Thicker Than Water

Chapter

Eleven

KERRY HAD NEVER been so glad to get on a damn airplane.

She settled into her seat with a long, relieved sigh and put her head against the leather headrest, closing her eyes and willing the plane up and gone. Dar took the seat next to her, and Kerry found herself mildly resenting the fact that they were in first class, where there were those stupid console arms between the seats.

She wanted to get rid of hers and curl up in Dar’s arms for a nap.

She regarded the lighting controls with a feeling of mild embarrassment at the thought, reminding herself that she was a grown up who had long ago left the need for a teddy bear and security blanket behind her. Hadn’t she?

Kerry kept her eyes closed as the flight attendant came by and listened as Dar’s low burr ordered them both drinks. Maybe it was just the whole situation finally getting to be too much. She sighed, wishing they were already home, wanting the normality of that back around her.

Even going back to work would be very welcome. Kerry opened one eye and peered at Dar. “What ever happened with that UPS?” She hadn’t gotten paged again on it, so she figured Dar had done something or other to clear the issue.

Dar looked up from her Skymall magazine. “I threatened to cut off the cable feed to the city, and they got the replacement unit out in six hours. Hey, look, new toys. Want one?” Her long finger pointed at a page.

Kerry goggled at her. “Could you really do that?”

“Buy you a new toy? Sure,” Dar replied, then grinned. “Cut off their cable? We manage their head end facility, so yeah, if I wanted to get down and dirty enough, I could.” She dug into her pocket and removed her cell phone. “Now, do you like red or onyx?”

Kerry peered at the magazine. “Oo.” She pulled it closer. “A Swiss army knife for nerds? Does it have a…Oh, good grief, it 188 Melissa Good does. How cool.” She glanced up at Dar. “We should get these as Christmas gifts for Mark’s staff.”

Dar considered that. “Mm. Something they can actually use instead of a box of chocolates and a gift certificate to Wal-Mart?

Though, those are both useful. Sort of.” She waited for the cell phone to be answered, then crisply ordered a case of the knives in each color, sending the order taker into a mini ecstasy of delight.

“We should brand them and use them as pitch gimmicks, too.

Maybe if José’s really good, I’ll let him look at mine.”

“Why don’t you just get him one?” Kerry asked, flipping through the magazine with interest.

“It has sharp implements on it. I don’t want to be liable if he cuts his fingers off. Mariana would kill me,” Dar muttered as she completed her purchase and closed the phone. “See anything else you like?”

“Mm.” Kerry eyes wandered off the page and up to Dar.

“Yeah.” Then she chuckled, wet one fingertip, and rubbed a spot on Dar’s cheek. “Can’t take you anywhere, Paladar. Look at you with chocolate all over your face.”

“Shh.” Dar glanced at the row behind them, where her parents were settled. “Not so loud. You’ll get treated to an hour of stories about what I used to do with my food.”

“Oh really?” Kerry asked, in a much louder voice.

Blue eyes narrowed. “Kerrison.”

Kerry chuckled. “Ah. Why does that sound so different when you say it?” She exhaled and rested her head on the leather again, but half turned to keep Dar in view. “Boy, I’m glad we’re going home.”

“Yeah?” Dar gazed quietly at her. “Me, too.”

Kerry could see the strain around the edges of Dar’s eyes.

“You look tired.”

Dar sighed. “Those damn drugs.” She wearily rubbed her eyes. “Between that and what I’m taking them for, I just want to crawl into my damn waterbed and stay there for a day or so.”

“I can arrange for that,” Kerry said. “In fact, I can arrange for a nice hot water bottle for you to wrap around, too.” She was looking forward to seeing their home, and Chino, and settling down on the couch next to Dar with a cup of hot tea, leaving her family and Michigan and all that stood for behind her.

Kerry curled her fingers around Dar’s as their arms rested together on the center console. The touch was warm, and it felt good around her chilled hands. Dar gently rubbed her skin with her thumb, and Kerry felt a quiet lethargy steal over her.

Maybe she could doze off until they taxied.

Thicker Than Water 189

KERRY OPENED HER eyes, blinking them in confusion as she tried to reconcile her memories of the last few moments with what she was seeing. “Uh?”

“We’re about to land, hon.” Dar smiled, tucking the soft, blue blanket around her.

“Land?” Kerry asked, bewildered. “Did I...?” She glanced outside, seeing the distinctive skyline of Miami through the window. “Son of a… I slept the whole time?”

“Mmhm.” Dar stretched her body out then relaxed. She stifled a yawn, glad beyond reason to feel the tightening in her ear-drums as the large plane descended. After a few moments, the tires hit, the engines reversed, and they rolled to a halt on the long expanse of runway.

Home.

Dar’s entire body relaxed, and she unbuckled her seat belt, quite against the repeated injunctions of the cabin crew. Yes, she realized they were on an active taxiway. Yes, she realized the captain would turn off the seat belt sign when they were safely parked at the gate. Yes, she knew enough to open the overheads carefully because the stuff in them sure enough did tend to shift in flight.

Which was why flying in coach was so scary sometimes. Dar had watched in bemusement on more than one occasion while passengers shoved items no sane person would consider bringing onto an airplane into those aforementioned bins.

She smiled as she remembered a flight where an entire floral arrangement with large blown glass ornaments, being taken to a birthday party, had imploded in flight due to the pressure change.

They’d almost had to turn around and land before the rattled flight attendants had identified the sounds. And then the woman had threatened to sue the airline for destroying her centerpiece.

Dar shook her head. People were weird. She glanced out the window as flashing lights caught her attention and saw another plane surrounded by emergency vehicles. “Wonder what that’s all about?” She nudged Kerry, who was obediently gathering her personal belongings.

Kerry turned, leaned on the armrest, and peered out of the small window. “Hm. Mostly police, no fire rescue, could be anything. Maybe a hijack attempt?” She watched over her shoulder.

“Drugs. See the dogs?”

“Ah, we must be home.” Kerry smiled. “This is the only airport I’ve ever seen that on a regular basis.”

“Mm,” Dar acknowledged. “Guess we’ll read about it in tomorrow’s Herald.”

“Okay.” Kerry settled back as the plane turned to enter its 190 Melissa Good assigned gate area. “But you have to read me the comics first.”

She grinned as Dar gave her a look. They’d developed what was, to Kerry, a charming habit of diving through the morning paper for the cartoons, finding Dilbert first, of course, then sharing the others, and their respective horoscopes. That was after their run and shared shower, while the coffee was brewing for the drive to work.

Work. Kerry gazed pensively at the overhead. Would that schedule be changing? From what Dar said, it probably would.

But… She glanced at Dar. They’d figure out something. In the meantime, they’d get a cup of coffee, shed their jackets, and watch the palm trees wave as they drove home.

Kerry sighed happily. She was so looking forward to that. She fairly ached for the normality of it. The plane bumped to a halt, she released her seat belt, and stood up alongside Dar who ducked to clear the overhead. “Sometimes it pays to be short.”

“I agree.” Ceci chuckled from behind her as they watched Andrew move into the aisle to avoid cracking his head. “And no offense to your home state, Kerry, but I’m glad I’m no longer in it.”

Kerry snorted. “Like I wasn’t counting the minutes?” She took a deep breath as the cabin door opened and a gust of moderately warm, moderately moist air blew in, tinged with aviation fuel but welcome nonetheless. She shouldered her laptop, edged out in front of Dar, and gave the flight attendant a smile as she exited the plane onto the jetway.

“Ah. Air conditioning in December. I must be home,” Dar remarked as they walked up the sloping path. Already, they could hear the clamor of the airport loudspeaker, a combination of English and Spanish that matched the conversations going on around them.

“Oh yeah,” Kerry agreed as they walked out of the gate and into the flow of terminal traffic. “I remember my very first experience getting off a plane here. I walked ten feet, put my bag down, stared, and wondered what in the world I’d gotten myself into.”

It had been more than culture shock, that was for sure. It had been an exotic, intimidating new world. Now, it was just home, and she welcomed the bustling activity and the riot of color that surrounded them. “You up for a café con leche? It’ll take them twenty minutes to bring the car up anyway. You did valet it, right?”

“You bet your…” Dar’s eyes wandered. “Yes, I did.” She grinned, mindful of her father’s inquisitive presence. “You parked or what, Dad?”

“Ah am about to go get me that truck,” Andrew said. “Fig-Thicker Than Water 191

gered we’d talk to you two later on.” He gave Dar a pat on the back and accepted a hug from Kerry, then ambled off with a wav-ing Ceci in tow.

“Bye.” Kerry waggled her fingers back. “They’re so cute.”

Dar arched a brow at her. “I’ll go turn in my valet ticket. Did you say something about coffee a minute ago?” She bumped Kerry towards the coffee bar with her hip. “Get me a cheese pastalito, too.”

Mm. Kerry obediently trotted over to the coffee bar and leaned against its polished surface as the attendant came over.

“Dos café con leche, dos queso pastilitos, por favor.”

The boy grinned at her. “Si, Senorita.” He turned towards the espresso machine. Kerry slid onto the stool and idly watched him, enjoying the sharp, distinctive scent of the brewing coffee as she listened to the conversations around her. Football and soccer mostly, with a spattering of stock market, and one very excited discussion about deep sea fishing. She turned around as her coffee and pastries were delivered, paid for them, and received another smile from the server as she left a tip.

She picked up her goodies, shouldered her bag, and headed for the automatic doors leading outside.

Dar was leaning against a support pole, her sunglasses now firmly settled on the bridge of her nose.

“Rats. I forgot.” Kerry handed Dar the bag and dug inside her briefcase pocket for her own glasses, a nifty wraparound pair Dar had gotten her not long before. She put her bag between her feet as she straightened and accepted the cup of steaming liquid from Dar. “Thank you, ma’am.”

“Ma’am?” Dar laughed and took a sip.

Kerry leaned against her and sucked happily at her drink, enjoying the rich, sweet flavor. The air was cool and equally sweet, and she felt a sense of pure, animal well-being as she watched the confusion of traffic trying to get to the curbside. Soon enough, she spotted Dar’s Lexus making its way toward them, and she actually almost felt like hugging it. “Want me to drive?

Give your arm a break?”

Dar’s face went still for a moment, then she exhaled. “Okay.”

She accepted her keys from the valet and put her bag in the back seat before Kerry took them from her fingers and circled the car.

They settled into the leather seats and Kerry took a moment to adjust the driver’s seat forward.

“I should keep a booster seat in here for you,” Dar remarked dryly.

“Hah hah.” Kerry put the big SUV in gear and edged cautiously into the traffic stream. “How about next time you just put 192 Melissa Good me in your lap?”

“Mm.” Dar chuckled softly, sparing a moment to imagine driving with her arms wrapped around Kerry. “Yeah, okay…Hey, pull over.”

“Hedonist.”

“It was your idea!”

Kerry dodged a speeding Mercedes and settled down to the relatively short drive home. “Hey, Dar?”

Dar had her head tipped back and her eyes closed. “Yeeess?”

Kerry thought a moment of how to phrase her question, then she just shrugged. “Is this really it, at work?”

Dar was quiet, then she shrugged. “Yeah.”

“No reprieves? No time off for good behavior?”

A soft chuckle rose from the passenger’s seat. “Hon, I’ve never behaved good in my entire tenure there. Trust me, if I had to come up with a reason to leave, you were the best reason on Earth.” She reached carefully behind her with her good arm and tugged her briefcase over and onto her lap. “Want to help me write my resignation letter later?”

Kerry sighed. “Dar, it’s not funny.”

“I know, I know. I j...” Dar reached inside her briefcase, and her fingers touched a thick sheaf of paper she didn’t remember putting inside. She looked into the case. “What the heck is that?”

“What?”

Dar removed the papers and stared at them in utter disbelief.

“Dar?”

Dar looked at her. “Did you put this in here?”

Hearing the tension in Dar’s voice, Kerry pulled the car over.

“Me? Of course not. What is it? The only thing I put in your case this morning was your laptop, because you asked me to.”

Dar thumbed the sheaf, the soft rustle of paper sounding loud in the car. “It’s the data I gave your father.”

“What?” Kerry put the car in park, half turned, and reached for the stack. “How…Wait, are you sure? Maybe it’s a copy you put in there, Dar. You had one.”

“I’m sure.” Dar turned the first sheet over. “I printed this one on recycled; it was my check copy. The other one’s on water-mark.”

Kerry stared at the words on the back of the page—someone’s recipe for pot roast. That seemed so odd and so incongruous, she almost wondered if her father might have scribbled it down for the cooks to try at home. The world seemed strange around her.

She braced her elbow on the armrest between them and rested her head on one hand. “I don’t get it.”

“Me, neither.” Dar pulled out her cell and hit a speed dial Thicker Than Water 193

button. She waited until it was answered, then cleared her throat.

“Hi, Alastair? It’s Dar.”

“Ah! Oh…uh, Dar, listen, can I call you right back?” Alastair sounded surprised to hear from her. “I’m, ah—”

“I don’t care if you’re on the john,” Dar said bluntly. “I just wanted you to know I have the papers.”

There was dead silence, then a splutter. “How did you know where…? Did you get that GPS thing working for cell phones?”

Dar merely waited.

“If you did, why the hell didn’t you say so? You know how much money we could make w—” Alastair fell silent. “Holy Jesus, did you say you had the papers?”

“Yes.”

Through the phone connection Dar could hear a ball game playing softly somewhere in the far background, but little else.

“Alastair?”

His sigh was audible. “Dar, I’m not sure it matters now.”

Dar shrugged. “Well, for what it’s worth, I have them. Anyway, talk to you later.”

More silence preceded his quiet, “I’ll call you, Dar.”

Alastair’s voice was now very serious. “Stay close.”

Dar closed her phone and looked at Kerry. “Let’s go home.”

Kerry was staring steadily at her. “It’s too late, isn’t it?”

“Eh.” Dar picked up her hand and kissed the knuckles. “I don’t care. C’mon. Let’s go. I want you, a soft bed, a warm glass of milk, and a bowl of pitted cherries.”

Kerry smiled wistfully at her. “In that order?”

“Any order I can get them in.”

Kerry gave in and put the car back into drive, then checked her rearview mirror and pulled into the traffic lane.

After a mile or so of companionable silence, she cleared her throat. “I keep forgetting to ask you, and you did mention it twice, so it’s not your fault. What was the deal you set up with the Navy in exchange for that information?”

Dar opened her eyes, and she regarded the fawn header on the Lexus. “Ah. That’s right. I guess I never did lay that out for you, did I?”

Kerry glanced at her, then back at the road. “Well, I mean, it doesn’t have to be right now, but I was curious—”

“No, now’s as good a time as any,” Dar remarked. “I should have just told you earlier.” Her expression turned pensive. “I agreed to destroy the information and forget what I’d seen, in return for the Navy outsourcing all of their IS to us.”

Kerry almost hit the car in front of her. She hurriedly applied her brakes, then turned her head and stared at Dar in utter disbe-194 Melissa Good lief. “You what?” A horn honked, and she hastily pulled the Lexus over to the curb again and parked it.

“What?”

Pale blue eyes regarded her warily. “That was my price, if they wanted me to shut up. So they did. Gerry got them to agree to the outsourcing deal.” She watched Kerry’s face carefully, wondering what she was thinking.

Kerry covered her eyes with one hand. “You blackmailed the US government?”

Did I? Dar rubbed her chin. “Yeah, I guess I did.”

Green eyes peeked out from between slim fingers. “Paladar Katherine Roberts, what am I going to do with you?”

Dar smiled wistfully. “I don’t know. It was nicer having you think I just chucked it all because I wouldn’t leave you,” she reflected in a quiet voice. “Just a moment of altruistic heroism I didn’t actually have.”

Kerry studied Dar for a moment, then cupped her cheek with one hand but didn’t say anything. They looked at each other for a moment, then Kerry put the Lexus in gear and resumed driving.

Concentrating on the traffic gave her a chance to think about what Dar had told her and how she felt about it.

Was she mad at Dar for not telling her? Kerry nibbled the inside of her lip. Yeah, a little. It meant a huge workload for her, and dozens of things would have had to be taken into account.

But, on the other hand—given what had been going on at home at the time—had she really wanted to deal with that, too?

No, Kerry admitted. She’d have had no desire whatsoever to add to the stress load she’d been suffering under. So, Dar had probably done her a favor in keeping the arrangement quiet until now. She did wonder, though, about what Dar had said about how she felt.

A quick glance showed her a somber profile. Dar thinks I’m disappointed, Kerry realized. Am I?

It had been flattering, of course—for her to realize Dar had just chucked everything to be at her side. But…but it had also hurt to know she had caused Dar to relinquish something she knew was so important to her partner: honor, her integrity. Regardless of what ILS had gotten out of the deal, it didn’t change the fact that Dar had traded off doing what she knew was the right thing, just to be the rock Kerry had so desperately needed right then.

That was some tradeoff. Kerry felt humbled by it. “Thanks. But the company gaining doesn’t matter, because you’d have done it anyway.”

Dar’s lips curved into a reluctant smile. “So much for my reputation.”

Thicker Than Water 195

Kerry chuckled softly. “I warned you, didn’t I?”

“You did.” Dar closed her eyes and remembered that moment, there on that airplane coming back from Orlando which she’d almost wished wouldn’t land. “Ker?”

“Mm?”

“Thanks.”

KERRY STEERED THE big SUV down the slight ramp into their parking area and pulled into the spot with Dar’s name on it.

She turned off the ignition and rested her arms against the wheel, looking out at the townhouse as Dar started to open the passenger side door.

“Glad we’re home.” Dar sighed. “Feels like it’s been a month.”

Home. Kerry took in the lines of the front porch, the Mediter-ranean stucco of it now warmly familiar to her. She got out of the car and stepped between it and her own, the shiny dark blue reflecting her image as she lightly kicked the parking bumper with her own name stenciled neatly on it.

With a quiet smile, she followed Dar up the steps and stood by as her partner keyed in the lock code and unlocked the door.

She remembered the first time she’d stood in just this place, waiting on just that same thing, but this time she tucked her fingers into the back of Dar’s waistband and kissed her on the middle of her back as they shuffled inside.

Chino galloped towards them, whining in delight, and Colleen appeared from the kitchen, wiping her hands as she called out a greeting.

Home. Kerry rested her head against Dar’s back as Chino jumped up to greet the taller woman. “Hey, Col,” she returned, as a wave of exhaustion threatened to swamp her. “We’re home.”

“And a big welcome to it,” Colleen said. “Glad to see you guys. How was the flight?”

“Wasn’t awake for a minute of it.” Kerry tossed her jacket on the back of the couch. “I’m just glad it’s over.” She knelt to pet Chino. “Hey, Cheebles. You glad we’re back?”

The Labrador licked her face all over and managed to get fur over every square inch of Kerry that she touched. Kerry loved it all and sat on the floor and gathered the delighted dog into her arms.

Home.

“Coffee, Ker?”

“Absolutely.” Kerry exhaled happily. “Absolutely.”

196 Melissa Good EYES CLOSED, DAR mentally traced the path her briefcase had taken that day. She’d had it in the green room, taken it with her on the way to the airport, locked it in the car while she was in Dairy Queen. It had gone through x-ray, then been put in the overhead bin for the flight. Taken out again when they landed, it had sat in the back of the car all the way home.

So…when the hell had someone put the papers in it? Dar went over the steps one more time. The only two places that were even remote possibilities were at the Stuart house and in the car while they were getting ice cream, taking into account that someone would have had to get the rental opened and then locked it up again. No one had known they were going for ice cream, so that left the house.

Who had put it there? Cynthia? Kerry’s sibs? None of them would have known the importance. Ah well. She exhaled. Probably doesn’t matter now anyway. At least in her own mind, she had them back and some squid wasn’t running around with them in Washington.

Dar stifled a yawn and relaxed on the leather sofa in their living room. It was, aside from the low buzz of voices in the kitchen, blessedly quiet in the condo, and Dar dropped her head against the plushy stuffed arm of the sofa, welcoming the rich scent of the leather and the warmth of the long stripe of sunlight that was coming in the front window and painting a golden swath across her body.

She could, she acknowledged dutifully, go into her study and find out what was in her mailbox waiting to pounce on her. She could—Dar wriggled into a more comfortable position and closed her eyes—but she wasn’t going to. Tomorrow would come soon enough, and if there was anything of a truly disastrous nature, she’d have been paged before now, right? Hm. She pulled her cell phone out and made sure it was on. Nope; no pages, no calls. Good.

A cold nose investigated her arm, and she opened her eyes.

“Hey, Chino. Did you give up on getting cookies from mommy Kerry?”

Sad brown eyes regarded her, then Chino climbed up onto the wide couch, settled down with a grunt, and licked all of Dar’s exposed skin within her reach.

“Aw.” Dar stroked the Labrador’s soft, thick fur. “I missed you too, baby.” She quickly looked around to make sure no one had heard her, then ruffled the dog’s ears. “You’re such a sweetie, aren’t you?”

Chino put her muzzle down on Dar’s chest and exhaled happily.

Dar exhaled too. It was over. Damn, she was glad it was over.

Thicker Than Water 197

Now they could settle down and get on with their life together and concentrate on happier things. Like Christmas, for instance.

Dar wiggled her toes in mild glee as she considered the boxes she had hidden in the crawl space. Presents for Kerry, of course, and Chino, but also for her parents, something she hadn’t done for many years, and for the assorted friends Kerry had invited over for the Christmas party.

“Christmas party,” Dar had firmly insisted. “Christmas, Christmas, Christmas, not birthday.”

But Kerry had snickered, which meant she’d at least have to suffer through a cake and a chorus. Hm. Dar mentally made a note to ask, in a circumspect way of course, if the cake was to be Kerry’s double chocolate mousse, killer cake. That was worth a round of Happy Birthday to You, if nothing else was.

Yeah. Dar grinned and licked her lips at the thought.

“HOLY COW, KERRY,” Colleen rubbed her friend’s arm sym-pathetically, “what a nightmare.”

“Yeah.” Kerry was sprawled on one of the two stools in the kitchen. “You can say that again. Thanks a bunch for staying over here.”

“No problem,” Colleen said. “I was glad to do it. Chinie’s a sweetie, and Dar’s folks are great people.”

“They sure are.” Kerry smiled. “You have no idea how glad I was to see them when they showed up. Oh, my God, Col, I was literally standing in a pit full of vipers, with that bastard Kyle coming right at me when BAM! Talk about the cavalry coming over the hill.”

Colleen grinned. “Dar’s father is so hooked on you. It’s so sweet. You should have heard them when they showed the television report and we spotted you, just before they left. Man, the two of them went off.”

Kerry sighed. “That so sucked.” She rested her head on her hand and leaned an elbow on the counter. “I don’t think I’ve ever had a lousier couple of days, I can tell you that. After we got back to the hotel, Angie called and told me the staff thought it would be better if I didn’t come over to the house, because of Dar.”

“To hell with them.” Colleen snorted.

“Well, I didn’t go,” Kerry said. “And it was because of Dar, not for their benefit. She was hurting.” She paused. “God knows, I was hurting, too. We needed some space.” She thought about that night. “I don’t know what I would have done if Dar hadn’t been there, Col. I just don’t.” She could hear a faint tremor in her own voice. “That first night…Jesus. I was so sick. I got a migraine, and 198 Melissa Good I passed out in the bathroom…”

“Wow.” Colleen gave her a concerned look. “What happened?”

“Just too much stress, I guess.” Kerry felt irrational tears rising. “But then, Dar happened. She wasn’t supposed to come up until the next day, but she just dropped everything and came that night. I don’t know what I would have done if she hadn’t.”

Colleen put a hand on her arm and squeezed.

“I think that was the worst I’ve ever felt,” Kerry whispered.

“But Dar held me and made that all go away. It was incredible.”

She let out a long, shaky breath. “She saved my sanity.”

“Hey.” Colleen gently put both arms around her and gave her a hug. “You poor kid.” She patted Kerry’s back, then rubbed it.

“I’m glad tall, dark, and daunting was there to make things right, Ker. I know I didn’t start off being a fan of hers, but I’m glad this time I was so damn, dead wrong.”

“Mm.” Kerry returned the hug. “Tall, dark, and doofy sometimes. That’s how she hurt her arm again. The dork picked me up and carried me to the bed in the hotel. I was too sick to realize what she was doing.”

Colleen laughed a bit. “Oh, really?”

“Yeah.” Kerry got up off her stool, went to the refrigerator, and took out a pitcher of juice and swirled it. “Want some?”

“Sure.”

“Hey, Dar?” Kerry called into the living room. “Want some juice?”

“Does it have chocolate in it?” the droll answer came back.

“Ew. Orange juice and chocolate?” Kerry made a face. “No, honey. I’ll get you some milk.”

“Mmmmmilk,” Dar drawled in response as she appeared in the doorway, looking appealingly tousled in her T-shirt, cutoff shorts and white socks. Chino came trotting in behind her, yawn-ing. “Chino wants some milk, too.”

Colleen chuckled. “Like owner, like puppy.”

Dar paused and put a hand on her hip. She lifted one eyebrow in mock menace. “You saying I look like that dog?”

“No.” Kerry handed her a glass and leaned up to give her a kiss. “You just act like her—adorably loyal and cute to a fault.”

She watched Dar’s eyes go round in startlement, then glance at Colleen and back to her. “Oh, don’t go all formal on me now, Dar.

You were the one who was just mooing for milk.”

Dar scowled, then her face relaxed into a sheepish grin as she chuckled and accepted the glass.

Colleen put down her own glass and stood up. “Well, I’ll be getting meself back to the southern reaches of Kendall. You two Thicker Than Water 199

take it easy, eh? See you Wednesday?”

“I’ll be there, absolutely,” Kerry said. “Dar? Well, let’s see what the doctor says.” She looked at her lover, who merely lifted a brow at her. “Right? You’re not going to try teaching us flips until your shoulder gets better, are you?”

“No,” Dar replied obediently, referring to the martial arts class they were supposed to resume that week. “I’ll just make you all do the work, and I’ll watch.” She chuckled at their wry faces.

“Besides, I can use the pool a little.”

“Ah, sure.” Colleen shouldered her bag. “She floats while we sweat. Nice.” She waved a goodbye. “Later, folks.”

Kerry walked her to the door and closed it behind her, then turned and regarded Dar. She crossed the living room and sat down with Dar on the couch, and put her feet up on the coffee table at almost the same time Dar did. Then she rested her head against Dar’s shoulder and sighed.

“Nice to be here, huh?” Dar obligingly draped an arm over her shoulders and pulled her closer.

Kerry wrapped her arms around Dar’s body and snuggled up as close as she could without actually crawling into Dar’s lap. She craved the warmth of her lover’s body and the feeling of utter security that her embrace provided. Dar didn’t disappoint her.

She felt Dar’s body shift a little, and she squirmed into a cradle made from long arms and legs that wrapped around her and brought her home in a way that touched her battered soul in just the spot she needed it to.

“Tell you what,” Dar murmured as she stroked Kerry’s hair,

“I vote for a night of shameless hedonism and indulgence. You up for that?”

“Uh huh,” Kerry murmured. “But I’d be happy just to have you near me all night.”

Dar gave her a worried look. “Well, sure. Where else would I be?” She kissed the top of Kerry’s head. “Ker?”

Kerry lifted her head, revealing a tear-streaked face. She wiped the back of her hand across her eyes and sniffled. “Sorry. I don’t know what the hell’s wrong with me.”

Dar didn’t know either. It left her at somewhat of a loss to be presented with a problem she had no experience or knowledge to deal with. So she did what she could do, which was wipe the tears from Kerry’s face and kiss her gently. ”Go ahead and cry if it makes you feel better. Talk to me about it if you want to. But if all you need from me is love, you’ve got all of that I have, and it’s yours for the taking.”

Kerry blinked, scattering a few sparkles of moisture, and a tiny, charmed smile appeared on her face.

200 Melissa Good

“What?” Dar smiled back. “Do I have chocolate on my chin again?”

“Milk.” Kerry rubbed the residue off Dar’s upper lip and gazed at her with a look of utter love. “A night of shameless hedonism, huh?”

“Yeah.” Dar found the sea green eyes irresistibly fascinating.

“I figured we could start off by ordering something really bad for us from the Italian place, then sort of go from there.”

“Will this night of hedonism include hot fudge?”

“Yes.”

“Hot tub?”

“Yes.”

“Hot…mmfp.” Kerry took the kiss as an answer to that question and surrendered willingly to the plan.

IT WAS MUCH later, when Kerry, stifling a yawn with one hand, climbed up the stairs to her office. Her hair was still damp from the Jacuzzi, and she could smell the distinct tang of chlorine on her skin. Mixed with a little fudge. Kerry licked her lips, and couldn’t quite repress a grin. Nothing like a little hedonism to brighten up one’s perspective on things, eh? She spared a moment to think about what her family’s reaction would be to their activities of the evening, imagining her mother’s face as she described just how skillful Dar was with…

“God, Kerrison, stop it. You’ll go blind.” She slapped the side of her head a time or two and entered her office.

It felt like it had been a month since she’d been in there.

Kerry paused to look around the room, the contents mostly those she’d had on her walls in her apartment back in Kendall: her certificates and awards, her professional credentials, and the first few of her attempts at photography—including a sunset shot of the Miami skyline.

Kerry walked to the photograph and looked at that, then shifted her attention to the eight by ten of Dar, the first picture she’d ever taken of her partner, before they’d become lovers. It had been at the corporate community participation day. Dar had just finished her painting tasks, and she’d been sitting on the edge of a garbage can, dotted with paint spatters and outlined in the sunset’s golden light. Kerry had impulsively grabbed Mari’s camera and focused it, attracting Dar’s attention at the very last second before she closed the shutter button.

Those blue eyes; that suddenly warm grin, aimed straight at her; the connection they’d made even with her behind the camera.

After the shot, Kerry had lowered the camera and reluctantly Thicker Than Water 201

handed it back to Mari, wishing with all her heart she’d thought to bring her own instead.

Kerry touched the framed photo, delivered to her desk in an envelope without any comment a week later. She’d been so excited, and pulled it out and looked at it for minutes at a time when she should have been working.

It had been one of the pictures she’d taken home to show Angie, because there was just something so amazingly sweet about it and even now, looking at it, she couldn’t help but smile at the love now obvious to her in Dar’s expression. Maybe she’d known all along the promise held in that look.

Kerry leaned forward and gently kissed the picture, and then she turned around, dropped into her desk chair, and rummaged inside the drawer for the packet of receipts she’d gone upstairs to retrieve. A square of glossy paper blocked her search, and she pulled it out impatiently, turned it over, and put it on the desk out of the way. The lettering was now uppermost and she sat there quietly and reread the invitation to her high school reunion.

Slowly, a smile crossed her face. She picked up the invitation, left the receipts behind, and trotted out the door and down the steps with her still damp hair bouncing along. “Hey, Dar?”

“Yeeeeeess?” Dar’s low purr answered from where she was sprawled on the couch. “Something else I can do for you, beautiful?”

Kerry’s hormones almost made it down the stairs before she did. She scooted across the tile floor, slid to a halt next to the couch, and bumped her knees right next to Dar’s arm. “I have a favor to ask.”

A lazy blue eye regarded her. “Anything.”

Kerry knelt down and offered her the card. “I didn’t realize this was on the back of that letter I got the other week.”

Dar examined the card, then looked at Kerry in some surprise. “You want to go to this? Really?”

“No.” Kerry smiled. “I want us to go to it.” She leaned on the couch edge. “There’re a lot of prissy gits I want to show up.”

“Whatever you want, Ker.” Dar clasped her fingers around Kerry’s. “Do we have to wear leather?”

Kerry’s eyes twinkled appreciatively. “Maybe we do.”

Dar edged over on the couch and pulled gently. Kerry took a seat on the edge of the cushion, then laid her body diagonally over Dar’s. They gazed quietly at each other for a minute in silence, only the air conditioning humming along in the background.

Kerry lifted her hand off Dar’s shoulder and traced the planes of her face with careful fingers. Blue eyes followed her motion, 202 Melissa Good then lifted and seemed to reach out to capture her, drawing her inward and downward until her body was pressed against Dar’s and she replaced her fingers with her lips.

“Mm.” Dar closed her eyes as she smiled, her hands coming to rest on Kerry’s sides and teasingly tickled up and down them.

She felt Kerry’s ribs expand outward under her cotton shirt as she took a deeper breath and continued her motion, enjoying the familiar contours under her touch.

She knew every inch of Kerry’s body—all its planes, all its quirky irregularities. She loved the softness of her skin, and the slowly building strength she had felt grow under it to cover the sturdy bones that had seemed so very close to the surface when they’d first met.

“You know what I was voted most likely to?” Kerry whispered. “In high school?”

Dar almost lost the question when Kerry’s lips descended on hers and their bodies pressed tighter against one another. “Bet it wasn’t that,” she rumbled softly, as they paused to breathe. “Run for president?” She took in a breath filled with Kerry’s scent and reveled in it.

Kerry chuckled, shaking her head slightly as she deferred answering for another kiss. She felt Dar’s hand slip under her shirt, warm against her skin as fingers traced slow circles across her ribcage. “Nothing.”

“Eh?” Dar eased Kerry’s shirt up and gently cupped her breast.

“Nothing,” Kerry repeated and inhaled sharply as her body reacted to Dar’s touch. “Said I’d never leave home.” She kissed Dar. “Never go anywhere.” Her voice broke slightly on the last word. “Never—”

“Never experience this?” Dar ducked her head and nibbled Kerry’s nipple, then cupped her hand around Kerry’s neck and passionately returned the kiss.

A soft groan trickled through Kerry’s throat, dusting her own lips with warm breath. “Mm…yeah.” Kerry lifted her head, her eyes half closed, nose-to-nose with Dar. She looked into the passion-darkened blue orbs beneath her. “I never thought I would either.”

“Feel this?” Dar teasingly slid her hand down Kerry’s body.

Kerry’s expression unexpectedly gentled. She kissed the spot right above Dar’s heart. “No, this. To be loved for myself.” She kissed the spot again, then shifted back up as Dar lifted her hand and laid it on Kerry’s cheek.

“Neither did I.” Dar raised her head and they kissed again.

Kerry’s arms relaxed as she eased forward and slipped one bare Thicker Than Water 203

thigh between Dar’s. “I think we both lucked out.”

Kerry hugged her, sparing a moment of passion for one of joy.

Dar hugged her back, finding peace in her choices and accepting them. Then Kerry slipped her hand down and under the waistband of Dar’s cotton shorts, and all nobler thoughts evaporated.

She grabbed the front of Kerry’s shirt between her teeth and yanked, letting out a growl as Kerry ducked out of the fabric and got under Dar’s half shirt, finding a tastier target beneath it.

“Hell with leather.” Dar gasped. “Let’s just go in our god damned socks.”

“Hehehe.”

IT WAS DARK and not quite dawn when Dar woke up. The condo was quiet, and she could hear the soft patter of rain against the window not far over her head.

It was Monday. Now that the weekend was over, she had to face the reality of the week, and the private knowledge that today might, in fact, be her last one at ILS. She’d already decided not to tell anyone; in fact, she hadn’t even talked about it with Kerry.

She would just go up to Houston on Tuesday, and then the announcement would come out and that would be that.

So today she would spend cleaning up loose ends, taking solace from the knowledge that at least she was leaving the company in a good position, though losing the Navy contract would be a definite blow. It would work out, though, she was sure. The company could take the hit.

Dar’s thoughts drifted a bit, coming around to her still sleeping partner. She could see dark circles under Kerry’s eyes and that led to her one real worry about the whole deal. She could leave, and it would hurt her, but she was afraid it would hurt Kerry worse, to have to take over everything now, after what she’d just been through.

Or maybe…Dar exhaled. Maybe Kerry would just chuck it all too. Maybe she should, rather than risk a health Dar was beginning to suspect was more at risk than she was willing to admit.

Troubled, she stared at the ceiling, in the rare position of being out of control of her own destiny and not liking the feeling at all. Instead of being soothing, now the incessant patter of the rain made her edgy, half of her wanting the day to start and half of her dreading it.

Her entire body started when the cell went off near her head.

She jerked to one side and reached for it, hissing at the sharp pain in her shoulder. “Shit.”

Kerry woke, her head moving and her eyes blinking dazedly.

204 Melissa Good

“Huh?”

“Phone.” Dar grabbed it and opened it, rattled and off-balance. “What?” Her heart was thundering, adrenaline pumping through her from the ominously early call. Trouble?

“Uh…Dar?”

Alastair. Dar’s throat went dry. “Oh. Sorry.” She glanced at the clock. “Good morning.”

“Ah, yes, well, thanks.” Alastair cleared his throat. “Listen, sorry to call you so early.”

Dar felt her heart settle into her guts. “It’s earlier where you are.” She was aware of Kerry’s eyes on her in the dimness, and of the light touch now on her belly, wordless comfort as Kerry seemed to sense her distress. “What’s up?”

“Well, I guess you military types are all early risers. I just heard from Washington,” Alastair said.

Dar didn’t say anything, but she felt her heart rate speed up even more.

“Fact of the matter is, Dar, I didn’t think the general was going to buy into us.”

“Yeah, well…” Dar heard the husky note in her voice.

“But he did,” Alastair said. “I thought he’d ask for ten acres of corroboration, but you know what, Dar? He said your word was good enough.”

Dar was a little surprised to feel the sting of tears in her eyes.

“Did he really?”

“Yes, lady, he did,” Alastair replied. “Never heard a man sound so relieved, I’ll tell you that. Anyway, I just wanted to let you know. And, by the way, he wants to make the announcement to the press at the base down there. You’ll be available?”

It was all too sudden. “Uh…yeah. I guess. When?”

“Friday.”

It was still too much. “You’ll be there?”

“Sure, I can be. Dar, are you all right?”

Dar felt more confused than all right. Everything had unexpectedly turned over again, and she needed time to sort it all out.

“Want to come to my birthday party? It’s this weekend.”

The long period of silence at least gave her time to right her mental balance, while her boss was thoroughly knocked off his.

She glanced down at Kerry, who had nestled back down with her head on Dar’s shoulder and was merely waiting, her fingers tracing an absent pattern on Dar’s belly. The important fact surfaced.

At least Kerry would be all right now.

“Uh, sure, Dar. I’d love to,” Alastair finally said, in a direly bewildered, but reasonably appreciative tone. “Should I bring flowers?”

Thicker Than Water 205

“Nah. A bathing suit.”

“B…Hey, how about I call you back later, huh? After breakfast?”

“Talk to you later, Alastair. And thanks.” Dar closed the phone and put it down, then put her arm around Kerry and hugged her.

“Everything okay?” Kerry asked.

No. Yes. Who the hell knew? “I love you. Everything’s perfect.”

Kerry made a happy sounding grunt and gave her a hug.

The rain eased back into a friendly rumble, and the soft gray light of dawn now became a welcome sight. Life, Dar acknowledged, is a damn, damn funny thing sometimes.

It really was.