She looked around at the beauty of the afternoon and wished Kipling were here instead of Aidan. Because she wanted to talk to him, she told herself firmly. Wanting to be with Kipling had nothing to do with the isolated location. She just thought spending some quality conversation time with her friend would be nice.
Nothing more.
* * *
KIPLING WOULD HAVE thought that ordering a cell tower was a big deal, but apparently not. He printed out the confirmation invoice and walked over to the giant to-do list posted on the only wall not covered by maps of the area surrounding Fool’s Gold. With sites determined, all three cell towers had been ordered, and surveying would start by the first part of next week.
Destiny moved next to him. “The tracking equipment shipped,” she said, pointing to another item on the list. “It will be here in the next couple of days. Then we can start serious training.”
She was standing close enough to get his attention. He knew she wasn’t taunting him on purpose. His reaction to her nearness—blood flowing to predictable places, his complete lack of interest in anything but getting her on a nearby desk and then having his way with her—reminded him it was good to be alive. He liked the chase, and in her case, the reward was going to be even sweeter because he planned to show her what she’d been missing.
But that was for later. Today they had a job to do.
“How are the interviews going?” she asked.
Kipling shrugged. “Not great. I haven’t found anyone who’s going to work.”
She looked up at him, her green eyes concerned. “What’s wrong with them?”
“One guy was more interested in how much time off he would get than in finding out about the job. Another had no experience.”
“You don’t have any experience,” she said with a grin.
“Which is why we need someone who knows what they’re doing. The right person is out there. I’ll figure it out.”
He knew the value of patience. While his instinct was to simply go for it and deal with the consequences later, he’d learned the hard way that recklessness came with a price. The mountain had taught him that.
Automatically, he glanced out the window. The northeast view meant he could see the mountains clearly. A perk, he told himself, even as the familiar restlessness filled him. The need was there, like it had been for Destiny. Only this need would never be fulfilled.
He would never again feel the wind burning his skin. He would never hover in the air for seconds in time before slamming back onto packed powder and tearing down the mountain. The trees, the crowd, would never again be nothing but a blur as he defied the odds. He would never again be G-Force.
His back hurt, his knee ached and when he woke up in the morning, it took him a good five minutes to get all the kinks worked out. Which meant he was lucky. Damned lucky. But there were moments when he closed his eyes and imagined it was all still there. In his grasp. Until he remembered otherwise.“Kipling?”
He looked at Destiny, who was watching him intently. His brain replayed the last bit of their conversation.
“My coach drilled certain skills into me,” he said as if he hadn’t been thinking of anything else. “Don’t push the race. Let it come to you. Then plan on flying.”
“An oddly mixed metaphor, but if it works...”
“It does.” He leaned against his desk. “How are you doing?”
“What do you mean?”
“New town, new sister, indoor plumbing.”
She put her hands on her hips. Amusement pulled at the corners of her mouth. “Are you mocking my time living off the land?”
“Pretty much.”
“I’ll have you know that I learned a lot, and there is much to be said for a simpler life.”
“And the indoor plumbing?”
She sat on the desk across from his and laughed. “I’ll admit I really, really love it. Hot water, especially. And flush toilets. A brilliant invention.”
“Agreed.” He studied her for a second, letting his gaze linger over the good parts. “I can’t picture you running barefoot through fields, picking wildflowers.”
“Probably because I never did. I wasn’t staying in some idealized TV world. My grandmother lived simply, which meant she had to do most of the work herself. Fruits and vegetables don’t can themselves. And when you’re snowed in for a few weeks at a time, there’s no running to the corner market.”
She smiled as she spoke, as if the memories were good ones. He was glad about that. Given the little he knew about how things had been with her parents, she hadn’t had an easy time of it. Kids needed stability. He hadn’t realized that when he’d been young, but once he’d moved in with his coach and had seen what a normal family was like, he’d finally been able to relax. He suspected Destiny’s Grandma Nell had provided the same escape for her.
“I wish she was still alive,” she admitted. “Not just because I miss her, although I do. Every day. But because of Starr. I think she’s happy, but I’m not sure. We’re connecting more. I’m trying to listen more than I talk, which is actually harder than it sounds.”
“What about the things you have in common? She’s into music, and it’s got to be in your veins.”
Destiny drew her braid over her shoulder, then smoothed her hair before tossing it back. “I’ve been teaching her to play the guitar, and next we’re going to move on to my keyboard. She has talent, which helps. She’s a quick study. But then she wants to talk about the business, and I’m not the right person. I’ve always done my best to avoid it, which she can’t understand.”