Red Sky At Morning - DK4 by Melissa Good Page A

Jersey?” She Red Sky At Morning 31
    had hardly a notion of what she was saying, merely pushing words out to fill the quiet. “You didn’t get hurt or anything, did you?”
    “No.” Kerry sighed. “Just scared. I want off this airplane; and I hope I am stuck overnight, because let me tell you—I’m not anxious to get on another one of them right now.”
    “Mm...yeah. I can understand that. Boy,” Dar exhaled, “wish I’d been there with you.”
    Kerry was very quiet for a moment, and when she did start speaking, there was a distinct catch in her voice. “I wish you were, too.
    Just before we landed, I...” Kerry stopped, then went on. “I was so scared.”
    Dar rolled onto her side and curled her hands around the phone, wanting to reach right through it. Maybe she could squeeze through if she really tried hard. “Sorry you had such a rotten time, Ker. Hang in there, okay? I’ll come get you.”
    A shaky sigh answered her. “You okay? You sound kinda washed out.”
    Like a limp dishrag . Dar now had an excellent insight into that hoary old saying. “I’m fine, just tired; and I think this damn New York food knocked my system for a loop.”
    “Oh. Where’d you end...” Kerry paused. “They got the door open; I need to get out of here. Sweetie, I’ll give you a call back as soon as I figure out where I am.”
    “Sure. Talk to you soon,” Dar answered. “I love you.”
    “I love you, too.” Kerry’s voice, finally, sounded a smile at her. “I can’t wait to see you.”
    Dar let the phone drop onto the carpet and just lay there for a moment. Then she rolled to her feet and grabbed the room phone in one hand and her sneakers with the other. The operator came on. “I need to go to the airport.”
    “Which airport, ma’am?”
    “The one in New Jersey.”
    “Newark?”
    Dar spared the receiver a disgusted look. “Is that in New Jersey?”
    “Yes, ma’am.”
    “Then that’s the one.” Dar got her sneaker on and was tugging the laces one-handed. “I need to go now.”
    “Ma’am, there are no planes leaving at this time of night. We’d have to call for a special driver.”
    Dar sucked in a breath and counted to ten. “Then call one,” she ground out. “Now.”
    THE AIRPORT WAS in chaos. Kerry eased to one side of the jetway and pressed her back against the wall, letting the flow of people from the plane push past her. The storm had closed a lot of air routes, and the 32 Melissa Good place was packed with stranded, angry travelers.
    Her fellow travelers clustered around an airline representative.
    Most of them were upset and still shaken, and the voices Kerry heard were strident and loud.
    Her own knees were shaking. She trudged over and sat down in the one vacant seat near the gate podium, letting her briefcase drop between her feet as she rested her elbows on her thighs. She was sure everyone was frantic to get rerouted or obtain free accommodations or demand compensation from the airline.
    Kerry didn’t need any of that. She was simply glad to be on the ground in one piece. She folded her hands together and leaned her head against them, taking a moment for a few whispered words of gratitude to the Lord who had surely been watching over her.
    A hand on her shoulder made her jerk and look up. “Oh.” She straightened as an airline rep knelt next to her. “Hi.”
    “Are you all right, ma’am?” the woman asked kindly. “I know you had a rough trip in.”
    Kerry glanced behind her, where their plane was now surrounded by emergency vehicles and flashing lights. “You could say that.” She managed a smile. “I’m just waiting for the crush to disperse over there.”
    Her eyes went to the crowd around the other representatives.
    The woman patted Kerry’s briefcase, glancing at the small platinum tag attached to the case buckle, then back up at Kerry. “Why don’t you come with me, and we’ll get you taken care of,” she suggested casually.
    In the maelstrom inside the airport,