by Melissa Good
“Well,” Andrew eventually commented, “better a dream than a nightmare, that’s for sure.”
“Mm,” Dar agreed.
Andy drew in a breath. “Dardar, when you were a kid, you wanted something real bad.” Dar looked at him. “Was a time you made a choice, but the Navy didn’t like that choice much. So they Thicker Than Water 213
told you no.”
“Yeah,” Dar said. “That they did.”
A small silence ensued. Andy seemed to be deep in thought.
“Wasn’t the Navy that said no to that, Paladar. Ah made that choice for you.” He looked at her. “Ah told them to tell you no.”
Dar met his eyes with only the faintest of smiles. “I know.
I’ve always known.”
Andrew just stared at her, a stunned look on his face.
“It…um…” another half smile, “was in the computer files.”
Dar looked out at the horizon. “For a while, I thought maybe you figured I’d embarrass you by not measuring up, and that was just your way of making sure I didn’t have to go through all that.”
“Ah did not think that,” Andrew muttered huskily.
Dar just nodded. “Then I figured maybe you knew me well enough to know I’d never have fit in with the Navy.” She exhaled.
“Then I finally just settled on knowing you made decisions the same way I did: you trusted your guts and let the chips fall where they fell.”
Andrew blinked. “You are the damndest thing.”
She shrugged. “You made me.”
Her father had to chuckle a little. Then he looked at his hands and flexed them. “Paladar, if you’d had your mind set to fit in the Navy, you surely would have, and if you’d set your mind to be a sea dog like me, you’d surely have done that also.”
Dar suddenly felt the seriousness of it. “I wanted to. I wanted to do what you did.” She looked at him. “And you’re right; I could have.” Her eyes glinted. “It wouldn’t have been easy, but I’d have done it. All the way.”
Andy nodded. “Yeap.” He looked her in the eye. “And that’s why Ah told them not to.” He drew a deep breath. “Ah did not want you to do what ah do.”
A thousand little tiny puzzles suddenly made sense to Dar.
“Oh.”
Andrew remained silent, looking out over the waves.
Dar picked at the tiny grains of sand covering her leg.
“Sometimes being able to do what you do is a very good thing.
Sometimes it needs to be done.”
“Yeap,” Andrew replied softly. “And some of the times, ah do enjoy it.”
Dar looked up at him quickly, but he was still gazing out over the water.
“’Specially when you can help out people you care for.”
Andrew turned his head to look Dar right in the eye. “Ah do like that.”
Dar released her breath and nodded slowly. “You put those 214 Melissa Good papers in my briefcase.”
“Ah did,” Andrew said.
“Thanks,” Dar replied. “You saved my ass.”
Andrew’s grizzled brows twitched and he gave Dar a side-long glance. “Ain’t that what daddies are for?”
“Only when you’re lucky.” Dar turned her head towards him and smiled, this time more broadly. “Did you really think I’d be mad at you for getting me turned down?”
Her father blew out a breath. “Lord, Ah had not the first idea what you were going to think about this. Been wanting to tell you for the longest time, and here you just up and trip me. Shoulda figured you knew.”
Dar chuckled. “I was mad. Then.” She looked up and around, and shook her head. “But sitting where I am now, having what I have—it was the right choice, Dad. We both know that.” Time to lighten up a little, she realized. “Besides, with my usual luck, I’d have ended up in charge of something, and you’d have had to salute me. Then what?”
Andrew thought about that, then he laid a long arm over Dar’s shoulders and looked at her. “Ah woulda followed you straight into Hell, that’s what. And been proud to do it.”
Dar didn’t say a word, but her jaw muscles clenched visibly and she swallowed. Andy nodded in understanding and just pulled her a little closer, both of them accepting the moment in all its richness, with a very similar desire for wordless peace.
CECI WANDERED TO where Kerry was sprawled and took a seat on a conveniently placed rock right next to her. “Hi.”
One lazy eye opened and regarded her benignly. “Hi.” Kerry smiled. “Having fun?”
It was nearing sunset and the fire had been lit, pots of seafood and vegetables sending hints of spices across the island. “Yes, I am,” Ceci replied. “You got sunburned.”
“Mm. I know.” Kerry stretched her tired body and rubbed the bridge of her nose.
They’d managed to string a volleyball net between two half-submerged trees and played several vicious rounds in the water, all the more tough for Kerry because of her relatively short height.
So she was pretty tired out and was glad to retire to her towel spread neatly over the sand and busy herself checking out the inside of her eyelids for leaks. Now she rolled onto her side and propped her head up on her hand. “What a gorgeous day.”
Kerry heard Ceci’s acknowledgement, but her eyes fell on Dar, and now her thoughts wandered pleasantly off as she gazed Thicker Than Water 215
at her lover’s sunset-lit form.
Mmm. Dar was wearing her black swimsuit and she’d just come out of the water, droplets glistening on her skin as she shook herself dry. Between the golden light, Dar’s natural tan, the faintly see-through fabric and the strong body easily visible beneath it…
“Kerry?”
“Hm?”
“Do you go off into these lustful hazes all the time?”
Wide, startled green eyes blinked, then immediately turned Ceci’s way. “Uh.” Kerry felt a powerful blush warm her skin.
“Bu…I...um…”
Ceci snickered unkindly. “Boy, do you ever show your thoughts on your face.”
Kerry covered her eyes with her free hand. “Jesus.” She sighed. “Sorry about that.”
“Why?” Ceci asked. “Despite the Republicans claim to the contrary, there’s really nothing wrong with being sexually attracted to the person you’re married to.”
The comment, as usual, came from around the corner, and unexpectedly struck Kerry’s funny bone. She burst into startled laughter, attracting Chino’s attention. The Labrador rushed over and kissed her, which only made her laugh all the harder.
“Hey, hey, what’s going on here?” Dar’s voice floated over.
“What’s so funny?”
Kerry absolutely could not look up at her. She almost inhaled half the beach as she put her head down and held her stomach, laughing so hard she was finding it difficult to breathe.
Dar took a seat next to her and waited, watching Ceci snicker quietly to herself. “Someone,” Dar said, in a low, no-nonsense voice, “is gonna let me in on this joke, right?”
Kerry rolled over and looked up to see Dar’s cool blue eyes regarding her over the edge of her sunglasses. She immediately dissolved into giggles again and hid her face. Dar looked at her mother and raised an eyebrow.
Ceci cleared her throat and stood up, having a firm belief in discretion being by far the better part of valor. “Your father’s calling me. Gotta go.”
Uh huh. Dar slid down onto the sand and stretched out, waiting for Kerry to finish laughing. Eventually, she did, and rolled over onto her back.
“Oh God.” Kerry exhaled, rubbing her face. “Your mother.”
“My mother,” Dar repeated obediently, “was telling knock knock jokes?”
Kerry peeked at her from between her fingers, then smiled 216 Melissa Good ruefully. “No. It’s my own fault. She came over here to talk to me, and I was dozing off I guess, so I woke up and rolled over and…um...” She paused and scratched her nose. “You were in my line of sight.”
Dar waited to hear a further explanation, then cocked her head when none was forthcoming. “So I am what you were laughing at?” she asked in a tone of mild bemusement. “Didn’t think this suit looked that bad.” She frowned and plucked at it. “You should have told me that before, Kerry; I mean—”
“Shhh.” Kerry covered Dar’s mouth with one hand. “No, sweetheart, you look totally awesome.” She paused. “That was the problem.” She removed her hand. “Apparently my opinion on the subject was um…obvious, and your mother made a joke about that.”
“Oooohhhh.” Dar grinned. “I get it now. She caught you looking.”
A tiny smirk tugged at Kerry’s lips. “Yeah.”
Dar’s eyes twinkled. “I’m flattered.”
Kerry briefly wondered what would happen if she just pulled Dar’s head down for the kiss she really wanted to give her. Later, Romeo, she chastised herself with an inward sigh. “Having a nice time?”
Dar uncapped a small bottle of Noxema, took some on her fingers, and spread it over Kerry’s skin, getting the nostrils flaring almost at once. Dar bit her lip to keep from smiling and ran her hands across Kerry’s shoulders and felt her lean into the touch, the warm skin under her fingers growing perceptibly warmer.
“I’m having a great time. What about you?”
“Getting better every second,” Kerry replied, her voice husky.
She cleared her throat self-consciously and glanced around, then up at Dar, a beseeching look on her face.
Dar chuckled and wiped a bit of the cream across Kerry’s pink nose. “I’m going to grab a dry shirt from the boat; you want one?” She handed Kerry the jar and accepted her nod. “Be right back.”
Kerry tucked the cream into her bag, sat up, and wrapped her arms around her upraised knees. The crowd was milling around closer now, and she spotted Andrew and Ceci heading her way.
Andy had a large album tucked under one arm and he sat down on the rock next to her and laid it on his knees.
“Hi,” Kerry greeted him as Ceci circled around to the other side and sat down. Duks and Mari drifted over, and Mark sat down near her, as well. “Whatcha got there?”
“What ah have here is pitchers.” Andrew glanced at the now interested crowd. “Seeing as it’s Dardar’s birthday, me and Cec Thicker Than Water 217
figgured you all’d like to see what that kid looked like as a tot.”
“Ooohhhh.” An eager rumble escaped as Mark scrambled to get a better spot. Everyone crowded around, including Alastair, who put his hands behind his back and peered over Andrew’s broad shoulder.
Andrew opened the album to the first page and smoothed down the time-yellowed plastic. “This here’s at about five minutes.” He pointed. “Yelling already.”
Alastair quipped. “Shoulda known.”
DAR TOOK A moment to rinse off in the shower before she removed her suit and pulled on a pair of shorts, along with a tank top she tucked into them. Then she regarded her reflection in the mirror. “Hey, beach rat, haven’t seen you in a while,” she greeted her scruffy mirror image, wind and salt sodden hair and all.
“Aw, you don’t look so bad for an ancient, almost thirty-one year old.” Dar raked her fingers through her hair to give it some kind of order, then she fished in the small chest of drawers and pulled out a pair of shorts and a soft cotton shirt for Kerry. She wandered through the boat’s compact cabin and stopped in the galley to retrieve the quart of chocolate milk she’d tucked into the refrigerator.
It has been a great day, Dar reflected as she walked out onto the stern and uncapped her milk. She took a sip as she watched the crowd out on the island, all gathered together near the fire. She could hear the laughter from where she was standing, and she took a moment to try and understand the wonder she felt at the scene. It was hard to fathom. Here she was, standing on the deck of her boat, looking at her little island, and it was full of her friends, and her family, and her lifelong soulmate and partner.
Mine. Dar took another swallow of milk. Wow! Then she smiled and shook her head as she leaned against the pilothouse’s support poles. Life is good. Complex, but good. She knew she had some tough decisions coming up in the near future, but somehow, those hovered out beyond the holidays, past the golden week she had planned with Kerry.
A whole week, just the two of them out there together. It would give her time to think. It would give Kerry time to heal.
They’d both just been through a month of hell together and damn it...
Dar paused and thought about that for a moment. They had been through hell for a month, hadn’t they? And the last week had been tough and a bitch. They’d both been off balance and out of 218 Melissa Good temper. And it had only brought them closer together.
Dar put her milk down on the edge of the deck and shivered in the light breeze as the truth of the realization seeped through her. Even with the tension between them, she’d never felt even a hint of fragility in their relationship, no whisper of doubt, no sense of fear that perhaps they were headed down a sad and familiar road to distancing themselves from each other.
It was as though they’d laid down a foundation so strong, that the worst storm could barely dampen the surface.
Dar wrapped that thought around herself as she climbed down the ladder and back across the pontoons, a gentle smile on her face.
CECI INTERCEPTED HER halfway down. “Hi.” Her mother had her hands stuck in her pockets.
“Hi,” Dar replied, stopping and peering down. “Need something?”
Hm. Ceci considered the question. “No, I’ve got everything I need right at the moment. But I’d like to give you something, and I’d rather it be in private.”
Uh oh. Dar blinked a little. Now what? “Um…okay.”
A faint grin flashed across her mother’s face. “C’mon.” She led the way back down the pontoons, past Dar’s boat to the one behind it, which belonged to her and Andrew. She was aware of her daughter’s intense curiosity as she followed, the long strides making the wooden bridge rock from side to side. “You don’t have to worry, it’s not anything that would embarrass you in front of your friends.”
“I wasn’t worried, really,” Dar replied. “I just thought we had all the boxes under the tree.”
“Mm.” Ceci climbed aboard their vessel and felt the boat move as Dar followed her. She entered the cabin but stopped just inside, forcing Dar to stop as well. “One thing.” She turned and faced her daughter. “I want you to promise me something.”
Dar felt very off balance. She was a little buzzed, and she’d been in the sun all day; her brain wasn’t working nearly as well as it usually did. “Huh?”
“Promise me something,” Ceci repeated patiently. “It’s not that hard, honest.”
“Okay. What?”
“Promise me you won’t ask me how or where I got this from,”
Ceci said, feeling more than a bit nervous. “Okay?”
Dar leaned against the doorway, feeling the warm teak wood against the skin of her shoulder. “Okay,” she agreed, completely Thicker Than Water 219
at sea. “I won’t. Why would I, anyway? You don’t usually ask people where they…”
Ceci had opened a trunk just inside the door as Dar was speaking, and now she lifted something and held it out.
Dar’s voice trailed off as she stared at the object, then slowly she reached out and took it. Her eyes absorbed the contrast of slate gray against still vivid color, details meticulously etched by a careful and very patient hand. Her careful and very patient hands, which had first built, then painted the model aircraft carrier many years before.
Ceci just watched her. There was so very much about their shared past she could not change, but this one little thing she’d been bound and determined to. It had taken a while, but she’d persisted in gaining back one of the largest bones of contention there had ever been between them. Even Andy had been shocked and angered at her when she’d gotten rid of Dar’s models.
Dar finally drew in a deep b
reath and looked up and away from the ship, her gaze open and wondering. “Wh—”
“Ah ah ah.” Ceci shook her head. “You promised.” She covered the intense emotion she felt by indicating the chest. “The rest of them are in here. I don’t know if you even have room for them, but I…” She heard a slight scraping sound as Dar put the model on the table, then felt the warmth as she approached. “…thought you might…” A hand gripped her shoulder and she felt herself being turned.
Having little choice, she went along with the prodding and found herself facing her daughter, and in the moment their eyes met, Ceci felt like a mother again. But she didn’t really get a chance to absorb that before Dar did something very unexpected.
She stepped forward and put her arms around Ceci and hugged her.
Good goddess. Ceci managed to respond in kind, wrapping her arms around Dar’s strong body and giving her a healthy squeeze.
The last time I did this… She let out a small breath. The last time I did this, she was ten years old. “Dar, I’m sorry. I wish it’d been different for us.”
“I don’t care.” Dar closed her eyes and just hugged harder.
“It’s different now. That’s all that matters.”
Ceci was lifted up a little, and she gained a new perspective on why Kerry took such care to remain strong and fit: you could get a little bent otherwise. But it felt good. She hugged her daughter and smiled in relief, thoroughly enjoying the moment.
DAR STUCK HER hands in her pockets and stretched, feeling 220 Melissa Good a tiny cloud of wonder following her around as she made her way off the bridge. It lasted just long enough for her to get across the sand and realize what everyone was looking at. She could feel the slow burn of embarrassment heat her skin as she heard the laughter and slowed her steps.
Kerry was kneeling beside her father, one arm draped over his shoulders, pointing out something on the page with one finger. As the laughter rose again, she glanced up and their eyes met.
In a twinkling instant, the amusement vanished from her face. She stood, gave Andrew a pat on the shoulder and pushed through the crowd towards Dar.
It took all of Dar’s considerable self-discipline to not simply turn and leave.
“Hey.” Kerry sounded like she was walking on verbal egg-shells.
