Seascape Read online

  Seascape

  Marine biologist Tess Hansen has left her high-tech lab at Evergreen College and returned to Washington’s northern coast to take care of her aging parents. Although her new job studying orcas in the Pacific excites her, she finds life in the small town where she grew up to be stifling and boring. Until she meets Brittany James.

  Chemist Britt James has made the move from a hectic city to the rural coast as well, but she embraces the isolation. She’s looking for a way to reconnect with the environment and make amends for the damage her chemical company has done, and Tess’s center for orca research is a top contender for her endowment.

  Change has become an unwelcome part of Tess’s life and a desperate hope for Britt. Can these two women find a place of refuge with each other?

  Praise for Karis Walsh

  Set the Stage

  “Settings are an artwork for [Karis Walsh] as she creates these places that feel so real and vivid you wish you could hop in a car or plane to go walk where her characters are to experience what they get to on the pages of her book…Her character work is as good as the places she’s created, so they feel like realistic people making the whole picture enjoyable.”—Artistic Bent

  “[A] fun romance. It made me want to go this festival, which I’d never had any interest in before. Set the Stage is worth a read for fans of romance or theater.”—The Lesbrary

  “I really adored this book. From the characters to the setting and the slow burn romance, I was in it for the long haul with this one. Karis Walsh…is an expert in creating interesting characters that often have to face some type of adversity…There something new, something fresh about this book from Walsh.”—The Romantic Reader Blog

  Lammy Finalist You Make Me Tremble

  “Another quality read from Karis Walsh. She is definitely a go-to for a heartwarming read.”—The Romantic Reader Blog

  Blindsided

  “A jaded television reporter and a guide dog trainer form an unlikely bond in Walsh’s delightful contemporary romance. Their slow-burn romance is a nuanced exploration of trust, desire, and negotiating boundaries, without a hint of schmaltz or pity. The sex scenes are sizzling hot, but it’s the slow burn that really allows Walsh to shine.”—Publishers Weekly

  “Karis Walsh always comes up with charming Traditional Romances with interesting characters who have slightly unusual quirks.”—Curve Magazine

  Wingspan

  “As with all Karis Walsh’s wonderful books, the characters are the story. Multifaceted, layered, and beautifully drawn, Ken and Bailey hold our attention from the start. Their clashes, their attraction, and the personal and shared development are what draw us in and hold us. The surrounding scenery, the wild rugged landscape, and the birds at the center of the story are exquisitely drawn.”—The Lesbian Reading Room

  Amounting to Nothing

  “Great characters, excellent narration, solid pacing, interesting mystery, lovely romance. Everything worked for me!”—The Lesbian Review

  Mounting Evidence

  “[A]nother awesome Karis Walsh novel, and I have eternal hope that at some point there will be another book in this series. I liked the characters, the plot, the mystery, and the romance so much.”—Danielle Kimerer, Librarian, Reading Public Library (MA)

  “[A] well paced and thrilling mystery revolving around two enigmatic women.”—Rainbow Book Reviews

  “[G]reat characters and development, a wonderful story line, lots of suspense and mystery, and a truly sweet romance.”—Prism Book Alliance

  Mounting Danger

  “Karis Walsh easily masters the most difficult pitfall of a traditional romance. Karis’s love for horses and for the Pacific Northwest is palpable throughout and adds a wonderful flavor to the story: the beauty of the oceanside at Tacoma, the smell of horses, the dogs, the excitement of Polo, the horses themselves (I am secretly in love with Bandit), the sounds of the forest. A most enjoyable read for cold winter days and nights.”—Curve

  Improvisation

  “Walsh tells this story in achingly beautiful words, phrases, and paragraphs, building a tension that is bittersweet. The main characters are skillfully drawn, as is Jan’s dad, the distinctly loveable and wise Glen Carroll. As the two women interact, there is always an undercurrent of sensuality buzzing around the edges of the pages, even while they exchange sometimes snappy, sometimes comic dialogue. Improvisation is a true romantic tale, Walsh’s fourth book, and she’s evolving into a master romantic storyteller.”—Lambda Literary

  Sea Glass Inn

  “Karis Walsh’s third book, excellently written and paced as always, takes us on a gentle but determined journey through two women’s awakening…The story is well paced, with just enough tension to keep you turning the pages but without an overdramatic melodrama.”—Lesbian Reading Room

  Love on Tap

  “Karis Walsh writes excellent romances. They draw you in, engage your mind, and capture your heart…What really good romance writers do is make you dream of being that loved, that chosen. Love on Tap is exactly that novel—interesting characters, slightly different circumstances to anything you have read before, slightly different challenges. And although you KNOW the happy ending is coming, you still have that little bit of ‘oooh—make it happen.’ Loved it. Wish it was me. What more is there to say?”—The Lesbian Reading Room

  “Risk Factor” in Sweet Hearts

  “Karis Walsh sensitively portrays the frustration of learning to live with a new disability through Ainslee, and the pain of living as a survivor of suicide loss through Myra.”—The Lesbian Review

  Seascape

  Brought to you by

  eBooks from Bold Strokes Books, Inc.

  http://www.boldstrokesbooks.com

  eBooks are not transferable. They cannot be sold, shared or given away as it is an infringement on the copyright of this work.

  Please respect the rights of the author and do not file share.

  Seascape

  © 2018 By Karis Walsh. All Rights Reserved.

  ISBN 13: 978-1-63555-080-1

  This Electronic Original Is Published By

  Bold Strokes Books, Inc.

  P.O. Box 249

  Valley Falls, NY 12185

  First Edition: December 2018

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission.

  Credits

  Editor: Ruth Sternglantz

  Production Design: Stacia Seaman

  Cover Design by Sheri ([email protected])

  By the Author

  Harmony

  Worth the Risk

  Sea Glass Inn

  Improvisation

  Mounting Danger

  Wingspan

  Blindsided

  Mounting Evidence

  Love on Tap

  Tales from Sea Glass Inn

  Amounting to Nothing

  You Make Me Tremble

  Set the Stage

  Seascape

  Chapter One

  Tess Hansen was still wide awake when her cell phone started to vibrate on her bedside table. She had been lying there for over an hour, feeling the small movements Lydia made while she slept—rhythmic, deep breathing and occasional shifts that made her naked body move against Tess’s. The friction of heated skin against her own was arousing, but not enough to make Tess want to do anything about it. She had been trying to figure out why she felt so empty inside, even though this was usually the point in any relationship at which she felt the most alive.

/>   She had met Representative Lydia Beckett at the Washington State Capitol Building, during a fundraiser for Evergreen College, and the attraction between them had been noticeable enough. They had spent the next few weeks trying to coordinate their busy schedules—admittedly busier on the congressional side than on Tess’s—to find more than an hour or two to spend together. The foreplay of missed opportunities had led to last night’s climactic date, and Tess couldn’t understand why she felt so deflated by the whole experience. She had spent most of the evening wishing she hadn’t declined the invitation to have a quiet dinner instead with her friends Cara and Lenae and see their newest litter of puppies.

  Everything about Lydia made her perfect for Tess. She had made it clear she was wrapped up in her career right now and not interested in anything more serious than what Tess was willing to offer. She was smart and easy to talk to, smoothly efficient at the type of small talk that never crossed the line between interesting and controversial or personal. She was sexy and confident, unafraid to ask for exactly what she wanted in bed, at restaurants, or in life. So Tess had no idea why last night had seemed so flat and meaningless.

  She had spent a disturbing few minutes probing her feelings for Lydia. Was she serious about her? Wishing they could have more than one night? Or was she simply wishing she had spent the night with someone else—maybe the woman she’d met at a bar two nights ago, or the new associate professor in Evergreen’s comparative literature department? The answer to both questions had been no. Tess just felt bored, something she rarely experienced, and she wasn’t sure why.

  Tess almost welcomed the call because it interrupted her unsettling thoughts, but no one ever called with good news like promotions or winning lottery numbers at two in the morning. She carefully slid her arm out from under Lydia and rolled toward her phone, pushing her dark hair out of her eyes and squinting at the caller ID. Ugh. The sister.

  She swiped the screen to answer the call but didn’t speak until she walked across the room and shut herself in the bathroom. She perched on the edge of the tub, her muscles clenching at the feel of uncomfortably cold tile under her naked thighs, and her stomach doing likewise in anticipation of talking to one of her family members. She lifted the phone to her ear.

  “Tess? Tess, are you there?” Kelly sighed loudly into the phone, expressing her usual irritation with her younger sister.

  “I’m here, Kelly. What’s wrong?” Tess kept her voice pitched low, but she heard movement in the other room that sounded like Lydia getting out of her bed.

  “It’s Dad, Tess. He fell and hurt his back. We’re at the hospital now, and he’ll be going in for surgery in the morning.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry,” Tess said. She felt a momentary twinge of guilt, worried that her words were nothing but an expected and polite gesture, without any meaning behind them. But she wasn’t lying. She rarely saw her family and carefully arranged her life to maintain a distance, but she was honestly relieved that Kelly’s news wasn’t worse.

  “We’re going to need you to come home, Tess.”

  She was wrong. Kelly’s news was worse than she had originally thought.

  “Well, first of all, I am already home.” She had moved away from her family and their small coastal town over a decade ago, when she had left for college, and she had only been back twice since then. She wasn’t planning to go now. “School starts soon, but I’ll try to get up there to visit him, if I can. Or I’ll just send flowers.”

  “That’s not what I meant, Tess.”

  “No flowers? Okay, how about a Beer-of-the-Month subscription? A stripper?”

  Tess laughed, trying to prove she was just teasing and trying to keep talking so her sister couldn’t get a word in and explain what she really had meant.

  “Listen to me. I talked to the doctor, and Dad will be laid up for several months. There’s no way Mom is strong enough to take care of him, so they’ll need you to stay here for a while.”

  “What about you?” Even as she said the words, Tess knew what Kelly’s response would be. She had a five-year-old son and was four months pregnant. She had taken over the role of caretaker for their aging parents and sole actively involved daughter when Tess had left, but she couldn’t possibly be expected to give their father the physical assistance he would need while he recuperated from back surgery. “Sorry. I wasn’t thinking. But we have other options. Won’t their insurance pay for home care help? Or for a nursing home?”

  Tess heard a quiet tap on the bathroom door before Lydia let herself in. She mouthed something that Tess interpreted as Is everything all right? She nodded, hoping to be left in private to deal with this situation, but Lydia came over to her and stood close, putting her hand on Tess’s shoulder in what was likely meant as a gesture of comfort, even though it felt claustrophobic. Tess got tense whenever she had to deal with family matters, and she just wanted to be off the phone and alone in a dark room.

  She refocused on Kelly’s voice, tuning out the heavily synthetic scent of Lydia’s expensive perfume.

  “You know their coverage isn’t great,” Kelly said. Tess actually had no idea about her parents’ health care situation, but Kelly seemed to be well versed in the subject. “They have a massive deductible, and they’ll be stretching themselves far enough with hospital costs. Besides, Dad wouldn’t want a stranger in the home, taking care of him in such a personal way.”

  Yeah, but he’d be thrilled to have his lesbian daughter who worked at the extremely liberal Evergreen College help him walk to the bathroom. He had never approved of who she was or any of the choices she had made, and he seemed happy enough to have her out of town and out of his life. He wouldn’t want her around now, especially if he was feeling weak and vulnerable. She couldn’t suggest that her mom take care of him alone, since she wasn’t in much better health than her injured husband. She had been using a walker the last time Tess had seen her. Tess sighed and heard an echoing one come from Kelly. She made decent money as a professor, but her modern apartment in downtown Olympia wasn’t cheap, and she wasn’t exactly the frugal type. She’d offer to cover the expenses of a nurse or a home, but she wasn’t sure she’d be able to afford it. Not that she could afford to take several months off work, either…

  “He’ll be in the hospital for a week after surgery,” Kelly said. “Then another two weeks at least in convalescent care. That gives you time to either figure out another solution or find a way to come home and take care of your family. Let me know what you decide.”

  Kelly ended the call without a sound, probably wishing she had a receiver to slam down. Tess remained motionless with her phone still clutched against her ear, afraid that if she made a single move, she’d end up screaming and throwing her phone against the granite-topped vanity. Lydia was stroking her hair, but the sensation wasn’t calming.

  Finally, she took a deep breath and slowly set the cell on the edge of the bathtub, next to her leg.

  “What’s wrong, sweetheart?” Lydia asked, sitting next to Tess and wrapping her in a tight hug. “You look sick.”

  “My dad,” Tess said. The words came out in a raspy way, and she cleared her throat. “He hurt his back. That was my sister, letting me know.”

  “Is he going to be okay? Do they live near here? What will—”

  Tess held up her hand to stop the flow of questions. “Can we not talk about it right now? I just…I need to process this and make some decisions.” She rubbed her forehead and felt Lydia stiffen slightly. Her words had sounded harsh. She didn’t want to be rude, but she also wasn’t prepared to share her personal history with someone she barely knew. Tess’s closest friends knew little about her past life, and she didn’t even like to think about her family inside her own head. She ran her hand over her face and let it drop onto her lap before smiling at Lydia.

  “You’re sweet to care. It’s just a shock, you know, getting one of those middle-of-the-night calls. Let’s get back in bed.”

  She lifted her hand again and brus
hed it through Lydia’s rumpled blond hair. Lydia dropped her head on Tess’s shoulder, relaxing into her again.

  “Are you sure you don’t want to talk about it?” she asked. “I can help if you need to make plans, or I can call the hospital and find out what’s going on.”

  She’s just being nice, Tess repeated to herself to keep from pushing Lydia away, physically and emotionally. She hoped the damsel in distress moment wasn’t turning what had been a mutually agreed upon fling into something deeper on Lydia’s part.

  “I’m fine,” she insisted, standing up and pulling Lydia along with her. “Thank you, though.”

  She kept a smile on her face and a touch of lightness in her voice even though her mind was reeling. She led them back to her bed, and Lydia immediately cuddled close, with her head resting on Tess’s shoulder and their legs entwined.

  “Shall I distract you instead?” Lydia asked, kissing her way along Tess’s collarbone and rubbing her hand over Tess’s belly.

  “Talk to me,” Tess said, covering Lydia’s hand with hers to still its motion. “I can’t…not right now. Tell me about your work.”

  She felt Lydia’s shrug. “Okay. Whatever will help you. So, I’ve been drafting a proposal for a noise ordinance…”