Lexington Connection by M. E. Logan Page A

through town and meeting up with Jessie, usually at the Bungalow; Jessie with her little black bag with a change of clothes and whatever else she needed waiting for her in the Jeep, and then they went off to wherever Diana had rooms this trip, spending a great deal of time in bed. Diana marveled at her luck. Jessie was almost always available, maybe not the whole weekend but some of it. No one had ever held her attention this long much less this intensely. Sooner or later, with everyone else, there had been questions, demands, wanting more and Diana would disappear. Jessie did none of this. She asked no questions, volunteered few things about her life. She seemed quite content with Diana dropping into her life for a weekend here and there and then disappearing for weeks on end. Her only indication that she enjoyed Diana’s attention was a folded piece of paper she handed Diana with her phone number.
    “Here,” she said, her dark eyes direct. “Call me when you get to town next time. I may not make it down to the bar.”
    “All right,” Diana had said. She tucked the number in her wallet but hadn’t given her number in exchange. She was smitten but she still wasn’t ready to take chances.
    This came at the end of a good weekend. Jessie had taken Diana on a personal tour of the horse farm, white fences, long low barns. Diana had decided springtime in Lexington was a beautiful time of the year, the grass really was blue. The white board fences looked fantastic against the fields and watching the long-legged new colts and fillies discovering grass and trying out their spider legs was a public relations dream. Jessie had been very much at home as she led Diana through pastures and fields. Then she had taken her to a secluded spot, and pulled out the picnic basket and blanket from the back of the Jeep.
    “Well, aren’t you a wonder,” Diana marveled. “It’s been ages since I’ve been on a picnic.”
    “Ages for me too,” Jessie replied. She handed over the blanket for Diana to spread as she pulled out the small cooler, retrieved the bottle of wine, the chilled wineglasses.
    “Oh, aren’t we doing this in style?” Diana sat on the blanket, watching her lover pour the wine. Jessie just got better and better. “You are a treasure.” She took the glass of wine, tasted, nodded in appreciation. “I don’t understand why you’re still fancy free. Why someone hasn’t snapped you up. Not that I’m complaining—I love the time we spend together. But, Jessie, even at the risk of shooting myself in the foot, you deserve to be appreciated full time.”
    There was a ripple of discomfort, of closure across Jessie’s face and she busied herself emptying the picnic basket. She only looked up when Diana laid her hand on Jessie’s forearm.
    “I didn’t mean to pry. You are just so good, not just in bed. You’re thoughtful, considerate. You’re beautiful.” She smiled at Jessie’s flushing. “I can’t imagine there is no one out there trying to win you.” She turned over Jessie’s hand, bent down and kissed her palm. “I’ve seen women fall over you at the bar. You like the solitary life?”
    Jessie pulled away and went back to the picnic basket. Diana watched her, seeing the unease, the discomfort. It was the first time she had seen Jessie uncomfortable and as much as she regretted saying anything that might spoil their time together, she was curious. “Jessie?”
    “I don’t live alone, I’m not solitary,” Jessie said abruptly. “I live with my dad, with my little sister.” She looked up at Diana as if seeing how she took that information. She sat down cross-legged on the other side of the picnic basket. She took a gulp of wine, set it down on the closed portion of the picnic basket. “I know, you’re wondering why a woman of my age is still living with her dad instead of having her own place.”
    “No,” Diana answered quickly. “Not at all. I still live with my dad. We’re very close. Rather