Melissa Good - Thicker Than Water

“Yes, they do,” Ceci said. “Tell you what. Let’s plan on getting your people together with my people some time, and we’ll bus them off to the Dade County Fair. I’ll take pictures.”

Andrew snorted and chuckled under his breath.

“They don’t deserve the funnel cakes,” Kerry said dryly.

“C’mon, let’s get out of here, Dar.”

Angie stuck her head around the corner of the doorway.

“Kerry, they want to get one more set of pictures, then we’re done.”

Aggrieved, Kerry sighed again. “For what? This is supposed to be a solemn occasion, Angie. I feel like we’re performing s…”

she glanced at Andrew and half smiled, “…bears.”

“The local paper.” Angie gave her an apologetic look.

“They’re doing an entire special section on him.”

Kerry closed her eyes. “Great.” She opened them and looked at Dar. “Why don’t you go on upstairs; I’ll meet you there in a few minutes. I need to have a word with my mother, anyway.”

Dar considered for a moment, then nodded. “All right.” She pushed away from the wall, and gave Kerry a gentle rub on the arm before she circled around her and headed for the door.

After a moment, Andrew caught up to her. Dar started to say something, then just decided to conserve energy and remained silent, ignoring the curious looks as they left the reception room and headed for the wide, open staircase. Cameras popped in the foyer as they crossed it, and Dar winced at the bright light. “What the hell’s that for?” she muttered.

Her father merely looked at her and snorted, shaking his head.

“Ms…ah…Roberts.” One of the reporters stepped into her path. “Can we get a moment to talk with you?”

Several choice replies came to mind, but then Dar recognized the lapel badge as one of the major business papers and decided Alastair didn’t deserve all the grief. “Sure.” She put a hand on the stair banister and waited. “What can I do for you?”

The man and his companion closed the distance between them as he took out a pad. Dar was mildly relieved no cameras were involved and decided to be patient and wait for him to get his act together. “Did he really rate the Wall Street Journal?”

The man looked up and gave her a half grin. “He was involved in a lot of behind the scenes issues.”

“Ah.”

“For instance, we know he’s been promoting an investigation 148 Melissa Good that calls into question the government contracts ILS has been given this past year. Did you know that?”

Dar took a moment to absorb the unexpectedly public information. “I did. But I try to stay clear of political entanglements—

our legal department handles that.”

“Your company would have been badly hurt if it’d been successful,” the man said. “So I guess that makes this an opportune event for you, huh?”

Dar remained quiet for a few breaths, balancing her inner feelings with her responsibilities. “People dying is never an opportune event, mister. No matter what he was up to, and no matter how he felt about ILS, he was still my partner’s father.”

“Even after those hearings? Pretty nasty,” the man said. “No one’d blame you for holding a grudge.”

“I don’t waste my time on grudges,” Dar lied in a sincere voice. “I don’t think he did, either. But it makes good press, doesn’t it?” She redirected the attack with a smile.

The man’s eyebrows quirked. “Someone else could pick up the ball there, y’know. Those contracts are worth a lot of money.”

Dar shrugged. “All our contracts are worth a lot of money, and that’s why we pay the legal department. I suggest you talk to them if you need any more details.” She lifted her hand off the banister and took a step back. “Excuse me.”

“Thanks for chatting, Ms. Roberts. Have a good night,” the reporter replied courteously. “Sir.” He gave Andrew a nod, before he turned and rejoined the milling crowd.

“Pansy ass,” Andrew grunted.

“Shh.” Dar muffled a short laugh. “C’mon.” She turned and walked up the stairs, shaking her head.

Dar was glad to get away from the noise and the crowd. She didn’t like them to begin with, and the pain was shortening her already ragged temper. “Damn, I wish I was home.” She sighed as she reached the door to the green room.

“Ah bet.” Andrew opened it for her. “Let me take a look at that there arm of yours.”

Dar’s brow edged up.

”Don’t you give me that look.” Her father scowled at her.

“Git.”

“Yes, sir.” Dar entered the room with Andy and closed the door. The room was dark, as they’d left only one lamp on, and she let out a silent sigh as she absorbed the quiet, dim peace. She kicked her shoes off first, then pulled her jacket off and froze in mid motion, clenching her jaw against a gasp.

“Easy there, Dardar.” Her father caught up to her and gently eased the jacket off her shoulders. “Lemme see that…Good Lord.”

Thicker Than Water 149

Dar glanced at her arm. “Looks worse than it feels,” she lied.

Andrew turned her into the light and touched the bruised skin with gentle fingers. “Looks a sight worse than it did back down south. Thought you been taking it easy.” He lifted his eyes and studied her face. “That does not look good to me, young lady.”

Dar managed a rakish grin. “Yeah, well, it’s your fault.”

Andrew blinked at her in astonishment and pointed a finger at his own, medal bedecked chest. “Mah fault?”

“Yep.” Dar walked to her bag and dug out her bottle of pills, then opened it and spilled one out onto her palm. “I did something yesterday I shouldn’t have.”

Her father snorted. “Are you telling me ah taught you to be a dumbass?”

Dar swallowed the pill and washed it down with a little of the bottled water she kept in her overnight bag. “Nope.” She put the bottle down and faced him. “You taught me chivalry. Kerry was sick as a dog and couldn’t stand up, so I picked her up and carried her to the bed.”

Andrew covered his eyes. “Lord.”

“Yeah, well.” Dar trudged back to him and turned. “Mind unzipping me?” She felt a light touch, then the fabric around her shoulders relaxed. “Thanks.” She glanced back at him. “And you would have done the same damn thing, so there.”

“Huh.”

Dar picked up her nightshirt and ducked into the bathroom.

She peered at her reflection and grimaced at the spreading extent of her injury. No wonder they freaked. Damn, that looks almost as bad as it feels. With a sigh, she slid her dress off and carefully got into her nightshirt, trying not to lift her arm more than she had to. “I’ll be damn glad when this is over,” she called out.

“You and me both, Dardar,” Andrew answered.

Dar went back into the room and sat on the bed. Andrew sat in the chair facing her. They regarded each other in silence for a moment, then Dar exhaled. “I hate what this is doing to Kerry.”

She hesitated. “And I hate that it’s because of us, because of our relationship that it’s so bad for her.”

Andrew mulled that over for a bit. “Yeap,” he finally exhaled.

“It was like that for your ma and me too. Her folks, my folks…Hurts like hell sometimes.”

They both thought about that in companionable quiet.

“Dar?” Andrew finally looked up at her, the dim light glint-ing off his pale eyes. “What’d that feller do to Kerry?”

Dar studied his face. “Kyle?”

“Hm.”

150 Melissa Good

“Just a lot of things. Why?”

Andy shifted. “’Cause that young lady ain’t afraid of much, and she’s scared of him; and I want to know why that is. And