After the meal, Jody jumped up. "I'll do the dishes." She needed time alone to sort through her feelings, but Denise refused her offer.

"No, I have plenty of time," Denise said. "Why don't you go show Ellen how much the city has changed since she left?"

Jody panicked. She didn't want to spend time alone with Ellen. "She doesn't want to run around San Antonio with an old thing like me," she protested, while a part of her was hoping Ellen would.

"Sure I would," Ellen chimed in. "Unless it's your bedtime," she teased with a smile and a wink that made Jody's heart pound.

Denise laughed, but for some reason Jody was having trouble finding anything funny in the comment.

I'm being a fool, she told herself. What I should do is leave and call Sharon right now. I won't even call. I'll go home, get the Jeep and drive directly to Sharon's. We can spend the rest of the night in bed. Ten minutes with Sharon and I'll forget all about Ellen.

But Denise wasn't making it easy. "It's a beautiful night for a drive."

"I have to get up early and work tomorrow," Jody said.

"No, you don't. I'm working this weekend. I need to start placing the Mother's Day orders. We can get back to your precious schedule after the holiday," Denise insisted.

Jody struggled to find another excuse.

"Now, go on." Denise pushed them toward the door.

"Let me help with the dishes and you go with us," Jody pleaded.

"No, I rented a movie. I want to relax and watch it. You two go on. I'll see you later."

"I'm too drunk to drive," Jody said, and in truth she was feeling the wine. Then she remembered. "I walked over!"

"I'll drive." Ellen picked up her keys from a stand by the doorway leading to the garage. "I need to learn my way around the city again anyway. So much has changed since I left." She took Jody by the arm.

Short of chaining herself to the table, Jody saw no alternative but to follow.

When she and Ellen stepped into the garage, Jody gasped. There sat the red Corvette with the deeply tinted windows, the one that had been following her earlier in the week.

Ellen gazed at her over the car. "I hope I didn't frighten you the other day."

Confused, Jody scrambled into the car, b.u.mping both her knee and head in the process.

"Why were you driving so slowly behind me?" she asked as Ellen got into the car. Jody fumbled with her seat belt; for some reason it refused to snap.

"I liked the view," she said softly.

Startled by the bold statement, Jody forgot about the seat belt. It slipped from her hand and slid back around her shoulder. She could think of nothing to say.

Ellen reached for Jody's seat belt, which grazed Jody's breast as Ellen deftly pulled it over and fastened it. She gave Jody's hand a quick squeeze.

Jody told herself to ignore the warm, silky texture of Ellen's hand and the wave of desire washing over her. She focused her attention out the car window as Ellen backed smoothly out of the garage.

Jody struggled to find some safe topic for discussion, but it seemed that everything that came to mind was a potential land mine.

As they drove through Leon Valley and headed toward downtown, Ellen began to reminisce about various places they drove past. She pointed out Bandera Lanes, where she and Denise had bowled on a mother-and-daughter league; the Walgreen where she had worked for two summers before leaving for college.

Ellen pointed toward a side street. "My first girlfriend, Stacy, lived down that street. We were in her room one Sat.u.r.day afternoon. Her folks were supposed to have been working at some charity thing, but her mom got sick and they came home early. They were already in the hallway before we heard them. There wasn't time to get dressed. I flew out of bed and hid in the closet. I had just barely closed the door when her dad knocked on Stacy's door to check on her. To make a long story short I had to leave by way of the bedroom window. We were so young." Ellen laughed at her memories.

Jody began to relax. "Why did you wait so long to tell your mom you're gay?"

Ellen looked over at her. "Get real. You heard how she reacted when I finally did tell her. I mean, I had to check into a hotel. You can imagine what she would have done if I'd told her when I was sixteen."

Jody chuckled. "Point taken."

"Mom would have totally wigged out and locked me in my room until I was twenty-one. She almost did anyway."

Jody felt the need to defend Denise. "She did what she thought was best for you. She didn't want to see you hurt."

Ellen nodded. "I know, but sometimes it gets to be too much. It's time she realized I'm not a baby anymore."

Jody looked at her. She certainly didn't look like a baby. She forced her improper thoughts away and said, "You will always be her baby."

Ellen finally pulled onto the freeway that would take them downtown. "Tell me about the local gay and lesbian community."

Jody shrugged. "I'm sure it won't be anything like Los Angeles. The military's still here, so a large portion of the community is closeted. But we have a few active organizations and groups like the First Wednesday."

"What's that?" Ellen interrupted.

"It's a group of women who get together for dinner at various restaurants on the first Wednesday of each month. It's a good place to meet women, without having to hit the bars."

"Sounds like a pickup party."

"No. It's nothing like that at all." Jody tried to clarify. "Most of the women are professionals who don't want to go to the bars for one reason or another. The group is a way to meet women with similar interests, like biking, poker, or even going to the movies."

"Do you go to the dinners?"

"Yeah, I make it occasionally."

Ellen looked at her. "Maybe you and I could go next month."

Jody bit her lip. This would be the perfect moment to mention Sharon, but before she could, Ellen changed the subject.

"What else goes on?"

Jody told her about a few of the events that were coming up. "You might want to subscribe to Womans.p.a.ce. It's a monthly community paper and has a listing of events and organizations."

Ellen turned the conversation back to the First Wednesday group.

Somewhere during the exchange, Jody found herself agreeing to take her to the next dinner. She thought about Sharon. Maybe the three of them could go together.

They parked the car in a downtown garage and slowly strolled along the River Walk. Since it was early in the season, there weren't a lot of tourists yet. As they pa.s.sed the numerous restaurants decorated with brightly colored lights, a smorgasbord of jazz, salsa, country and rock greeted them. They stopped at an outdoor cafe with pastel-hued wrought-iron tables and chairs. They asked the handsome young waiter for a table by the river and ordered frozen margaritas with salt. They waved at the people on several dinner barges gliding by. Across the river, mariachis were performing an energetic rendition of "La Bamba." Their waiter returned with their drinks, before rushing off to serve a table of older men wearing American Legion caps.

They sipped their drinks in silence and listened to the mariachis perform a slow, hauntingly beautiful song.

"Has Mom designated you as my official matchmaker?" Ellen asked as the song came to an end.

Embarra.s.sed, Jody hesitated a second too long.

"I thought so," Ellen said with a sigh. "I relieve you of all responsibility." She sipped her margarita.

"She's worried about you. It's only natural, I suppose."

"What is she worried about?"

Jody sipped her drink to stall. Should she mention what Denise had told her? She finally decided Denise wouldn't mind. "She thinks you may have moved back here to mend a broken heart or perhaps to escape a love gone wrong."

Ellen laughed softly. Her laughter was deep and throaty and Jody found herself wishing Ellen would laugh more often.

"Mom is something else. I could never get anything by her."

Except the fact that you're a lesbian, Jody was tempted to add. She said instead, "So it's true?" She tried to ignore the bitter stab of unexpected jealousy that shot through her.

Just then the waiter reappeared. "Another margarita, ladies?"

Jody nodded.

As he walked away, Ellen leaned forward and crossed her arms on the table. "It's not exactly a broken heart. I moved back for a lot of reasons. I missed Mom. I missed San Antonio. The transfer here puts me in line for a great career opportunity, and I used the move as a way to end a two-year relationship that should never have happened."

"Why do you say that?"

Ellen shrugged and turned her attention to the jazz ensemble performing at the cafe next door.

The waiter arrived with their margaritas, gathered their empty gla.s.ses and glided away.

Just when Jody had decided Ellen wasn't going to tell her about her relationship, she began to speak.

"Beth works for one of the firms I went out to evaluate. I broke my one cardinal rule and we started dating. We became lovers." She hesitated. "Beth is very needy. At first, I found it rather flattering, but it got old fast. I broke off the relationship after a few weeks, but she kept coming around. Eventually her persistence wore me down. I was renting an efficiency apartment at the time, and she owned her own home, so I moved in with her. I tried to make it work. I asked her to get help, but she refused. She insisted I was the problem. She said I was cold and uncaring. I finally realized that no matter what I did, it would never be enough. When a job opened up in San Antonio, I s.n.a.t.c.hed it and ran." She hung her head. "I'm such a coward. I waited until I had already accepted the position and it was too late to back out before I told her."

They sat in comfortable silence for several minutes, sipping their margaritas and listening to the jazz ensemble perform a toe-tapping "Sweet Georgia Brown."

"You probably think I'm a real louse," Ellen said after the song ended.

Jody studied her margarita gla.s.s and shrugged. "We do what we have to. Have you heard from Beth since you got here?"

"She calls on the cell at least a half-dozen times a day. I refused to give her the home number. Although a couple of rounds with Mom might send her fleeing."

They both laughed.

"Enough about me. I want to hear about you," Ellen said, gazing at her.

"Nothing much to tell."

The waiter approached and saved her from having to make further denials. "Ladies, I'm sorry, but we're closing." He gave Ellen a brilliant smile as he handed Jody the check.

"We'll return to this conversation," Ellen warned as they each placed money on the table.

"I'll take heed of the warning," Jody teased back. She considered asking Ellen if she wanted to spend more time on the River Walk, but she was already tired and the alcohol was making her sleepy. She'd be mortified if she were to doze off during a lull in the conversation. They headed for the car.

Jody settled into the pa.s.senger seat and looked out at the city she loved. She couldn't remember the last time she had laughed and talked so much. They drove toward Denise's house.

"You live near Mom, don't you?"

Soothed by the alcohol, Jody replied, "Yes, I live on Charlie Chan Drive. It's only a couple of blocks away from you."

"I'd like to see your house."

"Now?" Jody asked, surprised.

"Sure, why not?"

Jody hesitated. Common sense told her to send Ellen home, but the alcohol had mellowed her and her hormones were finally under control, so why not?

"Okay." She settled back and enjoyed the ride in silence.

Ellen parked in Jody's driveway, and they went up the walk. It seemed strange to Jody to enter her house through the front door, since she always used the door in the garage. Jody could smell Ellen's perfume as she unlocked the door. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea, she thought as she fumbled with the key.

Once inside, Ellen studied the room and nodded. "It's you. I love the fireplace and what you've done with the colors."

Jody looked around, pleased. She had spent months looking for just the right shades of color and the perfect furniture.

"I wouldn't have thought it possible to blend these shades of gray, blue and peach so well." Ellen sat on the sofa, kicked her shoes off and tucked her feet beneath her. "Sit by me," she said and patted the sofa beside her.

Jody sat down but kept to the far end of the sofa.

"I've been talking about myself all night. Tell me about you. What makes Jody Scott tick?"

Jody hesitated. She never liked to talk about herself. She decided she would tell a few anecdotes of her New York years, and then she would tell Ellen about Sharon. But to her surprise, she found herself telling Ellen about Mia and Lauren. She tactfully omitted the part about her infidelity to Lauren, and somehow she never got around to mentioning Sharon.

"I have a confession," Ellen said as she slid closer and took Jody's hand.

"What?" Jody's voice broke. She wished Ellen would let go of her hand, but somehow she didn't have the strength to remove it. She cursed her decision to have the second margarita.

"I had a terrible crush on you when I was in high school."

Jody stared at her in amazement. "I hardly ever saw you."

Ellen shrugged. "Actually," she said as she leaned toward Jody, "I never got over it." Her lips brushed Jody's.

Jody held her breath and told herself to get up and send Ellen home. Everything in her screamed that she should not be kissing Denise's daughter, but then Ellen's tongue slowly parted her lips.

Jody's mind and body were not working as one. She tried to pull away, but Ellen pushed her back onto the sofa.

"Ellen," Jody finally managed to murmur as Ellen kissed her neck and throat. "We shouldn't be doing this."