Red Sky At Morning - DK4

by Melissa Good

  “I will. Talk to you later, cute stuff.”

  “All right,” Kerry replied. “Love you.”

  “Love you, too.”

  Kerry folded the phone and juggled it in her hands as she leaned back, definitely feeling the knots unraveling in her stomach. Her headache was still there, but the tension she’d felt all morning was dissipating. She stood up and stowed her phone, then tugged her sleeves a bit straighter and made her way into the cafeteria.

  DAR BRACED HER boots against the lower railing on the small porch she’d rediscovered near the back end of the training area. There was a small hard bench built against the wall, and just enough cover to avoid being soaked by the still-heavy rain outside.

  Ah, Kerrison. Dar sighed silently. What in the hell would I do without you? She’d been thumping herself over her reaction to Chief Daniel, but now she sat back and considered it more objectively. The woman had locked them into a closed place and come at her in a threatening manner, aggressively shoving her back against a bulkhead.

  What was the chief expecting to happen? Had she really expected Dar to break down and blubber or something? Dar folded her arms Red Sky At Morning 111

  across her chest. Maybe that’s what Daniel had been looking for, to see how far she could push Dar before Dar pushed back.

  Or.

  Maybe she’d been hoping Dar would take a swing at her, and give her grounds to force the base commander to take action.

  Hmm. In that case, her response had been appropriate, with just enough force to prove her point and not enough aggression to get her in trouble. Hey. Dar rubbed her jaw and had to laugh. Only took thirty years for you to figure out how to balance that act. Way to go, Dardar!

  With a sigh, she stood up and grabbed her bottle of peach iced tea, draining it before she made her way back through the small door and into the corner cul-de-sac that it opened onto. Once upon a time it had been a larger suite, and the porch a perk of some big shot’s corner office, but time, and changing needs, had forced the Navy to throw up wood and plasterboard walls to divide up the space.

  Dar put a hand on one of the worn wooden doorways and gazed down the hall, debating over what to do next. Her decision was made, however, when Chief Daniel swung out of Operations Center and spotted her, turning on her heel and heading toward Dar with a determined look.

  Dar chose to remain where she was, and she leaned against the doorframe, folding her arms and watching the other woman approach.

  “Interested in round two?” she asked as Daniel came within close earshot. A ghostly Kerry poked at her and she squirmed. “Or would you rather just go have lunch?”

  Chief Daniel opened her mouth to answer, held it open for a moment, then closed it and released her breath with a sigh.

  “C’mon. I’ll buy.” Dar straightened up. “We’re both grownups.

  Let’s act like it.”

  Clearly, the chief had been caught by surprise. She hesitated for a long beat, then lifted both hands a little and let them fall. “What the hell. All right, Ms. Roberts. You’re giving me a pain the size of an aircraft carrier, so I might as well get a meal out of it. Lead on.”

  They found a table in the back of the mess and sat down with trays of open-faced turkey sandwiches. Dar opened her carton of milk and drank directly from it, watching her reluctant lunch partner mess with a pile of lettuce and tomatoes.

  “So.” Chief Daniel neatly sliced her salad into manageable chunks.

  “You’re Big Andy’s kid.”

  Dar cocked her head to one side. “Yes, I am.”

  The Chief looked up, meeting her eyes. “You could have said that right off.”

  “Why?” Dar shot back. “Shouldn’t make a damn bit of a difference.”

  Daniel snorted and shook her head. “Can the bullshit, lady. It matters, and you know it does. Did you think you’d have an advantage 112 Melissa Good by acting like a clueless outsider?” She picked up her glass of iced tea and took a sip. “Here I think I’ve got some dumb civ making my life miserable, and it turns out I’ve been hauling around some damn smartass Navy brat.”

  “Oh. You mean I could have skipped the howitzer-up-the-ass attitude if I’d told you up front I grew up here?” Dar inquired. “Maybe you should have done your homework, Chief. I have a file on you an inch thick.”

  The chief stopped eating and put her silverware down, staring at Dar with a look completely devoid of humor. “What in the hell do you mean by that?”

  Dar merely watched her, sucking idly on her milk. She waited for the veins to start emerging on the ginger-haired woman’s temples, then she finally replied. “Relax. There’s nothing outstandingly scary in it.”

  She actually didn’t have that much, but the reaction she’d gotten from the comment made her itch to have Mark search further.

  Daniel sat there, breathing hard for a moment. “You’re a real son of a bitch, aren’t you?”

  A charming smile appeared on Dar’s face. “I can be.” She paused.

  “If I’m forced into it.” One finger pointed at the sailor. “So be smart, and don’t.” She set the milk down and picked up her fork, spearing a bit of mashed potatoes and tasting them.

  “Sure you weren’t adopted?” the chief shot back.

  The corner of Dar’s lips quirked. “I’ve looked in a mirror enough times to know I wasn’t.” She took a bite of turkey. “But feel free to ask my dad if you want.”

  Hazel eyes narrowed, and the chief bit down on her fork with a vicious scrape of teeth on metal. Then her face relaxed, and she snorted softly. “No, thanks. I don’t want my fingers pulled off if he hears I laid one of them on his precious offspring.” Her eyes searched the angular, intense features across the table, strange and familiar at the same time.

  She felt like kicking herself for not realizing who this bitch was before, then she felt like kicking the damn commander for not telling her.

  Bastard. She bet he and Perkins were laughing their asses off at her.

  And what was in that file? The chief was uncomfortably aware of the sharp intelligence behind those blue-tinted ice chips that were watching her. Evaluating her. Daniel swallowed and reviewed her options. She knew Andrew Roberts and had a healthy respect for him, but she now realized his often spoken of only child was a danger of a much higher degree.

  What the hell was she going to do?

  The loudspeaker’s crackle almost made her jump, and she looked up at the speaker just as Dar did, the younger woman’s head tilting to one side as she listened.

  “Attention, attention all personnel. We have just received notification that flooding has closed both Card Sound Road and US 1.

  Red Sky At Morning 113

  Be advised that all deliveries to and from the mainland have been canceled until further notice. If you were scheduled to be transported north today, please see your unit commander immediately.”

  Groans rose around them. Daniel snorted and recovered a bit of her balance at the perceptible annoyance in Dar’s expression. “Guess you’re stuck here. Just our luck.” Possibilities, though, started occurring to her.

  Dar sighed, ignoring her sarcasm. “I knew I should have stayed in bed this morning.” She removed her cell phone from its clip and dialed a number, holding the phone to her ear and turning away slightly.

  Yeah, Chief Daniel mused. Maybe you should have.

  Chapter

  Seven

  “UGH.” KERRY DROPPED into her chair and leaned back, releasing a huge sigh and closing her eyes briefly. Very briefly, since her intercom buzzed a second later. “Yes?”

  “Ms. Kerry, my mother says to tell you that they have closed the roads that are going to the Keys.” Mayte’s voice held a hint of anxiety.

  “She is worried about Ms. Roberts.”

  Oh, crap, Kerry cursed to herself. “She said she was trying to get out of there early, Mayte. I’ll call her. I hope she’s almost back here by now.” She reached for her phone and almost dropped it as it rang at the s
ame moment. “Gah—whoops. Hello?”

  “Hi.” Dar’s voice sounded resigned. “Guess where I’m stuck.”

  Kerry winced in pure reflex. “I just heard about the roads. That totally sucks large rocks, Dar.”

  “I know,” Dar said. “I took care of getting you a ride home, though.”

  Jesus. I forgot I needed one. Kerry mentally slapped herself. “Honey, you didn’t have to do that. I’m sure I could beg a ride from someone here.” It was, however, a typically Dar thing for her to do, given her partner’s meticulous attention to details. “But thank you.”

  “Well,” Dar chuckled softly, “don’t thank me just yet. It’s my dad who’s coming to get you.”

  Eeerup. Kerry winced. “Ah. Did you think my life was lacking some excitement today or something?” she replied. “Maybe he’ll let me drive.

  You think?”

  “You can ask. He generally caves in to whatever you want,” Dar answered. “Just like I do,” she added, with a verbal twinkle in her tone.

  “Hey, I think I’m making some progress with the chief. I tried to do what you’d have done.”

  Still distracted by the prospect of being picked up by Andrew, Kerry almost didn’t respond. “Uh...oh, did you? What did you do?”

  “Took her to lunch.”

  Kerry smiled. “Good girl.”

  “Then I told her if she didn’t behave, I’d have to really get nasty.”

  “Oh.” Kerry covered her eyes and laughed silently. “Gotta work on that part, huh?”

  Red Sky At Morning 115

  “Eh.” Dar sighed. “Maybe it won’t be so bad down here. A couple of the guys I grew up with just tracked me down. They wanna take me out to the local bar and trade no-shit stories for a while. They found me a bed just in case the roads don’t open back up.”

  “You have your kit, right? I know I repacked it after the trip to the Keys.” Kerry drummed her fingers on her desk. “Don’t take a chance, okay? If the weather’s bad, just stick around down there. I’d kinda be worried if I knew you were driving up Card Sound at night.” She paused. “I’ll miss you, though. I was looking forward to a hug tonight.”

  A few beats of silence followed, then Dar cleared her throat. “I’ll make it up to you tomorrow, I promise. Okay?”

  “Okay,” Kerry agreed. “Call me later and let me know what’s up. I think I’m done with all my meetings today; now I just have a mailbox to wade through.” She glanced at her monitor. “Dar, how did you deal with all this crap everyone sends?”

  “Simple. Take everything that isn’t immediate operations and reply with ‘Could you please clarify why you’re asking me this?’” Dar told her. “I guarantee ninety percent of them won’t come back.”

  “Really?”

  “Really.”

  Kerry grinned and examined the ceiling over her head. “Thanks, boss. I’ll do that.”

  “Any time,” Dar said. “Talk to you later.”

  Kerry closed the phone and put it down, indulging in a few moments of daydreaming as she folded her hands over her stomach and swiveled her chair a little. “What a character,” she finally murmured with a helpless chuckle. Her intercom buzzed again, and she regarded it balefully for a moment before she answered. “Yes?”

  “Ms. Kerry?”

  “I just talked to Dar, Mayte. I’ll call your mom. She’s okay, she’s just stuck down at the base for now,” Kerry responded.

  “Sí, gracias, but there is a phone call for you, from the car place.”

  Car place? Kerry’s brow furrowed, then cleared. “Oh. Right. I’ll take it. Thanks, Mayte.” She released the intercom and hit the phone line.

  “Kerry Stuart speaking.”

  “Ms. Stuart? This is Laura Margoles from Beach Lexus. You sent in a vehicle request using the Internet this morning?”

  “That’s right,” Kerry confirmed.

  “Great.” The woman’s voice was cheerful and friendly. “We had what you wanted right in stock. I’ve got your paperwork done; when would you like to pick up the car?”

  “Really? Just like that?” Kerry was surprised. “Leather and everything?”

  “Absolutely!” Laura stated. “They’re detailing the car now, in fact.

  Shining it up and making sure everything’s in perfect condition for you.”

  116 Melissa Good Kerry turned in her chair and reviewed the rain lashing at her window. “They’re washing the car? Have you looked outside?”

  “Has to be nice and clean before we turn it over.” Laura’s enthusiasm didn’t miss a beat. “Would you like to stop by after work?

  We’re open until seven.”

  “All right.” Kerry grinned, finding herself anticipating the new acquisition. “See you before then.”

  “Excellent! Looking forward to it, Ms. Stuart. Have a great day!”

  Laura warbled happily.

  “Sure. You, too.” Kerry hung up, bemused. She regarded her quiet office for a moment, then idly spun herself around in her chair a few times. “Vroom vroom.”

  KERRY HAD SENT Mayte home earlier with María, and by the time she finished up her inbox, a quiet had settled over the building. She clicked on the last message to send it, then sat back and cupped her hands around her tea mug, sucking down the strawberry scented liquid as she watched her mail program transfer all her finished mail to storage folders.

  A relaxed strain of music was coming from her PC speakers, which were tuned to an Internet radio station that mostly played New Age Celtic. She flexed her bare feet under her desk and sighed, glad the long day was over.

  A soft knock sounded. “C’mon in.” Kerry looked up, a smile already crossing her face as the door opened and Andrew Roberts’s familiar head poked inside. “Hey, Dad.” She got up and trotted across the carpeted floor as Andrew entered. Her father-in-law was wearing a dark-blue rain jacket with its hood up, and he pushed the hood back and unzipped the jacket as she threw her arms around him in an unhesitating hug. “Ooh...it’s good to see you.”

  Unseen by Kerry, a smile crossed the ex Navy SEAL’s scarred face as Andrew returned the embrace. “Well there, kumquat. It’s good t’see you, too.”

  Topping Dar’s slightly over six-foot height by almost five inches, Andrew towered over Kerry by almost a foot, and his large, broad-shouldered and still-muscular body had the same solid feel. She loosened her grasp and gazed up at him, catching the grin before he could discard it. Eyes the same shade as her lover’s twinkled back at her, set in a face that, despite its very masculine ruggedness, still brought Dar to mind in its planed cheekbones and angular shape.

  “Thanks for coming to rescue me.”

  Andrew snorted softly. “Since Dar saw fit to go and abandon you, I figured it’d be a good idea.”

  “She didn’t abandon me.” Kerry gave him a friendly poke. “She’s stuck down on that base. I don’t envy her; but on the bright side, it gives Red Sky At Morning 117

  me a chance to spend some time with one of my favorite people.”

  “You are just a sweet-talking young lady,” Dar’s father drawled.

  “C’mon, ’fore we have to paddle on out of this here office.”

  Kerry released him and went back to her desk to retrieve her shoes.

  “I have to make a stop before home, if that’s okay.” She shut down her PC as Andrew wandered around her office peering at the décor curiously. “My new car’s ready.”

  “That so?” Andrew asked curiously. “Dar told me you got yourself into a pickle last night and banged up that little bitty thing of yours.”

  “Some crazy person driving down the wrong side of the road on the causeway, thanks.” Kerry zipped up her briefcase and shouldered it.

  “Did Dar tell you she got herself and that brute of an SUV of hers between the nutcase and me?” She fastened her jacket and turned her desk lamp off.

  “No, she did not.” Andrew tried hard to hide a dazzlingly proud smile, and failed completely.

  “Figures.” Kerry too
k him by the arm and led him out of the office.

  “C’mon, we’ll get my new buggy, then I’ll treat you to dinner. How’s that?”

  Andrew allowed himself to be escorted to the elevator, shrugging his hood up into place as Kerry hit the button to call it. “I do believe I can do any of that there treating that’s required, young lady,” he replied, following her into the elevator.

  “We’ll see about that,” Kerry teased as the doors closed.

  Interested eyes watched the empty space for a few seconds, then footsteps retreated back down the hallway, disappearing behind the solid sound of a wooden door closing.

  THE BAR WAS old, and mostly wood, and featured an honest-to-goodness jukebox that was currently droning out something from the country western side of the record catalog. Dar tipped back in her chair and took a sip of her beer, gazing across the table’s surface at the five men gathered around it.

  Damn, it’s been a long time. Dar let her eyes linger on her old friends.

  They were all the same age, more or less, as she was, and some things hadn’t changed much. Mike and Ricardo still looked like GI Joe dolls, complete with buzz cuts and bodybuilder physiques. Duds and John were still inseparable, two lanky, spare men with straight blond-brown hair and Southern drawls.

  And Chuckie, of course. Dar let a faint smile cross her face. Chuckie had actually gotten better looking over the years. He’d left the gawkiness of his late teens behind and grown into a six-foot-plus body with nice, broad shoulders and an athletic waistline. Tucked into his Navy captain’s uniform, he cut a very impressive figure and Dar had no problem cheerfully acknowledging that to herself.

  118 Melissa Good

  “So, now what is it you’re doing, Dar?” Chuckie turned and leaned on his chair arm, gazing into her eyes with his twinkling gray ones. “I hear you’re turning the base upside down.”

  “Making trouble, like usual,” Dar replied, with a chuckle. “The Pentagon hired me to go tell the Navy how to do its job better.”

  “Ooh.” The five men chorused a groan. “No shit?” Chuckie laughed. “They didn’t, did they?”

  “They did.” Dar lifted her beer and took a sip. “Mother of ironies, huh?”