CHAPTER 14

Xoxo

Lena rocked Callie following her latest nightmare. It was always the same. The monster with the glowing eyes had come and taken her Mommy away. Now she was scared it was going to come back for the rest of them.

The accident had been months ago and they were all still healing. Lena had quickly gotten them into an established routine but that didn't stem the emotional tides within either of them. Callie had been having these nightmares off and on ever since. It was the reason Lena had transferred both kids into her bedroom.

Truth be told Lena battled nightmares of her own. And having her kids close to her helped her as well as them.

She was finally able to get Callie back down. She then had to take some sleep aids in order to try and get a few hours more of sleep. At least they suppressed dreaming. Thankfully, they were fast acting and she was able to fade to black.

Xoxo coco xoxo

Another weekend and Lena and the kids were on their way to another beach dinner party. For once, her sister Lisa actually had the weekend off. Lena had always tried to follow everything that her sister did. She was happy to be able to spend sometime with her.

Everyone Lena cared about was going to be there. Her parents, Timothy and his parents, her sister and her family, Jenna and her family, and now Sharon and her family. Lena loved that her circle of friends was expanding out.

They got to the beach and of course Sharon, Stef, and Brandon were already there. They lived there!

They got out and Brandon raced over to say hello to Callie. Stef walked over to help Lena carry Jude and their supplies up to the spot they had picked out for everyone. The two kids raced past her back over to where Sharon was.

"Well hello to you too!" Stef called after them laughing. She looked over at Lena. "Hi. How're ya?" Stef smiled at Lena.

Lena gave her a small hug and a smile. "I'm good. You?"

Lena's hugging was something that still took Stef's breath away. The fact that Stef could see a white bikini through her cover up didn't help matters either. Her body had certainly snapped back fast after the baby.

Stef had to take a breath in order to collect her thoughts. "Fine. Fine. I'm good. How's the little man?" she asked hoping to get the attention off of her. Stef reached in and started to pull his carrier out of the car. If there was anything she'd learned about Lena, it was that her kids were her number one priority. And she loved talking about them which was great for Stef because she loved watching and hearing her talk.

Sure enough Lena burst into a huge smile while she looked over at him. "He's amazing as always. I see he loves flirting with you shamelessly," she said laughing as she watched the two of them greet each other with smiles and baby talk back and forth.

Stef picked up the diaper bag and let Lena get the rest as she trudged over to their designated spot. She put the carrier down next to her chair and pulled him out of it and onto her lap. The two of them were still babbling to one another as Lena sat her and Callie's chairs next to one another.

"You're so good with him." Lena was leaning on her knees smiling at them. "Did you ever think of having another?"

"Oh my god, no," Stef said quickly. "I love my son but I'm also definitely done in that department. I can't wait for menopause."

Lena giggled. "I wouldn't rule out another one for me." Lena chewed on her lower lip. "Maybe if I met the right woman."

Lena was twirling around her wedding ring. Stef reached over and stopped her hands. Lena looked over at her in surprise.

Before either of them could say anything, Lisa and her family arrived. They were followed shortly by Jenna and her family and then Lena's parents along with Timothy's.

"Hey, hey, hey, the party's all here." Timothy said as he walked up with a cooler and his grill.

The kids were all playing in the sand. Everyone else was lounging and talking about nothing.

Lisa had planted herself a spot beside her little sister. She looked over at Stef holding Jude and Lena playing with his fingers. The two of them sure looked cozy. Lena offered to get everyone drinks and walked over to the cooler before getting stopped by her Mom on the way back.

Lisa watched as Stef's eyes followed Lena as she walked to the cooler. Then she looked down at Jude and gave him a kiss before moving her eyes back over to Lena. "So, Stef, I hear you're a police officer."

"Yes I am. I have been on the force for 6 years. I'm a legacy. My father was a police officer." Stef smiled and continued bouncing Jude on her knee.

"Lena abhors violence. But, I wouldn't mind if whoever hit them would end up in the cell with a muscle builder who hasn't seen a woman in years."

Stef turned red and looked down. Did she know? Stef had never taken Mike's name and Lena had never mentioned anything when she had enrolled Brandon for school. She told herself it was just random talk but the fact that her sister had hit pretty close to home brought all of Stef's guilt to the forefront.

Lisa had seen the flush but thought that there were different reasons for it. She opened her mouth but before she could speak Lena was back with the drinks.

"There's some pretty heavy clouds pulling in over there. As above, so below. I think we need to keep the kids out of the water." Lena observed pointing to the sky and water on her way back.

The women looked out over the water. Huge black clouds were rolling in. And the water below was starting to churn. They shouted a warning to the kids. The kids went back to building sandcastles farther inland. The adults went back to chatting.

"Don't worry." Stef piped up. "If they get any worse, we'll just have to turn this into an inside party."

The women chatted for a while more. They kept their eyes on the clouds and when the water began to pull closer into shore they decided to call it. They called in the kids, collected their things, and went down to Sharon's beach house.

Timothy set up the grill and began putting dinner together with Lena's Father Stuart and his Father Oz. The kids were allowed to play outside as long as they stayed close. The women lounged around on the deck.

Finally, Lisa got the chance to spend some alone time with her sister. "So, what's going on with the two of you?"

Lena looked at her confused, "The two of who?"

"You and Stef," she nodded her head to where the blonde was rocking Jude and cuddling with him. She was lightly stroking her finger across his head and humming to him.

Lena was a little affronted. "There is no me and Stef," she huffed. "My wife hasn't been gone long."

"She certainly looks like there's a two of you."

Lena rolled her eyes. "If you accuse everyone who holds Jude of there being a two of us, then I guess I'm being wild and loose through my baby." Lena was miffed. Where was her sister coming up with this stuff?

"What are you getting so upset about? It was a harmless question." Lisa's head was cocked to the side as she studied her sister. Lena's lips were drawn tight and she was working at her wedding ring. Her leg was bouncing up and down rapidly. She had a little flush in her cheeks showing that the question had her worked up. Lisa put her hand on Lena's arm and drew her close to her.

"And there's no shame if it is." She kissed her head. Then she wiped the tears that were silently falling down Lena's face. "We all know how much you loved Raquel. So did she. But, she is gone now. And she has been for a few months now. And moving on isn't cheating on her. You know if anything happened to her, she'd want you to continue to live your life. You don't have to be a grieving widow forever."

"I know that. But, I'm not ready," Lena said as she wiped at her face.

Lisa shrugged at Lena. "The heart wants what it wants. And sometimes, letting love in helps heal a breaking heart faster." She pulled her sister in for a big hug. "You're not dead yet." She kissed her and rubbed her hands up and down her arms. "I love you."

"I love you too." The two hugged again. Lena looked over at Stef who was still playing with Jude. She chewed on her lower lip thinking over what Lisa had said.

She and Raquel had talked about this. Of course it was all meant to be conjecture. What would happen if the other one was left alone. Of course their kids would be taken care of first. But, they also wanted happiness for the other. They didn't want them to be a lonely grieving widow forever. They promised one another to celebrate the life and times they had together and not drown in sorrow over what was lost.

Stef was a beautiful woman. She had an athletic build. Her entire body was toned and firm. But, she had small graceful hands. That is if chubby hands could be called graceful. Still, the way she moved those hands were sometimes captivating.

Plus, she was quick-witted and funny. She was so smart. She loved playing it down for some confusing reason to Lena. Smart and beautiful were turn-ons for Lena.

Stef's wide hazel eyes met Lena's brown ones and she smiled. Lena smiled back and waved. Then she turned around. She looked down at her wedding ring. She wasn't ready yet.

"Anyway, Stef is straight. She's got a husband somewhere." Lena wasn't all caught up on the particulars but Sharon had said something about Stef not having filed for divorce yet.

"She doesn't seem too straight. She's checked you out a few times now." Lisa laughed at the shock on Lena's face. "Have you seen you? You could make any straight woman drool."

Lena ignored her sister. She walked over to Jenna and Kelly and struck up a conversation with them. All the while, working the things her sister had said to her in the back of her head.