Tropical Storm

Chapter Twenty-five

KERRY STRETCHED OUT stiffened muscles as she got out of the car, and waited for Dar to lock the Lexus before she joined her companion for the short walk up the stairs. She had her overnight bag with her, and she slung it over her shoulder, following Dar inside and letting the smell of clean wax and wood fill her lungs as she stepped inside.

“Watch it, had the floors waxed this morning,” Dar warned her with a smile. “You up for the hot tub?”

“Ooo, you bet.” Kerry laughed and nodded. “I’ll go put my suit on.” She hesitated, then eased closer and put an arm around the taller woman, driven by a nameless need for Dar’s touch. “You sure you’re okay? I thought that creep hit you pretty hard.”

Dar exhaled softly, closing her arms around Kerry. “Yeah. I’m a little sore, but I’ve had worse.”

Kerry gave her a gentle hug. “Okay.” She released the taller woman, then she moved towards the kitchen. “I’m about dying of thirst, can I get you something?” She waited a beat. “Let me guess—a glass of milk.”

Dar ambled into her bedroom to change. “I think I’m being tweaked,” she called back.

Kerry grinned, and opened the door to the refrigerator, standing there and blinking for a long moment at what she saw. “Hey, Dar?”

“Yeah?” The voice floated in.

“Dar, there are things in your refrigerator,” the blonde yelled.

Her companion came in, adjusting a strap on her swimsuit. “There are?”

She peeked. “Oh yeah.” She laughed sheepishly, giving Kerry wry look. “I didn’t want to get teased. I thought you’d appreciate something other than peanut butter and ice cream.”

Kerry fell silent for a moment, then she turned, her face serious. “You know what I do appreciate?” she asked quietly. “I appreciate that what I think matters to you.”

Blue eyes blinked at her. “Kerry, of course it does,” Dar said, a little taken aback. “Surely you realized that.”

She smiled slightly. “I…in the office, sure, but…” She shrugged. “It’s just a different feeling, I guess.”

Dar brushed a thumb across her jaw line and studied her as the chill air of the refrigerator bathed both of them. “I very much care about what you think,” she told her companion seriously, then indicated the open appliance.

“I hope I at least guessed partly right.”

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Kerry peeked over her shoulder. “Oh, what cute bananas.” She picked one up. “It’s a bananalette.”

“Junior Chiquita,” Dar supplied, peering in as well. Clemente’s staff had added to her list, she noted. “You hungry?”

Kerry peeled the banana and bit off the end. “Mmhmff.” She nodded.

“Okay, I’m going to order something up from the restaurant. We can nibble while we’re in the tub. Sound okay?”

“Mfff. Unless you order onion soup. That could get messy,” Kerry replied with a grin.

“Wasn’t what I had in mind,” Dar responded drolly. “You…trust me to order for you?”

“Implicitly.” The response was affectionate as Kerry wandered out, collecting her swimsuit while Dar picked up the phone.

She placed an order. “And Carlos, I’ll leave the front door open. We’ll be on the porch,” she informed the order taker.

“Will do, Ms. Roberts. You want to open the bottle, or shall I?” the cultured Hispanic voice answered.

“You can do it. Just ice it down,” she decided, then hung up, walking to the porch door and pushing it open. The damp, salt air hit her. She took a deep breath of it, then winced as her ribs pulled against the soreness. “Bastard,” she cursed softly as she tugged the padded top off the hot tub and flipped the switch that started the water circulating. “Let’s see…boil, steam, poach. Okay, that’s better.” She dipped a finger in, then paused, turning to look out over the ocean as the tide was coming in.

It was a pretty night, with only a few high clouds chasing across the stars, and the moon was at half full, casting a dim, pale line across the ruffled waves. The air was full of the scent of the sea and was a little less humid than it had been. Dar drew it in with pleasure, closing her eyes as the breeze brushed back her hair.

A warm hand touched her skin, and she turned to see Kerry standing next to her, also gazing out at the water, her skin golden against the dark fabric of her suit.

Dar let her eyes travel down her companion’s form and smiled. “You look nice in that suit,” she complimented Kerry quietly.

Kerry glanced up, a touch surprised, and she looked down at herself with a wry smile, smoothing her hand down over the fabric. “Thanks. I…” She paused awkwardly. “Thanks.” The taut fabric didn’t hide much, and Dar’s admiring eyes sent interesting prickles across her body. First a rose, then she has stuff for me here, now a compliment…must be my lucky day. Kerry sighed happily, taking Dar’s arm. “Shall we?”

They entered the hot tub, which was nice and warm and swirled around them in a rush of steam and strong water smell. Kerry settled down next to Dar and leaned back. “Ooo, this feels great.”

Dar allowed the warmth and the motion to relax her. “Yeah,” she agreed.

“Especially after the gym. I think I overdid it with those weights.” She shifted her shoulders a little and winced. “Ouch.”

Kerry shifted onto her side and reached over, gently massaging the tense muscles. “I saw you. The little mini-Arnolds over there were dropping 312 Melissa Good barbells on themselves trying to keep an eye on you, y’know.”

Dar chuckled wryly. “They were, huh?”

“Not that I blame them, because I was watching you too,” Kerry admitted with a smile. “I was really glad to see you when that guy was being such an asshole, though.” She traced a gentle line down Dar’s upper arm. “I know you hate when I say this, but…you really are quite the hero when you want to be.”

“C’mon, Kerry, don’t hang that title on me,” Dar protested gently. “All I did was get in some jerk’s way. That doesn’t take courage, just a bad attitude.”

Kerry quietly gazed at her. “Maybe, but it’s been a long time since I’ve had someone stand up for me. It felt good.” She lowered her eyes to the water thoughtfully.

Dar studied her. “You have a really independent mind, you stand up for yourself pretty well,” she offered, cautiously.

“Survival mechanism.” Kerry smiled faintly and played with the water.

Dar sensed her companion was edging slowly toward opening up to her and revealing whatever it was that caused the veiled sadness behind those sea green eyes. And she wanted to know, she wanted to understand what had hurt Kerry so. And she wanted to beat the living daylights out of whoever had done it. “Survival’s not a bad trait,” she replied gently. “I guess I have…I don’t know. My father used to call it my ‘in yer damn face’ instinct.” She chuckled self-deprecatingly. “I’m pretty sure I got it from him. I go into things without thinking sometimes. I just react, and then worry about the consequences later.”

“Mmm.” Kerry nodded. “It was like you saw those people tonight before they even came at us. One minute I was walking along, the next you had me all covered up and protected—so fast.”

Dar exhaled, stretching her legs out into the water. “I didn’t really think about it,” she confessed with a shrug, then turned as the door opened, and a server in blue slacks and a white starched shirt entered with a laden tray. “Ah, dinner.” She signed the check and added a tip to it and let the server go after they set the plates on the small ledge of the hot tub.

“Wow.” Kerry nibbled on a coconut shrimp. “I should have known you’d order everything I like. Dar, what am I going to do with you?”

“Anything you like,” the dark-haired woman answered absently, as she poured a glass of cold, sweet wine and set it down beside Kerry’s plate. “Here you go.”

Kerry took the glass and sipped it slowly, enjoying the tasty chill as it traveled down her throat. Dar had settled back and was chewing on a mini shish kebab, her pale eyes hooded as she kept silent for a bit. She searched the planed, angular face intently, then made up her mind. It would be hard, she knew that. But she trusted Dar, and…well, she just trusted her, that was all.

Not here, though, and not right this moment. “Thanks.” She snuggled closer to the taller woman and touched her glass to Dar’s. “It’s so pretty out here. I love the smell of the water so close.”

The dark head nodded. “It took me a while to get used to it, but now, god, it’s such a relief to get out here after battling all day. I think it’s all that’s kept me sane this year,” she admitted, sliding a casual arm around Kerry’s shoulders and pulled her closer without really thinking about it. “Until you Tropical Storm 313

got here, that is.”

Kerry smiled back and gladly surrendered to her intense craving as she settled against Dar, nuzzling her shoulder gently and kissing the soft skin there, tasting the chemical tang of the water in which they were floating.

“Glad I could contribute to the cause.” She tilted her head up and gazed at Dar, admiring the clean, smooth planes of her face and feeling a deep surge of the strong emotion she’d been feeling lately. “Thanks for inviting me out here.” Dar’s eyes bathed her in a quiet, gentle affection that went straight through to her heart.

“Kerry, you’re always welcome. I very much enjoy your company, and l…I really like having you here.” She felt awkward, and she cleared her throat a little, taking a breath to steady herself.

Dar meant that. Kerry looked up and saw the open look in her eyes, and knew she’d come to a crossroads she hadn’t expected quite so soon. But then, their relationship had evolved and morphed so fluidly it had taken her breath away just thinking about it. “I love being with you,” she answered, softly.

Dar’s eyes brightened visibly. “Listen, I know we’ve just really met each other, but…”

Kerry reached over and put a finger on her lips. “Let’s get out of the water,” she requested. “I think we need to talk.”

LEANING AGAINST THE bathroom doorframe, Kerry toweled her hair dry and watched Dar standing at the kitchen counter getting them both some hot chocolate. Contrary to her previous good humor, Dar now seemed almost sullen, and she wondered at the sudden mood change. Had Dar sensed her own apprehension? Kerry exhaled, as she fought conflicting emotions that were making her stomach roil.

She really liked Dar. And that was the problem, unfortunately. As long as she could consider this just a crush, or at worst, a playful experiment, things were okay. She didn’t have to worry about what her family would say, or what consequences there were, because, after all, it was just a little fling, right? Just a dabbling in the strange and interesting waters of her altering sexuality?

A soft clank of a spoon made her look up; the scent of chocolate floated across the condo and reached her as the soft whirr of the microwave started up. Kerry patted her face dry with the towel, her body reacting unexpectedly when she caught the scent of Dar’s body wash in its nap. “Mmph, that’s more than a toe,” she uttered, glancing past the towel towards her companion.

It wasn’t just a fling anymore. Dar was getting more serious. She was getting more serious. This was already way past a crush and had gone further than an experiment. It was wandering into realms that made her stop and take stock of where she was, where she wanted to go, and who she wanted to be with; a sudden change in her perspective she hadn’t expected and didn’t honestly know how to deal with. She was head over heels in love, and it scared her. Kerry swallowed the lump that had suddenly appeared in her throat, this sudden need clashing with a lifetime of learning that her wants and her needs just really didn’t matter in the grand scheme of things. Above 314 Melissa Good all, she didn’t want Dar getting hurt, and she could sense that both of them were moving towards a point where it would be easy to do that.

If they weren’t already past that point, that is. Kerry sighed, eyeing her companion. Dar leaned over the counter waiting for the microwave, and as Kerry watched, reached a hand up to push her damp hair back behind one ear.

Kerry squinted a little. Her hands were shaking, she realized, and that made her sling her towel around her shoulders and walk over. “Hey.”

“Hey, almost done.” Dar smiled briefly.

Kerry reached out and touched her arm, feeling the skin chilled under her fingers. “You’re cold.”

The taller woman nodded as she tucked her hands under her arms and folded them across her chest. “A little, it’s chilly in here,” she acknowledged, keeping her eyes on the microwave.

Kerry rubbed her skin gently, sensing the upset in the tall body next to her. Dar’s jaw muscles were tensed, and her gaze remained elsewhere, refusing to raise and meet her own. “It is, I guess. G’wan over to the couch.

I’ll wait for this,” Dar’s voice was soft, but the words were clearly enunciated.

Kerry hesitated, then took a breath. “Why don’t you go in and sit down.

I’ll bring these in. Do you want a long-sleeved shirt or something?”

The blue eyes dim and shadowed, Dar looked at her. “No, it’s all right. I’ll be fine.”

She decided on directness. “Dar, what’s wrong? You got so quiet.” The microwave beeped, and she forestalled the taller woman opening the door and removing the cups, an idea occurring to her suddenly. “Is your side hurting?”

Dar shrugged. “A little,” she confessed, taking her cup. “Let’s go inside.”

Kerry took her own cup and they walked into the living room, taking seats on the couch together in the quiet living room. Dar cradled her hands around her cup and studied the surface of the chocolate. “So, what is it we need to talk about?” she asked. “You sounded pretty serious.”

Kerry heard a note in Dar’s tone she hadn’t expected, and it made her slow, and think, and choose her words carefully. They were two different people who communicated in two very different ways, she’d realized. She could almost feel the tightrope she was walking over as she prepared to pull back another layer of herself and risk causing the both of them a lot of pain.

She knew it had gone too far already, seeing Dar’s whitened knuckles around her cup and feeling the tight ache in her own throat as she realized she had no choice; there was only one way to go with this and still stay honest to her heart. No way back. “You know…” Dar’s eyes went to her face, and she almost flinched at the wary look. “It occurred to me that earlier tonight, when those guys came at us, that, um…you got between them and me.”

Dar shifted a little and cleared her throat. “I guess I did,” she admitted.

“I…um, I didn’t think about it, I just…wanted to make sure you didn’t get hurt, that’s all.” She sounded a touch perplexed, not really understanding the direction Kerry had taken. “That was all right, wasn’t it?”

“That’s a nice feeling,” Kerry said, softly. “When you do it, anyway,” she reflected soberly. “I…when I was a kid, Dar, I had a lot of people who said they were just looking out for me. You know?” She paused. “Making sure I Tropical Storm 315

had the right friends, the right clothes… My father had aides, bodyguards, really, who would go around and report back to him about things they thought weren’t good for us.”

Pale blue eyes watched her intently. “Mmm,” Dar murmured, still unsure of where it was all going. “Parents do stuff like that, I guess.”

“Did yours?” Kerry gazed quietly into her eyes. “Did they tell you what to think, and what to wear, and what to believe in, Dar?”

Dar’s brow creased a little, and her eyes shifted off Kerry’s face for a moment, before returning there. “No,” she admitted. “I think they were just glad I could think, and I was wearing something, and I avoided getting arrested.”

Kerry had to smile. “You have no idea how lucky you are.” She felt the smile fade as she set the cup down and rested her elbows on her knees. “It wasn’t like that for me.”

“Uhm-mmm,” Dar made a thoughtful sound.

“When I was in school, before I went to private school, that is, I had…there were a few kids I really liked, but they weren’t…well, they were pretty poor, or one was…not our religion, or…and the funny thing was, when I found one I really liked, but my folks didn’t, after a little while they’d just go away.” Kerry kept her eyes on her hands. “I’d just go to school one day, and they’d be gone, moved away, sent to another school, whatever.”

“Happens sometimes.” Dar stated softly.

“I thought that too, until I heard one of their mothers saying they’d been forced to move,” Kerry replied quietly. “But it was like that with everything…toys…I had a stuffed rag doll I used to sleep with. They thought that was a bad thing. So I got home from school one day, and it was gone.”

“Kerry…” Dar’s voice had gentled and deepened.

“I, um…I even had a puppy,” Kerry went on, remotely. “A little golden cocker spaniel. Her name was Susie.” She took a sip of her chocolate and managed to swallow it. “I loved her. She was so cute. I played with her all the time. We would run around outside, sometimes with my sister, sometimes just us. She knew how to bring a ball back, and I would sit and comb her hair, you know they have that long, silky hair?”

Dar’s eyes lowered. “Yes, I know.”

“I was playing with her one day, and Kyle…” Kerry’s voice twisted.

“Came to get me, and told me my father wanted me and my sister to pose for some pictures, some magazine people were there. I told him I didn’t want to, that I wanted to stay and play with Susie.” She nodded a little. “And the next day, I came home from school and went to find Susie…but she was gone.” Her eyes filled with tears, even now. Even all these years later. There was complete silence from Dar, and she didn’t dare look at her.

“I searched and searched. Until finally, three days later they told me she’d been taken to the shelter. They wouldn’t take me down there, so I ran…I ran…but I got there too late.” She felt the misery all over again, of going down the long, ill lit hall, with the smell of alcohol and hopelessness around her, and all those sad faces behind the grills. “They told me she’d been sick, and that they’d put her down that morning.” She paused, and waited, for the lump to go down. “I think the worst part for me was knowing she’d gone alone—no 316 Melissa Good one to pet her.”

How many long hours had she sat there, outside that damned shelter?

Crying until she hadn’t had any tears left, until one of the housekeepers had come to get her. It was the one bit of compassion she’d found that it hadn’t been Kyle or one of the other aides but instead this gentle gray-haired woman she’d known all her life who had given her a hug and told her there’d be other puppies, some day. Some day. “I got punished when I got home for running off.” Kerry exhaled at the memory. “Poor Susie.”

She heard a soft, incoherent sound from Dar, but kept her eyes on her cup. This was the important part. She wanted Dar to understand. “So I learned, Dar…I learned not to want anything. Not to care for anything, because as soon as I did that, it would be gone, and the harder I tried to fight for something, the faster it would be taken away from me.” She took a shaky breath. “It just got to where it hurt too much, always losing.” She paused and seemed to gather her thoughts. “I’ve been thinking about that a lot…and about us…and…Dar?” She glanced up at a strangled choke.

She met eyes so dark with rage, they almost seemed purple in the amber light. Dar’s entire face was still, and her body tense and motionless, save her right hand, which was slowly clenching and unclenching. Good god. Kerry put her hand on the taller woman’s knee. “Dar?” It was like touching a vibrating engine, the tension fairly sang out of her body. “Are you…” Kerry let her words trail off, amazed at the pure anger being generated.

“How…” Dar managed to get out in a half growl, half groan, “…could they do that to you?”

Kerry wiped the moisture from her eyes and shrugged. “They thought they were doing the right thing, I guess. In their eyes, they were bringing me up properly,” she said.

“In my eyes, that was criminal child abuse, and they should be shot,” Dar answered. “And then beaten, and then stabbed, and then dragged behind a tractor down US 1.”

Kerry was surprised at how strange it felt to hear that. “Dar, they’re my parents,” she objected softly. “I’m sure they thought they were doing what was right.”

“I wouldn’t care if they were Mahatma Gandhi and Mother Theresa,” Dar replied. “Jesus, Kerry.” She reached out and caressed the blonde woman’s face. “How could they think taking away things you loved was right?”

The touch did something to her. Maybe it was the compassion, or the honest outrage in Dar’s eyes. Kerry tried to resist it, but she found herself moving forward and being pulled into a warm hug that threatened to become her whole world. And she so much wanted to let it.

She wanted to let her fears go, and fall into the strength she found herself cradled in, and never leave it. It hurt to tear herself away, and move back, and peer up at blue eyes that ached with misery for her. For me.

“Dar,” Kerry said softly. “I don’t…I thought I could keep this nice and simple, but I can’t. And the more I want to care for you, the more I think about what my father would do if he found out about us. Dar, I can’t watch you get hurt on my behalf. I can’t.” She put a hand out and touched the dark-haired woman’s arm. “You mean too much to me.” So. Kerry exhaled and felt the Tropical Storm 317

moment of silence between them. She looked right into Dar’s eyes and saw a slight narrowing there, a tilt of the head that projected a totally unexpected response to what she’d said.

“Kerry.” Dar stroked her hair, unintimidated. “It’s all right. He can’t hurt me.”

Kerry took a shuddering breath, and pulled back again. “He can. He will.

Dar, I’m telling you. He has people who do nothing but hunt around all day, looking for dirt and finding ways to screw over people.” She felt exhausted.

“It’s like a game to him.”

“He can’t hurt me,” Dar said again.

“Dar.” Kerry let her head drop. “You don’t know who you’re dealing with in him.”

Dar’s hand touched her chin and lifted it, forcing Kerry to meet the taller woman’s eyes. “He doesn’t know who he’s dealing with in me,” she returned the statement in a quiet, serious tone.

Silently, Kerry leaned her head against Dar’s shoulder, releasing a sigh.

“Kerry, there’s only one thing he can do that would hurt me,” Dar said after a moment, her tone changing again. “And that would be to drive you away…to take away from me a friend I’ve come to value very much.”

Checkmate. Kerry wasn’t sure if she should be relieved or simply scream in frustration. There was no way back from this for either of them in one piece.

“Jesus,” she finally whispered. “I don’t want that either.”

“Unless what you’re really saying is that you just…” Dar’s jaw worked a moment. “That you just aren’t interested, in being…um…in staying in a relationship, in which case, I understand.” She couldn’t hold Kerry’s eyes any longer and let her own drop to study the tile floor. “And even then, I…still don’t want to lose you as a friend.”

Kerry stared at the dark bent head in shocked silence for a long moment, then she let a small sound of dismay escape her throat. Her hands curled around Dar’s and she squeezed hard. “Oh god no, that is so not the case. Dar, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean for you to…no…no, no…no…no, no…”

Blue eyes peeked up at her quietly. “I’ve got a lousy track record in that regard,” Dar said. “So I wondered.”

“Don’t wonder.” Kerry gave in and accepted the inevitable. “You’re stuck with me.”

Dar felt lightheaded with relief as she folded the blonde woman into her arms again, and they both exhaled simultaneously. “I’m so sorry that happened to you.”

Kerry sighed. It felt so good to tell someone; even Colleen only knew bits and pieces. “Kyle is the worst part. He’s Father’s bodyguard.” Her mind pictured his tall, silver-haired sleekness, and her stomach turned. “He does most of the dirty work. Sometimes I’m not even sure my father knows half of what he does.” She let her head rest against Dar’s collarbone, and paused a moment. “When I was in college, I was going out with a guy I’d known for a few years. I really liked him, and he was a nice guy—good family, very religious. You’d think I’d finally found something my father would approve of.”

Dar waited, glancing down to see the lost, aching expression in Kerry’s eyes. “What happened?”

318 Melissa Good

“He…Kyle said they didn’t really think this guy was right for me, but he said he knew how stubborn I was, so he had to make sure I did…the right thing.” Kerry’s voice went flat and remote. “So he took me into the back laundry room and, um…” She went silent, then shook her head. “And he told me he’d tell John all about it if I ever saw him again.”

Dar exhaled very slowly, feeling the rage start to build again.

“I was stupid. I went to my father and told him what happened, and you know what he did, Dar?” The blond woman smiled bitterly. “He talked to Kyle and decided I was lying. He brought him in, and made me apologize to him. And all the while, Kyle just smiled at me.” She laughed humorlessly.

“And then, of course, my mother got to me, chewing me out for ‘upsetting my father’ with my ‘shameful tales.’ ” Kerry paused. “I think…that night was the most alone I’d ever felt.” She spent a moment in quiet memory. “Saying goodbye to John was hard; he didn’t understand.” Kerry looked up at the pale, quiet face above her. “I can imagine what you’re thinking.”

“No,” Dar managed to get out. “And you most certainly can not imagine what I am thinking, which is a damn good thing, too.”

Where had that image of drawing and quartering come from? Kerry just looked at her, prickles running down her neck at the fierce tone in Dar’s voice.

“I guess it sounds so incredible. I just learned to live with it,” she concluded softly. “I didn’t even realize life could be different until I came down here.

Being on my own was…” She stopped. “Oh god, I can’t describe it…to make friends with whoever I wanted, do what I wanted, when I wanted to do it…”

She reached out a hand and touched Dar’s face. “And now you. I’m so scared, Dar. Whenever I’ve really wanted something, I’ve had to watch it be taken away, and I…” An awkward pause. “I really want this,” she whispered.

“You.” Another, longer pause. “Us,” she concluded very softly.

“Do you?” Dar whispered back.

“With all my heart,” Kerry replied, resting her head against Dar’s shoulder. “I don’t want you to get hurt, Dar, but, my god, I don’t want to lose you either.”

I don’t want to lose you. Dar felt herself calm as she processed the words and understood her greatest fear was unfounded this time. Kerry wasn’t walking away from her, and though there was trouble on the horizon, it wasn’t that kind of trouble. This kind of trouble, she could handle. Her questions had been answered, and a problem put forth. She set aside both the rage and the shy joy, and considered the problem first. “Does your father have any hold on you other than paternal?”

Kerry looked at her, puzzled. “I don’t understand the question.”

“Do you owe him money, does he have legal strings holding you?” Dar asked, her brows contracting slightly. “Anything like that?”

“No.” Kerry shook her head. “I support myself here, if that’s what you’re asking. You’ve made that more than comfortably possible, you realize.”

“I just pay people what they’re worth.” A tiny, tiny smile lit Dar’s face.

“So he couldn’t actually force you to come back.”

There was a long period of silence as a succession of emotions crossed Kerry’s expressive face, the idea something she apparently hadn’t considered before. At last, she half shrugged. “He’d find some way of getting me fired,”

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Kerry replied darkly. “Find some friend of his high enough up.”

Dar chuckled softly. “Not in this company. It’s up to your supervising manager, and that’s me. There is nobody that’s going to go head to head with me over this,” she said, with absolute confidence. “And even if he did, it wouldn’t matter.”

“Then he’ll go after you,” Kerry stated seriously. “He’ll find someone to dig and dig…until they uncover something he can use against you. And, Dar, the most obvious thing that pops to mind is us,” Kerry reminded her. “I know we said we’d keep it low-profile, but you know people talk. I’m sure at least a few of them are already.”

Dar didn’t look dismayed. On the contrary, she looked intrigued. “Then I’ll have to go after him first.” she replied.

“What do you mean?” Kerry asked hesitantly.

“You said he digs things up?” Dar asked.

She nodded. “He has investigators, that kind of thing.”

A slow nod of Dar’s head. “So do I. Only they’re not the kind that wear twelve-dollar fedoras and smell of cigar smoke, and I don’t have to pay them overtime.” She gazed at Kerry. “This is the Information Age, Kerry…and the truth is out there. You just gotta go find it.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Dar said. “Trust me, Kerry. I’ve faced down a lot bigger fish than your father.”

Kerry studied her, with a troubled expression. “Are you sure you know what you’re getting into?” she asked. “If something happens to you, Dar, I’ll…” She fell silent.

Dar smiled and took her hand, running her fingers over the skin lightly.

“Just leave it to me,” she told the blonde woman. “And, Kerry?”

“Hmm?” The reddened eyes blinked. “I’m sorry I got like this. I don’t usually,” she apologized.

“Don’t be sorry. I’m glad you said it so we could talk about it,” Dar replied quietly. “Rather than you just…” She shrugged. “…walking out or whatever.”

Kerry closed her fingers around Dar’s. “Is that what happened to you before?”

“Something like that, yeah.” Dar stared off into the darkness beyond the patio doors.

Kerry sighed. “I won’t ever do that to you, Dar, I swear.”

Dar slowly focused her attention on Kerry’s face, searching it for a long moment. “And I’ll always be there for you, Kerry. No matter what.”

It was a strange moment, Kerry thought. She could feel a faint shiver go down her back, and as she looked at Dar, some pale, almost translucent barrier between them seemed to drop. “That’s what friends do, they stand by each other, right?”

“Right.” Dar smiled. “Friend.”

Kerry slid gladly into the waiting arms and let the warmth wash over her.

We’ll find a way through it. Together.

320 Melissa Good DAR LEANED BACK against the couch, content to simply sit and hang on to Kerry, who was peacefully resting in her arms. They’d been sitting like that for a while, in relative silence, only the soft hiss of the waves audible through the half open balcony door. “Hey,” Dar finally murmured. “You like strawberries?”

Kerry seemed to come back from very far away. “What human being doesn’t like strawberries, Dar?” she inquired reasonably, smoothing her fingers over the soft cotton of her friend’s shirt. She could feel the gentle motion of Dar’s breathing, which seemed almost hypnotic to her. “Why?”

Dar felt Kerry’s touch idly roaming her body, and she had to swallow before she answered, “You want some?”

“Means I have to move,” Kerry complained, finding interesting things to trace with her fingers. “And I really like where I am,” she concluded softly.

“That’s true,” Dar acknowledged with a smile. “But they’re nice, big, juicy ones, and I have melted chocolate to dip them in,” she coaxed teasingly.

“Mmm.” Kerry smiled. “Do you always make it a habit of spoiling people you like rotten?” She peeked up at Dar’s face, which had creased into a smirk.

The expression faded after a moment, though.

“I don’t know, haven’t had much practice,” Dar admitted quietly with a faint shrug. “I just do what comes naturally.”

Kerry’s brow furrowed. “Dar, do me a favor, okay?”

A nod. “Okay.”

“You haven’t heard what it is yet,” the blonde woman objected. “If we ever bump into any of these people you were involved with, let me know.”

Dar looked taken aback. “That’s not really likely, but… Why?”

“So I can kick them in the shins,” Kerry told her. “And if you’re really nice, you’ll tell me ahead of time so I can put on the pair of steel-toed cowboy boots I bought in Austin last year.” She felt Dar’s body jerk as a laugh was forced out. “I mean it.”

Dar hugged her. “Thanks. I’d actually enjoy watching that,” she muttered wryly. Oh yes, especially… Her lips twisted into an ironic grin. Especially Elana, who so enjoyed telling me the only way I’d ever find love was to purchase it.

Kerry was so different from anyone she’d been involved with before…certainly worlds different than the tall, aristocratic Elana. Maybe I’ve been barking up the wrong tree all these years, she concluded with a sigh. Even in the best times with anyone else, it hadn’t felt anywhere near as wonderful as it did right this moment.

Kerry smiled, and wriggled closer, continuing her idle tracing. A button worked itself free somehow, and she traded cotton for skin, feeling Dar’s hands begin a gentle massage on her back. “Ooo. That feels great. I am going to be soo sore tomorrow,” she commented wryly. “After that climbing wall, I’ll be limping around all over the place. People are going to think I’m the world’s biggest klutz.”

Her fingers moved lower, and she felt a temperature change under them, the skin growing very warm. Puzzled, she probed a little further, and heard the soft sound as Dar stifled a gasp. “Hey.” Her brows creased, and she unbuttoned a few more buttons, pulling aside the taller woman’s shirt and peering at her. “Oh my god, Dar!”

Tropical Storm 321

Guiltily, Dar glanced down. “It looks worse than it is. Really.” A mottled bruise covered a space the size of a soccer ball just under her ribs. “It’s just a little sore.”

“Dar, that’s bullshit!” Kerry objected. “You need to get that checked out.

Jesus! You could have ruptured something!”

Dar had to smile at Kerry’s worriedly indignant speech. “I’m sure I’d have keeled over by now if that was the case,” she reminded her friend. “It’s really nothing.”

Blonde brows knit. “Oh yeah?” Kerry eyed her. “Sit up.” She paused.

“Without using your hands.”

The taller woman hesitated and saw a triumphant smirk appear. “I said it was sore,” she grumbled. “Talk about klutzes, I should have gotten out of the way.”

Kerry exhaled. “Dar, Dar, Dar… Would a cold pack help?” she asked sympathetically. “You came over and helped me out. I guess it’s my turn.” She paused, wincing at the bruise. “You sure you don’t want to get that checked out? This time of night on a weekday, it probably won’t be busy at the hospital.”

“No! I hate hospitals,” Dar replied stubbornly. “Look, if it still hurts tomorrow, I’ll stop by Dr. Steve’s on the way in to work and have him look at it, okay?” She paused and cleared her throat a awkwardly. “But, um…an ice pack is probably a good idea.”

Kerry patted her shoulder. “You stay here, I’ll get it.” She rose up off the couch and headed towards the kitchen. “And bring back some of your strawberries, too.”

Dar settled back with a smile. “If you pull the plastic container on the bottom shelf out and put it in the microwave for about three minutes, that’ll about do it.”

As she moved towards the refrigerator, Kerry just shook her head and retrieved a good amount of ice, which she put into the blender on the counter.

Then she pulled the requested container out and put it in the microwave, slightly popping up the top to vent it before she turned the machine on. “What is that?” she wondered briefly as she turned on the blender and watched it make snow. After a minute or two, she sniffed at the air. “Mmm.”

The blender stopped, and she put the ice in a heavy plastic bag she’d dug out of the closet. Then she set that aside and peeked in the microwave as a blast of warm, rich chocolate scent hit her. “Oh my god.” She gingerly pulled the container out and opened it, revealing a warm pool of the stuff. “Ho, boy.”

She put the dish on a small tray. Then, glancing around, she poked her finger in it and tasted. “Jesus, that is wonderful.”

Being around Dar, she realized, was an extremely sensual experience, and her senses seemed to be on hyperdrive lately. She left the tray and went back to the refrigerator, opening it and kneeling down, blinking when she spotted the strawberries. “Good grief, Dar!” she yelled into the living room.

“Teenage Mutant Ninja Strawberries? Where did you get these, the fields outside Turkey Point?” She heard the soft laugh as she pulled the box out, a long plastic container with approximately two dozen of the fruits—laid out like roses on long stems with the leaves still attached. The berries themselves 322 Melissa Good were all larger than an average peach, and the scent was almost intoxicating.

With a laugh, she took them out, washing them off before adding them to the tray, then carrying the entire thing out to where Dar was peacefully waiting.

“Here.” She put the tray down and settled into the leather next to Dar, feeling the sudden impact of those blue eyes on her. She picked the ice up and gently put it in place, tucking the edges of the terrycloth towel around the ends. “How’s that?”

“Nice.” Dar regarded her quietly. “You have very gentle hands.” She captured one of Kerry’s, and studied it, turning it over and stroking the palm.

It was like getting an adrenaline shot right to the groin. Kerry had to swallow before she could make an attempt at regaining her composure.

“Thanks,” she whispered, finding herself wanting to continue the contact.

“They seem to get that way around you for some reason.”

Dar gazed at her, then lifted a hand and traced her cheekbone with a feather light touch. “Yeah,” she murmured, feeling Kerry lean into the pressure as her eyes fluttered closed, “strange.” The touch circled around the blonde’s neck, pulling her down willingly as their lips met. Kerry’s hands found a place on either side of Dar’s head, and they slid together, the ice forgotten. The berries forgotten. Even the chocolate was forgotten.

Dar leaned back and stretched her legs out as Kerry fit herself into the space next to the back of the couch, feeling the cool touch of the leather warm against her skin. She was careful not to jar the taller woman’s side as she nibbled the soft skin of her neck, inhaling the smell of cotton mixed with the chlorine that still clung to Dar’s body. A hand touched her side, and she drew a sharp breath in as she slid a return touch down Dar’s thigh, feeling the muscles move under her hand as the taller woman shifted, pressing her back against the leather into a very safe space. Lips found her earlobe, then her throat, sucking gently at her pulse point which jumped under the attention.

Then she had an idea. She reached over Dar and stuck a finger in the warm chocolate, then bringing it back and painting a line down Dar’s face. She nibbled it. “Oh, that’s nice.” She licked it off, then spread a line lower, hearing a soft chuckle sound deep in Dar’s throat.

“This is gonna get mes-sy,” the taller woman rumbled softly, reaching over and getting a blob of chocolate, applying it neatly along Kerry’s collarbone. “Glad the couch is leather.” She pulled the T-shirt down off one of Kerry’s shoulders and cleaned off her handiwork as she felt a warm stripe traveling along her breastbone, followed by a tongue and lips.

“Mmm.” Kerry painted a set of circles.

“Good chocolate, huh?” Dar managed to whisper, finding a nice well in Kerry’s belly button to hide some in.

“What chocolate?” Kerry exhaled, sliding a hand down Dar’s stomach.

“Oh, right. Yeah.” She was careful not to press against the bruise, but she wanted to touch every other square inch of her—her lips roaming over the soft skin and tasting and breathing and touching. The pressure was building again, as Dar’s hands moved, and her dark hair brushed against Kerry’s sensitized skin. She cried out softly.

“You all right?” Dar’s voice, almost inside of her, vibrating down her ears.

Tropical Storm 323

“Yeah…just…” Kerry could hardly stand the intensity, and she pulled Dar closer, letting the sensation build until they both were helpless in its grasp.

The release left them gasping, bodies intertwined in the soft nest of damp leather. Kerry managed to stir, shifting up and nestling her head against Dar’s shoulder as she wrapped her arms around her, hugging her mindlessly.

Dar let her eyes slide shut, feeling her heart begin to slow its hammering as she gently stroked Kerry’s hair. A sweet peace filled her, and she smiled a bit. “Feels so good,” she murmured. “Different.”

A faint nod against her chest. “Beautiful.” Kerry sighed, thinking about being surrounded by a security and a warmth like none she’d ever known.

And something else. She looked up at Dar’s face. “I’ve never felt like this before,” she admitted quietly.

There was a long silence while Dar gazed into her eyes. “Me either.”

Those blue eyes. Kerry had never known anyone else’s quite like hers.

And yet, they were as familiar to her as her own reflection. She knew the tiny crinkle at their edges, and the way a smile could creep into them, and how they narrowed and darkened when deep in thought, as though she’d known them all her life. And so, now, when they opened and gentled, warm on her face as a soft hint of sunlight, she had no doubt of the emotion behind them.

“Dar?”

“Mmm?”

“Would you think it was really tacky of me if I told you I’m in love with you?” She bit her lip and waited, crossing her toes and the fingers of the one hand she had out of sight.

Dar actually stopped breathing. Her chest stilled as she paused a beat, before a startled, but delighted, smile shaped her lips. “You are?”

Like a child given a surprise toy on her birthday, Kerry decided, having seen that on TV once. “Yeah.” She replied softly. “I am.”

“Um…” Dar’s face had an expression that was a cross between embarrassment and happiness. “At least you had the sense to figure it out yourself. I had to have the god-damned doctor tell me.”

Kerry gazed at her in cautious hope . “Tell you what?” She means, no she doesn’t, yes she does oh Jesus…yes…yes… Yes!

Dar gave in to it and let it take her over. “Tell me the reason I’ve been feeling so damn strange.” She traced Kerry’s eyebrow. “I didn’t have the sense to know what love was when I fell into it.” She sighed softly. “So, no, I don’t think it’s tacky. I think it’s the most amazing thing I’ve ever heard.”

Yes! Kerry felt a little giddy. Wheeee! Her eyes lit, and she felt a big grin take over her face. No, I feel a lot giddy. It wasn’t at all like the romance novels said it would be, but I’ll take it. She sighed happily. Wait. “Been feeling?”

Dar smiled sheepishly. “I think I should have realized something was going on with me after I found myself getting you a pin that time we went shopping.”

Kerry blinked. “Pin? Oh my god, that dolphin pin?” She stared at Dar in amazement. “The one on that suit? I…Jesus. I found that after I got home. I thought I was just going crazy and didn’t see it.” She laughed in delight. “Dar, that’s so sweet.”

324 Melissa Good The taller woman tried a scowl, then she finally just laughed. Kerry laughed too, and they ended up just hugging each other, squeezing tighter until Dar finally sucked in a breath and gasped.

Kerry released her immediately. “Oh god, sorry.” Her hand went to cradle Dar’s face, tensed in pain. “Dar, are you all right?”

The pain subsided, and the taller woman sighed softly. “Whoa,” she muttered. “That stung.”

Kerry hitched herself up on an elbow and scratched her nose, then prodded Dar’s shoulder with a forefinger. “Remember, you said you were going to stop by the doctor’s tomorrow if it still hurt?”

Penitent blue eyes glanced warily at her. “Yeaaah, I said that.”

“Well, you’re not getting a choice,” Kerry informed her. “Because I’m going to take you there.” A dark brow rose. Kerry leaned over and kissed it, then backed off and waited.

Dar chewed her lip, then let a wry grin take over her face. “All right, you win.” She sighed.

Yeah. Kerry retrieved the ice pack, now sadly the worse for wear, and settled it back over Dar’s ribs. We both win. She squirmed back down against the leather, watching as Dar retrieved a strawberry and scooped up a bit of the cooled chocolate. She brought it over and offered it. Kerry took a bite and chewed. “Mmm.”

Dar took her own bite and stretched her legs out a little, feeling Kerry settle against her with a warm familiarity. Everything was changing. Her life was now in a wonderful, frightening chaos. It felt absolutely fantastic.