Falling for Hope Read Online Free PDF Page B

together, after years of pining for one
another, only the night before.   Since
all of the women gathered in the cabin were the best of friends, and—more to
the point—women who loved other women, it shouldn’t have been a problem that
Hope and Amy had decided to begin a relationship.  
    But six months earlier—six months
and two days, thought Amy quietly—Melissa had passed away in a fatal car crash
that rocked the core of their group of friends.   And Melissa and Hope had been partners, on and off again, for
many years.   They weren’t together when
Melissa died, though, and they had never been quite right for each other.   Everyone had said so.   Everyone had known it to be true.   
    And Amy had discovered only this
morning that, during one of the “off again” periods of Hope and Melissa’s rocky
relationship, Melissa and Chris had possibly dated.   Lindsey had shared this suspicion with Amy,
and Amy thought it made sense, considering Chris’s angry reaction to Hope and
Amy’s new relationship.
    Amy hadn’t seen Chris since that
afternoon, when the woman retreated to her bedroom—with her new girlfriend,
whose name Amy couldn’t remember, in tow.   Hours had passed, but Chris still hadn’t emerged.   If there was one thing Chris loved almost as
much as she loved ladies, it was food.   So it was very unlike Chris to miss dinner.
    But she wasn’t here.
    “Penny for your thoughts?” asked
Hope, and when Amy glanced sidelong at her now, the easy smile blossomed over
her handsome face.   Amy studied Hope for
a long moment before returning the smile, albeit a little weakly.   She’d been in love with Hope for the entire
span of the five years they’d known one another.   Amy loved everything about Hope, from her open smile to her
unruly black hair (that was usually pointed in a thousand different
directions), to her long fingers and softly muscled arms.   These were things that Amy had felt
incredibly guilty for noticing before, since Hope had been involved with
Melissa, but now she allowed herself to fully gaze at Hope, even as Hope
grinned at her, tossing a bit of hair out of her eyes and squeezing Amy’s
hand.  
    In front of the fire, Irene grabbed
Lindsey around the waist, drawing her wife down and onto her lap.   Lindsey made a few protesting noises, but
she was laughing too hard, and she put her arms around Irene, pushing her
fingers through her wife’s short, brunette hair as she kissed her playfully on
the cheek.   Irene chuckled while they
held one another tightly.   Amy had never
felt jealous of Irene and Lindsey’s relationship; it filled her with comfort,
knowing that there were at least two people in the world who shared the kind of
love that people wrote stories about.   Amy had always hoped that she’d get a shot at that kind of love someday,
too.   Irene and Lindsey had been
together for fifteen years, and they were still so in love that it made Amy’s
heart hurt a little, sometimes, watching them.
    But as Hope squeezed her hand
again, Amy wondered if, perhaps, they might have a chance at that kind of love
themselves.
    Amy returned the squeeze and
sighed.   “I was just thinking about
Chris,” she murmured, clearing her throat.   “Wondering if she was hungry…”
    Hope’s eyes darkened, and she
glanced at the fire, mouth curling down again.   “I wish she wasn’t so bullheaded.   But she wouldn’t be Chris if she wasn’t.” She laughed a little, though
her words sounded hollow.   “I’ll take
her some food later, see if we can’t get this mess sorted out.”
    Amy wondered whether Hope knew what
Lindsey had suggested to her, that Chris and Melissa had had a
relationship.   Regardless, now was
probably not the time to ask.
    “Everyone grab a stick and the
wiener of your choice,” said Lindsey, pecking Irene one more time on the cheek
before rising and waving to the plates of dogs and the sticks set in front of
the fire.   She made an elaborate