Moving Target

by Melissa Good

Along with everything else she had to explain. Dar set the somber thought aside, and draped an arm over Kerry's shoulder as they entered the outdoor restaurant and spotted the others.

  Being on the waterside and with a light breeze, it was reasonably bearable. They took a seat at the large table along with the rest, and for a long moment everyone just stared at each other.

  A waiter appeared, and gazed inquiringly at the newcomers. "Whatever imported draft you've got." Kerry made a circling motion with her hand including all of them. "And I'd like a glass of water, too, please."

  "Sure." The man disappeared.

  "Thanks, Ker." Dar extended her legs under the table and folded her hands over her stomach.

  "Figured you'd save the milk for dessert." Kerry replied, and then turned her attention to the rest of the table. "So. Here we are."

  "Here we are." Graham agreed, and then glanced around. "Well most of us." He added. "Where's your boorish partner?" He asked Michelle.

  Michelle shrugged. "I have no idea." She replied briefly. "Haven't seen her since before the Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey circus started over at their corral." She jerked her head toward Dar and Kerry.

  "Well, no loss." Mike said, bluntly.

  Andrew cleared his throat.

  "Sorry, but it's true." Mike misinterpreted the sound. "I know it's not a gentlemanly thing to say, but if that witch drowned in the channel I'd clap. What an asshole."

  Michelle pursed her lips, and her nails tapped each other as she steepled her hands before her chin. "Well, we're all assholes at one time or another." She said, diplomatically. "And we all have different ways of doing things."

  Curiously, Kerry felt herself smiling when she heard Michelle say that, and she was pleasantly surprised when the red-haired woman refused to bow to the majority and join in with the bashing. That took character, which she hadn't frankly figured Michelle to have.

  And it was true, really. They could all be assholes when they wanted to be, herself included. She debated telling Michelle where Shari was, then figured it could wait for later. Michelle didn't seem too concerned, anyway.

  Very different from what she'd be acting in a similar circumstance, that's for sure. "Well, we figure they have to dock somewhere." Kerry steered the conversation to something more productive. "Maybe our international office can track them down."

  "Is it worth it?" Graham asked. "I know it's a lot of money in gear, but I have to be honest, Kerry--I don't know if it's worth the recovery costs. I may just have to write this one off as a deal gone bad. Not going to make my people happy, but what to do?"

  "You mean, just let them get away with it?" Kerry queried a mildly astonished look on her face.

  Graham shrugged.

  "Not all of us can afford that," Michelle said.

  "Can any of us really afford it?" Mike asked, suddenly. "I don't mean financially either."

  Everyone pondered that, and then as if in some accord, they all turned and looked over at Dar, who had been amusing herself by folding her linen napkin into the shape of a rabbit.

  Sensing the lack of conversation, Dar looked up, her hands pausing in mid-motion. "What?" She asked, with a frown.

  "What's your plan, ace?" Mike asked. "How are you going to pull the rabbit out of your ear this time?"

  Dar looked down at her napkin rabbit, then merely shrugged. "Maybe I'm not." She pulled one end of the fabric and the bunny disappeared, becoming a mundane flat panel again. "Maybe we just lose this one." She looked up as the waiter approached, and accepted an icy mug of beer from him.

  After taking a sip, she gave the silent crowd another shrug, and didn't say anything more.

  AH. COOL AIR, no sweat, freshly showered, clean clothes.

  Being home was like a small side trip to Heaven. Dar extended her arms across the surface of the waterbed and just absorbed the blessed silence, broken only by the snuffling of a Labrador nose and Kerry's soft humming from the kitchen.

  "Hey, sweetie?" Kerry called in.

  "Ungh?" Dar could manage only a grunt in response.

  "Hot chocolate or ice cream?" Kerry's voice answered, from much closer.

  "Yes." Dar replied, keeping her eyes closed.

  With a soft chuckle, Kerry came over and sat down next to her, making the bed wiggle. She ran her fingers through Dar's hair, riffling the dark locks and smoothing them back from her partner's forehead. There was a crease there, and she rubbed her thumb against it, the motion getting a flickering of long, dark lashes as two pale blue eyes peeked out and studied her. "Tired?"

  "Very." Dar admitted. "You?"

  "Urrrgh." Kerry managed a grin. "I'm just so glad to be home."

  Home. Dar grinned back. "I'm glad to be alone with you."

  "Growfy."

  "And you too, Cheebles." Kerry laughed. "Ahghr." She rolled over and put her head down on Dar's stomach, gazing up at the ceiling through half closed eyes. "I've got hot chocolate brewing, and the ice cream is in the fridge getting spoonable."

  Dar sniffed. "So I smell." She laid her arm over Kerry's middle. "I think I would have rather had dinner with the crew."

  Kerry covered Dar's hand with her own, and interlaced their fingers. "I think I would have rather had dinner with just you," she said. "I'm so wiped, Dar. I feel like my brain is in a spin cycle somewhere."

  Dar's expression softened and she turned her head to study the woman resting next to her. "How's your head?"

  "Still hurts." Kerry admitted. "Or maybe it hurts again. I think it was okay for a little while there."

  "I think I should be getting you the hot chocolate instead of the other way around." Dar was glad of something to distract her thoughts from the bid, even if the something was her beloved partner's discomfort. "Want a neck rub?"

  Kerry didn't even dissemble. She rolled over and exhaled blissfully as Dar's powerful hands began their work at the points of her shoulders and started toward her neck. She could feel the warmth of Dar's skin under her thin t-shirt, and hear the steady beat of her heart, and all of a sudden she felt like crying.

  "Ker?"

  "Ungh?"

  "You okay?"

  Kerry swallowed. "Just tired." She mumbled. "It's been a frustrating couple of weeks."

  Dar understood exactly what she meant. Instead of continuing the neck rub, she hauled Kerry gently up and enfolded her in a hug. "Damn frustrating. But I'm very selfishly glad you were there with me for it."

  Now, Kerry did start crying for a completely different reason. Or maybe it was the same reason, it was hard to tell. It was a relief, and it lightened her spirits, as she returned Dar's hug and they both started laughing, there in the middle of the bed.

  Finally Kerry sniffled. "I'm glad too," she said.

  Dar exhaled, the outside edge of her thumb idly tracing Kerry's ear. "I think I'm going to give us a week off too. How's that sound?"

  "Can we do that?" Kerry asked, after a moment.

  "I don't care. I'm going to." Dar replied. "I need a time out."

  Kerry tilted her head a little so she could see Dar's profile. The low light in the bedroom didn't reveal much, but she realized that Dar probably looked as tired as she felt. If it had been stressful for her, what had it meant for Dar, who had to deal with all the emotional stress along with it?

  "Sounds cool." Kerry gave her a gentle squeeze. "I'm there. In fact, how about we go down to the cabin?"

  "Mm." Dar grunted approvingly.

  They were both silent for a little while, communicating through gentle touches and hugs. Sometimes, Kerry found, that worked best with Dar. She felt the tension in her partner relaxing as she clasped her hand and placed a few light kisses on the back of it.

  Love really was useful for a lot of things that you couldn't duplicate with drugs or other chemical assistance, she decided. It was free, and it was healthy, and you probably wouldn't end up on the cover of the Enquirer because of it.

  Kerry considered that thought briefly, then gave it a wry grin. Well, maybe you
could, but only if you were famous.

  "I will have to call Alastair on Monday," Dar remarked.

  "I'm going to send him a basket on Monday," Kerry said. "What's that brand of Scotch he likes, again?" She asked. "Because you know, it would have been real easy for him to have promised Meyer the world. He wouldn't have even had to dis you doing it. He could have just said he'd take care of it. But he didn't."

  "He didn't." Dar agreed. "He trusted me."

  "Yup."

  Dar sighed. "And I didn't deserve it this time."

  Kerry rolled her eyes. "Oh, bullshit, Dar."

  A shrug. "Hon, I didn't," Dar said. "He trusts me because he's had good reason to before. This time he didn't, and I know it and you know it. I blew off the company, I was blowing off my job, and the only reason we were ahead at that moment was pure stupid luck."

  Kerry squirmed up so that her head was even with Dar's, but she kept her limbs draped over her partner's body. "Do you really believe that's true?"

  "Umhm."Dar nodded. "You should too, because it could have been a massive mess you'd have had to clean up after."

  "Think I'd have cared?"

  Dar turned her head and regarded Kerry. One eyebrow lifted. "You damn well should care."

  "I don't."

  Kerry's cheerful disregard surprised Dar a lot, especially since she remembered their discussion on the Disney bus not that long ago, when Kerry had worried about not abandoning her responsibilities in trade for a day of fun.

  What changed? "Seems to me," Dar commented, deciding to find out. "I remember being chastised about playing in a water park instead of working."

  Kerry's expressive face crinkled into a wry expression. "Busted," she admitted. "But that was a long time ago."

  "Two weeks!"

  "This project lasted half a lifetime. A lot can change in half a lifetime." Kerry protested. "I got a whole different perspective, Dar. I got over it. I got over myself, maybe." She finished, in a softer tone. "So many people were asking me what the hell I was doing running around on the pier hauling cable--maybe I got around to asking myself that."

  "Hm." Dar made a small, thoughtful sound.

  "I think we both need a time out, so we can figure out what our roles really are again." Kerry concluded quietly. "Maybe we rewrite them so they make more sense."

  "Hm." Dar repeated her thoughtful sound, this time ending it on a slightly higher note that meant approval.

  "They didn't make much sense the past few weeks."

  "Nu-uh." Dar agreed. "You're right." She reached over to gently push aside the pale hair obscuring one eye. The skin around it creased as Kerry smiled, and Dar continued on to trace her lips with the tip of one finger. "They didn't make much sense."

  "But we make sense." Kerry murmured, catching Dar's fingers between her teeth, and then releasing them. "So we'll work it out, won't we?"

  Dar leaned over and kissed her.

  Kerry took that as a yes, and returned the gesture, taking a leisurely amount of time about it. She took a breath, and felt her body press against Dar's as her partner did the same. Her headache began to fade as they lay there intertwined in each other's arms and she nestled her head down on Dar's shoulder, and just soaked it all in.

  Dar stroked her face, and it was like drinking something warm on a cold day, a feeling of inner warmth that started inside, and spread through her, erasing the lingering shreds of the day still clinging to her. "Mm."

  "Mm." Dar echoed the sound.

  "Days can be as tough as they want as long as they end like this." Kerry leaned over and pressed her lips against Dar's cheek. "That's the only thing we had that no one else did y'know?"

  Dar smiled, and nodded. "Uh huh."

  "That and your sublime articulate-ness." Kerry kidded her. "I don't know what I'd do without that."

  Dar pouted, batting her dark lashes and giving Kerry a mock wounded expression.

  "Much less what I'd do without you." Gentle green eyes gazed over at her as a smile crossed Kerry's face. She smoothed her thumb over the pout, as it dissolved into a sweet, returning smile. "God, I love you so much."

  Dar let her forehead rest against her partner's as she pondered the ironies of her life. Then she tilted her head slightly and indulged herself in a long kiss, rolling a little onto her back and taking Kerry with her until they ended up nose to nose with Kerry on top.

  Waterbeds really had it all over regular beds for that sort of thing. Kerry was sprawled over her and it was merely cozy, instead of being anywhere close to suffocating. "Love you too," Dar said, lifting her head up and nipping Kerry's nose with her lips.

  "Mm." Now it was Kerry's turn to resort to non-verbalization.

  Dar cleared her throat gently. "Know what I just realized, though?"

  "What?" Kerry answered.

  "We lost track of that Herald reporter."

  Kerry nibbled her lower lip, her brow contracting a little. "Yeah? Oh. Yeah. I know." She slipped one hand under Dar's shirt. "I looked for her when we went into the office, but she wasn't around. You figure she left? I didn't see her afterward, either."

  Dar nuzzled Kerry's nearby ear, nibbling on the lobe of it before she answered. "Maybe we'll have to find out by reading Business Monday." She whispered into Kerry's ear.

  "If she left before the ships did, we better call her and make sure she doesn't look like a nitwit." Kerry whispered back.

  "We'd probably come off looking pretty good if we didn't."

  "Until she had to retract the story." Kerry gave her partner a little smack on the hip. "Bad Dar. "

  A low, throaty chuckle made her ear vibrate.

  "C'mon. Let's go get our goodies," Kerry said. "We can't worry about Herald reporters right now." She gave Dar a quick kiss, and rolled out of the waterbed, hauling Dar with her. "There's ice cream to be had, and mucho BS to be forgotten."

  Dar willingly followed, more than ready to throw the recent past right out the sliding glass doors and not look back.

  Chapter Thirteen

  THE WORLD INTRUDED itself into her dreams--pleasant and formless things of warmth and seashore that she allowed to slip free and be replaced with the comforting feel of Dar's body.

  Ah. It was nice to wake up with someone, that's for sure. Kerry slowly let her eyes drift open, taking in the sunlight as her gaze fell to the bedside clock. Muffling a curse she started to bolt upright, only to be held in place by Dar's arm. "Augh!" She squawked.

  "Saturday." Dar's voice enunciated clearly, from about an inch away from her ear.

  "Buh." Kerry slumped back down into the bed, closing her eyes and willing her heartbeat to stop trying to give her a nosebleed. "Son of a bitch."

  Dar settled back down behind her, one arm still clamped firmly around Kerry's middle. "Had a feeling you were going to jump."

  "Urgh." Kerry moaned. "My head's spinning," she said. "I hate waking up like that."

  Dar kissed the back of her neck.

  "Now, waking up like this, on the other hand..." Kerry purred. "Is another story."

  "Are we waking up?" Dar queried. "It's not that late."

  Kerry eyed the placidly gleaming clock, which was edging past 10:00 a.m. For them, it was late, and Dar knew that, since they generally got up around 6:00 a.m. Even on weekends it was rare when they stayed in bed past eight in the morning. "Where's Chino?"

  "Already let her out."

  "Ah." Kerry pondered that. "How long have you been up?"

  "A little while," Dar admitted. "I was just enjoying laying here being a bum."

  Kerry rolled over onto her back, gaining an appealing view of her partner's profile. Shaggy, dark locks spilled everywhere out of control, prompting Kerry to rake them into a little better order with one hand. "You need a haircut."

  "How about a Mohawk?" Dar suggested amiably. "That'd spark up the Monday morning meeting, huh?"

  Kerry studied her, then lifted a few thick thatches of hair up over Dar's head and reviewed the results. She released the hair, t
hen ruffled it. "No."

  "No, huh?"

  "No." Kerry shook her head positively. "Do you know how much paperwork that'd cost us with me having to fill out personnel incidents every ten minutes because I bitch slapped someone for commenting on your hair?"

  "Hm."

  "Mariana would flip out."

  "Oh well." Dar conceded. "I guess it's just a trim again, then. Everything else I've ever tried with this mop has pretty much ended up looking like I stuck my thumb in a socket."

  "It's so wavy." Kerry agreed, fluffing out Dar's bangs. "I like it."

  Dar smiled. "Glad you do," she said. "Like the color?"

  "Sure."

  "Don't want me to change it?"

  Kerry's brows hiked sharply. "To what?" She asked. "Green?"

  "Hm."

  "No, it's pretty. I like it this color." Kerry added seriously. "It makes your eyes stand out."

  "They're like weird little blue marbles. They'd stick out anyway." Dar drawled.

  "You're so funny." Kerry chuckled.

  Dar grinned at her.

  Kerry grinned back. "I guess we're up now, huh?" She mused. "I haven't slept this late in forever." She stifled a yawn, and stretched her body out, exhaling with a slight chuckle as Dar traced a teasing line up the center of her stomach. "Ooo."

  "I was never a late sleeper." Dar admitted.

  "I never was supposed to be." Kerry wiggled a little closer. "Even on weekends, you weren't allowed to sloth about in my father's house, that's for sure." She picked up Dar's hand and examined it, running her fingers along the palm. "So when I moved down here, boy, did I love weekends."

  "But you don't sleep late on weekends." Dar objected. "Don't you want to?"

  A faint smile crossed Kerry's face. "Well, I thought about that the other week," she said. "I guess the thing is, I love my life so much now, sleeping seems like a waste of time." She looked up at Dar. "It's much more fun to be awake."

  Dar's face lit up, visible even with the sunlight pouring through the blinds. She held her hand out to Kerry. "So let's go live, then. I think someone's FedExing coffee."

  They scrambled out of bed, and were joined by a frisky Chino as they walked into the living room and were dappled with yet more sunlight pouring in the sliding glass doors. "Oo, pretty day." Kerry ducked into the laundry room and snagged two long t-shirts, tossing one to Dar as she pulled the other over her head.