by Melissa Good
Now they were all watching her.
”Candles, lit, mind you, and skulls! Skulls! Heads everywhere, and little bits of armor and leather things I'd rather not think about, and a couple of riding crops that I swear had feather dusters tied to them.”
”You’re making this up,” Kerry stated flatly.
”I am not, and behind the desk, there was this woman wearing this weird mask covered in feathers, typing away at a computer.”
362
Melissa Good
”Sounds like a lunatic,” Dar offered. ”Did you get your research material?”
”What?” Colleen laughed. ”Are you kidding? I took one look at the pair of fur lined cuffs on the desk and got my lily white Irish butt right on out of there. Must have set the world land speed record on the way out.” She shook her head. ”I know some people really get into their job, but Sweet Mary!”
They all laughed. ”Well, I suppose it’s like us nerds having little stuffed Dogbert dolls on our monitors.” Kerry grinned. ”Dar has Catbert, though.”
They looked at Dar, who shrugged. ”Gift from console operations.”
She glanced up as Chino started barking, somewhere off in the brush to their left. ”Chino!”
The puppy just barked harder, then the brush rustled sharply.
”I’ll get her.” Dar sighed, then hoisted herself to her feet and brushed a layer of sand off her legs. She plowed off through the soft surface, heading towards the sound of the excited puppy. ”Chino!”
She pushed through some brush, then froze, as she heard a low voice. A moment later, a grin spread over her face and she hurried forward.
”Would you shut up ya little bag of mouse squeaks?” the voice was saying, in a loud whisper.
Dar parted the last bushes and peered through. ”Hey.”
Cantankerous blue eyes glared back at her. ”Damn dog.”
Andrew Roberts was hunkered down, a light three quarter wetsuit covering part of his body, and a neatly stacked pile of diving equipment just off to one side. In the sharply patterned sunlight, the horrible scars on his face were very evident, but even that couldn’t hide the smile as he gazed up at his daughter. ”Hey there, rugrat.”
Dar ambled over and dropped to her knees next to him. ”Thanks for the treats. I’m glad you could make it out here, but how?”
”Ah could just go all military on you and say them is classified information,” the older man rasped. ”But the truth is your little kumquat got hold of me and batted those pretty green eyes.”
Dar smiled, and glanced down. ”She’s really something else, huh?”
”Ya got that right.” Andrew studied his hands, which were petting a contented Chino. ”That was a real nice ceremony,” he told her. ”Who’s Grizzly Adams?”
A soft chuckle. ”Kerry’s pastor from Michigan. He’s on vacation.”
A little silence fell. ”Ya know I always wondered what I’d do if I had to walk you down some long damn aisle,” Andrew mused. ”I didn’t think anyone living could convince me whoever was standing up on the other end was good enough for my kid.”
Dar sat down in the sand next to him, and circled her knees with both arms. ”I can remember thinking that I wouldn’t marry anyone unless I could find someone just like you,” she told him quietly, feeling Hurricane Watch
363
a hand settle on to her shoulder. ”Then I realized you’re one of kind.”
”Paladar, if you make me start crying, I’m gonna whup you,” her father growled. ”Bad enough I had to listen to all that pretty poetry and you singing and all that...like to have drowned back here. I almost had to get my damn desal kit out.”
Dar had to let out a soft laugh. ”Sorry.” She studied the ground, a soft gray sand mixed with broken seashells. ”Thank you for coming. It means a lot to me.”
Andrew reached over and awkwardly stroked her hair. ”Makes me feel good to see you feel good, rugrat,” he murmured. ”I think you found a real good one there.”
Dar turned her head and gazed up at him. ”Thanks. I do too.” She paused. ”You want some breakfast?”
”You telling me you had that yacht catered?” He laughed.
A sheepish chuckle. ”Something like that. C’mon, come sit by us, and join the party.”
A quietly sad look colored his eyes. ”Naw, you know I’m not one for company, rugrat.”
Dar nodded. ”Me either, but I found out that sometimes what matters is what’s important to other people, and I’d really love to introduce my friends to my father.” She kept her gaze even. ”Please, Daddy?”
Andrew looked at her for a long, tense moment. A terrible, aching fear was the chief emotion Dar could see in his eyes, which fluttered closed, then opened again as he let out a breath. ”You don’t know what you’re asking me, Paladar.”
Dar smiled wistfully. ”Yes, I do.”
Then she waited, listening to the soft sound of the waves rustling all around them, and the contented breathing of the puppy curled at their feet.
”All right,” her father finally said. ”If you could get up and sing in front of all them people, I guess I kin do this,” he grumbled. ”C’mon already, I’m hungry.”
Dar pushed herself to her feet and took his hand, ignoring the glare as she lead the way back towards the beach, Chino tucked under one arm.
”WHERE DID SHE go off to?” Kerry worried, getting to her knees.
”This is a really small island and that’s a really big puppy. She can’t have gotten that lost that fast.” She peered into the brush, shading her hands, then stopped, as her breath caught. ”Oh.”
”She got someone with her?” Duks lifted himself up on one elbow.
”Where did they come from?”
Kerry watched the approaching duo with a sense of wonder. ”No, I can’t believe it.” She got up and trotted over, giving Andrew a big smile 364
Melissa Good
and throwing her arms around him. ”Dad, this is great.”
Dar’s father stopped dead, and managed to give the impression he’d been attacked by a large, friendly, talking alligator. ”She do that to everyone?” he asked Dar, who was biting her lip to keep from laughing.
”No,” Dar told him. ”Only people she likes.”
Andrew sighed, then hugged Kerry back. ”Hi there.” He joined them as they walked back to the rest of the group, facing curious eyes which glanced at the tall man, then flicked to Dar in question.
”Folks, say hi to my father,” Dar announced quietly. ”His name’s Andrew. Dad, this is Duks and Mariana, and Maria, who work with us, and Pastor Robert, from Michigan.”
Everyone was a touch awkward, but Andrew rose to the occasion and settled down, his wetsuit creaking slightly. ”Nice ta meet you,” he stated bluntly, then glanced at his daughter. ”Were you saying something about eggs?”
”Dios Mio…” Maria said suddenly. ”You are the one who is sending those beautiful flowers! I am recognizing your voice.”
”Oh, the peach colored roses?” Mariana smiled. ”I was wondering...”
Andrew glared at them. ”Well, ya plastered her picture all over the city, I had to do somethin.”
Dar nodded a little, then went to grab her father a plate. She felt a hand touch her shoulder, and turned, to see gentle sea green eyes looking warmly back at her. ”He came.”
”Mm hmm,” Kerry agreed. ”You got him to come out with us, Dar, that's amazing.”
Dar added grits to the plate, and drizzled gravy over them. ”It’s a day of new beginnings.” She looked out over the water, then back at Kerry. ”Wonder what’ll happen next?”
Kerry took the plate from her, and slid an arm around her waist as they walked back over. ”I can’t wait to find out.”
OTHER MELISSA GOOD TITLES
published by
Yellow Rose Books
Tropical Storm
From bestselling author Melissa Good comes a tale of heartache, longing, family strife, lust for love, and re
demption. Tropical Storm took the lesbian reading world by storm when it was first written...now read this exciting revised “author’s cut” edition.
Dar Roberts, corporate raider for a multi-national tech company is cold, practical, and merciless. She does her job with a razor-sharp accuracy. Friends are a luxury she cannot allow herself, and love is something she knows she’ll never attain.
Kerry Stuart left Michigan for Florida in an attempt to get away from her domineering politician father and the constraints of the overly conservative life her family forced upon her. After college she worked her way into supervision at a small tech company, only to have it taken over by Dar Roberts’ organization. Her association with Dar begins in disbelief, hatred, and disappointment, but when Dar unexpectedly hires Kerry as her work assistant, the dynamics of their relationship change. Over time, a bond begins to form.
But can Dar overcome years of habit and conditioning to open herself up to the uncertainty of love? And will Kerry escape from the clutches of her powerful father in order to live a better life?
ISBN 978-1-932300-60-4
1-932300-60-0
Eye of the Storm
Eye of the Storm picks up the story of Dar Roberts and Kerry Stuart a few months after Hurricane Watch ends. At first it looks like they are settling into their lives together but, as readers of this series have learned, life is never simple around Dar and Kerry. Surrounded by endless corporate intrigue, Dar experiences personal discoveries that force her to deal with issues that she had buried long ago and Kerry finally faces the consequences of her own actions. As always, they help each other through these personal challenges that, in the end, strengthen them as individuals and as a couple.
ISBN 978-1-932300-13-0
1-932300-13-9
Red Sky At Morning
A connection others don't understand...
A love that won't be denied...
Danger they can sense but cannot see...
Dar Roberts was always ruthless and single-minded...until she met Kerry Stuart.
Kerry was oppressed by her family’s wealth and politics. But Dar saved her from that.
Now new dangers confront them from all sides. While traveling to Chicago, Kerry’s plane is struck by lightning. Dar, in New York for a stockholders’ meeting, senses Kerry is in trouble. They simultaneously experience feelings that are new, sensations that both are reluctant to admit when they are finally back together. Back in Miami, a cover-up of the worst kind, problems with the military, and unexpected betrayals will cause more danger. Can Kerry help as Dar has to examine her life and loyalties and call into question all she’s believed in since childhood? Will their relationship deepen through it all? Or will it be destroyed?
Don’t miss this new “author's cut edition.”
ISBN 978-1-932300-80-2
1-932300-80-5
Thicker Than Water
This fifth entry in the continuing saga of Dar Roberts and Kerry Stuart starts off with Kerry involved in mentoring a church group of girls. Kerry is forced to acknowledge her own feelings toward and experiences with her own parents as she and Dar assist a teenager from the group who gets jailed because her parents tossed her out onto the streets when they found out she is gay. While trying to help the teenagers adjust to real world situations, Kerry gets a call concerning her father’s health. Kerry flies to her family’s side as her father dies, putting the family in crisis. Caught up in an international problem, Dar abandons the issue to go to Michigan, determined to support Kerry in the face of grief and hatred. Dar and Kerry face down Kerry’s extended family with a little help from their own, and return home, where they decide to leave work and the world behind for a while for some time to themselves.
ISBN 978-1-932300-24-6
1-932300-24-4
Terrors of the High Seas
After the stress of a long Navy project and Kerry’s father’s death, Dar and Kerry decide to take their first long vacation together.
A cruise in the eastern Caribbean is just the nice, peaceful time they need—until they get involved in a family feud, an old murder, and come face to face with pirates as their vacation turns into a race to find the key to a decades old puzzle.
ISBN 978-1-932300-45-1
1-932300-45-7
Coming Next in the series:
Moving Target
While attending a high technology show, Dar and Kerry are approached by an aggressive entrepreneur who owns the only Amer-ican based cruise line. He challenges them to compete with an old arch rival on a contract to network his ships and gain a foothold in a new industry. Question is—are they ready to compromise their standards to win?
FORTHCOMING TITLES
published by Yellow Rose Books
To Hold Forever
by Carrie Carr
In the seventh book of the Lex and Amanda series, three years have passed since Lexington Walters and her partner, Amanda, have taken over care of Lorrie, their rambunctious niece.
Amanda’s sister, Jeannie, has fully recovered from her debilitating stroke and returns with her fiance, ready to start a family. Adding to the volatile situation are Amanda’s unsuccessful attempts to become pregnant.
Meanwhile, a hostile new relative arrives. He resents everything about Lex, including Amanda’s love. Lex’s brother, Hubert, recently paroled from prison, returns to Somerville with his own special surprise. And, an old adversary returns with more than a simple reunion in mind. Through it all, Lex begins to have doubts about continuing to run the ranch she’s worked so hard to build.
Will Lex and Amanda finally have the family they have longed for? Or will the people and circumstances surrounding them destroy their chances?
Available April 2008
Blue Collar Lesbian Erotica
Edited by
Pat Cronin and Verda Foster
We don’t all live in million dollar homes and drive fancy sports cars. We don’t all live the life portrayed on television or in some of our books. Most of us live average lives in average homes and average circumstances. So why not have stories about us?
Blue Collar Lesbian Erotica is a collection of stories about the average lesbian in hot, steamy encounters in not-so-average places.
Okay, sometimes the women are lawyers or actresses, but the sex doesn’t always take place where you would expect: taxi cabs, convents, back yard tents.
This anthology goes outside the norm and provides a collection of stories you won’t see anywhere else.
Available July 2008
OTHER YELLOW ROSE TITLES
You may also enjoy:
One Promise
by Lynne Norris
Theresa Parker, a carpenter, and her son Brian are struggling to find happiness and peace in their lives after Theresa’s brother and sister-in-law are killed in a tragic accident then shortly thereafter, Theresa’s partner ends their 5-year relationship.
Theresa contracts to build a house for Brian’s first grade teacher, Madeline Geddes, who has moved to New Jersey to reclaim her life after breaking up with her partner. Theresa falls hard for Madeline but feels betrayed and hurt when Madelines ex-girlfriend arrives in town. Madeline must try to regain Theresa’s trust. Can a child’s simple understanding of love and friendship be what they need to bring them back together?
One Promise is a story of the heartache we suffer with life’s painful twists and turns, the frailities of being human and the unparalleled joy that comes with letting love into our lives.
ISBN 978-1-932300-92-5
1-932300-92-9
The Heart’s Strength
by Anna Furtado
In Book Two of the Briarcrest Chronicles Lydia and Catheine have become the caretakers of Briarcrest, and when a letter arrives from Catherine’s old friend and former assistant, Sarah Pritchard, Catherine sets out on a journey that is both dangerous and embroiled in conflict.
When Catherine encounters an old friend in Willowglen, she forges a friendship with his daughter, Fiona, a
tall, blue-eyed, raven-haired beauty.
Fiona becomes an important ally when two churchmen from Spain set the town in turmoil claiming the authority of the Inquisition—with young Cate Pritchard at the center.
From their first meeting, Cate and Fiona are drawn to one another; however, Fiona refuses to act on her feelings out of loyalty and the oath she has given to Catherine. Cate, for her part, is uncertain about what to do with the new feelings she experiences for Fiona. And, one of the priest’s has a deep, dark secret and an ulterior motive.
Finally, Lydia’s arrival in Willowglen brings everything to a head and the women of Briarcrest, the Pritchards, and Fiona find themselves at the center of a terrible struggle—and each must dig deeply to find strength of heart amid the battle against the injustices they encounter. But will they all survive the ordeal?
ISBN 978-1-932300-93-2
1-932300-93-7
OTHER YELLOW ROSE PUBLICATIONS
Sandra Barret
Lavender Secrets
978-1-932300-73-4
Georgia Beers
Thy Neighbor’s Wife
1-932300-15-5
Georgia Beers
Turning the Page
978-1-932300-71-0
Carrie Brennan
Curve
1-932300-41-4
Carrie Carr
Destiny’s Bridge
1-932300-11-2
Carrie Carr
Faith’s Crossing
1-932300-12-0
Carrie Carr
Hope’s Path
1-932300-40-6
Carrie Carr
Love’s Journey
978-1-932300-65-9
Carrie Carr
Strength of the Heart
978-1-932300-81-9
Carrie Carr
The Way Things Should Be
978-1-932300-39-0
Carrie Carr
Something to Be Thankful For
1-932300-04-X
Carrie Carr
Diving Into the Turn
978-1-932300-54-3
Linda Crist
Borderline
978-1-932300-62-8
Jennifer Fulton
Passion Bay
1-932300-25-2
Jennifer Fulton
Saving Grace
1-932300-26-0
Jennifer Fulton
