Chapter 9

Kira woke up at the crack of dawn. The weak sunlight barely shone through the blinds. She sat up, tenting her knees under the covers. It had been her intention to think about yesterday and relationships, but she felt odd, heavy. Was she coming down with something? Abruptly, she was out of bed, dipping into her overnight bag and getting things from her drawer and closing the bathroom door tight behind her.

Sure enough, not only was she now a teenager, but a woman as well. She put the panties she’d worn to bed last night in the sink to soak, along with some dish soap that her mom recommended that did a good job getting blood out. Ten minutes later, she was once again ensconced on her bed. Her mom had been right: you just never knew when they would start, and you always had to be ready.

She contemplated her feelings of the last days. Once upon a time, Taylor Ford had kissed her hand. It made her feel older, more adult, but it hadn’t been the least bit romantic. She’d seen how the policeman looked at her and had been curious but didn’t understand, at least then, why he’d done what he’d done.

Her fellow conducting student, Richard, had kissed her on her cheek. So had Jan. She had thought they were just faux kisses like she got sometimes from older women. Dancing with Irene ... she’d felt something. She hadn’t even been sure she felt something and hadn’t understood it. She’d danced with Linda. At first, feeling something like when she’d danced with Irene, then the second dance, it had been clear she really liked Linda.

She sniffed in derision at herself. Linda and Irene, each in their own way, had excited her. Honestly, not much, but that’s what she’d felt. She had joked about having needed to have paid more attention in the sex ed classes on relationships, but it was true. Truer than she had wanted to admit to herself. She contemplated Linda for a minute and her desire for Kira to play a benefit for her concert mistress. She’d said yes, very fast. Had that choice been influenced by how she felt about Linda?

One of the stronger voices among the trees came into her head. “Gifts such as yours need to be shared.”

She started to get up to call home and see if she could ... then sat back down on her bed almost at once. It was summertime. Arizona didn’t do daylight savings, so at this time of year, there was a three-hour difference between them. It was only a little after five in the morning. She was reasonably sure she didn’t want to ask for something like this a little after two in the morning back home. Tonight, after nine. Rachael said they needed to check with Taylor Ford — that could come earlier. And there would be plenty of opportunity to opportune Mr. Williams during the day.