Storm Surge

Chapter Three

KERRY FLICKED ON the high beams for a brief moment before she returned the lights to their usual position and settled back in her seat.

It was in the mid fifties, cool enough for her to have dug her sweatshirt out of her bag, but comfortable as she walked to the car rental lot and picked up her buggy.

Ahead of her lay the bland drive to Angie's house. She turned on the radio, punching the buttons and finding a station she could listen to, then turning the sound down a little as her cell phone rang. She checked the caller ID, and then keyed the speakerphone. "Hey Ang."

"Hey." Her sister's said. "Where are you?"

"About twenty minutes out," Kerry responded. "Need anything?"

"Nah, we're good," Angie said. "Andrew's sleeping tight. I'm looking forward to hanging out with my sister."

Kerry smiled. "Yeah, it's been a while," she admitted. "Glad I made it up here."

"Me too," Angie said, warmly. "So much has gone on the last year it's hard to take in sometimes. Anyway, let me let you off the line, sis. See ya in twenty."

"See ya." Kerry hung up the phone and turned up the radio. Now that she was here, she was glad to be getting a chance to spend a little time with Angie. Her brother Michael said he'd be over to help too.

Not that Kerry had any illusions that Michael would do as much as pick up a book to put in a box, but she was looking forward to seeing him anyway. There were parts of him that she understood so much better now.

There were parts of herself she was starting to understand a lot better now too. Kerry smiled, and shifted her hands on the wheel, her eye catching the faint reflection of the streetlights on her ring. The visit might turn out to be interesting after all.

She let the miles slip by until it was time to turn off the main road, and onto the sloping one that led up a gentle hill to the house her sister had, until recently, shared with her ex-husband, Richard, who had sued her for divorce upon finding out her second child wasn't his.

Finding out her sister was an adulterer was almost as surprising to Kerry as finding out her sister was sleeping with the man Kerry was supposed to marry. Though finding out Kerry was gay had apparently been no surprise at all to Angie, who had seemingly known it all along.

Life was funny that way. Kerry chuckled under her breath as she pulled into the stately curved driveway of the house her sister lived in and seeing Angie's Mercedes parked along the front curb. With a grin, she parked her little red pickup right behind it, shutting the engine off and opening the door.

She drew in a breath of air and paused, aware of the scent of pine and honeysuckle so completely different from her adopted southern home. It tasted strange on the back of her tongue, and she had to shake her head as she closed the driver's side door and opened the extended cab door to retrieve her bag.

One of her bags, anyway. She shouldered the overnighter leaving her suit bag inside and circled the truck as the door to the house opened and she spotted her sister's outline in the light streaming out of it. "Hey."

Angie came out of the house and stood on the porch as Kerry walked up the sloping path. "Hey stranger." She held her arms out and greeted Kerry with a hug that her older sister returned promptly. "C'mon inside."

Angie was taller than Kerry, and had dark hair and their mother's hazel eyes. Even though Kerry was the elder of them, Angie's conservatively coiffed hair and clothing made the opposite seem true.

They entered the house, the hallway brightly lit and smelling of wood wax and chocolate. Angie shut the door behind them and joined Kerry as they walked across the marble tile. "Elana, can you take this, please?" Angie addressed a middle aged woman in a neat uniform standing nearby. "You remember my sister Kerrison, don't you?"

"Yes ma'am, I sure do." Elana took Kerry's bag. "Welcome back, Miss Kerry." Elana's face was mild with no hint of approval or disapproval at this invasion by their family's blond haired black sheep.

Kerry felt her nostrils flare, but she smiled anyway. "Thanks Elana. Nice to see you again." She watched the woman leave, and turned to her sister. "Hi."

"Hi," Angie responded agreeably, stepping back and looking her over head to toe. "You look great,and it's really good to see you," she said grinning. "Feels like it's been way too long."

Kerry grinned. "Right back at you. Got a cup of something hot around? It's been a long day."

"Absolutely, c'mon." Angie led the way back into the large kitchen. She was dressed in a pair of slacks and a red pullover, casually elegant and a definite contrast to Kerry's worn jeans and sweatshirt. "Did you have a decent flight at least?"

"Eh." Kerry took one of the seats around the kitchen table, everything around her clean and spotless, but in some disarray due to the impending move. "No AC on the way up."

"Ugh." Angie brought an already prepared tray over. It had two cups on it, and a plate of chocolate cookies. She set it down and sat down across from her sister. "How's Dar?" She watched Kerry's face, seeing her expression shift into a grin as warmth erupted into her eyes at the question.

"Great," Kerry responded. "We both had flights out today. She's on her way to England." She picked up her cup and sipped from it. "Mm."

"Did I get it right?" Angie's eyes twinkled. "You haven't stopped being a chocolate addict, have you?"

"Nope." Kerry relaxed, leaning back in the chair and resting her elbows on the arms as she cradled the cup in her hands. "Dar and I both are. It's hopeless," she admitted. "I've given up worrying about it I figure if I'm going go to hell, might as well enjoy it."

Angie laughed. "Kerry, you're not going to hell. You look fantastic. Last time I saw you it was such a stress fest I was worried about you, but looks like you bounced back just fine."

Stress fest. Mild way of putting it. "Yeah." Kerry remembered how she'd felt coming back from Michigan the last time, and how long it had taken her to throw off the effects. "I felt like crap when I got home. They almost had to put me in the hospital for my blood pressure."

Angie's eyes opened wide. "What?" She leaned forward. "Are you kidding me?"

Her sister shook her head.

"Ker, that's awful. Are you taking anything for that?" Angie looked concerned. "That's not anything to joke about, you know?"

"I know," Kerry said. "But no, I've got it under control. I cut down on my salt, and we went out on the boat for a week to chill out. Did wonders." She sidestepped the issue. "We went down to the Caribbean and got involved with pirates. It was crazy."

"Pirates!"

"Well, we can't have normal vacations, you know? Dar and I could walk to the grocery store and we'd end up causing a riot without meaning to." Kerry chuckled. "We have the damnedest stuff happen to us. Anyway, so what's up with you?" She regarded her sister. "Glad you're moving?"

Angie gazed shrewdly at her for a moment, and then allowed herself to be sidetracked. "I am," she admitted. "I don't really feel bad about what happened with Richard, you know? It was my choice and I knew what could happen. At least we ended up with split custody of Sally."

"Mm." Kerry selected a cookie from the plate and nibbled on it.

"That's a lot of why I decided to move in with Mom." Angie studied her cup. "It's just easier."

Kerry understood that. She remembered being both elated and scared when she'd moved out after so many years of having everything in her life taken care of for her and provided without question. "Yeah, I know what you mean," she agreed.

"No you don't." Angie burst into laughter. "You never did anything the easy way the entire time I've known you."

Kerry had to grin at that and raise her cup in her sister's direction in acknowledgement of the truth. "Touche." The only easy thing I've ever really done was fall in love with Dar. That was fast and painless. Everything else--eh." She shrugged her shoulders. "I don't think I'd change anything though."

"I bet you wouldn't," Angie agreed. "Anyway, thanks for coming up to give me a hand packing up all this stuff. I really need help deciding what to get rid of. I didn't think I was a packrat until I started looking in the closets here."

Kerry finished her hot chocolate and dusted the cookie crumbs off her fingers. "I got off sort of lucky. When I moved in with Dar, it was over a couple months, so I moved stuff a little at a time. I still think I've got like three times the junk she does though."

"Not a keeper?"

The green eyes twinkled. "She's definitely a keeper, she doesn't collect frivolously."

"Ahh." Angie stood up. "C'mon, let's get you settled in." She waited for Kerry to join her and they walked through the hall, their footsteps echoing against the marble as they got to the wide, wood tread stairs and climbed upward. "I won't miss these stairs."

Kerry felt the slight strain as she climbed. "They're steeper than Mom's." She noted. "I think you've got higher ceilings."

"Yes. Richard's point of pride." Angie's voice took on a sharper note. "He made a point of mentioning that whenever he could."

Kerry rolled her eyes. "Sorry Ang, he's an ass. The only thing he had going for him was our father liked him, and that should have told you something right there." She looked around as they got to the second floor, trying to remember if she'd ever really paid attention to the inside of her sister's house before.

"Well," Angie sighed, "I was glad to get past that whole approval thing. I'm not a renegade like you."

Renegade. Kerry pondered that title as Angie led her over to an open door, and they entered a nicely proportioned, robin's egg blue room with a canopied bed and a bay window. "I don't think I ever thought of myself like that."

"We did." Angie went over to a rocking chair in the room and sat down on its padded surface. "Mike and me, anyway. Especially when we got older."

Kerry went to her bag that was resting on a low bench near the window. She unzipped the top of the leather case and removed her sundry kit and a long T-shirt, setting it down on the bench before she pulled her sweatshirt off and folded it. "I don't think I felt like a renegade until I told our father about Dar." She turned and faced Angie. "That night is when I crossed the line between being a passive aggressive milquetoast and being my own person."

Angie slowly nodded.

"Until then, I was trying to have it both ways." Kerry put her hands on her hips. "You can't, you know?"

"I know." Her sister sighed. "But that's why you're different than we are, Ker. I was just grateful he was already dead before Richard filed for divorce. I can't take that. I can't handle being that strong."

Kerry came over to sit on the edge of the bed. "How's Brian doing?"

Angie's expression grew wry. "Scared spitless to see you," she confessed. "Ker, he's just not ready to settle down. I'm not sure I'm even mad at him, or," her lips pursed, "that I even want to be in a relationship right now."

It was Kerry's turn to shrewdly study her sister's face. She half suspected Angie really wanted to keep the peace over the days she was there, but after all, it was her relationship wasn't it? Maybe Angie really wasn't ready to rush into anything, much less force Brian to.

Kerry could respect that. Even if it was a farce for her benefit. "Whatever makes you happy, sis. I'm the last person on earth to preach conformity, remember?" She straightened and reached down to grab the hem of her T-shirt and pull it up and over her head. "Speaking of which, let me get this out of the way."

"What are you...oh my god!" Angie bolted upright in her chair. "Are you kidding me? Is that really a tattoo?"

Kerry let the shirt rest on her denim covered knees and glanced at her chest. She drew her bra strap aside a little to give a better view of her artwork. "Yep."

"How could you do that?" Her sister got up and came closer to look. "Oh my god, Kerry."

Kerry studied her face with some interest, not expecting her sister to be as shocked as she obviously was. "Are you freaked out?"

Angie looked up from examining the design on Kerry's chest, the colors standing out in muted brilliance against her tan. "I can't believe you did this. Kerry, what were you thinking?"

What was I thinking? Kerry looked at the tattoo, then back up at her sister. "I was thinking that I wanted something I felt so strongly about to be visible on the outside of me like it was on the inside," she said. "Talk's cheap. Tattoos are expensive and painful."

Angie sat down next to her on the bed, still studying Kerry's skin. "Wow," she finally murmured. "Well, it's beautiful, at any rate. What did Dar say?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing?" Angie's brows shot up.

Kerry shook her head. "She just started crying. She didn't have to say anything." She rested her elbows on her thighs. "It was worth the pain."

Her sister sighed. "Wow," she repeated. "I really didn't think you'd do something like that."

Kerry felt obscurely satisfied at shocking her sister. Angie seemed to take anything and everything she did in stride, so it was oddly nice to provide her with a truly radical change she hadn't anticipated. "Well, I love it. A couple of days after I got it I wore a strapless gown to Radio City in New York and it felt great!"

Angie covered her eyes. "Oh my god."

"Maybe I can talk you into one. "

Angie got up and retreated to the door. "Go to sleep," she suggested, as she escaped from her surprisingly dangerous sibling. "You obviously need the rest if you think I'd get anywhere near some guy with a bunch of needles."

"Night." Kerry chuckled, as she disappeared, leaving her in splendid isolation in her pretty room with her colorful tattoo. She got up and took her jeans off, tossing them over her bag as she put her sleep shirt on. "I knew I should have brought that damn bustier."

"DAR!"

Hearing her name, Dar turned from signing her registration card and spotted a familiar figure moving toward her. "Morning, Alastair." She turned and met his outstretched hand with her own. "Good flight?"

"Not bad." Alastair, the CEO of ILS, Dar's boss, was dressed in what was for him an astonishingly casual pair of corduroys and a chain knit pullover sweater. "Yours?"

"Decent." Dar put her corporate credit card back in her wallet and returned that to her jeans pocket. "A little rough leaving, but I got some sleep." She looked around at the stately confines of the hotel, its tall ceilings and antique furniture giving an air of a well kept castle that she was sure was quite intentional. "This is fun."

"Have you had breakfast?" Alastair asked. "They've got a nice joint in here for that, or so I'm told by the locals."

Dar handed over her bag to a quietly waiting bellman. "Lead on," she told Alastair. "Last thing I had was cookies on the plane." She followed her boss through the lobby and into a mahogany trimmed dining room, giving the host a brief smile as he picked up two menus and motioned for them to move on.

It was 9:00 a.m., and the room was reasonably full of well dressed men and women enjoying their breakfasts amidst the soft tinkle of china and the hum of quite conversation.

"If it's any consolation, the trip from Houston wasn't any better, just a couple hours longer." Alastair commiserated with her. "I gotta tell you, even in first class these days it's like being back in the school cafeteria sometimes. What in the hell are we paying all that damn money for?"

"Leg room," Dar answered succinctly. "For me it's worth it even if it was on my dime."

Her boss turned and regarded her length, Dar's head topping his by a few inches, and lifted one hand in concession. "Point taken." He smiled. "And even if you were two feet shorter it'd be worth it to lose the aggravation. We get enough of that as it is."

The host led them to their table, and gestured for them to sit, giving them both a smile as they eased past. "Enjoy your breakfast."

Dar settled into a comfortable chair at a table for four across from Alastair, and leaned on one arm of it as she studied the menu. "Funny how this all worked out, huh?"

"Funny?" Alastair glanced around, and lowered his voice. "Lady, I've seen a lot of pulling furry woodland animals out of one's ass before, but this has to be the best one ever." He removed his reading glasses as a waiter came by and stood next to the table diffidently. "Could I get a couple of poached eggs and toast with some coffee, please?"

"Sir, of course," the man said, turning to Dar. "Madame?"

Alastair winced in reflex as Dar looked up, but his often tempestuous employee merely folded her menu shut and put it down on the table.

"Eggs over easy, sausage, and potatoes," Dar said, "and coffee."

The waiter nodded and left.

Dar turned her attention back to her boss. "Anyone else joining us for this?"

"David and Francois," Alastair responded. "They're due in tonight, said they'd join us for dinner. Meeting is at ten tomorrow morning?"

"Ten," Dar confirmed as the waiter returned with a pair of cups, a sugar caddy, and a silver pot of coffee. She waited for the man to pour out the beverage and leave before she continued. "Hans said he'd join us tonight too, so we can touch base."

"Lucky meeting the two of you, eh?" Alastair sipped his coffee. "Sometimes I think the gods of commerce have a crush on you, Dar. Things happen around you that are damned unpredictable." He smiled at Dar. "And always to our advantage."

Dar shrugged. "This was a tough one," she admitted. "To be honest, I didn't think we were going to get a damn thing other than a black eye out of it. It really was just dumb luck this time."

"I'll take it." Alastair leaned back and folded his hands on the table. "But it wasn't dumb luck for you to come up with a pitch and an end around using that new contact, Dar. That was good thinking, no matter how it worked out."

"Seat of my pants," she disagreed. "I couldn't let it go. Couldn't let them win after all that crap. Bastards. They're lucky I wasn't here when those ships got in or I'd have found that jackass and smacked him."

Alastair regarded his companion with a look of healthy respect. Dar had a sharp intellect, a lot of business sense, and an iron will, but behind it all he knew there was a potent temper. Though she was a woman and a nerd, and not crazy there was a danger about her he recognized.

Not entirely safe. But he knew it was a price he'd decided to pay when he chose to take advantage of that intelligence and take the risk on the rest. So far, it had paid off in spades. "Hell, Dar. If I'd have seen the little creep I'd have probably kicked him. Gave me indigestion for weeks."

They made small talk until the waiter returned with two steaming plates that he put down in front of them. "Is there anything else I can get for you?"

"Nothing for me." Dar picked up her fork. "Thanks."

"More coffee here," Alastair said. "Hey, Dar, did I hear right that you were going to hire that gal from Synergenics? What's her name, Graver?"

"Thinking about it." Dar neatly cut her sausage patty into squares and ate them.

Alastair fiddled with his eggs for a moment. "Isn't she the one who sent me those pictures?"

"Uh huh."

Alastair paused to study his dining companion. Dar was munching on a mouthful of sausage, gazing back at him with those big blue eyes so full of completely fake innocence. Though Dar had a mercurial temperament, he'd discovered she also had an unexpected puckish side that had arisen in the last year or so. "Ah huh."

"Can't beat em, buy em?" Dar finished her sausage and started on her potatoes. "Nah, Michelle's pretty sharp, and we banged heads enough over the ship disaster to get her viewpoint changed." She chased her mouthful down with a sip of coffee. "We'll see if she bites."

Alastair wisely decided to simply nod in response and change the subject. "That's a nice ring," he commented, stifling a smile as Dar's hand stopped in mid motion, and her already sun darkened skin darkened just a shade further. "Don't think I noticed it before."

"I've had it for a while." Dar recovered her composure from the unexpected question. "Remember that damn disaster up in Charlotte? When we lost the network?"

Her boss made a whining, groaning sound.

"Yeah, well, we took a few days off after that up in the mountains and got engaged." Dar paused and thought about that, and then she chuckled and shook her head. "Ever been in London before, Alastair?"

Bemused, he cleared his throat before answering. "Sure, once or twice. We had a few international board meetings here. Just a day up and back. You know." He dipped his toast into his eggs and took a bite of it. "Why?"

"Want to go do one of those double decker bus tours?" Dar asked. "I've never been here but I don't feel like walking around all day."

Alastair blinked at her. "Wh--ah, you mean us? You and I?"

Dar looked around. "Was there someone else here you think I was talking to? How often do I get to hang out with you?"

Her boss stared at her for a long moment. "Well, absolutely, Dar," he finally said. "I'd love to. The missus always dings me for not seeing a damn thing when I travel. Last thing I brought her back was a bottle of jalapeno jelly from Tijuana and let me tell you she didn't much appreciate it."

"Great." Dar returned her concentration to her eggs. "Keep me from falling asleep and screwing up my body clock too."

"Isn't that the truth, "Alastair agreed. "Isn't that just the absolute truth."

KERRY BRUSHED HER teeth, leaning on the marble sink as she regarded her reflection in the mirror. It was early. The sun was rising outside, and she was glad that she hadn't overslept since they had a lot to do and she really had no desire to get kidded about sleeping in.

She finished up in the bathroom and walked back into the bedroom, rolling up the sleeves on her T-shirt as she crossed to the window and looked outside. The slope Angie lived on gave her a view of Lake Michigan in the distance and it brought back memories of her childhood.

Not altogether bad ones, really Kerry had to admit, as she watched a flock of birds fly toward the huge body of water. She decided to take time out for a walk down to the lake before she left, wanting to recover a few of those better times from the place she'd spent most of her life.

Her PDA beeped softly and she turned and picked it up, flipping the top open to find a message from Dar waiting for her. "Hey honey!" She tapped the message, bending her head to read it.

Hey Ker.

Damn, I miss you.

Kerry's eyes closed briefly, and she smiled.

I just had a decent breakfast with Alastair and talked him into going sightseeing with me. I think I freaked him out by asking.

Kerry snickered.

So we're going to grab one of those buses and go see the sights. Want anything?

"You," Kerry answered. She pulled out her stylus and scribbled an answer, checking the time of the message and seeing a few hours had passed.

Hey sweetie! How's the sightseeing going? I just got up and found your message waiting. Tell Alastair I said hello, and don't do any shopping until I get there! Have fun. It's going pretty good here except I think I freaked Angie out with my tat.

She tapped the stylus against her chin.

Maybe you could come up here with me sometime and we can stay by the lake and go sailing. Aside from my family it's not really so bad.

K

A soft knock came at the door, and she turned. "Yeah?" She closed the PDA cover and stuck the device in the mid leg pocket of her carpenter's pants

The door opened, and Angie poked her head inside. "Hey, you up?"

"Believe it or not," Kerry turned and walked toward the door, "I am." She smiled at her sister. "Ready for breakfast?"

"Let's go." Angie opened the door all the way to let Kerry out. "Those are cute pants." She studied her sister's clothing. "They look comfortable."

"They are," Kerry agreed, as she followed Angie down the hallway. "How's Andrew? He up?"

"Downstairs waiting on us. You don't catch him missing a meal." Angie chuckled as they walked down the stairs together. Today she herself was dressed more casually in deference to their impending packing, a pair of sweatpants and a cotton shirt. She had her hair pulled back into a ponytail as well.

"Ah, we must be related." Kerry smiled easily as they reached the bottom of the steps and headed into the kitchen. "Looks like it's going to be a rainy one outside, perfect day for packing." She looked around as they entered and spotted her nephew in his highchair, and immediately headed in his direction. "Hey cutie!"

Andrew looked up from his tray, his eyes opening wide at this new distraction. He pointed at Kerry with his spoon and gurgled, his head tipping back to follow her as she approached. "Gah!"

Kerry crouched down next to the high chair and offered him a finger to squeeze, his dark cap of hair and blue eyes making her smile. "What are you up to, little man?" she inquired. "Is that good stuff there?"

Angie motioned for the quietly waiting cook to put their food down, and she took a seat on one side of the table, watching her sister with an indulgent smile. "You're a natural with kids," she observed, as her son giggled in delight, dropping his spoon and slapping at his aunt's wiggling fingers.

Kerry looked up from playing patty cake with the baby. "He's adorable," she said, then turned back to the chair as the cook came back with two plates. "Tell you what, Tiger, let's both eat, then we can play some more, okay?"

She got to her feet and ruffled Andrew's hair, and then joined her sister at the table, taking a seat and putting the crisply pressed linen napkin over her lap. "I love kids," she said, as she picked up her fork. "Long as they aren't mine."

Angie cut off a bit of her egg white omelet and put it on her toast. "Really?"

"Yup." Kerry tasted a bit of the egg, finding it as bland as she'd feared. "Tell you what," she said, "I'll do all the heavy lifting today but you have to let me cook breakfast tomorrow."

Her sister chuckled. "I forgot to warn them we had a chow hound descending on us. You still do the cooking down in Miami?"

"Sure." Kerry got up and went to the sideboard, evading the cook's belated attempt to intercept her and using the container of milk meant for the coffee to provide her with a glassful instead. "Dar doesn't mind cooking, but when she does, we either get something scientifically bizarre or like breakfast the other morning. She sat down with her milk. "Strawberry cheesecake."

"Yikes." Angie watched her sister tear into her breakfast with some bemusement. "So you don't want kids? Have you talked to Dar about it?"

Kerry looked across the table, for a moment, her eyes narrowing slightly.

"Ooo," Angie waved a fork at her, "sorry. Didn't mean to piss you off. I was just asking."

After a moment, Kerry relaxed, and she gave her sister an apologetic look. "Sorry. Usually people who ask me invasive personal questions don't have any good reason to," she admitted. "Dar and I have talked about it, sure."

"Ah."

"Dar thinks she doesn't have the patience for it," Kerry said. "I, on the other hand, know damn well I don't have the patience for it, and I just don't want to be a parent." She went back to her plate.. "It may sound selfish, but I like my life the way it is, and I like the freedom of being able to go and do what I want to do when we want to do it."

"I don't blame you," Angie interjected mildly. "I was just curious Ker, because you really seem to like kids that's all. You always said you never wanted to end up a soccer mom."

Which was true. "We have a dog," Kerry said. "That's enough for us, though I do have to admit I once told Dar she had to have kids so the gene pool wouldn't lose out on hers." She paused as she heard a beep from her pocket. "Speaking of." She pulled the PDA out and opened it. "I have no desire to perpetuate mine."

Angie motioned for more coffee, prudently letting the subject drop. Her sister had, without a doubt, certainly grown up a lot in the last couple of years and taken on more than a hint of the steely will Angie remembered all too well from their father.

Definitely not the time to bring that up either.

"YOU KNOW, DAR." Alastair politely held the door open for her as they re-entered the hotel. "I have to say, going to a medieval torture show in the Tower of London with you has to be one of the most unique experiences I've ever had."

"Glad you enjoyed it." Dar strolled into the lobby, a bag slung over her shoulder and a relaxed grin on her face. "Gonna hang that flail up in your office?"

"Erm--"

"Tell everyone I gave it to you," Dar cheerfully suggested. "That'll stop people in their tracks."

Alastair looked at her sideways for a long moment, and then burst out laughing. "Do you have any idea what my wife would say?"

"Where's mine?" Dar bantered right back. "Hey, it beats a jar of jalapeno jelly."

Her boss clucked his tongue and shook his head. "I can see this trip is going to get me in a world of trouble." He sighed, as they walked through the lobby to the elevators, entering one of the narrow, wood lined cars and pressing the old fashioned round button for the top floor.

Dar leaned against the back wall of the lift and folded her arms over her chest watching the floor indicator rise slowly. "What time are we doing dinner?" she asked. "Are they late or early here, I forget."

Alastair folded his hands in front of him his back against the side wall. "Early, I think," he said. "I think we're set to meet at seven. They've got a car arranged to take us somewhere or other." He glanced sideways at Dar. "Anything you don't care to eat? I'm not sure what they have in mind."

"Vegetables," Dar said, succinctly. "Anything else I'm all right with. I want to check in with the office, and get a shower, so seven sounds fine." She stifled a yawn with one hand, as the doors opened. For a moment, neither of them moved. Dar gave her boss a wry look and exited the lift. "Sorry."

"Not into the old courtesies, Dar?" Alastair chuckled.

"I'm usually the one holding the door," she admitted. "Learned it from my Dad."

"Me too," the older man agreed cheerfully. "He was a proper Southern gentleman who brought his sons up to be courteous to ladies and respectful to men even if you didn't like 'em."

Dar grinned. "My father's Southern also, but he played by a little different rules," she admitted, as they both left the elevator and exited into the hall. The space had sedate carpet and, surprisingly, striped wall paper, but the lighting was dim, and it made the hall a little dingy.

"So I remember," Alastair murmured. "I think we finally did get all the mildew out of the carpet up in the kitchen near my office. "He really did mix it up with Ankow, didn't he?"

"Oh yeah," Dar said. "Bastard was lucky he got out of there in one piece. Whatever happened to him, anyway?"

"Went to work for his father," Alastair replied succinctly. "Bad egg. Good riddance," he added. "Though, the world has gotten more conservative lately. "

"Mm." Dar grunted.

"Well, meet you in the lobby at seven, Dar. Get yourself some rest." He paused at the door to his room, as Dar went down two doors past him. "Thanks for the entertaining afternoon."

"Anytime." Dar opened her door and pushed it inward, giving Alastair a wave as she entered and let the portal shut behind her. Inside her bag was sitting on a luggage rack, and the room was dim and peaceful. The sounds of the city below were muted by the thick glass of the window.

She checked her watch, and she went over to her bag, unzipping it and removing the inset that held her dress suits. Tomorrow she'd have to slip into her corporate persona, but she was glad enough to put the suit bag in the closet, giving it a shake to loosen the wrinkles, and remain casual for the night.

She took her sundry kit from her suitcase and went into the bathroom, setting the leather case on the marble counter and opening it. She removed her various toiletries and set them up neatly, feeling the jet lag starting to catch up with her.

Dar exhaled and glanced at her reflection. She turned the water on and splashed some of the cold liquid on her face. It had a rich mineral tang very different from the water at home, and she experimentally licked a few droplets, finding it as brassy tasting as it smelled. "Peh."

She wiped her face with one of the thick hand towels and retreated back into the bedroom, bypassing the danger of the bed and going to the small desk near the window instead, pulling her laptop out of her backpack and sitting down to open it.

Her cell phone rang. She glanced at the caller ID, keyed the answer button and set the speakerphone on. "Hey cute stuff."

"Hey hon." Kerry's voice echoed slightly from the speaker. "Whatcha up to?"

Dar was very glad of the distraction. "About to check office email," she replied. "You?"

"Lugging boxes," Kerry said. "Did you go sightseeing?"

"Sure." Dar booted her laptop resting her head on one hand. "Took Alastair to a torture exhibit and then shopping in a whip and chain shop."

Dead silence.

"Ker?"

"Honey, we do actually work for him, you know?"

Dar chuckled. "He enjoyed it. He bought a flail."

Kerry's flaring nostrils and blinking eyes were clearly audible through the phone. "For w--no, never mind. Forget I asked that," she muttered. "Flush cache. Flush cache. Flush cache," she paused, "okay, better now. Please don't reload."

"Okay," Dar agreed. "How's the packing going?" She could hear birds in the background, and guessed her partner was taking a break from the work and possibly her family. "Everyone there being nice to you or do I have to have a case of live gerbils delivered there to distract people?"

Kerry laughed. "Nerd. Everyone's being fine. I'm having fun playing with my nephew, and Mike's on his way over now, so I'm sure whatever progress we're making will grind to a complete halt. And hon, if I ever become as big a packrat as my sister you need to kick me to the curb."

Dar gazed at the phone. "Over my dead body."

"What?"

"You get kicked to the curb over my dead body no matter what junk you collect," Dar informed her. "I don't care if you pile crap up to the ceiling as long as there's a couple of square feet open in the bed for us to sleep in."

Kerry sighed. "I love you."

Dar chuckled as her laptop booted up and she plugged into the internet port in the room. "So did your sister really freak out about your tat?"

"Yeah," Kerry said. "She was like, how could you do that? Which is sort of what I asked myself the morning after I did it, but I love it now."

"Me too."

Kerry sighed. "Well, back to digging through boxes," she said, reluctantly. "You going out to dinner tonight?" she asked. "I think we are."

"With your Mom?"

"Uh huh."

Dar could read the several levels of commentary in the single grunt without much effort. She could also picture Kerry's face. "Send me a text if you want me to invent a tech nightmare for you to come save the day on, huh?"

Kerry chuckled. "I'll make them go to a barbeque joint. I'm in the mood for ribs and a nice loaded baked potato."

"Hedonist."

"Takes one to love one." Kerry's voice sounded a lot more cheerful. "Okay, hon, talk to you later. Have fun at dinner, and watch out for the haggis."

Dar closed the phone and went back to her laptop, smiling as she reviewed the mail careening wildly into her inbox and whistling softly under her breath.

KERRY CLIPPED HER phone back onto her belt and took a last long breath of cool air before she turned and re-entered Angie's house to be greeted by her brother coming in the other door. "Hey Mike."

"Kerry!" Michael rambled across the tile floor and flung his arms around her. "Good to see ya!"

"Oof." Kerry returned the hug. "Glad you see you too." She released him. "Nice haircut."

Mike ran his hand through what was almost a mohawk, the sides shorn close to his skull and the top longer. "Like it?" He looked at her. "Hey, you got a short cut too!"

"Not that short." Kerry shook her finger at him. "I thought you were working for some big shot company. They let you look like that?"

Her brother put his hands on his hips. "Oh now look who's talking," he said. "I'm working for a marketing company, sis. They like outrageous. Hey--want a job?"

"I have a job," Kerry replied. "And besides, your company probably couldn't afford me."

"Ooo--" Mike stuck his tongue out at her. "Listen to the big shot." He turned as Angie entered, carrying a tray. "I can't believe you dragged her all the way up here just to carry boxes for you!"

Angie put the tray down and put her hands on her hips, giving her brother a withering look. "She volunteered," she said. "Just like you did. It's not my fault she didn't come up to help you move the last six times this year."

"Now now." Kerry maneuvered her way through the lines of boxes on the floor of the living room, most partially filled with various things. "No fighting, children." She accepted a glass from the tray and took a sip of it, agreeably surprised to find it lemonade. "So now that all three of us arehere, I'm sure we'll get even less done."

Angie took a seat on one of the stools. "Probably," she admitted, scrubbing her hair out of her eyes. "Boy, this is a lot of crap." She glanced at her sister who was leaning against the bar. "Maybe I should have hired someone to pack it all up and take it."

Kerry studied the living room floor. They'd been working since breakfast to sort out a lifetime of memories, trinkets, and items that even Angie had some trouble identifying. There were fifteen boxes on the ground, and thirty or forty plastic bags piled haphazardly around full of trash and things her sister could bear to give up. "You'd have ended up having to sort it out over at the house. You know that place. It's got no closets and this stuff won't fit in the attic."

"Mm."

Mike surveyed their work. "Holy cow," he said, after a moment. "What is all this stuff?"

Angie sighed. "Stuff," she admitted. "Stuff from when we were kids. Stuff from my kids." She gazed quietly at the boxes. "Letters."

Kerry rested her chin on her fist. "We'll get through it," she said. "Now that we're started, and Mike will help. Right?"

"Um--" Mike looked at his older sister seeing her brow arch. "Yep! I sure will," he hastily agreed. "Besides, I hear we get dinner out of all this."

Kerry rolled her eyes.

Angie snorted. "Oh, yeah," she addressed Kerry. "Mom called. She's got reservations at the Clearbrook. Are you going to freak?"

The Clearbrook Golf Club. Kerry remembered so many Sunday dinners at the Clearbrook, a stuffy and conservative bastion of very decent food she had been unable to fully enjoy. It had been her father's favorite 'neighborhood' place to show off his family and hold a very informal court. "Hm."

"Food isn't bad," Mike said. "If you get past all the frilly crap on the plate."

"Ker?" Angie moved closer to her. "I didn't say yes or no. You worked your ass off all day, if you want to go get pizza, I'm there."

Kerry gazed quietly past the boxes for a moment. "Nah," she finally said. "Let's get it over with." She straightened up. "Like Mike said, they've got decent food and I can shock three quarters of the town if I start a belching competition with him in the middle of dinner."

"Ker." Angie covered her eyes, while her brother snickered. "Please don't make me have to listen to her bitch for six months."

Kerry chuckled and patted her sister on the shoulder. "I'll be good." She promised. "Now c'mon. Let's get through this side of the room at least before dinner." She circled the counter and pushed Mike ahead of her. "Grab that box."

"Uh--shouldn't I watch for a while to get clued in on your system, sister?"

"Clue this, you lazy punk." Kerry lazily turned and roundhouse kicked him in the ass, sending him nearly head over heels across the room. "C'mon, the faster we do this, the faster it's done."

"Ow!" Mike yelped. "Bet you wouldn't talk like that to Dar!"

"Bet she'd kick you a lot harder."