Dar reluctantly shut the water off, and stepped out of the shower, grabbing one of the long, fluffy beach towels she kept in the bathroom for drying off. She wrapped it around her, then took a second and roughly dried her hair before she exited the bathroom and moved gingerly through the bedroom without her crutches.
Hmm. She tested the leg cautiously, pleased with the response. Not bad. She considered, then shrugged and pulled on a polo shirt and a pair of jeans, tucking the shirt inside and giving herself a cursory glance in the mirror. ”Gonna have to do.” She made a wry face at herself, and ran a brush through her hair quickly.
”Hey, Dardar?” her father called from the other room.
”Yeah?” She limped to the door and went through it, finding him near the sliding glass doors. ”What’s up?”
He turned. ”Hey where’s them damn crutches?”
”In the room. It’s okay. Leg feels a lot better” Dar remarked, putting a hand against the glass.
”Uh huh.” He sounded skeptical. ”I’d believe you ‘cept that if it were me saying that, I’d be lying a blue streak.”
Dar glanced at him, then chuckled wryly, waggling her hand. ”It hurts, but my back is killing me from using those damn things. I need a break,” she admitted. ”I’m gonna go sit down anyway. Did you want to show me something?”
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Andrew seemed nervous all of a sudden. ”Naw, well.” He cleared his throat. ”You still go out there?” His head indicated the sea.
Dar nodded. ”I stopped for a while,” she admitted quietly. ”But Kerry loves it. She got certified and we go out almost every weekend.”
”Good fer her,” Andrew stated.
A soft chuckle. ”She’s got me back involved in a lot of things.” Dar sighed. ”I was...” she hesitated, ”considering getting back into competition.”
Her father’s eyes lit up. ”Were ya?” He studied her seriously.
”Looks like you could.” He poked her experimentally. ”Better’n some of the pups they sent out with me the last time, I tell ya that.”
Dar laughed, a touch embarrassed. ”Yeah, I kept that up,” she murmured. ”You’re responsible for that. I always thought you’d be disappointed if I hadn’t.”
Andrew remained silent for a moment, then he put a gentle hand on her arm. ”Rugrat, I could never be disappointed with you.” His voice was sincere. ”Doesn’t matter what you ended up doing, who you ended up being. You’re my kid, and ain’t nothing gonna ever change that.”
Dar found herself unable to answer, and she swallowed a lump in her throat.
”Nuff of that mushy stuff.” Andrew cleared his throat. ”You go back into that stuff, you let me know, hear?” He fumbled a white card from his pocket and handed it to her. ”That’ll get me.”
A pager number. Dar smiled at it, and tucked it into her shirt pocket. Then she limped over to her briefcase, resting on a chair nearby and removed one of her own cards. She scribbled the home phone at the condo on the back and handed it to him. ”Fair’s fair,” she told him.
”Give us a call sometimes.”
He stared at the card, turning it over in his fingers. Then he tucked it away carefully without a word.
They both heard the sound of a car outside. ”Guess that’s them,”
Dar stated quietly. ”Thanks for sticking around today.”
”You can thank the kumquat for that. It was her idea,” Andrew mumbled. ”Well, I’ll go round back and wait for her. You take care of yourself, you hear, rugrat?”
Dar hugged him, feeling him tense for a moment, then relax and return the hug. ”I love you, Daddy,” she whispered. ”I missed you.”
He took a shaky breath, and patted her side. ”Same here.” He broke off and cleared his throat. ”Be good.” He gave her arm another pat, then slipped out the back door and into the darkness.
Dar watched until his shadow blended into the foliage, not turning until she heard footsteps outside the front door.
KERRY PARKED THE Mustang next to Dar’s Lexus, and glanced at her passenger. Alastair had been looking around with great interest, 154
Melissa Good
and it gave her a chance to study him in return.
He looked like a kindly grandfather, she decided. Except that he was deceptively shrewd and she suspected he could make the tough decisions when he really needed to. Certainly he had Dar’s respect and she knew just how much that counted for. “Here we are.”
”Nice place,” he commented, looking around. “Wasn’t aware we’d have to take a boat trip out here. I never realized this was where Dar lived.”
Kerry nodded. ”Okay, well, that’s the condo, so.” She opened the door and got out, waiting for him to join her before she led the way down the walk and up the stairs. As she approached the door she hesitated, lifting her hand to knock, then made a quiet decision and let her fingers drop to the keypad instead, keying in her code and unlocking the door.
Alastair made no comment. His eyebrows didn’t even twitch.
Kerry suspected he knew more about them than Dar figured. ”After you.” She opened the door and held it, gesturing with the other hand.
A quick peek inside showed her Dar was leaning casually against the back of the love seat, regarding them. There was no sign of Andrew.
”Hi.”Dar’s eyes flicked to hers, and she gave her a tiny wink. ”Hi.” Then her attention turned to Alastair. ”Hello Alastair, c’mon in.”
Kerry lifted a hand and moved a step back. ”Later.”
Dar lifted a hand in response, and watched the door close behind her lover, then she turned her gaze on her boss.
They regarded each other in silence for a moment, then Dar exhaled and stood up. ”Siddown. You want a drink?”
”I think I need one,” Alastair replied wryly, as he took the invitation and settled on the couch, leaning back and glancing around.
”Nice place, Dar.”
The dark haired woman nodded. ”Thanks.” She limped over to the cabinet against the wall and took out a bottle, pulling the top off and pouring a portion of honey golden liquor into two glasses. Then she put the top back on and made her way back, handing Alastair his, and settling in the easy chair across from him.
”So.” He took a sip, eyebrows rising at the taste. ”Very nice,” he added approvingly.
”Thought I remembered you liked scotch,” Dar commented, taking a sip of her own glass. The smooth twenty year old alcohol burned warmly on the way down.
”That I do,” Alastair agreed. ”That I do.” He looked around. ”You know Dar, not that I spent a whole lot of time thinking about it, but I never pictured you in a place like this.” His eyes fell on the space scape.
”High tech apartment in a high rise off Brickell, sure, but...”
Dar smiled briefly. ”An aunt of mine willed it to me.”
An awkward silence fell.
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”So,” Alastair said again. ”Where do we go from here, Dar?” He sipped his scotch and watched her over the rim of his glass. ”I think you probably realize I’ve got someone real hefty sitting on that resignation request of yours.”
Dar considered that. ”Flattering,” she commented briefly.
”Let’s not bullshit each other,” Alastair advised her. ”We both know I consider you an essential part of my management team, and it would kill me to lose you.” He paused. ”Especially over something as ridiculous as this.”
He waited, but she didn’t comment. ”So, what really happened here, Dar? I’ve heard Mari’s side, and José’s side, and I just don’t get it.