Page 91 of Harbor Lights
“Do you think you could take her without waking her?” Con’s need was urgent now.
“Yeah, sure. I’ll get her to bed.” Shiv expertly scooped the sleeping child onto her own shoulder with only a brief grumble from Peggy.
The moment Con was free, she sprinted to the bathroom. Shiv was waiting and pulled her into an embrace when she returned.
“Kasia sent me up. I missed you. Why’d you leave?” She ran kisses down Con’s neck, raising the hairs on her arms. She wished Shiv could kiss her all day, every day.
“The kids are more relaxed when it’s just you and Christy. You don’t need me hanging around.”
“How do you know, if you’re not there?” Shiv pulled her down onto the couch and took the kisses up a notch, unbuttoning the top button of Con’s shirt.
Con pushed her back gently. “Shouldn’t this wait till we’re home?”
Shiv sat back with a pout. “Where’s home tonight?”
Con checked her pocket watch. “Well, unless Tierney appears in the next two minutes, we’re going to miss the last ferry. How cold do you think it’ll be in the cabin?”
“Pretty cold, after you’ve kept me prisoner in your big, fancy house for over a week.”
Con laughed. “It’s getting a lot fancier, now you’re working your way around all the jobs.”
“That’s why you keep me around. For the free labor,” Shiv wailed, and draped dramatically over the couch.
“Shh, the baby.” Con put her finger to Shiv’s lips. “I also keep you for your delicious breakfast omelets.”
When Shiv sucked her finger into her warm mouth, Con melted. She leaned over Shiv and replaced her finger with her tongue, quickly getting lost in the thrill of exploring her mouth and enjoying the feel of Shiv’s hands roving over her body.
Con shot upright at the sound of the door and quickly buttoned her shirt. Shiv giggled, making no attempt to get up.
“Hey, look at you kids. Can’t even keep yourselves decent while babysitting.” Tierney was grinning from ear to ear as she entered.
Con’s face heated. “Sorry.”
Tierney snickered. Shiv sat up and draped an arm around Con reassuringly.
“I’m teasing you,” Tierney said. “It’s really cool to see you two together and enjoying life.” She ducked into the baby’s bedroom.
Tierney had been their biggest, loudest cheerleader since they told their friends they were together. Con couldn’t remember now why she’d thought making their relationship public was a bad idea. She trusted Shiv with her heart and her life. And now Shiv had registered with the health center in town, there was no conflict of interest for the locals to gossip about.
She got up from the couch. The lights of the ferry were moving out toward the lighthouse. “Let’s get up the hill.”
“Hey, take the car.” Tierney stuck her head around the door. “It’s the least I can do after you got sleeping beauty settled.”
“No, the exercise will do us good.” Con wanted to be wide awake when they got back to the cabin. She pulled a grinning Shiv up from the couch.
“You should see Con jogging up that track lately. I can’t keep up.”
Con nudged her. “I’ve got a long way to go to be anywhere near as fit as you, but I’m enjoying it. I feel stronger.”
“Lookin’ good, too.” Shiv winked before she went to fetch their coats.
“Thanks for taking care of Peggy. See you on—soon.” Tierney grinned sheepishly when Con shot her a fierce look. Of all their friends, Tierney was most likely to forget and ruin the surprise she had in store for Shiv.
Shiv seemed none the wiser, though, when she returned with Con’s coat and slid it over her shoulders.
“See you soon, cuz.” Shiv led the way back down the stairs while Con thought how nice it was to hear her use that endearment back at Tierney. Shiv had never had siblings, and hadn’t known her cousins until recently, but she’d really slipped into the Walsh family network, almost as if she’d never been missing.
Kasia wasn’t around, so they slipped out into the night unnoticed. Con placed an arm around Shiv’s shoulders and set the pace as they reached the path.
