Then a loud crash occurred outside, and they stopped, separating a little and looking at each other. “Did we cause that?” Kerry asked nervously.

“Why don’t you look?” Dar answered.

Look? Kerry imagined turning her head to see a doorful of people staring back. “Nuh-uh. You look.”

“Me?” Dar remained where she was, looking intently into Kerry’s eyes. “You sure?”

She was getting lost again, this time in those rich blue pupils, wanting nothing more than to lean forward and take up right where she’d left off. Her body was craving it now, Dar’s hand moving slowly, teasingly across the fabric of her jeans, pausing to pluck lightly at the seams.

Footsteps clacked nearby, though. Kerry swallowed and got her breathing under control, then released one arm so that she was merely perched on the bed. Dar’s hand captured hers and they twined fingers, letting out twin sighs as the footsteps hurried past, and she caught a glimpse of a white-and-blue uniform go by.

“That was fun.” A tiny, mischievous glint danced in Dar’s eyes.

“Bet it’s quieter here later on.”


Red Sky At Morning 269

Kerry’s nostrils flared. “Oh.” She let out a faint laugh. “I hope so.”

They both looked at the tray. “Chicken, huh?” Kerry picked up the fork and stabbed a piece, then offered it to Dar. “If you share, I’ll go get a pizza later.”

Dar munched contentedly. “Deal,” she agreed.

“HOW’S IT GOING?” Ceci’s voice crackled softly over the phone at Kerry’s ear. “Andy’s been pacing for hours, so I hope Dar’s gotten more rest than he has.”

“I think she’s okay,” Kerry murmured, casting an eye over her sleeping partner. Dar had half curled onto her side and was resting comfortably, the blankets tucked up around her shoulders as the soft night-light threw shadows over her strong, planed features. “She’s been sleeping for a little while.”

“That’s a first,” Ceci chuckled. “I’d have thought she’d be climbing the walls by now.”

“No.” Kerry stretched and leaned back. “We had dinner, then we, ah, talked for a while. The nurses came in and took readings and stuff; then I got her to lay down. She’s been fine.” The medical attention hadn’t gotten Dar too upset, really. Her blood pressure had been low, she’d had no temperature—she’d even smiled at the nurse.

Of course, Kerry had felt pretty relaxed by then, too. A smirk appeared on her face.

“No signs of anything with the concussion?” Ceci asked. “She’s alert, and all that?”

The smirk widened. “Oh yeah. She’s um...very aware.”

“Good.” Dar’s mother sighed. “Last time she had a concussion, she was in a fog for two whole days, and she scared the—” Ceci abruptly fell silent. “Listen to me. You’d think I was—”

“Her mother or something?” Kerry finished warmly.

Ceci sighed. “I’m glad you’re there for her, Kerry.”

“Me, too,” came the soft reply. “I’m not sure which one of us is benefiting more, though. I know I’d be really unhappy if I wasn’t camping out with her.” Kerry checked her watch. Eleven-thirty. She wondered if she could get comfortable on the little couch, wishing she’d brought something useful like a sleeping bag to make the furniture more bearable. “How’s Chino?”

“Bouncing,” Ceci replied. “But now that we know Dar’s all right, maybe she’ll settle down if Andy does.” A low rumble moved closer.

“Honey, she’s fine. Kerry said she’s asleep, and there’s no problem.” A rustle.

“Kumquat?”

Kerry grinned. “Yes, Dad?”

“Dardar’s not giving you any fuss?”

“Nope,” Kerry assured him. “She’s been a model patient.”


270 Melissa Good

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. Better bring her ice cream tomorrow as a reward, don’t you think?” Kerry teased. “She’s being such a good girl.”

Andrew chuckled. “Glad to hear that, Kerry. We’ll be there, don’t you worry. I got something I need to take care of early, then we’ll be down.”

Kerry’s ears pricked up, but she hesitated, not wanting to ask questions over the hospital’s phone lines. Time enough tomorrow to ask him, when they were face to face. “Okay. See you then.”

“All right,” Andrew said. “Tell Dardar...” He hesitated.

“Tell her you love her? Sure.” That was an easy one. Kerry said goodbye and put the phone back in its cradle, then she got up and reviewed her little couch. It wasn’t like she was a giant or anything, either, Kerry reasoned. At all of five foot six, surely she had to fall into the wide part of the bell curve.

Yet the padded couch seemed barely large enough to lie down on, much less to accommodate her admittedly restless mode of sleeping.

“I’m going to end up on the floor,” she murmured. “I just know it.” But it was all she had to work with, unless she wanted to cut to the chase and take up residence on the chilly tile. She cast a glance over her shoulder. Or crawl into bed with Dar, and give the nurses a real shocker in the morning.

Mm. Her body liked that idea. Kerry rubbed her temples and firmly turned her thoughts elsewhere. But in a moment, she found herself standing at Dar’s bedside, her hands resting lightly on the railing that fenced her partner in. She reached over and gently moved a lock of disheveled black hair, stroking its silky smooth texture and letting it tangle around her fingers.

She felt more peaceful, Kerry realized, just being close to Dar, and she spent a few minutes idly wondering why. Was it just because Dar’s sleeping expression was so relaxed? There were none of the usual tensions that characterized her expression—the slight narrowing of her eyes and bunching of her jaw muscles that made Dar appear restlessly alert all the time.

Not now. Kerry could see only the faintest motion of her eyes under their lids and wondered what her lover was dreaming of. She gazed down for another moment, then she walked over to the heavy visitor’s chair and picked it up, putting it down right next to the bed. Okay. She lowered the guard rails, then sat down and rested her arm on the bed, putting her chin down on it and reaching up to circle Dar’s slack fingers with her own.

They were clasped instinctively, a welcome warmth that made her smile. She decided to just rest here a minute, then get up and try to get comfortable on her torture couch. Kerry closed her eyes, smiling a little when she felt Dar’s breath warming the skin on her forearm. Mm. That felt nice.

Yeah.


Red Sky At Morning 271

DAR WAS CHIEFLY aware of a lot of things aching as she hauled herself out of a deep sleep and responded to her body’s nagging crankiness.

Ow. She had a headache that would have felled a bison in its tracks, and her arm and shoulder felt like they’d been forced into a bad position for several days. Grumpily, she opened one eye, blinking as the fuzzy surroundings very slowly came into focus.

Ah. Dar had to smile despite the discomfort. Kerry was slumped against the bed, holding her hand, fast asleep. In the room, the first pale light of dawn was starting to show through the windows, but otherwise it was dark, save for the dim night-light above them.

But there was enough light for Dar to distinguish the curve of Kerry’s cheek, covered in fine, soft down. Light enough for her to see the delicate gold eyelashes. Light enough to catch the faintest hint of a smile tugging at one corner of her mouth.

What an amazing thing love was, Dar thought. It even drove you to do really dumb things like sleep leaning against a set of metal railings.

Oh, she’s gonna regret this when she wakes up. “Ker?” Dar squeezed the fingers clasped in her own. “Hey, chipmunk.”

“Uh?” Kerry murmured. “Dar?” She stirred, then shifted. “Ow.”

Her eyes opened in surprised displeasure. “What in...augh. I can’t believe I did that,” she hissed. “Jesus!”

“Easy, sweetie,” Dar laughed softly. “Stand up slowly.” She released Kerry’s hand and eased over onto her back, grabbing hold of her lover’s shoulder as she tried to straighten up. “Easy.”

“Son of a...” Kerry managed to get upright, her legs and back cramping like all get-out. “Oh my God, how stupid was that.” She leaned on the bed and groaned. “And wouldn’t the nurses have just loved walking in here.”

Dar ruffled her hair, then rubbed the parts of her within reach. “Ah, they’d live,” she disagreed. “Now, if they found you in bed with me...”

She grinned.

Kerry looked up, grinning back rakishly from between very disordered bangs. “Oh, I was tempted,” she admitted. “That’s how I ended up over here. I just came over to, um...” She met Dar’s eyes and felt suddenly shy. “Anyway, I sat down for a minute, and whammo.”

She fell silent, and her gaze dropped to the mussed sheets.

Dar watched her. “Ker?”

“Mm?”

“Thanks for staying,” Dar said. “It would have been such a nightmare for me if you hadn’t.” She waited for Kerry to look up.

“Literally.”

Kerry gazed at her. “Why?” she asked. “No one likes being in the hospital, Dar, but they’re not that bad, really.”

Dar shifted and settled her arm in a less uncomfortable position.

She found herself studying the ceiling, its tiled surface bearing tiny 272 Melissa Good pockmarks, barely visible to her. “I fell out of a tree when I was little.”

Her tone was quiet and casual. “They thought I’d cracked something, so they took me up to Baptist and had my head X-rayed.”

Kerry put a hand on Dar’s arm in silent comfort.

“They decided to keep me overnight, and they put me in a room with a real nice gal, an older woman,” Dar went on. “She was funny.

Decided to spend the night telling me stories; had grandkids of her own, I guess.” She paused and thought, then went on. “I woke up in the middle of the night, and looked over, and I—” Dar stopped, staring off into the distance.

Kerry waited.

“I knew something was wrong,” the quiet voice went on finally. “I got out of bed and went over, and I realized she was dead.”

It was like getting hit in the gut, hard. Kerry hadn’t expected this, hadn’t expected an answer to her question that even remotely resembled this. “Sweetheart.” She barely whispered the word.

“I think I started screaming,” Dar murmured.

Kerry didn’t give a damn about the nurses. She hauled herself up onto the bed and put her arms around Dar, pulling her close and hugging her. “Lord.”

Dar let her head lay against Kerry’s chest, reliving the moment.

Even all these years later, she could still feel the terror, the unreasoning fear that had haunted her dreams for a very long time after.

She remembered the nights she’d been afraid to go to sleep, terrified that she’d wake in the middle of the night and go in search of her parents, only to find them cold and stiff and staring. Dar drew in a shaky breath. It still shook her, even now. “Guess it made an impression.”

Kerry stroked her hair gently. “How old were you?”

“Five or six,” Dar replied, blinking. She was surprised to feel a tear roll down her face. “Silly, I guess, to even think about it now.”

“No.” Kerry closed her eyes and held on, kissing Dar’s head, then laying her cheek against the spot. “Not silly.” She felt her throat closing up, her entire body hurting for the child Dar had been, wanting to go back in time and be in that place, at that time, to hold Dar just as she was now and chase the fear away.

Dar allowed herself to accept the safety of that embrace. The ghost of that night lurking inside her loosened its hold, and as she reached up and clasped Kerry’s arm, she felt the terror unwind and drift away into the dawn’s breaking.

Silence settled peacefully over them.

They did, in fact, surprise the nurses.

ANDREW ROBERTS WALKED down the hallway, dodging sleepy interns pushing carts of equipment at a far slower pace than Red Sky At Morning 273

his rolling stride.

It was early, he reckoned, before the visiting hours of the hospital; but if there was one thing Andrew had learned in all his years of service it was that if you acted like you knew what you were doing, folks tended to leave you be.

Since he knew where he was, and knew where he was going, sure

’nough, nobody did ask him what he was doing in the hospital so early.

Exchanging gruff nods with a security guard, he went past the nurses’

station and down the next corridor toward one specific door set among many up and down the hall.