“And when will that be?” The venom in her mother’s tone was not mistaken.

  “When I’m cleared. I can’t control when that happens.”

  “Of course you can,” Sharon muttered. “You have to think about your career, Bridget. You can’t be lazy about getting your job back.”

  “I’m sorry, what?” Her eyes widened in shock. “I have my job. There is no getting it back.”

  “Rumor has it that Wilkerson is doing fantastic, and they won’t give it back to you when you come back.”

  Bridget scoffed. Her mother had absolutely no idea how these things worked, nor would she ever actually look into it either. She risked a glance at Edward, who seemed to agree with Sharon. Cursing under her breath, Bridget curled her fingers round the edge of the chair and prepared to try to explain to them how her job worked, even though she knew they wouldn’t listen.

  “They can’t give my job away. I’m an elected official—”

  “They can if they think you can’t do it.” Sharon’s tone rose, her voice inching into the screeching levels.

  “That’s not how it works!” Bridget tried to bite back her anger, but it was so damn hard with them sometimes. She couldn’t control herself when she was in the room with them. She wanted to remain calm during the entire conversation, but that was too much of an ask, obviously. Sighing, Bridget rubbed her temple. “I’m sorry. I will talk to them about when I can go back to light desk duty.”

  “Good idea,” Edward added. “It’ll get you out of this place.”

  “Eli has been nothing but a good host to me, and you two should thank her for that.”

  “She has strangers in here all the time,” Sharon hissed the word as though no one could hear her except the two of them.

  Bridget nodded. “Yeah, that’s kind of the point of running a bed-and-breakfast. But if you’re uncomfortable with it, don’t turn your house into one.”

  “We came here to check in and see how you were healing.”

  “I’m healing well, thank you,” Bridget quipped. “The doctors think everything is going like it should, and my bones are healing. I should be able to start walking with crutches soon.”

  “That’s good, I suppose.” Sharon glanced down at Bridget’s leg. “I still don’t like you being here.”

  “I know you don’t, Mom. But this is where I want to be, and I’m a grown woman. You can’t tell me what I can and can’t do anymore.”

  Sharon’s lips thinned, nearly disappearing as she held in her discomfort. Bridget could see it from a mile away, and as much as she wanted to poke the bear, she equally wanted to keep the calm they had seemed to achieve.

  “I wanted to tell you that I’m dating someone.”

  Edward gave her a blank stare, but Sharon narrowed her eyes. “Why?”

  “A nurse that I met while I was in the hospital.”

  “A nurse?” Sharon screeched. “What kind of man would be a nurse?”

  Bridget raised a single eyebrow at her mother, daring her to ask the next question or to make the damn connection, but her mother either couldn’t or didn’t want to fathom Bridget dating a woman. They’d already accused Eli of trying something, so she didn’t think it would be that big of a leap for them to make. Apparently she was wrong.

  “How can you be dating a nurse? Isn’t that a violation of some ethics or something?”

  “It’s not. We weren’t dating when I was a patient.” She had to curse herself as she naturally avoided any mention of Jerica’s gender identity in the conversation. She was too damn good at that over the years, and the habit so deeply ingrained in her that she couldn’t stop herself.

  “I don’t understand. You met him at the hospital and it’s not a violation—”

  “No, Mom. We just started dating. We weren’t dating while I was in the hospital. There is no violation.”

  “Oh. Well, that’s good I suppose.” They fell into an awkward silence.

  Bridget’s stomach swirled with nausea as she tried to convince herself to try again, if only to get the fucking words out this time. One glance at her father told her that he had a pretty good idea what she was trying to say, but he wasn’t any help in pulling it out of her.

  Eli stepped into the room, catching Bridget’s attention. “Just wanted to let you know that dinner is going to be ready in ten minutes. You’re welcome to stay.” She directed that comment at Sharon and Edward. “But you’ll be eating with the guests like the rest of us.”

  Sharon gritted her teeth. Edward stayed absolutely silent as Bridget eyed him. Sharon stood up first. “We’ll be leaving. We just wanted to check in on Bridget and see how she was healing.”

  “As you can see, and I think so too, she’s healing rather well.”

  “Yes,” Sharon agreed, much to Bridget’s surprise.

  After a slight shuffle, an awkward hug from her mother, and stern nod from her father, her parents left the house, shutting the door after them. Bridget glanced at the clock on the far wall and looked at Eli in confusion. “Dinner isn’t for another hour.”

  Eli shrugged. “I just don’t like them. Sue me.”

  Laughing, Bridget shook her head. “I suppose I should, but then you’d have to sue me for not accepting the helping hand when it came.”

  Eli burst out in a chuckle, her deep voice carrying through the room as she waited for Bridget to make her way out of the den. “And what if I did?”

  “Then you’d be on your own. I don’t have shit for money.”

  “Jesus, you’re an idiot sometimes. What were you trying to do in there? Come out to them?”

  “Yeah.”

  Eli stilled. “Why?”

  Bridget paused as she reached the top of the stairs out of the den. “Because of Jerica.”

  Eli’s smile said enough, but she made sure Bridget got plenty of teasing as they went into the kitchen to clean up and make dinner.

  “I’ve got to run right after dinner,” Eli said as she slipped the food into the oven. “Sarah’s coming in tonight.”

  “Oh yeah?” Bridget raised her eyebrows salaciously.

  “Yes.” Eli blushed furiously, the red running all over her cheeks and down her neck. Bridget loved it when she did that. It was impossible for Eli to avoid being embarrassed sometimes. “So I’ll be in late, because it’s a long drive.”

  “Sure, and there are pitstops along the road in ditches you might want to try out on your way home,” Bridget answered with a chuckle. “I’ll clean up down there as best as I can, too. Don’t want to bring your girl home to a disgusting house.”

  “Thanks. Really. I appreciate that.”

  “No problem.” Bridget sighed. It wasn’t much longer until they were all at the dinner table, eating.

  It was dark, and the house wasn’t quiet. Bridget lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling, people moving above her as they did whatever they did. While she longed for the quiet of her own house, she was actually quite happy to be around people, even if it wasn’t Eli. Even just hearing them above her reminded her there was something to live for.

  She couldn’t stop thinking about Jerica, though. It had been hours since she’d heard from her, but Jerica was at work, so that wasn’t surprising. She should be off soon, and Bridget fully expected a late night of texting between the two of them.

  She must have lost track of time, because she heard Eli’s ever-loud voice booming through the basement, the shuffling of feet as they walked through the living area and into Eli’s bedroom. Then Bridget wanted to claw her ears out. There was nothing like listening to her ex-girlfriend fuck her current fiancé in the room next to hers. The groans, the thumps, the murmurs she couldn’t quite make out—not that she tried.

  Rolling onto her good side, Bridget pulled a pillow over her ear and tried to tune them out, but the walls were a whole lot thinner than they probably thought they were. Not to mention it sounded like they were against the damn wall that bordered the two bedrooms.

  Her stomach roiled with nausea again. She thought about climbing out of bed and going to the living room or upstairs, but there was no way she could do that quietly, and it would take forever for her to make it on her own while she dragged her scooter with her. Clenching her eyes shut, Bridget tried to drown them out. She thought of anything and everything but what was happening next door—at least, she tried to.

  She wasn’t exactly successful. Grabbing her phone, Bridget did the only thing she could think of. She called Jerica and sent up a prayer that she was off work and able to answer the call. As soon as Jerica’s smooth voice came over the phone, Bridget was instantly at ease.

  “Hey there,” Jerica answered.

  “Hey,” Bridget mumbled, realizing too late she still had the pillow over her head. She knocked it off and tried again. “Hey.”

  “I didn’t expect you to call. I’m just getting into my car.”

  “Good timing then.” Bridget rolled onto her back, staring at her ceiling again. She needed the distraction, the thumping from next door too much for her to take on her own. “I need a distraction.”

  “Oh? What kind of distraction?”

  “Any.” Bridget nearly broke on the word. “Just any.”

  “Oh no. What’s happening?”

  “It’s not been a great day.” Sighing, Bridget wanted to move but was confined by the sling. She really couldn’t wait to be done with that thing or with the cast on her foot. Not only did it itch, but it was sweaty and getting to the point it was uncomfortable. But since it was her career on the line, she wanted to be sure she did everything the doctors said exactly as they told her to do it. She wasn’t going to risk not being sheriff, as much as her parents thought she already had.

  “Want to tell me about it?”

  Pursing her lips, Bridget heard the sound change as Jerica connected her phone to the vehicle. She had no idea how far Jerica lived from the hospital—something she should probably figure out sooner rather than later—so she wasn’t sure how long she should keep the conversation light before she turned it to deeper subjects.

  “Well, Eli’s fiancé came home.”

  “Oh. Oh!” Jerica finally understood what Bridget wasn’t saying.

  “So I’m listening to something I never thought I would have to hear, something I never wanted to hear, and something I never wanted to walk in on again.”

  Jerica nearly choked. “Wait? What do you mean again?”

  Scrunching her nose, Bridget debated how much she should share. In hindsight, it was a rather amusing story now that years had passed. Had it happened weeks ago, she probably wouldn’t have thought it was as funny. “It was right when they first got together.”

  “You can’t stop there. You have to give the details.”

  “It’s not that funny of a story.”

  “Tell me!” Jerica pleaded.

  Chuckling lightly, Bridget closed her eyes as she remembered the day. “I was mad at Eli, nothing new there. We’d just had another fight, I was jealous of Sarah, whatever. This was years ago, all right?”

  “Okay. I’ll take your word that you are no longer jealous of Sarah.”

  Bridget pursed her lips. Except she was still jealous of Sarah. Perhaps not in the same way she had been two years prior, but she was jealous of what Sarah and Eli had, of how open they were with their relationship, of the fact that Sarah managed to be famous and still be out and not have any consequences because of it.

  “Bridget?”

  Groaning, Bridget took Eli’s advice and followed the rabbit. “I am a little jealous still.”

  Silence reverberated.

  “Not because I still want Eli, to make that clear. I consider her a very good friend at this point, and that is all. But…I’ve never been out.”

  “Oh.” Jerica seemed genuinely surprised by that. “I thought—”

  “No. I’m not out. My parents don’t know, no one knows really, except Eli. I suppose her parents know, and probably her brother and sister, but no one else.”

  “Do you want to come out?” Jerica asked, hesitation in each syllable.

  “I do, I think.”

  “You think?”

  “Yeah. I think. I’m not so sure. It could be a lot of things I’m not sure I’m ready for.”

  “It’s scary, isn’t it?”

  “So scary.” Just that one confession put so much ease back into Bridget. She wasn’t expecting it, but she had to realize she wasn’t the first person to come out. She wasn’t the first person to break that news to family whom she knew wouldn’t be supportive. She wasn’t the first elected official who would come out and potentially ruin their career in the process. So many had gone before her, and she had to remember that. Including Eli. Including Sarah. Including Jerica.

  “I’m here for you whenever you want to do that. And I strongly suspect Eli will be as well.”

  “I know she will.” Bridget smiled, cringing when Eli clearly reached her climax. If only there was a way to truly have selective hearing so she didn’t have to witness this. “Anyway, I’m jealous that they’ve already done it. That they can be together right now without having that block them.”

  “It’s a big step.”

  “It is. But when I was jealous of Sarah because I wanted to be with Eli, I was also an idiot.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I was out patrolling on the highway, and I saw Eli’s truck pulled off to the side, so I stopped. Well…she and Sarah…they were…Sarah was on top of Eli, fully laid out on the bench. And I was the asshole that pounded on the window to break it up.”

  “Oh my God, you didn’t.”

  “I did.” Shame filled Bridget. “I did, and then Eli got out, and we yelled at each other, and then she said something that made a whole lot of sense, and that was it. From then on I tried to be supportive of her and Sarah, but I still can’t get that image out of my head sometimes. If I hadn’t stopped them, I’m absolutely sure that’s what they would have done.”

  Jerica was laughing, full out laughing. The sound muted for a second, but when she came in stronger on the phone, she was still laughing. “You’re adorable.”

  “What?” Bridget’s cheeks heated. “What about that is adorable?”

  “Are you a bit of a prude, Bridge?”

  The nickname hit her harder than she thought it would. That was Eli’s name for her, and Eli was the only one Bridget had ever allowed to call her that. But it actually felt good, so she just shook her head. “I am not a prude.”

  “Have you ever had sex in a car?”

  “Yes.”

  “Have you really?”

  “Don’t sound so shocked. There’s not a whole lot of places to have sex when you’re a teenage lesbian in a town of fifteen hundred people. Neither of us were out. Where were we supposed to have sex?”

  “In a car,” Jerica agreed. “I just didn’t peg you for being that wild.”

  “I’m not wild,” Bridget countered. “Far from it. I’m too closeted to dare to have sex anywhere else.”

  “And are you going to do something about that?”

  Bridget pondered it for a moment. It was time. Jerica was wherever she needed to be, and she really wanted to talk about the upsetting conversation with her parents rather than the sex going on in the other room. “I tried today.”

  “Did you? That surprises me.”

  Bridget hummed. “My parents came up to check on me—without warning, mind you. Because God forbid they actually call ahead of time.”

  “They sound like people who expect to get their way.”

  “That’s an understatement. They were worried I was still ruining my career by not being back at work.”

  “You’re not cleared.” Jerica reiterated Bridget’s argument from earlier.

  Bridget nodded. “They don’t understand the process at all. KBI is finishing their investigation, and I should be able to take the psychological exam soon enough to at least go back to light office duty.”

  “I bet that’ll be nice.”

  “It will be. Something to do. Eli will have to drive me to town though, since my right side is severely handicapped.”

  “I’m willing to bet she’ll be up for that.”

  “Probably. I can always have whoever is on duty come get me too.”

  “When do you think you’ll be able to stay on your own?”

  Bridget sucked in a breath. As much as she wanted to be on her own again, she really was enjoying having people around her. Perhaps she had been isolated far too long. “I don’t know.”

  “Maybe you could come stay here for a weekend. Give the lovers some time to themselves.”

  “They’d probably like that, especially once they figure out I can hear everything.” Laughing at herself, Bridget shook her head. “But I did try to come out to my parents today. I couldn’t even get the words out.”

  “It’s not easy,” Jerica re-confirmed.

  “It’s not. I just wish…I didn’t have to try again.”

  “Next time, why don’t you have someone with you who can help steer the conversation.”

  “That’s a good idea.” Bridget fiddled with the edge of the blanket. “I did tell them about you. Though they think you’re a man.”

  Jerica snorted. “Do they really?”

  “Their assumption that I didn’t get around to correcting. Sorry for that.”

  “It’s fine, Bridge. I don’t mind, really. So long as you know I’m a woman.”

  “Oh yes. I know that.” The feel of Jerica pressed against her on the couch the other night came back full force. She wanted that again. She wanted Jerica naked on top of her doing the same thing so she could finger her, watch her come apart as Jerica writhed on top of her. Heat pooled between her legs, and she knew she was going to have to stop thinking about that if she was going to get any sleep that night.

  “Good.” Jerica paused. “Hey, I’ve got to get some food and eat something before I crash. I have an early shift tomorrow.”

  “Do you?”

  “Yeah.”

  Bridget rubbed her lips together, listening next door and hearing only talking. She hoped they were done for the night, but from what she remembered with Eli, that likely wasn’t going to be the case. “When do you think I can see you again?”