“What’s going on up here?”

Kerry indicated the album. “I was just showing Dar some of my baby pictures.”

“Gracious, how did they end up here?” Cynthia asked in astonishment.

“I put them up here,” Angie answered. “When father was looking to burn them.”

There was an awkward silence. “I see.” Cynthia sighed. “I had thought he’d gotten to them before I had and they were gone.

We had a horrible fight about that.” She gave her head a slight shake. “At any rate, I came up to find you, Kerrison, because I asked John to bring your and Dar’s things upstairs.” Cynthia paused, then took a breath. “I thought you might like the corner green room, perhaps.”

Kerry opened her mouth to decline the offer, then stopped, as her memory of the house kicked in. She peered up at her mother in honest surprise. “Um…that would be fine; sure. Hang on.”

Kerry slid a hand down Dar’s side and into her front pocket, and pulled out the car keys. “Here. Our bags are in the trunk.”

“Excellent.” Cynthia had regained her composure, and she took the keys. “Well, perhaps you’ll all come down for lunch. The reverend will be here, and several others of the family who asked to come over early.”

“Sure.” Angie nodded. “Sounds great.”

“Okay,” Mike agreed.

Cynthia gave them all a slight nod and left, closing the door behind her.

All three siblings stared at one another. “Son of a bitch.”

Kerry snorted. “Can you believe that?”

“No.” Angie shook her head. “No way, nu uh, not on this earth. What drugs are they giving our mother?”

“Wowza,” Mike breathed. “Did you score, or what?”


Thicker Than Water 117

Dar gently cleared her throat. “I think I’m missing something here. Someone want to fill me in?”

Mike crawled closer. “She put you guys in the green room.”

“I have uncles and aunts who never got in there,” Angie added. “For years.”

Dar looked at Kerry. “And?” Her eyebrows rose.

Kerry actually smirked. “It has only one bed. It’s where they put the honored, very married members of our family when they visit.” She still felt a sense of shock and amazement. “You have no idea what a big deal that is here.”

Dar absorbed this unexpected but gratifying news. “Does that mean we have to go out and get her a toaster?”

Kerry laughed, then got lost in wonder for a moment, her world suddenly becoming a topsy-turvey place where anything could, and apparently might, happen. “Yeah. I think it does.” She pondered the idea again, then shook her head. “Hey, want to go for a quick walk outside before lunch? I could show you the tree I took a header into once.”

“Sure.” Dar was glad of a reason to get out of the dry heat, even if it was to get into damp chill instead. “I’ll kick it for being so rude.”

Kerry closed the album and held out her hand. “You’re on.”

She gave her siblings a look. “You guys, too?”

“We’re in.” Angie and Michael got up.

“Lead on, sis,” Angie added. “We’re right behind you.”


Chapter

Eight

THE WEATHER, HOWEVER, intervened. The snow came down harder, almost a blizzard, and Dar found herself in the infamous “green room” staring out the window at a white fog so strange looking she found it hard to comprehend. Rain she was used to—Miami’s thundershowers were legendary for both their volume of water and speed of descent—but this white facsimile that made no sound was almost…spooky.

Dar turned as Kerry entered and closed the door behind her, then smiled as Kerry joined her at the window. “Hi.”

Kerry didn’t answer. She just wound her arms around Dar’s body and snuggled close, putting her head on Dar’s shoulder with a contented little grunt. “Can we sit down for a minute, because I’d really like to talk to you. I’ve got something I want to say, and I don’t want to wait.”

Dar blinked in mild alarm. “Sure.” She glanced around and pointed at a padded bench. “How about over there?” Kerry led her to it and they sat down. “What’s up?”

Kerry, staring very seriously into Dar’s eyes, cupped Dar’s cheek with her hand. The blue orbs widened slightly in reaction.

“I expected the worst today,” Kerry said very softly.

“I kind of thought so.” Dar stayed still, only the flexing of one hand against the bench betrayed her unease. “I’m glad it turned out better. I know how much your family means to you, Kerry.”

Her eyes dropped a little. “And I know how it feels not to have one.”

Kerry tilted Dar’s chin up with her other hand, so their eyes met again. “Do you know what the most wonderful part of today was?”

“Me singing the praises of your butt?”

“No.” Kerry did smile, though. “It was watching you lay yourself open to my family because you knew it would make me happy.”

Dar blushed a little. “Ah. You caught on. I thought I was Thicker Than Water 119

being subtle.”

“Mm hm.” Kerry kissed her. “Like your usual freight-train-at-full-speed, bad self.” She exhaled. “God, I love you.”

Dar relaxed, the tension running out of her shoulders and torso, and she tilted her head to return the kiss. Kerry’s hand slipped off her cheek and curled around her neck, pulling her closer for a long, sensual moment. Then they separated slightly and gazed into each other’s eyes.

“I thought maybe you’d be a little upset with me, teasing you like that,” Dar said. “I kind of crossed the line a few times.” She touched noses with Kerry, and watched her struggle to focus on her and not cross her eyes. “Though those pictures were adorable.”

“Thanks.” Kerry gave up and closed one eye, then just closed the other one and decided to kiss Dar instead. That didn’t require vision. “I personally think I was a goofy, chubby little kid, but if you want to think that’s cute,” she explored further with her lips,

“who am I to argue?”

“You were gorgeous then,” Dar brushed a bit of loose hair off Kerry’s forehead and traced an eyebrow, “and you certainly are now.”

Kerry smiled, obviously charmed, then chuckled softly. “I’m sorry, I’m finding this so ironic.”

“What?” Dar traced Kerry’s other eyebrow and outlined her eye.

“Where I am, why I’m here, who I’m with.” Kerry captured Dar’s finger in her teeth and explored the faintly ridged surface with a sensitive tongue. “Hey.” She released the digit and gazed at Dar. “How’s your arm?”

Dar flexed her shoulder very carefully. “Stiff. Aches a little.”

It was actually killing her. Even the drugs weren’t helping much, and Dar was beginning to worry that she’d actually done some serious additional damage to herself.

“From the weather, probably.” Kerry stood and held out a hand. “We’re snowed in right now. C’mon and lie down, and I’ll put some of that analgesic cream the doctor gave you on it.” A faint warning bell went off when Dar acquiesced without argument, and she led her lover to the bed and gently pushed her down onto it.

It was a nice bed, all things considered—a four poster with a stately canopy, fitting the room’s vaulted ceiling and wide expanse of mint green carpet to good proportion. The drapes on the window were also green, a slightly darker shade, and the furniture was whitewashed oak, providing a feeling of pleasant lightness to the room.

Kerry went to the divan where their bags were and rooted 120 Melissa Good around in Dar’s until she found the cream. “That’s pretty heavy snow out there, huh?” she commented, more to break the silence than anything.

“Yeah,” Dar said. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like this before.” She paused. “How long does it go on?”

Ah. Good question. Kerry sat down next to Dar’s reclining form. “Well, I heard the staff saying it should stop before dinner, so that’s good.” She unbuttoned Dar’s shirt, continued down, and tugged its ends out of her corduroys.

“Didn’t think the bruises went down that far,” Dar commented.

“They don’t,” Kerry replied seriously as she peeled back the fabric. “I just like looking at you with your clothes off.” She watched the muscles just under Dar’s skin contract as she laughed in silence. “Hey, I’m not lying.” She jumped a little when Dar’s cell phone went off, but then unclipped it from her waistband and handed it to her. “Here.”

Dar answered it. “Yeah?”

“Ms. Roberts? It’s central ops,” the voice answered.

Uh oh. “Yeah?” Dar repeated, mouthing the word “ops” to Kerry, who winced in reflex, then looked around for her own cell phone.

“I’m sorry to bother you, ma’am, but we have a big problem and we can’t reach Ms. Stuart.”

Dar glanced at Kerry, who had found her cell and opened it, a puzzled look on her face. Then she rolled her eyes, slapped her forehead in eloquent mime, and keyed the switch that turned it on. The device immediately beeped as stored messages sounded alerts.

Dar suppressed a smile, then put a crisp note into her voice.

“She’s taking care of some emergency family business. I told her to turn off her pager. What’s the problem?”

“Oh, sorry,” the operator said. “There’s a huge storm system going over the Midwest.”

Dar peered at the window. “Really?”

“Yes, ma’am. They’re having massive power outages in Chicago.”

“Again?” Dar murmured. “Hm. So how does that affect us?”

A thought occurred to her. “Oh, Jesus, don’t tell me the processing center’s down again.”

A sigh preceded the admission, “Yes, ma’am.”

“Shit,” Dar said. “Get me a contact list.”

Kerry had eased down next to Dar and was gently spreading some of the cream across her shoulder, while listening to the conversation. The Midway Center had been a bone of contention for Thicker Than Water 121