Her mother looked like she wanted to say more but instead simply nodded. “Yes, I wanted to stop at the store on the way. Is that a new coat you have there?” She examined the garment. “I don’t recall it.”

Kerry shifted her shoulders a little. “Yes, it comes with this zip-in liner.”

She opened a flap as she walked, knowing it would distract her mother. “We do get the occasional cold day down there.” The softly textured, chocolate-colored leather smelled wonderful, and if she concentrated, she could get a whiff of a familiar scent. Dar had looked at her in puzzled question when she’d asked her to put the thing on—the sleeves only coming halfway down Dar’s long arms, and the fabric tight over her broader shoulders. But Dar had as she was asked and had handed it back, watching in bemusement as Kerry then buried her nose into it and broke into a smile.

And she did again, watching the dull brown brick walls of the airport go by and taking a breath of cold air as they exited from the terminal into a cloudy November day. A thin drizzle was falling, dusting them with moisture as Kerry glanced around, taking in the gray and brown landscape, where trees had already shed their leaves and the grass its color. It struck Kerry’s eyes as strange, almost alien, so used to the vivid colors of the subtropics as she was now.

She followed her mother to the car, where a driver was waiting, pulling open the door as they approached. He took Kerry’s bags from her, and she slid in after her mother, leaning back in the soft seat and folding her arms over her chest after she put her laptop case between herself and the car door. Her mother spoke to the driver, and she let her thoughts drift back to that morning, before she and Dar had left the apartment . She’d found the taller woman gazing at the sunset lithograph in her living room as she’d come out of the bedroom and crossed to her.

“Dar…I…” She’d held something in her hand. “After that break in, I…would you hold on to something for me?”

Startled blue eyes had turned to her. “Sure.”

She’d held out her hand, and by reflex Dar had lifted hers to meet it. She put a small, round object in its palm. “It’s been in my family forever. My great-aunt gave it to me.”

The ring was ancient and delicate, a traced filigree with a barely visible round inset. It was a very simple design, a bird’s head in profile on a darker background, but she’d always loved it. “Just hang on to it till I get back, all right?” she’d asked Dar.

Long fingers had closed gently over it. “All right.” Had Dar understood what Kerry was trying to tell her, by giving her something to keep that was so important to her? She hoped so.

“Kerry?”

She turned and gazed at her mother. “I’m sorry? I was just thinking.”

Cynthia Stuart was a thin, aristocratic woman with pinched features and wavy, silvered brown hair. Her eyes were the same green as Kerry’s, but that’s Tropical Storm 379

where the resemblance stopped, and she stood several inches taller than her eldest daughter. “Now, listen to me, dear, I want you to promise me you’ll hold your tongue on this nonsense of your staying in Miami. Your father has some definite plans, and I don’t want him upset over the holiday.”

Kerry simply stared at her. “Mother, I have no problem with not saying anything…as long as you understand I have no intention of moving back here.”

Her mother sighed. “Kerry, I don’t understand what’s gotten into you.”

“Maybe I’ve just grown up, Mother,” Kerry replied in a gentler tone. “I’m twenty-seven, I think I’ve got a right to a say in my own life.”

“It’s all a question of what’s best for you, Kerry. Why can’t you see that?”

her mother’s voice became upset. “You’re down there in that dangerous place, with no family around you. What if something were to happen to you?”

Kerry looked away. “I have a lot of friends there,” she said. “Some I’m very close with.”

“Friends are not family, Kerrison, you know that. And, what about Brian?” Her mother changed the subject.

“What about him?” She looked at her mother.

“Honey, you’re getting married to him in the spring. Or have you forgotten that?” Her mother was getting more upset.

Bite the bullet time. “Mother, I like Brian very much, and he’s always been one of my best friends, but we haven’t spoken since August. I just don’t think we have much in common anymore.”

Her mother stared at her in shock. “Don’t you dare say that,” she snapped. “Don’t you dare. Do you know how long we’ve been planning this?”

She fussed with her purse, slamming it open and shut. “You had just better not say that to your father.”

Kerry leaned back and closed her eyes. “Fine.”

“Give me one good reason why the two of you can’t be married,” her mother went on. “It’s ridiculous.”

I could answer her honestly. Kerry mused. She glanced at her mother’s face and decided giving her a heart attack was probably not the best idea at the moment. “Mother, let’s talk about this later. All right?”

The older woman’s hands were shaking. “You make me very upset.”

Kerry sighed and gazed out the window at the rows of winter-grayed trees. It was going to be a very, very long weekend.

IT WAS, DAR decided, too quiet. She closed the door to her condo behind her, and moved into the living room, setting her gym bag down on the couch and letting out a long breath. She was tired, having just spent the last three hours at the gym, teaching the beginner’s class as she’d promised. She then took two hours to spar with Ken, giving her body a workout that was probably a little more than it really was in any condition to handle at the moment. But she hadn’t been as rusty as she’d been afraid of, which was a pleasant surprise. She had even managed to deliver a combination kick at the very end of the session that had amazed her and knocked poor Ken flat on his butt on the mat.


380 Melissa Good That had felt pretty damn good, given that the man was five years younger than she was and in better shape on top of that. A faint smile curved her lips. She’d almost forgotten how much she liked that feeling. How much she liked the physical competition, and the satisfying release of a pent-up aggression that left her feeling a lot more relaxed.

But not totally. There was still that knot of worry in her gut that had Kerry’s name written all over it. As she had all day, she found herself wondering how Kerry was faring. With a sigh, she trudged into the kitchen, stretching out the stiffness that had settled in her shoulders during the drive home and reaching into the cabinet for a mug as she glanced at her terminal.

Mail. Of course. “Mail. Read.” She poured milk into the mug and added chocolate to it.

“Mail, sixteen items, three urgent.”

“It’s the day before Thanksgiving, what in the hell could be urgent?” Dar queried wryly as she stuck her mug in the microwave and turned it on.

“Display.”

The list came up, and she scanned it. “Read six.”

Sent by: Stuart, Kerry

Subject: Hell

Time: 6:00 PM

Hi.

They were wrong, Dar... Hell isn’t a fiery pit. It’s a two story ranch home in Michigan. I’ve been here six hours, and I want to kill everyone already. My sister’s due here any minute, then we get to have the first of the family dinners. Lucky for me, I don’t get to see Brian until tomorrow.

So far we haven’t talked about the situation, but

I’ve gotten criticized for just about everything else.

One more round of that, and I just may lose it.

I miss you. Gee, that sounds goofy, doesn’t it? Well, I’m going to go change...I may put on that Navy

sweatshirt you gave me just to annoy my parents. Might as well take my fun where I can find it, right? Wish me luck.

K

“Reply,” Dar said softly.

“Hey, glad you dropped me a note. I’ve been thinking about you all day and wondering how things were going.”

Dar paused as the microwave beeped, and she removed the mug.

“I just got home. I taught that class tonight, missed having you in it.”

She took a sip.


Tropical Storm 381

“Then I worked out with Ken for two hours, and boy, am I feeling it. I’m going to take my hot chocolate and go sit in the whirlpool for a while.”

She smiled at the screen.

“Wish you were joining me.” She paused.

“Send.” Dar watched the message process, then she sighed and reviewed the rest of the list. “Read ten.”

Urgent

Sent by: Alastair McLean

Subject: no subject

Time: 9:56 PM

Dar—

What the hell is this?:

<<Attached message ->>

Mr. McLean,

In the interests of promoting and maintaining

excellent relations between our two companies, I find myself forced to bring a matter to your attention, in hopes that you will address it in the proper manner.

While at our facility this month, one of your

officers was observed in an inappropriate relationship with a subordinate, and we feel that this is not a good indication of how your company deals with discipline and presentation.

Please review the attached at your discretion, and take whatever action you deem appropriate.

Michelle Graver

<<End text attachment>>

<<photo1.jpg>><<photo2.jpg>><<photo3.jpg>> Dar exhaled. Bitch. “Reply.”

“Hi, Alastair.”

She paused a moment, considering.