“Thought so.” Andrew took hold of Kyle’s jaw and savagely yanked it to one side and slammed the top of Kyle’s head with his other hand. A sharp crack sounded in the car over the hissing of the demolished engine.
Then it was quiet.
“May t’Lord God have mercy on ya’ll,” Andy said, after a moment of silence. “’Cause He’s a better man than me.” After a slight delay, he slammed his shoulder against the back door, slid out of the car, and cocked his head as he heard sirens in the far, far distance.
A house overlooked the crash site, and there were lights on.
He could see silhouettes in the window, and a door slammed nearby, accompanied by the crunch of someone running in the newly fallen snow.
In the other direction, a thick blanket of white formed an unwritten page, and towards the road, headlights approached, their brilliance dancing off the soft surface.
Andrew paused, then looked up and studied the branches for a moment before he crouched and leaped, grabbed a branch, and pulled himself up into the tree. A dusting of snow fell under him, then it all went silent again.
AS SHE WOKE the next morning, Kerry half remembered her dream. It had been something about rabbits. Her eyes drifted open and bemusedly regarded the colorful fabric she was lying on, recalling that every time she dreamed of animals, it was always one of those really weird dreams that made no sense and usually involved her being naked.
She wondered briefly what a psychologist would make of them—especially the one with the talking bears. A smile spread across her face and she turned her head a little, and took in the room with a vague sense of the unreal.
It seems brighter in here today, she thought, eyeing the window Thicker Than Water 165
which now let in the pale winter light.
Wonder what time it is. Kerry closed her eyes and snuggled closer, reflecting on how much a good night’s sleep could do for a person’s outlook. She felt much more centered, and she considered that perhaps it was because she’d faced the worst and endured. She’d been tying herself up in knots imagining what her reception would be like, and now…
Well, now she knew. She took in a deep breath, filled with heated air and Dar’s scent. It had been as bad, or worse than she’d expected, but knowing, she discovered, was far better than wondering. Knowing, you could deal with, plan for, and defend against. Wondering just kept you unbalanced.
Now she knew the worst, both with her family, and the fall-out from Dar’s actions with the Navy. Looking at the sun, she realized that life did just go on, despite all its problems. Life would go on now. They would go on together.
“Mmph.” Kerry exhaled and wriggled a little in contentment as Dar’s arm tightened around her. Dar had been her anchor through it all, she acknowledged quietly. Like a rock she’d stood there, being a windbreak, something to lean against, and a shelter when it all had gotten to be too much. Kerry opened her eyes again and looked up at her lover in deep affection, almost jump-ing when her eyes met amused blue ones looking back at her.
“Yeah?”
Dar’s eyebrows lifted.
“Didn’t think you were awake,” Kerry said with a sheepish grin. “I was just lying here thinking about how wonderful you are.”
The dark brows lifted even further, giving Dar an almost comical look. She laughed softly and stretched in Kerry’s embrace, arching her back and tensing her muscles before relaxing back onto the bed’s surface.
“Mm…that was like a carnival ride. Can we go again?” Kerry asked.
Dar eyed her with a faint smile. “You’re in a good mood. Feeling better today?”
Kerry nodded. “Yeah. How about you?” She carefully touched Dar’s shoulder, feeling it move under her fingers as Dar experimentally flexed it.
“Eh. Stiff, but not as bad as yesterday.” Dar sounded mildly surprised. “It’s not throbbing anymore.” Another experimental movement yielded the same results. “Cool.”
Kerry smiled and gave her a hug. “Glad to hear that.” She regarded the window. “Looks like the weather got better, too.
Hey, wanna get dressed and go for a walk? I could show you my 166 Melissa Good favorite sledding hill before we take off.”
Dar remembered her last walk in the cold. “All right.” She eyed Kerry. “But you better keep me warm. It looks like the arctic tundra out there. And how about we find some breakfast first? I noticed you didn’t get much off that table last night.”
“I don’t like pate,” Kerry said. “And neither do you. There’re just so many crackers topped with bits of roast beef and horserad-ish I can handle.” Her nose crinkled in distaste. “Besides, I wasn’t really hungry.” A low rumble made her chuckle a little. “I am now.”
“So I hear,” Dar remarked mildly. “C’mon. I may need some help in the shower.”
Kerry grinned. “Now that’s an offer I’ll never refuse.” She paused and laid a hand on Dar’s stomach. “Dar, about work—”
“Shhh.” Dar ruffled her hair. “Don’t think about it. Let’s just get through today and get home.”
Kerry sighed. Well, there wasn’t much she could do about it anyway, was there? Her eyes drifted off a bit. Or was there?
“WHAT DO YOU think?” Kerry spread her arms and indicated her body. She watched the expressions on Dar’s face cascade from quizzical to thoughtful to outright lecherous. “I meant the clothes, honey.” She sighed, blushing at the compliment nevertheless.
“Oh.” Dar laughed. “Hm.” She reviewed her lover’s choices thoughtfully. Kerry wore a long sleeved flannel shirt tucked into her nicely worn jeans, to which she’d added the cute touch of suspenders. She also had on her hiking boots. Dar thought she looked adorable. “Are you deliberately going for the non-WASP look?”
“Well, yeah.” Kerry put her hands on her hips. “Did it work?”
“I think so,” Dar said gravely. “Should I put on my fringed leather vest?”
Kerry’s eyebrows jerked up in pleased surprise. “Did you bring that?”
Dar chuckled. “No. I was joking. Would you settle for leather pants?”
Kerry looked at her suspiciously, then went to her bag and rummaged in it. “Oh.” She lifted the pants out. “You really have some? I never saw these before, Dar. Where did you get them?”
She shook out the soft, burnt caramel colored hide. “Oo…I like.”
“Thank you,” Dar replied. “And you’ve never seen them before because I won’t wear them at home.”
Kerry eyed her. “Too trendy for Miami?”
“No.” Dar took the hide trousers from her. “Too hot. I figured Thicker Than Water 167
I might get a chance to actually put them on up here, so I brought them along. Give me a hand getting into them?”
Kerry happily obliged, tugging the leather up and over Dar’s hips. They fit comfortably, not too snug, and she neatly fastened the buttons and buckled the two criss-crossing leather beltlets that lent a somewhat offbeat touch to them. The leather was broken and butter soft, and she knelt to fasten the straps near Dar’s ankles. “Meant for boots, I see.”
“Mmhm,” Dar said. “I used to have some that went with them.” She buttoned the sleeve on a tightly woven wool shirt in a creamy butter color. “Back in my wilder days.”
Kerry ran her fingers over the smooth leather, then sniffed it.
“I like them. You’re a natural for this stuff.”
Dar’s lips twitched. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“You should.” Kerry placed a kiss on the inside of her leg, just above the knee, then she got to her feet and offered Dar a hand. “Breakfast?”
Dar curled her fingers around Kerry’s and accompanied her to the door. “Listen, Ker, about last night—”