Decision made, she picked up her phone and scrolled through hercontacts until she found Jacqueline’s name, then pressed send before she couldchange her mind. Jacqueline answered after three rings.
“Hey, it’s Casey.”
Jacqueline’s quiet laugh vibrated through the phone. “Yeah, Iknow. I still have your number in my phone.”
“Right. Am I calling too late?”
“No. It’s fine.”
Judging by her curtness, Casey didn’t fully believe her. Butcalling her on it would only lead them off the track of her intendedconversation. Jacqueline wouldn’t want to admit that Casey could still read hertone of voice.
“I saw your dad this evening and he seemed a little off. Has hebeen feeling okay?”
“As far as I know. He hasn’t complained about anything. He seemedall right when I was there Monday.”
“He said he was fine and I didn’t push. I just—he seemed a littlefuzzy—confused, maybe. He’s more unsteady on his feet lately. And I noticed hishands seem stiffer than usual.”
“He’s got arthritis.” Jacqueline sounded irritated. “He’ll tellyou himself that he’s no spring chicken. But I will say, he doesn’t like beingquestioned about how he’s feeling.”
“Yeah, I know.” Now she wished she hadn’t called. Jacquelineclearly thought she was being silly. “I’m sorry I bothered you.”
“Casey.” Jacqueline’s tone indicated she thought Casey was tryingto pick a fight. She should have known she wouldn’t get anywhere with thiscall. But before she could act on her urge to hang up the phone, Jacquelinesighed. “I’m sorry. Thank you for calling. Really. I’ll try to talk to him thisweekend.”
“Thank you. Let me know if I can do anything to help.” Caseygrasped for a civil topic to leave the conversation with. “Sean said you’re inAtlanta.”
“Yep. Until Friday.”
“You sound tired.” They’d spent a lot of time on the phonetogether over the years. Casey used to be able to tell what kind of dayJacqueline had had within seconds.
“Then I can imagine how it sounds when I say I’ll be in Memphismost of next week.”
“It’s good to know some things never change.” Casey chuckled.
“I like to think the company would fall apart without me.”
“I’m sure it would. I won’t keep you. Good night.”
*
“Good night.” Jacqueline ended the call and stared at her cell.She’d hoped she’d been imagining the decline in her father’s health, butclearly she wasn’t the only one noticing.
“Is there a problem?” At the sound of the soft voice behind her,she turned away from the window. Marti sat up in bed. Though there was no needfor modesty between them, Marti held the sheet against her chest with one hand.Her otherwise ivory skin still held a flush from her orgasm. Jacqueline hadstirred from her own postcoital nap when she heard the ringtone she’d assignedto Casey’s number.
“Sorry if I woke you.” She held up the phone. “That was about mydad.”
“You got out of bed with me to talk to your father?”
“Worse.” Jacqueline smiled. She strode naked back toward the bed,enjoying the way Marti’s eyes followed her. “I got out of bed to talk to my exabout my dad.”
“Wow. I’ll try not to be offended.”
“You shouldn’t be.” Jacqueline picked up a robe from a nearbychair and wrapped it around herself. She glanced at the clock on the nightstandand resisted the urge to slide back between the sheets. She usually returned toher hotel room, citing her need for a good night’s sleep before another busyday. But she didn’t really feel like dressing just to head across town and fallinto a different bed.
Marti carefully picked her fingers through her knotted hair,wincing as they stuck and tugged. “I don’t know why you insist on tangling yourhands in my hair.”
Jacqueline laughed. The first time she’d seen Marti striding downthe aisle of a plane, every long auburn tress had been perfectly undercontrol—smooth, coiled, and pinned against her head. The first time they’d beentogether, Marti had released her hair and let it fall to her shoulders.Jacqueline harbored a secret thrill every time she watched Marti writhingbeneath her, so consumed by pleasure she didn’t care that her hair wrappeditself into a tousled mess.
“Let me help you with that.” She sank her fingers into the hairat the base of Marti’s skull and pulled her close.
“You’re not really going to help, are you?” Marti asked betweenkisses.
“That depends on your definition of help,” Jacqueline murmured asshe let her robe fall to the floor and climbed back into bed.
*
“What a week, huh?” Casey opened a pizza box and slid a sliceeach onto two plates. Her schedule had been nonstop all week, and she’d lackedthe energy to dress for the restaurant where they’d had reservations. “Thanksfor settling for pizza.”
“Please, you got pepperoni and black olives. I can’t be mad whenyou ordered my favorite.” Nina settled on one end of the couch and accepted aplate from Casey. She hadn’t argued when Casey had texted to say she didn’tfeel like going out. Instead, she’d arrived after work and asked Casey for somemore-comfortable clothes. Casey had ordered the pizza while Nina changed fromher business attire. She liked Nina in her suits, but she’d always found herapproachably sexy in the sweats and oversized T-shirt she wore now. Her dark,pixie-cut hair, stuck up in places where Casey imagined she’d run her handthrough it during her frustration with the rush-hour drive from downtown.
Casey sat next to her. She picked the olives off her slice andpushed them to the side of her plate, staring at the almost donut-shapedindentations in the remaining cheese. If only she could convince herself they’dbeen mini-donuts and not bitter rings of what looked like fungus that taintedthe taste of everything they touched.
Nina noticed her grimace as she bit into the slice. “You couldhave gotten them just on half.”
Casey shrugged. The kid who’d taken her delivery order over thephone had struggled to get her address correct. By the time she’d ordered thefood, she’d lost all confidence that he’d get their order right anyway.
“So, tell me about your week. I feel like we’ve barely spokensince last Sunday.”
“Same as usual. More shoots than I can handle and a ton ofediting in order to get
