BLACK THUNDER

veranda at the front of the house. let me have a quick shower and change into some clean, dry clothes, she said quickly.
i’ll join you shortly. sure, gib said. but you look beautiful just the way you are, he couldn't resist adding. he saw her cheeks
flame scarlet oh dany’s heart tripled its beat licking her lips nervously, she backed off the veranda and hesitated at
the entrance. i’d better change. i’ll be just a moment sitting down on one of the bamboo chairs, which had huge, soft
pink cushions, gib wondered at her reaction. wasn't dany used to being complimented? apparently not, she’d blushed like
a schoolgirl. ma ling appeared with two chilled glasses of iced tea. she set the accompanying pitcher on a small
bamboo table covered with thick etched glass. a plate of sliced lemons and a sterling silver sugar bowl completed the
ensemble. gib thanked her and got up to squeeze lemon juice into his glass and add two heaping spoons of sugar. this
time, ma ling didn't give him the accusing stare. he grinned, taking the glass back to his chair to sit down. maybe it was
the maid’s way of praising him far showing up in civilian clothes. dany quickly slipped into a long, pale pink cotton skirt
that brushed her ankles and a sleeveless white blouse. her hair hung in damp sheets about her shoulders. she quickly ran
a brush through the strands to smooth them into place, then captured the mass into one long braid that hung
between her shoulder blades. her ever present grief lifted slightly at the thought of gib downstairs. dany glanced at
herself in the bedroom mirror. wispy strands swept across her forehead, barely touching her brows. tendrils curled
against her temples, softening the natural angularity of her features. smoothing the cotton blouse, she hurriedly left
her spacious bedroom, furnished entirely in bamboo pieces, and skipped down the stairs. gib stood when dany entered
the veranda. she looked fetching in the simple skirt and blouse, incredibly beautiful and fresh. his smile deepened when
he realized she was still barefoot. you’re a country girl at heart, he teased, stepping over to the table and offering her
a glass of iced tea. smiling shyly dany sat down. thank you. she drank half the glass of tea thirstily or had she done it
out of nerves? somehow gib made her wildly aware of herself as a woman gib took a seat opposite her at the table
and opened his briefcase, taking out a number of papers and a pen. how are you doing since the funeral? he asked.
sitting back in the bamboo chair, dany drew up one leg beneath the voluminous skirt. i have good days and bad days,
she answered simply. it’ll cycle like that for about three months. her mouth twitched. don't say that. pointing to her
eyes, dany added, look at my dark circles. i’ve had nothing but broken sleep and nightmares since it happened. with a
frustrated sound, she said, there's too much work here that demands my attention. i can't keep going on like this. you
wake up tired and go to sleep tired, gib guessed softly the urge to reach out and fold dany into his arms was tangible.
she looked so young, seemingly untouched by the war that escalated daily around her. yes, dany said. she managed a
small smile. the work keeps me from thinking... feeling, i guess. hearing the raw pain in her voice, he lifted his head and
held her sincere gaze. grief does funny things to us, he agreed. dany set the glass on the table. she tried to remind
herself that he was a marine, someone who posed a threat to the plantation and her people. just as she was going to
speak, she heard a young boy calling her name as he ran around the corner of the house. it was hank vinh, ma ling’s
twelve year old grandson. gib heard the high, excited call and turned in his sent. a skinny young boy dressed in a pair of
faded cutoffs and a white t shirt, his straight black hair cut in a bowl fashion came galloping up the stairs. missy dany,
missy dany! look what i found! vinh called excitedly. his brown eyes widened at the sight of gib, and he jerked to a halt.
its all right, vinh, dany said kindly. this is major ramsey. he's here to investigate my mother's death. she spoke slowly to
him in english, as she often did. dany wanted her workers to be fluent not only in their own language, but english and
french as well vinh flushed, dodged around gib and proudly marched over to dany. look what i found! with a cry of
delight, dany reached out toward vinh. a kitten? yes, i found it crying along our fence line where i was clearing some
brush. look at it! look at the color. i’ve decided to call him milky, because he is the color of milk. dany gently took the
kitten into her hands and cradled it against her breast she glanced over at gib and saw genuine interest