Eye of the Storm

Chapter

Twenty-six

CECI FINISHED HER tour around the upper deck and descended into the cabin, breathing in a rich scent of polished wood and salt. She paused just inside and her eyes roamed the small, but neatly arranged space and she found herself nodding. “I like this.”

“Whole lotta extra doo dads and whatnot,” Andrew replied, from where he’d set down the bags and stowed them. “Half expected t’find a damn computer set up in here last time.”

Ceci chuckled and wandered past him, examining the compact kitchen with interest, then poking her head in the tiny bedroom, and it’s functional, if cramped bathroom. “This is adorable, Andy. I can’t picture May paddling around in it, but it’s nice.”

“Huh.” Andrew put the basket down on the counter and opened a cabinet, finding a tape player inside. “Figgers. Go out to the best natural entertainment on God’s earth and y’gotta drag along one of these.” He turned. “And you tell me what need there is for a damn refrigerator?”

Ceci opened it, then peeked inside the small freezer.

“Cooler’s good enough for sandwiches. Damn thing’s a waste of power. I surely don’t know what the devil that woman was thinking of.”

“There’s chocolate ice cream in here,” his wife mentioned. “Does that qualify as a good reason?”

Andy leaned over the counter and looked. “Huh.” He gave her a squinty-eyed glare. “Ah think that is a loaded question, Mrs. Roberts.”

They smiled, then Andy fiddled with a piece of tie down and chewed his lower lip. “This all right with you?” His eyes encompassed the boat and its other occupants.

Cecilia paused, then nodded. “It’s hard.” She lowered her voice. “I know Dar’s uncomfortable. I think I am too, but we have to start somewhere.” She looked around. “Besides. We all love doing this—we’ll get through it all right, Andy.”

“Right.”

“You know, I really like Kerry,” Ceci offered, a touch hesitantly.

“She’s a nice person.”

“Yeap. Me too.” Andy seemed uncomfortable for a moment.

“Reminds me…um…don’t get shocked or nothing, but she calls me dad.”

He glanced up at his wife, who blinked in surprise. “Family means a lot 238 Melissa Good to her. Didn’t see no harm in it.”

“No, no of course not,” Ceci murmured. “I’m sure that whole issue with her parents bothers her.” She felt a curious sympathy for Kerry, almost a kinship, having gone through more or less the same gauntlet when she’d married Andrew.

Though her family had never disowned her. Not that it would have mattered—not then and not now—she’d refused all their overtures, all their proffered help, all their mock sympathy during the struggles they’d gone through over the years, preferring to work through the rough spots on her own.

A matter of pride, really.

Only after Andrew was gone and nothing mattered anymore, had she taken what was offered, letting their smug sympathy wash past her.

“It’s so strange, Andy. Even after what I did to Dar, I can still stand here and wonder how they could just…turn their backs on her simply for being in love with the wrong person.”

“Wrong person?” Andy’s eyebrows rose.

“You know what I mean.” She showed a faint smile. “I don’t think it’s the wrong person, but from their viewpoint, it must seem like that.”

“No excuse.” The square jaw moved. “Yer folks didn’t take a cotton to me cause I’m a Southern Baptist hick from the swamp with less education than the family dog.” He pointed up the small set of stairs. “Dar ain’t none of that.”

“I know, Andy.” Ceci put a hand on his arm. “But not everyone’s as accepting as you are.”

“Damn fool idiots,” he muttered. “Ain’t got the sense God gave a gopher, or they’d realize if’n they were lucky enough to find someone t’care about them like those two do for each other…” He paused. “Or like I do fer you. What the hell difference does them body parts make?” He was upset and it showed. “I’d like to...” He paused and sighed. “It ain’t right.”

Ceci chafed his fingers. “My crusader.” She lifted his hand and brushed her lips against it. “I’m glad Kerry decided to call you dad.”

He scowled.

“You’re such a good one.”

The scowl deepened.

“C’mon. Let’s go up on deck.” Ceci moved out from behind the counter and tugged his hand. “Where are we going, anyway?”

“Dar’s island.” Andy straightened and followed her. “Nice little place. Sand, few trees ’bout it.” He put a hand on her back. “Had their little joiny thing out there.”

Ceci stopped in mid step. “Their what?”

Her husband paused uncertainly. “Got together, few friends of theirs, and some pastor guy Kerry knew back home. He said a few things.

You know, like a wedding, sort of, but not…um…” He faltered as he saw her expression. “I got pictures if you’d like t’see them?”

The slim woman’s shoulders dropped a little, but she resumed her Eye of the Storm 239

climb. “Sure. I’d like that.” She felt an irrational pang of loss, at missing an event that never in her wildest dreams occurred to her would happen.

“Sounds like it was nice.”

They emerged into the sun, then glanced up to see Kerry standing on the flying bridge next to Dar, one arm draped casually over her and her head resting on a tanned shoulder. The wind whipped dark and pale hair back, tangling it as the boat raced out of the cut, and headed into the Atlantic.

“Yeah,” Andy replied softly. “It was. Kerry said this real nice poem she had. Then Dardar sang something. I liked it.”

“Is she a poet?”

“Yeap. But she don’t talk much about it.” Andy cleared his throat a little. “Hey. Don’t you two fall asleep up thar.”

Two heads turned. “We’re not.” Kerry smiled, detaching herself from her taller companion. “We’ll be out by the reef in about ten minutes.

Time to check gear, I guess.” She clambered down to join them and went to the equipment lockers on either side of the stern. “We keep our stuff on board mostly.”

“It ain’t really pink...” Andy ambled over and looked down. “Oh mah god.” He clapped a hand over his eyes. “You will scare every living thing for a nautical mile with that stuff on.”

“Tch. I do not.” Kerry pulled her BC and regulator out and the thin half wetsuit she used. “Fish love me. I can’t get rid of them, in fact.” She gave Ceci a shy look. “Did you get everything you needed? We’ve got some extra stuff if you didn’t.”

“Ah, no.” Cecilia opened the next locker and tugged at the handles of a new, fairly well stuffed dive bag. “I think Andy covered just about everything. In fact, I’m pretty sure I’ve got enough equipment here to dive the Antarctic.”

“Ah did not.” Andy took the bag from her and swung it over to the deck. “You are surely exaggerating.” He unfastened the grips and unzipped it, exposing a new set of diving gear. “Nothin’ extra there.”

Kerry knelt beside him. “What’s this?”

“Multi range depth gauge.”

“Um. We’re diving a twenty foot deep reef, Dad.”

“That is not the point, young lady.”

“Uh huh.” Kerry poked around. “What’s this?”

“Spear gun.”

“In case of dangerous clown fish?”

“You can not be too prepared in the sea,” Andy stated firmly.

“Uh huh. Mrs. Roberts?” Kerry looked up. “Please. Try not to point it at anything pink, okay?”

Ceci chuckled. “Oh no. I’m not taking that thing. The last time I had my hands on a spear gun…”

“You shot a Kodiak out from under Dad,” Dar’s voice drifted down, a note of amusement in her tone. “Glad the hull’s fiberglass on this one.”

The atmosphere tangibly relaxed, as the sun rose and the ocean’s 240 Melissa Good spray doused them. “That’s right,” Ceci admitted. “And I’m really glad I was far enough away to only puncture the bottom lining and not anything more…um,” Andy’s eyes widened and his grizzled brows rose,

“more sensitive.”

Kerry laughed at the look on Andy’s face. “Okay. So, we’ve got a gauge, we’ve got a spear gun. What else?” She pulled out a large yellow object. “Wh—”

“That is a light,” Andy growled. “And before you go telling me it’s daytime out, young lady, Ah am going to use it to hunt out some spiny critters.”

“Right,” Kerry agreed, with an impish smile.

“Do you not have your own stuff to check out?”

She took the hint. “Okay. I have to put the batteries in my flippers anyway.”

Andy sighed. “Lord. Ah will never live this down,” he grumbled. “If any of the guys saw me down there with that glow in the dark getup…”

“I’d distract them for you, honey.” Ceci planted a kiss on the top of his head. “I’ll tell them about your silk undies,” she whispered in his ear.

A deep, aggrieved, sigh. “Might as well get me one of them pink wetsuits.”

THE BOAT ROCKED very gently on the surface as Dar leaped over the railing and landed in the shallow water with a splash. She waded through the hip deep sea and tied the boat off securely to the wooden pylon she’d brought out there so many years before.

A seagull watched her from the sandy shore and she flipped a bit of wood at him before she turned and started back, stretching her arms out into the warm sun. On board the boat, Kerry stood in her phosphorescent glory, pale head cocked to one side as she watched Dar’s parents suit up.

She turned as Dar approached, and went to move the ladder over the side, but Dar waved her back, grabbed the railing, and pulled herself aboard. “Nice day.”

“Boy, is it.” Kerry smiled with enthusiasm. “Nice and calm, no clouds. It’s going to be gorgeous down there.” She hefted her newest toy, an underwater camera, then set it on the bench. “Help me get this on?”

Dar lifted her tank and BC as she got into it, then adjusted the hoses as Kerry wrapped the waist strap around her and buckled the front stays.

“Whoops. Forgot the weight belt.”

“I’ve got it.” Dar picked up the web belt studded with pink weights and circled Kerry with her arms, handing her the ends in front. “There you go.”

“Thanks.” Kerry buckled the belt and hopped up and down a bit, shifting her shoulders to settle the weight of the tank. It was heavy, of course. Fully charged with compressed air the tank weighed close to thirty pounds and, added to the seven or eight pounds of her BC and regulator and the twelve pounds on her weight belt, it felt like she was an Eye of the Storm 241

argonaut of old, in their metal shoes, waiting to descend into the depths.

Dar slipped on her own belt and tightened it, then crouched and got her arms into her BC and buckled it, then stood, leaning forward a little until she had all the straps fastened. Then she straightened and watched her father fussing over her mother’s new gear. “Dad, this isn’t a Cousteau expedition.”

“Aw, put yer head in the water, Dardar.” Andrew adjusted a gauge for the fourth time.

Cecilia patted her side and gave him a faintly amused look. “Andy, I really do remember how to do this.” She edged away from his tinkering and sat down on the back bench and looked down. “Oh…look, a barracuda!”

“Wh—?” Andrew moved his wetsuited body over and searched the water. “Lemme check that out.” He vaulted over the end of the boat and disappeared under the water with a remarkably small splash.

Dar regarded the ripples, then picked up her father’s gear and set it on the wooden platform she’d had built on to the back of the boat, making it easier to enter and exit the water. She flipped the diving ladders down into the surf and gave her mother a look. “Barracuda, huh?”

Cecilia pushed her silver blonde hair back. “Mmhmm.”

“C’mon, Ker.” Dar held back a chuckle, as she fitted her mask on and picked up her fins. “Let’s get wet.”

Kerry joined her at the back of the boat. “Don’t you think we’d better wait for your father to check out that barracuda?” She watched Dar go to the platform and slip her fins on, then put a hand over her mask and step off into the water. “I guess not.”

“There wasn’t really one,” Ceci volunteered, with a wry smile. “I just wanted a few minutes to put my mask on.”

Kerry blinked. “Oh.” She held her camera and put a hand over her own mask. “Overprotective huh?”

“Just a little.” Dar’s mother smiled. “In a nice kind of way.”

“I know.” Kerry nodded. “It’s hereditary.” She took a step off the boat and entered the water, the pleasantly cool shock quickly fading to a familiar, comfortable weather.

Another reason not to dive in Michigan. Even in summer it didn’t come close to the eighty-five degrees she was now descending in.

Kerry released her mask and looked around, adjusting to the always odd sensation of being completely underwater quickly. The sun cut through the waves and the visibility was very good, providing her with an excellent view all around her at greens and blues, and ochres, cut through by fish and the irregular surface of the sea bottom under her. She spotted Dar floating nearby, reclining in the water with her knees half bent and her hands folded on her stomach. Periodically, a small stream of bubbles emerged from her regulator, and behind the silvered glass of her mask, Kerry could see the blue eyes roving with interest around her.

Getting used to the regulator was the hardest part. It was a soft rubber mouthpiece that fit between her teeth, providing air on demand when 242 Melissa Good she inhaled through her mouth. The air was dry, and the biggest problem Kerry had with the entire affair was getting very thirsty.

Ironic. Here she was, totally immersed in water and her biggest worry was where to get a drink.

Dar motioned her over and pointed to a dark form that was moving through the water back towards the boat. Kerry adjusted her gear again, loosened in the different stress of the water, and swam towards her lover, turning her head to watch Andrew approach, take one last look around then head for the surface with liquid, undulating motions.

Wow. Kerry ended up next to Dar, and unfastened her writing slate and underwater crayon. She scribbled on the surface quickly. He’s like a fish.

Dar nodded, tendrils of escaped hair bobbing. She cupped her hand and made a swimming motion, then pointed as her father reentered the water with her mother right behind him. He had his gear on now, a mini-malist rig that was mostly padded straps and pockets, with a streamlined tank. It was all black, of course, as were his fins and mask, and he moved through the water in a totally natural way.

Surprisingly, Cecilia looked also very much at home, despite the fact that it must have been years since she’d done this. She adjusted her gear much the way Kerry had, then started off, peering around with interest and obvious enjoyment.

Your mom is having fun.

Dar couldn’t really smile, with the regulator in place. She took the slate. It was the one part of his world she could share fully.

Ah. Kerry nodded in understanding. Then Dar moved closer, took the slate back, and tucked it into its Velcro fastening at her hip. She turned to find a tiny mouthpiece held out to her. Attached to it was a tube, which went to a slim pack she’d thought was extra padding around the back of Dar’s tank. Curious, she spit out her regulator and fitted the soft rubber inside her mouth, then cautiously sucked on it, her courage rewarded with cool, sweet water. “Rgle!” She looked at Dar in delight.

Dar looked smugly pleased with herself and her new toy. She waited for Kerry to finish her drink then she rolled over in the water and swam over the reef towards a thick cluster of the colorful rocks where schools of fish swarmed.

Kerry exhaled in wonder, as the sun’s rays cut through the sea and lit up the reef like something out of a dream. She lifted her camera up and took a few lazy shots, then let a bit of air out of her BC to sink closer to the living coral.

Never touch it. Dar had drilled that into her, and as she swam along a foot over the reef, she caught the motion of her lover tucking her trailing gear up so it wouldn’t strike the fragile surface. She slowed her pace and watched the rock with interest, spotting a tiny bit of motion and peering closer to see the almost clear, tiny shrimp skittering over the surface. A silver shape came into view and she turned her head to see a clown fish chasing a tiny purple and orange fellow by, as a flat, omipototent grouper Eye of the Storm 243

observed, swimming slowly past Kerry with a wary eye on her.

Ooo. A school of silver fish, tiny and nervous came right at her and she went still, letting them split around her, their tiny bodies brushing with the lightest of touches over her skin. A touch on her arm distracted her and she followed Dar’s tug towards one side of the reef, looking where the taller woman pointed.

A ray. Not just a little one either, six feet wide at the least and settled into the silt, depending on camouflage to prevent its being eaten. Dar pulled her closer, and she put a hand out very tentatively when her companion did, touching the surface of the ray with nervous fingers. It was soft, almost velvety, and she could feel the flinch as the ray felt the contact.

Dar floated closer, running her hands along the animal’s back and over the rounded edge of the front of its fins, surprised when the ray decided to vacate its nest for quieter waters. It lifted off the sand and moved away powerfully, taking the human that was annoying it along with it.

Kerry focused quickly and snapped off a few shots of the ray towing Dar, until it settled to the ground again and Dar released her hold, floated up and turned around with both thumbs up. A motion caught her attention again and she turned in the water to watch Dar’s parents exploring the other end of the reef, with Ceci floating delicately over the rocks and Andrew circling around her with his supple, relaxed movements. Kerry noticed they’d left the spear gun behind.

They drifted closer together, then Dar suddenly ducked towards the rock, grabbed something, then headed for her father. Andrew looked up and spotted what she was holding, then back-finned, shaking a finger at her in mock warning. Kerry swam closer, then realized it was a lobster in Dar’s hand. One with tiny, grasping claws she was aiming right towards Andy.

He tumbled in the water, then flipped over and tried to get behind his daughter, who rolled right with him, plopping the lobster right against his chest.

The lobster, strangely, resented this, and grabbed and flapped, making the ex-SEAL squirm in mid-water, batting at the creature with his hands until it swam off, glaring daggers at Dar with its beady little stalked eyes.

Dar had exactly ten seconds to laugh, then she had to make a hole in the water, because she had a tall, dangerous looking creature coming after her, aiming to do scurrilous things to her unprotected kneecaps. Dar took off, racing ahead of her pursuer with powerful strokes in a curving path around the reef.

Kerry stayed in the middle of the curve, resting on her back in the water and snapping shots of the action as it progressed. Andrew was faster, due to his longer length and powerful kick, but Dar was more flexible and she turned and whirled in mid-stroke so quickly he kept missing her when he lunged. Ceci found an empty spot of sea bottom to perch on 244 Melissa Good and watched, shaking her head slowly as her husband and child tumbled around like a pair of demented manatees.

Kerry took a few shots of her, then swam over, settled on the silt and tucked her hands around her knees. Ceci turned her head, then lifted a hand and opened it, revealing a beautiful cone shaped shell, covered in what looked like hieroglyphs.

Kerry took a picture of it, then glanced up to see gray eyes watching her with reserved interest. She pulled out her slate. It’s nice today.

Ceci nodded in agreement then took the slate. The only thing it lacks is ice tea.

Kerry grinned and held up a finger, then handed the older woman her camera and dove into the chase above her.

NOBODY WAS REALLY sure whose idea the campfire was. But the island provided enough dry, fragrant wood to make one and the sandy ground seemed safe enough to light it on. They’d taken hunks of dead coral, though, just in case and made a circle around the flames.

It was an almost surreal scene, Ceci decided. A tiny island in the middle of the coastal Atlantic, with a view on one side of nothing but black sea broken only by the faint buoy lights. On the other side, the skyline of the city spread to either side, the lights of the beach hotels going north and the outlines of the city buildings to her south.

Above her, the stars floated, obscured by clouds drifting by, and far off against the horizon a storm was brewing, where intermittent lightning burst into view.

It was gorgeous. She leaned against an amiable palm tree and felt the warm sand between her toes, as the breeze brought a whiff of the spicy, boiling mixture in the pot they’d jury rigged over the fire, filled with fresh things captured from the nearby water.

Dar sloshed up out of the water, adding one last thing to the pot with a piratical grin. “Got one.” She pulled her mask off and continued on, dropping her snorkel and mesh bag on a towel and hesitating, then taking a seat relatively near her mother. Kerry was on the boat fixing up something or other and Andrew was still hunting under the waves.

Ceci eyed the smooth, tanned back an arm’s length or so away and considered her options. The day had been pleasant, really—though they were both uncomfortable with each other, Andy and Kerry were doing their respective darndest to smooth things out. The older woman paused, then reached behind her and picked up a folded towel, glancing at it a moment before she cleared her throat gently. “Dar?”

The dark head turned, firelight glinting off pale, wary eyes which met hers, then focused on the towel she held out. “Thanks.” Dar took the fabric and leaned back, opening up her posture a little. They eyed each other. “You…um,” Dar shifted, “might want to think about some aloe.”

“Ah, yes.” Cecilia nodded ruefully. “I feel as red as those lobsters are going to be in there.”

Eye of the Storm 245

“Mmm. I think I got a little burned too,” Dar admitted, stretching her long legs out in the sand and wiping them dry.

Wet, disheveled, and covered in sand, Ceci found this version of her daughter far more familiar than the one she’d been dealing with. Dar’s hair was longer now, beyond shoulder length, and her body lengthened and grown into a woman’s proportions that still held a distinct note of her tough, combative youth.

A gulf of time was between them. Ceci studied the strong profile, sadly at a loss for words.

Dar looked up at her suddenly. “Something wrong?”

A gust of cool wind made her shiver, and the words escaped without much thought behind them. “I keep waiting for the alarm to ring and wake me up,” she murmured, regretting the statement almost as it came out of her mouth. She looked away.

Dar’s own eyes dropped to the sand. Damn, this was so hard. She sucked in a breath. “Yeah.” Her fingers found a tiny, perfect scallop in the sand. “It’s a lot to adjust to.”

Ceci leaned her forearms on her knees and rested her chin on them.

“This must be complicating your life,” she remarked wryly, rewarded with the faintest hint of a smile, that wrinkled the skin at the corner of her daughter’s mouth and eyes.

Dar tilted her head in acknowledgement. “It’s not an unwelcome complication,” Dar replied, shifting so they almost faced each other. “I’m glad things worked out.”

Worked out. What an outstandingly understated way to consider a life changing event so vast she couldn’t even begin to encompass it. “Well, thank you for making that phone call.” She cleared her throat. “Though I know you didn’t do it for my benefit.”

Pale eyes peered at her from under dark brows. “Don’t assume that.”

The already low voice deepened. “At least credit me the ability to do the right thing when I know what it is.” But the tone wasn’t angry, merely wistful.

Cecilia felt off balance, yet again. She sighed. “I didn’t mean you wouldn’t, Dar. It just occurred to me, that, given what happened between us, I don’t expect any favors from you.” She sensed the restless motion and half expected Dar to get up and leave—something her daughter had always done when in a confrontation she didn’t want to deal with.

But instead Dar turned further around and moved closer, her gaze now intent and strangely compelling. “Well,” a faintly warm note crept in, “I’ve made a reputation out of doing the unexpected.”

Ceci merely blinked, unsure of what to say.

“I can’t change the past,” her daughter stated flatly, then hesitated.

“Though I would change parts of it, if I could.”

The fire crackled softly, and a splash was heard off the beach. “I would too,” Ceci murmured.

They looked at each other quietly.

Another splash and they turned to see Andrew emerging from the 246 Melissa Good water, the fire outlining his burly wetsuit covered form. He shook himself, then trudged up the beach. “Smells damn nice round here.”

“I’ll second that.” Kerry stepped carefully down the floating bridge Dar had built, carrying an armful of stuff and a basket. The blonde woman had a white cotton overshirt on, her sun darkened skin showing vividly against it, and her hair pulled back into a knot. “Dar, can you grab this?”

“Sure.” Dar scrambled to her feet and hopped onto the wooden surface. She took the basket from her lover and opened the top. “Ah. Plates.”

“Well, yeah.” Kerry stepped past her, with a chuckle. “Did you think we were going to just stick our hands in that pot and start chewing on whatever we pulled out?”

“Sure.”

“Yeap.”

Dar and her father exchanged glances.

Ceci laughed softly, pushed herself to her feet and walked over to join them around the fire. They’d set mats down a safe distance from the flames, and Kerry put her burdens on top of them and poked at the pot’s contents.

“Ooo.” A very spicy, very intense scent emerged. “I think I’m in love.”

“Coulda tolja that…oh, ya mean with that stuff,” Andrew drawled, tousling his grizzled hair dry and snapping Kerry in the butt with the fabric as he ambled past.

“Yeoow…hey!” Kerry hopped around the fire, getting off balance and stumbling right into Dar’s arms. “Whoa, thanks.” She caught herself.

“Hey. You’re all wet.” Her voice caught a little at the odd sensation of the cool dampness warming as their bodies joined.

A dark brow lifted slightly.

“Tch.” Kerry blushed, invisible in the dark but not to Dar’s light touch on her. “Give me a hand with this stuff. Can we put the bits right in a bowl? I brought some.”

“Now, don’t get nervous.” Dar’s whisper tickled her ear, and her breathing quickened a bit.

“I’m not.” Kerry knelt and pulled the round, wooden bowls out.

“What makes you think I am? I don’t think I am. I just want you to give me a hand divvying this stuff up, what makes you think...”

“You’re babbling,” Dar returned. “Relax. It’s just my parents, not yours.”

“Oh.” Kerry clamped her jaw shut and handed Dar a set of long chef’s tongs. “Right. Well, if I had to imagine my parents sitting in the sand on an island, Dar, my brain would explode. So,” she cleared her throat and raised her voice, “I have some Spanish rice in that pot.” She looked up to where Ceci was settling. “Yeah. There, and in that other one is some steamed broccoli.” She stuck a tongue out at the face Dar was making. “It’s not for you, don’t worry.” She looked over Dar’s shoulder.

“Or you either. I know better.” She pointed a long handled fork at Eye of the Storm 247

Andrew.

They sat down with their bowls of steaming saffron colored rice, covered with spicy seafood bits ranging from grouper to shrimp, with chunks of the lobsters Dar and Andy had tickled out sitting on top.

“Mmm.” Ceci poured a mug of the cold, iced cider and handed it to her husband, then took one for herself. “Good stuff.” The rice was fluffy and perfect, and the broccoli crisp and fresh, and a nice counterpoint to fish, her exception to a usually vegetarian diet.

Or maybe it was just the fresh air and an entire day of activity that made everything taste so wonderful.

Or something.

It really was like a dream. But the longer it went on, the more she realized it was one she was stuck with the good—like this lobster— along with the bad—like sand sticking to parts of her where sand didn’t belong, and like her prickly offspring.

Too much color. Too much emotion and sensations. Making chaos of her formerly orderly existence and filling it with complications and issues. Ceci sighed in wry contentment. It felt very much like home.

Andy removed a very pink shrimp and offered it to her, and she bit down, feeling the crisp flesh give way and release a burst of spice into her mouth.

Nope. Nothing bland here.

Dar leaned back against a big piece of driftwood and settled her bowl in the crook of her arm, then reached out and gave Kerry’s shirt back a light tug. They’d been running around so much all day, she’d hardly had a chance to spend any time near her lover and her body missed that.

“Mmm?” Kerry turned her head then saw the invitation in Dar’s eyes. “Um…” Eeek. Getting all cuddly in front of the older generation still made her a bit squeamish, but... She scooted back and settled in the curve of her lover’s arm, relaxing as it curled around her and gave her a squeeze. Shyly, she glanced at Ceci and Andrew, glad to see only a look of amused indulgence on their faces.

Not that she really expected any different, but you never knew. People said things and thought they meant them, but when they were hit in the face with reality that sometimes flew out the window. She speared a piece of broccoli and bit into it, as the tender skin tensed around her face and shoulders. Her body was a little sore from all the diving and swimming and she suspected she was going to pay for her fun tomorrow, but it had been a great day. She’d gotten some really fantastic pictures, everyone seemed to have fun, and she’d seen signs that Dar and her mother were cautiously approaching each other.

Kerry sighed and wiggled her toes, enjoying the warmth of the fire against the breeze coming off the water. She felt overheated and grubby and was sure she had seaweed in some highly unlikely places, but she couldn’t think of anywhere else she’d rather be.