Hurricane Watch - DK2 (49 page)

Kerry's blonde head cocked to one side. ”Dar, I don’t understand. I thought you’d worked things out with Alastair. Did something else happen?” She put a hand on her lover’s arm in concern.

A soft laugh. ”Sort of.” Dar’s lips twisted into a wry smile. ”We happened,” she stated quietly. ”I don’t think I can put that aside, when I have to be the company bastard anymore.” She glanced up at Kerry 264

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honestly. ”There are things I’ve done that I couldn’t do now, not and look you in the eye at the end of the day.”

Kerry felt a little shocked. She hadn’t expected that, hadn’t even considered it, really. ”Dar, you don’t know that. I mean we’ve hardly had a chance to—”

”I do know it,” Dar interrupted gently. ”I knew it that afternoon up at Disney.” She picked up Kerry’s hand. ”When I wouldn’t trade a roll in the sack for a contract just because you were there.”

A slow intake of breath. An exhale. ”Oh.”

”Yeah,” Dar murmured. ”What you think of me matters, Kerry. I’ve never had to worry about that before.” She tangled her fingers with her lover’s. ”I can’t do things the old way.”

Kerry tried to jump start her brain into action. ”Find another way then,” she offered, faintly. ”We can do it, you and I.”

A long pause, as the hawk called overhead, lonely and regal.

Finally, Dar blinked. ”Maybe,” she murmured. ”I guess we’ll find out.”Kerry studied her lover’s body language, often a far more accurate guide to her feelings than her speech was. “Are you tired of doing what you’re doing, Dar?”

The sound of the waves floated over them for a few minutes. “I...”

Dar paused. “I think I’m just tired of it never ending,” she admitted. “It never gets any better. It’s just one fight after another, one crisis after another. I’m just over it.”

“Wow,” Kerry murmured.

“I’ve been doing this a long time,” Dar went on. “I was just thinking it would be damn nice to just take a few weeks off and, I don’t know, just do nothing.”

“Funny,” her partner mused. “I couldn’t wait to start working because I felt like I was finally doing something useful with my life.”

She nudged the sail a bit with one foot. “The one thing I knew I didn’t want to be was someone who just stayed home and did nothing.”

Dar looked at her. “Wow,” she echoed.

“But you know what?” Kerry continued. “It would be okay to do that if it was with you. I could spend the rest of my life just doing nothing with you and be happy.” She looked at Dar’s profile. “And no, I’m not just saying that because it’s romantic and goopy and it would make you feel better.”

Dar’s lips twitched, as she bit off exactly that accusation. “Well,”

she sighed. “Now that Alastair’s okay with us maybe we can work together to change things back there,” she said. “At least I’ll have success to go back with. Maybe that’ll help.”

Kerry traced Dar’s cheekbone with her finger. “If not, we’ll make a change,” she said. “Now we can be partners all the time, and I know that’s going to make a difference to a lot of people in how they treat me.”

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“Good or bad?” Dar wondered.

“Both,” Kerry acknowledged. “But you take your advantages where you find them. I learned that the hard way growing up.”

“Mm. We’ll see,” Dar said. “What the hell. Let’s give it a try.

What’s another challenge anyway?”

Kerry nodded, profoundly relieved. ”Right.” She rubbed Dar’s hand against her face. ”Speaking of challenges, you ready to learn to sail?”A smile spread across Dar’s face. ”Yeah.” She cupped Kerry’s cheek affectionately. ”Teach me.”

”WHEW.” KERRY ADJUSTED the strap on her laptop case and handed over her suitcase to the skycap, as Dar bent her head to listen to his mate, who was processing their boarding passes. ”We’ve got time for a cup of coffee, Dar. You interested?”

Dar glanced over her shoulder and smiled. ”You bet.” She accepted the boarding passes from the porter, and rejoined her companion, zipping up her jacket a little as they moved along the concourse towards the door. ”I think we’re getting outta here just in time. Did you see those clouds?”

Kerry peered back the way they came, where lowering, gray clouds obscured the sunset, and nodded. ”Yeah, I think you’re right, partner.”

She patted Dar on the back. ”Unless I’m really mistaken, you’re going to miss a snowstorm.”

Dar’s ears perked up. ”A snowstorm?” She grinned, and bumped into Kerry’s shoulder with her elbow. ”That wouldn’t be so bad. I always wanted to have a snowball fight with someone.” She let out a breath, and paused before they entered the terminal. ”Maybe next time.”

”You want a snowball fight? You got it, but let me warn you it’s only fun for about the first ten minutes.” Kerry smiled, her eyes crinkling up all the way. “After that, you just want dry towels and hot chocolate.”

“Problem with that?”

“Nope.” She tucked a hand into the crook of Dar’s elbow and walked her inside, dodging a moving cart as they moved towards the security station. ”Whoops, time for the strip search.” She released Dar, and put her laptop case and purse on the belt, then shrugged out of her jacket and added that, since it had her cell phone and pager in the pockets. Then she stepped through the security gate and smiled at the guard as she went to pick up her things.

”Excuse me, we need you to open this,” the young woman behind the table stated, holding onto Kerry’s laptop firmly.

Kerry sighed. ”Sure.” She unzipped the case and laid it open, exposing the slate gray top of her computer. She was aware of Dar’s close presence, as the taller woman was also being asked to open her bag. ”Why don’t we have this much trouble at Miami,” she muttered
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under her breath.

Dar chuckled softly, unzipping the case and opening it. “I’m not carrying Cuban cigars, that’s why.”

”Could you turn them on, please?” the woman asked, implacably.

Blue eyes and green met in wry exasperation. ”Sure.” Dar flipped her power switch on, then reached over and got Kerry’s. ”I have Pinball loaded on there if you’re interested.” She remarked to the guard.

The woman looked frostily at her. ”Thank you. Could you turn on your phones and pagers, please?”

One dark eyebrow rose. ”You don’t want me to do that,” Dar drawled.

”Yes ma’am, I do, unless you’d rather do it in the security offices,”

the guard answered.

Dar shrugged, and flipped the devices on, then counted under her breath to ten. On six, both pagers went off, and both phones started beeping, indicating voice mail.

The guard backed away from the desk, with a frightened look.

”I told you,” Dar sighed, picking up her pager, and glancing at it.

”Damn it, there must be three dozen pages on this stupid thing.”

”Yikes.” Kerry picked hers up, and pressed the button. ”Oh, gee, I’m glad I’m just your assistant. I’ve only got two dozen.” She shook her head. ”I mean, didn’t they figure out we were together?” She glanced up at the guard, who had been joined by two others. ”We’ve been on vacation for two days,” she explained. ”Our office tends to freak out.”

Dar was muttering, and cursing under her breath as she reviewed her pages, then she looked up at the silent guards. ”Oh, for god’s sake, they’re pagers, not grenades.” She tugged her identification out of a pocket of her laptop and tossed it over to them. ”There.” She tugged her jacket back on, and shoved her phone in the pocket, then took her ID

back. ”Excuse me.” She started down towards the gate, still muttering.

Kerry found herself facing them. ”Um, it’s been a long week,” she explained, zipping up her laptop and shouldering it. ”May I?” She held out her hand, and was given back her pager. ”Thanks. Have a great day.”She walked off, resisting the urge to look back over her shoulder, and hurried to catch up with Dar. ”Hey, wait up.”

The long strides shortened and slowed, and Dar glanced at her as she came along side. ”Idiots.”

”C’mon, Dar, they’re just doing their job,” Kerry admonished her.

”It’s for everyone’s safety.”

Dar held up her pager. ”I meant this. I got pages from half the office. Duks, Mari, what the hell did they all want, a personal explanation of what happened?”

She tossed it up, then caught it and stuffed it in a pocket again.

”There’s the gate. You want to keep hold of these?” She indicated the laptop. ”I’ll go get some coffee.” She settled Kerry in a padded seat 268

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near the gate window, then put down her laptop. ”Be right back.”

”Grab a paper, too,” Kerry requested, as she leaned back and watched her companion walk off. A grin wound its way onto her face as she enjoyed the little rhythm in Dar’s walk, too slight to be a swagger, but definite nonetheless. She was wearing a pair of worn, black stone washed jeans with her high top sneakers, and Kerry found herself wishing the company would allow casual dress in the office.

Not that Dar didn’t look good in a business suit, oh no, she certainly did, Kerry reflected. But she got the feeling Dar was most comfortable just like she was right now.

And so are you, wise guy.
Kerry stretched out her feet and crossed her ankles, regarding her tan hiking boots wryly. She had her most comfortable pair of really nice, faded, soft jeans on, almost white from washing, with spots a little worn around her knees, and brass buttons with the letters rubbed right off them.

Her thick, warm flannel shirt was tucked in neatly, and she folded her arms across her chest, letting her head lean back against the chilly glass of the window.

It had been a good weekend, she decided. Despite the bumps, and the little moments of doubt, it still had brought them closer together, and put some truths on the table. They’d come out of it rested and pretty much relaxed, and, Kerry wiggled her fingers and regarded the ring on her hand. ”And pretty much committed to each other, I think.”

She took a moment out and allowed the joy she was feeling to bubble up, making her skin tingle.

”Kerry?” Dar’s hesitant voice broke her out of her dreamy state.

”Uh, sorry.” She pushed herself upright and took the cup her lover was holding out. ”I was just thinking.”

”Uh huh.” Dar dropped down in the chair next to her. ”I’m not going to ask about what, but based on that look you had, I hope it wasn’t the coffee.” She handed her the requested paper. ”Here, it’s tomorrow’s edition of USA Today.”

Kerry took it, and laid it down in her lap, then gave Dar a look over the rim of her cup. ”It wasn’t the coffee,” she admitted, taking a sip. ”I have this little ball of happy inside me, and I was just playing with it.”

Dar bit down on her cup edge, and her eyelashes fluttered in surprise. ”That’s an interesting way to put that,” she chuckled. ”Very poetic.”

Green eyes twinkled gently. ”I said you bring that out in me, didn’t I?” Her companion grinned frankly. ”Funny. Why do I bring out the worst in everyone except for you?” She leaned on the chair arm and pressed her shoulder against Kerry's, glancing down at the paper.

”Anything interesting?”

Kerry flipped through the pages as Dar relaxed, closing her eyes and taking slow, idle sips of her coffee.

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”Hey Dar?”

”Mm?”

”What’s a CIO?”

Dar regarded the popcorn ceiling reflectively. ”Chief Information Officer; it’s a person who sits on the board of directors of a company, charts strategy for IS, sets policy, that kind of thing.” She sucked down a mouthful of the mocha. ”Why?”

”We didn’t have one of those,” Kerry remarked.

”Nope. Alastair has been waffling on that for two years, since the last guy threw up his hands in disgust and walked off. He’s got to give up control for that, and he just can’t stand it.” Dar crossed her ankles.

”It’s worked for me, because it takes out a layer of pretty useless management between us.”

”Mm.” Kerry slid closer, and put her arm around Dar’s shoulders, putting the paper in front of her half closed eyes. “We do have one now.”

”What’s that...” Dar’s brow scrunched. ”Oh shit, he finally found someone? Damn it. Who in the hell...why didn’t he say something?”

Her eyes flicked to the page, and took in the headlines, scanning them impatiently. “Who is it?”

”You.”

Dar went absolutely still, her eyes wide and staring for a long moment, before she shot upright, and grabbed the paper, bending her head to read the text. Her jaw dropped open, and she took in and released several breaths before any intelligible words came out. ”That son of a bitch. I’m gonna kill him,” she managed to squeak out.

”Dar, honey, the usual response to a promotion is ‘thank you’, isn’t it?” Kerry murmured, rubbing her back soothingly. ”Not ‘you son of a bitch, I'm going to kill you.’” She watched Dar’s nostrils flare, and her jaw muscles work. ”Hey?”

Blue eyes pivoted and met hers. ”He’s toast.”

Kerry touched her cheek. “Why? If anyone in the world deserves that, it’s you, Dar. We both know it.” She rubbed the soft skin gently.

”Why are you so upset?”

”He promised me nothing would change,” Dar snarled. ”Bastard.”

”Dar...” Kerry leaned closer, catching her eyes. ”Weren’t you just telling me this morning you didn’t want to go back to the same old thing? This gives you a chance to change things, doesn’t it? It makes you rank higher than everyone else?”

The long hands gripped the chair arms with convulsive strength, as Dar’s gaze turned inward, thinking. Finally her body relaxed, and she took a deep breath, returning her eyes to Kerry’s face. ”If he thinks I’m moving to Texas, he’s got a surprise coming.”

Kerry felt the tension drain from her. ”I’m willing to bet you won’t even have to change offices, Dar. He just saw a way to fix a problem, and you were it.” She gave her lover a smile. ”He put you in charge of 270

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everything, and everybody, didn’t he?”

The pale blue eyes blinked, considering.

”I just wonder why he didn’t do it before,” Kerry sighed.

Slowly, a grin started to twitch Dar’s lips. ”He knew he never had anyone who could step into my Ops job before,” She drawled softly, putting a finger on the very tip of Kerry's nose.