“Sounds like a plan,” Dar agreed, notching the throttles ahead just a bit as they cleared the dock complex. They warily pulled out into the main channel, watching for speedboat traffic. As they turned into the cut, the wind picked up and their speed increased, the sea’s soft chop rustling against the bow of the boat.

Kerry was content to lean against her, one arm draped over her shoulders and her chin still resting on Dar’s shoulder as they passed a couple of small sailing boats. “Dar, is that woman naked?”

Dar’s eyes shifted. “Yeah, and boy, is that gonna be a painful sunburn.” She shook her head. “Some people just have no sense.”

“Ow.” Kerry clucked her tongue. “I’m going to go put away the last of our stuff, see if we need to pick anything up in Largo.” She gave Dar a kiss on the cheek then climbed down the ladder and disappeared into the cabin.

Dar plucked the water bottle out of its swinging holder and drank from it, then put it back. She opened the small cabinet under the bridge console and selected a CD, waiting while the player sucked it in, then adjusting the volume as the music started. As the land receded behind them, she felt the tensions and pressures of their life doing the same.

The wind blew against her skin, feeling cool and wonderful.

She cleared the inner buoy and opened up the engines a little, sending the bow up as she hummed along to the music.

Diving; rustic but romantic dinner; an overnight stay at the new cabin; then the long trip out to the islands. Dar exhaled in utter satisfaction. Life just doesn’t get any better than this.

Kerry walked past the portholes, tucking back the drapes to let the sun into the cabin. She unlocked the catches and propped the small, round windows open, enjoying the nice breeze the motion of the boat was creating. With a satisfied nod, she retrieved Dar’s duffel and carried it into the cabin’s compact bedroom, setting it on Terrors of the High Seas 5

the bed before she unzipped it. She took a moment to open the hatch down there as well, grinning as a tiny bit of spray hit her.

The bedroom had drawers built into the bulkheads and under the bed to save space—every square inch of room was thriftily used for something. Kerry patted the bed. It wasn’t as comfortable as the waterbed in their condo, but she suspected that after a long day of diving, swimming, and other activities, she’d be able to sleep on the deck itself.

“And I have,” Kerry reminded herself. She removed Dar’s extra shirts and bathing suits, folded them neatly and put them in one of the drawers. “Hey, wonder if I can talk Dar into getting a hammock for the deck. We can sleep out there one night.”

Kerry gathered their bathroom sundries and carried them into the tiny head, then found spots for the various bottles and jars.

They would, she realized, be seriously bumping into each other in there—both were used to the much larger confines of the condo where they each had their own bathroom.

Kerry cast an assessing eye at the bitty shower and wondered if they could both fit into it. An eyebrow quirked. Might be interesting to try.

There had been two more small bedrooms past the master suite.

One, they'd left with its double decker bunk, but the other, up in the very bow of the boat, they'd stripped the beds out of and kitted out as storage for their diving gear and Kerry's underwater photography equipment. She stuck her head inside and gave the BCs and regulators a quick once over, then out of habit checked the valves on the strapped down tanks to make sure they were closed tight.

The boat was also outfitted with a desalinator, which would take in seawater and produce water both for drinking and for cleaning. Kerry felt reassured by that; running out of water on the ocean wasn’t funny. Since the wind was almost as constant as the sun, it was very easy to become dehydrated out there.

In addition, on the outside deck, Dar had installed a small air compressor so they could refill their own air tanks while they were out on the water, and a rinse sink to toss their gear into. It made the boat a very comfortable place to be, and Kerry suspected that even the extended length of time they'd spend on it this trip wouldn't be too much of a hardship.

She took the duffel bag and folded it, then tucked it away in a drawer under the bed. Wandering back up the short flight of steps into the main cabin, she snagged a bottle of water and made her way back out onto the deck. The city was falling away behind them—buildings crisply defined in the clear air. She could see the huge cranes of Port of Miami loading freighters, and in the distance, the outline of a moving cruise ship made its stately way 6 Melissa Good through Government Cut.

It was a pretty view, but Kerry knew where a prettier one was, and she hauled herself back up the ladder and took possession of the second chair in back of the engine console. Now all she could see was sun, water, and Dar. She wriggled into a comfortable position and relaxed, content to let the salt air wash over her as they headed out to sea. Dar had a Jimmy Buffett CD playing, and Kerry rocked her head back and forth to the upbeat tune. “Hey."

Dar shifted in her seat and looked over. One dark eyebrow lifted in inquiry.

"You ready for a totally rocking week?"

Dar propped a bare foot up against the console and leaned forward against her knee, surveying the almost endless horizon in front of them. "Oh, yeah." A grin split her face. "I sure am. Hope the company is up to doing without the both of us at the same time."

Kerry grunted in acknowledgment. "I’m sure they'll manage to muddle through for a week, Dar. What could happen in seven measly days?"

"Yeah," Dar agreed. "I’m sure they'll be fine."

They both listened to the music for a few moments, contemplating the clear blue sky and rich, green sea before them.

Then two heads turned and they regarded each other.

"Let's not think about it." Kerry grinned. "We'll just jinx them."

Dar merely waggled her eyebrows in answer, and gave the engines a little more gas.


Chapter

Two

IT WAS ALMOST dusk by the time Dar shifted the diesels into reverse and idled them into the much smaller dock outside their cabin. She maneuvered the Bertram carefully, sliding into place and holding it there until Kerry could leap off onto the wood and secure the lines to the cleats onshore.

When Dar had first come into her Aunt May’s estate, she’d been a little wary of driving the large yacht. After all, other than some clandestine ventures on government-issue vessels, most of her piloting had been done on much smaller boats. However, she’d been working on the water since she was four, and it hadn’t taken her long to master the big boat’s powerful engines and imposing size, and after that she’d sort of enjoyed taking the vessel out.

Pulling up to some out-of-the-way shrimp shack in the thing and sauntering off to get a Coke in front of a legion of goggling guys tickled her sometimes dark sense of humor.

Now she handled the throttles with a master’s touch as she held her ground while they were tied. The boat bumped gently against the pylons, buffered by the large rubber bumpers Kerry had tossed over the edge of the dock, and Dar shut down the engines, flexing her hands as she removed them from the throttles.

As the sound died, the peacefulness of the place surrounded her, and Dar spent a moment just gazing at their little piece of paradise before she took her sunburned self down the stairs. It wasn’t a large lot, just big enough for the cabin, the sandy ground that led down to the dock on one side and to a small beach on the other, and on the far side of the cabin—a driveway winding up to the road.

It was shaded though, with a thick stand of trees, and surrounded by patches of foliage on either side, so the effect was of snug isolation on this little point of the Key. It was calm, almost sleepy, and Dar liked it. Equally important, she thought, Kerry really likes it too.

And so far, it had been a great day. The quick dive stop had turned into a deep wreck excursion, followed by lunch inside a tiki 8 Melissa Good hut, followed by a very nice reef dive in the late afternoon. They hadn’t been doing that much diving lately, and Dar felt pleasantly tired and a little embarrassed that she’d forgotten to put on enough sunscreen and had mildly toasted herself.

Ah well. She stretched, hopped up onto the edge of the boat, and stepped off onto the dock. Kerry was returning from opening up the cabin, a splash of pink making her fair lashes stand out vividly. “Everything okay?”

“Looks like it.”

Kerry waited for Dar on the end of the dock, then fell into step beside her as they walked up the short path. Having started out as a ramshackle old barn for a larger house that had once stood nearby, the cabin had evolved beyond recognition since they’d first purchased it. They’d ripped down most of the original building and rebuilt, using native stone for the foundation.

In the rear, facing the water, there was a small porch. They climbed the two broad steps up to it and crossed to the door, the new planks squeaking a bit under their weight. Someday, Dar wanted a padded bench or maybe one of the swing chairs like they had at the condo out there, but at the moment the porch was just an empty space.

Kerry pushed the door open and they entered; the strong scent of fresh wood and varnish washed over them. Inside, they’d chosen to keep the wood walls and stone floors natural, and the large room in front would eventually have comfortable chairs where they could sit and look at the wonderful view out the big picture windows.