With Caroline in tow, she hurried to meet them. “What are you doing here?”

“Just wanted to see how you were doing.” Allie gave Bri a quick hug and smiled almost shyly at Caroline “Hi.”

Caroline returned the smile, resting her hand in the center of Bri’s back. “I’m glad you came.”

“Hey, Deo,” Bri said.

“Sorry about your dad.” Deo noticed that Bri’s eyes were red-rimmed but clear. “How’s he doing?”

“The nurses say everything looks good tonight,” Bri replied.

• 79 •

RADCLY fFE

When several offi cers who Deo recognized as members of the Sheriff’s Department approached, Deo stepped back while Allie talked to them. Scanning the faces of the others gathered around, she saw Reese and Tory, Reese’s mother and her partner, and a couple of other law enforcement offi cers. With a jolt, her eyes met Nita’s. When she nodded, Nita tipped her head briefl y in acknowledgment before looking away. Clearly having been dismissed, Deo leaned against the wall and watched Nita. As she had at the party, Nita appeared apart from the others. Not awkwardly or uncomfortably alone, Deo realized, but alone by choice. The circumstance was so different than Deo’s own isolation that she couldn’t help but be fi lled with questions. Questions and curiosity and an involuntary surge of sympathy. Alone was alone, and even if by choice, sometimes it spelled loneliness.

Driven by an appreciation for their shared discomfort, Deo sidled through the people who stood talking quietly in pairs or small groups until she reached Nita.

“Long day,” Deo said.

“I was just leaving.” Nita picked up a leather bag and slung it over her shoulder.

“Stay for a minute.”

Nita blinked. “Why?”

“I like your company.”

“How much have you had to drink?” Nita asked sharply.

“Two beers, six hours ago.”

“Then you have me confused with someone else.” Nita stepped sideways and Deo lightly grasped her arm. “What?”

“I don’t want to have to chase you down the hall again. It’s bad for my ego.”

“I don’t imagine anything puts a dent in your ego.”

Nita’s voice held an edge, but the barest glimmer of a smile showed for an instant and then disappeared. It was the fi rst crack in her façade that Deo had seen, and encouraged, she leaned closer and lowered her voice. “Having you turn me down two days in a row hasn’t been so good for it.”

“It’s in very poor taste to make overtures to a woman with your girlfriend standing a few feet away.”

“My girlfriend?” Deo said, honestly confused. She followed Nita’s

• 80 •

Winds of Fortune

gaze to where Allie huddled with Reese and Bri and the other offi cers.

“She’s a friend.”

Nita sighed. “There’s no need to explain, although considering you disappeared with her last night after the party, I’d say your defi nition of friend and mine are slightly different.”

“The way I see it, we’re just talking.”

“Really? You weren’t going to renew your invitation for dinner?

My mistake again, then.”

Deo did some fast thinking. She had been about to try again, and because she didn’t think of her relationship with Allie as anything that would prevent her from doing so, she hadn’t considered how it might look to Nita. Hell, when had she ever considered how anything might look to a woman she was interested in? “Jesus, you’re confusing as all hell.”

“Look,” Nita began in a reasonable voice, determined to control a potentially uncomfortable situation that showed no signs of going away. Admittedly, she’d had a visceral response the instant she’d seen Deo enter the waiting area. Before she could contain herself, she had been both happy and excited to see her. That Deo had been with the pretty young brunette from the night before had helped her gain some perspective. There wasn’t much doubt in her mind where the bite on Deo’s neck had come from. Like a dash of cold water, the sight of the two of them was a blunt wakeup call and a stark reminder of just why Deo was dangerous. “This is a small town and we have a lot of acquaintances in common. We’re going to be running into one another all the time. Why don’t we just decide right now that the best thing we can do is have a nice casual friendly association.”

“I wasn’t proposing marriage.”

“I know what you are proposing. I’m not in the market.”

“And if you were, it wouldn’t be with me, right?”

Nita shrugged. “No. It wouldn’t be.”

“Because I’m not your type.” Deo made it a statement, not a question.

“I think I already mentioned that.”

“How about a contractor? Are you in the market for a general contractor?”

“Excuse me?” Nita said, thoroughly perplexed by not only

• 81 •

RADCLY fFE

the abrupt change in topic but by the fact that Deo seemed to have capitulated with no argument. And that bothered her. Lord, she must be sending out mixed signals because she certainly felt mixed up. She didn’t want the woman’s attention but it upset her when Deo simply gave up pursuing her as if it were of no further consequence. She hadn’t realized how vulnerable she was to any kind of attention from a woman. It had been a long time. Obviously, she needed a date—with someone non-threatening and low-key and normal. Someone whose attention would be pleasant but not distracting, someone with whom she could share something enjoyable but not consuming. Not someone like Deo whose mere presence stirred her up. Not someone like Deo—

like Sylvia—who would occupy her mind twenty-four hours a day and keep her body in a state of constant arousal.

“You bought the Captain’s house,” Deo said, again stating fact. “If you plan on living in it, it’s going to take some serious work.”

“How do you know about my house?”

“It’s my business to know what’s happening with the properties in town.”

Nita shook her head. “Small-town living will take some getting used to. Yes, I bought it, but I haven’t made any decisions yet about what I’m going to do with it or who is going to do it.” What she didn’t add was that whoever she hired, it certainly would not be Deo Camara.

The last thing she wanted was to see her on a daily basis for weeks.

“Rehabbing historic structures is my specialty,” Deo said, serious now. “You’re going to get the best prices if you go local, and I’m the best there is on the Cape. You’ll at least want a bid from me.”

“Lord, you really are too much.” Nita remembered Pia mentioning the township’s regulations regarding what could and couldn’t be done to historic buildings and realized she would be better off using a local builder. It was late, she was tired, and she didn’t want to argue. In fact, Deo made sense. Compromise. Compromise was something she’d always been good at. “Why don’t you send Joey around to look the place over. I’m closing on Friday afternoon and I’ll have the keys after that.”

“Joey’s not experienced enough.” Deo grinned. “Besides, he’s competition.”

“I’m sorry?”

“He wants to ask you out.”

• 82 •

Winds of Fortune

Nita gaped. “Joey? My God, he’s just a boy.”

“He’s eighteen,” Deo said with a straight face, enjoying seeing Nita off balance.

“He’s also a patient.”

“He won’t be forever.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Nita snapped. “You know I’m a lesbian.”

Deo lifted a shoulder. “Can’t prove it by personal experience.”

“And you never will.” Exasperated and recalling what Pia had said about their family enterprises, Nita said, “Then send one of your brothers to do the estimate. You must have half a dozen working with you.”

Deo jerked as if Nita had slapped her. Beneath her tan, Deo’s bronze skin paled and a world of hurt fl ashed across her face. For a fraction of a second, Nita actually thought she might faint. Without giving it a thought, driven only by her instinct to comfort, she grasped Deo’s hand. “What is it?” The fi ngers lying motionless in her palm were cold and trembling. “Deo?”

“Sorry,” Deo rasped, jerking her hand free. “No, no brothers.”

“I’m sor—”

“No problem.” Deo backed away a step. “Sorry to bother you.”

“Deo…” Nita called quietly, but Deo had already spun away. She felt terrible for bringing up something that was obviously still painful.

She didn’t mind clashing with Deo’s arrogance or misplaced sense of entitlement where women were concerned, but she would never have willingly hurt her. “Damn it.”

“Everything all right?” Tory asked.

Nita gave a start, then fl ushed, wondering how much of the encounter Tory had witnessed. She’d always been a private person, and the terrible public humiliation of her relationship with Sylvia had solidifi ed her desire to avoid any kind of display of her personal business. “Yes. Everything’s fi ne.”

“Oh, okay. I just thought Deo…never mind.”

“I…I unwittingly said something to upset her.” She should simply let the matter drop, Nita knew that. But the agony in Deo’s eyes had been so deep, so raw, she still ached from having seen it. “I asked her about having brothers.”

“I see.” Tory sighed. “Her twin brother Gabriel was killed in a boating accident when they were teenagers.”

• 83 •

RADCLY fFE

“Oh,” Nita murmured, “that’s horrible.”

“I know,” Tory said. “I hadn’t been in town very long, but something like that in a community like this affects everyone. I can still remember Nelson calling me down to the harbor. It was the middle of the night, and it was pointless to transport Gabriel anywhere. We tried to resuscitate him right there on the beach…God, we worked on him for almost two hours, and we just couldn’t get him back.” She shook her head. “I thought Deo was going to lose her mind.”

“She was with him?” Nita automatically searched the room, wishing desperately she could fi nd her and say something to ease the pain she had carelessly incited. But Deo was gone, and so was the young offi cer she’d come in with.

❖

“You don’t have to leave,” Deo said dully, opening the driver’s side door. “I’ll just wait in the truck.”

Allie climbed in the opposite side and slid as close to Deo as the gear shift would allow. “I need to get back.”

“Why don’t you try to catch some sleep, then.” Deo started the truck and pulled away from the hospital.

“You look pretty bummed out. Are you okay?”

Deo forced a smile. “Yeah. Close your eyes.”

Allie gave her a questioning look, but fi nally gave in and curled up sideways with one hand on Deo’s thigh. The small connection felt good, and Deo covered Allie’s smaller hand with hers as she drove.

Within seconds she could tell from the soft even cadence of Allie’s breathing that she was asleep. Route 6 was deserted at one-thirty in the morning, but she was careful of her speed. Allie trusted her, and she wanted to take care of her as she slept.

Forty minutes later she shook Allie’s shoulder gently. “How do I get to your house?”

Following Allie’s directions, she soon pulled into the narrow drive of a small cottage set on a side street between Wellfl eet and Truro.

“There you go.”

“It’s late. Come on inside,” Allie said.

“No, you need to sleep.” Deo didn’t add that she didn’t feel like sex. Usually when she was stressed or angry, sex helped. When she was

• 84 •

Winds of Fortune

hurt, she mostly wanted to be alone, because being intimate when she was needy made her feel too exposed and uncomfortable.

Without a word, Allie got out of the truck, walked around the front, and pulled Deo’s door open. Then she took her hand. “I don’t know about you, but I’ve had a really bad day. I could use some company.”

Deo couldn’t think of a good reason to say no. She followed her inside the small cottage and into the neat, tidy bedroom at the rear. A double bed sat in one corner, a dresser with a small TV occupied the wall at the foot, and a dressing table with chair fi lled the far wall.

“Bathroom’s across the hall.” Allie yawned and unbuckled her gun belt. “You can go fi rst.”

On Deo’s way back, a naked Allie passed her. She undressed by the side of the bed and climbed naked under the sheets. A few minutes later, Allie crawled in and curled up against her side. Deo put an arm around her and kissed her gently.

“Night,” Deo whispered.

Allie drew her leg up over Deo’s thigh, murmured something, and fell promptly asleep. Deo listened to the sounds of the unfamiliar house, lightly stroking Allie’s shoulder. There were times when she felt like an impostor in her own life, when she couldn’t fi gure out why she was doing what she was doing or why she didn’t feel anything when she knew she was supposed to. Allie was warm and soft and Deo knew if she stroked Allie’s breast she could wake her, arouse her, and Allie would beg her to make love to her. Her need would become Allie’s, and her pain would be transformed into Allie’s desire. She could lose herself in Allie’s body, in her excitement, in her need, and the places that were numb inside her would fi ll with Allie’s pleasure. If it were any other woman, she wouldn’t hesitate, but she couldn’t bring herself to use Allie that way.