Tropical Convergence (50 page)

Thanks, sweetie. I needed the laugh
. Kerry finally sent.
Me and Chi are going to try to crash.

There was a pause before the answer came.
I am too. Glad you tagged me--it was getting to be a long night.

Kerry let out a small breath, hearing so many levels in what Dar was saying, the written words far more expressive than her spoken ones would have been. For all its plain text, the messaging sometimes brought an intimacy that surprised her.
Yeah. Here too. Sleep good, okay? Wish good dreams at me.

You bet. Night, Ker. Love you.

Love you too, Dixiecup. Night.

Kerry tucked her stylus away and put her head down, acknowledging the ache in her chest that missed her partner's presence. Though Dar had only been gone a few days, she felt a little anxious about her, sensing the rawness in their communication.

But there was laughter too, she argued silently. Dar was okay, just still a little shaken from their confrontation at the show.

A thought occurred to her. Maybe it was for the best that Dar was in New York, leaving Kerry to handle the ship bid. That kept her away from the source of her upset, and gave her a chance to settle it all out before she came back and got involved.

Yeah. Kerry felt better about things. She would take care of the deal, and take the stress off Dar's shoulders until it was time to get in there and just do it. Her partner was working on an intriguing problem, one she was perfectly suited for. If Dar could focus on that and resolve it, good things would happen.

She was sure of it. All she had to do was hold up her end of the deal, and keep Michelle and Shari focused on
her
. Dar had told her she had complete confidence in her, right? She'd spent a whole meeting tonight bragging about her, right?

So, Stuart, buck up and start living up to your billing. Kerry wriggled into a more comfortable position and closed her eyes. Shari and Michelle were convinced Dar was the key to winning their bid. It was up to her, then, to drop a smelly dead fish into their plans and force them to adapt to her style instead of her partner's.

"I can do that," Kerry whispered as the boat's gentle rock lulled her back toward sleep.

LOVE YOU TOO, Dixiecup.

Nicknames. Dar wrinkled her nose at the screen. In the time she'd known Kerry, she'd acquired more nicknames than in the previous thirty years of her life. Dixiecup. Tiger. Taz. She'd always hated people calling her names not her own, but that could have been because her prior monikers were never really that complimentary.

Ah well. Anything Kerry called her was all right, because no matter what the words were, there was always love behind it. So her partner could have called her Cheese Doodle, and she'd have accepted it.

Not that she was going to give Kerry any ideas in that regard, of course.

Dar felt twenty pounds lighter. She pulled the down filled quilt up over her shoulders and spared a glance at the alarm clock, making sure it was set to wake her up in time to get a shower before she had to go meet her German challenge.

She hoped Kerry wouldn't have any more nightmares. "Think good thoughts at her, eh?" Dar closed her eyes and concentrated on that, conjuring up images of some of the great times they'd had together, and focusing on the warmth and joy they shared.

In an instant, her body relaxed and sleep crashed back over her.

KERRY WALKED OUT onto the back deck of the Dixie, leaning her weight on the railing as she regarded the start of what appeared to be a beautiful, if powerless, day. The sun was just rising, and the water took on a luminous sheen as a flock of birds wheeled overhead, looking for breakfast.

"Mm." She inhaled a breath of salt air, then climbed up the ladder to the flying bridge. Sitting down in Dar's usual seat, Kerry carefully set the switches, then turned the ignition for one of the big diesel engines that powered the boat. It rumbled to life immediately, and she adjusted the throttle to idle, letting the engine run to replenish the batteries inside the craft.

After a moment's listening, Kerry nodded in satisfaction and made her way down the ladder to join a frisky Chino waiting at the foot of it.

"Hey, Chi," she greeted their pet. "How about some breakfast, hm?

Want to have toast and coffee with me out here?"

"Rowf!"

"Okay, a banana, then." Kerry went back inside and eased into the small galley, setting a teapot on the burner and opening the refrigerator. She'd brought down some staples from the condo last night, and now she selected a cinnamon and raisin English muffin to pop into the toaster.

If Dar had been there, of course, she'd be hearing the tinkling of Frosted Flakes into a nearby bowl, along with the gentle, knowing bump of contact as Dar maneuvered around her in the tiny space. Thinking about that made Kerry smile as she took out two slices of cheese and a small tub of soft butter.

"Ah well." She took one of the mugs from its holder and set up the single cone of coffee over it, looking up as the boat rocked more than the light surf would have caused it to. Then a soft knock came at the door, accompanied by a shadow outside whose height betrayed its identity at once. "C'mon in, dad!"

"Growf!" Chino scrambled for the door as it opened, and Andrew Roberts ducked inside. The Labrador rushed over to him, wiggling in happiness as the tall man crouched to greet her.

"Hey, ya furball," Andy rasped.

Kerry grinned at her father-in-law, who was dressed in his typical pair of shorts and sleeveless blue shirt, and barefoot as Dar would have been. "Morning."

"Howdy there, kumquat." Andy got up and ambled over, joining her at the galley's small counter. "Ah see you're up fore the gulls."

"Mm." Kerry finished her task and turned, opening the refrigerator again. "Want some OJ?" She offered him a container. "You're up early too."

Andy accepted the juice and set it down, opening it with intent, precise motions that were so Dar's image it almost made Kerry chuckle. "Spent a lot of years getting mah butt kicked out of bed at oh dark thirty," the retired sailor admitted. "Long habit."

"Uh huh." Kerry retrieved her now toasted muffin and placed it on a plate, waiting for it to cool before she buttered it. "So, what's Dar's excuse?" she asked. "Because she's better than a rooster, let me tell you. Minute the sun starts coming up, bing bong...she's right there with it."

"Always been like that," Dar's father asserted. "Even as a tot."

Kerry placed a slice of cheese on each half of the muffin. "Can I get you some breakfast, Dad? Since I've now been trained to get up at the crack of dawn, despite my inclination otherwise?" She gave him a knowing grin. "Especially since I'm going to have to beg for a ride back to the other shore?'

Andrew snorted. "You ain't got to beg us for nothing, Kerry. It ain't but a pleasure." He eased into one of the comfortable chairs bolted to the deck. "But I'll take one of them there round things if you got an extra."

Kerry popped another muffin into the toaster and reached behind her for the teapot. She poured some hot water over the coffee grinds. "I haven't looked at the news yet this morning. Any word on power?"

Andy made a sound of disgust. "Fellers ain't got no clue what they're doing."

That thought had also occurred to Kerry quite a number of times the previous day, as a matter of fact. "Well, I won't argue with that. I just..." Her cell phone rang. "Whoops. Scuse me." She picked it up and opened it. "Kerry Stuart."

"Morning, Kerry!" Alastair McLean's voice was certainly a surprise. "How are you?"

Kerry blinked. "Um...fine, sir," she managed to get out. "How are you doing? It's awfully early in Texas, isn't it? Something wrong?" Unconsciously, she ran her fingers through her sleep disordered hair, even though her ultimate boss was a thousand miles away.

"Not at all!" the CEO said. "I just wanted to tell you how much I appreciated your hard work yesterday in getting those circuits up. Brilliant job!"

Kerry made a face, pleased with the praise but a trifle embarrassed at the vehemence. "Well, you know, I had the best teacher," she demurred. "And really, the generator idea wasn't mine. It was Dar's."

Andy sucked at his orange juice, watching her with gently twinkling blue eyes.

"Well now, you know that just figures, doesn't it?" Alastair said. "I'm so glad you two make such a good team."

Kerry's eyebrows jerked up. "Well, I think so," she responded cautiously. "I mean, I'm glad Dar knows when she's tied up helping another client, that I can fill in when something happens and make sure it all comes right."

"Absolutely," he replied. "Well, as I said, great job!"

"Thanks."

There was a slight pause. "Ah, listen, while I have you on the line..."

Ah hah. Kerry leaned against the counter and cupped the phone to her ear as Andy's muffin appeared and she tended to it. "Yes, sir?"

"Oh, Alastair, please. I can't remember the last time Dar called me sir," he said. "If she ever did," he added, in a mildly bemused undertone. "Listen, Kerry...I was talking with Dar last night, and you know...hey, is she feeling okay?"

Kerry's nostrils flared in surprise and her eyes widened. "Ah."

"I mean, you know it's very hard to make that kind of call over the phone, but I've known her for a long time, and you know, she just didn't sound right to me."

Walking around the counter, Kerry handed Andy his muffin as she sat down next to him, trying to decide what to tell Alastair. "Well, I know she was really frustrated with that client," she temporized. "She wanted to be back here by yesterday, but they weren't prepared...now she has to work with their programmer, so yeah, she was sorta pissed."

Andy's eyes fastened on her face and his head cocked faintly to one side.

"That wasn't really..." Alastair hesitated. "But everything's all right otherwise? Her folks okay? You okay?"

It was amazingly personal, and Kerry realized at some level that Alastair's query went beyond business. Her prior dealings with the man had given her the impression he genuinely liked Dar, and she could hear a note of honest concern in his voice now. "Everyone's fine," she replied. "In fact, her dad's here right now." She watched Andrew's brow crease. "I think it's just that we had a tough time at that show, and this whole ship bid is really aggravating."

"Ah," Alastair said. "Telegenics, eh?"

"Yeah," Kerry said. "She also hates New York."

A low chuckle sounded through the phone. "I should have remembered that. Yes, you're right. Well, long as everything's okay, Kerry. Glad to hear it. You know Dar means a lot to me, right?"

"I know. She means a lot to me, too," she said quietly. "Thanks for asking."

"You take it easy today, you hear? Everything's up and hunky dory, and I just got a call from Bantelonics, and they're happy as clams to be up. Wanted me to know it, so I thought I'd call and let you know it," Alastair said, in a brisker tone. "Tell you what...how about I bring lunch in for everyone? I'll have Bea take care of it."

"If you can find someplace whose kitchen has power," Kerry reminded him. "That would be great."

"Ah." A sigh. "Well, everything's just another challenge. You call me if you need anything, all right, Kerry?"

"I will," Kerry promised. "Thanks." She folded the phone up and rested her elbows on her knees, hesitating a second before she turned and met Andrew's eyes. "Well, that was interesting."

"Yeap," Andy agreed slowly, drawing the word out. His grizzled eyebrows twitched. "Something goin on with mah kid?"

Kerry thought hard about what to answer, for a totally different reason than she had with Alastair. "She's okay," she reassured her father-in-law. "We just had to deal with someone who gave her a really hard time way back when, and it shook her up a little." She exhaled. "And I think, honestly...she's a little restless with the company."

"Huh." Andrew took a bite of his muffin. "Someone mess with her?" he asked, deceptively casual.

She loved Andrew. Kerry felt a smile slowly tugging at her lips. He was forthright and honest, a proud man of unbending will whose adoration of his family was so absolute it touched the very soul. So she knew his question was meant to ferret out whether someone had hurt his beloved daughter, and if that was so, well then Andy was apt to see what he could do about it.

There was, she acknowledged, a violence to him that could not be denied. But then, Dar had that same dark thread running through her, though it was far more deeply hidden. "A long time ago," she told Andy. "When Dar was younger...it was someone she got involved with who didn't feel the way she did."

Andrew scowled immediately.

"Yeah, well, I can't understand it either, but anyway, she was pissed off, I was pissed off...it wasn't fun. Then they're part of this bid for the ship contract, so I'm sort of glad Dar's not here. At least from my perspective, I just get mad as hell and want to kick them."

"Huh." The big ex-sailor grunted again. "World's full of jackasses sometimes."

"Sometimes," Kerry agreed. "But then there're people like you, so it all balances out." She rested her hand on Andy's knee. "I guess it's time for me to go take a shower and get to work. At least I got some sleep, thanks to you and mom."

Andy got up and tousled her hair. "Tell you what, kumquat. Ah'll go light me some coals under that there boat, and wake up my pretty lady. You get your gear squared away, and c'mon over when you got a mind to."

Kerry watched him leave, then she stood up and went back to the galley, to take a gulp of her coffee and a bite of her own, now cool, muffin. She leaned on the counter for a moment, acknowledging the fringes of exhaustion still clinging to her from her lack of sleep.

For two cents she'd stay here and sack out. Kerry glanced over at her PDA, which chirped. "But I don't have two cents. So..." She trudged over and retrieved the instrument, glancing at it. A message from Mayte, already in the office.

Miss Kerry, Senor Quest has called, and is wanting to meet with you urgently.