Hold Me (Fool's Gold #16)(46)

“Any regrets?” she asked.

He closed his eyes. “No way. I have a good life. Plenty of time outdoors. I fish and hike and go skiing for a living. Then there are afternoons like this, spent with a beautiful woman. What’s not to like?”

She laughed.

He opened his eyes. “What’s so funny?”

“That was a very reflexive compliment. You weren’t even looking at me.”

“I’ve already seen you. I can compliment from memory.”

“While that’s probably true, my guess is you, Aidan Mitchell, are a bit of a player.”

One corner of his mouth turned up. “I’m wounded.”

“Am I wrong?”

“No.”

She grinned. “I didn’t think so. Let me guess. There are plenty of single tourists who want a hot affair with their hunky guide.”

He winced. “It would be better for me if you didn’t call me hunky.”

“But the rest of it?”

“I do okay. How’d you guess?”

“You remind me of guys who toured with my parents. If it was Wichita, there must be a new opportunity.”

“I’m clear on the rules,” he said, sounding only a little defensive. “I’m careful.”

“I’m not judging,” she told him. “I just think it’s interesting.”

“My mom keeps telling me that one day I’m going to fall in love. That it will be hard and fast, and I won’t see it coming.”

“You worried?”

“No way. Like I said, I’m careful.”

She wanted to tell him he couldn’t be careful enough. That if he let his hormones rule his life, he was in for some nasty surprises. But she’d tried telling people that in the past. For the most part they didn’t listen. Or they thought she was incredibly strange. Either way it didn’t go well.

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?”