Melissa Good - Tropical Storm

“Oh my god, that was amazing!” Kerry blurted immediately. “Did you see those silver fish? They were making faces at me!” She pulled her mask off, and pushed her wet hair back. “And those purple things. What were those purple things? There were these little translucent squiddy things, too. What were they?”

Laughing, Dar held up a hand. “Whoa, take it easy. Let’s get back on the boat and we can talk about it, okay?” She had Kerry hand her the gear, and she put it onto the deck, then lifted herself up and extended hand to the smaller woman. “Here, grab on.”

Kerry felt herself being pulled up and she grabbed the railing, getting onto the deck far more easily than she had anticipated. “Wow.” She smiled at Dar in delight. “Thank you! I really, really mean that.”

Dar smiled back. “Always like to see another convert.” She chuckled, ducking into the cabin and coming back out with two towels. “ Let’s get dried off, and I bet you’re hungry.”

Kerry felt her stomach growl. “Okay, I give. How did you know that?”

Dar’s tanned fingers waved dismissively. “Diving does it. I am too.”

They sat in the sun, drying off and sharing lunch as Kerry peppered her companion with questions about sea life. Dar stretched out on one of the cushioned benches, putting her hands behind her head and closing her eyes as she answered. Kerry eventually ran out of queries and took the other bench, relaxing against its slightly rough surface with a contented sigh. “Ill wind blows nobody whatever, huh?” she commented wryly.

“Mmm.” Dar turned her head slightly and regarded the younger woman.

“You could say that.” She studied the slim frame, sleek in its purple fabric, then her eyes closed again as the sun bathed them in rich golden light. “Glad we remembered sunscreen.”

“Uh huh,” the fair-skinned woman agreed. “Otherwise, I’d turn the color of a lobster,” A silence fell, and Kerry mused thoughtfully to herself for a bit, Tropical Storm 145

then she turned to ask Dar a question. She bit it back when she saw that Dar was peacefully asleep. With a contented smile, she shifted to get a little more comfortable, then let her own eyes close as well.

A SEAGULL, ARCHING overhead and complaining, nudged Dar awake, and she reluctantly opened her eyes, slightly startled by the low arc of the sun .

Oh damn. She yawned and stretched, rubbing her face with one hand as she sat up. The boat was bobbing gently, and she glanced around, not seeing her companion until she half stood and spotted her on the very front of the bow, her knees tucked up against her chest as she gazed out at the horizon. The sun was hitting her from the back and brought out gentle red highlights in her otherwise blonde hair, and Dar felt a smile on her lips she really had little control over.

“Hey.” She climbed up onto the bow and settled down at Kerry’s side.

“You shouldn’t have let me sleep so long.”

Eyes the color of the sea around them peered at her from under sun-lightened brows. “I just woke up myself. And you looked so peaceful, I didn’t have the heart to wake you up.” Kerry smiled. “I know last night wasn’t very comfortable, so…” She shrugged. “It was kinda like catching up.”

Dar leaned back against the cabin wall and nodded. “That’s true. Guess we’d better get going on in, though. Power should be back on and I can get you home.”

“Yeah,” Kerry murmured, resting her chin on her knee.

Silence settled, save the soft rippling of the waves. Dar finally cleared her throat a little. “Listen, I, um…I wanted to apologize.”

Kerry’s brows knitted and she turned her head. “For what? Dar, it’s not your fault a storm came up.”

Dar held up a hand. “No. For what happened with Associated.”

“Mmph.” There was a brief pause. “Well, it’s all right, I mean, it worked out.”

“But it wouldn’t have,” Dar admitted with a sigh. “If you hadn’t stood up to me and made me take a second look at what I was doing, it wouldn’t have.” She fell silent for a moment. “I’ve been doing this for a long time, and I never stopped to think about how the people I was doing it to felt.”

“Oh.” Kerry absorbed this. “It was hard,” she acknowledged. “I felt like it was so hopeless sometimes, and then when you called. Boy.” She looked out at the water and shook her head. “It hurt.” She glanced sideways and watched Dar’s eyes narrow, her sight firmly focused on the horizon. “But you were doing your job.”

“Yes,” Dar murmured. “I know. That’s why it puzzled me when, after all that, you wanted to come help me do it to other people.”

“Maybe the next time something like that comes up, I can get you to think twice again,” Kerry answered simply.

Blue eyes looked directly into hers. “What if you can’t?”

Kerry thought about that. “I’ll just keep trying,” she answered quietly. “I have a lot of patience.”

Dar ducked her head and chuckled. “Fair enough.” She pushed herself to 146 Melissa Good her feet and made her way back to the console. “Hang on, I’m bringing up the anchor.”

Kerry scrambled off the bow and settled herself onto the cushioned bench, leaning against the railing and extending her legs into the lowering sunlight. The city was backlit in molten gold. Wishing she had a camera to capture the sight, she swung around and kept it in her view as Dar turned the boat and headed for shore.

“MORNING, MARIA.” DAR settled back in her seat as the ferry made its way toward the causeway.

“Dios mío, Dar. You cannot believe the smells in here this morning. It is like a thousand cats pee-peed on the rug,” the secretary informed her. “I have an orange stuck into my nose.”

“Did maintenance arrange for a carpet cleaning service?” Dar inquired, wincing at the thought of the stench. “Never mind, just put me through to Jack Eierdall.” She waited a moment, then a gruff voice answered. “Jack? Dar Roberts.” She listened. “We need a steam cleaner in there today, Jack, not two days from now … That’s not acceptable.” Another wait and protesting tones.

“I don’t give a rat’s ass about your cousin. I’ll get a commercial crew in and bill you back for it at cost plus if you don’t get ’em in there today.”

Dar inspected a nail, then flexed her hand where the skin was just a little tight from the sunburn she’d gotten on Saturday. “Look, cut the crap. Bottom line, I see the truck by the time I get there, or I call in Stanley Steamer Corporate. G’bye, Jack.” She hung up the line, then dialed again. “Maria?”

“Si.” The secretary sneezed. “Oye, excuse me, Dar.” She shuffled some papers. “You have a meeting at eight thirty, remember—the executive committee, and you have three client briefings after that.”

Dar sighed. “I know. Listen, block out my morning tomorrow, until at least lunchtime, and Kerry’s too.” She paused. “She’s, um…she has to drive me to an appointment I have to go to.”

After a period of shocked silence, Maria said slowly, “All right, I will do that. Is it…a business meeting? I…”

“No,” the executive said quietly, “I’m having some tests done. It’s all right, nothing major. I just don’t know what kind of medication they’re going to give me and didn’t want to risk driving myself.”

“Dios mío. All right, I’ll put that down. I’ll have to cancel your account meeting with Travel and Transport, Dar.”

“Aw, shucks,” Dar drawled. “Reschedule it for sometime extremely inconvenient to them, will you?”

“Tch, Dar.” Maria laughed shortly. “You are so bad.” She hesitated. “I have my rosary here. What kind of tests for you, so I’ll know how to pray?”

Dar blinked at the phone, too stunned to answer for a moment, then she exhaled. “It’s nothing, I … They’re not sure, really, Maria, just maybe a leaky valve or something. It’s really not anything to worry about, but thanks for offering.”

148 Melissa Good

“Mi madre.” The older woman sighed. “Ay, good morning.” She held the phone away from her mouth. “Excuse me, what?” Dar heard a muffled exchange, then Maria came back. “Dar, they lost some big thing in New York.”

“Oh, hellinahandbasket.” Dar covered her eyes. “New York down on a Monday morning. What did I do to deserve this?” She angled the Lexus up the ramp and turned left onto the causeway. “Look, I’m about five or ten minutes out. Have whoever is on duty in the MDF call Netops and find out exactly what’s down, and warn Northeast region, especially service recovery, that we’ve got a problem.”

“Okay, okay. Ah, good morning. Thank you, thank you, chiquita.”

Maria’s voice warmed, and Dar could hear another voice in the background, which brought a smile to her face.

“Dar, Kerry is here, she says she’ll take care of it.”

“Good morning, Kerry.” Dar chuckled. “Thanks, how was the rest of your weekend?”

“Eh.” Kerry’s voice was noncommittal. “Let’s not talk about that. Does the term sewer backup mean anything to you?”

“Ouch.” Dar winced, as she turned left onto Brickell.

“Yeah, it’s almost as bad as it is in here,” Kerry told her. “Well, I’m going to go call Netops. I’ll try to have a status for you by the time you get here.”

Maria’s voice came back on the line and the muffled sound of a door closing could be heard in the background. “She is such a nice girl, Dar,” the secretary told her approvingly. “That was so sweet of her to take you home on Friday.”

“Yes, it was.” Dar swung into the parking lot, noting a wildly careening truck just behind her. The truck pulled right up to the service entrance, and four men got out, pulling out carpet-cleaning equipment. She grinned mercilessly. “Be right up.” She hung up the line and got out of the car, grabbing her briefcase before heading for the doors.