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  Cat nodded. "Truth is, Julie, that thought has crossed my mind. I guess it was a shock to hear it voiced by someone else."

  "Just because we think it, doesn't make it true, Cat. Remember that. Like Billie said, Tara will decide for herself," Julie said.

  Cat embraced her new friend. "Thanks, Julie."

  "You're welcome. Now we really need to get going. If Kaleigh is as wound up as I think she is, it will take the next couple of hours to settle her down and get her to bed." Julie laughed. "Thanks so much for having us over. We really had a good time."

  "Thanks for coming. We'll have to do this again," Cat walked Julie through the yard toward her car where Shannon and Kaleigh were waiting.

  After saying goodbye to their new friends, Billie and Cat turned to each other and searched familiar eyes for reactions to the day's events.

  Cat was the first to speak. "The truth, Billie. Has it ever crossed your mind that Tara might be gay?"

  "Has it crossed yours?" Billie replied as they both nodded their heads.

  CHAPTER 10

  Beep…beep…beep.

  Billie glanced at the clock. Five a.m. She silenced the alarm and then rolled back into the warm indentation vacated by her body just moments before.

  Cat stirred when the alarm so rudely interrupted her sleep. "Why?" she asked sleepily.

  "Why, what?" Billie replied without opening her eyes.

  "The alarm goes off at five every morning. Why does it seem earlier than normal on Mondays?"

  Billie rolled over and opened her eyes to see green orbs just barely peeking out behind partially closed lids. Her heart flip-flopped in her chest at the sight of woman beside her. If she had only moments to live, she would want to spend them just like this... lying side by side with Cat, nose to nose, breathing the same air and sharing the same heartbeat.

  Billie smiled. "Monday morning comes early because the weekend is much too short."

  Cat nodded. "I agree." She placed a delicate kiss on Billie's lips. "Did you sleep well?"

  "Not bad," Billie traced the tip of one finger along the side of Cat's face. "It took a while to drift off, especially after that conversation with Shannon and Julie last night, but once I was asleep, I was out for the night."

  Cat took Billie's hand from her face and brought it to her lips. She kissed the palm. A broad smile spread across Billie's face. "I know what you mean," Cat said. "I must have laid here for nearly an hour before falling asleep."

  "Have you got a busy day ahead of you?" Billie asked.

  "Two surgeries this morning and one in early afternoon. I'm hoping to be home by four o'clock or so," she replied. "How about you?"

  "We have the preliminary court hearing on Shannon and Julie's case this morning, and I've got a ton of paperwork to catch up on, although, I could bring that home," Billie replied. She propped herself up on her elbow. "Maybe we can take the crew out to dinner tonight if I can get home at roughly the same time you do. How does that sound?"

  "A night off from cooking? It sounds great!" Cat exclaimed.

  "All right. It's a date," Billie quipped. "I'd better get my butt in gear and get to the office early. Maybe I can get a jump on the paperwork." Billie got out of bed and reached a hand toward Cat. "Wanna join me for a shower?"

  Cat smiled and stretched lazily. "Wash my back?" she asked wickedly.

  Billie knelt on the bed and slowly crawled toward Cat until she was straddling her. She lowered her face toward Cat and lightly brushed Cat's earlobe with her lips. "I'll wash anything you'd like."

  Cat's eyes flew open and she suddenly placed her hands on Billie's chest and pushed. Not expecting the move, Billie was easily thrown off balance onto her back on the bed. Cat quickly jumped up and tore off her nightshirt. "Last one in is a rotten egg!"

  "Cat, you are going pay for that!" Billie threatened light-heartedly as she scrambled into a sitting position and watched Cat run into the adjoining bathroom.

  Cat stepped into the doorway and shook her naked butt at Billie. "Promises, promises!" she teased. Cat shrieked when Billie jumped off the bed and chased her back into the bathroom.

  ***

  As it turned out, Cat did not make it home early that evening, as a bus load of high school kids was involved in a near head-on collision with a trailer truck, filling the Emergency room and creating a need for the OR and surgical staffs to remain beyond their scheduled shifts. Luckily, there were no fatalities from the accident, but several young people required emergency surgery, thus resulting in a very long workday for Cat. Unfortunately, Monday's events set the pace for the remainder of the week. Between Billie and Cat's late hours and unexpected caseloads, they barely saw each other. It seemed that just as one of them managed to get home early, the other had to work late. By the end of the week, they had each spent a significant amount of time with the children, but very little with each other. When they crawled into bed together in the evening, they barely had time to cuddle and exchange loving words before exhaustion took over and passed them into the world of unconsciousness.

  By the time Friday rolled around, they were missing each other terribly.

  Billie looked at Cat over her shoulder as she threw her legs over the side of the bed to get up. "Cat, regardless of what happens at work today, I am leaving at noon. We haven't spent more than ten waking minutes together all week. I miss you."

  Cat smiled into the pouty face of her tall lover. "Me too, love. As of late yesterday, I didn't have any surgeries scheduled for this afternoon, so if my luck holds out, I'll be home early too."

  Billie smiled crookedly back at Cat. "Good. I'm looking forward to spending time with you. I also want to get to the bottom of whatever is ailing Jen. Do you realize she hasn't spoken to us in over a week? And she's refusing to return our phone calls. I don't like it, Cat. Something is up and I intend to find out what it is."

  Cat rolled to her side and cuddled Billie's pillow. "I feel bad for the kids. They miss Stevie and Karissa. I don't think it's fair for Jen and Fred to punish the kids like that," she added. "If her gripe is with us, then she needs to let us know and leave the kids out of it."

  "You're right, Cat," Billie called from the bathroom. "We'll give her a call this afternoon when we get home, okay?"

  "Sounds good." Cat crawled out of bed and went into their closet to retrieve a clean pair of scrubs, which she threw on the bed before stripping off her nightshirt and heading toward the bathroom to shower.

  Billie was leaving the bathroom just as she entered. "Will you be joining me?" Cat asked hopefully.

  Billie smiled and placed a kiss on Cat's lips. "Just as soon as I turn on the coffee maker. I'll be right back."

  Cat leaned her cheek against the bathroom door and sighed in contemplation. She loved Billie with all her heart, and heaven knows, she still had the power to make her knees weak, but lately, something was missing. She didn't know what it was, but she felt like their lives had become so distracted. Life seemed so hectic lately that they rarely had time to concentrate on just them.

  She couldn't believe how much their lives had been thrown into an upheaval of late by the kids. Ever since they returned from their one-month stay with the grandmothers in South Carolina, all hell had broken loose. Between Seth coming home drunk...to having 'the talk' with Tara after her encounter with Kevin in the family room...to the possibility that Tara might be gay...and Skylar and Missy disappearing, sending the whole neighborhood out on a search and rescue mission, she was sure she'd lose her mind. Then there was Jen and Fred. For some reason, Jen had suddenly broken all ties with them. Cat was at a loss as to what had caused it...and Jen wasn't talking.

  Cat felt like her life was out of control. It was in this state that Billie found her when she returned from making coffee.

  "Cat, are you all right?" Billie asked. She approached Cat and stroked her hair.

  Cat looked into Billie's eyes and sighed, not saying a word.

  "That was an awfully big sigh, my love," Billie observed. "W
anna talk about it?"

  Cat shook her head and allowed herself to be enveloped in Billie's arms. Wrapped in her cocoon of love, with her own arms firmly encircling Billie's waist, she listened to Billie humming softly to her.

  Finally, Billie planted a firm kiss on the top of Cat's head. "Are you all right, Cat?" she repeated tenderly.

  Cat nodded. "Thank you for loving me, Billie."

  "That is oh, so easy to do, my love," Billie replied and kissed her once more. "We'd better get into the shower if we're going to make it to work on time."

  "Okay," Cat whispered back. She reluctantly released her hold on Billie and followed her into the bathroom.

  ***

  As planned, both ladies were home relatively early that afternoon. Billie made it home first, and was lounging on the couch watching the local news when Cat arrived. Cat threw her keys on the kitchen table and dragged herself into the living room where she dropped heavily onto the couch beside Billie. She kicked off her shoes and burrowed into Billie's embrace. A sigh of contentment escaped her lips.

  "It feels so good to be home," Cat exclaimed.

  Billie held Cat close. "Yes it does."

  "Where are the kids?"

  "Sky went to the beach with Missy and her mom. Seth is working, and it appears that Tara has a new friend. She's gone to the mall with a girl named Kelly," Billie replied.

  "Kelly? Was she here with Tara?" Cat asked.

  "No. Tara was on the phone with her when I got home. They're meeting at the mall."

  "Oh," Cat said distractedly.

  Billie noticed the faraway look in Cat's eyes, but decided not to question it. If she guessed correctly, the same thoughts crossed her mind earlier when Tara announced she was meeting this new girl at the mall. She decided to push the anxious feelings aside for the time being.

  "How was your morning, love?" Billie asked.

  "Okay," Cat replied before falling silent once more.

  Billie was uneasy with Cat's detached behavior. "Hey, why don't we give Jen a call and see if she'll talk to us today," she suggested.

  Cat sat up and looked at Billie. "All right."

  Billie pulled her cell phone from her pocket and looked intently at Cat. She traced the side of Cat's face with her fingertips. "Are you feeling okay, kitten?"

  Cat locked eyes with Billie. "I'm okay, love," she replied. "Just a little distracted. I'm worried about Tara and Jen," she explained.

  Billie nodded and squeezed Cat's knee. "I know. Me too, but worrying won't solve anything. Like Shannon said, Tara's sexuality will be her own choice. We can only be there to offer advice and support," she mused. "As for Jen...hopefully she'll talk to us today, then, just maybe, we'll finally find out what we did to offend her."

  "Let's give her a call," Cat suggested.

  Billie punched Jen's number into the phone. Moments later, a male voice greeted Billie cheerfully.

  "Speak to me!" the voice said.

  "Fred?" Billie asked, a little taken aback by the unusual greeting.

  "No, this is Steve. Sorry, I thought you were my girlfriend. Do you want my dad?" he returned.

  "No, actually, I'd like to speak to your Mom, Steve. This is Billie."

  "Mom's not home," Steve said quickly. "She's at the grocery store. Hey, is Seth home?"

  "Seth is working. He should be home in a few hours. So, your mom is grocery shopping?" Billie repeated.

  "Yeah, she just left about 10 minutes ago," he replied. "Hey, I've got another call coming in. It might be Melissa. Can I let you go?" he asked urgently.

  "Sure Steve. Tell your Mom I called, okay?" she requested.

  "All right, Billie. Later!" he said before hanging up.

  Billie hung up the phone and slipped it into her pocket. "She's shopping," Billie explained. "We just missed her."

  Cat rose to her feet. "No we haven't. Let's go. We'll intercept her at the store."

  "What? Cat, are you serious?" Billie asked.

  "I sure am. Look, you wanted to put an end to this, right? Well, she isn't returning our calls. She snubs us when she drives by. She's keeping our kids apart. I don't know about you, but I getting tired of it. She owes us an explanation, and I intend to get it—even in the grocery store," Cat extended her hand to Billie. "Are you coming with me?"

  Billie grinned ear to ear. When Cat was determined, there was no stopping her. She reached for Cat's hand and rose to her feet. "Lead the way."

  Moments later, they pulled into the parking lot of the town's largest supermarket.

  "Look, there's Jen's car," Cat said. She pointed to the vehicle parked two spaces away from theirs.

  "Are you sure you want to do this, Cat?" Billie asked.

  "The alternative is to let things continue as they are, Billie."

  Billie nodded. "You're right. Let's go."

  Billie grabbed a shopping cart and pushed it in front of them as they walked across the parking lot,

  Cat looked at her with eyebrows arched into her hairline.

  "Hey, we might as well get a few groceries while we're here," Billie reasoned.

  Cat shook her head from side to side and led the way into the store.

  "What?" Billie said innocently while following Cat into the store.

  Cat and Billie scanned each aisle as they passed through the store, looking for any sign of their friend.

  "She's gotta be here somewhere," Cat said. "Her car is in the parking lot."

  Billie pointed excitedly. "Look! There she is. In the frozen food aisle."

  Jen was lazily browsing the aisle, when she became aware of something rapidly approaching her. She looked up and immediately recognized the determined look on Cat's face.

  "Shit!" Jen said under her breath and she turned her cart around to quickly walk away.

  "Jen! Jen!" Cat called out loudly to Jen's retreating back. "Wait! We need to talk to you."

  "Leave me alone, Cat," Jen replied over her shoulder.

  Jen increased her pace down the aisle, only be intercepted by Billie coming toward her from the other end. She realized she had been ambushed, and was now was trapped between them.

  Jen looked back and forth between Cat and Billie. "Do you two always tag team the underdog?" she spat out vehemently.

  "Jen, we didn't tag team you. We just need to talk," Cat explained. Cat placed her hand on Jen's arm, only to have it shaken off.

  Jen tried once more to get past them. "There's nothing to talk about," Jen said.

  Billie stepped in front of her cart to stop her. "Well, we think there is."

  "Billie, please let me by. Don't make me call for the store manager," Jen warned.

  Billie raised her eyebrows. "What's wrong with you Jen? What have we done to warrant such treatment?"

  Jen narrowed her eyes and tried to pass once more. Again, Billie blocked her way.

  She looked around frantically and spotted a store worker stocking shelves at the other end of the aisle. She waived to the young man. "Excuse me," she shouted. "Could you please fetch the store manager for me? I seem to have a problem here." The young man immediately jumped to his feet and went in search of the manager.

  Billie placed one hand on her hip and ran the other through her hair. "Jen, why did you have to do that? We only wanted to talk. Cat, come on. Let's go. This is useless." She extended her hand to Cat who took it willingly.

  Together Cat and Billie exited the store and walked toward their car. Little did they know, Jen nearly followed them, stopping at the large glass windows at the front of the store to watch then walk across the parking lot. Upon reaching the car, they opened the doors and climbed in.

  Billie was seething with anger. "Damn her! Why does she have to be so stubborn?"

  Cat sat in the passenger seat, staring straight ahead and remained silent for long moments.

  Billie took several deep breaths to get her own emotions under control. Finally, she reached to turn the key in the ignition.

  Cat's hand suddenly flew over and covered Bil
lie's. "No, Billie," she said. "This isn't over yet. We came here to find the truth, and we're not leaving until we have it." Before Billie could stop her, she reached for her door handle and was out of the car in seconds and heading toward Jen's car.

  Billie rolled down her window. "Cat what are you doing?"

  "She has to come out of there sooner or later, Billie. I told you I'm not leaving until she talks to us." Cat leaned against Jen's car and crossed her arm in front of her.

  "Jesus Christ! You're going to get us arrested, Cat."

  "I'm not moving until she talks to us."

  Billie threw her door open and joined Cat by Jen's car. "I hope you know what you're doing."

  Cat scanned the front of the store just as Jen exited, pushing her cart before her. "Here she comes," Cat said. Cat pushed herself off Jen's car and stood erect, her body language making it clear to Jen that she meant business.

  Jen stopped in mid-step when as she spotted Cat. Then, with determination, she continued toward her car, intending to put an end to the woman's harassment once and for all.

  Jen stopped behind her car, opened the trunk and proceeded to place her groceries inside. Billie stepped forward to help her while Cat stood there with her hands on her hips. Once the groceries were loaded, Jen turned to them and reached up to adjust the unruly yellow ringlets that covered her head. "Okay," she said. "Let's get this over with. What do you want from me?"

  "We want to know why you're so angry with us, Jen. We want to know what we could have possibly done that would cause you to throw away our friendship. We want to know why you think it's necessary to punish the kids by keeping them apart," Cat began before she reached the point of mute frustration.

  Billie watched the play of emotions fly across Cat's face as she stated her demands. Jen's reactions were equally as interesting, as she wore her heart on her sleeve. It became obvious to Billie at that moment that this was just as hard on Jen as it was on Cat and herself.

  "You really don't know, do you?" Jen said incredulously.