Stealing Second: Sam's Story: Book 4 in the Clarksonville Series (33 page)

“You think you love her,” her father interrupted.

“No, I know I love her, and I know with all my heart that she loves me.” Sam couldn’t read the fleeting expression crossing her mother’s face. “Nobody twisted my arm. Believe me.”

“Is this really what you want?” Her father shrugged.

“Daddy,” Sam cried, “it’s not...” She paused for a moment trying to find the right words. “It’s not something to want or not want. It just is. It’s part of what makes me who I am. It’s not something I came up with to annoy you. I’m not in the throes of teenage rebellion. I’m not doing this to hurt you. I, ahhh...” She tilted her head back and groaned. “I don’t know how to make you understand.” She sent a pleading look to Dr. Boyle, but he simply sat there, enjoying the show. She looked at her parents. “I’m happy. I’m truly happy for the first time in my life. When I’m with Lisa, it’s like I finally found a reason for living.” She looked from her mother’s sympathetic face to her father’s stoic one. “I hope you can accept me someday.”

“We’re afraid for you, Samantha Rose,” Sam’s mother said. “There’s so much hatred out there.”

Her father cleared his throat. “The Paytons are used to being in the spotlight. I know you haven’t always liked it, but we’re afraid that people will crush you because of your, uh, lifestyle—“

“It’s not a lifestyle—“

“Okay, okay.” Her father threw his hands up in a defensive gesture. “People may take the fact that you’re dating a girl as permission to harass you.”

Already been there, Daddy,
Sam thought. She hadn’t told her parents about the harassment she had received at school, and she doubted she ever would. The less they knew the better.

“Kitten, I think your mother and I are slowly coming to terms with your, uh, news. The PFLAG group has been quite informative, actually.” Sam’s father turned to Sam’s mother. “Mother, you should come with me to their next meeting. They said a lot of things that made sense.” He turned back to Sam. “I’m just afraid that the rest of the world won’t be as accepting of you.”

Sam’s mother reached over and rubbed Sam’s arm. “I’m sure everything will be okay. You have a good head on your shoulders. And you know what?”

“What?”

“I like her. Your friend. Your girlfriend.” Her mother grinned. “There, I said it.”

“That’s good, Mother,” Sam said. “You’re making progress.”

Sam’s mother’s smile grew. “Lisa is very pretty, and she seems sweet. I guess we should count ourselves lucky, Gerald, that our baby met someone kind and nurturing. And she knows so much about gardening. Maybe we can have her over for dinner sometime. Would you like that, Samantha Rose?”

Sam nodded. She couldn’t believe her ears. Were her parents actually being supportive? Wait. She hadn’t heard from her father.

“Daddy?”

“I’m still musing on all of this, Kitten. This was a mighty big bomb you dropped in our laps. I’m still trying to figure it all out.” He sighed and then said, “I want to meet your friend’s parents. I want to know what kind of people my daughter is associating with.”

“I’m sure they’d like to meet you, too.” The fact that he didn’t say Lisa’s name was not lost on her. He was clearly going to be the tougher sell, but at least he had opened the door a crack.

“I always pictured a son-in-law,” he mused. “One that would take over the family business, so your mother and I could travel more.”

“Daddy, c’mon. That is so sexist.”

“I know. I know. Nothing says my little girl can’t run the business with, uh, with a significant other.”

Sam laughed at the archaic expression. “But you know what?”

“What, honey?” her mother asked.

“Lisa wants to be a doctor.” Sam almost burst out laughing when her mother’s eyes grew wide.

“A doctor? Gerald,” her mother gushed, “our baby is dating a doctor.”

“Mother,” Sam’s father said with a laugh, “Lisa is not a doctor yet.”

“Oh, don’t ruin my moment.”

Dr. Boyle chuckled and announced the end of the session. They had, in fact, gone over by ten minutes, which was a minor miracle because Dr. Boyle was a stickler about his sessions ending on time. He was almost obsessive-compulsive about it.

As Sam and her parents stood up to leave, Sam realized something. Her parents weren’t having that much trouble with the fact that she was dating Lisa. Their trouble seemed to be more about how the rest of the world would perceive it, and how their plans for Sam’s life weren’t coming together exactly as they had pictured.

“Thank you for your services, Doc.” Sam’s father shook Dr. Boyle’s hand. “I guess you should keep Tuesdays set aside for the Payton Family for a while.”

“Sounds like a fine idea. I’ll put you on the schedule myself.” He saw them to the door.

On the way down the elevator, Sam said, “Mother, let’s go to New York like you planned. Would it be crazy to go the week of Thanksgiving?”

“Probably, but let’s do it anyway.” Her mother’s smile reassured Sam that her family might actually be on the mend. “I thought you had forgotten.”

“No. We’ve all been preoccupied, I think. Oh, and Daddy? I hope you can help me with a problem I’m going to have after Helene leaves.”

“What’s that?”

“I’m not going to have anybody to watch hockey games with. What do you think?”

“Hmm.” He rubbed his chin. “I used to play, you know.”

“I didn’t know that.”

“In prep school. I played junior varsity, and I was terrible. I couldn’t skate backwards.” He laughed. “But I would be honored to watch hockey with my daughter. Who are we rooting for?”

“Montréal.”

“Not the Sabres?”

“No, Daddy.” The elevator doors opened, so she whispered the next part. “I’m half Canadian, don’t forget.” Sam’s heart swelled when he burst out laughing.

She linked arms with her parents, and they headed for the Town Car.

After the brief car ride home, Sam ran up to her rooms and freshened up. She only had a few minutes before Marlee arrived to chauffeur her to William and Evelyn’s house. A thrill ran through her, and she had the oddest feeling, one she almost didn’t recognize. Hope.

With one last check in the bathroom mirror, Sam was ready to celebrate. She grabbed her Moncler peacoat from the couch where she’d tossed it and headed down the stairs to Helene’s apartment.

Helene opened the door and smiled. “How’d it go with Dr. Boyle?”

“Really well,” Sam said.

Helene blew out a relieved sigh. “Thank goodness. I know you have to head out, but you’ll give me some details later?”

“Absolutely.”

Helene pulled Sam into a hug and whispered, “Happy anniversary, Sam. Give my best to Lisa.”

“I will.” The front doorbell chimed. “I gotta go.”

“I know. Enjoy.”

“I will.” Sam hurried to answer the door.

Marlee’s chauffeur’s hat made Sam laugh. “Ready to go?”

Sam nodded and they headed to Susie’s house first to drop off Sam’s old phone. There was no way in hell Sam was going to let her father ruin the special anniversary evening Lisa had planned for them. It was better for him to think she and her phone were at Susie’s.

Marlee and Susie then chauffeured her to William and Evelyn’s house. Sam waved goodbye to her friends and then knocked on the front door.

“Come on in,” Lisa called from the kitchen.

Sam walked in to find her incredible girlfriend putting the finishing touches on a pasta primavera dinner she’d made herself. The low lighting, lit candles, and soft music set the romantic mood perfectly.

“Come in,” Lisa said. She wore a low cut blouse with a silver necklace that lay strategically against her chest. Her dark hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail and tacked up on her head.

“I love your hair that way.”

“Thank you.”

Sam moved closer to get a kiss, but Lisa put a finger to Sam’s lips and whispered in her ear, “Soon.”

A ribbon of desire spiraled through Sam’s body.

“Sit.”

Sam sat.

Lisa brought two plates filled with amazing food to the table, setting one in front of Sam and one on the far side of the table. Sam frowned. Lisa would be too far away; Sam wouldn’t be able to touch her.

“Non-alcoholic,” Lisa said as she set two glasses of sparkling cider on the table. “I don’t want to cause any trouble for William and Evelyn.”

“Good thinking.” Sam didn’t mind because being near Lisa was intoxicating enough.

Throughout the meal, the conversation was light. They talked mostly about Lisa’s family and the shenanigans her brother and sisters were up to. Lisa never once asked about the therapy session, which was fine with Sam because she wanted to keep their six-month anniversary untainted by family drama. After dinner, Sam stacked their plates and stood up to put them in the sink. Lisa had cooked, so Sam figured she should do the dishes.

Lisa had other ideas, though. She took the plates from Sam, set them on the counter, and reached for Sam’s hand. Wordlessly, she blew out the candles in the kitchen and led Sam through the living room and down the hall to the back bedroom. Ironically, it was the same bedroom where Sam had suffered with a migraine five weeks before.

While Sam waited in the center of the softly lit room, Lisa pushed play on the iPod Sam had gotten her, lit a few more candles, and then fixed Sam with a smoldering gaze. Inch by inch, Lisa made her way closer. Without speaking, she pressed her lips to Sam’s and then trailed kisses along Sam’s jaw line, eventually moving on to feast on Sam’s neck. Sam moaned and turned to putty. Kiss by kiss, Lisa undid the buttons on Sam’s shirt.

When Sam tried to work at Lisa’s clothing, Lisa pushed Sam’s hands back gently and whispered in a husky voice, “I’ll take it from here, okay?”

Sam dropped her hands to her sides and surrendered.

Barbara L. Clanton is a native New Yorker who left those “New York minutes” for the slower-paced palm-tree-filled life in Orlando, Florida. She currently teaches mathematics at a college preparatory school in the Orlando area. When she’s not teaching, playing softball, tiling her floors, or evicting possums from the engine block of her RV, “Dr. Barb” plays bass guitar in a local band called The Flounders with her partner who plays the drums. Her ultimate dream is to one day snowbird between upstate New York and central Florida.

Out of Left Field: Marlee's Story

Book One in the Clarksonville Series

High school junior Marlee McAllister lives and breathes softball. She’s the pitcher for the Clarksonville Cougars in the North Country of upstate New York. With the season opener approaching, Marlee and her best friend, Jeri D’Amico, go to scout their rivals, the East Valley Panthers. The Panthers star pitcher, Christy Loveland, took the All County pitching title the preceding year. It is a title Marlee covets. Marlee and Jeri settle in for the game but as the Panthers take the field, Marlee finds herself staring at Susie Torres, the Panther left fielder.

For reasons Marlee doesn’t understand, she’s drawn to Susie. Over the course of the next few weeks, Marlee and Susie will slowly act on their mutual attraction. But suddenly Susie pulls away without explanation and Marlee realizes it has to do with Christy. Susie won’t explain the bond she and Christy share but whatever it is threatens Marlee’s burgeoning relationship with Susie.

Struggling to maintain her grades, dealing with the ever-increasing estrangement from her best friend Jeri, and handling the pressures of the All County Pitching competition, Marlee also has to confront the bittersweet realities of what it might mean to be gay.

Tools of Ignorance: Lisa's Story

Book Two in the Clarksonville Series

Lisa Brown is the starting catcher for the Clarksonville Cougars High School softball team, and she has a major crush on her pitcher Marlee. Lisa continues to carry her torch for Marlee, even when Sam, a rival softball player, flirts sweetly. Lisa becomes more confused than ever when Tara, the first girl she ever kissed and the first girl who ever broke her heart, resurfaces. Since Marlee doesn’t know Lisa’s alive, should Lisa give up on her once and for all? Sam seems to have secrets of her own, but Lisa wonders if she should overlook them and allow her fledging attraction grow for the pretty blonde or should she fan the tiny flame still burning in her heart for Tara? Lisa faces these problems and deals with society’s tools of ignorance in her quest for love and acceptance.

Going, Going, Gone: Susie's STory

Book Three in the Clarksonville Series

Susie Torres planned on spending most of the summer before her senior year of high school with her girlfriend, Marlee McAllister, but that’s proving to be quite challenging because Marlee works at D’Amico’s restaurant, and Susie babysits for Mrs. Johnson, her mother’s boss. Susie hates the job, because she not only works like a slave, but gets paid like one. Susie is desperate to take her physical relationship with Marlee further, but she knows she has to go at Marlee’s slower pace. Complicating things is the attention that a pretty blonde softball player from another team shows Marlee, and Susie falls into a funk when Marlee seems to enjoy it. On top of that, nothing she does seems to be good enough for her summer softball coach. Frustrated with life, Susie accidentally on purpose comes out to her mother. It would be an understatement to say that her mother didn’t take it well. Can Susie deal with a girlfriend whose head has possibly been turned by another, an employer who treats her like dirt, a coach who doesn’t respect her, and a mother who tells her she is unnatural? Can she get her life back on track before senior year starts?

Art For Art's Sake: Meredith's Story

High school senior Meredith Bedford is a social outcast. Her family recently moved from the Catskill Mountains to the sprawling suburbs of Albany, the capital of New York State. Shy and self-conscious about her acne scars, she stays to herself and tries to remain invisible. Her twelve-year-old brother, Mikey, has Down Syndrome and she tries hard not to blame her troubles on him. Despite verbal and sometimes physical harassment, she survives because she has her art. She was selected to be part of the elite Advanced Placement art class and is quite good at capturing the emotions of her subjects in her portraits. Art is the one thing, besides her family, that helps her cope with her outcast status. One day, at a senior class meeting, she sees Dani Lassiter, president of the senior class, captain of the lacrosse team, and knows that she must paint this enigmatic young woman. One class period later, Dani manipulates things to have Meredith as her partner for a history project. Meredith is suspicious of Dani’s motives, but takes a chance. And it pays off. Meredith slowly sheds her invisibility cloak and allows Dani in—a little at a time. They explore an old Victorian house for their history project and become close with Esther and Millie, the two older women who own the house and who’ve lived together for about forty years. But, when Dani reveals to Meredith that she is gay, Meredith simply can’t deal with the news. How had she not known? What is it that won’t allow her come to terms with this unexpected news? Will Meredith control her own homophobia or will she reject the one person who had taken a chance on her and made her feel human?