by Melissa Good
“I care.” Dar selected a piece of watermelon and bit into it. “These are supposed to be high class campsites. We better the hell get air mattresses at the least.”
“Sissy.”
“Hey, shortie. I’ve camped rough. Have you?”
Kerry chuckled. “Closest thing to rough camping I’ve done is sleeping on the floor of your office. So, no. But I’m sure we’ll be fine. I was thinking before about going to sleep and being able to see all the stars in the world overhead. Not like here. I want to see the Milky Way.”
“Me too.” Dar rested her head against the rope and rocked back and forth gently. “My dad once told me he’d been to places where you could see stars like that. In the desert and all. But he said you would always wish for clouds because for them it was the darker the better.”
“Sure.” Kerry rocked along with her in the next chair. “But I can’t wait to just go do that. Spend time looking at stuff I’ve never seen and the rafting. I want to get out of my head space for a while.”
Dar remained quiet for a bit, just nodding slightly as she scratched Mocha under the chin.
The wash of the waves was broken suddenly by the sound of a boat engine growing slowly louder. Dar looked over her shoulder, then got up and went to the shore. She walked along peering out over the ruffled waters.
“Of course, our life can’t stay perfect for more than fifteen minutes,” Kerry said, getting up and going over to the fire. She removed the pot lid and peered inside, then put it back down, going over to the table and getting it set.
“Cutter,” Dar called back over her shoulder. “Heading this way.
I’m going to go over and get on the boat radio before they assume we’re illegal aliens.”
“Okay.” Kerry got the tops off the side dishes and portioned them out. “Don’t take too long. Lobster’ll be ready in about five minutes.”
“Won’t take more than two.” Dar jogged along the shore and hopped up onto the floating dock that extended out to the anchored yacht bobbing at the end of it. She got to the side of the boat and vaulted up and over the railing, moving quickly across the deck and into the cabin where the inside radio system was.
She’d just picked up the microphone when searchlights lit up the outside of the Dixie and she stepped halfway out of the boat, shading her eyes from it. “Dixieland Yankee to Coast Guard cutter, Coast Guard cutter off my port side. What’s the problem?”
The light outlined her a moment more, then cut off and the radio crackled. “Cutter Avalon—sorry about that Dixieland Yankee. Is that Captain Roberts?”
Dar felt her brain quietly explode at the title. “Uh. Yes,” she said after a moment. “It is.”
“Standby, Captain. We’re coming in.”
Dar put the mic down and went onto the back deck, standing with her hands in the pockets of her dive coat as she watched the cutter rumble closer.
She saw several men standing on deck and two were getting into their pontoon launch, which was lowered into the water and shortly speeding her way. “Over here.” She pointed them around the front of the Dixie and a moment later they were alongside the floating dock, hopping out.
Dar got onto the dock to meet them. “What’s up?”
One of the men stepped forward. “Lieutenant Davis, we met a bit ago down south.”
“I remember. Did I look suspicious again?” Dar asked, with a smile.
He half shrugged. “You know how it is.”
Dar nodded. She did. “We were just having a cookout. I’ve been coming to this little spot in the ocean since I was around fifteen.”
He nodded. “I have a spot like that about ten nautical south from here. But ah...” He glanced past her to the fire lit beach scene. “Mine’s not nearly so nice.” He had his hands in his pockets. “But I’m glad I bumped into you because your name came across the wire not long ago.”
“It did?”
Davis nodded. “One of our other ships picked up a body the other week. Guy apparently drowned, but no one seemed to know how he got into the water,” he said. “It was just off that island you live on. Apparently he lived there, too.”
Dar felt a chill. “His name Billy?”
The lieutenant looked hard at her. “Yeah. So you knew him?”
The dock rocked slightly and they looked over to see Kerry approaching. “In a manner of speaking, I guess,” Dar said. “He was a jackass I ran into on the island and had an argument with.”
“What’s up?” Kerry asked
“Well, we heard that some guy on the island told the cops about that and that they should find you and ask about it,” he said. “About that argument, I mean. He told the cops there was bad blood there and maybe you knew what happened to him.”
“What?” Kerry said, sharply.
“They found the missing guy. The one who was after Kristie,” Dar said. “And I’m willing to bet it was her father who told the cops to come looking for me about it.”
Kerry looked at her, then at the two Coast Guard officers, then back at her. “Son of a biscuit,” she said in a crisp clear tone. “If there’s anyone who might have done something to him it would be that bastard, Jim. The developer, who owns that place.”
To both of their surprise, the Coast Guard officer nodded. “That’s why I’m glad we ran into you, because I’ve got some intel on that guy and it’s not good. You should watch out. The cops ran everyone’s records and the guy who was talking to me told me that guy’s bad news.”
“What kind of bad news?” Dar asked. “Criminal background?”
Davis shrugged. “That I don’t know. He didn’t say.”
“What a bastard,” Kerry said. “What happened was, Billy threatened Kristie, the cashier in the island market. She’s Jim’s daughter. Dar happened to be there and got in his face and he left.”
The officer frowned. “Okay, but why is that guy Jim sending the cops off after you then? Sounds to me like you did him a favor.”
Dar sighed. “Long story,” she said. “But thanks for the warning. I’ll be sure to keep my eyes open. Do the cops want to talk to us?”
Davis shrugged. “Not my area. It was just coffee machine convo, you know? At the base, because anything that happens on that island gets chewed over. I listened because I heard your name and we’d just met.”
“I appreciate that,” Dar said. “Jim has a problem with us, so I guess he thought this was a good opportunity to get us in some hot water.”
“Is it possible the guy just actually drowned?” Kerry asked. “He seemed like a guy who liked to party.”
“Yeah, that’s what the cops said,” Davis agreed. “Who knows? Anyway, just be careful, okay? Especially out here like this in the middle of nowhere.” He lifted his hand in a wave and got back in his pontoon boat, making a gesture to the seaman who was driving it.
Dar and Kerry watched them putter off and then they both sighed. “Well, poo,” Kerry said. “I didn’t need to hear that.”
“Me either.” Dar put her arm around Kerry’s shoulders. “Let’s go have our lobster.”
They walked down the dock back to the beach where Chino and Mocha were waiting. Kerry went over to the pot and took its top off, releasing a cloud of bay leaf and spice scented steam into the air.
As she worked she thought about Billy. To hear something had happened to him seemed sad, in an impersonal kind of way, because as much of a jerk as he was, jerkiness didn’t deserve death.
To hear that they’d been blamed didn’t surprise her at all. From the time the security guards had asked her and Dar if they’d seen him that time, in the back of her mind she’d suspected something was in the works.
Sucks. Kerry got their dinner plated, then glanced up to see Dar standing on the shore, hands in pockets, staring off at the dark horizon. She put the plates down, covered them and walked over, nudging Chino aside as she put her arm around Dar’s back. “Hey.”
“Hey.”
Kerry looked up, spotting tears rolling down Dar
’s face. “Oh, hon.”
Dar shook her head and lifted one hand to wipe her eyes. “Last time I do someone a favor,” she said, clearing her throat. “Bastard.”
Kerry put her other arm around her and gave her a hug.
“What’s the point in doing the right thing if all it gets you is kicked in the ass?”
“Ah, Dar.” Kerry felt the ache in her heart for her. “It’s not always like that.” She rocked them both a little. “A lot of people love you for your doing the right thing. I sure do.”
Dar sighed.
“Your mom picked the right name for you, honey. You are a Paladin,” Kerry said. “You have such a polished, white soul.”
Dar blew a raspberry at her. “I tried to do right by ILS, and it gets me lawsuits. I do a favor for some kid and I get thrown under the bus when some guy croaks. What’s the damn point?”
Kerry patted her on the stomach and hugged her again. “The point is, it’s who you are.”
“Ugh.”
“You told me not to talk smack at you,” Kerry said. “So I’m not. Dar, you are who you are. Don’t even contemplate changing that.”
“Growf.” Chino added commentary.
“Ahh. Screw it.” Dar wiped her eyes again. “Let’s go have dinner.” She walked arm-in-arm with Kerry back up the beach, circling the fire and dropping into the chairs dug into the sand on either side of the table.
Kerry uncovered the plates and handed her one, then pulled her own over and they ate in companionable silence for a few minutes. “I’ve got apples baking over there when we’re done.”
A faint smile appeared on Dar’s face as she concentrated on divesting her lobster from its shell. “I can smell them,” she said. “Thanks, Ker.”
“Anytime. I can make them in the oven but there’s something about a campfire that makes them extra good,” Kerry replied. “Not sure what it is.”
“Everything tastes better over a campfire.”
“Well, that’s probably true but I have to admit I’m glad I don’t have to gather wood every time we make coffee.”
Dar chuckled softly.
“Feel better?”
Dar shrugged. “I just decided to hell with it. Let them come talk to us. By the time we’re done with Jim and that island, they’ll be sorry they messed with us.”
Kerry chuckled. “You mean because we’re giving the condo to your folks?”
“My mom’ll run for condo association president and my father’ll use that golf course for target practice. They’re screwed. All we did was bring our dog in the gym.”
“And love each other,” Kerry reminded her. “That’s our biggest offense.”
Dar picked up the cup of apple juice and toasted her with it. “That, I plead guilty to.” She waited for Kerry to lift her own cup and touch it to hers. “For all time.”
“Likewise,” Kerry said. “To hell with what anyone thinks about it.”
The End (for now)
About the Author
Melissa Good is an IT professional and network engineer who works and lives in South Florida with a skillion lizards and Mocha the dog.
Other Melissa Good Titles
Tropical Storm
From bestselling author Melissa Good comes a tale of heartache, longing, family strife, lust for love, and redemption. Tropical Storm took the lesbian reading world by storm when it was first writ-ten...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
eISBN 978-1-935053-75-0
Available From these e-tailers:
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Hurricane Watch
In this sequel to Tropical Storm, Dar and Kerry are back and making their relationship permanent. But an ambitious new colleague threatens to divide them—and out them. He wants Dar’s head and her job, and he’s willing to use Kerry to do it. Can their home life survive the office power play?
Dar and Kerry are redefining themselves and their priorities to build a life and a family together. But with the scheming colleagues and old flames trying to drive them apart and bring them down, the two women must overcome fear, prejudice, and their own pasts to protect the company and each other. Does their relationship have enough trust to survive the storm?
ISBN 978-1-935053-00
eISBN 978-1-935053-76-7
Available From these e-tailers:
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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
eISBN 978-1-935053-77-4
Available From these e-tailers:
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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?
Available From these e-tailers:
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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 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 su
pport 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
eISBN 978-1-935053-72-9
Available From these e-tailers:
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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
eISBN 978-1-935053-73-6
Available From these e-tailers:
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Tropical Convergence
There’s trouble on the horizon for ILS when a rival challenges them head on, and their best weapons, Dar and Kerry, are distracted by life instead of focusing on the business. Add to that an old flame, and an aggressive entrepreneur throwing down the gauntlet and Dar at least is ready to throw in the towel. Is Kerry ready to follow suit, or will she decide to step out from behind Dar's shadow and step up to the challenges they both face?
