Thy Neighbor's Wife (6 page)

hours ahead.

She’d spent almost two hours at the garden store, picking sev-

eral annuals in differing but complimentary shades and vowing to

return in the fall for some perennials. She’d had the entire design all

sketched out in her head; she could see exactly how she wanted it to

look when she was finished.

The day was cool, but cheerfully sunny and she worked for sev-

eral hours without a break, creating three flowerbeds from scratch.

She had decided to stick with pastels and whites, so she planted

petunias and impatiens in varying shades of pinks and purples. She

lined the borders with white and lavender alyssum and she intended

to use some shredded mulch as the finishing touch, saving that for

the next day. She sat back on her heels after patting dirt around the

very last plant and smiled with satisfaction.

“That looks fantastic!” Alex’s voice surprised her in its close

proximity, but it was a pleasant surprise. She looked up to see her

neighbor smiling down at her, holding out a bottle of LaBatts.

“You’ve been working nonstop for hours. I thought you could use

this.”

Jennifer smiled warmly, accepting the beer. “Thanks, Alex.”

“Listen, we’re having a little beginning-of-the-summer party

over there. We’ve got tons of food. Why don’t you join us? Eat

something. You must be starving by now.”

Jennifer was instantly nervous at the prospect of meeting new

friends, feeling out of practice and worried about the impression

she’d make. Alex’s gentle, welcoming smile, however, shooed those

concerns away. “You’re right. I am starving.” She stood up, peeled

off her gardening gloves, and noticed with dismay her brownish

knees. She tried in vain to brush them clean.

“Please.” Alex chuckled, grabbing her arm and tugging her

toward the gathering. “Don’t worry about it. You look great.”

* * *

Jennifer’s fears turned out to be unfounded; Alex’s friends wel-

28 Georgia Beers

comed her with open arms and she was glad she had agreed to join

them. Four of the women obviously made up two couples, which

made Jennifer wonder about Alex’s sexuality, but she decided she’d

broach that subject at another time.

“Here. Sit down.” Alex ushered her to the table next to Steve.

“I’ll get you a plate.” Jennifer was flattered by Alex’s enthusiasm

and smiled as she skittered off into the kitchen.

“So, Jennifer. Alex says you’re new here?” Jackie sat down

across from her, balancing her chin in her hand, her blue eyes

friendly and curious.

“We just moved in a couple weeks ago.”

“We?” This came from the corner, where Nikki and Diane sat.

Nikki regarded her openly, waiting for a response, but Jennifer

shifted uncomfortably as she was sure that behind her sunglasses,

Diane was giving her a very lascivious appraisal.

“My husband and I, yes.”

Alex returned from inside with a plate and set it in front of her.

It was loaded with generous helpings of potato salad, beans, pasta

salad, pickles, and pieces of fresh fruit. She smiled gratefully at her,

realizing only at that moment just how hungry she really was.

“I can throw a hot dog or a burger on the grill, too, if you’d

like.”

“This is great, Alex. Really. I’m fine. Thank you.”

Suddenly, Kinsey barked playfully from around the corner of

the deck and a friendly male voice could be heard talking to him.

Seconds later, an extremely handsome man appeared to the delight

of the whole crowd. He was at least six foot three with hugely broad

shoulders and smiling eyes. He wore wire-rimmed glasses, cargo

shorts, and a navy blue long sleeve t-shirt. Jennifer couldn’t take her

eyes off him.

“Hey, big guy.” Jackie stood up to hug him. She was quite tall,

but the newcomer’s height made her seem average.

Alex was next. She practically disappeared in his embrace and

his face told Jennifer that he cared a great deal for her.

“Hey, where’s the volleyball net?” he asked.

Alex chuckled. “It’s still a little early in the season for me,” she

replied as he made his rounds, greeting the rest of the partygoers.

“We were just talking about having a practice or two. Think you can

get some guys together to scrimmage with us?”

His eyes roamed the deck and rested on Jennifer. She smiled

around her fork.

“Sure. Is this our new setter?”

Alex followed his pointing finger and chuckled again. “Oh, no.

This is my new neighbor, Jennifer. Jennifer, this is my dear friend

David.”

Thy Neighbor’s Wife 29

David held out his hand and Jennifer took it, her own engulfed

within his. “Hmm. Nice, strong hands.” He turned back to Alex.

“Are you sure she’s not a setter?”

“You don’t play volleyball, do you, Jennifer?” Alex asked play-

fully.

“Not in quite a while, no,” she answered smugly. Alex’s eye-

brows shot up in surprise.

“You mean you do play?” Jackie looked from Alex to Jennifer

and back again, her eyes sparkling.

“Well, I did in school. It’s been a long time and I’m really

rusty.” She saw where this was going and it made her a little ner-

vous. She wasn’t a bad player, but she wasn’t an outstanding player

and she didn’t want to embarrass herself or Alex by claiming to be

better than she was.

“Rust can be worked away.” Jackie smiled. “Just needs a little

elbow grease. Right, Alex?”

Alex was smiling, too, and Jennifer soon realized what she’d

just gotten herself into.

Alex sensed her unease because the expression on her face soft-

ened and she sat down next to Jennifer. “Why don’t you come to a

practice? It’s really just recreational. We like to play, but we’re not

out for blood. We just like to have fun. Come to practice and see

what you think. Okay?” Her brown eyes were soft and gentle and

Jennifer felt the complete and total inability to say no to her.

“One practice.” She held up a finger to stress her point.

“Terrific.” Alex looked incredibly pleased and Jennifer grinned

back at her.

“What position did you play in school?” Jackie asked.

Jennifer’s grin grew a little wider. “I was a setter.”

Chapter

Four

The following Thursday, the weather didn’t exactly look prom-

ising. It was warm enough, but the sky was overcast with a few

threatening, black clouds rolling by on occasion. It looked about

ready to pour any minute. The impending rain didn’t stop the vol-

leyball team from having a riot practicing, though.

They were just about the only bunch of people on the beach.

Jennifer assumed the smart people of town were actually under

roofs of some sort. She sat in the sand with Rita and Hannah, alter-

nating between watching the team practice and helping the little

blonde toddler build a sandcastle. She was reluctant to jump right

into the game and Alex seemed to understand when Jennifer told

her that she’d rather observe for a while. She wanted to know

exactly where her skill level would fall.

The team was quite good. Alex and Jackie were definitely the

strongest players. Jackie had a vertical leap that was shocking and

her lean, lanky frame was deceiving; she could spike the ball with

startling force. Jennifer would bet that she fooled many an oppo-

nent the same way. Alex wasn’t quite as strong as Jackie, but she

was amazingly consistent and Jennifer guessed that the team looked

to her to hold them together. David was also very good and she got

the impression that he hadn’t been playing very long. He seemed a

little unsure of his position on the court, but once he figured it out,

he was rock solid. Steve was wiry and fast and all over the sand.

Jennifer laughed more than once at his diving saves, realizing with

great clarity just exactly why he had to stretch so much before a

game; Rita referred to him as the ‘floor mop.’ Nikki was definitely

the weak link. She did her best to set, but had a very stiff touch,

often sending the ball careening away instead of up to her hitter.

She got frustrated very quickly, but Jennifer was sure if she could

just relax and focus, she could be quite good. Alex was constantly

reassuring her, reminding her that it was just practice, the first of

the season.

The interaction between the two of them was very interesting

to Jennifer and she watched them carefully. Alex seemed very car-

Thy Neighbor’s Wife 31

ing, very concerned with Nikki, but there was an obvious line she

wouldn’t cross. She was physical in a sisterly way, stroking an arm

or patting a shoulder when Nikki seemed upset. Nikki, on the other

hand, looked at Alex with complete love and devotion. It was abso-

lutely unmistakable and Jennifer’s immediate reaction was that they

had been lovers, but were not any more. Either that or Nikki wanted

something Alex wouldn’t give her. Or both. It was at that moment

that Jennifer stopped wondering and became quite certain that Alex

was gay.

On the other side of the net were four men. None of them were

very good, but all of them put one hundred and ten percent into

their efforts. Jennifer predicted that if they continued to play

together, in time they’d make a formidable opponent to Alex’s

team. The best part was, everybody was having fun. Lots of laughter

carried through the air. Playful name calling and bending of the

rules abounded.

“So, Jennifer.” Rita’s friendly voice pulled her from her specu-

lations. “What do you do?”

Jennifer blinked several times, trying to figure out why she

despised answering that particular question so much.

“I’m…between jobs right now. How ’bout you?” Nice, Jen, her

inner voice mocked her. Redirect the focus. Very smooth.

“I’m a stay at home mom.” She said it proudly, which sur-

prised Jennifer. Rita glanced lovingly at Hannah and Jennifer felt

her heart warm.

“Really? Lucky Hannah,” she commented, meaning it sin-

cerely.

“Jackie and I discussed it long and hard before we even got

pregnant. I was the vice president of a bank, made a pretty good liv-

ing, but…” Her voice drifted off and she looked out onto the churn-

ing water of the lake. Bringing her own brown gaze back to Jennifer,

she shrugged and smiled. “I remember my mom always being there

when my sisters and I got home from school. The house was always

bright, there were always cookies, she was always able to help us

with our homework or school projects. I just wanted that for my

kids, too, you know?”

Jennifer nodded, smiling back at her. “It’s hard to do that now,

both because of the high cost of living and the attitude that society

has today about women who don’t work.” She knew that all too

well. She was one of those women. She was also one of those people

with the attitude.

“Jackie makes a decent living and I was able to do some smart

investing while I was still working, so we do okay.”

“Will you have more kids?”

“Oh, absolutely.” She said it with such enthusiasm that it made

32 Georgia Beers

Jennifer laugh. “What about you? Any children in the future for

you and your husband?”

The question made the laughter die in Jennifer’s throat. “Oh, I

don’t know…” She had a quick flashback of her most recent conver-

sation with Eric on that very subject. He thought they were ready,

but for her, the thought of children caused the sound of a slamming

prison door to reverberate in her head.

“Well, you’re great with Hannah.” Rita gestured to the fact

that Jennifer sat close to the toddler, up to her elbows in sand.

“That’s because she’s a little doll.” She grinned, winking at the

child.

“Jennifer! Come on!”

Jennifer looked up at Alex as she waved her toward the court,

eternally grateful for being saved from the conversation. Smiling

apologetically at Rita, she jumped up, eager to leave the topic to die

in the sand, and jogged onto the court.

“Six on four?” she asked as she looked around. “Hardly seems

fair.”

“You’re right,” Jackie agreed. “Nikki, why don’t you help the

boys out? They need a setter.”

Nikki looked less than pleased to switch teams, but she went.

“Here.” Alex tossed Jennifer the ball. “Thought you might like

to actually touch it before you play.”

Jennifer tossed it back at her, causing the brunette’s eyebrows

to raise. “Not necessary,” she said, her voice cocky.

“Is that so?”

“Yup. Think you can hit?”

“If you think you can set me.”

“Oh, I’ll set you.”

“Really.”

“You just be ready.”

“Baby, I was born ready.”

They grinned playfully at each other, holding one another’s

gaze until it felt like the rest of the court had disappeared.

Jackie cleared her throat. “Can the rest of us play, too?” she

asked teasingly.

Alex sighed. “I suppose.”

“And what did I tell you about flirting with the straight girls?”

Alex pouted. “She started it.”

“Did not,” Jennifer whined back.

“Did, too.” They grinned at one another as Alex tossed the ball