Hurricane Watch

Chapter

Twenty-three

DAR OPENED THE door to her outer office, then she paused, as she spotted the workmen blocking the way further. “What’s going on here?”

Maria was off to one side, supervising. She turned and spotted Dar and circled back around her desk. “Oh, jefa. Look. They are bringing your new name.”

For a second, Dar wondered if they meant she was taking on Kerry’s. She blinked and edged over to where the workmen were busy replacing the plaque on her door, relieved when all it showed was her new title. “Ah.”

It would have been funny if it’d been the other. Dar managed to squeeze past the men and into her office, deciding if it had been, she’d have left it. “Confuse the hell out of everyone. That’s my motto.”

She took her seat and booted up her PC, resting her hands on the desk as the machine chimed softly and started up.

Her intercom buzzed. “Yes?”

“Jefa, Mr. José is here to see you.”

Despite the absolute politeness of Maria’s tone, what she thought of Dar’s visitor was evident. “Thanks, Maria. Send him in.” She glanced at the folder, still in her in box, and sighed. “Can you grab me some coffee? I think I’m gonna need it.”

“Surely.”

Maria closed the connection and she was left in a moment’s peace before the door opened and José entered.

Her erstwhile nemesis in Sales crossed the room and took one of her visitor’s chairs, seating himself in it and hiking one ankle up on the opposite knee.

Dar didn’t truly dislike José. She knew he was if not the best, one of the best salespeople she’d ever met, and his aggressive style had won them more accounts than she had time to count over the years.

They fought like they did mostly because they were both up front, take them as you see them kind of people, and at her core, Dar really did have a level of respect for the man. “Yes?” she drawled, after he got himself comfortable. “If you’re here to bitch at me, take a hike. It’s too early for that.”

José studied her. He opened his mouth to answer, but they both turned as knock sounded on the inside corridor door.

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“C’mon in,” Dar said.

Kerry entered, carrying a Styrofoam cup. “Brought extra back.

Want some?” she said, after a pause when she saw who was sitting there.“Sure.”

Kerry brought the cup over and handed it to her, glancing over at José. “Good morning.”

José cocked his head and regarded her. “Buenas dias,” He replied.

“Is that café cubano?”

“Yes,” Kerry said. “I’m convinced we run on this, not electricity in this building.” She gave Dar a wink, then retreated to the door. “Sorry to interrupt.” She slipped through the door and left them alone again.

Dar sipped the thick, sugary rocket fuel. “So where were we?”

José blew his breath out. “I have come to say this,” he said. “Either we learn not to eat each other, or we go nowhere.” He laced his fingers together. “No matter what you think, I did not look for you to leave this company.”

Dar grunted.

“You do not sell things,” José went on. “I do not fix things,” he said. “The company needs the both of us to do well and make money.”

“That’s true.”

He leaned forward. “I do not like people who threaten me.” He stared evenly at Dar. “I do not care who they think they are.”

She sensed the raw challenge. But between that and her visceral response there now floated this cushion of introspection brought on by everything she’d been through in the past two weeks. Dar rested her chin on her fist. “Let me ask you something,” she said. “What would you have done if I called your wife a whore?”

José looked at her. “That is not your wife.” He pointed at the door.

“Do not make it the same thing.”

“But to me it is.” Dar got up and circled her desk, not missing the flinch as she closed in on him, only to settle herself on the edge of the flat surface. “Kerry is everything to me your family is to you, José. So I ask you again, if I’d have called your wife a whore, what would you have done?”

The salesman was briefly silent. Then he got up and paced to the wall and back. “I would not have liked it,” he finally admitted. “But you...”

“Had no right to talk to you like that? Sure I did.” Dar shrugged.

“José, I am who I am. I’m not changing.”

He put his hands on his hips. “You threatened me.” He pointed his thumb at his chest. “This is not right.”

“I didn’t threaten you,” Dar objected. “I told you what I was going to do if you said something like that again and I will do just that.” She got up, putting her hands on her desk and leaning back instead. “You want to be fired? I think it would stink for the company if I had to do it, Hurricane Watch

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but trust me. I will.”

José folded his arms over his chest. “You are impossible.”

“Sometimes,” Dar agreed. “But tell me this, José, who else can you depend on when everything’s absolutely shit?”

He grunted.

“Besides.” Dar circled her desk and sat down again. “Stop blaming me for all this crap. You’re the one who decided to bring in someone to attack me.” She dropped the folder on the desk. “So now you’re gonna go back to your office and fire his ass.”

José came to the front of her desk and leaned on it. “I will not,” he said. “This is— Yes, he is a troublemaker, but all his ideas are good ideas. He is right in the things we need to do.”

“Fire him.” Dar opened the folder. “Or, I will. He falsified his employment documents.” She shoved the folder over. “He wants your job. Now that he failed to get me out, you’re his next target. You really want that, José?”

The VP of Sales was studying the paper. “What is this?” he said.

“This was not true? He told us of his successes at this company.”

“He lied.”

José sat down. “You are telling me this now?”

Dar held her hands up and let them fall. “For Christssake, José. I’m not responsible for vetting your damn personnel records! Mari just gave this to me because Alastair asked me to take care of the problem. That’s what he views this guy as. A problem.” She stared at him meaningfully.

“Your problem. Now are you going to get rid of him, or do you want me to do it?”

José fingered the folder. “You say he’s after my job?” he queried.

“How is it you know so much about this??”

Dar met his gaze. “You really want to know?”

“No,” José said, in a disgusted tone. “You have all the power. I see it.” He got up. “But it hurts us to do this. His ideas, they are correct.”

Dar steepled her fingers and regarded him. “I didn’t say they weren’t,” she said, quietly. “I think we do need changes. I think we do need to alter how we do business.”

José looked surprised. “You say that?”

“Yeah. Now that I have the power to make that happen without all of you getting in my way,” Dar replied, with a grim smile. “You want change? You’ll get it. But it’ll happen how I want it to.”

“What does that mean?” José came back and sat down. “Explain to me, what you intend, Dar.” He eyed her shrewdly. “Or do you want me to just get rid of this man because he does not like you.”

“You hired him because he doesn’t like me,” Dar retorted. “He hasn’t said anything you haven’t told me for the last year, José. Think about it.”

The sales exec leaned back in his seat. “That is true,” he acknowledged, after a minute. “He just said them louder and was in 330

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your face with them.”

“But if he’s here, and changes are made now, who gets credit?”

José was silent for a moment, then he pulled his ankle up on his knee and regarded Dar with a wry expression. “Ah,” he grunted. “So what are these changes? Or, is that just a trick to get me out of your face too?”Dar went around behind her desk and sat down, giving herself a moment to consider. She naturally didn’t want to share the nascent plans that had started budding in her head over the last day or so, but instinct told her she’d get a payoff by throwing her adversary a bone.

Sometimes you had to take a risk. “Okay.” She leaned her elbows on her desk. “The biggest problem I see is that we don’t have control over most of what we offer.”

José tilted his head, but didn’t interrupt.

“We’re too dependent on vendors, on long haul providers. It’s too expensive in the long run to over provision, and we can’t ever get fast enough response when we do need an increase.”

“Exactly,” the Sales VP nodded. “That is exactly the problem. It is why we cannot sell the way we need to, because it’s always a hedge, yes?” He waved the hand holding the folder. “We can give so much, but it always has to be paid for and plus.”

Dar nodded. “To make the budget.”

“Si.”

“What if we had our own network?” Dar asked him. “Everything belonging to us. No circuits. Just a slice of bandwidth you could sell however you wanted.”

José went very still for a long moment. “Madre dios. Are you kidding me?” he asked, finally. “Is this serious?”

“It’s serious,” Dar said. “I’ve wanted to do it for a while, I just couldn’t.”

She tapped her thumbs together. “I warned the board already,” she said. “Capital expenditure. Outside the budgets.”

José tapped the folder against the side of his neck. He studied her face in silence, his eyes flicking back and forth as he considered. “This is something we have all been looking for,” he said. “We will all win with this. I like it.”

He stood up. “I will get rid of this man.” He held the curled folder up. “This is not something he should get credit for. Who is he? A liar, as you say?” The sales VP shrugged. “All right. I will say I did bring him here after I learned he knew you to chew your face. I am an asshole sometimes.”

Dar smiled at him. “Me too,” she agreed. ”But we do have a common cause.”

“Si. That we do.” José looked a lot happier. “Was he really after my job?” he asked, turning back to her. “Or, was that the bullshit to make me loco?”

“His admin told her uncle the janitor supervisor, who told my Hurricane Watch

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admin,” Dar related honestly. “He’s a good friend of her husband’s.”

José threw his head back and laughed. “Now that I completely believe.” He slapped the folder on his leg. “Enough of this caca. Let’s get back to business.” He waved his hand at her and headed for the door. “Hasta la vista. Dar.”

“Later.” Dar sat back in her chair and felt a sense of rare victory.

”OH, I GET it.” Kerry finished slicing up the fresh chicken breast.

”I’m cooking, so now I’m your favorite, right?” She gave the patiently waiting Chino a droll look. ”Don’t you look at me like that. Go find your friend, the cookie monster.”

”Yawp.” Chino yawned, then poked her small tongue out and panted.

Kerry laughed, and turned her attention back to her task. She checked the steamer full of brown rice, and started a fire under the wok, pouring in a little peanut oil and waiting for it to heat. ”Shh... You keep quiet now, Chino. Don’t tell Dar I put all these nice vegetables in here, okay? After I finish making the sauce, she’ll never know.”

Chino sniffed her ankle, then she curled up on Kerry’s foot and closed her eyes.

”Oh, great. What am I, a puppy bed?” Kerry sighed. ”You’re just hoping I drop something.”

One brown eye opened and peeked at her.

Kerry smiled, as she tossed thinly sliced red, green and yellow bell peppers into the oil, and listened to the sizzling. She stirred them around, then added bamboo shoots, peanuts, and Szechwan peppers.

”Oo, that smells good, huh?” She got the vegetables nice and crisp, then she slid the two pounds of chicken breast into the vegetables, and quickly stir fried it.

”Almost ready,” she murmured, adding the sauce, which coated the contents of the wok a nice, honey brown. She added a handful of sesame seeds, then she turned the fire off. She scooped mounds of fragrant brown rice into each of two comfortably sized bowls, and topped it with the stir fry. ”Hey, Dar?”

”Mmm?”

The nearby voice nearly scared the bejesus out of her. ”Yeeow!” She almost dropped the bowls. ”Dar, don’t do that!”

”You called me,” Dar protested, taking both bowls.

”Well, yeah, but I didn’t realize you were standing in my back pocket.” Kerry laughed, as she grabbed two glasses and a bottle of plum wine. She followed Dar into the living room, and joined her as she settled onto the loveseat, putting the bowls down on the end table.

”So.” Kerry curled up with her legs tucked under her and accepted the bowl Dar handed over. ”That’s some chest.” She indicated the trunk which had been delivered. It was a curious item, bound in leather that 332

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was carved with intricate, interlocking squares. ”It’s gorgeous.”

”Mm,” Dar agreed around a mouthful of rice and chicken. She’d changed into a pair of cutoff sweatpants and a t-shirt, and was wearing a thick pair of very white socks which were intriguing Chino immensely. ”Good stuff, Ker.” She indicated the bowl.

”Thank you.” Kerry’s nose wrinkled up as she smiled happily. ”It’s a new recipe.”

Dar’s eyes twinkled. ”I can feel the healthy vibes coming off of it.”

She used her chopsticks to retrieve a sneakily hidden vegetable and waved it at her lover. ”But you could put this sauce on shoelaces and I’d eat them.”

Kerry laughed. ”I was counting on that.” She took a mouthful and chewed it. ”Do you really mind the veggies?”

Dar made her wait for an answer for a moment, then she smiled.

”Nah.” She took a cheerful bite. ”Besides, what right do I have to complain? You’re cooking.”

”Well...” Kerry nibbled a bamboo shoot. ”It makes me feel better about having chocolate chip ice cream for dessert.” She paused, almost laughing at the way Dar’s ears perked up. ”Double chocolate chip, in fact.” She scooped up a bit of rice. ”Which reminds me, we’re going to have to take separate cars tomorrow. I have my annual checkup scheduled. I almost forgot about it.”

”Mm.” Dar took a few mouthfuls and chewed them. ”Kerry, can I ask you a personal question?”

Kerry stopped eating, and stared. ”Uh...sure.”

One dark brow lifted, then dropped. ”Why does chocolate chip ice cream remind you of your doctor?”

”Oh,” Kerry laughed, blushing a little. ”Yeah, I guess that came out a little weird, huh? No, it’s because she gave me such a hard time last year. Apparently I was too skinny for her tastes. She started giving me lectures and pamphlets on eating disorders.” She gave Dar a wry look.

”I was imagining her reaction this year.”

”Ah. I see.” Dar nodded in understanding. ”Do you think she was right?”

Kerry slowly chewed a mouthful. ”I think I’m a lot happier now than I was then, but there’s a lot that goes into that.” Her eyes searched Dar’s face. ”I think the biggest influence in getting me to change my mind was the opinion of someone I really respected.”

”Mm.” Dar didn’t quite know how to respond to that, so she merely murmured an agreement, scooping the last of her rice up. ”Well, let’s see what we have here, huh?” She put the bowl down and eased herself down onto the floor, where Chino immediately tried to crawl into her lap. ”Hey!”

Kerry laughed, as she put her own bowl aside, and joined her lover on the floor, taking the puppy out of her way. ”Oo...look at that hasp.”

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to the old fashioned lock, then turned it. The metal protested, but released, and she removed the rusted object and set it on the floor.

”Okay,” she murmured, then she carefully unlatched the two catches, and released them, tugging the top of the trunk open and tipping it back.The scent that came out was the oddest mixture of dust, age, and mystery, and Kerry squirmed closer, so she could peek inside. ”Ohhh.”

”Wow.” Dar leaned on her crossed knees, and just looked. ”What a mess.”

Inside the truck was a tangled conglomeration of...stuff. There didn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason to the contents, just a random assortment of odd items, ranging from small wooden boxes, to pieces of metal, to very old clothing. ”What in the hell is all this stuff. Looks like the leftovers from a bad touring theatre troupe.”

”Or a hard up for cash Girl Scout troop,” Kerry murmured, lifting out a metal pan, resembling a camping cup. ”Wow.” She turned it over, peering at a set of scratches in the bottom. ”Initials.”

”Uh huh.” Dar reached in and pulled out a small wooden box, flat and smooth as satin with age. She gently opened it, revealing an old fashioned writing pen, its tip stained with purpled ink.

”Oh.” Kerry took it from Dar’s proffered hands and examined it.

”Wow, that’s really old.” She ran a fingertip down the brass surface.

”Was she a writer?”

”I...” Dar thought about it. ”I don’t think so, but I didn’t know her really well, Kerry. We were... It was strange. I wasn’t really ever sure why she left me all this. We weren’t close.” She paused. ”Why? Do you think she was?”

”Mm... This pen meant something to her. Usually you keep the things you use the most, Dar.” Kerry lifted the pen out carefully, and curled her fingers around it, It...fit...comfortably, in the oddest way.

”Oh, what a nice feeling,” she murmured, flexing her hand.

Dar watched her curiously. ”Are you into calligraphy?”

”A little,” Kerry responded. ”I used to write my poetry longhand, until I figured out it was a lot safer to put them in my computer.” She sighed. ”They always seemed more intense when I wrote them out, but I knew my parents, or Kyle couldn’t find their way through my hard drive.”

Dar closed her hand over Kerry’s. ”Why don’t you keep hold of that, then, because if you’ve ever seen my handwriting, you’ll know I will never, ever have use for it.” A wry grin edged her face. ”There’s a reason I type everything, and I have, since grade school.”

Kerry gazed at the pen, then up at her. ”Oh, yeah. I heard Mariana moaning about some evaluations you wrote out. She said she was going to have to call in a Greek scholar to translate,” she teased gently.

”Thank you. I don’t know if I could bear to try and use it, but I like just holding this.”

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Blue eyes glinted suddenly, with an inner light. ”Write me a poem with it.” The low voice took on a momentarily deeper tone.

A warmth traveled up her spine, and Kerry smiled in reflex. ”All right.” She carefully put the antique pen down on the table. ”What’s next?” She reached a hand in, and collided with a large, heavy metal piece. ”Ouch, what the heck is that? A machete? Did she wander the Amazon jungle or something?” Kerry carefully tugged her find free.

”Oh.”It was a rusted, rotting, half disintegrated sword. ”Good grief.”

Kerry got her other hand under the rotted leather of what once might have been a scabbard and lifted it clear. ”Would you look at that?”

Dar had stilled, and now she exhaled a long breath. ”Let me see that,” she asked softly, holding out her hands as Kerry gently placed the ancient artifact in them.

The first thing she felt was a slow, faint wash of sadness, gentle, but profound enough to prick the back of her eyes with tears. ”Bet there’s a story behind this old thing,” she commented to Kerry quietly. ”You can almost feel the history in it.” She gazed down at the ruined sword, noting the plain, worn brass hilt, its surface encrusted in green, and the unraveling tatters of rotted leather that fell away from her fingers as she touched it.

Dar wrapped her fingers around the hilt, and pulled the crumbling leather away from it, revealing a scarred, pitted steel blade, broken halfway down, its remaining length gouged with deep, asymmetrical grooves. She twisted her wrist, closing her eyes and feeling a faint, clear bell of familiarity ring deep down, as the weight of it hit her forearm muscles. ”Damn, this brings back memories,” she murmured, opening her eyes and regarding Kerry thoughtfully.

”It does?” Kerry had been watching her in mild fascination.

”Yeah, we used to study a couple different types of sword handling when I was really into the martial arts.” There are several forms that focus on allowing the artist to become proficient at a lot of different weapons, Dar mused, turning her hand around and letting a faint smile touch her lips. ”I gave it up, mostly because it doesn’t have a lot of practical application in today’s world.”

”Mm, bet you were good at it,” Kerry observed, cupping her chin in one hand.

A shrug. ”I was all right.” Dar gently put the broken sword down.

”I’ll clean that up. It’s a nice conversation piece.”

”Right.” Kerry reached in, and pulled out another small wooden box, this one a heavier, almost petrified looking wood with a brass band around it fastening it shut. ”Care to give a guess? Let’s see...a centuries old brass faucet.”

Dar leaned on the edge of the trunk. ”Okay...um...a petrified dog biscuit,” she hazarded, the word biscuit immediately getting Chino’s attention.

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Green eyes rolled, then Kerry carefully undid the clever latch, and worked the box open, the wooden edges having warped tightly shut.

”Ugh. This is kinda...whoops.” The box fell out of her hands as it popped open, and onto the tile floor, spilling its contents. ”Oh, damn.

Did it break? God, Dar...I...”

”Shh...no.” Slowly, Dar put down her hand, and touched the grayish black stones gingerly. Each was attached to the remains of a silver chain, and she picked one up and examined it. ”What in the hell is that?” She picked up the other stone and looked at it, then she rotated it and gingerly put both stones together. ”Hey, they match.”

Kerry leaned close. ”They fit together.” Her throat felt funny when she said it. ”How unusual.”

Dar’s finger pushed the two stones around in her palm, their edges fitting snugly together. ”They sure do,” she mused thoughtfully. ”Too bad they’re so beat up. It might be kinda fun to...um...”

Kerry gently picked the stones up and separated them. ”Let me see if I can clean them up. I’ve got some jewelry cleaner upstairs.” She glanced up at Dar’s face, which was painted in tones of interest and curiosity. ”Would you wear half if I can?”

A strange, almost dreamy smile crossed Dar’s face. ”Yeah. Would you?”

A laugh bubbled up from deep inside her, and Kerry released it into the air. ”Sure.”

In her palm, the stones nestled together, in obscure, gray contentment.

KERRY TOOK THE small bowl out onto the patio with her, seating herself in the early morning sun and propping her bare feet up against the railing. Dar had left a little while ago, and she’d found herself with some time before her nine a.m. appointment.

So she’d decided to clean the rocks they’d found, before she got dressed and took the short drive over to her doctor’s office. She shifted a little and flexed her thighs, a little heavy feeling still from her running that morning, but she’d made eight laps for the first time, keeping up with Dar in a small piece of personal triumph.

Of course, she suspected her lover had cooperatively kept her pace to something Kerry could handle, but still, eight was eight, and it felt pretty damn good.

Add that to the fact that she’d finally...finally gotten the hang of that over the shoulder throw last night, and had managed to down Dar with it not once, but twice.

Yeah. She could sit here in the sun with her rocks and her solution, and feel darn proud and pleased with herself. ”Heh, heh, heh,” Kerry chortled softly, dipping the rocks carefully in the very mild liquid. She was actually feeling pretty smug, to tell the truth, and she was more 336

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than a little looking forward to going in for her checkup for a change.

What she hadn’t told Dar was that her doctor, Marie Simpson was a gym rat. She’d not only delighted in chastising Kerry for being so skinny, she’d spent thirty minutes during every appointment trying to browbeat her into joining a gym and starting an aerobics program.

She’d also been, to Kerry’s mild discomfort, romantically interested in her. Marie had made it clear that she wasn’t looking for anything serious, just some light hearted fun, and they’d gone out a few times together. Kerry had enjoyed herself, still very tentative in adjusting to her sexuality, but she and Marie just hadn’t had that much in common.

The doctor’s interests tended to violent sports, poker, and frank leering at passing bodies.

Marie also like to drink, which Kerry had deliberately turned away from, and she loved to party.

Kerry had gone with her to one, thrown by a professional women’s group Marie belonged to. She’d been all right, until she was cornered near the bar by a couple of very drunk and very amorous paralegals.

That had been a little ugly. But she’d gotten out of it with the help of a very sweet and very friendly bartender, who let her slip by behind the bar and through the hotel’s kitchen, where she exited and called a cab. It hadn’t been Marie’s fault, though the woman had apologized profusely, but Kerry had decided after that she wasn’t quite the party animal. ”Kerry,” Marie had said. ”You’re sweet, but you need to get a life.”Kerry swished the rocks around in the solution, and looked around her, with a grin. “Guess I found a life, huh?” She watched a seagull float overhead, and savored the sunlight warming her skin in a moment of pure, animal happiness. “Mm.”

”Okay, let’s see what we’ve got here.” She gently fished the first stone out and laid it on a soft cloth, then rubbed it carefully. A layer of the dark surface came off onto the rag, and she examined it, then dipped it again. Three or four more dips, and a careful cleaning with the rag, and she was sitting in some amazement, as the sun poured down and sent fractures of colored light through the pure, clear crystal in the palm of her hand. ”Wow,” she whistled under her breath. ”Check that out.”

An idea occurred to her, and she carefully dried off the two pieces of crystal, untangling the ruined chains from them. ”I think I remember a jeweler close by Marie’s office.”

She grinned, as she stood up and reentered the condo, heading for her bedroom to change.

THE WAITING ROOM was quiet this early in the morning, and Kerry had only been seated for perhaps five minutes before the Hurricane Watch

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receptionist slid her glass window to one side, and motioned her in.

”Good morning.” Kerry smiled at the nurse who met her.

The woman glanced quickly at the folder she was carrying. ”Oh, good morning, Ms. Stuart. Gosh, we haven’t seen you here in quite a while, have we?”

”Not for a quite a few months, no,” Kerry confirmed cheerfully.

”You must be nice and healthy, then.” The nurse tucked her folder under her arm. ”Right this way...in room three.” She guided Kerry down the corridor, and into the examination room. ”Go on and slip into the gown, and I’ll be in to take your blood. This is just a regular physical, right?”

”Yep.” Kerry put her purse down and shrugged out of her jacket, draping it over the back of the chair. She’d worn a fairly casual, but neatly pressed polo shirt under it, chiefly because she knew she’d be taking it off, and travel irons weren’t really her style. She unzipped her skirt and slipped out of it, then pulled her shirt off and left them folded precisely as she pulled on the thin fabric of the examination gown.

Then she walked over to the counter and examined the various jars and containers, wishing this part of the trial was already over. She didn’t hate doctors like Dar did, but like any normal person, she found the waiting, and the wondering, uncomfortable.

She didn’t have long to wait, though. The nurse came back in, and put her folder down. ”Okay, let’s get you weighed and then I have to take two blood samples, okay?”

”Sure.” Kerry stepped amiably over to the scale and stood on it, watching as the nurse adjusted the weights until the bar balanced perfectly.

”One hundred twenty one…okay.” The nurse marked it down.

”That’s a change from last year.”

From ninety four? Yes. ”I took a job delivering pizzas; it’s made all the difference.” Kerry told her solemnly. ”You know you have to eat all the ones you can’t deliver.”

”Oh my.” The nurse gazed at her, concerned. ”Is that healthy?”

Kerry kept a straight face. ”I work with a partner. I only eat the vegetable ones.”

”Ah, that’s really smart.” The nurse smiled. ”Okay, go on and sit up on the table there, and I’ll get what I need to draw blood.”

Kerry obediently went and hopped up onto the table, dangling her bare legs over the edge, and resting her elbows on her thighs. She lifted an arm as the nurse came over, and submitted to the short, chunky woman’s touch as she probed for a vein.

”Do you work out?” the nurse asked, in idle curiosity, as Kerry flexed her arm and caused the newly defined biceps in her upper arm to bulge.

”No. Why?” Kerry asked, with devastating innocence.

The nurse peeked at her, then went back to her task. ”Oh, well, 338

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nothing. I was just asking.” She took her blood and then checked Kerry’s pulse and pressure, and wrote those down. ”Okay, the doctor will be in shortly.”

Kerry rubbed her arm, where the needle had extracted blood and stifled a yawn. She’d deliberately skipped coffee that morning, not wanting to send her blood pressure skyrocketing. ”Musta worked,” she murmured to herself, recalling the 115 over 72 that the nurse had recited.

She hopped off the table and wandered over to the frosted window, standing up on her toes to peer out the top, where green leaves moved across a blue sky. She spotted a blue bird outside, and she watched, fascinated, as the bird hopped to a nest nearby and started feeding small chicks.

In February. Kerry shook her head in mild amazement, then turned, as the door opened, and Marie Simpson walked in, letting it close behind her as she stood, and studied her patient.

”Who are you, and what have you done with Kerry Stuart?” the slim, frosted haired woman asked, with a laugh. ”Holy Jesus came to town, kid. What’s up with you?

Kerry chuckled, as she turned, and leaned casually against the wall.

”Hi, Marie.”

The doctor put her folder down and walked over. ”When I heard Nancy talking about this buff blonde in room three, who was smart mouthing her, I had to come see for myself.”

”I was just messing with her.” Kerry felt a blush coming on. ”So, how’ve you been?”

Marie took her wrists, and moved her arms out, examining her.

”Not a patch on you, kid. Did my lectures finally sink in or something?”

She gave Kerry a slap on the shoulder. ”Go sit down on the table, let’s check you out.”

Kerry did so, laying down on the table and stretching out, as Marie set her stethoscope into her ears and listened to Kerry’s heart, then moved it down to her abdomen. ”So, did it?”

”Did what?” Kerry asked.

”My lectures sink in?” Marie asked, probing with gentle, sure hands.

”Not exactly,” Kerry told her. ”But I took your advice. I got a life.”

”Really?” The doctor laughed. ”That wasn’t all I told you to get,”

she teased. ”I think I recall saying 'Kerry, you’re sweet, but you need a life, and a good lay.’”

Kerry cleared her throat, ignoring the flush of blood going to her skin. ”I got one of those, too,” she muttered, hardly able to believe she was saying it.

”Ooh...did you?” Marie gave her a pat on the belly. ”Sit up.” She waited for Kerry to comply, then set the stethoscope against her back.

”Breathe.”

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Kerry sucked in a breath obediently, glad of the chance to regain her composure.

”Breathe.”

Another breath.

”Sounds good in there. You had any more bronchitis?” Dr. Simpson studied her. ”Those dizzy spells come back?”

Kerry shook her head. ”No coughing since that last time, and the dizzy spells kinda tapered off in the fall.”

The doctor picked up a metal bar and tested her reflexes, then peered interestedly into the side of her head. Kerry sat quietly, looking straight ahead and trying to think of something other than how much that thing was tickling her.

”So, you lifting weights?” Marie asked, casually.

”Um...a bit...not that much really, mostly light stuff.” Kerry resisted the urge to bat the woman’s hand away from her sensitive ears.

”Wall climbing, a lot of running, some diving, a little martial arts, that sort of thing.” She glanced up as the doctor stepped back. ”I feel great.”

Marie put a hand on her shoulder. ”You look great.” She smiled. ”I can hardly believe it.” She indicated Kerry’s clothes. ”Get dressed and c’mon into my office. We can chit chat for a minute or two.” She paused.

”Did you want me to schedule you for a mammogram? No, wait, we did that last summer, right?”

Kerry nodded. ”Yes. That’s hard to forget. I still get chilly thinking of it.” She grinned wryly.

”I...um...” She chewed her lip. ”Check

regularly.”

Possibly more regularly than strictly necessary, since she and Dar had invented a sort of mutual, gently sensual game to it, when she’d found that her stubborn lover had never bothered to check herself even once.”Good deal,” the doctor nodded. ”Okay then, meet you down the hall. I’m going to grab a bottle of carrot juice. Want some?”

”Uh, no thanks.” Kerry ignored the growling in her stomach. ”I’m going to pick up some breakfast on the way into work.” A Cuban egg McMuffin, she’d decided, and a nice big café con leche.

And one for Dar, of course.

Marie left her to change, and she did, tucking her shirt into her waistband and zipping it, then settling her metallic green jacket over her shoulders. She picked up her purse and went down to the doctor’s office, settling into the comfortable chair across from the desk, where the older woman was busy scribbling into her files. ”So, everything look okay?”

”Hang on,” Marie muttered, still scribbling. ”I want to get...okay.”

She looked up, and folded her hands. ”It’ll take a while for the blood work to come back, but everything looks good to me.” Her eyes twinkled. ”And your health does too.”

Kerry allowed a smile to cross her face, acknowledging the 340

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compliment. ”It’s been quite a change for me. I moved. I have a new job...” She paused, considering. ”Someone in my life. I guess that’s been the biggest change. Dar’s gotten me into a lot of that physical stuff.”

Marie cocked her head. ”Dar, that’s an unusual name. You don’t mean Dar Roberts, do you?”

Kerry blinked, truly startled. ”Um...yes.”

The doctor whistled.

”Wow. I never met her, but I’ve heard

stories.” She leaned forward. ”You got pictures?”

She’d heard of Dar? That made no sense, given the separate circles they traveled in. ”Uh, yeah, I do.” Kerry pulled out her wallet, and opened it, selecting one of her favorite pictures of the two of them, standing near an old oak outside the condo, Dar’s arms wrapped loosely around her neck.

”Wow,” Marie said again, looking up and giving Kerry a very respectful glance. ”My ex was at the bar downtown the night she took out those two robbers. She said she never saw anything quite like it, just like in the movies.”

Kerry's blonde brow edged up. ”Hah. I haven’t heard that story, but that’s Dar. She hates making herself out to be a hero.”

Marie handed the picture back, with a frank grin. ”She definitely saved a few butts that night, and put one guy in the hospital for three months.” A faint shake of her head. ”You picked a wild one, Kerry, but if you’re happy...” She let the thought drift off. ”Listen, we’re having a party next Saturday night at the club. Why don’t you guys stop by, hmm? I’d love to meet your friend.”

Kerry hesitated. ”Sure, I mean, I don’t think we have anything planned. I’ll check with Dar when I get to the office.” She didn’t want to refuse outright, since she did like Marie, but she wondered if Dar would want to make an appearance at what was, apparently, old stomping grounds.

Marie stood up. ”Okay, great, maybe we’ll see you then.” She smiled, and held a hand out. ”Great seeing you, Kerry. I’ll give you a call if anything unusual comes back in your tests, but in my considered opinion, just keep doing what you’re doing, okay?”

Kerry also stood, and gripped her hand. ”Thanks, Marie. I’ll be seeing you.”

”Yeah.” The doctor gave her a speculative look. ”I hope so.”

DAR WAS SEATED at her desk, her head propped up on one hand and her mouse in the other. She was clicking through a series of spreadsheets, checking their contents, then flipping back to others in a blur of white with pale blue lines. A soft knock interrupted her, and she leaned back, welcoming it. ”C’mon in.”

Maria pushed the door opened and entered, closing it behind her.

She was carrying several folders, which she put neatly on Dar’s desk.

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”Is the three new companies we bring in, Dar,” the secretary said. ”And Kerrisita just poked her head in, to say she is here now.”

”Oh?” Dar visibly perked up. ”That didn’t take long, guess everything’s okay then.” You never knew with doctors, after all, though Kerry certainly appeared extremely healthy, you just never knew.

”Great. I had a lunch meeting sprung on me that I wanted her to attend.”

As if on cue, a popup appeared on her window.

”Hey, my doctor wants to meet you.”

Dar blinked, and glanced at Maria, then leaned forward and typed back.”Oh really? Everything go okay then?”

”Remember what Maria thought of me? With the trail mix? That’s what my doctor thinks of you.”

Dar smiled. ”C’mon over.” She turned and put her hands on the desk. ”So, we have three new acquisitions, eh?”

”Si,” Maria agreed.

Dar drummed her fingers on the desk. ”Um...so...what did you have planned for the weekend, Maria?”

The secretary gave her a curious look. ”Aye...well...nothing really, just some work in the garden, and my husband is going to paint the bathroom,” she answered, a little puzzled.

”Ah. That sounds nice...um...” Dar glanced up as the inner door opened and Kerry ambled in, her green eyes twinkling as they found her lover’s face. ”We were going to have a little get together on Saturday morning...I'd...um... Dar regarded her pencil, then looked over at Kerry. ”We’d like you to be there.” Kerry put a paper bag down on the desk and smiled at Maria.

Maria folded her hands, and looked from one to the other. ”It is a party?”

Dar looked at Kerry in silent appeal. Kerry rolled her eyes.

”Sort of.” Kerry perched on one corner of the desk. ”My former pastor from Michigan is in Miami for a visit, and he offered to perform a commitment ceremony for us.”

She does that so smoothly. Dar marveled.

”Como?” Maria took a step forward towards them. ”Do you mean to be saying you are getting married?”

Kerry felt the strangeness of the word. ”Um...yes, I think you could say that.” She turned and looked at Dar in question. The woman was chewing the end of her pen so studiously you’d have thought she had a plastic deficiency. ”Right?”

Blue eyes shifted to her face, and then to Maria. ”Uh...yes.” Dar swallowed, having never really expected to be saying that. “We are.”

Maria put her hands on her hips, and gave Dar a very severe look.

”Jefe, that is not nice.”

Dar was startled. ”Wh—” Could she have read Maria all wrong?

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No. ”What isn’t nice?” Kerry was also regarding the secretary in some puzzlement.

”You cannot just be doing this without warning. To not give me a chance to get a nice present. That is not fair, Dar. I must get a dress, and...”

”Whoa, whoa, no, no. It’s very casual, Maria.” Dar stood up hastily. ”You don’t need to get us anything. We just want you to be there.”

”Right,” Kerry nodded. ”Really, it’s very...we just decided to do this the other day, Maria.”

”Casual?” Maria repeated. ”How you mean, casual, Dar?”

”Um, well, we’re going to take my boat out there.” Dar scratched her jaw. ”And it’s on a little island...before dawn.”

Maria stared at her for a long moment. ”Dios Mio.” She shook her head. ”Dar, you are too much.”

Dar exhaled softly. ”It’s all right if you don’t want to, Maria. I know it’s very short notice, and it’s not—”

”Pardon? I do not think so, Dar. I would not miss this for all the how you say, coffee in India,” Maria stated. ”I will get my pair of shorts out, just for you.” She beamed at them, then turned and bustled out, shutting the door behind her.

”Well,” Kerry remarked, turning and giving her lover a smile. Then she walked around and leaned on the desk next to Dar, her blonde hair brushing the edges of the wood surface. ”Hi.”

Dar glanced at the door, then nuzzled her. ”Mm, you smell like café con leche.”

”Oh yeah?” Kerry leaned her way and kissed her lightly. ”Imagine that.”Dar’s eyes gentled. ”Everything okay?” she asked.

”Mm hmm,” Kerry told her. ”Marie tells me I’m very healthy, and that I look great, and that she wants me to bring you to a party down there so they can all meet the infamous Dar Roberts.”

Blue eyes flickered. ”Infamous?”

”Mm, something about a robber, or maybe it was two of them...or six.”Dar dropped her head. ”Ah.” She nodded. ”That. Damn. Are they still telling that old story?” She looked a bit abashed. “Talk about stale news.”

Kerry slipped her arm across Dar’s shoulders. ”Tell you what, partner; I’ve got some meatballs in the crock pot cooking nice and slow.

How about you and me share a big bowl of them and some spaghetti later on, and you tell me that old story, okay?”

Dar smiled quietly at the desktop. ”All right.” She paused, reflectively. ”You know, I remember going out to the beach after that whole thing happened, and watching the sun rise.” She let out a breath.

”It was one of the only times I felt...proud of who I was, and the fact Hurricane Watch

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that I’d had a positive effect in someone’s life.”

Kerry studied her profile for a moment, then she reached over and gently tilted her chin up, until their eyes met. ”Until now.”

A calm silence fell, as they stared into each other’s eyes, bathed in the warm sunlight pouring into the room, and spilling over them like a golden blanket.

Abruptly the phone buzzed, and broke the spell. ”Dar, I have the Singapore on uno,” Maria’s voice entered the room.

Dar took Kerry’s hand, and kissed it. ”All right, I’ve got it, Maria.”

Kerry stroked her cheek, then straightened, and nodded. ”See you for lunch.” She motioned towards the bag. ”Enjoy.”

”Thanks.” Dar smiled, as she reached for the phone button.

”Yeah?”

”Dar, we’ve got SITA problems again,” the harried voice sounded.

”The overseas net is down in the Far East. Can you help?”

Dar glanced at her assistant. “Actually, you need to talk to our operations Director, Kerry Stuart. I’ll transfer you over. I’m sure she can get your issue resolved.”

“B—”

“Hang on.” Dar cocked her head at Kerry, and lifted her brows.

“Ready?”

Kerry took a breath, and nodded. “If I can’t fix it, can we go there too?” she quipped. “I bet Singapore’s way more interesting than backwoods North Carolina.”

Dar shook her finger at her, but grinned.

“Give me a minute, then transfer it.” Kerry moved to the door, and waved, then disappeared.