist in the air.

Liz waved to him as he drove away. It had been a year of loss and challenges and shifting roles for everyone in her family. As she walked across the gravel driveway, she thought back to the day she’d met Jac and Peggy. Now they were family. Her steps felt light and sure. She’d found her way to new music and new love. A future she was committed to. She wanted the same for Hannah, for her dad and Rebecca, for Kevin and Karen.

Jac was waiting for her on the bench along the walkway to her cottage. “Can Max and I interest you in a stroll on the beach?”

“Sounds like the perfect ending to the day.”

The beach was deserted, the moon barely a crescent in the star-filled sky. They walked barefoot in the soft sand above the water line, the rhythmic cascade of waves a comforting accompaniment, the breeze just cool enough. Liz threw Max’s tennis ball into the surf. “I’m going to move to Carmel.”

“That’s a long commute.”

“I don’t want to be away from you for a minute.”

“What if I rent a place in San Jose? We can stay there part of the week while you teach. I’d like to live in my cottage when we’re here. I can add on a room for your grandmother’s piano.” They walked for a while, taking turns throwing the ball for Max, and then Jac said, “I was wrong.”

“About?”

“Teri applying to the festival was an act of unimaginable love. I didn’t understand. I couldn’t understand until I fell in love with you. I want to love you as well as she did.”

“You do.” She took Jac’s hand. “I learned how to love with Teri, and I’m learning it all over again with you.”

“I don’t expect you to avoid talking about her. You must be feeling a lot of different things about tonight and about the one-year anniversary of her death coming up Monday.”

“I am, and I promise I’ll talk about it. Right now, I want to bask in our love and the connection that makes me sure we belong to each other. I wouldn’t have wished loss and grief on either of us. It’s like we were tossed in the ocean and carried away by currents that stranded us far from where we thought our lives were headed. We made our way back. Together. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere but here with you. I’m crazy about you, Ms. Richards.” Liz draped her arms over Jac’s shoulders and kissed her. “Dance with me?”

Jac took her in her arms, and everything faded except where their bodies touched and their tongues explored each other’s mouths. Heat built quickly with Jac’s thigh between her legs.

Liz didn’t realize she was humming until Jac said, “Thank you for describing it. I feel stars dancing on my skin, a sliver of moon fighting the darkness, white feathers of waves rolling onto the sand. And inside it all, I feel the heartbeat of your love.”

“Our love. Fused.”

“Can I interest you in a little sex on the beach?” Jac’s voice was deep and raw and so sexy Liz shivered.

“Getting kind of risqué, aren’t you?”

“Improvising and collaborating, love. Isn’t that what you’re teaching me?” They were at the rock wall at the end of the beach. Jac sat against the rocks and motioned Liz to settle between her bent legs. Max sprawled beside them. She tunneled her hands inside Liz’s blouse.

Liz rested her head against Jac’s shoulder, sheltered in her arms, soft sand beneath her, waves playing a rhythmic serenade. A perfect night.

“What’s that you’re humming?” Jac nuzzled her cheek.

“Our future, honey.” She lifted her head and kissed Jac, humming the new melody that would become their greatest hit—“Making a Comeback.”

Julie Blair has always believed that fiction is one of life’s great pleasures. From the time she was old enough to hold a book, escaping into worlds where anything is possible and endings are usually happy has been a favorite pastime. Growing up a tomboy before it was fashionable, Julie attached herself to sports, especially softball, which culminated in her pitching in the Women’s College World Series. Finally forced to grow up and get a real job, she landed in restaurant management for a decade before entering the rigors of chiropractic school. She has been a chiropractor for over two decades.

Julie has sat atop the ruins of Machu Picchu and stood five feet from mountain gorillas in Uganda, but her favorite place is curled up on her couch with her Labradors, Magic and Mandy, reading or writing. Living in the quiet of California’s Santa Cruz Mountains, she enjoys gardening, hiking, red wine, strong coffee, smooth jazz, and warm fall afternoons.

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