Tropical Convergence Read Online Free PDF Page A

"Just hit me the wrong way, I guess... and I don't even have the excuse of it being that time of the month."
    Kerry tucked her fingers into the waistband of Dar's jeans. "Listen, I asked you to wear this because I think it's really sexy." She tugged a little. "And I didn't marry a construction worker." She paused, considering. "Though, I would have if you'd been one."
    "Would you?" Dar grudgingly smiled.
    "Absolutely." Kerry gazed up at her. "You know I would."
    Dar's expression gentled. "I know." She looked down. "And given I picked a pair of boots to wear that I used when we were painting the cabin, I guess he might have had a point."
    "Hm."
    "Tank top, ripped jeans, paint splattered hiking boots...all I need is a tattoo and I could pass as a very good butch stereotype."
    Okay, crisis over. Kerry relaxed, and smiled. "Nah, you'd need leather pants for that."
    "I have those," Dar reminded her. "But you'd have to arrest me to get me to wear them in summer." She bumped Kerry's knee with her own. "C'mon. Let's go see what the kids are doing, and get the hell out of here."
    They walked through the open garage door and into the convention center, pausing for a moment to catch their bearings. The room was huge, and it was full of nerds. The smell of new computers mixed with the scent of old coffee was almost overwhelming.
    "Whoa." Kerry rubbed her nose. "What a zoo."
    "Uh huh." Dar stretched to her full height, reviewing the room. It was laid out in regulation trade show fashion, with wooden frame booths stretched in orderly rows interspersed with larger displays custom built by some of the bigger companies. "Ah. There we are." She pointed to a familiar logo banner, half hung, half draped over some metal pipe supports.
    "Nice spot." Kerry followed her between two wooden stalls, ducking as a technician struggled with a projection screen and almost clocked her in the process. They walked through piles of equipment cases, and emerged into a more open area that held the ILS display.
    It was definitely one of the bigger ones. It held pride of place in the center of the largest open aisle and spread out in a series of ovals to either side.
    Four of their techs were on ladders trying to lift up and bolt into place the steel tube framing the marketing department had designed, and as they watched the heavy structure tilted precariously to one side. Without a word between them, Kerry and Dar reacted, leaping forward to help.
    Kerry grabbed the nearest ladder, which had started to tip over, while Dar used her greater height to reach up and take hold of the steel frame, taking its weight as the techs fought to regain control over it. "Whoa!" Kerry grunted, throwing her body against the ladder as it threatened to come down on top of her. "Take it easy, guys!"
    "Damn it!" the tech on her ladder cursed. "This piece of shit was built by freaking Gumby!"
    "All right, hang on." Dar grabbed the ladder and climbed up several of the steps, hoisting the frame with her as she walked. "Get that end on there, Bruce."
    The tech on the next ladder blinked, only then realizing who it was addressing him. "Holy crap!" he blurted. "When'd you get here, ma'am!"
    "Just in time, apparently," Dar grunted. "You gonna bolt that into place, or are we all going to end up with our asses on the concrete? I can't hold this forever."
    Kerry could hear the tension in her partner's voice, and beneath the worn denim, she could see Dar's legs straining to keep her load balanced. With Dar's weight on the ladder, though, it no longer threatened to tip over and she shifted her grip to wrap her arm around Dar's calves in a secure hold.
    "Okay...okay...almost got it." Bruce panted, extending himself out on his ladder to put a socket wrench on the bolts that Dar was holding even. He ratcheted them quickly, muscles jumping under his skin as he tightened the grid into place on one end. "Done!"
    Dar relaxed her hold cautiously, relieved when the structure seemed likely to stay in one