Thicker Than Water

Chapter

Five

IT WAS VERY quiet in the hotel, even after dawn had burnished the window with a pale light and thrown a slender stripe of it across the large bed. Dar’s eyes drifted open to take in her surroundings, and she was a trifle confused until her memory kicked in and she remembered where she was. And why.

She was lying on her back with Kerry sprawled half over her.

Kerry pinned her firmly in place and used her shoulder for a pillow.

Dar watched Kerry sleep, noting the shadows under her eyes and the drawn look that characterized her face, even now. Yesterday was such a trial for her, she mused, and today will be worse. But at least I’m here now and can give moral support, if not much else.

She couldn’t take charge of the situation, couldn’t shield her lover from the events or their consequences. Dar grimaced a little, unused to being in such a passive role and not liking it much. All she could do, really, was just be there for Kerry.

Like I was last night. Dar shuddered, imagining how many hours Kerry might have been crouched on the tile in misery if she hadn’t decided to just chuck everything and jump on the next plane heading north.

To hell with everything else. Dar closed her eyes and reveled in the warmth of her human blanket. She could feel Kerry’s breath through her cotton shirt, and she floated for a few minutes while she decided what to do next.

First things first. Dar reached out a hand, lifted the phone receiver off its cradle, and brought it to her ear. She stabbed at the keypad and was rewarded by a pleasant Midwestern voice that sounded a little like Kerry. “Room service, please.”

A click, some canned “Sleigh Ride,” and then the phone was picked up. “Good morning! Will this be breakfast or a late night snack?” The operator chuckled.

Dar’s brow creased and she glanced at the window. “Breakfast,” she muttered.

Thicker Than Water 59

“Okay, well,” the woman said, “our special for you this morning is lovebird muffins with sweetheart jelly.”

Dar turned her head and stared at the phone. “What?”

“We also have splits of champagne and berries with whipped cream.”

“How about oatmeal,” Dar replied. “And a large pot of coffee, and,” she considered, “a stack of pancakes.”

There was a momentary pause. “All righty then. Anything else?” the voice chirped. “That’s for two, right?”

“Um…right.” Dar’s brow creased. “How did you know?”

“Just a lucky guess. It’ll be right up, okay?” Now the voice sounded vaguely patronizing.

“Okay, thanks.” Dar hung up, puzzled by the odd responses.

Then she remembered what suite they were in and chuckled quietly.

“What’s so funny?” Kerry asked softly, not stirring an inch.

“If I spread sweetheart jelly all over you, would you be my lovebird muffin?” Dar asked.

Very slowly, Kerry lifted her head and peered at Dar with a look of mild disbelief. “Excuse me?” Her voice cracked a little, and she cleared her throat. “Bah. Dry air.”

Dar handed her the bottle of water she’d left by the bedside.

“Here.” She guided the straw to Kerry’s lips and watched as she sucked down half its contents. “Does that mean you won’t be?”

Kerry finished, and put her head down, seemingly exhausted.

“Right now I feel more like a meadow muffin,” she muttered into Dar’s chest. “A really flat one that was out in the sun a long, long time.”

Dar stroked her back and scratched it lightly with her fingertips. “I ordered breakfast.”

“Ugh.” Kerry shook her head. “Not for me.”

Dar hesitated. “Did you eat anything yesterday?”

Did I? Kerry’s brow creased. “Just breakfast with you. I was way too stressed to eat after I got here.”

Dar drummed her fingers on Kerry’s back. “I’m no expert, but that might be why you feel so lousy. You know how you get.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Kerry asked crossly.

Dar gently cleared her throat.

Kerry sighed and burrowed back into Dar’s body. “I don’t think I can handle eggs and bacon.”

“Damn good thing, because that’s not what I ordered.” Dar smoothed down Kerry’s hair and peered at her dimly seen profile tucked against her chest. “So just trust me, okay?”

It was so nice and warm where she was. Kerry closed her eyes, wishing with all her heart they were both home with nothing 60 Melissa Good more to look forward to than a Saturday’s cartoons and a diving trip. “Can I just stay right here?” she asked softly, as Dar’s arm closed around her in a hug. “I don’t want to go over there, Dar.

Call it cowardice if you want, but I don’t want to face those people…or that place.” She paused. “Or him dying.” Her chest tightened, and she blinked sudden tears from her eyes.

Dar felt very much at a loss. “I know it’s tough.” She kissed the top of Kerry’s head. “I’m sorry.”

Kerry sniffled. “Me, too,” she whispered. “Thank you for being here.” She ran a finger along Dar’s ribcage. “I feel incredibly selfish, but thank you.”

Dar kept up her gentle stroking, not sure of what else to do.

“It’s not selfish. I’m glad you want me here. I know how easy it is to shut everyone out when you’re hurting.”

Kerry shifted and looked up at her. “Thinking of your mom?”

Dar’s shrug spoke volumes. “And myself. I had friends who tried to talk to me after Dad…died.” It seemed so strange to say that now. “I pushed them all away. Had to put up that tough front, like I thought he’d want me to.”

Kerry’s lips tensed in wry compassion. “That big mushball?

Nah.”

Dar smiled a little.

“You don’t have to worry. I won’t ever lock you out, Dar; I need you too much.” Kerry gave Dar a painfully open look, then sighed and rolled over, reluctantly releasing Dar’s body. “I guess we’d better start day, huh?”

Dar ran her fingers through Kerry’s hair, making her lay still as she savored the contact. “How’s the head feel?”

Kerry ran her thumb along the inside of Dar’s forearm. “It’s okay.” She shrugged one shoulder. “I just feel really washed out.”

She didn’t feel like moving an inch, as a matter of fact. “Tired.”

C’mon, Kerrison, her conscience sternly prodded. You’re a big girl. Life sucks sometimes, so get your ass up and deal with it. She girded her philosophical loins and lifted her head–then was pulled back into Dar’s arms and back into her safe, warm nest.

Well, I tried. She greedily absorbed the hug. Sort of. “You know something?”

“Mm?”

Dar rubbed her all over, easing tiny tensions she’d hardly been aware of. “Love rocks.” Kerry sighed. She felt Dar chuckle, and the knot in her gut abruptly unraveled, making her almost dizzy with relief. She knew the day wasn’t promising to be any better than she had thought it would be the night before, but from Dar she could borrow the strength she’d need to live through it.

Thicker Than Water 61

DAR WATCHED HER mail download as she stood near the small table, preparing two bowls of gray, glutinous matter. She kept glancing at the bed where Kerry was tucked, the covers pulled around her and a quiet, almost remote look on her face.

She’s too pale, Dar realized, as she continued her work.

“Kerry?”

“Mm?” Green eyes turned her way, abandoning CNN.

“I know how your family feels,” Dar kept her gaze on her oatmeal, “but do you want me to come with you today?”

Kerry had to literally bite her tongue to keep the instant yelp of “yes” from emerging. She took a breath and watched Dar’s face for a moment, seeing the careful unconcern plastered on it. Her family would hate it, yes, but at that moment, she just didn’t care.

“Yes, I would,” she heard herself say.

After a moment’s silence, Dar looked up. “But?”

Kerry simply shrugged. “But nothing. If they have that much of a problem with it, we can both leave.”

Dar’s pale blue eyes widened a trifle, and then she smiled.

“Okay.” She picked up a bowl, carried it to the bed, and set it down on the covers. She handed Kerry a spoon. “Go on. You should be able to keep that down.”

Ah. Kerry took the spoon and examined her bowl. “You know, Dar, I don’t think I ever mentioned this, but…um…I really don’t like oatmeal.”

“Just try it.” Dar said. “Trust me.”

Kerry, she flew a thousand miles in the middle of the night to be here for you. She managed to get a spoonful of the sticky stuff balanced and lifted it. She loves you. Remember that. She loves you.

“Mmph.” For a moment she mouthed the oatmeal, a substance she hated with a passion.

“Yeess?” Dar’s low drawl answered.

“How’d you get oatmeal to taste like tapioca pudding?”

Dar sat down with her own bowl, and smirked, just a little. “I have many skills.”

“Mmm.” Kerry swallowed another spoonful. “So I see.”

THE CLOCK FLIPPED over to eight-o clock. Kerry glanced at it, then sighed. “Hospital opens at nine. Guess we’d better get started.” She pulled the covers back and sat up, stifling a yawn.

“Can’t believe I’m still tired.”

Dar gave her a sympathetic look. “Stress. On top of a killer migraine.”

“Mm.” Kerry scrubbed her fingers through her hair. The room phone rang and she glanced at it, then at Dar. “Probably for me, 62 Melissa Good huh?”

Dar held up her cell phone and shrugged. Kerry picked up the receiver. “Hello?”

“Ker?” Angela’s voice was low. “I know it’s early.”

The pressure of the situation came down on her again. “It’s okay, I was up.”

“We missed you last night,” Angie said. “Thought you were right behind us, then you disappeared.”

Kerry’s brow creased in displeasure. “I didn’t disappear; I was being chased by those damn news people. I just barely got out ahead of them and got across the parking lot.” She waited for Angie to comment, but there was only silence. “Then I got a migraine, and it was all I could do to get back to the hotel.”

A sigh echoed through the receiver. “You okay?”

“Now,” Kerry said, “yes. But it was a very miserable night. I wouldn’t have been much use.”

Angie cleared her throat. “It was pretty rough here, too.

Mom’s in pieces.”

“I know,” Kerry replied softly. “And given what Uncle Harold was saying, maybe it’s better I wasn’t there.”

The ensuing silence was definitely awkward. “He didn’t mean that,” Angie said. “Everyone’s just so stressed; you say stuff.”

A lie. “Sure.”

“You’ll come back with us tonight, right?”

Kerry gazed across the room at the compassionate blue eyes watching her. “I don’t know. That’s probably not a good idea.”

“C’mon, Kerry. We’re your family, and this… Of course it’s a good idea. Why not?” Angie sounded distressed.

Kerry took a breath. “Dar’s here. She flew in last night.”

“Oh.” Angie let out a heartfelt sigh. “Well, it can’t make things any worse, I guess. I’m glad she’s there for you, at any rate.”

That brought a faint smile to Kerry’s face. “Me, too. Listen, I’ll meet you guys at the hospital, then we’ll see from there, okay?” She knew Angie wasn’t happy with that. “Angie, you know how the rest of the family feels about me. Let’s not make things harder than they already are.”

“All right,” Angie replied very quietly. “See you soon.”

Angie disconnected and Kerry replaced the receiver in the cradle, then stood up. “I won’t be long. Don’t go anywhere.”

“I won’t.” Dar waited for Kerry to duck into the bathroom before she rummaged in her bag and pulled out her bottle of painkillers. No sense in advertising stupidity, she reasoned as she removed the cap and shook out a large pill, then recapped the bot-Thicker Than Water 63

tle and tucked it back inside her bag. She washed the tablet down with a swallow of orange juice, then sat down and began to review her mail.

Today isn’t going to be fun, she mused, but we’ll get through it.

With quiet determination, she put the thought out of her mind and concentrated on her work.

Jesus. Dar’s brow creased. What the hell’s going on back there?

She scrolled down the long list, then remembered she had not only her own mail, but Kerry’s being forwarded to her as well.

She scanned the headers, then sorted them by priority and started clicking.

“Everyone’s getting short answers today,” she muttered, pecking out a reply as she kept her injured arm still by resting its elbow on her thigh. “Don’t like it? Too bad.” She typed, “No.”

Click. Type. “No.” Click. Type. “Ok.” Click. Type. “Bite me.”

Backspacing to that note, Dar sighed. Given her current position, Alastair had asked her to at least try to be a little more dignified in her responses. She studied the request, a whine from José about getting the sales staff new laptops. “Why? Did they run out of sand on their Etch A Sketches?”

“What’s that, hon?” Kerry poked her head out of the bathroom. “Were you talking to me?”

Dar peeked over her screen. “No, I was making fun of José.

He wants new toys for the sales department.”

Kerry scrubbed her teeth while she thought. “Figureth ouf there’r Fither Prith, eh?”

Dar snickered. “Yeah.” She did the mental math. “He’s got them in his budget…Should I be nice?”

“Eh.”

Dar forwarded the mail to Mark. “Ok,” she typed in, and clicked send. “You got lucky, José. Those pancakes mellowed me out.”

Kerry disappeared into the bathroom, then emerged, wiping her mouth with a small towel. “Dar?”

“Mm?” Dar looked up.

“You’re typing one handed.” Kerry walked over to Dar.

“Does your arm hurt?”

Uh oh. “Yeah.” Dar shrugged. “Slept wrong, I guess.”

Kerry cocked her head, then leaned on the desk and caught Dar’s eye. “No, you didn’t. You picked my ass up last night.”

Dar grinned rakishly. “And the rest of you, too.” She chuckled, leaning back in her chair. “Yeah, I had to brush the dust off my butch card; what can I tell you?” She made light of the charge, not wanting Kerry to feel guilty about it. “Relax, I’m fine.”

Kerry stepped closer and circled Dar’s neck with her arms, 64 Melissa Good pulled her close and kissed the top of her head. “I’ll make it up to you, Dar,” she murmured. “When we get home, I’m going to pamper you, and make sure you don’t do anything until that shoulder heals.”

Dar found herself in a very advantageous position. She gently nibbled Kerry’s skin through her shirt. “Anything?”

Kerry cleared her throat. “Well…” She kissed Dar’s head again, then released her and turned back towards the shower. A thought halted her. “You know, if that shoulder’s really stiff, it might be a lot easier if I scrubbed you.”

“Oh, reaallly.” Dar was glad to see a touch of spirit coming back into Kerry’s demeanor. “Are you propositioning me?”

Kerry smiled and held out a hand. Dar rose and went to her.

She took the hand and wrapped an arm around Kerry as they entered the steamy bathroom. Kerry helped Dar pull her shirt off over her head, then stood as Dar peeled her out of hers.

She still felt shaky. The breakfast and the night’s sleep had helped, and Dar’s presence had helped even more, but she wanted a good dose of the comfort only her lover could provide to buffer her against the day. This was as good a way as any to get it, and still be doing something productive at the same time.

They stepped into the shower, and Kerry took the tube of soap she’d packed and squeezed out a handful. The steam put little wisps between her and her target, so she moved closer and studied the body before her. Dar’s chest moved as she took a breath, then moved again as Kerry spread her fingers and slipped them over the tanned skin, leaving lather in their wake.

She loved how Dar felt. She had such smooth, soft skin, and it was stretched over an incredible supple and strong form that moved under her touch in a flow of muscle. There were a few tiny scars across her ribcage, and Kerry carefully cleaned all of them, aware of Dar’s feather light touch on her side.

She cleaned Dar’s breasts, her lips twitching a little as the touches tickling her own ribs became more insistent, then her hands moved down Dar’s muscular belly and past the indentation of her navel.

The pressure of the water was starting to feel good against her sensitized skin. Kerry deliberately let the memories of the previous day dissolve as she rubbed her skin against Dar’s as they slid together. She lifted her head and Dar’s lips found hers, then started a slow, teasing journey down her neck.

“Oo,” she whispered into Dar’s ear, just before she started suckling the lobe. “I like that.”

“That?” Dar rumbled, and gently closed her teeth on a very sensitive part of Kerry’s anatomy.

Thicker Than Water 65

The answer was a low groan.

Dar shifted her attentions slightly. “Or that?” She chuckled softly as the groan became a squeak.

KERRY FLUFFED OUT her hair and stared pensively at her reflection. She tugged a little on the snug teal turtleneck she hadn’t had occasion to wear in over a year. “I’m going to sweat in this, aren’t I?”

Dar came up behind her and put a hand on her shoulder.

“Probably.” She brushed a speck of dust off Kerry’s sleeve. The sweater nicely outlined her lover’s athletic build and contrasted against her pale hair. “You look nice, though.”

Kerry turned and regarded her. Dar was wearing a beautifully knitted red pullover with an embroidered pattern on it and a pair of black corduroys. The pullover had a rolled collar, and it looked casually elegant. “So do you. I like that on you.”

“You should; you bought it.” Dar smiled, having found the surprise laid out on her dresser after the first cool morning they’d had that fall. She didn’t like sweaters, as a rule, never having had occasion to wear them much, but she did like this one. It was incredibly soft, for one thing, a very fine, silky weave that felt nice against her skin. For another thing, she looked good in it, and she was self aware enough to know that. “Where did you get it? I should get you a blue one, and we can wear them on the same day at work.” She straightened Kerry’s shoulder seams. “You ready?”

Kerry’s eyes dropped. “As I’ll ever be. Dar, I want to apologize to you in advance for all the crap you’re going to have to wit-ness and be subjected to today.”

Dar tipped Kerry’s chin up so their eyes met. “I’ll live. Don’t worry about me, okay?”

A thin lipped smile flitted on Kerry’s face, then disappeared.

“Okay. Let’s go.” She slipped into her leather jacket and zipped it, then headed for the door with Dar following behind her. “Good God.” She stopped in mid stride, almost making Dar crash into her. “Dar, what happened with the Navy investigation?”

Dar put a hand on her back and pushed her gently forward.

“C’mon.” She pushed the elevator button, debating whether or not to go into the subject.

Kerry didn’t budge. “Dar?”

Pale blue eyes regarded her seriously. “Gerry called me.”

Kerry waited. “And?”

Dar sighed. “He…wants to dump the whole thing.”

Kerry’s jaw dropped. “What?”

Dar fiddled with the catches on her heavy jacket. “I can see 66 Melissa Good where he’s coming from, Kerry.” She glanced up and down the empty corridor. “The scandal could destroy a lot of people.”

Kerry just stared at her. “And you accepted that?” Her voice was flat with disbelief.

Dar studied the carpet, then looked up. “No. I told him I’d go public with it if he didn’t.” The doors opened and she put out a hand to keep them that way. “Alastair’s frothing at me for that.”

Kerry walked into the elevator, her mind churning. She knew Dar would keep her word, but at what cost? “Is it worth it? Maybe Easton’s right.” Dar’s silence made her look up, and she found her lover studying her seriously. “Maybe the damage outweighs the benefits.”

Dar seemed to understand where she was coming from. “I thought about that. After I did the analysis, I sat at my desk for hours, debating with myself over whether or not to give it to your father.” She half shook her head. “Maybe I knew this was going to happen.”

The doors opened at the bottom floor and they exited. Kerry thought about what Dar had said as they crossed the warm, gaily decorated lobby and passed through the revolving door into the bitterly cold wind. “Did you think you might be doing it just because you were mad at Ainsbright?”

Dar stuck her hands in her pockets. “No. I thought I might be doing it to stroke my own ego.”

Kerry looked at her in surprise. “What?”

Dar gave an embarrassed nod. “I figured there’s a part of me that hates losing and hates letting someone get one over on me, and that’s what was driving me to force the issue.”

Kerry stopped at her rental car and opened the doors. She waited for Dar to slip inside, then joined her and closed the door on the icy air. “And you decided you weren’t?”

Dar smiled at the bleak scene outside the car. “No. That was very much a part of why I did it.” She gave Kerry an honest, open look. “But the other part of it was that people are getting hurt by this, and it has to stop.” Her jaw tensed. “And it will stop, one way or the other, no matter what that takes.”

Sometimes, Kerry mused, as she started the car and let the engine warm up, sometimes life’s lessons come at you from the strang-est directions, and at the weirdest times. “Does your father know about this?”

Dar nodded silently.

Kerry didn’t have to ask how Andrew felt about it. She knew, simply by the set of Dar’s shoulders and the almost unconsciously proud lift of her chin. It definitely gave her something to think about. “Well. I don’t think my father had time to do anything with Thicker Than Water 67

it.”

“Mm.” Dar leaned back in her seat.

Kerry exhaled and put the car into gear. She backed out of the parking spot and headed towards the main road. The landscape was bleak and gray, trees dressed in winter brown with their coat-ing of snow and ice.

It made Kerry feel cold, despite the heater in the car. This had once been home. She’d grown up here, played in some of the fields they were passing, skated on those frozen lakes. They drove past a group of young people walking along the sidewalk, laughing and joking with each other, obviously headed for the church youth center not far away.

Kerry remembered being one of them, pampered and privi-leged, wanting for absolutely nothing. Sure of her place in the world and secure in her family’s solid circle. Lacking only the one thing that Dar, raised without any of her advantages, had been given freely.

Life is so strange, sometimes.

Kerry felt almost lightheaded. She pulled over to the side of the road, stopped, and leaned on the steering wheel as she stared out at the trees.

“Ker?” Dar asked, hesitantly.

“It…um…” Kerry started, then paused. “I think part of the reason why I leaked that dirt on my father was because I was so angry at him.” Her voice was shaking a little, and she appreciated the sudden warmth as Dar laid a hand on her thigh. “I don’t think it had anything to do with wanting to do the right thing. Knowing that, and seeing him in that bed…it’s killing me.”

“Hey.” Dar leaned over the shift console and put an arm across Kerry’s shoulders. “It’s not your fault, Kerry.”

She gazed at Dar. “Isn’t it?”

“Don’t be an idiot.” Dar’s voice was warm, taking the sting out of the words. “Yeah, that was stressful, but your father spent his whole life in politics, Kerry. You think that was the only stress in his life? C’mon, you know better.”

Kerry remained silent.

“Don’t do that to yourself,” Dar said. “He made the choice to do what he did, knowing it might get out. You think keeping that secret wasn’t tough?” One dark brow lifted. “In the long run, lying is harder than truth.” She stroked Kerry’s cheek. “We found that out, didn’t we?”

A memory of the tense months early in their relationship surfaced, when even bringing Dar lunch was looked at with suspicion. “Yeah,” Kerry had to admit. “It was a lot easier once we came out. But this isn’t the same thing, Dar.”

68 Melissa Good

“Isn’t it?” Dar echoed her earlier statement. “Think about it.”

Kerry exhaled. “Maybe. Guess we’d better get moving.”

Dar rubbed her neck a little. “Want me to drive? That should keep you distracted until we get there.”

Kerry unexpectedly smiled as she put the car back into gear.

“I’m okay.” She put the turn indicator on and watched for passing cars. “But I’ll keep the offer in mind.”

THEY MET ANGIE and her husband on the way into the hospital. Some of the press interest had waned, it seemed, or maybe the weather had deterred them. Snow was falling, and Kerry shivered a little as she joined her sister on the walk to the back entrance. “Hi.”

“Hi.” Angie rubbed her arm. “Hi, Dar. Thanks for coming up.”

Kerry didn’t have to look behind her to see the raised eyebrow. She gave Angie a heartfelt smile and a hug. “Sorry about last night.”

“Richard, this is Dar Roberts, Kerry’s partner,” Angie went on in a determined Midwestern twang. “Dar, this is my husband, Richard.”

Dar mentally gave Angie several more points as she extended her hand. “Nice to meet you.” She met Richard’s wary eyes, on a level with her own, as they shook hands. “Sorry it has to be on this kind of occasion.”

“Ms. Roberts,” Richard said quietly as he released her hand.

“Good to finally meet someone I’ve heard so much about.”

Oo. Talk about your loaded statements. Dar returned his brief smile. “Likewise.” She turned to Angie. “How’s Andrew?”

Everyone relaxed just a little as Richard turned to open the door to the hospital.

“Growing like a weed,” Angie said. “He’s made up for having such an exciting birthday by being just the sweetest, calmest child.” She waited for her husband and Kerry to enter the hospital, then she turned and lowered her voice. “Dar, I’m really glad you’re here.”

Dar managed a brief smile. “I know I’m not wanted here, but I couldn’t let her go through this alone.” She held the door open for Angie to pass. “Besides, unfriendly family isn’t exactly foreign to me.”

Angie sighed as she walked inside and Dar followed. “I know. I just wish it wasn’t so damned hard. The whole situation’s so lousy, and then on top of it…Oh, crap.”

Dar glanced ahead of them to where Kerry was standing, Thicker Than Water 69

bracketed by two older men. Her body posture was so defensive it brought an immediate response from Dar, who brushed past two vaguely familiar looking women and bore down on Kerry with determined strides.

“Uncle Albert, you don’t have a right to ask me to leave,”

Kerry said firmly. “This is my father—”

“You sure didn’t think of that when you turned against him, did you?” her uncle snapped, his face flushed. “Look, I’m not going to stand here and argue. I’m not going to put up with my brother being mocked by the likes of you, you little traitor. Get your ass out of this hospital before I throw you out.”

Kerry felt a wild rush of anger that was so unexpected, it almost made her lightheaded. “You just try it.” She balled her fists. “You stupid, useless windbag. I haven’t even seen you since I was twelve. Now you show up here like you own the place, like you matter?”

“Might have figured it was you giving someone bullshit,” Dar said.

Kerry’s uncle turned and stared in utter shock.

A cold smile graced Dar’s face. “Aren’t you going to say hello, Al? Or did you forget what I looked like after I fired your ass for the rankest incompetence in the history of business?”

“You son of a—”

“Oh no.” Dar slipped between him and Kerry, very aware of the watching crowd. “I didn’t have a dick then and I don’t now, but let me tell you, Al, you say one more nasty word to Kerrison and you won’t have one either, because I’ll pull it off and beat you to death with it.”

The elevator doors opened into a frozen silence. Dar put out a long arm and blocked them from closing. “Ladies first.” She motioned Kerry and Angie to go on, then joined them in the car, and let the doors close before anyone else could get on.

The sound of Angie pushing the elevator button was loud as they all took a breath at the same time. “Wow.” Angie wiped her brow. “This isn’t a good way to start the day, is it?”

Kerry turned and looked at Dar. “Uh…”

Dar had been staring at the doors, now she turned and exhaled. “Sorry. Temper got the better of me.”

“It’s okay.” Kerry lifted a slightly shaking hand. “Better yours than mine, Dar. I was about to start swinging at him.” Dar slipped an arm around her shoulders, and she leaned gratefully against Dar’s tall form. “Sorry we left Richard down there with them, Ang.”

“He’ll live.” Angie shrugged. “I’m sorry. After the past few days and listening to all the righteous bullshit I’ve had to listen 70 Melissa Good to, with daddy in here helpless, I’m just…damn it to hell…over it.”

Kerry peeked at her. “Angela, that’s the most curse words I’ve ever heard you use.”

“Yeah, well.” Angie drew in a long breath and let it out. “I’ve been spending time on the Internet, what can I tell you?” The doors opened and she exited, followed by Dar and Kerry. They turned to the right and went to the waiting room of the critical care unit.

Cynthia Stuart was already there, alone. She was sitting in one of the chairs, her hands folded in her lap, her body in an attitude of pained patience. She looked up as they entered. “Oh, Angela…Kerrison…I’m...” Her eyes slipped past them and rested on Dar. “Oh.”

Kerry heard the elevator doors opening behind them, and she figured the entire situation was either going to resolve itself or turn into an undignified free for all more suited to the soccer field than a hospital. “Mother—”

Cynthia stood, brushed past her, and stopped in front of Dar with a serious expression. She held out both hands. “I’m so glad you came.”

It was one of the last things Dar had expected to hear. She clasped Cynthia’s hands in sheer reflex, her battle ready mind scrambling to reassess the startling attitude. “I’m sorry,” she managed to get out. “I really am,” she added in a softer tone.

“As am I,” Cynthia replied. “For many things.”

Loud voices at the doorway made them both turn. Kerry’s uncles entered with Richard and one or two others. They all stopped and stared at Dar, who stared impassively back, her hands still clasped in Cynthia’s.

The tension in the room was shattered when the inner door opened and a tall, good looking man entered, wearing a white lab coat over a set of green surgical scrubs. Everyone’s attention went to him, and he paused, collecting his thoughts before he continued.

Dar released Cynthia’s hands and stepped quietly back to join Kerry, who slipped a hand around her arm as they waited for the doctor to speak.

“Hello, Doctor Bridges,” Cynthia said quietly. “How are things this morning?”

The doctor’s lips tensed a bit in compassion before he put a hand on her shoulder and walked her to a seat. He sat next to her and rested his elbows on his knees as everyone else sat across from them.

“There’s been no change, Mrs. Stuart,” Dr. Bridges told her Thicker Than Water 71

gently. “You know we didn’t expect there to be any; we talked about that yesterday.”

Cynthia Stuart looked very small and very alone. “Yes, I know. But you live your whole life thinking prayer can change things, so you do what you can.” Her eyes searched the doctor’s face. “It seems so odd, with everything we can do these days, that nothing can be done for my husband.”

Dr. Bridges nodded, seeming to accept the gentle rebuke.

“Sometimes we can achieve what appear to be miracles, that’s true. But some things are still beyond us, and restoring energy in a brain where there’s none left is one of those things.”

Not caring who was watching, Dar put an arm around Kerry.

She could feel her lover’s whole body shivering, and she wished there were some way, any way to change the words the doctor was forcing them to hear about her father. Even if she hated the man’s guts.

“There really is no hope, is there?” Kerry asked softly. “Not even one in a million?”

Dr. Bridges hesitated, studying his hands before he looked up and met her eyes. “Ms. Stuart, in my business, I’ve learned never to quote odds. Because human beings have the damnedest way of finding a way around them.”

Kerry blinked. “But?”

The doctor sighed. “But, Ms. Stuart, I know our limitations.

Your father is beyond them.” He patted Cynthia’s hand. “I’m sorry.”

Kerry’s mother nodded numbly.

“I’ll be in my office if you want to see me,” the doctor said to Kerry. He stood up and headed out the way he’d come in.

For a few moments, they were all silent. Then all hell broke loose. Both of Kerry’s uncles stood up and faced her, their voices rising in mindless outrage in counterpoint with too few voices protesting in her defense.

Finally, Cynthia Stuart simply stood up and screamed at the top of her voice, “Silence!” It shocked everyone so much, it achieved its purpose, and silence did, indeed, fall over the waiting room.

Kerry’s uncles were squared off on one side, facing Kerry, Angie, and Dar, with Richard sort of hovering off to one side.

“Cynthia, I won’t have it,” Edgar Stuart said flatly. “My brother is lying in there dying, and I won’t have that little bitch here.” He pointed at Kerry. “She put him here.”

Kerry opened her mouth to respond.

“No.” Cynthia almost spat the word out. “Now that’s enough.” She was shaking, but clearly in control. “Is it not bad 72 Melissa Good enough we’re here for this, without this nonsense? Kerry did not put Roger anywhere.”

“What are you talking about?” Edgar yelled. “You know—”

“Enough!” Cynthia out-yelled him. “Hatred put him in that bed. I won’t have it; I won’t. Now you stop this at once, or I will have you thrown out.”

“Mother.” Kerry put a hesitant hand on her shoulder. “It’s not worth what this is costing. I’ll leave.”

“Please,” her mother turned and whispered, “hasn’t there been enough anger?”

Kerry dropped her eyes and her hand fell from Cynthia’s shoulder.

Dar stepped up behind Kerry and laid a hand on her back in silent support, gazing with quiet impassivity over Kerry’s shoulder at her mother and her uncles.

“Now, let’s all sit down,” Cynthia said shakily, “and have a moment’s peace.”

Someone had to sit first, and Kerry decided it would be her.

She took a seat against the wall as Dar settled next to her, and, reluctantly, everyone else did as well. God. Kerry was shaking inside and her head ached again. She was very conscious of Dar’s presence, almost feeling the tension radiating from her silent lover.

“What I want,” Cynthia Stuart had seated herself and was now speaking firmly, staring at the opposite wall, “what I want is for all of us to come together and support each other during this horrible trial.”

“Cyndi,” Edgar broke in.

“Edgar,” she said, “that’s enough.”

Kerry just kept quiet, leaning forward with her elbows on her knees and her head in her hands. She felt chilled and welcomed the warmth as Dar put an arm across her shoulders, despite the fact that she knew if she looked up, she’d see disgust and loathing in her family’s eyes. It was so hard. She let out a breath and felt like crying.

“Mom’s right.” Angela’s voice broke the silence. “This is hard enough for all of us. Let’s not make it worse.” She reached past Dar and rubbed Kerry’s back. “Fighting gains us nothing.”

The two older men stared at her. “It gains me the satisfaction of knowing I didn’t sit by and let my brother’s memory be sullied by the likes of her,” Edgar spat. “He’d hate her being here, with that…that…”

Dar stood up. “Let’s cut to the facts. Kerry’s father’s in there dying. Kerry wants to be here.” She let the words sink in. “I’m not leaving her here to face that alone, so unless you think you can Thicker Than Water 73

physically remove either one of us, why don’t you just shut up and use your energy for something other than moving the hot air around.”

“You—”

“Heathen? Dyke? Sinner?” Dar refused to lose her temper or her acidic humor. “Save it. I’ve heard it all, and I’m not the one here making everyone sick to their stomachs.” She stared Edgar down.

“Aren’t you?” He got up and left, and Albert followed him.

Kerry lifted her head and gazed at Dar, then she slowly straightened and slumped back into the chair with a sigh as Dar resumed her seat. “I’m sorry,” she said quietly to her mother.

“Kerrison, this was God’s will, not yours,” Cynthia said.

“We’ve spent too much time railing against that. It’s time we stop and bow our heads to it and listen to His word.” She folded her hands and gazed at them.

Kerry propped her head against one hand and rubbed her temples. Her stomach was aching again, and a flash of the torment she’d gone through the night before made her shiver in pure reaction.

“Ker?” Dar leaned close, a concerned tone in her voice. “You all right?”

Kerry met Dar’s eyes. “Not really,” she murmured. “Got any ibuprofen?”

“Yeah.” Dar nodded. “Let me go grab you a drink.” She got up and squeezed Kerry’s shoulder before she walked to the door and disappeared.

Kerry exhaled heavily and closed her eyes, leaving them that way when Angie slid from her seat into the one Dar had vacated and pressed her shoulder against Kerry’s.

“Hey, sis.”

One green eye appeared. “Hey.”

“I’m glad you’re here,” Angie said. “Even though I know you’re not.”

Kerry managed a faint smile. “Thanks.” She glanced at her mother, who was now whispering to her Aunt Helen. “I’m glad Dar’s here, even though I know she’s not.”

Angie smiled. “Yeah, I bet you are.” She sighed. “I’ve missed talking to you.” She patted Kerry’s shoulder. “I’ve just been so busy with Andrew.” She lowered her voice. “Brian’s coming over later with Mike. That’ll tip the scales.”

“Mmm.” Kerry closed her eyes against the throbbing. “I’ll be glad to see them.” She peeked cautiously past Angie’s shoulder.

“Bet you will too, huh?”

Angie sighed. “I was seriously considering spilling my little 74 Melissa Good secret the other day before this happened. I figured, what the hell, right?”

Kerry leaned her head against Angie’s. “What a family of rebels we turned out to be.” Her humor faded. “What are we going to do, Angie? How can we ask mom to make that choice?”

Angie’s eyes went to their mother’s face, then flicked back. “I don’t know,” she whispered. “I just don’t know.”