Unexpected Ties by Gina L. Dartt

Author:Gina L. Dartt [Dartt, Gina L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Gay & Lesbian, Fiction, Lesbian
ISBN: 9781933110561
Google: poXdAAAACAAJ
Amazon: 1933110562
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books
Published: 2006-10-02T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nineteen

Strolling back to the fire after a brief trip into the woods, Nikki fumed over the perfidy of the Summer Twins. Kate was right about not letting them know they had gotten to her, but she still wished she could give them a taste of their own medicine. As she passed a group of canoeists huddled at a picnic table some distance from the fire, sharing another joint, she heard something that made her alter her path.

“Did I hear someone say Monica Henderson?” she asked as she squeezed into the circle.

“Yeah,” one of the women said, looking over at her oddly. Nikki recognized her as one of a group from Pictou Road, a cheerful older woman named Victoria. Victoria was partnered with a dour individual named Jennifer, who was casual friends with one of Kim’s acquaintances who used to date Debbie’s best friend from high school.

Sometimes Nikki didn’t think she knew these people as much as kept track of them by some eclectic chain of connections. It was somewhat like the six degrees of separation game, without involving Kevin Bacon.

“Do you know Monica?” Victoria asked.

“Uh, actually, no,” Nikki temporized, trying to come up with a reasonable explanation for why she was asking. “I know…uh, her boyfriend.”

Victoria’s face cleared as if she knew what Nikki was talking about. Nikki was very glad that one of them did.

“You mean Pat.”

A light went on in Nikki’s head. Who else would have access to the woman’s car? “Yeah, Pat,” she said conversationally. “What’s he doing now?”

“Still the shift foreman at Elliot Manufacturing.” Nikki barely resisted the urge to thrust her fist into the air in triumph. Victoria frowned slightly, though she was too relaxed to really detect anything in Nikki. “I thought you knew him?”

“Only in passing.” Nikki spoke glibly. “I just heard he was going out with Monica.” She paused, trying to come up with something else to provoke further discussion without making it appear she was digging for information. “They’re still getting along, aren’t they?”

Victoria didn’t seem to find this an unusual comment, which made Nikki suspect it was a volatile relationship. She just thanked the fates that gossip was such a prevalent pastime in this part of the Maritimes.

“Well, they had a pretty tough time when Stevie died.” Victoria apparently thought that Nikki knew all about it, and Nicky wasn’t about to disabuse her of that notion. “Pat was really torn up about it.”

“Yeah?” This was far too easy. “He and Stephen were that close?”

“Best friends all through school. That’s how Pat got the job.”

At that moment, Victoria’s partner came back from wherever she had been, and the conversation trickled away. Nikki hesitated, trying to figure out how to reopen it, but couldn’t come up with a good angle. Momentarily defeated, she took a polite hit from the joint as it passed her way, handed it to the next person, then drifted away from the group and strolled back to the fire, worrying these new bits of information like a puppy with a bone.

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