Dar’s own eyes dropped to the sand. Damn, this was so hard. She sucked in a breath. “Yeah.” Her fingers found a tiny, perfect scallop in the sand. “It’s a lot to adjust to.”

Ceci leaned her forearms on her knees and rested her chin on them.

“This must be complicating your life,” she remarked wryly, rewarded with the faintest hint of a smile, that wrinkled the skin at the corner of her daughter’s mouth and eyes.

Dar tilted her head in acknowledgement. “It’s not an unwelcome complication,” Dar replied, shifting so they almost faced each other. “I’m glad things worked out.”

Worked out. What an outstandingly understated way to consider a life changing event so vast she couldn’t even begin to encompass it. “Well, thank you for making that phone call.” She cleared her throat. “Though I know you didn’t do it for my benefit.”

Pale eyes peered at her from under dark brows. “Don’t assume that.”

The already low voice deepened. “At least credit me the ability to do the right thing when I know what it is.” But the tone wasn’t angry, merely wistful.

Cecilia felt off balance, yet again. She sighed. “I didn’t mean you wouldn’t, Dar. It just occurred to me, that, given what happened between us, I don’t expect any favors from you.” She sensed the restless motion and half expected Dar to get up and leave—something her daughter had always done when in a confrontation she didn’t want to deal with.

But instead Dar turned further around and moved closer, her gaze now intent and strangely compelling. “Well,” a faintly warm note crept in, “I’ve made a reputation out of doing the unexpected.”

Ceci merely blinked, unsure of what to say.

“I can’t change the past,” her daughter stated flatly, then hesitated.

“Though I would change parts of it, if I could.”

The fire crackled softly, and a splash was heard off the beach. “I would too,” Ceci murmured.

They looked at each other quietly.

Another splash and they turned to see Andrew emerging from the 246 Melissa Good water, the fire outlining his burly wetsuit covered form. He shook himself, then trudged up the beach. “Smells damn nice round here.”

“I’ll second that.” Kerry stepped carefully down the floating bridge Dar had built, carrying an armful of stuff and a basket. The blonde woman had a white cotton overshirt on, her sun darkened skin showing vividly against it, and her hair pulled back into a knot. “Dar, can you grab this?”

“Sure.” Dar scrambled to her feet and hopped onto the wooden surface. She took the basket from her lover and opened the top. “Ah. Plates.”

“Well, yeah.” Kerry stepped past her, with a chuckle. “Did you think we were going to just stick our hands in that pot and start chewing on whatever we pulled out?”

“Sure.”

“Yeap.”

Dar and her father exchanged glances.

Ceci laughed softly, pushed herself to her feet and walked over to join them around the fire. They’d set mats down a safe distance from the flames, and Kerry put her burdens on top of them and poked at the pot’s contents.

“Ooo.” A very spicy, very intense scent emerged. “I think I’m in love.”

“Coulda tolja that…oh, ya mean with that stuff,” Andrew drawled, tousling his grizzled hair dry and snapping Kerry in the butt with the fabric as he ambled past.

“Yeoow…hey!” Kerry hopped around the fire, getting off balance and stumbling right into Dar’s arms. “Whoa, thanks.” She caught herself.

“Hey. You’re all wet.” Her voice caught a little at the odd sensation of the cool dampness warming as their bodies joined.

A dark brow lifted slightly.

“Tch.” Kerry blushed, invisible in the dark but not to Dar’s light touch on her. “Give me a hand with this stuff. Can we put the bits right in a bowl? I brought some.”

“Now, don’t get nervous.” Dar’s whisper tickled her ear, and her breathing quickened a bit.

“I’m not.” Kerry knelt and pulled the round, wooden bowls out.

“What makes you think I am? I don’t think I am. I just want you to give me a hand divvying this stuff up, what makes you think...”

“You’re babbling,” Dar returned. “Relax. It’s just my parents, not yours.”

“Oh.” Kerry clamped her jaw shut and handed Dar a set of long chef’s tongs. “Right. Well, if I had to imagine my parents sitting in the sand on an island, Dar, my brain would explode. So,” she cleared her throat and raised her voice, “I have some Spanish rice in that pot.” She looked up to where Ceci was settling. “Yeah. There, and in that other one is some steamed broccoli.” She stuck a tongue out at the face Dar was making. “It’s not for you, don’t worry.” She looked over Dar’s shoulder.

“Or you either. I know better.” She pointed a long handled fork at Eye of the Storm 247

Andrew.

They sat down with their bowls of steaming saffron colored rice, covered with spicy seafood bits ranging from grouper to shrimp, with chunks of the lobsters Dar and Andy had tickled out sitting on top.

“Mmm.” Ceci poured a mug of the cold, iced cider and handed it to her husband, then took one for herself. “Good stuff.” The rice was fluffy and perfect, and the broccoli crisp and fresh, and a nice counterpoint to fish, her exception to a usually vegetarian diet.

Or maybe it was just the fresh air and an entire day of activity that made everything taste so wonderful.

Or something.

It really was like a dream. But the longer it went on, the more she realized it was one she was stuck with the good—like this lobster— along with the bad—like sand sticking to parts of her where sand didn’t belong, and like her prickly offspring.

Too much color. Too much emotion and sensations. Making chaos of her formerly orderly existence and filling it with complications and issues. Ceci sighed in wry contentment. It felt very much like home.

Andy removed a very pink shrimp and offered it to her, and she bit down, feeling the crisp flesh give way and release a burst of spice into her mouth.

Nope. Nothing bland here.

Dar leaned back against a big piece of driftwood and settled her bowl in the crook of her arm, then reached out and gave Kerry’s shirt back a light tug. They’d been running around so much all day, she’d hardly had a chance to spend any time near her lover and her body missed that.

“Mmm?” Kerry turned her head then saw the invitation in Dar’s eyes. “Um…” Eeek. Getting all cuddly in front of the older generation still made her a bit squeamish, but... She scooted back and settled in the curve of her lover’s arm, relaxing as it curled around her and gave her a squeeze. Shyly, she glanced at Ceci and Andrew, glad to see only a look of amused indulgence on their faces.

Not that she really expected any different, but you never knew. People said things and thought they meant them, but when they were hit in the face with reality that sometimes flew out the window. She speared a piece of broccoli and bit into it, as the tender skin tensed around her face and shoulders. Her body was a little sore from all the diving and swimming and she suspected she was going to pay for her fun tomorrow, but it had been a great day. She’d gotten some really fantastic pictures, everyone seemed to have fun, and she’d seen signs that Dar and her mother were cautiously approaching each other.

Kerry sighed and wiggled her toes, enjoying the warmth of the fire against the breeze coming off the water. She felt overheated and grubby and was sure she had seaweed in some highly unlikely places, but she couldn’t think of anywhere else she’d rather be.


Chapter

Twenty-seven

DAR WAS CURLED up on the cabin’s small couch, studying some small, encrusted metal bits she’d recovered from the bottom. The drone of the engines was almost soothing. If she really tried, she could put out of her mind the fact that her father was driving the big boat, after giving her a taste of what it was like to try and say no to those big, blue eyes.

A soft sound made her look up to see her mother coming into the cabin, her hair so completely in disarray it appeared she’d stuck a finger into one of the twenty amp sockets in the sidewalls. “I think your father just swamped a Sunfish.”

Dar winced.

Ceci flexed her bare toes and continued across the floor. “This is a lovely setup.” Her hands found a place in the pockets of the soft white cotton pants. “Very functional.”

Dar spread her arms out and looked around the small cabin. “Yeah.

The first time I saw it, it seemed just far too rich, but after I checked it out, most of the trimmings are there for a purpose.” She stroked the wood.

“This weathers well, the fabrics are designed for humidity and sealed, the kitchen gear is nothing fancy. It’s a good working rig.”

Her mother perched on the edge of the counter, which lifted up and doubled as storage. She folded her arms and looked around, nodding.

“You could live on this thing, really.”

“The thought’s occurred to me,” Dar admitted. “Except using a sat hook up to download mail’s a bitch.” Her name being called made her look up. “Yeah?”

“D—oh, there you are.” Kerry scrambled down into the space.

“Would you p—oh, sorry, hi. Am I interrupting?” She paused, giving Cecilia an apologetic look.

“No, no. We were just discussing the boat.” She lifted a slim hand.

“Go on.”

“I’m trying to describe that weird fish we saw, and your father keeps trying to tell me it was a parrot fish. I keep telling him it wasn’t. Do me a favor, would you? Draw it so I can show him?”