Cynthia Stuart’s head jerked up. “Kerrison!” she whispered, shocked.
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“Well, they are,” Kerry replied, as they dodged between two parked television news trucks and escaped the glare of spotlights.
Behind them, she could hear a spokesman yelling in vain for attention, and she was glad when the noise faded back, leaving them to the labored sounds of their own breathing and the crunch of snow underfoot.
The family limo and its driver were waiting for them, and doors opened quickly, allowing a gust of leather and wax-tinged warm air out. Kerry helped her mother inside, then stepped back.
“We’ll follow you.”
“Kerry, there’s room,” Angie protested. “Come on.”
“You go.” Kerry gave her a gentle shove and took a backwards stride almost into Dar’s arms. “We’ll be right behind you, I promise.” She closed the door behind Angie, then turned and let out a huge sigh, until she saw two reporters running their way, one with a camera balanced on his shoulder. “Oh, pud.”
Dar turned, saw them coming, and made one of the instanta-neous decisions that marked her long career. She stooped and grabbed a double handful of snow, then wadded it, let it go side-arm, and nailed the man with the camera right in the face. He stumbled, fell sideways on the ice, and knocked his companion right over.
“Let’s go.” Dar grabbed Kerry’s arm and plowed towards the rental car. “I’ll drive.”
“Oh no.” Kerry wrestled for the keys as they half walked, half slid together. “Now c’mon. Dar.”
“Let me,” Dar said. “For crying out loud, Kerry, I have an engineering degree. I can figure out how to drive on snow.” With a stern glare, she keyed the door lock and pulled the passenger side door open. “In.”
Kerry was about to argue, but spotted more reporters heading their way and decided she could always wrest control of the car from Dar after they got clear of the parking lot. She slid inside, closed the door, and leaned over to open the opposite one. Dar dropped in next to her and slammed the door, sending a tiny puff of snow cascading down the front windshield.
Dar cranked the ignition and turned the lights on to combat the fast gathering twilight. Then she paused, looking at the frosted windows. She pointed. “What the hell are you supposed to do with that?”
An exhausted Kerry stared at the window. “With what?”
“That.” Dar pointed at the ice. “Wipers won’t take that off.”
Kerry stared at her. “You use the defroster, Dar.” She leaned over and turned the device on. “What on earth did you think it was there for?”
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Dar frowned. “Clearing out the humidity when it rains.” She peered through the clearing glass, glad to see the reporters were now chasing the limo as it made its stately way out of the drive. It was cold out and she was shivering, unused to the damp chill which ate through her sweater and made her already aching shoulder throb. Add the fact that she’d left her medication at the hotel room and they’d missed lunch, and it made for a truckload of misery.
And now they were headed for more of it. Dar cautiously put the car in drive and pulled out of the parking space, following the tail lights of the limo. She tested the brakes and felt the lack of control in the car, her muscles automatically compensating for that.
All right,
Dar decided.
I can do this.
She didn’t see Kerry half turned sideways in her seat, watching her with gentle, tired eyes, the faintest of smiles on her face.
“They going to want you to stay overnight?” Dar asked.
“Probably,” Kerry said.
“We don’t have a change of clothes.”
“We can sleep naked,” came the reasonable answer. “We usually do.”
Dar fought the desire to turn her head and stare at Kerry.
“Not in your family’s house, we don’t.”
“Mm.” Kerry exhaled. “That’s true.” She blinked slowly. “I have clothes left there, but I bet none of them fit.” The thought seemed to please her. “Maybe some old sweatshirts, if they didn’t get tossed, but definitely nothing that’d fit you.” She watched their progress along the street and grudgingly admitted that Dar was doing pretty well with the ice. “Maybe we should detour past the hotel.”
“Just what I was thinking,” Dar said. She pulled carefully to a halt at a red light, as the limo ahead of them went on. “You doing okay?” She glanced at Kerry, whose drawn face was painfully evident even in the low light. Before Kerry could answer, Dar’s cell phone rang, startling both of them.
“That’s been quiet,” Kerry murmured.
Dar took it out and opened it. “Yeah?”
“Dar.”
Alastair’s voice sounded much, much calmer than it had earlier. That served to make Dar’s stomach tie up in knots, and she wondered if she was on the verge of being fired. She decided she really didn’t care. “Evening, Alastair,” she said, putting the car into motion as the light turned green. “Right, up ahead?” Kerry nodded. “What’s up?” she asked Alastair.
“Just saw the news,” Alastair said. “Tell Kerry I’m sorry; that’s a tough thing.”
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Dar exhaled. “I will.”
There was a slight pause. “Easton took the deal. Didn’t think he would, but he did.”
“Good.” Dar felt a sense of relief. “Thanks for telling me.”
“Anytime, Dar.” Now, at last, Alastair’s voice gentled. “Take care, y’hear? Both of you.”
“We will,” Dar replied. “Talk to you tomorrow.” She hung up, folded the phone, and tucked it back into its cradle. “Alastair sends his condolences, and wants you to take it easy.”
Kerry watched her closely. She’d lived with Dar for over a year, and she’d learned through trial and error to be able to read almost every twitch of that very, very expressive face. “And?”
There was a glint of streetlamp off blue eyes as Dar glanced at her. “And?”
Kerry saw Dar’s hands flex and resettle on the steering wheel.
“And, what else is going on?” She waited through the obvious hesitation. “C’mon, Dar, you can bluff an entire roomful of stock analysts, but not me. What’s up?”
Dar inhaled, then squared her shoulders. “Things went south with the Navy.” She pulled into the hotel’s parking lot. “Easton called Alastair on the carpet and demanded he produce the information we found and turn it over, or face some pretty strong consequences.”
“What happened?” Kerry sat up straighter, perversely glad to have something else to focus on. “How’d he get out of it?”
Dar stopped the car in a parking spot and rested her hands on the wheel as she gazed thoughtfully out the window. “I agreed to a deal.” She turned to Kerry. “To turn over the data and not press forward with it.”
Kerry blinked at her with a look of utter shock.
“He had a deadline. I had to be there. I wasn’t going to be.”
Dar shrugged. “So, that’s what’s going on.” She shut off the car and opened the door. “Come on, I need to change into something warmer.” She got out into the still falling snow and closed the door, then trudged around the back of the car and peered in the passenger side window. Kerry was still sitting there with a stunned look on her face. It almost made Dar smile. She opened Kerry’s door and gave her an inquiring look. “Coming?”
Kerry finally turned and reached for the doorframe to pull herself up. “Dar—”
“No.” Dar touched two fingers to Kerry’s lips. “There was no option, I don’t regret it, there was no choice to be made. Got it?”
She stared seriously at Kerry. “Being here for you was that important for me.”
The snow drifted and flakes settled on Kerry’s upturned face.
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“Was Alastair mad?”
“Livid.” Dar pulled Kerry the rest of the way out of the car and closed the door. “But he understands.” She wrapped an arm around Kerry as they started towards the hotel. “He knows me.”
Kerry thought about that as they walked. “Does he?” The shock of Dar’s revelation was still ringing inside her, evoking an alternating mixture of dismay and awe.
A smile crossed Dar’s face. “Yes, he does.”
THEY HAD A surprise waiting in the hotel room. Dar entered first and switched the light on, then stopped in mid stride causing Kerry to crash into her back. “Whoa.”
“Wh…Dar, why did…Oh.” Kerry peered out from behind Dar’s back and saw the table covered in baskets. “Good grief.”
“Yeah.” Dar walked to the table and examined the items.
There were four in all—two sedate ones that contained subdued flower arrangements, one stocked with a variety of chocolates, and one with other snacks such as crackers and cheese. “Someone worried there weren’t any restaurants all the way up here?” She picked up the cards and read them. “Ah.”
Kerry peeked. The flowers were from Maria and Mariana, the snacks were from Colleen, and the chocolate… “Your folks certainly know you.”
“Me?” Dar glanced at her wryly. “Oh, does that mean you don’t want any?”
Kerry’s nostrils twitched as Dar removed the cellophane wrap from the chocolate basket, releasing a sweet, delicious scent. “I didn’t say that.” She plucked at the snack basket. “But I’m going to have some crackers and cheese, too, or I’ll be bouncing all over the place.”
“Good.” Dar selected a truffle and popped it into her mouth.
“While you do that, I’m going to put on my damn thermal under-wear.”
Kerry picked up the bottle of pills and handed it to Dar. “And take this, right?”
“Mm.” Dar accepted the bottle, but put it down for a moment as she pulled her sweater off over her head. Or tried to, at any rate, when she unthinkingly used her bad arm. “Shit.” She hissed and paused in mid motion.
“Hey!” Kerry dropped her crackers and jumped to her side.
She eased the fabric off over Dar’s head and carefully lowered her arm. “Oh, damn, Dar!” She was shocked at the new mottled bruising that covered Dar’s shoulder joint and spread across the front of her chest. “Sit down.”
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“Why? Is that supposed to take strain off my arm?” Dar did as she was told and sat quietly on the bed as Kerry examined her.
“Just a bruise, Ker.”
“It wasn’t like that when I left Florida yesterday,” Kerry said.
“You did this last night.”
“Yeah, so?” Dar shrugged.
Kerry seriously studied her, then she unclipped her cell phone, opened it, and dialed a number. “Hey, Ang.”
“Kerry, where did you disappear to?” Angie asked. “You were behind us, then you vanished. I thought you got lost.”
“In my own hometown? Not likely,” Kerry replied. “We stopped by the hotel for Dar’s medication.”
The phone juggled. “Hang on.” There was a moment of silence, then Angie’s voice came back, clearer and with less noise in the background. “Maybe it’s for the best. This place is a circus, Ker. The press is here, and all of dad’s staff, and it’s a madhouse.”
“Ugh,” Kerry murmured.
“And,” Angie hesitated, “with everything that’s going on, I think the general feeling is it might be better if you didn’t come over here.” She seemed almost embarrassed. “With all the press here, they don’t want any controversy.”
Kerry felt a burn of anger. “You mean, it’d be okay if I came, but not if I brought Dar with me.”
“Something like that, yeah.” Angie sighed. “That’s not from mom, but there’re so many—”
“Fuck them.” Kerry enunciated the words carefully.
Angie was prudently silent.
“But you know what? I’m glad,” Kerry went on. “Because I was just calling to tell you we weren’t coming over anyway. Dar hurt her arm again last night picking my butt up, and I’m going to spend the evening relaxing, eating very good chocolate, and taking care of her.”
Angie still remained silent. Dar’s eyebrows crawled up into her hairline and lodged there.
Kerry smiled mirthlessly. “So, if the press asks, you can tell them that.”
“Lucky stiff,” Angie finally muttered. “Mom wants you to come by in the morning, is that okay?”
“I’ll think about it,” Kerry answered. “Bye.” She closed the phone with a snap. “Sons of bitches.”
Dar circled the back of Kerry’s thigh with one hand and squeezed gently. “Easy.” She could see the anger flaring along the lines of Kerry’s body. “Everyone’s under a lot of pressure.”
“Bullshit,” Kerry snapped back. “Most of those people couldn’t give a damn about my father. They’re just polishing up
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the old image, so their memoirs will…” She paused, visibly upset.
“Can’t have the family disgrace messing that up, can we?”
Dar pulled her a little closer and nuzzled her side in wordless comfort. Kerry leaned forward and laced her fingers through Dar’s hair, then touched her head to Dar’s and exhaled. “Bastards,” she whispered.
Dar nodded. “Uh huh.”
They stayed like that for a few minutes, rocking gently back and forth, then Kerry released a held breath and straightened a little. “On the other hand,” she pushed Dar’s hair out of her eyes,
“I’m tired, I’m hungry, and spending the night alone with you is sounding more superfantastic by the second.”
Dar issued her a rakish smile. “I was hoping you’d arrive at that conclusion. I kinda liked the idea of being pampered and fed chocolate all night.” She took Kerry’s hand and relaxed back onto the pillow, giving her an inviting little tug. “C’mere.”
Kerry crawled over her and laid down at her side, never taking her eyes from Dar’s. She released Dar’s hand and stroked Dar’s soft bare skin with light, curious fingers. “This is that silver lining thing, isn’t it?”
“Mmhm,” Dar agreed, brushing Kerry’s cheek and watching her fair lashes flutter closed at the touch. “Don’t let them get to you, Kerry. When people are hurting or confused, it’s easy for them to lash out at things they don’t understand.”
Kerry lowered her head to Dar’s shoulder and snuggled close, wrapping an arm around her stomach. “I know that. It just makes me so angry that all they think about is themselves.” A sigh warmed Dar’s skin. “It’s so unfair.”
“Life is, sometimes,” Dar replied. “You just do the best you can with it.” She thoughtfully regarded the ceiling. “Like now, for instance. We could be at your family’s house.”
“Mm,” Kerry murmured.
“With one third of the crowd glaring at us, another third of them making veiled but snarky comments, and the remaining third being sweet and sympathetic.”