Melissa Good - Terrors of the High Seas

Bob shrugged uncomfortably. “I didn’t think it was that serious. I didn’t think he’d go…nuts like that.” He leaned on a pylon. “I’m sorry.”

Kerry got up and went to the side rail, facing him. “What really sucked was you wanting that paper back…before we got Bud.”

Bob looked down at the dock. “You don’t understand,” he 346 Melissa Good muttered. “It’s like a hatchet he holds over all of them…especially Tanya. I was only thinking about her.”

“A hatchet?”

“The money.” Bob looked up. “But like I said,” he gestured at the Dixie , “you don’t get it. “

Kerry leaned on the railing, studying him with an enigmatic expression. “I understand that better than you’d ever imagine,” she replied. “But people are more important than money, no matter how much of it you have…or don’t have.”

Bob shook his head. “Easy for you to say,” he said. “Tanya’s coming down here. Now that we know for sure the old man wasn’t nuts, we’ll find a way to get what we want. Without anyone else’s help.” He turned and walked away quickly, almost colliding with one of the other boat owners. The man shoved him off, and cursed, shaking his head as Bob just kept on going.

Kerry sighed. “What a jerk.”

Just then, Dar appeared on the dock and circled the stern, hopped on board and stepped down onto the deck. “Yep. That he is,” she agreed, joining Kerry on the side. “Hope we don’t need him as a witness.”

“Witness?” Kerry turned to her. “You think we will?”

Dar shrugged.

Kerry exhaled. “Any damage?” she asked, glancing over the side of the boat. “Didn’t look like much.”

“Not too bad,” Dar confirmed. “Just a few scrapes.”

“Good. Do we have a plan?” Kerry held out a hand.

Dar stepped closer and took it, walking around behind Kerry’s the chair and letting her other hand rest on Kerry’s shoulder. “A plan.” Dar yawned, her jaw cracking softly. “I’m still too wiped to have a plan.” She eased into the chair next to Kerry’s and slung one long leg over its arm. “I guess we’ll go talk to the cops first.” She rested her head on one hand. “What do you want to do after that?”

Leave . Kerry bit back the answer, knowing her sense of responsibility would berate her for it. “Well, if that all turns out okay...”

“You think it won’t?” Dar interrupted softly. “He asked us to lunch, not down to the station.” She studied her knuckles.

“Wonder how much we should tell him.” Her eyes lifted and gazed across the water. “We could be in trouble, Ker.”

“I know,” Kerry agreed. “So I’d rather not take anything for granted. Now, if that turns out okay, we could go see Bud and make sure he and Charlie are okay.”

“Mm, yeah,” Dar grunted.

“We could take Dad out for dinner before his flight.”

That got a much more interested response. “Okay, that sounds good,” Dar agreed. “Where did he run off to, anyway?”

Terrors of the High Seas 347

Kerry shook her head. “He didn’t say. Just that he’d be back.”

She glanced at the deck pensively. “I think I pissed him off earlier.

The chair creaked as Dar leaned toward her. “You?” Her voice expressed disbelief. “How?”

“I asked him about him and Bud and Charlie,” Kerry admitted.

“I don’t think he likes people knowing about all that. I guess it’s embarrassing for him.” She paused thoughtfully. “Or something.”

She turned her head and gazed at Dar. “I’m sorry I mentioned anything.”

Dar reached over and gave Kerry a scratch on the back of the neck. “Sweetheart, it’s not what you think,” she said. “Yeah, the whole damn thing embarrasses the hell out of him, that’s true.”

“Having them think he was gay, you mean?” Kerry asked. “In that world, it’s kinda understandable.”

Dar chuckled. “No. He didn’t really care about that. But let me start at the beginning.” She cleared her throat. “It was really all my fault.”

“Your fault?” Kerry asked in much the same tone Dar had used moments earlier. “How?”

“I’d just come out to him and Mom,” Dar related. “It was tough for my folks, being part of the military world, and seeing as I was such a pain in the ass child anyway…”

Kerry smiled but kept quiet.

“So, my dad went out and read a whole boatload of stuff about homosexuality at the library,” Dar went on. “He even checked out a few books, and apparently took one of them with him on a maneuver with a couple of squads off the base.”

“Uh oh.”

“Yeah.” Dar nodded. “So then he got assigned to sea duty for four months. The captain of the boat he was on was a real tight assed conservative, and one day he went off about gays in front of the guys.” She paused to reflect, then sighed. “My dad, being my dad, took him into a torpedo room and nearly removed a couple of teeth from his mouth.”

“Yikes.”

“Word got around about it, and everyone put two and two together and got six.” The dark-haired woman stretched out her legs. “After that, Charlie figured Dad was fair game.”

“Oh.” Kerry frowned. “But… I mean, Dar, he was married and had a child. Didn’t they get a clue?”

Dar looked at her, one eyebrow lifting in wry sarcasm.

“Yes, I know that’s not necessarily an indication of heterosexuality, but Jesus! Your father drips it,” Kerry protested.

“True. But that’s not really what he’s pissed off about,” Dar explained. “It wasn’t that they thought he was gay. Since I am, that wasn’t something he found offensive.”

348 Melissa Good Kerry cocked her head. “O…kay…” Her brows contracted.

“But…”

“He was furious that they thought he was the kind of man who would cheat on his wife,” Dar said simply. “He never forgave them for that.” She pushed herself out of the chair. “Want a drink?”

“Sure.” Kerry quietly absorbed the information. “Wow. That makes sense.” She shook her head. “It was hard for me to think Dad would have been that embarrassed about someone thinking he was what we are,” she admitted. “But I can understand now.”

“Mm,” Dar agreed. “He told me about it when he came back that time. He said he couldn’t tell Mom, but he wanted to share it with me so I knew what really happened, in case I heard anything on the base.”

“Did you?” Kerry asked in a soft voice. “Hear anything?”

A half smile twitched at Dar’s lips. “Not directly,” she said.

“By that time, I…um…had quite the reputation for a temper, and most of the other kids on the base knew if they ribbed me about my father, it meant a fight.”

Kerry tipped her head back and regarded Dar with a slight grin. “Two of a kind.” She reached up and touched the insignia now threaded through the silver chain around Dar’s neck. It nestled against Dar’s joining ring and collected just the faintest hint of reflection off its dully burnished surface.

Dar stuck her hands into her pockets and looked down at the item, unable to hide the unabashedly proud grin. “Yeah.” Her eyes twinkled. “That we are.” Her attention returned to Kerry’s face.

“Don’t worry, Ker. Dad would never be mad at anyone just for asking a question. Especially you.” She stroked Kerry’s hair. “He loves you.”

The green eyes looking up at Dar filled with unshed tears.

Kerry remained silent, just watching Dar’s expression.

“We’ve got a while before lunch,” Dar said in a gentle tone.

“Let’s go inside and relax. Okay?” She held out a hand. When it was taken, she guided both of them through the cabin door and out of the sun.