Red Sky at Morning

Chapter

Eleven

THE BOAT’S BOW bobbed up and down gently in the surf, a soothing motion that made the woman painting on its fiberglass surface smile. Ceci Roberts dipped her brush into a swirl of acrylic color, studied the canvas for a moment, and then continued her work. The underwater seascape had a wash of blue in a dozen shades and the floor of the sea with its coating of coral, and now she was going back in and putting in the vibrant colors of fish and leafy ocean foliage.

Nearby rested a small tray with a pitcher of iced tea and a bowl of fresh fruit. The slim silver-blonde woman paused again and selected a bit of melon, sucking on it as she considered her next stroke.

The sun splashed over her tanned skin and she idly watched the golden light, taking a moment to simply live, adoring the present and giving a silent thanks to the goddess for perhaps the thousandth time.

The boat rocked a little harder, and she looked up to see a pair of large hands clasping the lower railing, long fingers tightening on the metal then straining as the hands were followed by a large, wet, partially neoprene-covered body. Ceci smiled. “Hey there, sailor boy.

Find the problem?”

“I surely did.” Andrew pulled himself up and over the railing, then removed a bag slung at his waist and dumped its contents onto the white deck. “That there fish got stuck in the intake valve.”

“Ew.” Ceci grimaced. “Andy, if I wanted sushi on the boat, I’d have ordered out. Can you toss it overboard?”

The big ex-SEAL snorted, but scooped the messy item up and neatly chucked it over the railing. Then he squished over to where his wife was seated and peered at the painting, careful to avoid dripping murky salt-water on Ceci’s palette. “I do like that.”

Ceci tickled his exposed kneecap, then leaned over and kissed the spot, tasting the tang of the sea. “I do love you,” she told him. “I still think this has to be a dream.”

Andrew seated himself on the deck. “Seems that way sometimes, don’t it?” his deep voice rumbled quietly. “Been through a lot, you and I have. Maybe it’s just the good Lord’s way of saying we done all right.”

Ceci studied the scarred, weathered face next to her, its piercing blue eyes standing out with startling clarity. She traced a grizzled 174 Melissa Good eyebrow gently. “Maybe.”

The cell phone resting on the deck next to her warbled. They both glanced at it, then Ceci sighed and picked it up. “Yes?”

“Ceci.”

And then again, Ceci gazed plaintively up at the sky, the goddess has ways of reminding you just how easily karma can change. “Hello, Charles,”

she replied. “To what do I owe the honor of this call?”

Charles Bannersley was her older brother, the head of their family, and one of the largest ambulatory anal orifices Ceci knew. She was pissed at him, though she didn’t think he really understood why, and wanted to hear his voice about as much as she wanted a salt-water enema.

Andrew merely narrowed his eyes as he recognized the tinny voice coming from the phone Ceci was holding between them.

“I’d like to see you,” Charles answered. “Candy and I are here, in Miami.”

“Sorry,” Ceci replied crisply. “I’ve got plans tonight.”

“Fine. Have a drink with us first,” her brother came right back.

“Can’t you spare ten minutes for your family?”

Andrew rolled his eyes. “Lord.”

“My family?” Ceci decided to allow her spleen its moment. “My family’s sitting right here next to me. Of course I can spare any amount of time for Andrew.” She paused. “And Dar and Kerrison, of course.

Why do you ask?”

A sigh traveled through the cell phone’s speaker. “Cecilia, please.”

Andrew and Ceci exchanged looks. Andrew’s eyebrows lifted in amused surprise, giving him an expression very much like Dar’s would have been in the same situation.

Ceci considered, then shrugged. “Fine. There’s a tiki bar just off the marina here. Meet me in a half-hour. I can only stay a few minutes, though, Kerry’s picking us up for dinner after that.” Poke, poke. Ceci enjoyed the jab at her family’s straight-laced sensibilities.

“All right.” Charles hesitated. “Alone, Ceci.”

Andrew straightened in outrage and almost grabbed for the phone.

Ceci put a finger against his lips and held it out of range. “You’re joking, right?” she told her brother. “Did you really think I’d subject Andy to you two? Get real.” Her hand folded the phone shut, and she dropped it on the towel next to her. “Into every life, a little bird crap must fall, hmm?”

Andrew scowled. “Ah could go with you.”

“Nah.” Ceci ruffled his drying close-cropped hair affectionately.

“I’ll be safe. Charles is an idiot, but the last I checked, he wasn’t suicidal.” She tilted his chin up and kissed him. “Let me go toss on some scandalous clothing and find out what his problem is.”

Andrew watched her leave. He collected the tubes and other painting gear and tucked them away in the plastic bucket Ceci used and Red Sky At Morning 175

tidied the area, then stood and made his way aft to rid himself of his scuba equipment.

“A TIKI BAR.” Charles loosened his collar and glanced around.

“Figures.” He gave his twin sister a disgusted look. “I hate this place.

Always have.”

Candice fiddled with the table tent before her. She was of medium height, with reddish bronze hair and green eyes, like her brother, though his hair was thinning almost to invisibility. “Yes, well, what the hell did you expect, Charles? You knew what it would be like.”

He snorted and took a sip of his whiskey, his eyes wandering over the scantily clad bodies and diverse ethnicity of the bar. Candice poked him. “What?”

“Here she comes,” Candice told him. They both turned to watch as their younger sister made her way up the wooden boardwalk toward them. “Well, she looks healthy.”

Charles didn’t answer. His eyes studied the relaxed, self-assured person approaching, unable to refute the positive changes since the last time he’d seen Ceci. She’d let her hair grow out a little, and it was bleached even lighter from the sun, contrasting with the sun-darkened shade of her previously very pale skin.

She was no longer a ghost, eyes tensed in a remembered pain that never left her.

No longer lost.

She’d come home, and even Charles, who hated this place—and hated her choice—had to admit the truth of that. “Ceci.” He stood and greeted her as she joined their table. “Thanks for coming over.”

“Charles.” Ceci greeted him with wary cordiality. “Hello, Candy.”

Her sister smiled. “Hi, Cec. You look great.” She leaned forward.

“Did you color your hair, or is that a new lipstick or..?”

“No.” Ceci took a seat next to her older sister. “I’ve just been outside more than inside and put on ten pounds since you last saw me.

But thanks for noticing.” She caught the eye of the waiter. “Kahlua milkshake, please.”

“That’s different for you,” Candy commented.

“I picked up some new bad habits from Dar.” Ceci assumed a pleasant smile. “What do you two want?”

Her siblings exchanged glances. “Can’t we just want to see you?”

Charles asked.

“No.” Ceci looked directly at him. “Andrew told me what you did, Charles.” She referred to her brother’s refusal to pass on the Navy’s notification of Andrew’s rescue to her. “It’s a good thing you waited this long to contact me, because otherwise I’d have killed you for that.”

“Cecilia.”

“How dare you.” Ceci slapped the table with her hand, making the 176 Melissa Good silverware jump. Her brother and sister jerked in startled surprise. “You pretentious little son of a bitch.”

Charles took a breath, clearly caught off guard. “I did what I thought was best for you,” he finally answered stiffly.

“Bullshit,” Ceci snapped, looking up as the waiter brought her milkshake and hurriedly left, seeing the angry faces. “Do you have any idea how badly I was hurting, Charles? How many days of pain you could have taken away from me with that damn piece of paper?” She slapped the table again. “Do you know just how ironic it is that my estranged daughter had to come back into my life to bring me back my Andy?”

Candy leaned forward and took her hand. “Cec, what Charles did was wrong. But he didn’t do it to hurt you.” She searched her sister’s angry eyes.

“There is no way you can convince me of that,” Ceci said, after a moment. “As much as you both hate Andrew, you knew how I felt about him.”

A silence fell. Charles looked down at his hands, his fingers twisted together. Candice took several slow, even breaths. “Yes, we knew,” she finally said. “We never understood why, but we...” She glanced at her twin. “I knew.” Another breath. “I’m sorry, Ceci.”

Charles refused to look up.

“I don’t want it to be like it was,” Candice continued, filling the awkward silence. “I don’t want to lose my sister and not have you be part of my life.”

“This is ridiculous.” Charles suddenly looked up. “We shouldn’t have to sit here and beg.”

“Charles!” Candice cut him off.

“No, I’m not going to shut up.” He stood angrily, then paused as someone gently cleared their throat next to him.

“Hi.” Kerry folded her hands in front of her. “Thought I recognized you. Mr. Bannersley, wasn’t it?”

Ceci let her chin rest on her fist, watching her daughter-in-law in action. Kerry had a sweet, engaging smile that totally didn’t match the fiery sparks visible in her pale green eyes. Her sense of presence was almost as significant as Dar’s, and it was obvious Kerry had been taking lessons from Ceci’s tempestuous and intimidating offspring.

Charles gave her a cursory stare. “What?”

“Kerrison Stuart.” Kerry stuck her hand out. “Dar’s partner? We met at the funeral.”

Charles gave her hand a perfunctory press. “Yes, well, you’ll excuse us, please. I’m having a discussion with my sister, and I suggest you leave us alone.”

Candice opened her mouth in outrage.

“You’re yelling at my mother-in-law, and I suggest you sit down and lower your voice before I shove you into Biscayne Bay,” Kerry told Red Sky At Morning 177

him in a mild, kind tone. She folded her arms, and in her snug tank top, her toned muscles looked healthily imposing. “Mind if I sit down?”

DAR CORNERED THE petty officer after he’d taken the new recruits to their barracks and gotten them assigned to bunks. “Do you assess them?”

“What?” The officer stared at her. “Not my job, lady. They do that at intake.”

“So where are their scores?”

“Scores? Who the hell cares?”

Dar felt like she was swimming through peanut butter. “How do you figure out where to place them if you don’t have scores?” She forced patience into her voice. “Or skill assessments?”

“Are you some kinda idiot?” the man spluttered. “These dorks don’t have skills, you moron. They’re nothing but bodies with empty heads. They’ll do whatever we train them to do. No one cares what their scores are.”

The sheet of white-hot rage hit her before she could defend against it. One moment she was standing with her Palm Pilot out, the next she’d grabbed the petty officer and slammed him against the wall, her hands reaching for automatic holds and a growl of pure animal emotion erupting from her throat. For a split second, she teetered on the edge of madness, and then her rational mind savagely ripped back control and forced her to merely push the man back against the wall.

Damn.

Dar waited for her throat to unclench, and then she took a breath.

“I don’t appreciate being called a moron.” Even she heard the rough touch to her tone. “Especially by someone whose mental power rates lower than a watch’s battery.”

The petty officer was breathing hard, his hands clenching and unclenching, barely in control. “Who in the hell do you think you are?”

he spat out.

For some reason, the question calmed Dar. She got herself under control, feeling the rage subside, leaving her knees trembling. What in the hell’s wrong with me? she wondered uneasily. A pounding headache followed her return to sanity, and she had to swallow before she answered. “I think I’m the person your bosses hired to find out why this place isn’t working.” She leaned forward. “Maybe I just have.”

Now it was the petty officer’s turn to swallow. “Now hold on.”

They were alone in the room, and the man looked around quickly before he returned his attention to Dar. “I didn’t do a damn thing. Just what I was told.”

Dar stepped back and let her hands drop, feeling exhausted. “I’ve heard that before.” She found the stool near the computer console and sat down on it. “Something’s going on here, and I’m gonna find it.”

178 Melissa Good The man hesitated, then walked over and leaned on the computer console table. “Hey, look, you really from Washington?” His voice had lowered considerably.

Dar lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “I was hired by the Joint Chiefs, yes.”

“All right, look...” The man shifted, and straightened suddenly, cutting off his speech as the door opened. “Sir.”

Dar lifted her eyes to see the base commander enter. “Morning.”

“Howdy, tadpole.” Jeff Ainsbright gave her a big smile. “We all set for dinner tonight?”

The petty officer edged away from her, his eyes taking on a wary look.

“I think so, yes,” Dar agreed. “Seven, you said? You want to meet at the steakhouse?”

The older man nodded briskly. “Right you are, tadpole. Chuckie tells me you’re sweet on someone—you made the invite to him, too, right? Love to meet ’im.”

The complication of the situation almost made Dar wince. “They’ll be here,” she quietly affirmed. “Mom and Dad, too.”

“Great.” The commander slapped her on the back. “Carry on, didn’t want to interrupt anything. You find any holes yet I need to be plugging?”

Dar looked up at his weathered face, open and interested as it was.

His smile indicated he expected no startling revelations from her, and at the moment, she wasn’t sure if she had any.

Right? “Nothing concrete yet, Uncle Jeff,” she said. “I’m still working through the data.”

Maybe it was the way she’d said it. The base commander straightened a little, then glanced at the petty officer who was pressed against the wall doing his best imitation of a strip of wall weave.

“Dismissed.” He waited for the man to leave and the door to close, then he turned back to Dar, his face now mildly concerned. “What’s the poop, tadpole? You really find something?”

Dar’s lips tensed as she found herself caught between conflicting loyalties. She felt a mild sense of confusion for the first time in her life, and she had to stop and collect her thoughts for a moment before she could answer. “I don’t know yet,” she finally answered honestly. “I might have...there’s something I don’t like in the numbers, but I haven’t fully analyzed it.”

The CO put a large hand on her shoulder. “Tadpole, whatever you find, you bring it to me, hear? I don’t care what it is, I wanna know.”

Dar searched his face, seeing nothing but rock-solid resolve in his eyes. “All right,” she agreed quietly. “When I have something for sure, you’ll know it.”

He patted her cheek. “Atta girl. You doing okay, tadpole? You look a little pale t’day.”

Red Sky At Morning 179

Dar winced, lifting a hand to rub the back of her neck. “Headache,”

she explained with a light shrug. “Think I’ll go take a walk outside for a few minutes.”

“Right you are, my friend.” Commander Ainsbright slung an arm over her shoulders and tugged her toward the door. “Fresh air’s just the ticket. I’d send you out on a boat if I had one leaving; get you some salt in those lungs.” He opened the door and they walked outside into the sunlight. “How ’bout a cup of java? That usually puts a patch on my noggin bangers.”

Dar thought back to the petty officer, then realized the man was probably long gone, chasing after the new recruits. “Sure,” she agreed.

“Then I’ll go catch up with the swabs.”

“QUITE THE LITTLE Lone Ranger, aren’t you?” Ceci commented as she and Kerry watched her siblings retreat into the golden rays of sun. They’d lasted through all of ten minutes of Kerry’s pointedly polite chatter, then decided to give up and leave them alone. Ceci hadn’t minded, but she suspected her sister, at least, wasn’t giving up and would be back in touch.

That was all right. She’d never really minded Candice, who generally just went along with Charles in some kind of twin-like Zen mode. This time, however, Candy had spoken for herself, using the unusual “I” instead of “we,” and Ceci had almost warmed back up to her.

A little.

Very little. But if Candy was, at this late stage in her life, attempting to develop a mind of her own, who was she to get in the way? “I feel well and thoroughly rescued.”

Kerry leaned back and propped her feet up on the chair Charles had hastily vacated. “Who, me?” She smiled a trifle sheepishly. “Dar’s rubbing off on me a little, maybe.”

Ceci chuckled and nudged her glass over. “Want some?”

Kerry’s brow contracted a bit. “No…my stomach’s acting up.” She exhaled, putting a hand over the afflicted area. “Or maybe it was just too many stressful meetings. It’s been in a...knot all day.” She finished the sentence softly.

Ceci watched her face, seeing the expression change as Kerry’s focus turned inward. “Kerry?”

After a moment, the green eyes flicked up to meet hers. “Yeah, sorry. I was just thinking about something.” Her fingers twitched as she resisted the urge to pull out her cell phone and call Dar. She’s not a baby, and you’re not her sitter, Kerry. You can’t call her to find out if she’s okay every time you get a cramp.

Ceci hazarded a guess. “About my daughter?”

Kerry’s eyebrows hiked up. “Um...”

180 Melissa Good

“She gets the same expression on her face when she’s wondering about you,” Ceci remarked mildly. “I think it’s an indication of her fondness for you.”

A faint blush darkened Kerry’s already tanned skin. “It’s mutual.”

She played with the napkin from Ceci’s drink. She recalled Dar’s half-forgotten “fit” before Thanksgiving and decided here, at least, was a person she could broach the subject with who wouldn’t think she was weird.

Well, not too weird, anyway. “Can I ask a question?”

Ceci looked around, then pointed at her own chest. “Of me?”

Kerry nodded.

“Sure,” the older woman agreed, more than a little apprehensive.

“It’s not about motherhood, is it?”

Kerry’s eyebrows went straight up. “Um...no.” She put a hand on her stomach. “Why, do I look pregnant or something? I know I put on some more weight lately, but...”

Ceci chuckled and relaxed. “Not at all...I just used to have nightmares about having ‘that talk’ with Dar.” She cocked her head.

“What’s on your mind, Kerry?”

What was on her mind. Interesting way of putting it. “It’s kind of a weird question,” she replied slowly. “But...did you ever...” Kerry paused, frowning. “This sounds so crazy,” she apologized.

“Not yet, it doesn’t, except you don’t usually beat around in the bushes,” her mother-in-law remarked mildly.

“No, I know.” Kerry circled her knee with both hands. “Okay, well...before Thanksgiving, when Dar and I were both traveling?”

“Hmm.”

“My plane had some real problems during the flight, and I have to tell you, I was scared senseless,” Kerry said.

“Perfectly reasonable,” the older woman stated. “Nothing crazy about that, Kerry.”

“Dar felt it,” Kerry admitted. “She knew something was wrong.”

She stopped speaking and watched her mother-in-law’s face for a reaction.

It wasn’t the one she expected. Ceci cocked her head to one side and then smiled. “And?” she asked with a curious grin. “You want to know if that’s normal?”

Kerry nodded slightly.

“Of course not,” Ceci informed her.

“Oh.”

“But I’ve felt it. I know Andrew has,” the older woman went on.

“When you’re very close to someone, I think it just works that way. You just...know.”

Kerry thought about that for a few minutes in silence while Ceci sucked on her milkshake. “It’s weird,” she finally said. “It’s like...I haven’t felt right all day, and if I call Dar, I bet something is making her upset.”

Red Sky At Morning 181

“Really?”

“Yeah,” Kerry answered. “I think about that and I feel like I’m reading a copy of the National Enquirer,” she admitted, plucking lightly at the seam on her denims. “But I know what I feel, so...”

Ceci chuckled softly. “Must have freaked my daughter out.”

“Uh-huh.” Kerry looked up and smiled. “She thought she was going nuts. I can’t blame her, though. If she felt half as scared as I did, I would have thought I was going nuts too,” she added. “But it’s also sort of nice.”

“That you care enough about someone to feel that?” Ceci asked.

A light blush appeared on Kerry’s face, making her pale brows stand out suddenly. “Well, it’s mutual, I think.”

“No, really?” Ceci chuckled. “I’d never have guessed. You two keep it hidden so well.”

Kerry’s blush deepened. “That brings me to another problem, if you don’t mind. I need to get your advice on something.”

Uh-oh. Ceci straightened, feeling a mild sense of alarm. During her years on the base, speeches like that usually presaged breakups and divorces, and she wasn’t ready to hear that coming from Kerry. “What’s wrong?”

Kerry caught the tension in her voice and looked up, her brows contracting a little. “Wrong? No, I don’t think it’s wrong...it’s just something I’m worried about.”

Little alarm bells, the really annoying ones like the ones the Salvation Army collectors used at Christmas time, started going off.

“Now, Kerry, listen.” Ceci leaned forward. “I’ve known Dar a long time.”

“Um...I know that.”

“She has her moments, and I’ve seen most of them, but deep down, I think she’s a good person.”

Kerry’s forehead rumpled. “I think so, too. Listen, Mom—”

“So whatever it is you’re having problems with, think hard, and don’t give up on that kid too easily, okay? I did, and look where it got me,” Ceci told her very seriously.

Kerry’s eyes closed, then reopened, and she reached over to take Ceci’s hands in hers. “Mom.” She drew a breath. “The only thing that’s going to ever make me leave Dar is one or the other of us dying.” She paused. “And even then, I’m not so sure.”

Ceci blinked, now confused. “Oh. Well, that’s fine then,” she murmured. “Sorry, I thought—”

“I should have just talked faster.” Kerry smiled. “No, what I’m worried about is our relationship being front and center at dinner tonight.”

Ceci thought about that. “Oh.” She freed one hand and muffled a laugh. “I hadn’t even...oh, boy. Yeah...” Now the laugh escaped. “Oh, my goddess, those stuffed-up military—” She stopped and cleared her 182 Melissa Good throat. “Ahmm...I mean, well, yes, Kerry, you do have a point there.”

Her face struggled to remain serious. “But don’t worry about it—if they say anything, Andy will pick them up and toss them out the window, and they know it. If there’s one thing everyone at that table already knows, it’s don’t mess with my kid in front of her daddy.”

Kerry nodded in relief. “Okay. I was just worried about it. I know Dar has strong feelings about how she grew up, and I didn’t want to cause her any pain.”

Ceci sighed. “Kerry, you’re so nice you should be regulated by the EPA.” She reached over and patted the younger woman’s cheek. “Did you ask Dar if she wanted you to give this a miss?”

Kerry nodded.

“And she said no, right?”

Kerry nodded again.

“So don’t worry about it. C’mon, let’s go see if Andy’s gotten the seaweed out of his ears and gotten dressed. Then we can take off.”

They stood, and Kerry suddenly took a step around the table and pulled Ceci into a hug. “Thanks.”

Oh, good goddess. Ceci returned the hug and patted Kerry on the back. I’m becoming a mother...Eeeeeekkkk!

THE COFFEE HELPED. Dar had also detoured to her car and tossed back a half handful of Advil, and now she was prowling around the barracks looking for her friend the petty officer.

The base was quiet, otherwise; most of the active groups were out on some kind of maneuvers, and only the new recruits and the usual business units at the base were out and about and doing their daily tasks.Dar entered the long wooden barracks structure at one end and looked around the empty interior for a moment before she walked down the large central aisle. To either side were partitions with bunks in them, each bunk with its footlocker and open set of shelves made from what looked to her like old orange crates. Now that the new recruits had settled in, shirts were folded and in place, and the beds had obviously just been made.

Dar smiled. Probably remade a half-dozen times before the petty officer had been happy with them, the dark blankets tucked with meticulous neatness around the thin mattresses. She remembered watching the new groups come in and peeking through the window as they’d been badgered and badgered by the admitting officers.

Not her, she’d decided once. She’d have done it exactly right the first time out. After all, hadn’t her daddy taught her to make a regulation bunk and fold pants and shirts when she was only six years old?

With a smile, Dar continued through the room and out the other Red Sky At Morning 183

side, exiting onto a long, wooden porch with shallow steps that led down to the muddy ground. She looked to one side and spotted her little targets, now dressed in their new clothes, struggling to follow the orders of a new, different petty officer.

Dar wandered over and watched for a few minutes, until the new officer noticed her and walked over. This one was a woman, with short, crisply curled dark hair and an efficient attitude. “Ma’am? Something we can help you with?”

With a better attitude, at any rate. “No, just observing,” Dar replied.

“Where’s the guy you relieved?”

The woman cocked her head in question. “Petty Officer Williams?”

She waited for Dar’s nod. “Off duty, ma’am.”

Uh-huh. Dar looked over her shoulder at the recruits, surprised to find her slim blonde friend looking back at her. The gray eyes met hers and sparkled, then the girl looked straight ahead, her body stiffening into an efficient attention. “Good group?”

The new officer, whose name was apparently Plodget, looked behind her, evaluating the question seriously. “A few of them, ma’am.

It’s always the same. Most aren’t much use, but we always do find a few that’ll make it.”

“What’s your dropout rate?”

A guarded look fell over the woman’s face. “I wouldn’t know, ma’am.”

“Ballpark,” Dar pressed. “I’m sure you’ve got a feeling as to how many of these poor saps you lose.”

“No, ma’am, I don’t,” Plodget assured her. “We only get them for the first two weeks, then someone else takes over.”

“Why?”

“That’s just how it’s done, ma’am.”

Dar nodded slowly. “Where are their admitting records?”

“Haven’t gotten here yet.”

“Why not? You guys use a computer system to recruit. What’s the holdup?”

Unemotional dark brown eyes met hers squarely. “That’s just how it’s done, ma’am.”

“All right.” Dar straightened. “I’ll just go see if I can’t change that for you.”

Dar turned and walked away, feeling the eyes on her back as she headed for the Admittance Center. She ducked inside with a feeling of relief and went to the computer console, seating herself in front of it and cracking her knuckles slightly. “Okay. Answer time.” She logged in, and this time, instead of going through the regular channels, she keyed in a master code. “Idiots.” The code still worked, and dropped her to a command line. “Where do you want to go today, hmm?”

Master database was where Dar wanted to go, and a string of commands got her there. She accessed the file structure and entered it 184 Melissa Good through a back door, watching as the screen filled with line upon line of file records. Dar watched it for a few minutes, her eyes flicking back and forth searching for a certain pattern.

Ah. One long finger stopped the display. “Gotcha.” She keyed in another command string and accessed the recruits’ records, bringing them up and comparing them.

Her brow creased. “What in the hell?” Of the twenty, ten were, as the petty officer said, fairly standard, pretty much ordinary kids from lower-class backgrounds, with bad grades and poor ASVAB test results—destined, if they did make it, to be shipped out as seamen or women in whatever grunt job the Navy needed when they spit them out of training. Dar had known hundreds like them. Some might, she admitted, if they worked very hard, break through the ranks and ascend higher, but most would happily fill a berth and take three squares a day for as long as the US was willing to give it to them.

“What in the hell?” she repeated, then shook her head and captured the data, opening a second command page with a flick of her fingers.

She snagged the files she’d been studying and zipped them, then sent them up the network path into her own, now specially protected file space.

Dar drummed her fingertips on the keyboard for a moment, then searched another file, working from instinct and an innate knowledge of these systems, the core of which she’d helped design all those years ago.

There. She stared at the results. I thought I saw something wrong. I thought those accounts didn’t match. One column of the screen showed a normal series of general ledger listings, the other a list of twenty accounts that weren’t linked anywhere she could find. She called one up, looking at the account balance, which was well into seven figures.

The entries were regular, and substantial, and manually keyed, because there was no equivalent ledger account to charge them off against.

A bucket. A bucket full of money, which nothing in this system could account for.

Dar sat back, her heartbeat picking up. What in the hell have I found?

“Hey, Dar!”

She almost jumped at Chuckie’s cheerful greeting. Her eyes lifted to see him approaching, and she quickly closed the file and sent it to her file space, then closed out of the command windows she was using just as he rounded the console and peered over her shoulder. “Hey.”

“Whatcha doing?” He looked curiously at the innocuous admitting records. “New spuds?”

“Yeah.” Dar licked her lips, then signed out of the system. “Just checking them out. Interesting group.” Her peripheral vision focused on his face, but saw nothing but benign interest. “You ever see what they’re bringing in these days?”

“Nah.” Chuckie slung a long, powerful arm over her shoulders.

“Hey, we were figuring to go over to the Longhorn steakhouse tonight, Red Sky At Morning 185

that okay by you? Your daddy’s a steak man, if I remember right.”

Dar took a breath, and released it. “Yep, he sure is. My mother’s going to pitch a fit, but I guess she can get a potato or something.” She managed a smile. “She’s a vegetarian...unless they’ve got fish there.”

“Fish?” Chuckie snorted. “You must be kidding. But, yeah, they’ve got potatoes, and I think they’ve got some kinda green beans or something. How ’bout your main squeeze, he a veggie lover, too?”

Something twitched in Dar’s brain. “She.” The word came out in a calm voice, unexpectedly. “And no, Kerry’s as carnivorous as I am.”

Chuckie went very still, his eyes fastened on Dar’s face for a long, long moment. Then he slowly removed his arm and stepped back.

“What?”

Dar allowed a hint of amusement to reach her lips, and she turned on the stool, leaning against the console with one elbow. “You heard me.” She watched his face, watched the expression go from consternation to uncertainty to a detectable disgust, then back to a stillness. So. Dar felt vaguely disappointed.

“You’re gay?” Chuckie asked stiffly.

“That’s right,” Dar confirmed. “Don’t worry, you didn’t cause that,” she added with a faint smile. “C’mon, Chuck. Rise above your redneck roots.”

He looked at his shoes, shock evident in his posture. Then he lifted his gaze and met her eyes, briefly, before he shook his head. “That’s fucked up,” he said, then turned and walked out, not looking back even once.Dar sat back and folded her arms over her suddenly aching chest, surprised at just how much that had hurt.

KERRY PULLED UP to the gate of the base, rolling her window down and preparing her argument for the stolid-looking guard who approached.

“Hey, No Neck, open the damn gate,” Andrew rasped from beside her, poking his head truculently out at the hapless man. “’Fore I get out of this here car and break it.”

The guard stopped, stared, then his eyes lit up with unmistakable joy. “Commander Andy!” He almost tripped over himself trying to get the barrier open. “Wow, I didn’t know you were comin’ down here!

Wait ’til I tell the guys!”

Hmm. Kerry watched amusedly as the man waved like a child at her passenger. Guess it does depend on who you know around this place. “He wasn’t nearly that nice to Dar,” she commented. “She had to get rough with him.”

Andrew leaned over her and pinned the guard with a pair of ice blue eyes. “That right, No Neck? You give mah kid a hard time?”

The guard looked terminally wounded. “Not after she said who she 186 Melissa Good was, sir! If she’d have just said right off, we’d have let her right in!”

“Uh-huh.” Andrew sat back. “G’wan, Kerry. Let’s get this land boat parked so I can see what a mess they made of this here joint.”

“You got it, Dad.” Kerry drove on, finding Dar’s Lexus in the lot and selecting a spot right next to it. She was glad she was here. Her stomach upset had been getting worse for the last while, and she was seriously looking forward to seeing her partner and satisfying her curiosity as to whether she was the cause. She got out, waited for her passengers to do the same, then locked the doors. “Dar has a little office upstairs in the big building. I’ll go find her if you guys want to check this place out.”

“She take you over to our old place?” Andrew asked.

“Sort of.” Kerry grinned. “I’ll explain later. Be right back.” She trotted off toward the headquarters building, leaving her in-laws behind to revisit old memories. The guard respected the ID she’d clipped to her collar and opened the door, and she made her way up the stairs and down the hall. The door to Dar’s temporary office was closed, and she paused, then knocked lightly on it.

For a moment, there was no answer, then Dar’s voice responded.

“Yeah?”

I knew it. Kerry pushed the door open and stuck her head inside.

One look at Dar’s face and she quickly stepped past the portal and closed it behind her, crossing the floor and circling the desk to kneel at her lover’s side. “Hey.”

Dar had her head propped up on one hand. “Hey,” she answered softly. “Hope your day was better than mine.”

Kerry put a gentle hand on Dar’s knee and rubbed it. “What’s wrong?” She could see the tension and unhappiness written all over her partner’s face, and she stood and perched on the desk edge to get closer.

“Sweetheart?”

Dar exhaled and put her head down on Kerry’s thigh, wordlessly seeking comfort. She closed her eyes as the blonde woman responded, threading fingers through her hair and rubbing the back of her neck.

“Sorry,” she mumbled. “I told Chuck about us.”

“Oh.” Kerry’s own eyes closed in sympathy. “Not a good reaction, huh?”

“No.”

Kerry leaned over and kissed the top of Dar’s head, giving her as much of a hug as she could in their somewhat awkward position. “I’m sorry.”

Dar exhaled. “I don’t even know why I should care, Kerry. I haven’t talked to him in what...ten years? It’s not like he’s a close friend, even.”

She put a hand on Kerry’s knee and rubbed her thumb against the denim covering it. “Damn, it stung, though.”

“I know.” Kerry kept up her light massage on Dar’s neck, moving lower as she felt the tension knotting her shoulders. “I wish you’d have Red Sky At Morning 187

just let them...”

Dar shook her head. “No.” She lifted her head up off Kerry’s lap and met her eyes. “You are my partner, and God damn it, if they can’t deal with that, to hell with them all.” Her blue eyes glinted fiercely. “I am not ashamed of this.”

Kerry stroked her cheek gently. “I know you aren’t. I’m not either.

It’s just hard, Dar. We both know that. We’ve both been so lucky there have been people in our lives who do accept us, who accept this without question, to balance the idiots who don’t.”

Dar sighed and put her head back down for more soothing. “Yeah, I realize that.” She closed her eyes. “My folks here?”

“Mm-hmm.” Kerry paid particular attention to a knot she could feel in Dar’s neck and saw the wince as she pressed on it. “You need a chiropractor, love.”

“Hot tub,” Dar countered. “With you in it.”

Kerry rolled her eyes at the ceiling. “You are so stubborn.”

“Family trait.”

“You’re lucky I love your family.” Kerry leaned over and kissed the spot on Dar’s neck, then nibbled her earlobe, getting a soft grunt of surprise in return. “Come on, let’s get this dinner over with. I missed my snuggle this morning, and I’ve been cranky all day.”

Finally, Dar smiled, turning her head and peering up at Kerry’s face. “Me, too.” She sat up and gave Kerry’s knee a squeeze, then stood.

“You’re right. Let’s get this over with.” Her voice paused as she shut her computer down. “Because tomorrow, we’re going to find out just exactly why this place stinks to high heaven.”

IT WAS OBVIOUS that Chuckie had told his father. Even at a distance, Dar could see the discomfort in the three people waiting for them. She took a breath and tugged on her father’s sleeve. “Dad?”

“Yep?” Andrew finished closing the door and peered at her.

“What’s up, Dardar?”

“I think we’re going to have a problem.” She lowered her voice, glancing across the car where Kerry and Ceci were getting out on the other side. “I...don’t think Jeff and his family appreciate my lifestyle.”

Andrew looked over at the waiting group, then at her. “’Cause you drive a fancy car?”

Dar rubbed her nose. “Not that lifestyle,” she amended. “I meant Kerry and me.”

Her father considered that. “Huh. That might be true,” he admitted. “Jeff never did take to anyone who didn’t fit his idea of what was right and natural.” They walked slowly around the front of the car, joining Kerry and Ceci. “C’mere, kumquat.” Andrew put a genial arm across Kerry’s shoulders and the other over Dar’s. “Let’s go.”

Ceci gave him a curious look, then caught on and slipped to the 188 Melissa Good other side of Kerry, tucking an arm around her waist. “All righty, then,”

she agreed. “Ah. A steakhouse. How Republican.”

“Hey,” Kerry objected jokingly. “I’m the one who eats vegetables.”

She poked a finger at Dar. “Unlike her.”

They chuckled and walked toward the restaurant. Dar felt a little silly, but she could see the exchange of glances as Jeff took in their posture, the look on her father’s face, and the very obvious acceptance of both her and Kerry inherent in their body language. Sometimes, she mused, I underestimate my parents. The thought made her smile, and she slid an arm around her father’s waist and gave him a squeeze.

“’Lo there, Jeff,” Andrew drawled as they arrived in front of the door. “Been a while.”

“Andy,” the officer acknowledged quietly, shifting his eyes slightly. “Cecilia, good to see you.”

Ceci looked him right in the eye and smiled. “Same here. Nice to have these little family get-togethers, isn’t it?” She nodded at Jeff’s wife.

“Hello, Sue. Have you met Kerrison? No? Why don’t we go inside and catch up.”

It would, Kerry sighed inwardly, be almost comical if it were happening to someone else. They all walked stiffly inside and were taken to a waiting table, where Kerry found herself seated between Ceci and Andrew and across from the dour-looking Chuck. For a moment she felt very sad, because she knew this should have been a happy occasion.

Then her common sense kicked in and she straightened, cupping her hands around her water glass. Her eyes met the commander’s calmly.

“As a matter of fact...” she answered Ceci’s question, “the commander and I have met. In fact, we had lunch together.”

Unable to avoid conversation, Jeff Ainsbright cleared his throat.

“Yes, we did.” He managed to get out, ignoring the quick, almost startled look from his wife. “Yes, we did.”

“That must have been fun,” Ceci remarked. “Let me guess, on base?” She gave Kerry an amused look. “Was it meatloaf or open-faced turkey sandwiches?”

Andrew snorted softly.

“Meatloaf,” Dar acknowledged quietly. “Still tastes the same.”

“Oh. Yum.” Her mother made a face. The table fell silent. Ceci drummed fingers on the table and tried again. “Okay, folks, listen up.”

She put her hands flat on the wood surface. “Either we agree to have a nice time here, or I’m going to have to start talking about Greenpeace.

Which is it going to be?”

The Ainsbrights stared at her. Finally, Sue Ainsbright sighed and pushed a curl of gray hair out of one eye. “Ceci, you always did have the tact of a dead swordfish, didn’t you?”

“I’m sorry, get over it,” the smaller woman shot back. “Broaden your horizons, adjust your thinking, swallow an Ex-Lax, whatever it takes, but drag yourselves into the twenty-first century and get over the Red Sky At Morning 189

fact that my kid’s gay, okay?”

Kerry bit the inside of her lip so hard it almost bled. The looks on the Ainsbrights’ faces were so priceless, she wished she had a camera, though one look at Dar’s wide eyes told her that her beloved partner wasn’t sharing the mirth.

“Well,” Andrew drawled, “guess I can show ’em my rainbow keychain now, huh?”

Jeff Ainsbright took a breath, released it, then just lifted a hand and let it fall. “Haven’t changed a lick, have you, Ceci?” He managed a faint smile. “You always took the gut punch if you could.”

Ceci shrugged.

Andrew took her hand in his. “Straight talk never killed no one, Jeff,” he advised his old friend. “I’ve been in places that coulda used more of that.” Their eyes met, and something passed between them.

The commander nodded. “You’re right, Andrew. Dar, I apologize.

I...it was just a shock, that’s all.” He cleared his throat. “Ms. Stuart, my apologies as well.”

“For what?” Kerry asked mildly. “Dar and I are used to getting mixed reactions to our being partners. Some people just can’t handle it.”

“It’s not that,” Sue Ainsbright interjected. “We’re very progressive people. It’s just that we’ve known—or, well, we thought we knew Dar, and it’s just...strange, that’s all.” She reddened. “That you’re so...um...”

“Out?” Dar remarked conversationally.

The commander shot her a look, then glanced away.

“It’s not contagious,” Dar said.

“It’s disgusting,” Chuckie interrupted.

His mother looked horrified. “Charles!”

“You can sit here and pretend, but I won’t,” Chuck said. “It’s disgusting, and you’re perverts.” He got up and slammed his chair back, then stalked out of the restaurant as startled patrons watched him go. The commander and his wife had the grace to look intensely embarrassed. “He doesn’t mean that,” Jeff finally said quietly. “He’s just...” His eyes lifted and finally met Dar’s. “He never really did let go of you, and he was hoping...”

Dar let out a long breath. “I know,” she said. “He’s a good man, Uncle Jeff.” She felt the awkwardness in the name. “I’m sorry.” She felt a little guilty that she’d never thought of Chuckie, not for the longest time since she’d left the base. Not until he’d popped back up into her life as part of this damned investigation.

Now he was lost to her again. She didn’t know whether to feel sorry or relieved. At least he won’t be bugging me to go out anymore. Dar looked up to find Kerry gazing across the table at her with a look of quiet compassion, and she managed a smile in return. Suddenly, she wished they were done with this. Wished they were away from this unneeded stress, homeward bound and headed for a quiet night and a 190 Melissa Good warm hot tub together.

Getting cowardly in your old age, Paladar? she mocked herself. “Let me go talk to him.” Dar stood and pushed her chair in before they could protest, then turned and walked away from the table, toward the outside door through which Chuckie had left.

The commander and Andrew exchanged glances. “Sorry, Andy,”

Jeff Ainsbright muttered. “Hell of a reunion.”

“Could have been worse.” Ceci motioned over the hovering waiter.

“I could have invited my brother and sister.” She held up a finger. “Do you have beer?”

“Of course, ma’am,” the waiter spluttered.

“Bring the largest container of it you have, and seven glasses,” Ceci told him. “And what are those, peanuts? Put them down.” She handed a peanut to Kerry. “I could have been a social director, don’t you think?”

Weak chuckles responded to her valiant attempt.

THE AIR OUTSIDE the restaurant was cool, and a little damp, and Dar paused to take a steadying breath of it before she let her eyes search the parking lot. Her mother had surprised her, she admitted privately.

But then, her parents had been surprising her for a while now, hadn’t they?

Dar spotted Chuck standing by a beige Ford Explorer, and she headed in that direction, passing through bars of twilight mixed with the lurid ochre of the security lamps.

He looked up as he heard her footsteps, and his lip curled reflexively. “Get out of here.”

Dar paused several body lengths away. “Listen.”

“Get the fuck out of here, you freak,” Chuck spat back. “Just get away from me.”

“Charles.” Dar put her hands on her hips. “Get a grip. I’m not touching you.” Her stomach twisted in a knot. “Calm down.”

He stared at her. “You make me sick.”

Dar rolled her eyes. “What in the hell do you think you are, a bad commercial for Jesse Helms? Get off the milk crate, Chuck. I’m not the first gay person you’ve ever known.” She took a step closer. “What’s the big deal?”

Chuck’s eyes narrowed. “What’s the big deal?” he asked softly, balling his fists and coming a little closer. “What’s the big deal? You fucking little lying perverted slut.”

“Charles.” Dar’s voice dropped in pitch. “Slow down. I never lied to you.”

“Yeah?” Chuckie exhaled. “I knew you’d follow me out here.” He turned and grabbed something leaning against the Ford and lunged at her. “I knew I’d have a chance to do this!”

Dar barely reacted in time. She saw the bat headed toward her and Red Sky At Morning 191

half turned, taking the crunching blow on her shoulder. “Chuck!” She dodged the return blow and backed off. “Stop it!”

He was beyond reasoning. “Fuck you. Making a fool out of me. Bet the guys all knew, didn’t they? Didn’t they, Dar?”

The bat came back at her, catching her on the hip before she could evade it, but Chuck overbalanced and smashed full into her, and they both went to the ground in a tangle of limbs.

Shit. Dar’s defensive reactions kicked into gear, and she swung an elbow up into his chin, feeling the shock of the impact as his head rocked back. She got a knee between them and pushed up, then to one side, throwing Chuck off her. “Stupid bastard.”

Dar grabbed the bat, which had rolled free from his hands, and flung it from her, hearing it clatter and roll down past the next row of parked cars. She got to her feet just as he did, and her body moved, balancing as she whipped out a roundhouse kick that caught him flat-footed, striking the side of his head with a crunch Dar could feel all the way down her leg.

His body slammed against the car next to where they were fighting, setting off its alarm with a loud, strident sound. They both froze, then stared at each other. “Now what?” Dar asked. “You going to find another bat, or are you going to just get the gun out of the trunk and shoot me, Chuck?”

Very slowly, he lifted a hand to the side of his face and touched it, then looked at his palm. It was stained with the blood still dripping from his ear.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Dar asked in a hoarse voice.

“We haven’t seen each other for ten fucking years, Chuck. Why the hell do you care what my preferences turned out to be?”

He had to swallow a few times before he spoke. “Never could figure out why you just walked out on us.”

Dar sighed inwardly, lifting a shaking hand to rub her temples.

“You know as well as I d—”

“You were just playing with me.”

The throbbing in her head increased. “Chuck, we were kids then.

We went different ways, that’s all.”

“Bullshit.” He started toward her again.

“Stop!” Dar heard the sharp edge of anger in her own voice. “It’s not bullshit. I had no fucking clue what the hell I wanted then.” She held out both hands to ward him off. “Chuck, don’t make me fight you. Please.”

“No wonder you were always trying to beat the guys, you thought you were one,” Chuck sneered. “Why didn’t you get your daddy to buy you a prick? You’d have fit right in.”

Dar winced inwardly. “I never wanted one.”

“Yeah? Bet you use a fake one now with that little slut whore in there, don’cha?” Chuck replied. “I should—”

“You should shut yer mouth ’fore I insert yer leg inside it.” The 192 Melissa Good low, raspy voice coming from the darkness behind Chuck made them both go still.

Dar blinked. “Dad, I can handle this.”

Andrew Roberts eased out into the orange light soundlessly, sliding between Dar and her adversary in a flickering motion. “Ah do suspect you can, Dardar,” he agreed softly. “’Cept one of the privileges of being a daddy is that ah get to take out the trash, and ah do believe there is some trash here that needs to be taken,” he paused significantly,

“out.”

There was no humor in his voice.

There was no humor in the ice-blue eyes that pinned the now silent Chuck with deadly intent. “Seems you’re pretty good at taking shots at women. You ready to give an old retired sailor a try?”

Chuck’s gaze held for an instant, then dropped to the ground. “No, sir.”

“G’wan inside,” Andrew said flatly. “Get yer ass cleaned up, and act like a man.”

“Yes, sir,” Chuck muttered. He turned, letting his eyes flick to Dar for a single, long second before he retreated toward the restaurant.

Andrew exhaled. “Suck yer brains out your head when they put the stripes on, I swear t’God.” He turned and studied his daughter anxiously. “You all right?”

Dar sat down on the low wall that separated the parking lot and let her head drop into her hands.

Kerry ducked past an exiting station wagon and broke into a run that brought her up to Dar’s side moments after she sat down. “Jesus.

What the hell is going on?” She hopped over the wall and settled next to her lover, putting an arm around her waist and resting a hand on Dar’s knee. Only an awkward tangle with the waiter had delayed her leaving the table after a stunned moment when she was absolutely sure Dar was in trouble.

Dar rubbed her face. “Shit.” She straightened and took a deep breath. “I didn’t expect that.”

“Expect what?” Kerry looked around Dar at Andrew. “Dad, what happened?”

The ex-SEAL scowled. “Big bagload of no sense hurting.”

Kerry glanced at Dar’s face, searching it anxiously. “Did he hurt you? I’ll get that brand new SUV and run him over, I swear it,” she announced seriously. “You’d hardly feel it with those tires.”

Dar’s lips involuntarily twitched into a half smile. “I think I did more damage than he did,” she admitted softly. “Physically, at least. I don’t know, Kerry; I wasn’t expecting a reaction like that. It’s like he’s taking it all personally.” She glanced over at her father. “Guess we’d better go back inside.”

“You can’t be serious,” Kerry snorted. “And have dinner with that little—”

Red Sky At Morning 193

“Ker,” Dar interrupted her quietly. “I am not going to let him think he scared me off.”

Kerry stared at her. “Dar, this isn’t an ego contest.”

“It’s not,” Dar replied, just as seriously. “But if we leave now, he wins. You can’t let people like that win and get comfortable, Kerry.”

Andrew patted her on the back. “Want to skip the hot plate and go right for the good stuff? I saw them ice cream plates on that tray back there,” he remarked practically. “Dar’s right, kumquat. Get that boy worse if we stick it out.”

Kerry watched a quiet, sad knowledge settle into Dar’s eyes. She folded her fingers around her partner’s hand and squeezed gently. “Go ahead, Dad. We’ll meet you in there.” Her gaze lifted to meet Andrew’s, very briefly, and they exchanged a look, then the ex-SEAL stood to go.

“Sorry ’bout that, Dardar.” Andrew leaned over, surprisingly, and kissed his daughter on the head. Then he turned and slipped away into the shadows, leaving the two women alone in the cool night air.

Kerry waited a little while, just flexing her fingers around Dar’s as they sat in silence. “Did he hurt you?” she finally asked, seeing the muddy scuffs on Dar’s skin. “You look a little pale.”

Dar drew in a breath, held it momentarily, and then released it in a sigh. “I’m trying to reconcile the friend I used to have with that person who just spewed a gutload of hate at me,” she said. “I don’t understand it, Kerry. I just don’t.”

The blonde woman gazed out at the parking lot unseeingly. “Yeah.

I know. It’s how I felt when my father hit me that night, and then again when I woke up in that hospital,” she said. “I didn’t understand it. I hadn’t changed at all, so why did they?”

“Mm.” Dar nodded. “That’s it exactly. I’m the same person he knew yesterday. Hell, the same one he knew this morning. Why should this matter?” Her voice trailed off. “I just don’t get it.” She looked down at her hands, then flexed the one Kerry was holding. The motion caused a jolt of pain to course up her arm. “Ow.”

Kerry turned a very concerned look on her. “What? Did he hit you?

Where are you hurting, Dar?”

“My shoulder.” Dar winced, easing the sleeve up over her left arm and peering at it.

“Oh.” Kerry sucked in a breath, seeing the mottled red and purple area. “Jesus Christ.”

“Hmm.” Dar moved her arm a little, then realized that wasn’t a good idea. “Hell of a bruise.”

“You need to get that X-rayed,” Kerry decided. She put a hand over Dar’s mouth. “Don’t even bother. No arguments, Paladar.” Slowly, she removed her hand. “Okay?”

Dar studied her. “So does that mean I get out of the optometrist’s appointment tomorrow, then?” she asked, with a tiny, mischievous sparkle in her eye.

194 Melissa Good Kerry put her hands on her hips and gave her lover a dour look. “I should take you to the hospital tonight.” She lifted Dar’s sleeve again and looked at the injury. “Dar, that looks awful.”

“No way.” Dar shook her head and stood up, stretching her body out carefully. Oh boy. She made a face, not sure what hurt more, her shoulder or her side. “I’ll make it through dinner just fine, then we can go home. It’s not going to kill me, and spending the night at Sinai just might.”

Kerry scowled but joined her as they started to walk slowly toward the restaurant. “Okay. Which one of us is going to let Dad drive their car home? ’Cause you are not driving, let me tell you that right now.”

Dar sighed. “I will.” She gave Kerry a wry look. “Yours is newer.”

“Hmm.” Kerry squared her shoulders before she opened the door.

She didn’t like the idea of waiting, since it was obvious to her that Dar was in considerable pain, but maybe... A small smile touched Kerry’s lips. Maybe when they got home, Dar would have a different perspective.

From across the room, she saw eyes look up and find them, and noted the guilt in the base commander’s expression as he fiddled with his napkin. Chuckie was seated next to him in silence, and Ceci was carrying on most of the conversation with the commander’s wife. She felt Dar straighten next to her and saw her lover’s chin lift and her posture stiffen as they approached the table, taking her seat with easy grace and dignity.

Like nothing was wrong.

“Everything okay?” Ceci asked as Kerry took her seat.

She spared a quick glance at Dar’s face. “Just great,” Kerry assured her. “Got any beer left?”