by Melissa Good
“Not hardly.” Kerry accepted the treat with a smile. “I still have dreams about your mousse cups, Betsy. Thank you.” She slipped her other arm around Dar and leaned against her. “Dar likes chocolate, too.”
“A little. Thanks.” Dar draped an arm over Kerry’s shoulders.
“Where to next?”
“Wanna see my nursery?” Kerry asked. “I think there might still be chuck-up stains somewhere.”
“Lead on.” Dar winked at Betsy. They left the kitchen, leaving the cook behind, shaking her head and chuckling.
“Lord.” Betsy heard the sound of the back door opening.
“That you, Mary?” She turned to see a short, well muffled woman with ginger white hair and gray eyes enter.
“Yes, ma’am, and who else would it be?” Mary took her coat 108 Melissa Good off. “Did I miss something?”
Betsy gave her a smug grin. “You most certainly did, woman.” She crossed her arms. “You just missed meeting that infamous Dar Roberts.”
“No!” Mary looked devastated. “You’re having me on.”
“I am not. She was just standing right here in this kitchen,”
Betsy said. “And, child, let me tell you, there was a lot to see. I always did say that Ms. Kerry had a good eye, and sister, oh, did she pick a nice one.”
Mary chuckled. “Only one in this whole damn family with a lick of sense and a passel of taste.”
THEY ENDED THEIR tour in the large foyer, standing at the foot of the large, curved stairway that led up to the bedrooms on the second floor. Dar had gotten the impression that the place was a beautiful, certainly impressive home with absolutely no sense of its occupants’ personalities.
Now, Dar was honest with herself, one could really say the same about the condo, right? Her brows creased as she considered that, letting Kerry ramble on about the architecture. Her thoughts ran over the changes in her own home over the last year, and she had to sheepishly admit that her supposition was no longer valid.
How had she let Kerry convince her to have those damn doo-dlings framed? Anyway, Dar dismissed the thought, this place has even less personality. Kerry’s old apartment held far more.
“Excuse me.” A male voice caught their attention, and they turned to see a tall, slim man standing nearby, his hands folded primly in front of him.
“Yes?” Kerry replied warily. “Can I do something for you?”
The man approached. “I’m Tak Henderson. I’m part of the senatorial staff.”
Dar bit her tongue to prevent ill thought out words from emerging. The man’s smug attitude made her nape hairs bristle, and she moved instinctively closer to Kerry.
“Yes?” Kerry repeated.
“Ms. Stuart, I can appreciate this is a difficult time. It’s hard for all of us,” Henderson said. “I’m sure you don’t want to make it harder than it has to be.”
Kerry’s green eyes narrowed. “Excuse me?”
“Listen.” He lowered his voice. “I know this hasn’t been very pleasant. I’m sorry you’ve had such a rough time of it, but is there any real reason to keep it going?”
Kerry’s features settled into a cool mask. “You’re suggesting I leave?”
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“Wouldn’t it be better?” Henderson asked evenly. “C’mon, Ms. Stuart, no one needs the trouble you’ve had to go through.”
It was exactly what Kerry had been thinking. She was aware of Dar’s silent presence at her side, lending a solid, tangible support just an extended hand away. Dar would be glad to go home.
She would be glad. She wanted so badly to smell the salt tang in the air on their porch and feel Chino’s warm welcome. If she closed her eyes, she could imagine herself there—snuggled up with Dar on the couch, a bowl of Thai chicken between them and glasses of chilled plum wine just within reach.
Kerry sighed. There was so much good about her life. She had a nice place to live, a good job, loving friends, a pretty dog, and a drop dead gorgeous partner who was inexplicably crazy about her. Maybe this dweeb was right, and her choice had been the right one. “That’s true.” She exhaled. “It’s been a bitch.”
Henderson seemed to sense his advantage, and he smiled. “I think you’d feel a lot better being out of it.”
Kerry studied him. “You’re right, I would.” She made a decision and hoped her beloved partner wasn’t going to wring her neck for it. “But, unfortunately for both of us, I’m not going anywhere, so you might as well take your clipboard out of your ass and find something useful to do.”
Henderson got caught completely flat footed. He stared at Kerry with a slightly hanging jaw for a few seconds, then collected himself. “Now just wait a—”
Dar slipped in front of Kerry and closed in on Henderson, who backed up a step in reflex. “Henderson, you said your name was?” she asked in her silky, dangerous, boardroom voice.
“Yes.”
“All right, Mr. Henderson,” Dar said. “Let me tell you something. I’ve had it about up to here,” Dar lifted a hand to her forehead, “with bullshit attitudes. If you don’t leave right now, and keep clear of Kerry until she decides to go elsewhere, I’m going to call up every major news agency and spend a half hour telling them just what a bunch of skunks live up here in the woods of Saugatuck.” She paused. “Got me?”
His whole face twitched. “I don’t know that they—”
“Oh yes, they would,” Dar said. “And if that’s not enough, I’ll call the tabloids and give ’em good shots of me and Kerry kissing on the doorstep out there. How ’bout that?”
That shut him up.
“I thought so.” Dar pointed to the door. “Move it.”
Surprisingly, Henderson did just that. He walked right past them into what was formerly the senator’s study and closed the door. Dar considered the door, then released a satisfied little 110 Melissa Good grunt. “So, we’re sticking around, huh?”
Kerry sighed. “Are you going to kill me?”
Dar affectionately ruffled her hair. “Nah. You can make it up to me by finding me more two bit, half witted, stuffed socks I can practice my intimidation skills on.” She chuckled softly. “I almost forgot how much I enjoy doing that.”
“All right.” Kerry took her hand and pulled. “C’mon. Let me show you one last place.”
“Your bedroom? I’ve seen it,” Dar teased.
Kerry smiled privately. “No, the attic.”
“YOU THINK THE governor’s really going to do it?” Mike asked, as they reached the room Angie had been staying in and sat down on the bed. “Name mom to take dad’s spot?”
Angie shook her head. “It seems ridiculous. Why should our mother be a senator, just because she was married to our father?
She doesn’t know the first thing about politics. You know she always made a point of steering clear of all that.”
“Yeah, I know,” Mike said. “But you have all those scum-buckets who worked for him desperate to keep their jobs. And how else will they do it? Not like they can just dig up an election this time of year.”
“Mm.” Angie nodded. “That’s true. Hope she tells them to go stuff it.”
Mike’s lips quirked into a smile. “You’re in a feisty mood today.”
Angie sighed. “I’m just sick of it. That stuff with Kerry pissed me off.”
“Me, too.” Mike nodded. “I mean, it’s not like it’s this deep dark secret anymore, so what’s the big deal? If the lawyers hadn’t been stupid enough to make Kerry just blurt it out on national television, that’d have been one thing, but, Jesus, like, who cares anymore?”
Angie shrugged. “That’s what I was thinking, too. It’s old news, and besides, it’s not like she’s done anything really radical, like buying a motorcycle or getting a tattoo.”
Mike self-consciously cleared his throat.
Angie looked at him. “Oh, you didn’t.”
He batted long, dark lashes back at her with devastating innocence. “Don’t worry. No one’ll see
it unless they get me really mad, and I show them where they can kiss my ass. Tony and Brad and I went out last week and got pretty plastered. They bet me I didn’t have the guts to go through with it, so…”
Angie sighed. “Michael.”
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“I know, I know.” Michael grinned. “I’m a jerk.”
“You’re hopeless. When are you going to grow up?”
Michael shrugged.
They were quiet for a moment. “You going to keep working for the publicity firm?” Angie asked.
Michael stared at the floor past his clasped hands. “I dunno. I haven’t really thought about it. I don’t have to now, do I?”
“No.” Angie shook her head. “But he’s not around to get your butt out of trouble anymore, either.”
“I could run away and join the circus.”
“Mike.”
“You going to tell mamma about Brian?”
Angie fell back onto the bed and gazed up at the ceiling.
“Maybe. I might have to. I slipped the other day and left Andy’s medical papers out where Richard could see them.”
Michael looked at her. “So? He doesn’t have Brian’s name branded on his ass, does he?”
“No, but my blood type is O and Richard’s is A. Andrew’s is B, just like Brian’s,” Angie said with a grimace. “I told Richard they must have made a mistake on the papers.”
“Ah,” Michael murmured. “Well, if things get real bad, you can reveal that little tidbit, I’ll pull down my pants, and Kerry’ll come out looking like the Republican in the family.”
Angie paused a moment, then burst out laughing. Mike joined in, relieving some of the stress of the situation.
“What’s so funny?” Kerry asked, as she paused in the doorway.
“Don’t ask.” Angie propped up on her elbows. “We were just comparing scandals. What are you two up to?”
Kerry and Dar entered the room. Kerry took a seat on the wooden side chair, and Dar merely lowered herself to the carpet, extended her long legs out, and crossed her ankles. “I was giving Dar the tour. She didn’t get to see much last time. What scandal did you get into now, Michael?”
“I got a tattoo,” Michael admitted.
Dar snorted and folded her arms over her chest. Kerry just rolled her eyes. “Oh, God, it figures. How drunk were you?”
“Maybe I wasn’t,” Mike retorted in an injured tone. “Maybe I just decided it was something I wanted to do for personal growth.”
Kerry studied him, her fair head cocked, then she smiled. “No way, Mikey. You’re the biggest chickenshit I know when it comes to pain. You were either drunk off your butt or unconscious.”
Mike scowled, then stuck his tongue out at her. “You’re just jealous because you don’t have one.”
112 Melissa Good Kerry’s green eyes twinkled. “How do you know I don’t? You haven’t seen all of me in a very long time.”
Mike looked at Angie, who looked back at him, then they both looked uncertainly at their older sister.
“I have.” Dar came to their rescue. “Every square inch, and she doesn’t.” Kerry blushed a deep crimson, making her fair eyebrows stand out vividly. Everyone laughed, and even Dar chuckled at her lover’s loss of composure.
“Stop that.” Kerry covered her face with one hand and rubbed her skin. “Dar, you’re so bad.”
“Well, you don’t,” Dar said matter-of-factly.
“Wanna see mine?” Mike asked, to distract everyone.
“No,” Dar replied. “Based on what I know about you, I can make a guess where it is, and that window’s got a clear shot to the street.”
Angie burst out laughing, holding her stomach as she rolled over. Kerry joined in, pointing at Michael’s injured expression.
“She’s right, isn’t she?”
Michael stuck his tongue out again. “You guys are such girls.”
Dar pulled her collar away from her body and glanced inside her shirt, then nodded. “Guilty.”
Now the laughter turned a little giddy, mixing amusement with relief and not a small touch of bittersweet-ness. It finally petered out, and Kerry wiped her eyes with her sleeve and regarded her siblings.
“Sorry I lost it before,” she said. “I know you guys were trying to keep things under control.”
“That’s okay.” Angie rolled over onto her side and exhaled.
“After you left, we both did too. I’m just so over it. Mike’s just so over it. We’ve had enough of all the political garbage, and we just want our sister back.”
It caught Kerry by surprise, and she gave them a stunned look, her face going very still for a long moment. Finally she released a breath and rested her elbows on her knees. “I’d like that too. I never meant to hurt either of you.”
Angie got up and went to Kerry’s side. Dar remained very still, just watching. “Kerry, you never did. If you did anything, you helped us both realize there was another way to live.” She put a hand on Kerry’s arm. “You always were our ringleader.”
“Yeah.” Mike scrambled to them and stepped carefully over Dar’s legs. “We love you.”
Dar smiled from her spot on the carpet. Kerry’s siblings were surpassing her expectations of them, and she was silently delighted at the look of surprised pleasure on her lover’s face. She Thicker Than Water 113
was glad, now, that Kerry had changed her mind, though Dar would have supported her either way. This was better. Kerry needed this.
Now, if she could just figure out a way to prevent the rest of the Stuart family from ruining it.
THEY TROOPED UP to the attic together. Mike opened an unobtrusive door set in a small alcove, and they walked up the heavy wooden stairs.
Dar listened to the door close behind her, and she exhaled, shifting her shoulders nervously before she followed Kerry. The stairwell was very narrow, and her shoulders only just fit in the space. The closeness made her uncomfortable, and she suspected Kerry realized that, because halfway up, a hand reached back and she took it and felt the comfort of Kerry’s fingers curling around her own.
That was good, because the ceiling came down rather close to her head, and by the time they climbed up and out into the vaulted attic space, Dar was twitching. It was far more open, though, and she relaxed a little. It was warm—the heat from the house clustered up there despite the chill outdoors, and the eclec-tic nature of the place quickly drew her interest.
There were steamer trunks pushed against three of the four walls, and stacks of neatly bagged bedding and clothing. Two old rocking chairs sat peacefully in the corner, and there were con-tainers of unknown items scattered around here and there. Dar had no idea why Kerry had wanted to go up there, especially after their footsteps stirred up a mild cloud of dust and they all sneezed, but she was willing to go along with it for a while.
“We stuck them here.” Mike dragged one of the larger trunks out into the middle of the floor and knelt in front of it. He dialed the combination lock and threw the top open. “All of Kerry’s stuff that Angie and I could find around the house before the thought police came through.”
Ah. Dar’s ears perked up and she slipped around Kerry to investigate the trunk. “What have we here?”
“Hm. Good question.” Kerry scuttled to the trunk and knelt beside it. “Think I can just have this whole trunk shipped?”
Dar pulled out a pair of very old, yellow, obviously well worn footy pajamas that featured a threadbare cotton tail on the back. She grinned at Kerry, who was making a face at them, and pulled out her cell phone, flipped it open, and keyed in the memory. “FedEx? I’d like to schedule a pick-up.”
“Oh, my God.” Kerry covered her eyes. “Of all the things for 114 Melissa Good you to save.”
Angie snickered. “You know something? It was worth it, just to see your face right now.”
“Dar, give me that.” Kerry reached for the rags, but Dar lifted them up beyond her reach. “Dar!”
“Shh.” Dar finished
giving the address to the operator, then folded her phone shut. “These are…um,” she lowered the pajamas to eye level, “cute.” She examined the fluffy tail in the back.
“Wanna model them?”
“Augh.” Kerry lunged across the trunk and snatched the old things out of Dar’s hands. “I haven’t worn those since I was six, thanks.” She tucked the fabric under her arm for safekeeping, then warily explored the top layer of the trunk. “Oh, God, Angie…”
She lifted out a photo album. “I was wondering if you snagged this.”
Dar settled at Kerry’s side and peered at the book with interest. It was leather bound and age creased. Kerry opened the cover.
Angie and Mike also inched closer, and sat cross legged on the floor at her side.
“Oo.” Dar laid a long finger on the page. “I like that one.”
“Dar.” Kerry had to smother a chuckle. “That hoary, old baby-on-the-bearskin picture?” She eyed her naked infant self, sprawled over some fuzzy fabric and staring up at the camera with a look best described as astonished. “Can you believe that’s me?”
Dar examined the picture. “Sure. Parts of you haven’t change a bfwh.” Kerry covered Dar’s mouth with her hand as Angie and Michael started cackling.
“You are so dead,” Kerry said. “You just wait, Paladar. I’m going to…to…to…yow!” Kerry pulled her hand away from the nibbling teeth and exploring tongue. “Stop that!” She grabbed Dar’s tongue and pulled.
Angie almost hurt herself as she rolled onto the floor, narrowly missing the edge of the trunk. “Oh, my God,” she gasped.
“You guys are too much.”
Dar retrieved her appendage and returned it to its normal location. Then she grinned, looking into Kerry’s eyes, getting the hoped for tiny crinkle above the bridge of her nose and the faint smirk that meant her lover really wasn’t as annoyed as she sounded.
What’s gotten into her today? Kerry wondered silently. Being so demonstrative in the company of others was definitely not normal for her usually far more reserved partner. Dar would, on occasion, put a hand on her back or ruffle her hair, but never did she indulge in the kind of extremely personal horseplay she was dis-Thicker Than Water 115