Part 49 (2/2)
The ex-sailor had lost his patience. ”Shut the h.e.l.l up 'fore I toss you overboard.”
Bob glared at all of them, but subsided. Charlie released his throat, staying close by just in case. ”You can't,” Bob muttered.
”You can't.”
”We will,” Kerry replied steadily. 'And if you try to interfere, you're going to get hurt.”
”d.a.m.n straight,” Charlie agreed.
Chapter.
Twenty-five.
”DAR?” KERRY TIED the laces on her sneaker. ”I have a question.” They were in the bedroom changing, by only the dim light of the bedside lamp. It was quiet and cool, and presented a last moment of peace before they went to do battle with the weather and DeSalliers.
Dar was fastening the top b.u.t.ton on her jeans. ”Mm?”
”How are we going to get to DeSalliers' boat?”
Dar's hands paused and she looked up. ”He's got a skiff, I think. I saw it hanging off a winch when we were onboard.”
Kerry at her gazed seriously. ”What if we need to get back in a hurry? I hate to be at his mercy like that.”
The boat pitched, making them both grab for balance. After it steadied, Dar put her hands on her hips and frowned thoughtfully.
”We could swim, I suppose,” she said. ”But in this weather, d.a.m.n, I hope we don't have to.”
Kerry stepped closer and slid her fingertips inside Dar's waistband. ”You think we should dress accordingly, just in case?
Not that I don't love you in jeans, sweetie, because I do, but they're a b.i.t.c.h to swim in.” She gave the waistband a tug. ”Even if they are loose like these.”
”You've got a point,” Dar acknowledged, studying Kerry's own outfit of a T-s.h.i.+rt tucked into shorts. ”I could just go in my bathing suit with a pair of gym shorts over it,” she said. ”You have a suit on under that?”
”Yes, I do, so that would be perfect,” Kerry agreed. She watched quietly as her partner changed, sliding out of the jeans and folding them neatly before she donned her bathing suit. ”Dar?” In the relatively dim light, she could still see the reflections off Dar's eyes. ”Are you scared?”
Dar adjusted the shoulder strap on her solid black suit. ”Of doing this?”
Kerry nodded.
”A little.” The dark-haired woman sighed. ”Scared something else will happen and someone, us maybe, or Bud, will get hurt. Sure*293 I'm scared.”
”I feel a lot better now that we have this.” Kerry touched the plastic coated sheet on the dresser. ”It's not just a bluff anymore.”
Dar nodded.
”Shame he gets to win, though,” Kerry observed. ”Kind of frustrating, really. We get the answers at last, and now it's for nothing. Patrick Wharton wins anyway.”
”I've got a theory about that.” Dar pulled a light, cotton short- sleeved s.h.i.+rt on over her suit, leaving it unb.u.t.toned. ”What goes around, comes around. He'll get his one day.” She carefully stored her precious pocket watch in a drawer, tucking it into a fold of one of her spare s.h.i.+rts.
”Like my father did?” Kerry asked quietly.
Dar paused and looked at her thoughtfully. ”You could say that,” she agreed slowly. ”It catches up to you.” Her eyes dropped.
”Like it did to me.”
Kerry moved closer and her voice rose with her indignation.
”You're not seriously comparing yourself to either Wharton or my father, are you?”
”No, not exactly.”
”Good.” Kerry b.u.mped against her. ”Then what are you talking about?”
Dar circled Kerry's neck with her arms and rested her forehead against her partner's. ”I'm not really sure. Ask me again later,” she said.
The boat swayed and they both swayed with it. Kerry took hold of Dar's waist and leaned in to kiss her. ”Time to get going,” she said. ”I'll be glad when this is over.”
Dar rubbed noses with her. ”Me, too,” she admitted. ”Because when it is, I'm gonna kick everyone off this d.a.m.n boat and put a do not disturb sign on the railing.”
”Right there with you,” Kerry said.
Dar tucked the plastic sheet into her back pocket and zipped it, then put her arm around Kerry's shoulders and steered her toward the bedroom door. ”Know what I was just thinking? The old man was a b.a.s.t.a.r.d. Maybe it's poetic justice the kid took everything.”
Kerry sighed. ”That thought had occurred to me. Though I'm not sure that the wife should be punished for the sins of the husband.”
They opened the door and walked out into the boat's living area. ”I'm going to go start up the engines,” Dar told Charlie, who was keeping a dour eye on the still-glowering Bob. She grabbed her rain slicker off the counter and slipped into it, fastening the catches. ”Might as well get moving.”
”I'll go on up there with you.” Charlie got up carefully, getting his balance over his artificial leg.
294*
' Thanks a lot, guys,' Kerry telepathically sent to them, as they hastened to leave her with the furious Bob. ”I'm going to heat up the soup, Dar. We missed dinner.”
Soup. Dar's stomach suddenly rumbled loudly. ”Great idea.”
She gave her partner an appreciative look. ”Thanks.”
”Mm.” Kerry let her eyes rest on Bob, then met Dar's. One pale eyebrow quirked.
Dar returned a mildly sheepish look and a shrug. ”Call me when it's ready. I'll come get you,” she said. ”I mean, get it.”
'I liked the first one better,' Kerry mouthed, before she turned and made her way into the galley.
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