Free Thicker Than Water - DK5 by Melissa Good

reluctantly accepted that if she’d had to make the decision all over again, she probably wouldn’t have done it.
    But she had, and good or bad, she had to live with that decision for the rest of her life. She’d always held out a faint hope that someday, somehow, after enough time had passed, she’d have a chance to go home and maybe she could sit down with her father and just…talk.
    Kerry drew in a breath, feeling the finality of the moment.
    There will be no chance of talking now. The doctor had been gentle and kind, but he’d held out no false hope to them. He’d just given them some time to sit down and absorb the truth, and told them of their limited options. The machines could not give him a life again, but they could keep him alive; did they want them to?
    Kerry was surprised to feel tears gathering behind her eyes.

    44 Melissa Good Surprised that losing him hurt as much as it did—after all that had happened and everything that had come between them, he was still her father.
    “Mama.” Angie’s voice was shaky. “Can I get you a drink?”
    Kerry looked up to see her mother jerk her head up and down, one hand pressed to her mouth in evident agony. Their eyes met and Kerry slowly extended her cup. “Here, mom, take mine. I haven’t touched it.”
    For a moment, she thought her mother would refuse, but then her hand lowered and accepted the cup, spilling it a little as Kerry released it.
    “Thank you,” her mother whispered, as she brought it to her lips and took a sip.
    Kerry exhaled, slowly looking around the room. The tension was almost a visible fog, and suddenly she wanted nothing more than to be out of there. She stood up. “I’m going to,” she could almost feel the stares on her, “stretch my legs. I’ll be right back.”
    Before anyone could think of joining her, she made it to the door and slipped out into the hallway, a puff of cooler air from the vent overhead feeling very welcome in the warm indoors.
    She’d forgotten what needing heat was like and had shed her jacket when she’d found herself sweating after a few moments inside the building. At least she thought that was because of the heat.
    Kerry stuck her hands in her pockets and paced across the tiled floor, threading through a maze of conflicting emotions.
    When she looked up, she found herself outside the CCU unit, looking through the multiple glass windows to the alcove in which her father lay. For a moment she simply stared. Then, with a quiet breath, she went to the quiet corner full of hissing noise and soft beeps…and lost chances.
    DAR SAT WITH Duks and Mariana in the lunchroom; the busy crowds lessened in the late afternoon, leaving the big room mostly empty and pleasantly quiet.
    “Sure you don’t want a bite of this, DR?” Duks nudged his plate of chocolate cake towards her. “You’re getting me worried about you today.”
    Dar waved a hand at him, settled back in her chair, and nursed her glass of milk. “No thanks, Duks. Damn painkillers I’m taking for my shoulder are making me queasy.” She indicated her mostly uneaten lunch. “I’ll take a rain check.”
    Mariana chewed a bite of her salad and swallowed. “Dar, why not go home?” She studied her friend’s face. “We can cancel the Thicker Than Water 45
    staff meeting.”
    Home. Dar felt the strain of the long day and longer night, and the thought of lying down and letting her wound up body relax was very, very tempting. Then she remembered how quiet the condo was without its other occupant, and scowled a little.
    “Maybe later.”
    “Heard from Kerry yet?” Duks asked casually. “News is very circumspect from there.”
    “Not yet.” Dar shook her head, somberly studying her milk.
    “Hey, anything come of the internal audit this quarter?”
    Duks gracefully accepted the change of subject. “One or two very small things, but they are inconsequential. We are very good at chasing our own tails, is it not true?”
    “True,” Dar said. Duks’