Hurricane Watch - DK2 (65 page)

Dar smiled, and rubbed her thumb against Kerry’s soft cheek. ”I know.” Her eyes shifted to the door. ”Guess we’d better get going. I think I hear Duks.”

Kerry hugged her for a moment, then released her, and followed her up the steps to the deck.

Sure enough, familiar figures were lining the dock, weirdly shadowed in the ochre security lights. ”Morning.” Dar lifted a hand, stifling a grin as Duks put his hands on his hips and glared at her.

”You know, Dar, it’s a very good thing I am a forgiving sort.” He shook his head. ”You could not have had a sunset affair, eh?”

”Wrong ocean for that.” Dar put a bridge down and tugged the lines taut as their guests came aboard. ”Go on up into the front. We need to take some supplies on board.” She gave the waiting staff, carrying insulated coolers a nod. ”Thanks for coming. Hello, Maria.”

”Buenos Dias, Dar, Kerrisita.” Maria gave her vermillion headscarf a tug, and handed Kerry a small box. ”I know you are telling me not to get any gifts, but you take this anyhow.”

“Thanks, Maria.” Kerry took the box, then gave the secretary a hug.

”Thanks for coming, We really appreciate it.”

”Thank you for asking me.” Maria smiled. ”My family, they think I am having a, how you say, an affair, to be sneaking away so early.”

Kerry walked with her to the bow to join Duks and Mari, who were seated on the cushion, whispering to each other. ”They don’t really, do they?” Kerry asked, a little embarrassed. ”I mean, we didn’t think about how annoying it would be for everyone else to drag their butts out here before dawn. It’s about the time we usually get up.”

”Oh it figures. ” Mari laughed. ”You know, I should have realized if my overachieving, typical type of a friend Dar there found a match, it’d have to be someone who was as much into self-torture as she was.”

”What do you do so early in the morning?” Maria asked, curiously, as she seated herself on a cushion.

”Well.” Kerry glanced over as Duks and Mari started sniggering.

”Actually, we go out running.” She stuck her tongue out a little at them.

They both groaned. Maria hid a laugh behind a small hand.

DAR WATCHED THE island staff stow the food, and waited for the two Hispanic waiters to leave before she investigated the contents, snagging a corn muffin and some butter, gaining an instantly attentive Labrador puppy glued to her foot. She split the muffin, then cracked open the hot, insulated dish, and scooped out a bit of the scrambled eggs it contained, and put some on each half. Then she settled down for a moment’s peace, glad to let Kerry do the social honors for the time being.

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The rocking of the boat soothed her as she chewed, allowing her nerves to settle. It wasn’t the ceremony that was bothering her, she realized. It was that she was about to expose a very personal side of herself to someone other than Kerry.

Ugh. Dar sighed.
Well, get a grip rugrat, after this whole thing,
they suspected you had a marshmallow center anyway.
She shared her muffin with Chino, then took a breath and went back up on deck, carrying a thermal carafe of coffee and a stack of purple Styrofoam cups.

Purple Styrofoam. Where in the hell did these people get stuff like
that?
She’d asked for plain foam, and gotten a face from Clemente as though she’d asked for paper frigging plates. He’d wanted to provide a china service for the coffee. So this was his compromise, she supposed, shaking her head.

”Hey, Dar.”

A voice called from the docks. She turned to see Colleen, dressed in neatly pressed tan walking shorts and a crisp white polo with a tall, heavyset man in a sweatshirt and cutoffs who she guessed was the pastor. ”Morning.” She waited for them to cross the gangplank, and gave them a reserved smile. ”If you want to bring this up front, Colleen, I’ll get the engines started.” She glanced at the pastor. ”Welcome aboard.”

The man stuck a hand out, which Dar was now free to grasp since Colleen had helpfully snatched the coffee and cups from her. ”Hello, you must be Dar.”

Dar inclined her head, favorably impressed with his friendly face and firm handshake. ”That’s right, is it Pastor Robert?”

He laughed. ”Sure, it’s better than Pappy Bob, which is what my nephews call me.” He cleared his throat a little. ”It’s a pleasure to meet you. From the way Kerry talks about you, I had a feeling she’d found someone special.” He smiled a little at Dar's discomfited look. I’ve known Kerry since she was a little girl.”

A hint of warmth crept into Dar’s eyes. ”I bet you know some stories, then.” She eased the subject away from herself. ”Was she a scamp?”

”Ooohhh, yes, a boat...er...load.” He started laughing. ”And yes, she certainly was, especially when she was in my Sunday school classes.”

”Mm... We should talk.” Dar bestowed a grin on him, her eyes twinkling with mischief. ”G’wan up front. I’m going to take us out.” She paused. ”Thanks for making it out here. I can’t tell you how much this means to Kerry,” she hesitated, ”and me.”

He beamed. ”It’s my pleasure, and I’m an early riser anyway. The thought of doing this as the sun came up out on the beautiful Atlantic under God’s own canopy, it’s perfect.”

Oh,
Dar decided instantly.
I like him
. ”Great.” She walked over and 354

Melissa Good

untied the lines, setting the ship free of the dock. Then she walked to the bridge, and started the two diesel engines, trimming them expertly and backing the vessel out of its pylon lined slip. She heard a laugh from the bow, and glanced over to see Kerry hugging her former pastor, a look of thinly veiled delight on her face.

Dar smiled to herself as she guided the boat slowly out of the marina, and headed it towards the Cut. The freshening breeze blew her hair back, and she took a breath of the salty air, remembering all the times she’d faced the dawn just like this.

Except, of course, the boat had been a whole lot smaller.

And she’d been the only one on it.

A solid warmth settled onto her foot, and she glanced down to see Chino curled up there.

Definitely different

Duks wound his way over to her and leaned against the railing.

”So, my friend, how are things?”

Dar glanced at him, then looked back at her gauges. ”Weather’s great, water’s calm, couldn’t ask for better. Why?”

Duks scratched his jaw, and regarded the faintly gray horizon. ”Is it hard for you, Dar?” he asked, regarding her. ”Letting all of us into a private part of your life like this?”

Dar adjusted the throttles, using that as an excuse to delay her answer. Finally she sighed. ”Does it matter?”

The accountant snorted softly. ”That’s answer enough,” he advised her. ”If it’s any consolation, I think it’s been good for you.”

Pale blue eyes flicked to his face, then went to the water, scanning it. ”It’s taken some getting used to,” she admitted quietly. ”I’ve had to change the way I think about a lot of things.”

He nodded. ”I gathered.” A gentle peal of laughter rose from the bow, and he looked over to see Kerry hopping up and down a little, shaking a finger at Mariana. He looked back and caught Dar watching Kerry, an unconscious smile tugging at her lips. He chuckled softly and shook his head.

”All right, so where are we going?” Colleen asked, spreading her arms out against the railing and regarding Kerry. ”The Bahamas?”

”No, at least, I hope not.” Kerry smiled, as she regarded the horizon. ”Dar wouldn’t say, or, to be more specific, she gave me a GPS

coordinate, which meant to me somewhere in the Florida Straits.” She leaned on the railing. ”She did say it wasn’t that far out, just far enough to lose the city.”

They were out of the cut now, and heading across the water, the powerful roar of the boat’s engines at full throttle as Dar pushed them through the soft graying light. The ocean was calm, just a faint ruffle moving the dark surface, and the occasional splash as a fish poked their nose up into the dawn, as the horizon went from black to lavender, spreading out a band of faint color across the rim of the world.

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After about twenty minutes, the roar lessened, and Kerry moved to the railing, leaning over and spotting a small bit of land in the growing light. ”I guess we’re here,” she announced with a grin. ”It’s an island.”

They all clustered around her and peered out, gazing at the cluster of trees outlined in the dusky light. A tiny ridge of coral, it seemed, with just enough dirt to allow a cluster of sea grapes and mangroves, with a sand edge which sloped up out of the water.

Dar moved the boat in close, and got a rope around an overhanging branch, securing them, then cut the engines, the sudden silence almost startling as the lap of the waves and the soft hiss as the water brushing the shore became very evident.

Everyone peered at the grayish, licking waters between the boat and the island, then at Dar. Kerry walked over and put an arm on her shoulder. ”Um... Dar?”

”Yes?” Innocent, blue eyes.

Kerry chewed her lip. ”Did you, um...think this all out?”

”Yes.” Dark lashes batted at her. ”Why?”

Kerry leaned close to her. ”I don’t know if everyone here can swim, sweetheart,” she whispered. ”Unless you wanted to have the ceremony on the boat.”

”Nah.” Dar patted her on the shoulder. ”Be right back.” Putting her hands on the railing, she vaulted over, landing in the water with a clean splash. The waves came up to her mid thighs, and she waded towards the island with a purposeful stride.

”What is she doing?” Colleen came up next to Kerry at the railing, and peered over. The rest of the group joined her, even Chino poked her head through and sniffed.

”I have no earthly idea,” Kerry murmured. ”It must be a sand bar, look how shallow it is here.”

Eyes turned to her. ”Hope we don’t get stuck,” Mari remarked with a grin. ”Can you imagine the story that would make?”

Kerry peered out into the slowly growing light, chuckling. ”No, she anchored us in a deep enough draft. It slopes up there. I can see the water getting lighter.” She leaned over. ”Hey Dar, what are you doing?”

They could hear splashing noises coming towards them.

The water parted, and then Dar reappeared from around a bend, her overalls damp almost to her groin and a rope over one shoulder. She moved steadily towards the boat and as she came closer, they saw something trailing behind her. The wind tugged at her knotted hair, sending tendrils of it whisking around her face, and a flash of white appeared as she smiled up at them. ”Here you go.” She handed up the rope. ”Pull.”

Duks took hold, and tugged, and they watched as a barnacle bedecked wooden platform came towards them. It was old, but seemed to be in one piece, consisting of sun bleached wood on rubber pontoons.

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”Dios Mio, it’s a sidewalk,” Maria said, surprised. ”How clever you are, Jefe.”

Dar leaned against the boat and pulled the wooden bridge into place, tying it securely to the railing. ”Well, actually I made this in my much less clever days.” She gave them all a wryly frank look. ”High school, to be exact.” She used the railing to pull herself up, standing on the bridge and removing a piece of impudent seaweed that had attached itself to her thigh. ”Water’s nice.”

Kerry had retrieved the diving ladder from its hooks, and she set it into place, then climbed down onto the bridge. It bobbed under her weight, but held firm, and she bounced up and down on it a few times.

”Well, for a high school shop project, it sure feels sturdy.” She gave her lover a warm smile. ”Okay, let’s go, folks.”

With some hesitation and muted screams, they did, and landed safely onto the bridge with little incident, moving along it towards the small beach they could see ahead. Dar waited to bring up the rear, and collected Chino, then she followed along, not surprised to find Kerry waiting for her. ”Hey.”

”Hey.” Kerry looked around. ”So this is an old haunt of yours, huh?” She smiled. ”It’s nice out here.”

Dar took a deep breath of the familiar air. ”You could say that.

Most kids have tree houses. This was mine.” She stepped off the pontoon bridge onto the soft, sandy beach. ”It’s too small for anyone to bother with it, and it’s about the best place I’ve ever known to just sit and watch the sun rise.” She paused, as they walked towards the small group standing on the beach in the growing light. ”Or just to daydream.”

Kerry looked up at her. ”Bet you had some great parties out here.”

She nudged her lover in the ribs gently.

Dar regarded the intertwined mangroves reflectively. ”You’re the first people I’ve ever brought out with me,” she remarked quietly.

Kerry sucked in a surprised breath. ”Oh.” Then she put an arm around Dar and leaned against her as they walked along in silence.

They joined the small group on the beach, where the waves were rolling gently up and hissing back with almost hypnotic regularity.

Seagulls coasted overhead, circling lazily, waiting for the sunrise which was now painting the eastern horizon in bands of coral and a deep russet. Only a thin tracing of clouds obscured the view, and the breeze grew stronger as if in anticipation.

Dar put Chino down, and watched her dash excitedly over the water, almost immediately encountering a startled crab.

”Yawp!” Chino barked, watching the crab skitter backwards.

'”Yawp!”

The group laughed. ”Chino. Don’t go there,” Colleen warned, shooing the crab down it’s hole. ”You’re gonna get your little nose bitten.”

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Dar cleared her throat. ”Thanks for coming out here, folks.”

”Thanks for inviting us,” Mari answered promptly. ”I can’t think of a better way to spend a Saturday morning.”

Dar stuck her hands in her pockets and regarded the horizon. ”I know sunrise isn’t everyone’s favorite time of day, but it seemed appropriate to me because I’ve always regarded dawn as being a time of...” she paused, ”a time to start things.”

Duks chuckled softly. ”I always suspected the reason you were constantly one step ahead of us was because you just woke up earlier, my friend,” he stated, with a wry grin. ”It is nice to have that confirmed.”