Dar dialed quickly. “Then I guess I’d better make sure everything’s on track at the office.”

Kerry nodded. “Um.” She bit her lip on a grin. “Want me to get you some frosted flakes?” Her eyes twinkled. “I think that would be better than ice cream for breakfast, though,” she cleared her throat, “not by much.”

Dar gave her a look as she listened to something on the phone, then hung it up. “Power’ll probably be back up after lunchtime, and they’ve got a generator running down at the beach club, so I think we’ll take a ride down there so I don’t have to get flack for my choice of breakfast cereals.” She paused and drummed her fingers on the phone, then turned and gazed out at the calming seas. “Matter of fact…you in the mood to take a ride?”

“A ride?” Kerry followed her gaze. “Oh, you mean on the boat?” She let out a sigh. “I’d love to, but I’m not exactly dressed for it.”

“Oh, we can fix that.” Dar grinned.

“We can? Well, okay. Sure. I’d like that…since we’re kinda stuck here, and it’ll be cooler out there, I guess.”

Half an hour later, they were in, of all things, a golf cart with Dar’s apartment number on it, dodging downed branches on the road which circled the island. Other carts were out and about, with sightseers and island staff, the former driving slowly and pointing, the latter dragging debris out of the way.

Kerry sat back and enjoyed the ride, as they went past clusters of apartments and drove around past a large structure, then circled the marina and ended up in a cluster of shops where the rumble of a generator was evident. She hopped out and followed her taller companion, who pointed at the doors as they went by.

“Video shop, bookstore, health food store, Island Market. Ah, here we go.” Dar pushed open the door of a small store which held various items of casual and beach apparel. “Think you can find something in here?”


Tropical Storm 139

Kerry made a beeline for a rack which held one-piece Speedos in rich, bold colors. “Oh yeah.” She grinned, checking the sizes and selecting a purple one, then choosing a pair of shorts and a tank top to go with it. She handed a credit card to the clerk, surprised when he merely stamped it on her charge ticket, then handed it back to her, along with a pen for her signature. She smiled up at him, receiving a shy smile in return. “Thank you.” She took her package and followed Dar out, catching up with her as she headed for the door to the market. “Dar, he didn’t check my credit card.”

“No.” Dar glanced sideways at her. “Not… Well, let me put it to you this way, Kerry—on this island, if you’re running a scam, it’s in the multibillions.

You don’t bother with little bitty stuff like bathing suits.” She held the door to the small grocery store open. “Besides, the only way you could get on the island is with a resident, which he knows I am. He figures if anything comes up bad, I’ll take care of it.” She paused. “Which, of course, I would.”

Kerry stopped short. “You don’t have to worry about that.”

Mild blue eyes regarded her. “I wasn’t,” Dar replied quietly. “Let’s pick up a couple of things to take on the boat with us. Might as well make an afternoon of it.”

They walked out with a cute little basket, which held, Dar discovered, a set of plates and silverware and was large enough for sandwich fixings and savory side orders. She flipped open her cell phone and dialed, getting Mark Polenti’s cell phone in two rings. “Hey.”

“Hey,” Mark replied over the faint sound of a rattling keyboard.

“Everything survived, no problems, just no power. It’s going to be mildewy as hell in there on Monday.”

“Good,” Dar murmured.

“You like mildew?” Mark answered confused.

“No, no. I mean, good that everything survived,” Dar explained. “All the processing get shifted up in time?”

“Yeah, everything except Bank of New Zealand. I went in and kicked their processors onto the generator and got them going,” the MIS chief muttered. “I’m dialed in now, remotely administering them. They had a payroll transfer due yesterday and according to them, you don’t pay those guys, they get real ugly.”

Dar smiled. “Good work, Mark. Thanks for taking care of that for me.”

“Mmph.” Mark cleared his throat. “Heard you weren’t feeling great. You okay?”

A faint smile crossed Dar’s face. “Yeah, I’m fine, just had one hell of a headache. The weather probably brought it on.” She paused. “Poor old Kerry here volunteered to give me a ride home, then got stuck when the weather hit.” “Um, that explains her logging on from your terminal, I guess, “ Mark commented after a brief pause. “And why her car’s still in the parking lot. We moved it under the covered area in the back, along with about a half dozen others.”

“Thanks, I’m sure she’ll be glad to hear it.” Dar chuckled. “Well, I gotta go. I’ll have the cell phone on if you need me.” She hung up and steered the cart along the marina. “How about I drop you and this stuff off here, then go 140 Melissa Good grab some muffins or something for breakfast?” She suggested. “They took care of your car at work, by the way.”

Kerry nodded. “I know, I spoke to Andreas in security last night. That was really nice of them.” She hopped out as Dar slowed the cart to a halt at a particular slip, which had a nicely proportioned boat docked in it. “This it?”

“Yep, here.” She handed Kerry a set of keys. “The cabin should be stocked with towels and all that, and I had it filled with gas last week.”

“Great.” She smiled gently. “Thanks for trying to keep me amused, Dar.

You know you don’t have to. I don’t blame you for getting me stuck here.”

Blue eyes regarded her enigmatically. “I know, but we’ve got nothing better to do, so…” She waved, and started off down the dock, leaving Kerry to make her way carefully onto the gently rolling deck of the boat.

“STOCKED, SHE SAYS.” Kerry muffled a giggle as she explored the neatly made cabin of the cruiser. It had a small bathroom complete with an equally small shower and a tiny bedroom with a bed just large enough, maybe, for two people. So long as they really liked each other. She suspected Dar would have trouble with the length, though. The interior was warm polished wood, with blues and greens in the curtains that covered the portholes and the bedding on the bed. It felt warm and cozy, and welcoming.

She brushed her fingers against the fabric.

She liked it. It felt comfortable here, and she moved with the boat’s motion from long experience. “Well, onto the next area: the kitchen.” She put her bag down and ducked into the small galley, which had a compact refrigerator. She opened it, surprised to feel a residual coolness, then realized the boat must have been hooked up to dock power. She put the lunch fixings inside and closed the door, confident it would keep them cool enough until Dar started the engines up.

To one side was a microwave, range, and a sink with taps for both salt water and a limited tank of fresh water. A cupboard held nesting pots and two pans and unbreakable cups which were clipped in place and dangled softly as the boat moved. “This is pretty darn cool,” she commented to herself, turning around and surveying the area.

Outside the galley was a compact sitting space, with a wooden table surrounded by two built-in benches catty-corner to each other. A soft, comfortable-looking chair was bolted along the open end of the table, and both a television and a stereo were in closed, watertight cabinets overhead.

Kerry grinned, then ducked into the bedroom and changed into her new suit, checking her reflection in the mirror and scowling at it a little. She threw her shorts and tank top over it and tucked her borrowed T-shirt and shorts into a drawer, then she trotted up the stairs and onto the deck.

It was in two levels, one which held the bridge and controls, and the lower level which had thick cushioned seats on the long sides and across the back of the stern. Kerry lifted up the cushions, and in a storage compartment under the first one, she found safety gear, floatation devices, flares, and safety rings. Under the other were two full sets of scuba gear, including two tanks nestled into clips on the bottom. “And you never use this,” she chastised her Tropical Storm 141

absent boss. “Dar, what are we going to do with you?” She sat down for a moment and just shook her head. “Boy, if I had a place like this, and a boat, I’d be…” She imagined her friends over, and what great parties they could have.

Then she stopped and considered Dar’s words the previous evening. “You shouldn’t do this alone, and I…don’t have time, anymore.”

Don’t have time? Or was it that all these nice things were pretty useless if you didn’t have anyone to share them with? “C’mon, Dar, with your looks?

Don’t tell me you can’t get and keep a boyfriend,” she muttered. “They’d have to be out of their cotton-picking minds not to want to spend time with you.”

She swung her feet a little, thumping her heels against the fiberglass, thinking.

The soft whine of the cart approaching broke her reverie, and she turned to see Dar parking the vehicle in the small spot that seemed to be designed for it near the bow of the boat. She was carrying a pair of bags and hopped onto the deck with negligent grace, dropping down into the lower area with a chuckle. “They’re doing one hell of a brisk business.” She set the bags down.

“Everything all right?”

“Looks great.” Kerry noted that her companion had stopped back at the apartment to change into a bathing suit, which she was wearing under a long T-shirt. “This is like a regular floating hotel room.”