WHEN DREAMS TREMBLE
Leslie lunged for her, but Natalie was closer.
“Hey there,” Natalie cried, grasping Dev around the waist and steadying her so
she didn’t fall. Her face concerned, she smoothed her free hand over Dev’s
chest. “Your leg’s taking a pretty good hit in this weather, isn’t it?”
“Some,” Dev said tightly, wrapping her arm around Natalie’s shoulders for
balance.
Leslie pulled up short, recognizing that her help wasn’t needed and also aware
that although smaller, Natalie was holding Dev up. It was also obvious that
Natalie knew about the old injury to Dev’s leg.
Clearly, Dev had told her about the accident, and Leslie wondered how much
else Natalie knew about that night. Not that it mattered.
“Come on, let’s get the both of you up to the lodge and dried out.”
Natalie kept her arm around Dev as the three of them negotiated the wet slope
up to the lodge. Once on the porch, Natalie said, “I’ll let you know when you
can go back out to the island for your gear, Dev. I don’t imagine you’ll be taking
any more samples for a while.”
“Not until the effects of the storm settle down. Probably a week or so.” Dev
eased out of Natalie’s grasp and carefully put weight on her leg. “Thanks.”
“My pleasure.” Natalie smiled softly at Dev. “I may be busy all day, but I’ll talk
to you later.” She turned to Leslie. “I’ll give you a ride out to your boat
tomorrow if the weather breaks.”
“I appreciate it,” Leslie said, trying to inject some warmth into her voice.
“Okay then. Take care. Get dry,” Natalie said.
When Natalie turned to go back down the stairs to the path, Leslie stopped her
with a hand on her arm. The woman had just motored over two hours in ugly
weather to bring them home. “Come inside for coffee.
I imagine you’re going to have a long day.”
Natalie’s eyes ? ickered with surprise, then she nodded. “Thanks.
Maybe your mother made some of those biscuits again.”
Leslie smiled, ? nding it hard not to like her. And after all, there was no reason
not to. So Natalie was involved with Dev and didn’t bother to hide it. Why
should she? Dev was…well, Dev was Dev, and what woman wouldn’t be
attracted to her? Leslie clenched her jaws, angry at herself for even thinking
about whatever was going on between Dev and Natalie. She turned and walked
resolutely inside.
They took their rain gear off and hung it on hooks by the door.
• 169 •
RADCLY fFE
A few guests clustered around the ? replace in the great room, reading
newspapers or books, or watching the Weather Channel on TV. Leslie led
Natalie and Dev back toward the kitchen.
“Mom? Dad?” she called as she pushed through the swinging doors.
“Leslie?” her mother answered eagerly, appearing in the doorway of the
adjoining family room. Beyond her, Leslie’s father was stretched out on the
couch with a newspaper on his lap, his casted leg propped on pillows. “Thank
God you’re back.”
Leslie gave her mother a quick hug, then leaned down to kiss her father. “Hi,
Daddy. How are you feeling?”
“A damn sight better now that you’re home. Rough trip?”
“Sort of. The boat’s okay, but we left it at the island. Sorry.”
He shook his head. “Better that than you trying to get back in this stuff.”
Eileen smiled at Natalie and Dev. “The three of you look like you could use hot
showers, dry clothes, and something to eat.”
“I need to get back out there, so I’ll have to pass on the ? rst two,”
Natalie said, “but I’ll take you up on the food.”
Eileen hooked her arm through Natalie’s. “Come on in the kitchen.
And thank you for bringing my daughter home.”
“Don’t mention it,” Natalie said, disappearing through the doorway with Eileen.
“You doing okay?” Leslie said quietly as she and Dev followed at a slower
pace. Dev’s face was white and her eyes smudged with fatigue.
“Yeah. Just beat.” Dev made a conscious effort not to limp, but with each
passing hour her lower back and hip had gotten tighter to the point that every
step sent a jolt of ? re down her leg. The last time it had been this bad, she’d
been sampling intestinal parasites from ? sh in the Finger Lakes in November.
There’d been an early snow, and it had been twenty degrees on the dock where
she’d knelt for three hours gutting the ? sh and opening their GI tracts. She’d
managed to ? nish collecting the specimens, but she’d paid for it with two days
in bed.
“You look like you can barely move.” Dev’s hurting was so apparent that Leslie
ached just watching her walk. Knowing she was helpless to ease Dev’s pain
was so frustrating that she almost felt physically ill herself.
• 170 •
WHEN DREAMS TREMBLE
“I’ll be okay once I get warmed up and take a couple ibuprofen,”
Dev said, trying to sound upbeat.
Leslie doubted that a few hundred milligrams of Motrin was going to touch
Dev’s pain, but she said nothing. She pulled a tall stool from against the wall
toward the center island so Dev could sit on it. Her mother and Natalie were
discussing the storm while her mother poured coffee into big white ceramic
mugs. “Get some weight off your leg at least.” She grabbed two mugs and
carried them back to the island.
“Here.”
“Thanks. What about you,” Dev asked quietly, sipping the hot coffee gratefully.
“You’ve barely slept in two days. Are you feeling okay?”
Leslie’s ? rst reaction was to protest that she was ? ne, but she stopped herself
from making the stock reply. Dev had asked, and she deserved an answer. “I
feel like crap, but mostly because I’m wet and cold and hungry.” She grinned
weakly and decided she should leave out the part about being indescribably
horny, which was even more distressing than all the other things put together. It
was bad enough she’d woken up aroused. Even the biting wind and drenching
rain and Natalie’s possessive attitude toward Dev hadn’t been able to put a
damper on it. And every time she looked at Dev, she remembered how good it
had been with Dev’s body against hers all night. She tried not to look at Dev’s
mouth because whenever she did, the ? uttering sensation inside started up, and
it had nothing to do with her heart problems.
“Things have been pretty stressful.” Dev watched Leslie’s eyes darken from
blue to indigo. She was beautiful, even sleepless and bedraggled.
“Stressful. Jesus, what an understatement.” Leslie wanted to laugh, but she
