Read The Cost of Commitment - KJ2 for Free Online

a.m., Kate sneaked back up the stairs to their bedroom. Quietly, she slipped back under the covers, Jay immediately molding herself to her side. Kate savored the feeling of warmth and love that suffused her for the fifteen minutes left before the alarm was set to go off. Reaching over, she shut it off before it buzzed, preferring a more personal method of awakening her partner.
    “Mm.” Jay rolled over on top of Kate, who was busy peppering her bare shoulder with gentle kisses. “Now this is the way to wake up in the morning.” She smiled down at Kate, her expression morphing into a frown when she noticed the dark circles under Kate’s normally sharp eyes. “Did you get any sleep at all?”
    “A little.”
    “Maybe we should skip the workout and run this morning. You could sleep in a little longer.”
    “Nah, I’m okay. Besides, today is Friday. I’ll rest over the weekend, I promise.”
    “Where have I heard that before, Katherine?”
    In one smooth motion, Kate rose from the bed, carrying Jay with her and standing them both upright. “Let’s get a move on, Scoop; I’ve got to be in the office early and you’ve got a 6:30 a.m. train to catch.”
    “Killjoy,” Jay groused affectionately.
    Within minutes, both women were in the basement, having donned cutoff sleeveless T-shirts and short gym shorts. They selected Nautilus machines at opposite ends of the circuit and began their morning workout routine. For the next hour, they sweated and grunted in relative silence, the only sounds in the room emanating from a television mounted strategically on the wall where it was visible from every angle.

    Lynn Ames

    “Do you really think Jaclyn should have married Dennis Cole? I mean, he’s certainly a handsome guy, but look at what a lousy actor he was.”
    “Face it, Jamison, you’re just jealous of him.”
    “Heck yeah.”
    They moved over to the side-by-side treadmills Kate had installed to prevent overzealous paparazzi from snapping pictures of her and Jay as they went out on their daily five-mile run. They both hated having to run indoors, but, for the moment, it seemed like the best solution.
    “I remember when I first started watching Charlie’s Angels . I always felt like it was a guilty pleasure. You know, so many scantily clad, beautiful women, so little time.”
    “Now look at you, Kate, every episode on tape, fast-forwarding through the commercials to get more time with your girls. You’ve turned into a complete letch.”
    “I don’t hear you complaining, Parker.”
    “Nope. No complaints here.”
    Their treadmills chalked up the first mile.
    Kate asked, “What’s going on with your story? You don’t seem too enthusiastic about it.”
    “I don’t know, love, lately it feels like all I’ve been writing about is corporate sludge. I’m just a bit restless, I think.”
    “Okay.” Kate thought about it. “Why don’t you pitch Trish a story that you really want to write?” When Jay looked at her with a raised eyebrow, she continued, “Well, why not? You’ve got the clout now; she’s got you writing a cover story every other week. Maybe it’s time to leverage your value a little.”
    Jay pondered the idea. “What would I want to write, if I had my choice?”
    “It seems to me you most enjoy the stories that have a human angle.
    Something with depth.”
    “That’s true.”
    “You know, when I was traveling through the Navajo and Hopi reservations near Four Corners...” Kate glanced sideways when she heard the pained sigh. Even all these months later, Jay studiously avoided any mention of their brief separation. Kate reached over, brushing her fingers lightly along Jay’s arm. “I had an opportunity to talk with their healers.
    Their approaches to medicine are so spiritual, so different from our scientific bent.” It was as if they could feel my emotional pain and wanted to heal it.
    “More holistic, you mean.”

    The Cost of Commitment

    “Yeah. It’s like they treat the