Eye Of The Storm - DK3

by Melissa Good

  “I never imagined myself like this.”

  “Does it bother you?” Dar asked, hesitantly. “You know, Kerry. Just because I do the gym and all that, doesn’t mean you have to.”

  “No, I like it.” She gave Dar a gentle smile. “It’s just that I’ve never Eye of the Storm 203

  felt good about myself before and it’s a little strange getting used to.” She tilted her head back. “You’re wonderful for my ego, you know that?”

  “Glad to be of service.” Dar chuckled in relief.

  “Speaking of egos, it’s your turn to get dressed.” Kerry grinned. “I’m going to finish up getting ready.”

  “Okay.” Dar kissed her bare shoulder. “I’m going to grab a shower, then see if I can squeeze into that vest. Never mind those jeans you dug up from the closet.” She gave Kerry a pat on the butt and ambled out, followed by Chino.

  Kerry shook her head, and turned her attention back to the mirror.

  “You know something, Kerrison? For someone once voted most likely to become a republican governor, you didn’t turn out so bad.”

  DAR TOUSLED HER hair semi dry, then trudged out into her bedroom wrapped in a towel. Now that it was the day of the reunion, she found herself kind of looking forward to it, in a bizarre sort of way. High school hadn’t been a great time for her. Dad had been out to sea a lot and her relationship with her mother had been going downhill.

  But she’d had fun, anyway, finding the most outrageous things to wear and do possible, knowing the school was just gnashing its teeth, since expelling an honors student bucking for class valedictorian just didn’t cut the mustard.

  It was—what?—eleventh grade when I’d stopped responding to my birth name and made everyone call me Dar? Yeah. She’d worn sunglasses inside and leather and ripped clothes, with chains hanging around her neck, ear cuffs. Oh, and the spurs.

  And the boots.

  She’d sounded like John Wayne going up in assembly that last year, to pick up not one, but four scholastic achievement awards, and she’d thoroughly enjoyed the fact that it drove every single one of the staff, and her mother, completely crazy.

  Bite me. In studs, on the back of that leather jacket, too.

  “What a punk.” She laughed at her reflection. “And they couldn’t say a goddamned word to me—not with that record and zero absences and zero tardies.”

  Perfect attendance. Straight A student. An excellent athlete who refused to participate in team sports. Cocky. Antisocial.

  Dar sighed, meeting her own eyes in the mirror. “What an asshole I was. If I’d have met myself, I’d have kicked my butt from one end of Fla-gler Street to the other.” With a wry chuckle, she shed her towel and slid into a pair of cotton briefs with little devils all over them. Then she picked up the pair of very faded, artfully ripped jeans Kerry had discovered in a bag shoved way in the back of the closet and stepped into them, tugging them up and pausing.

  “Hmm.” They were snug, but she’d expected that. She fastened the worn buttons and studied the result. Well, nothing hung over and nothing 204 Melissa Good poked out. Better than she’d hoped for, actually. She picked up the vest and examined it, then shrugged it on and pulled the laces.

  The leather was soft and pliable and readily fitted itself to her body as she finished the side laces and started up the front. There were sizable gaps in the hide, where her own skin showed, and the neckline was cut low with narrow shoulder straps, exposing quite a bit of her upper body.

  “All right,” she murmured, tugging the last bit into place and patting the front. “An escapee from a bad Mad Max imitation movie. Nifty.”

  The doorbell rang, and she blinked, then walked out into the living room and tried to imagine who on earth would be dropping by without security calling her. Clemente, probably. She unlocked the door and pulled it back, stopping in startled shock when blue eyes on a level with hers appeared.

  “Oh. Hi, Dad.” Dar glanced to one side. “Mother.” A totally adolescent panic turned her guts to mush. “Uh…”

  Andrew Roberts’ eyebrows hiked up and he put a hand on one hip as he studied his offspring. “What in the hell?”

  “Now, that’s the daughter I remember,” Cecilia murmured softly, an ironic twist to her lips. “Sorry we surprised you, Dar. We just flew in and your father wouldn’t rest before he showed me where you lived.”

  “Ah.” Yeah. Okay. Jaw closed, brain on straight, Dar, c’mon. “Sure, um, c’mon in.” She backed up and allowed them to enter. “Mother, we have a dog.”

  “I heard,” Cecilia replied evenly. “I’ll live.”

  Chino bounded out of Dar’s bedroom, spotted Andrew, and cork-screwed over to him in utter delight. “Stop that.” Andrew scowled at the puppy then knelt as Chino wriggled against his legs in animal ecstasy.

  “C’mon you furball. Cut that out.”

  Dar found herself facing her mother, totally unprepared to do so. She felt very off balance. “Um. You want to sit down? We’re just getting ready for this party we have to go to. That’s why the…” She tugged at her leather laces. “I don’t usually dress this way anymore.”

  “Ah.” Cecilia kept her response to a minimum, feeling as uncomfortable as Dar looked. “What kind of party?”

  “High school reunion.”

  “Mmm.”

  Andrew stood up. “You are not tellin’ me you are stepping foot outside this house like that now, are you?”

  “Ah. Yes, actually.” Dar put her hands behind her back and tried not to breathe too deeply. “It’s a come as you were thing.”

  Her father straightened. “Paladar, you are not goin’ out there half naked.”

  “No. She’s not,” Kerry’s voice interrupted—a wonderful sound to Dar’s ears. “But I am.” Eyes went to the stairs as the blonde woman trotted down them and appeared in all her scantily leathered, booted glory.

  “She’s kinda overdressed, as a matter of fact.”

  “Dear Jesus.” Andrew covered his eyes.

  Eye of the Storm 205

  Cecilia bit the inside of her mouth hard to keep from bursting out in hysterical laughter.

  Dar slid an arm around Kerry’s shoulders and rubbed her back, as the shorter woman wrapped her in a hug. Over Kerry’s head, she looked up, and met her mother’s eyes.

  And realized they might at last have a common ground to meet on.

  She managed a half smile. Her mother managed one back.

  Just maybe. “Want the nickel tour?” Dar said to Ceci.

  “Sure.”

  “MAYBE THIS WAS a bad idea, Andy.” Ceci clasped her hands around one knee, as they sat together in the living room. Dar and Kerry had disappeared into the kitchen after their little impromptu tour and a lull had settled. “I don’t think Dar’s very comfortable with me here.”

  “Jest relax,” her husband murmured. “She’ll be all right. She just hates surprises. Shoulda called her.” He looked around. “Nice place, huh?”

  Cecilia let her eyes roam around the condo. “Gorgeous,” she admitted. “But it’s so not Dar.”

  “Yeap,” Andy admitted. “Ah think she just fell into it and was easier just to stay.”

  Probably true. Ceci was drawn to a set of pictures on the entertainment center. Two were of Dar at a young age. Two were of Kerry, also older pictures, and the one in the center was of them together.

  Both were looking at the camera. Dar was seated behind Kerry, and had her arms wrapped around her, with a half smile on her face. The blonde woman covered Dar’s hands with her own, and the film had captured just the sweetest expression on her, one that almost made Ceci smile just looking at it.

  “We need to find a place to stay tonight.” She tore her attention from the picture and put it on her husband. “Any suggestions?” It had been years since she’d been in the city, though it hadn’t changed really much, and she’d found a thousand memories regaining their color as she left the airport and felt the tropical heat drop over her. “Someplace with sand, maybe?
”

  “ARE YOU OKAY?” Kerry asked, for the third time, as she assembled some glasses and a large pitcher of fruit juice. Dar stood at the sink, staring out at the water with a completely unsettled look on her face.

  “Dar?”

  “I wasn’t expecting that.” The dark head finally turned and looked at her. “I didn’t want it to be like this.”

  Kerry cocked her head in question. “Like what?”

  Dar’s face twitched. “So damned…sudden.”

  Kerry put her glasses down, walked over and laid a hand on Dar’s 206 Melissa Good almost leather covered back. “Look. Take it easy.” She rubbed gently.

  “It’s not that bad, is it? Your mom’s being okay, I thought.”

  “No. Yeah. I don’t know.” Dar turned and leaned against the counter, folding her arms tightly over her chest. “It’s taken me all this time to get used to having him back. Seeing them together…I’m having a little trouble comprehending that right now.” She lifted her hand and rubbed her eyes. “Too big an adjustment.”

  Yeah, it must be, Kerry thought, as she took Dar’s free hand in hers. “I know it must be tough. Hang in there, Dar. Having them back is a good thing for you, I really believe that.”

  Dar sighed. “I know.”

  “But it’s weird.”

  “Yeah.” Dar made a face.

  “And us being dressed like a post-apocalyptic pair of whacked out Amazons doesn’t help.” Kerry smiled as she got a chuckle out of her lover. “Though you have to admit seeing the look on your dad’s face when I came downstairs was worth it.”

  “Mmm.” Dar relaxed a little and rubbed her neck. “Eyah. That’s true.”

  “Kin ah ask what you two are up to?” Andrew’s voice growled from the doorway. “Starting to think you went to grow them damn fruits afore you squeezed ’em.”

  Kerry picked up the tray and cleared her throat. “Ah. That’s my cue.

  Bye.” She slipped quickly past Dar’s father, leaving the two of them alone in the kitchen.

  Andy stuck his hands into the pockets of his jeans and moved inside the room. “Think I owe you an apology, Dardar. Didn’t meant to shake up your day like this.”

  Dar studied her father curiously. “You got a haircut.”

  Self-consciously, he lifted a hand and scrubbed it through the trimmed silvered darkness. “Yeap.”

  There was something so different about him and yet familiar. “Went okay up there, I see.” Her eyes smiled at him. “I’m glad.” She hesitated.

  “I didn’t expect you back so soon.”

  Andy took a breath. “She wanted to come home,” he responded simply. “Figured we’d find a spot, near to the water. Just set down and be quiet for a bit.”

  “Just like that?”

  “Yeap.” He scratched his jaw. “You called the right range on it, Dardar. I owe you.” His mouth moved into a smile. “’Cept I don’t think I can pay you back for this one.”

  Now she realized what it was. He was whole again. Dar slowly moved forward. Oh, the scars were still there, but he’d left behind his hooded shirt and regained an equilibrium she could see plainly in the late afternoon light coming in the kitchen window. Hesitantly, she put a hand out and took his. “You don’t owe me a damn thing,” she whispered. “If it made you happy, that’s all that mattered.”

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  “Aw, Dardar.” Andy opened his arms and hugged his daughter’s sturdy form. “Ain’t nothing you ever done that didn’t make me happy and prouder than all get out to be your daddy.”

  Mmm. Dar absorbed the infrequent hug greedily and returned it.

  “Even dressed like this?” She joked faintly, into his nearby ear.

  “Lord,” he poked her through the holes, “would you just look at this?”

  She nearly doubled over in laughter at the tickling. “Augh.”

  “Tch.” Andrew released her, but put his hands on her shoulders.

  “Wouldja do one more thing for yer old man?”

  “Anything,” Dar responded warmly.

  He paused. “I know a bucket of stuff’s happened, Dar.” He touched her cheek. “I know you got hurt.” Her lashes fluttered closed. “But I’d like it if you’d give yer mama another shot at what’s between the two of you.”

  Oh. Is that all? Dar’s eyes opened. “Is that what she wants?”

  He nodded.

  Dar thought about the request. It would be so hard, she knew already, to work through a lifetime of friction. Just thinking about it exhausted her. Did she really have a choice though? She looked into her father’s eyes. “I’ll try.”

  That earned her another smile.

  KERRY WALKED INTO the living room and set the tray down. “It’s fruit juice.” She sat down, poured a glass and offered it to Dar’s mother.

  “Sort of a mixture.”

  Ceci leaned forward and took the glass. “Thank you.” She leaned back with the drink and sipped it as they studied each other. “So,” Ceci murmured. “I somehow didn’t expect we’d be meeting again so soon.”

  “No,” Kerry agreed. “I guess not.” She scratched her nose. “This is sort of awkward.”

  Ceci took a swallow of the sweet juice. “That’s an understatement,”

  she admitted. “It’s been a very surprising few days.” She regarded Kerry’s open, intelligent face curiously. “We could chat about the weather.”

  Kerry glanced outside. “Eighties, thirty percent chance of showers.”

  Ceci smiled. “Have you lived here long?”

  Kerry leaned back. “Well, if you mean in Florida, about two years.”

  She folded her arms over her bare stomach. “If you mean here, as in right here, a little over six months.” She paused. “I like it. Miami, I mean. It was a little tough when I first moved down, but after a while, even the heat grows on you.”

  “Yes, it does.” Softly clinking ice. “You’re from Michigan originally?”

  Kerry nodded. “My family lives there.”

  “Sorry I made that crack about your father the last time we met,”

  208 Melissa Good Cecilia murmured. “Andy told me about what happened. That must have been very tough.”

  “In a way,” Kerry admitted. “In a way it was relief, because I’d been living as part of a charade for so long and after that, I wasn’t. I was free to live however I wanted to.” She studied the table reflectively. “But I miss my family, sometimes. I miss knowing I’m a part of them.” She glanced up. “I still love them, in spite of everything, and I always will, even if they never speak to me again.”

  Cecilia found those steady, penetrating green eyes boring into hers, transmitting a weight of meaning to her words it was difficult to avoid.

  I think I like her. Ceci inclined her head a trifle, acknowledging the younger woman’s statement. Even if she was raised a Christian Republican. “You really going to a party dressed like that?” She pointed a slim finger at Kerry’s outfit.

  “It’s her own fault,” Dar answered, reappearing from the kitchen and settling down next to Kerry on the loveseat. “She talked me into going to this reunion.”

  “Half nekkid?” Andrew neatly stepped around Ceci’s knees and dropped onto the couch.

  “Uh no, actually. I sort of wanted to...” Kerry regarded Dar’s sleek form. “Anyway, we made a deal, if she went, I’d have to dress the part and go too.”

  “Um.” Dar’s mother pursed her lips. “What part exactly are you dressing for?”

  Kerry glanced down at herself, then up at Dar. “You picked it. You answer.”

  Dar got caught napping. Her jaw opened, then closed a few times, and she sneaked a furtive glance at her mother and father, who were watching in puzzled amusement. “Ah.” Oh well. “Actually, it was Kerry’s idea.”

  “It was not.”

  “She wanted to see what I looked like in leather.”

  “Dar!” Kerry blurted, turning an appealing shade of pink that extended all the way down to her na
vel.

  “Jesus. Woman looks like a damn flamingo.” Andrew chuckled.

  “Or like one of those squid that change color,” Dar remarked, eyeing her companion critically.

  “Oh god.” Kerry just gave up and buried her face into Dar’s chest, pretending the outside world didn’t exist for a little while. At least until she stopped glowing like a bad neon sign factory. “Is it time to go yet?”

  she muttered into the scent of skin and leather.

  Dar chuckled and patted her back, then eyed her parents. “What are your plans? Dad said you were looking for a place to stay.” The thought occurred to her to offer hospitality, but she wasn’t sure if any of them were ready for that much close quarters so soon. However… “We’ve got some little cottages here on the island they use as a hotel. I could book you in one if you’re interested.”

  Eye of the Storm 209

  The older pair exchanged glances. “That would be very nice. Thank you, Dar,” Ceci finally answered. “At least until we can have a chance to look around down here a little.”

  “Sure.” Dar was inwardly pleased with the solution. She picked up the phone and dialed the resident services number. “Hello? Yes. Hi, Clemente.” A pause. “No, thanks. I’m feeling much better, really.”

  Another pause. “Actually, I need to book one of the cottages.” A much longer pause. “All right. That’ll have to do then.” She flashed a quick smile. “No, it’s for my parents.” Lengthy pause as she listened. “Not on vacation, no. They’re looking for a place down here.” Short pause. “Um, sure, that would be fine. Thanks, Clemente.” She hung up. “All set.

  They’ll send a cart for you.”

  Kerry peeked out from her hiding spot. “Everyone’s really nice here.”

  They exchanged a few more words, then stood, and Dar watched as the reservations staff took charge of her parents’ luggage and transported them down the road. “They only had the big one left,” she commented.

  “The one with the Cadillac sized hot tub?”

  “Uh huh.”

  “Ooo. I’d like to be a fly on that wall.”

  Dar grinned. “Me too.” She nudged Kerry. “C’mon. Let’s get this bike revved up and get going.”

  “Uh, uh. I get to accessorize you first.” The blonde woman wagged a finger. “I saw that bag of old chains and collars.”