Friday night dinner had shifted to Caroline's, who was celebrating the freedom of an empty house by cooking Gillian dinner. Flora was in Manchester with Greg and his mum for the night, and Celia and Alan had gone away for a mucky weekend so she had the house to herself for the night.

The rack of lamb was in the oven and she was just adding the cheese to the potatoes dauphinoise when she heard Gillian knock on the door and let herself in.

"In here Gillian," she called out as she popped the dish in the oven beside the lamb.

Gillian walked into the kitchen with a nice bottle of red and dropped her car keys and the wine on the table. She'd made an effort tonight, wearing the green dress that showed off her eyes and flattered her figure. She always felt good in it. She wanted to feel good tonight. She wanted Caroline to see her tonight.

Caroline straightened up, checking out the vision in green in front of her. "Well, don't you look great. I like that dress on you." Caroline's eyes were shiny as she peered at Gillian over the top of her glasses with a very s*xy head teacher look about her.

The fact that Caroline's eyes had travelled up and down her body was not lost on Gillian. Gillian shifted to open the wine, hoping the movement would hide any signs of the blush that was starting up her neck. She ignored the compliment and the almost ogling that accompanied it, enjoying it but not quite knowing what to do with it as yet.

"The chap at the bottle shop said this was a good one. I'm hoping you like it. I know you prefer it to breathe a bit, so we can have it later if you like."

"I've got a nice little Bordeaux open, so let's start with that." Caroline poured Gillian a glass and handed it to her. "So how are you? Everything okay on the farm?"

"Yep. The ewes haven't started lambing yet, but some are getting close. It'll be another month or so. The barn's ready for them and this week I installed floor heating under the lambing stalls. Poor beggars, last year it were so cold for the early lambs. It'll be warmer for them this time around."

"So how does that all work, the lambing?"

Gillan wondered if she was really interested, but Caroline seemed to be attentive. "I go 'round 'em two or three times a day and look for any signs they're close and then get 'em into the barn to keep an eye on 'em. That way I can help if they have problems with the birth, or with the lambs attaching for their first feed. Swaledale ewes are great mums so after that they're usually fine." She rather liked lambing even though it was a lot of work. Seeing the little ones flicking their tails with excitement when they fed was such a joy. Worth it for all the sleepless nights that came with it.

"That sounds like a lot of work. How do you manage with your shifts at the supermarket?"

"Raff helps out. He's great actually. I think that's where he gets his interest in medicine. At least he's not following his dad into bikes and boozing."

"I don't know that I'd be of much assistance, but let me know if I can help."

Caroline was imagining the provision of tea and sandwiches rather than anything sheep related, but Gillian grinned at the thought of Caroline in the barn in her posh clothes covered in placenta and straw. "Thanks for the offer. I'll keep you in mind."

"So what's been happening with you? Settling into the new job?" Gillian took a seat at the long, sturdy wooden table, watching Caroline prepare the greens. Topping and tailing the beans had never looked so s*xy, with those strong fingers and forearms flexing and moving at speed. She was trying not to imagine those fingers doing other things.

"It's going well actually. It's only been a month or so but I'm making a few changes and things are starting to shift. I've implemented a new program to tackle bullying and I'm really hoping that will help reduce some of the fighting in the yard and with any luck, increase attendance. It's more comprehensive than the last program. The first sessions involve educating the staff before we run it out to the students in the coming months."

"That's a great idea. I hope it works." She took another sip and asked the question she really wanted the answer to. "So, have you seen the enchantress recently?"

Caroline's head popped up, motion stopped while she examined Gillian to ascertain some sort of context for the question. "I've passed her in the corridor, if that's what you mean. Nothing other than that."

"So no more shenanigans in the wind then?"

"Nope. And there won't be. It won't happen again." She started working on the beans again. She smiled. "It was fun, but I learnt what I needed and I don't have any wish to repeat it."

There was a pause in the conversation while they both took that in. Caroline wanted to change the topic and latched onto the only thing that came quickly to mind.

"Oh, this is good. You'll like this."

"Do tell..."

"I've started seeing a psychologist. Can you imagine me talking to someone about my life? Ha! Decades wouldn't sort that mess out." Caroline chuckled as she shook her head and Gillian nearly choked on her wine.

"What! You? Good god Caz, what would you want to do that for?"

"I know. I promised Lawrence that I would go, so..." Her hands stopped again. "Actually, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. It might be quite interesting." She looked at Gillian and then started cutting the cherry tomatoes.

"You don't have to tell me, but I'm dying to know. What was it like?"

"She just asks a lot of questions, which is what I thought she'd do. On my first visit, I was in the waiting room and I don't know why the colours were so offensive, but it was horrid. I can understand the idea of calming simplicity for a waiting room, but this was an explosion of discount Mediterranean kitsch. It made me doubt the ability of the psychologists who worked there."

"Of course it did." Gillian was thinking she was being a snotty bitch but Caroline blithely carried on.

"She is quite good, I think. She had short hair, so I wondered if she was a lesbian."

Gillian rolled her eyes. "Caz, not every woman with short hair is a dyke."

Caroline looked a bit offended. She really hated that word. "I know. I just wondered, that's all."

Gillian snorted. "Your gaydar is broken. You really have no idea unless someone makes a pass at you, do you."

Caroline huffed, even though she thought Gillian was probably right. She sprinkled sesame seeds over the beans and tomatoes and popped the small dish in the oven, checking on the lamb in the process. "Dinner's on and will be ready in 20. Let's go into the other room with the fire."

.

.

After dinner Gillian and Caroline were happily ensconced in the deep couch in front of the fire. Well into the second bottle of wine, they were both passing through merry on their way to meaningful, hoping to stop before they got to messy.

"So tell me more about the psychologist?"

Gillian was fascinated about the inner workings of this complex woman and any information was eagerly hoarded. She'd been observing her avidly for a while now, looking for clues as to how she worked and what she liked. Who she liked. She had met Olga for the first time when her dad and Celia were in the amateur dramatic society play a month ago. Olga was tall, dark and beautiful but it was clear that Caroline was over her. When Olga kissed Caroline, it was like watching a car crash. Gillian didn't want to see it, but she was sitting in the row behind them and couldn't take her eyes off it. Mesmerised, she watched their lips meet, wanting to be Olga, wanting to know what it would be like to be Caroline's lover. She'd replayed it over and over again in her head during the last few weeks. It was frustrating and delicious at the same time and all too easy to get lost in the memory. She sighed and brought herself back to the couch and to Caroline's visit to the therapist.

While Gillian was replaying that kiss, Caroline was thinking about what she'd discussed in the two sessions and what she'd learned about herself. It had been interesting but agonising. Caroline was pretty good at working out other people and their motivations, but was often blind when it came to her own, and she hated dealing with her own feelings. The fact she'd stacked on the weight of her feelings for the last two years was something she wasn't prepared to examine, let alone discuss with anyone, despite Celia's carping.

"We talked about a lot of things. Kate came up, as you'd expect and the psychologist has given me some exercises to help manage the grief." She paused, gazing into the fire with that far away look that Gillian suspected meant that Caroline was communing with the dead. "There are times when I look at Flora and it slays me because I know she's growing up not knowing Kate. I'm losing my memory of her, bit by bit, so its getting harder to tell Flora about her mother. I can't even remember what Kate smells like..." Caroline stopped suddenly, the sense of loss washing over her.

Gillian sat next to her quietly. She picked up Caroline's hand and started stroking it tenderly. She waited for the story to continue.

"And we talked about Olga. I'd never thought of my relationship with her as healing, but really, that's what was in some ways. She helped me to deal with the grief. She helped me to see sunshine again, even if it was in brief bursts." She paused, reflecting on her time with Olga. "I'll write her a letter one day, thanking her. Not yet, but soon."

Caroline gazed into the fire, lost in thought. Most of the second session they'd talked about Gillian, when it had become apparent that Gillian was now central to Caroline's wellbeing. She relied on her as a friend and as a confident. There was no one else she could really talk to honestly, and even that she didn't do very often. The counsellor had helped clarify a lot of this for Caroline, but god she found it hard.

More recently Caroline had started noticing Gillian in other ways too, ways that were less convenient considering the farmer was her sister-in-law. Sure, they weren't related by blood, but it was going to get awkward if she acted on her attraction. So much for her recent understanding of how important s*x was to her, she thought. Life could be cruel sometimes.

Coming out of her reverie, Caroline looked down at her hand in Gillian's, as if she'd just noticed that Gillian was touching her. Her hand curled and her thumb started to stroke the back of Gillian's hand. Neither of them said anything while they watched their hands move and caress.

Caroline's heart was beating faster, feeling like this was a moment to remember. She looked up to see Gillian gazing at her with a look so open and so tender that it pierced through Caroline's shell and her heart felt like it stopped, just for a beat.

Caroline swallowed. "I didn't know you felt like this."

Gillian's voice was quiet. "I have for a while." She looked into her eyes and felt completely exposed, like Caroline could see into her soul, could see everything.

Desire flared through Caroline's body and her lips parted. She had a driving need to touch Gillian, to taste her. She slowly brought Gillian's hand to her mouth and kissed the back of it, relishing the feel of it. It was overtly s*xual and Gillian's breathing hitched.

Gillian was just about having an out of body experience. Here was her precious Caroline, rich blonde hair and soft lips tasting her weather-beaten farmer's skin. She wanted to sear the image into her brain so she would never forget it.

Caroline turned Gillian's hand and kissed the palm, lips brushing over the skin. Exploring the farmer's strong hand, Caroline sensuously pushed her tongue between the webbing of the fingers before drawing two of them into her mouth and sucking them. She was rewarded with a gasp from Gillian. She pulled Gillian's fingers from her mouth and gently bit the sensitive webbing near the thumb before sucking it to sooth it.

It was driving Gillian mad. She had no idea she could be so turned on by this. She couldn't remember anyone ever focusing so intently on one of her hands before. It was very er*tic. She put her other hand on the couch to steady herself.

Caroline raised her head, looking intently onto Gillian's eyes. "Is this really what you want? I don't ever want to do something you don't want."

"Yes." Clearly stated and without qualification, Gillian looked at Caroline with open desire. "I want this. I want you."

Caroline was compelled to explore Gillian's body, to know her physically. "I want to touch you. To taste you."

"It's going to get complicated."

"I don't care."

Caroline kissed the inside of Gillian's wrist, using her tongue to increase the warmth of the touch. She was in full seduction mode, no longer rational as desire had so completely flooded her brain. She moved to Gillian's neck, placing wet kisses over the pulsing carotid. She brushed her lips over Gillian's cheek and when she reached her ear, she whispered, "You're intoxicating."

Gillian moaned and lunged, taking Caroline by surprise. Before she knew it Gillian was straddling her thighs, holding her face in both hands and kissing the hell out of her. She slid her hands up Gillian's dress and grabbed her arse, clutching on for dear life. She was completely lost in this kiss, with no longer any sense of her or Gillian or the world at large. She was just sensation. Just this sensation.

Gillian sat up, gasping for air, Caroline's face still in her hands. They sat there for a moment, staring at each other, mouths open and breathless, not quite believing that this was happening.

Gillian leaned forward to kiss Caroline gently on the lips. "You are so beautiful." She brushed the blonde hair from Caroline's face, murmuring, "so beautiful," as she kissed along her forehead, nose and down to her mouth again.

There is another 2700 words in this chapter, so please go to the M version of this fic for the rest of the chapter.