God bless her, she never so much as flinched, even at the worst of it, but it didn’t stop Andrew from remembering the averted eyes or open stares of others.

Like them nurses had been staring, only they’d been looking inside this here room. Andrew laid his big hands on the railing. Looking at something so beautiful made his heart ache, having seen so much hate in his lifetime that love could only be exquisitely beautiful to him.

Very gently, he put a hand on Dar’s shoulder. He kept his voice low. “Paladar.”

Dar’s eyes quivered, then blinked open, the dark brows over them contracting as she tried to place where and when she was. She turned her head and peered up at him, then realized why it was so nice and warm, and promptly turned the heat up by blushing a deep, vivid crimson. “D—”

Andrew had to chuckle. “Dardar, I ain’t seen you turn that color since I done caught you skinny-dipping out at that waterhole when you were ten.”

“Erk.” Dar’s throat issued an adolescent squeak.

It was enough to wake Kerry up, though, and she also gazed at Andrew with sleepy eyes for a few seconds before her brain booted and nearly caused her to fall off the bed. “Uh...Hi, Dad,” she managed to cough out.

“Hi there, kumquat,” Andrew responded amiably. “You look right comfortable.”

Kerry looked at Dar, who was still doing her best McIntosh apple imitation. “Sorry, honey,” she apologized weakly. “Didn’t mean to do that.”Dar sighed and rubbed her heated face with her good hand. “S’all right,” she said. “Could have been worse.” She glanced at her father.

“Morning.”

“Morning, Dardar,” Andrew said. “I’d ask how y’all were feeling,

’cept I figure you look pretty good to me just now.”

A weak laugh forced its way out of Dar’s throat as she untangled Red Sky At Morning 275

herself from Kerry’s embrace. She rolled over onto her back as her lover slid out of bed and straightened her T-shirt with as much dignity as she could muster.

Which, to be honest, wasn’t much.

“What was your question again?” Dar finally asked, running her fingers through her mussed hair. “Oh, right. How do I feel.” Slowly, she straightened out her body and flexed her arm. The results mildly surprised her. “Better than yesterday,” she said, lifting a hand to touch the lump on the back of her head. It seemed to have gone down some.

“Yeah, headache’s not so bad, and my arm hurts less.”

Andrew gave her an approving look. “Good to hear.” Kerry had snuck into the restroom with her overnight bag and was apparently utilizing the sink there with a good amount of vigor. “Had me a little worried yesterday.”

Dar tensed her lips, then shrugged. “What a botched event that was,” she exhaled. “A total screw-up, and it was my fault.”

Andrew rolled his eyes. “Git yer head out of that there bucket of whup, Paladar,” he scolded. “You ain’t responsible for them folks, and you know it.”

Dar shook her head. “I should have found out more about what was going on. One of our people could have really gotten hurt in there.” She pulled herself up a little straighter. “I should have checked first.”

Andrew looked around, then leaned over and smoothed the dark hair out of his daughter’s eyes with a gentle hand. “Don’t beat yourself up, Dar. Y’all are gonna make me start beating up my mah own head,

’cause sure as the day is long, I should have figgured what was up when we got there, don’t you think?”

Dar looked at him thoughtfully.

“Them people just knew how to use a diversion when they had one, all right?” Andrew went on. “Now we got to get them pieces back together so none of them dirty dogs gets off.” He waited for Dar to nod, and she finally did. “Good girl. I’m going to take a ride down there and see what I can figure out.”

Dar lodged what she knew was a futile protest. “You don’t have to.

Let me have Gerry handle it, Dad.”

“You saying I ain’t up to this?” Andrew asked.

“No.” Dar felt very off center. “I’m not saying that.”

“Good.” Andrew patted her arm. “You take it easy now, Dardar.

Keep an eye on that kumquat of yours. Make sure she gets some breakfast, all right?” He waved and started out before Dar could say a word, disappearing around the corner of the door with stealthy speed.

Dar stared at her bare feet, sticking out from under the mussed covers, and wiggled her toes. It was not starting out to be a very organized day.


Chapter

Seventeen

KERRY FLEXED HER hands and peered at her laptop screen. Her report was almost done, the data cataloged neatly into columns that laid out in black and white the discrepancies she’d found. It wasn’t a smoking gun, she realized, more a pattern of carelessness and lack of accountability in moving funds from one account to the other, but the pattern was there, and if they got nothing else, would provide the government auditors a place to start.

If nothing else. Kerry rubbed her lower lip. Mark had taken the data storage cube back and secured it at the office, but the information they may or may not have gotten from there would have to wait for Dar’s inspection. Only Dar had the algorithms to unlock the tracks they’d copied, and those were tucked inside her head and nowhere else.

Kerry hadn’t asked her, yet, if she remembered what they were. It was a scary kind of question, and she knew concussions did strange things sometimes. She didn’t think the injury was affecting Dar, but it was hard to say; certainly her lover had been quieter and more withdrawn than usual since she’d been here.

She knew Dar was grateful for her presence. Kerry was equally grateful that she’d followed her instincts and did what she’d done, especially after Dar had told her this morning what had happened to her as a child. “That poor little kid.” She shook her head slowly. “I wish I’d been there for you, Dar. I swear I do.”

The room, of course, was empty except for her and her laptop. Dar had been taken down for another scan of her head and for a visit to the orthopedic surgeon. Kerry had offered to come with her, but it appeared her lapse into needing to be cuddled was getting to Dar, and her natural pride poked its head up in outrage and reasserted itself.

There were two sides to that, Kerry admitted. One, she was a little disappointed in being gently rejected. But two, it meant Dar was feeling better, and that was a good thing. She put aside the laptop and stood up, stretching out her stiff and somewhat cramped body. Sleeping sitting up hadn’t been restful, and the couch was less so. She strolled over to the window and looked out, resting her hands on the sill and leaning on them.

“What I should do is take a break and run the stairs a few times,”


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she decided. “Loosen myself up a little and get some exercise.” With a nod, she went back and closed her laptop down, turning it off and slipping it inside its padded backpack. She looked around, then shrugged and shouldered the pack, shifting it until it was comfortably centered on her back. “A little extra effort won’t hurt me any, either.”

She walked out of the room and straight to the stairwell, opening the door and letting it close behind her. Since they were on the top floor, she really only had one way to go, and so she started down the steps at a rhythmic, even pace. It was quiet in the stairwell, and clean. Kerry decided it probably wasn’t used much, since most of the movement between floors involved wheeled equipment or vehicles, which could get a little tricky going up or down stairs.

Halfway down, at the fifth floor, she met her first fellow walker, a young man carrying a thick bag, who smiled at her as he dropped down the steps alongside. “Hi there.”

“Hi,” Kerry replied, with a friendly smile.

“You new here?” the man asked. “Haven’t seen you around.”

Hmm. Kerry eyed him. He’s a cutie. The man had curly reddish hair and a lithe, athletic build. “That’s because I don’t work here,” she informed him. “I’m just visiting.”

“Oh yeah?” He looked surprised. “I figured you were an intern or something, with that book bag. Sorry.” He flashed her a smile. “Well, that’s too bad. My name’s Curt.” He stuck out a hand.

Kerry took it as they kept walking. “Kerry.” She produced her name. “It’s a computer backpack, actually. I work with them.”

“Yeah?” Curt released her hand. “You don’t see many visitors taking the stairs either.” He looked down and laughed a bit. “Or staff either, to be honest. I think you’re the first person I’ve seen in here in weeks.”

“You take them, though.” Kerry turned the corner on the steps and started down the next set. “Good exercise, right?”

“You bet,” Curt agreed. “I have to get in all the leg work I can. I’m training for the Olympics.” He grinned at her surprised expression.

“I’m a gymnast.”

“Really?” Kerry turned her head to look at him. “That’s wild.”

The man nodded. “Yeah. It is. I’ve been into it since I was a kid, but my folks could never afford me just going to school for that, so I’ve kept at it on the side. I’m going to the trials next year.” He glanced over at Kerry. “You look like you’re into sports.”

It suddenly occurred to Kerry that she was being flirted with. Hmm.

And by a really cute guy, too. It felt...kinda cool, actually. “Oh, nothing official,” she told Curt. “I just do some diving, swimming...climbing.”

She caught his very interested eye. “Martial arts, that sort of thing.”

“I thought so. You’ve got great muscle tone.” Curt grinned at her.