It was the silence, she realized, that was so significant. There was no traffic, or very little up here in this part of Vermont, and the entire pace of life seemed slower than she was used to. The hotel was a collection of small cabins, each tucked into pockets of trees and underbrush, with unobstructed views of the wilderness around them. It gave the illusion of complete privacy, and Kerry remained gazing out at it for a long moment before she turned and padded across the wooden floor, to throw herself down on the large, quilt covered bed.

It was nice, she considered, to be able to see different places. She rolled over and reached for the TV remote, clicked it on and sorted through the available cable channels. A familiar scene caught her eye and she paused, then put the remote down, and rested her chin on her forearm as she watched the travel channel focus on a skyline she knew.

Home.

A wistful smile tugged at her lips as she checked her watch. She’d been on the road for two very long weeks, though that was coming to an end after she wrapped up this assignment.

Good thing, too. Kerry pulled a pillow out from under the quilt and wrapped her arms around it, exhaling softly and turning her mind to figuring out where she could rustle up some dinner. Being apart from Dar had been tougher than she’d anticipated and as the days counted themselves down, she found her thoughts turning more and more eagerly to their reunion.

They talked on the phone to each other every day, of course, and exchanged email, but it wasn’t the same. Kerry gazed at the nondescript walls and sighed. Nights were the worst. During the day she was either working or traveling, but alone in her hotel room at night she had to force herself to find something to do other than think about…

Well, think about what Dar was doing, actually. Or wonder if she was being missed in return, while her previously solitary partner went back to her lone pursuits.

Or if maybe Dar was enjoying that.

Scowling a little at her own insecurity, Kerry got up and walked back over to her laptop. She paused for a moment, gazing at the report, then clicked over to her mail program and started up a new message.


Eye of the Storm 5

“HEY GIRL.” DAR managed to get inside the door to the condo without allowing the frantic Labrador to escape. “Hey. Take it easy. Take it easy. I know it’s late.”

Chino bucked around in a circle and whined, grabbing hold of the edge of Dar’s shorts in her teeth and tugging fiercely.

“Okay, okay.” The tall woman tossed her gym bag down and surrendered, sitting down on the cold tile floor and hugging the dog. “Yeah.

Okay. I missed you too.” She closed her eyes as the Labrador licked her face thoroughly and climbed up her chest, her half grown paws scrabbling for a good hold. “Easy...easy...”

Finally, Chino calmed down and curled up inside the circle of Dar’s arms, panting. “Good girl.” Dar leaned back against the door and rubbed the dog’s ears idly. In reflex, she looked up towards the kitchen, half expecting Kerry to appear from the doorway, then sighed as the emptiness of the condo settled around her. “You know something, Chino?”

Brown eyes looked up at her in question.

“It’s too damn quiet in here.”

The dog barked at her.

“You think Kerry misses us as much as we miss her?”

“Growf.”

Dar smiled and gave her a final hug, then stood up and retrieved her bag, crossed the large living room and entered the kitchen. It was almost painfully clean, and Dar averted her eyes as she ducked into the laundry room. She tugged her outfit from the bag and dumped it into the washing machine, along with her towel and underwear, and set the device running. Then she re-entered the kitchen and went to the cupboard, opened it and removed a tall glass, which she filled with milk from the refrigerator.

“Mail.”

“Dar Roberts, six messages, none urgent. Kerry Stuart, twelve messages, three urgent,” the console answered, bringing a faint smile to Dar’s face.

“Display mail, Dar Roberts.” She scanned the headers, then produced a real smile. “Read two.”

Hey Boss.

Vermont is nice.

“Eh. If you like trees,” Dar commented aloud, a habit of hers when reading Kerry’s mails.

It would be a lot nicer if you were in it, though...it’s really quiet up here in the woods. I keep thinking some raccoon is going to hop up on my windowsill and start talking to me.

“Trapped in a Disney movie. Very scary, Ker.”


6 Melissa Good Oh well. The account is going all right—I have all the information, and a copy of the plan is attached to this mail for you to check out. They were kind of upset when I first got here, but I think I made them relax a little, and maybe they realize I’m not here to turn everything upside down for them.

“I’m sure they warmed right up to you.”

Only some things, I guess. They’ve got some very strange acquisition flowcharts...I wasn’t sure what they were doing, Dar, so I scanned those in and attached them too. If you could take a minute and look them over, it’d be great.

“Sure,” Dar murmured softly, taking a sip of her milk. “No problem.”

It’s been a really long two weeks.

“Yeah. No kidding.”

I think it really hit me today, when I was driving to the hotel, just how much I miss you.

Dar bit down on the rim of her glass, rereading the words in silence.

A tiny grin formed on her lips.

It was really strange. I dreamt about you last night, and when I woke up and you weren’t here, I felt awful. I know a business email isn’t the place to say that, but...I just wanted you to know.

Anyway, I’m going to go see if I can find something around here for dinner. I noticed an advertisement at the front desk for maple ice cream. It sounded interesting. Call you later.

Ker

“Mmm.” Dar leaned a hip against the counter and permitted herself a few moments of idle daydreaming, then she sighed as the computer beeped.

“Incoming video conference request, Alastair M.”

“Go.”

A square opened, revealing the familiar features of her boss, a round faced man in his fifties, with a perennially cheerful expression. “Evening, Dar.”

“Hi,” the dark haired woman drawled. “Little late for you, isn’t it?”

“Who me? Nah.” Alastair waved a hand at her. “Listen. I need a Eye of the Storm 7

favor.”

Uh oh. “And that would be...”

“I’ve got a little problem here. Well, ” Alastair looked uncharacteristically troubled, “more than a little. You know David Ankow?”

“Mmm. The new board member. Yeah.” Dar grimaced. An outsider.

He’d been voted onto the board by the stockholders two months prior, as a sort of watchdog, and had been challenging Alastair ever since. The timing was bad since they were right in the middle of a huge network redesign project, which Dar was heading up, and that meant large expen-ditures without an immediate return to account for them.

“He’s called an emergency board meeting tomorrow morning to debate the new network. I’ve got the answers he’s looking for, but just to be sure, I could use your support.”

That, Dar realized, was as close to a scream for help as she’d ever hear from her boss. “Hang on.” She pulled the seldom used pointing device out from the console and clicked to a browser screen, then entered an address. Moments later, she reviewed the results of a query and approved them. Then she clicked back to Alastair’s window. “Okay.”

“Listen, I know it’s short notice, but you know I don’t really ask that often and I—okay what?” His brow creased.

“Okay, I’ll be there tomorrow morning,” Dar replied. “Anything else you need?”

Alastair merely gazed at her for a long moment. “Well,” he propped his chin up on one hand, “yeah, in fact. What’s Kerry’s favorite kind of flowers?”

Dar blinked in startlement. “What?”

“C’mon. Roses? Tulips? What?” Alastair pursued. “I want to send her something, because I honestly appreciate just how much of a human being she’s made you into in the last few months.”

Dar stared at him, shocked.

“I’ll make it roses. That’s safe. Later, Dar. See ya tomorrow.”

Alastair’s face disappeared, leaving a company logo behind in the box.

“T…b...you...hold on there you son of a...” Her voice rose in outrage and she stopped, realizing that yelling at a blank computer screen was less than useful. What in the hell had that been about anyway? “I certainly haven’t changed that much.”

Chino wagged her tail.

“Have I?” Dar almost jumped when the phone rang, then she set her glass down and answered it, feeling a little rattled. “Yeah?”

“Um...hi?” Kerry’s voice came back at her.

“Oh. Hi.” Dar picked up her milk and wandered into the living room, dropped down onto the leather love seat and slung one leg over the arm of it. “Sorry. Alastair just called. I’ve got to go out there tomorrow.”

“Oh? What’s up?”

“Some meeting. That damn new board member. What’s up with you?” Dar swallowed a mouthful of milk. “Did you get your maple ice 8 Melissa Good cream?”

A soft chuckle trickled down the line. “Oh yeah. I was bad,” Kerry admitted. “I’d bring you home some, but I think it’d melt.” She paused a moment. “Got my mail, I guess, huh?”

“Yeah,” her lover responded. “I’ll take a look at your paperwork. But I’m sure it’s fine. You’ve got a knack for that.”

“Mmm.”

“And I miss you too.”