Table Of ContentHer lips were incredibly soft and oh, so arousing. Shann felt
weak, as though only Angie’s touch was holding her together as she
drowned in the velvety softness of her mouth. Angie drew back a
little, and Shann swayed toward her. She nuzzled Angie’s bottom
lip, teased it delicately between her teeth, and sucked it gently.
Then she drew back again and Angie took Shann’s guitar and leant
it against the wall before kissing Shann again. She ran her tongue
tip over Shann’s lips, paused at the corner of her mouth, then
sought the sweetness within. Shann moaned softly, at least Shann
thought it was her. But it might have been Angie. Then they were
straining together, their kiss deepening, breast to breast, stomach
to stomach, thighs to thighs. Shann slid her hands inside Angie’s
denim jacket, her fingers luxuriating in the smooth warmth of
Angie’s skin. Eventually they drew slightly apart again, both
breathing raggedly.
“I don’t think I could have gone another night without doing
that,” Angie said thickly.
“I thought it was only me,” Shann managed to get out.
Angie gave a soft, throaty laugh. “Oh, no. Believe me. It wasn’t
just you.” She slid her fingers into Shann’s hair, cradling her face,
and kissed her slowly, deeply, again.
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AAllwwaayyss
AND
Forever
Lyn
Denison
2010
Copyright© 2006 by Lyn Denison
Bella Books, Inc.
P.O. Box 10543
Tallahassee, FL 32302
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or
mechanical, including photocopying, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper
First Edition
Editor: Anna Chinappi
Cover designer: Sandy Knowles
ISBN-13: 978-1-59493-049-2
For Glenda, my LT
And
For Lorelle F
cousin and friend
and the very best supporter
of women’s literature and music
You are greatly missed by us all
About the Author
Lyn Denison lives in a renovated old “Queenslander” house in
Brisbane, the capital of Queensland, Australia’s Sunshine
State. Before becoming a writer Lyn was a librarian. Lyn and
Glenda, her partner of eighteen years, enjoy reading, modern
country music and traveling. Lyn is also obsessive about scrap-
booking, but she can’t convince Glenda to get involved in that.
CHAPTER ONE
“What if they don’t like me?”
Shann drew her not so comfortable thoughts back to the pres-
ent. She turned sideways in the stationary car and looked at the
young boy in the passenger seat beside her.
“What’s not to like?” She touched his upturned nose with its
sprinkling of light freckles. “Cute nose. Big blue eyes. Trendy
hairdo. Definitely Mel Gibson material. They’ll love you.”
Corey grinned. “I think you’re a bit prejudiced, Mum.”
“You think so?” Shann took a bite of her sandwich.
“I reckon.” He sobered. “I hope they do like me, though.”
“They will.” Shann forced her own disquiet aside. She desper-
ately hoped they would accept her son. For Corey’s sake. He was
the innocent party in the total mess she’d made of her life back
then. He was only nine, or almost ten, as Corey would remind her,
and there was no need to burden him with the intricacies of the
dysfunctional Delaney clan. Well, they weren’t all dysfunctional,
but those who were did a pretty good job of it.
1
“Tell me about them again.” Corey munched on his apple.
“Oh, love, I’ve often talked about them,” she began, and Corey
gave a disbelieving laugh.
“Yeah, right, Mum. I didn’t even know I had a grandfather until
Aunty Liz came down that first time.”
“Your aunt first saw you the day after you were born.”
“Well, when I first remembered,” he emphasized, “her visiting
us.”
Shann sighed. “Corey, there’s a lot of stuff that goes on in fam-
ilies, most of it good, but sometimes, some’s not so good. Before
you were born, well, there was some bad feeling between your
grandfather and me.”
“Like you were pregnant with me and not married to my dad?”
Shann hesitated, not wanting to think about that time, about
the pain of it all. “Your grandfather was,” she paused again, “disap-
pointed I wasn’t married.”
“Didn’t he know you were a lesbian?”
“Not exactly. And I’d rather we just kept that for discussion
between ourselves while we’re visiting. Okay?”
“You mean you haven’t told them?”
“Not in so many words,” Shann said.
Corey regarded her levelly. “Why not?”
“Things were, well,” she made a helpless gesture with her hand,
“they were different then.”
Corey shrugged. “But it’s who you are. Can’t they see that?”
“Not everyone’s as open-minded as my wonderful son,” she
said and gave him a hug. “And you know I told you some people
don’t understand about all that.”
“Yeah.” Corey nodded. “But I still don’t see what all the fuss is
about. You’re pretty neat no matter what, and even if I could I
wouldn’t swap you for a different mother. Honest. Not even a
really, really rich one,” he added with a cheeky grin.
“I’m glad you wouldn’t, you old smoothie.” Shann ran her hand
over his spiky dark hair. “Besides, you lucky guy, you’re stuck with
me.”
2
“I know.” Corey gave a theatrical sigh. “I’m just making the
most of it.”
Shann chuckled.
“So, Mum. Maybe they, the family, I mean, were confused
because you were with my dad. Do you think?”
Shann almost choked on her mouthful of sandwich. “Maybe
they were,” she finally agreed feebly. What could she say in the
face of that sort of logic?
“So tell me about them again,” Corey persisted. “Who’ll be
there, besides Aunty Liz and Amy?”
“Well, Aunt Liz will be in the hospital for a while, so we’ll be
looking after the house for her and Uncle Rhys and your cousins,
Gerard and Amy.”
“And Grandpa with his hip replacement?”
Shann nodded. “And your grandfather. Ruth, my stepmother, is
away in England visiting her mother.”
“Will Aunty Liz be okay?” Corey frowned. “I mean, it must be
pretty serious this operation she’s having.”
“It is a fairly big operation so she’ll need some time to recuper-
ate. That’s where we come in. We’ll be chief cooks and bottle
washers.”
“There aren’t any kids my age, are there?”
“No. Amy’s fifteen, but you got on pretty well with her when
she came down with your aunt last year. Gerard’s seventeen, and
he’ll be tied up with his schoolwork I’d imagine so we probably
won’t see much of him.”
“And Uncle Pat’s not coming home?”
Shann’s brother Pat and his wife and daughter had called in to
see them on their last visit home. Pat had worked overseas for the
Australian Embassy since he finished university. He’d met and
married his wife in London and their only daughter had been born
in Canada.
“I like Uncle Pat. He’s funny.” Corey laughed. “He told some
great jokes.”
Shann smiled. “He was always like that. The family jester.” Pat
3
