by Melissa Good
Dar settled back into the comfortingly soft leather and propped her leg up on the coffee table, sipping at her coffee and trying to make her body unwind. “What didn’t happen?” she asked rhetorically. “I knew this was going to end up a mess.”
”Wait, I’ll be right back,” Kerry said, heading off into the kitchen, depositing Chino in Dar’s lap on the way.
Dar shifted her position, stretching out on the couch and resting her head on the arm. ”Been quiet here?” she asked Colleen, more to fill the silence than anything else.
”Pretty much, yes,” Colleen answered, pushing her crimson hair back with a freckled hand. ”She was a good girl, except she managed to get a hold of a banana somehow and I had to chase her halfway round the earth to get it back.”
Dar smiled and rubbed the puppy’s head. ”Did you do that?” She watched Chino cock her head, the soft ears flopping over. ”Bananas are probably bad for puppies, huh?”
”Oh yeah.” Colleen laughed. ”Ours got into a bunch when she was a pup and ended up nonstop pooping for a week.” She glanced up as Kerry reentered, carrying a bowl and something in her other hand.
Kerry knelt next to where Dar was sprawled and handed her the bowl. ”Here you go.” She offered her the other hand. ”And here’s some aspirin for the knee.”
Dar balanced the bowl on her chest and took the aspirin, throwing them in the back of her mouth and washing them down with a mouthful of coffee. ”Thanks.” She set the cup down and rescued the ice cream from the interestedly sniffing Chino. ”Hold on there, that’s mine.”
Kerry chuckled and stood up. ”You want an ice pack?”
Dar shook her head. ”Nope,” she mumbled around a mouthful of ice cream, watching Kerry as she returned to the kitchen, coming back with a steaming bowlful of something and a fork.
”Col, there’s more of this if you want,” Kerry commented, waving the fork at her.
”Nope, had something just before you called, but thanks,” the redhead responded with a grin. ”Now, tell your tale, and I’ll be on my Hurricane Watch
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way. The cats will be glad to see me.”
Kerry sighed. ”Where do I start?” she said. “They sent us to a retreat upstate as sort of a team building exercise because everyone’s always fighting in our office.”
”Oh, lord, they sent our management away on one of those, and a branch manager came back pregnant,” Colleen responded. ”Hasn’t been another one since.”
Dar chuckled. ”I have a feeling we won’t be having many after this either.”
”Probably not.” Kerry gave her a look, then chewed a forkful of her leftover Schezuan chicken. ”Anyway, so we got there and...”
There was something soothing about Kerry’s voice, Dar decided, as she sucked on her ice cream. Even if she didn’t listen to all the words, the tone, rising and falling, getting louder to make a point, then dropping off, was as easy on her ears as Kerry’s adorable good looks were easy on her eyes.
Monday, she knew, was going to be an absolute disaster. She almost wished she could just call in sick, but that would leave Kerry to deal with it and that wasn’t fair. Dar scooped up the last of the frozen treat and was about to lick the spoon, when the beseeching brown eyes gazing up between her breasts got the better of her. ”Oh, all right.” She held up the spoon and watched Chino lick it clean, a tiny smudge of ice cream splotching her jet black nose. ”You like ice cream too, huh?”
The puppy made an eager noise and scrambled up, sticking her entire face in the empty bowl, smearing the chocolate all over her creamy fur. ”Hey, hey.”
”Dar, are you feeding that puppy ice cream?” Kerry sounded humorously outraged. ”I can’t believe it.”
”Well, no, that wasn’t my intention,” Dar protested, trying to get the puppy out of the bowl. ”Hey, get out of there.”
Chino finally gave up, pulled her head out of the bowl and licked her chops, then scrambled up and started to clean Dar’s face. ”Aww, c’mon.”
Kerry laughed. ”I know you gave her to me, Dar, but I gotta tell you, I think that’s your dog.”
”No.” Dar finally got the puppy to settle back down on her stomach. ”It’s not my dog, it’s your dog. She just likes to sit on me.”
”If you say so.” Kerry grinned, and went back to her story.
Dar listened for a minute, then put the bowl aside and wiggled into a more comfortable position. She felt her body finally start to relax, settling deeper into the soft leather and she decided to close her eyes, so she could concentrate on hearing the story.
”So then Dar just kind of cleared the decks with all of them, and we...” Kerry looked up as Colleen poked her. ”What?”
The redhead pointed and grinned.
Kerry glanced over and saw her lover fast asleep on the couch, the 104
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puppy snoozing on top of her, both looking contented as could be.
”Awww…” She couldn’t help smiling. ”Wait, I have to get a camera, shh.” She got up and dashed upstairs picked up the 35 millimeter camera on the dresser and headed back down.
”Shh, she’ll hear you,” Colleen whispered, watching her sneak forward and get into position.
”Okay, okay.” Kerry focused the lens expertly, wanting to get a perfect shot because she knew the flash would probably wake Dar up.
She framed Dar’s head and chest in the picture, along with the sleeping puppy, and pressed the shutter, hearing a click and seeing the bright pop of the flash go off.
Sure enough, sleepy blue eyes blinked at her as she lowered the camera, then glanced around the room dazedly. ”Oh, you didn’t,” Dar groaned piteously.
”Yes, I did.” Kerry grinned, clasping the camera to her. ”You looked sooooo cute, I couldn’t resist.”
Dar covered her eyes with an arm and sighed.
Colleen laughed. ”Well, that’s me signal to leave anyway. It’s getting late and I can get the bits and pieces of the rest from you tomorrow.” She stood and hugged Kerry. ”Take it easy you two, and I hope the knee feels better for you tomorrow, Dar.”
”Thanks.” Dar gave her a smile. ”And thanks for taking care of Chino.”
The redhead waved, and trotted out the door, leaving them looking at each other. ”You took my picture?” Dar whined. ”Keerrryyyy.”
”Oh, come on. The camera loves you and you know it. You could be covered in mud with a pig on your head and you’d still look fantastic, so be quiet, Dar Roberts.” Kerry put the camera on the table and crossed to her lover, kneeling down and scratching the sleepy Chino’s ears. ”You ready for bed?”
”Is that a question or an invitation?” Dar responded, with a sly grin.Kerry leaned forward and kissed her. ”Does that answer your question?”
Dar curled an arm around her and tugged her down, returning the kiss with enthusiasm. ”Oh yeah.”
Chino yawned, then burped, putting her head down along side Dar’s leg and hiding her eyes.
Chapter
Nine
KERRY AWOKE AS the sunlight hit her face and she blinked sleepily at the clock. ”Mm. It’s Sunday and I’m not in some bug infested cabin in north nowhere. This is good.” She was on her side, facing the door and a long arm was draped over her, attached to the sleeping woman snuggled up behind her.
She lifted her hand and flexed it, making a face at the stiff soreness in her fingers. ”Jesus, no one tells you doing that hurts. How do those guys on TV do it all the time?” She let her hand drop and put her head back down on the pillow, allowing the clean smell of the sun warmed linen to enter her lungs.
It was funny. Most of the time, she still thought of herself as this young kid, especially at work, when she would walk into that huge office and have to slap herself and say, “This is mine.”
Now here she was, waking up in this beautiful place with this beautiful woman wrapped around her, and damn it if she still didn’t have to slap herself and say, ”This is mine.”
She
curled her fingers around Dar’s and enjoyed the warm, living feel of them as they twitched against the bare skin of her stomach, and the gentle pressure of Dar’s breathing pressed lightly against her back.
This is mine. How did I luck into this? She turned her head and gazed at her lover’s face, open and relaxed in sleep.
Trusting. The faintest hint of a smile there. Dark hair disheveled and half obscuring one closed eye.
Which opened and collected sunlight into its pale blue depths as she watched, and the slim, perfectly arched brow above it lifted up.
”Something wrong?”
Kerry shook her head silently.
Dar snuggled a little closer and shrugged, then let her eyes close again. ”Good. I don’t feel like moving,” she muttered.
Kerry pressed back against her gently, letting her own eyes drift closed. Dar almost never slept in and she suspected the previous day had taken more out of Dar than she was willing to admit, but if it gave her an excuse to laze around in bed all morning, was she going to complain?
Nu uh. No way. She wrapped her fingers more firmly around Dar’s and dozed back off.
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DAR WAS VERY reluctant to move. She’d finally found a really comfortable spot, where her knee was gently supported by Kerry’s muscular legs and the aching had subsided a little, allowing her to sleep.But an open eyelid showed that it was late morning and she knew that at the very least, poor Chino needed to be taken care of. She eyed the still sleeping Kerry and grinned a little, enjoying the look of childlike pleasure Kerry always had when she was dreaming. Slowly, Dar slid away from her lover and rolled onto her back, straightening her leg out cautiously.
Ow. She exhaled in disgust. She eased the comforter back and regarded her knee with a jaundiced eye, noting the extended bruising and the continued swelling of the affected joint. Hesitantly she drew it up, encouraged a bit when she found she could bend it a little more than the previous night, and the sharp pains seemed to have subsided to a continuous, dull ache.
With a sigh, she rolled over and got to the edge of the water bed, levering herself up and out of the warm comfort mostly using her arms.
Then she cautiously put a little weight on the leg and winced, sucking in a breath and grabbing the dresser.
Damn, damn, damn. She limped heavily over to the dresser and got into a pair of shorts by sitting on the edge of the bed. Then she rummaged in a lower drawer and found an old knee brace she’d used back in the old days, when this stuff had practically been an everyday occurrence. ”Well, it’s better than nothing,” she muttered, examining it, then slipping it on and adjusting it over the joint.
Standing, she found she could put a little more pressure on the leg, enough for her to walk, albeit with a limp. She moved into the living room after slipping into a cutoff half sweatshirt, walking gingerly around for a few moments to test the brace.
Ugh.
Chino heard her coming, and she started jumping up and down, whimpering until Dar let her out of the utility room. ”C’mon, sweetie.”
She opened the back door and let the puppy out, stepping out onto the back porch to watch while the bouncing animal raced around the small, fenced in area, and spent apparently enormous brain energy in picking a spot to relieve herself.
”Another example of human mental superiority,” Dar told the puppy. ”We don’t waste time choosing where to pee.” The cool air fluttered her shirt’s ragged half sleeves and brushed against the bare skin of her stomach, and she took a moment to breathe in the salty air as she stretched in the warm sunlight.
Then she ran a hand through her disordered hair and limped inside, followed by the eager puppy, who bounced all over the kitchen until Dar retrieved the scoop and dished out some puppy kibble.
”Whoa, whoa, take it easy, Chino. Chew it, okay? Don’t choke.” She Hurricane Watch
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watched the animal devour the food like an animated vacuum, chuckling as she shook her head.
Then she turned and leaned on the counter as she got some coffee started. ”Let’s see, Chino, do we have breakfast?” She opened the cabinet and took down a bright blue box, shaking it gently. ”Hmm, we sure do.” Then she considered. ”Hey, what if I make your mom some breakfast as a surprise?”
Chino turned and looked at her, then sneezed and went back to her food.”Everyone’s a damn critic,” Dar replied, with a snort. ”Okay, so I’m not Julia Child, but I can make breakfast.” She glanced into the refrigerator. ”I’m sure I can. I run a damn zillion dollar operation. I can figure out how to use the toaster.”
Chino barked at her.
”Are you laughing at me, Miss Puppy?” Dar put a hand on her hip and glared at the animal. ”We’ll see if you get any treats from me today.” She limped around the kitchen and got out the bread and butter, with some jelly for toast. ”Okay, I can handle toast. What do you think, can I do pancakes?”
Chino’s gentle brown eyes widened.
”No, you’re probably right. I better stick to something easy, like eggs.” Dar decided, pulling out a carton of them. ”She likes them scrambled. How many eggs do you put in for that?” She inspected the round, white objects. ”Hmm, they look small, five or six, I guess, huh?”
She pulled out the eggs and put them on the counter, where they rocked gently. ”Okay, do we have...” She checked the freezer. ”Ah, yes.” She pulled out a package of frozen sausage. ”Brown and serve, already cooked. That’s good. I won’t give anyone botulism.”
The puppy barked, then wagged her tail.
”No comments from the peanut gallery.” Dar pointed the box at her. ”Okay. I need two pans, a dish for these eggs, and something to mix them up with. She peered in the cabinet. ”No, grits are a bad idea. Last time I tried making them I ended up having to throw the entire pot out.” She chuckled wryly at herself, as she got the two frying pans and a bowl out. ”Okay, first, break the eggs.”
She cracked the white shells and emptied their contents in the bowl, careful not to put shards in there. ”No, Kerry gets plenty of calcium. She doesn’t need to get surprised by little crunchy bits of it.”
She took a fork and mixed the eggs, after piercing the yolks to bleed a sluggish yellow in their depths. ”Do I put anything in them?” She looked at the spices doubtfully. ”Mm, maybe just a pinch of salt and pepper.” She shook a little of both spices in and continued mixing.
”Okay, that looks good.”
She put the flame on two burners, and let the pans heat up. ”Are you supposed to put anything in these, I wonder?” She recalled watching a Louisianan cooking show on one of her last flights out, and 108
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remembered the chef putting half a stick of butter in a pan. ”Oh, right, something to keep it from sticking, okay.” She limped to the refrigerator and retrieved the butter, then cut a healthy sized cube off and let it drop into the pan. It sizzled immediately and spattered her. ”Yeow!”
Chino barked, then hid under the table.
”Okay, okay.” Dar stirred the butter around and watched it melt.
”They don’t warn you about that, do they?” she muttered, pouring the eggs in and turning the flame down. Then she dropped the contents of the sausage box into the other pan.
”I think I’ve got this under control, Chino.” Dar remarked, stirring the eggs with a wooden spoon. ”Yeah, there they go, out of the liquid stage into the Jell-O stage.” She paused and took a fork to the sausages, moving them around when they started to sizzle. ”Hey, that smells pretty good, huh?” She glanced down to see a puppy glued to her foot.
”Oh, yeah, I guess it does.” She stirred the eggs some more. ”Ah, out of the Jell-O stage, into the fluffy stage.” Triumphantly, she removed the pan from the fire. ”Yeow!!” She dropped it back down and turned off the fire hastily. ”Damn it, that’s hot.”
She rummaged for a pot holder, then managed to get the pan off the stove, scooping the eggs off into a plate. ”Okay.
So far, so good.” She turned her attention to the sausage, poking them hesitantly. ”Well, they look hot.” She rolled them over. ”Oh, brown, right, I got it, brown and serve. That must be the brown part.”
She let them continue to cook for a moment and stuck a few pieces of bread in the toaster, turning it on. ”Now this, I can’t screw up.” She nodded briskly at it. ”Kerry fireproofed the controls after that damned bagel set off the fire alarm.” She turned the sausages a few more times as the bread toasted, then added them to the plate of eggs, and caught the bread as it popped out.” Hey, we’re doing good here, Chino, doing good, and I didn’t even manage to—”
A gentle throat clearing interrupted her monologue and she glanced up, startled, to see Kerry leaning against the doorway, a thin tshirt covering her to her thighs, her hair loosely disheveled around her face. ”What are you doing?”
Dar felt a stupid grin crossing her face as she regarded her sleep rumpled lover, who was looking at her from under lazy blonde lashes.
”Um...”
Kerry entered the kitchen and glanced at the full, gently steaming plate. ”Where did this come from?”
Dar held out the plate. ”I made it,” she announced proudly. ”I was going to surprise you in bed, but...”
Kerry broke off a corner of egg and nibbled it. ”Mm.” She gave Dar a look of delighted surprise. ”Very good.” She took the plate from her friend’s hands and put it down on the counter as her eyes traveled down Dar’s body.
I’ve closed million dollar deals that haven’t felt this good, Dar Hurricane Watch
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reflected in a moment of quiet clarity. ”I was just getting some toast.”
She shifted awkwardly and picked up the bread, feeling a warm hand on her bare side. ”Hmm?”
”Tell you what.” Kerry leaned over and kissed her belly button gently. ”I’ll take this outside and you,” She handed her the portable phone. ”Call Dr. Steve.” Her fingers dropped to touch the brace.
”Okay?”
”Um, it feels a lot better today.” Dar objected hopefully. ”Really, Kerry, it does. This brace really helps.”