More Than Friends by Erin Dutton Read Free Book Online

could still appreciate an attractive man, but when it came to relationships, she wanted to be with a woman.
    Her relationship history was still a disaster—short-lived love affairs that burned out once the sex was no longer exciting and regular. She couldn’t always blame the other woman, but she didn’t shoulder all of the responsibility either. Still, she expected things would change when she met the right woman. She hoped her grand romance, her love-at-first-sight-across-a-crowded-room moment was still out there.
    For now, she intended to support Kendall through this breakup.
    “Are you going to work today?” She didn’t think their sergeant would buy illness as an excuse for too much longer. And she hated the evasive answers she recited when the other guys kept asking after Kendall’s health.
    Kendall shrugged. “Stay home with me. We’ll catch a movie or something.”
    “Can’t.” She snagged another piece of bacon from the plate Kendall had pushed away. “I have court, two cases in General Sessions. Actually, I have to get ready soon so I can go in early. You have to go back eventually. Tuesday is as good a day as any to make a fresh start.”
    “Maybe tomorrow—”
    “Nope. Today.” She took Kendall’s hand and guided her from the stool and down the hallway toward the bedrooms. “Maybe work will help occupy your mind for a while. It can’t be good to spend so much time alone. I’m giving you a few more hours for this pity party, and then I expect you to take a shower and get your butt to the precinct. I’ll meet up with you when I get out of court.”
    She nudged Kendall in the direction of the guest bedroom, then went to her own room to get ready for work.
     
    *
     
    Melanie hefted several patches of sod from a large pallet at the edge of the driveway. She crossed the lawn to the end of a completed row, passing two other members of her team on the way, and placed the new pieces, carefully adjusting the seams. As she returned to the pallet, her mind began to wander to Kendall but she snapped it back. She wondered how Kendall was coping but had decided not to call or text. Though their relationship had been nearing an end, she had been the one to sever their lifeline and now she had to give Kendall space.
    In the meantime, she distracted herself by working. She labored alongside her crew, digging trenches, running wires for landscape lighting, and laying sod. By the time she went home each night, her shirt soaked through with sweat and streaked with dirt, she had only enough energy left for a quick shower before she crawled into bed. The grueling pace meant she would finish this job several days ahead of schedule. She’d promised her crew a long weekend before they headed to the next site.
    “Take a break, guys,” she called after they’d emptied another pallet of sod. She pulled a bandana from her back pocket and wiped her forehead, then grabbed her water bottle and took several long swallows.
    Leaning against the door of her truck, she surveyed today’s progress. The lawn sloped gradually down from the front of the house, giving way to a circular drive and a gated exterior. Her crew had added several walkways connecting the house, the four-stall garage, and the driveway. At the owners’ request, they’d installed an opulent fountain in the middle of the drive. The gold-gilded cherubs spewing water into the center of a round pool would not have been her choice for the space, and she still winced when she looked at them. But accepting the piece afforded her the luxury of a large budget and free rein over the rest of the yard. She’d worked in the sculpture as well as possible, distracting from it with gorgeous, elegant flowers and carved marble benches.
    “It’s really shaping up,” Lucas, her most trusted employee, said as he came to stand next to her. “Other than that god-awful fountain, I mean.”
    She laughed. “It really is horrible.”
    “Money doesn’t buy taste.” He