Free Doublecrossed by Susan X Meagher Page A

calmed. This was it. Having someone you could be yourself with. Someone you could trust your heart to. Someone you knew would never hurt you on purpose. Someone who loved you as much as you loved yourself. That was something Marina could never do. It was silly to hope for.

    *

    Terri had been invited to a big party, and after debating for a while, they decided to go. They got to the house fairly early, just after the snacks had been put out. Terri laughed when Callie moved a pair of chairs just behind the folding table that held cheese and crackers and corn chips and salsa and various dips.
    “Come on, don’t make me look like I’m the only one eating,” Callie insisted, shoving another dip-laden cracker into her mouth.
    “You are the only one who’s eating.” Terri took a chip and bit into a corner.
    “You’re the only person I know who takes six bites to eat a corn chip.”
    “That’s why I’m the same size I was in college.” She tilted her head back, looking down her nose. “If you don’t stop stuffing your face, you won’t be able the wear the jeans you wore yesterday.”
    “You know I eat when I’m upset.”
    “I know.” Terri leaned over and kissed her on the temple. “I wish you weren’t so conflicted.”
    Callie purposefully piled three pieces of cheese onto a cracker. Biting into it, she shook her head. “I’m not.”
    “Huh?”
    “I’m not conflicted. I’m determined.”
    “To do what? Other than eat all of their food.”
    “To kick Marina to the curb.”
    “What? Why do you seem so calm?”
    “I was half out when I found out about Angela. Finding out Marina lied about it almost got me out the door.” She leaned over and kissed Terri’s cheek. “Talking to you convinced me.”
    “Me?” Terri pointed to herself. Her face bore every sign of complete amazement. “What did I do? Hell, I told you what she did wasn’t so bad.”
    “I know. But when you asked what had been great about our relationship and I couldn’t come up with a list”—she formed her hand into a semblance of a gun and acted like she was firing it against her temple—“that was death.”
    “Damn.” Terri shook her head, still looking dumbfounded. “Are you…upset? Sad? Anything? I can’t tell.”
    “Yeah, sure I’m sad. But I’ve really been inching out ever since it first happened—so I’ve had time to get used to it.”
    “What are you going to do?”
    “Damned if I know. I can’t decide if I should go home and pack up while she’s still gone or make up my mind about things and go later.”
    Terri took her hand and gave her a pleading look. “Move back here. Please, please, please.”
    “I might. But I can’t think about that now. I’ve gotta get out first.” She started to make up another cracker. “Can we go out for tacos or something? I’m still gonna be hungry. This isn’t nearly enough food.”

    *

    After Terri left for work, Callie took a run around the neighborhood. A day or two at her mother’s house seemed like the right move. Then she could make up her mind about whether to move back to Phoenix or stay in Dallas. The thought of a little mothering was too tempting to resist.
    Her phone rang as she was heading for the shower. When she saw the text that showed on the display, her heart started to beat wildly. It was Regan. What to tell her? Damn, there were too many decisions to make and too little time to make them.
    “Hi Regan.”
    “How did you know it was me?”
    “When I called you, I made a contact entry for you. It’s incomplete because I just put down your first name. I didn’t know your last.”
    “It’s Manning.”
    “M…a…n…n…i…n…g?”
    “Yeah.”
    “Okay. I’ve got it. I like to be organized, if that wasn’t obvious.” She waited for a couple of seconds to see if Regan would say why she’d called, but she was greeted with silence. “What’s up?”
    “I…I probably shouldn’t have called, but I haven’t told anybody about what