Free Hold on to Me by Linda Winfree

grumbled.
    Tori turned her back on the farmers in front of them and fixed Caitlin with a steady gaze. “I am so glad to see you. By the way, did I mention that my brother, the one I think you’re perfect for, is still single?”
    Perfect? Far from it. “So, tell me, are you and Schaefer serious?”
    “Me, serious? Hardly ever. Jeff, always.” She laughed at Caitlin’s huff of exasperation. “No, we’re not dating seriously. Not yet anyway. We’ve been to dinner a couple of times. He’s a nice guy. I haven’t had a chance to find out if there are any sparks.” Tori’s wicked grin, so like Tick’s, lit her whole face. “Those sparks are a necessity, you know. Or so I’ve heard.”
    “Tick would have a fit if he heard you say that.”
    “Screw Tick.” Affection tempered Tori’s frustrated statement. “He plays big brother a little too heavily, and I’ve told him so on several occasions. Sooner or later, he’s got to realize I’m not ten, and now is as good a time as any. And stop changing the subject. What did you think when you saw him again?”
    “You really want to know?” Caitlin asked, and Tori nodded, leaning forward. Caitlin lowered her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “That he needed a shower. He’d been involved in farm work.”
    “You have a serious case of denial.” Tori turned around as the line moved forward.
    “Don’t try to analyze me,” Caitlin warned, a note of real tension entering her voice. After the attack, she’d gone through the motions with a bureau counselor, and that had been painful enough. She didn’t want Tori picking at her scars, too. “I have more training than you do, remember?”
    “More classroom training,” Tori conceded, her gaze fixed on the menu over the counter. “But I’ve had tons of experience with the real thing.”
    Darkness colored Tori’s tone. Caitlin brushed her hair back, looking at the confident tilt of Tori’s chin. The other woman was right. She was mature beyond her twenty-four years, a maturity brought on by the horror of her rape. Tori, with typical Calvert courage and Tick’s unwavering support, had faced the aftermath dead on.
    Caitlin shivered. Tori was right about the experience, too. Training and lectures had nothing on the real thing, the real horror. Caitlin had once thought she’d learned everything she needed to know between her doctoral degree in psychology and her FBI training.
    Benjamin Fuller had taught her differently.
    You know Tick would support you the same way, hold on to you, hold you up.
    She tightened her arms over her stomach, the hollow ache there now having nothing to do with hunger. She was over it. She’d confronted the reality of what had happened to her, the way it affected her future, what it had taken from her. So she still had nightmares, the occasional panic attack. That was normal. It didn’t mean she wasn’t handling the aftermath, wasn’t recovering.
    And why even bring Tick into this? She’d made her choice about him. Best not to even go there.
    “Cait?”
    Startled from her reverie, Caitlin glanced up. “Sorry. I was thinking.”
    Tori continued to watch her carefully. “I didn’t mean to bring up something that’s hurting you.”
    Caitlin shrugged. Her weak smile hurt her face. “You didn’t. I’m just trying to get my mind wrapped around this case.”
    “Sure.” With seeming reluctance, Tori let the topic pass, and Caitlin’s next breath became a relieved sigh. They ordered and made their way to a corner table. Within a few minutes, their food arrived, hot, fresh and delicious. Caitlin’s usual hunger had fled, and she managed only a few bites, moving food around her plate with aimless movements.
    Tori laid down her fork, her face brightening. “Hey, I’ve got a great idea. Why don’t you come to church with me Sunday? And then you can come to Mama’s for Sunday dinner. I’m telling you, that’s an experience not to be missed.”
    Caitlin balked. She was here to work,