Kerry found herself smiling in reaction. “You have any advice? I’m willing to listen—half of me wants to just get it over with, and the other half is scared to death to even start.”
“Hmm.” He cocked his head. “Well, it’s the coward’s way out, I suppose, but what I’d do is wait until you’re ready to leave to go…home.” He smiled at her. “And just tell them then, just a flat statement, and then leave. Get someone else to take you to the airport and just go.” He clasped her hand.
“The holidays are a very emotional time; it’s hard for people to cope with situations while they’re under that kind of stress. Especially on Thanksgiving, which is so family oriented.”
She considered that. “You know, that’s good advice,” she admitted. “Just play along until then, it’ll make the weekend a lot more pleasant.”
He nodded. “That’s what I did,” he told her softly, then put a finger up to his lips.
How had Angela known? Kerry blinked at him in mild shock. “Oh.” She got a pat on the cheek. “I see.” Her eyes darted around the room.
“But…you…”
“Yes, and if they knew, I’d be out of a job,” Robert said quietly. “So I know what it is to live with a secret, Kerry, but there are things in life worth risking that for.” He paused. “A soulmate is one of them.”
Kerry slowly nodded. “It’s worth risking everything for.” She let out a breath. “Thank you, Pastor Robert.”
He gazed at her fondly. “I wish you all the joy in the world, my friend. I’ll pray for you, and for your parents’ understanding.” He stood and waited for her to stand as well, then hugged her. “Be well.”
She smiled and patted his side. “You, too.” A knock at the door made her look up, and it pushed open to reveal Angela’s face. “C’mon in.”
“Silvia Cessnes wants to know if we want to sit down and have coffee with them. You up for it?” Angela asked.
“Yeah, that would be nice,” Kerry agreed. Silvia Cessnes was one of her favorite high school teachers. “Happy Thanksgiving, Pastor Robert.”
“Same to you, Kerry…and you too, Angela. Thanks for stopping by.” He led her to the door and waved at them before closing it at Kerry’s back.
“Everything okay?” Angela asked in a whisper.
Kerry smiled. “Everything’s great. Come on, I bet they have fresh Linzer tortes at the coffee shop.” She tugged on Angela’s sleeve and led her down the corridor.
Never seeing the tall, dark form that watched her go, then walked off in the opposite direction.
“WASN’T SHE A trip?” Kerry laughed as she and Angela climbed up the stairs to the room they’d shared the previous night. “She hasn’t changed a Tropical Storm 411
bit.” She pushed the door open and walked inside, then stopped. It wasn’t obviously messy, but someone had been going through her things.
Angela stopped too, seeing the papers strewn around Kerry’s laptop case.
“What’s going on?”
Kerry’s heart hammered in her chest, and she walked over, looking inside the zippered compartment with shaking fingers. “Oh shit.”
“What?” Her sister peered over her shoulder anxiously.
“The pictures,” she breathed. “How could I have been so stupid?” In pure reflex, she reached for her cell phone, then stopped. What am I going to call and tell her, how dumb I was? “Shit.”
Angela blew out a breath. “Man, I can’t believe they came in here and rifled through your stuff. Kerry, that’s disgusting.”
“I should have remembered. It was standard operating procedure when we were in high school, remember? Looking for god knows what.” Kerry pushed her hair back and tried to think. Were the pictures that incriminating?
A few of the island, pretty innocuous. The boat, also could be anywhere. The two of Dar in her suit… Well… Then she sighed. And the last one, which she’d had Colleen take of them together in her apartment on the couch. Dar’s arm was draped over her shoulders and Kerry’s left leg was slung over the taller woman’s knees. Both of them were smiling, Dar’s eyes on her in unmistakable affection that even the camera had caught. Oh shit.
“What are you going to do?” Angela murmured. “He’s going to go insane, you know that.”
“I know,” Kerry murmured. “I guess I’ll just have to be honest. But Angie, I might need to get out of here.”
“I’ll take you, don’t worry,” her sister replied instantly. “And Brian will be here in a little while, too.” She rubbed Kerry’s back gently. “I’m sorry, I didn’t think about them doing this.”
Kerry closed her eyes. “Me, either, and I should have—I know better, especially after what happened the other day.” She turned around and leaned on the desk. “My place got broken into, turned upside down and searched, and someone poisoned my fish.”
Angela stared at her in shock. “You don’t think…”
“Kyle visited, coincidentally, the next day,” Kerry replied shortly. “Dar was there. She was going to keep out of sight, but he started…pawing at me, and she…” A pause. “She stopped him.”
Angela digested this. “Kyle can be really scary. Brian thinks he’s half nuts or something, ever since that military thing.”
“Dar can be scary, too,” Kerry responded. “She’s as tall as he is, and she doesn’t look like someone you want to mess around with too much.” She considered. “She probably kicked him right in the ego.”
“He’d try to get back at her for that,” Angela said softly. “He’s really smart, Ker, and he’s got a lot of tricks up his sleeve. I bet he’s the one who went through your stuff.”
Kerry stood there breathing a moment, then she flipped open her cell phone and punched a button. “Hey,” she said quietly when Dar answered.
“Hey.” Dar sounded surprised. “Didn’t expect to hear from you again so soon, not that I mind. What’s up?”
412 Melissa Good
“I’m an idiot,” Kerry admitted softly. “I did something very stupid. Dar, I left those pictures I’d taken in my laptop case, and someone went through my stuff here and found them.”
“Ah.” The executive’s voice sounded thoughtful. “So the cat’s out, eh?
Well, I hope they like my suit.”
Kerry paused, feeling a calming wave pass over her. “You don’t think I’m a total fool?”
Dar hesitated. “Why’d you bring the pictures?” she asked quietly.
“Um…” Kerry blushed. “To show you off to my sister.”
A soft chuckle warmed her. “And I’m supposed to think that’s foolish?
Nah, bad luck, but…keep your head together, and if they’ve got questions, just answer them. Don’t let them rattle you.”
“All right.” Kerry squared her shoulders a little. “Thanks, Dar.”
“Let me know what happens, okay?” her friend urged gently.
“Yeah, I will,” Kerry reassured her. “Bye.” She closed the phone and tucked in onto her belt. “Dar says, just stay cool and see what happens.”
Angela put an arm around her. “She sounds like a good friend, on top of everything else.”
Kerry nodded absently. “She is. I know I can count on her.” She carefully put her things away. “Okay, let’s change and go downstairs. The rest of the family should be arriving, that should give me a grace period over dinner, at least.” She unbuttoned the soft flannel green shirt she’d worn to town and tugged it from her jeans, pulling off the shirt and folding it neatly before she tucked it inside her bag. “I could just make them explode by wearing jeans to dinner, I guess.”
Angela removed a beige, pleated skirt and a long-sleeved shirt from her own bag, along with a pearl-embroidered pink wool sweater. “Kerry.”