Hold Me (Fool's Gold #16)(90)
FOR A WOMAN who owned a business smack in the middle of town, Jo Trellis was a difficult person to find. Kipling had been to her bar three times, left voice mail and texts, and he’d yet to connect with her. From what he could tell, she was avoiding him. Which seemed to be popular these days. Destiny was avoiding him, too.
This was not how he’d planned to spend the first couple of weeks of his marriage. Those nights had been so promising, he thought grimly, as he walked toward Destiny’s house. They’d been all over each other. But more exciting than the physical chemistry had been how much they’d enjoyed each other’s company. Or at least he’d enjoyed hers. By the way she was avoiding him, Destiny hadn’t felt the same connection.
What he didn’t get was how it had all gone to hell so quickly. One minute they were promising until death they did part, and the next he couldn’t get her on the phone.
He knew the exact moment everything had changed with Destiny. It had happened after the incident with Starr and Carter. But the real trouble with everything else had begun long before that. That much he knew. But the exact when of it was more confusing.
He walked through the center of town. The Fourth of July festival was in full swing with booths and crafts and live music in the park. There was going to be a parade later, and fireworks. Normally, he found that kind of thing a lot of fun. But not today. Today he needed to see Destiny, and he had to figure out why he was so unsettled.
The Man Cave was part of the problem. If he couldn’t fix things with Jo and his partners, then the bar wouldn’t survive. Nick had shown him the books. Kipling had seen right away that while the bar could limp along for a few months, the end was inevitable. Without local support, they were doomed.
It wasn’t the failure of the business that got to him, he thought. It was what that failure meant. Because The Man Cave had been his way of fitting in. Of giving back. And he’d screwed it up royally.
He paused by Brew-haha and looked toward the park. Even though it was still morning, there were crowds everywhere. The sun was warm, the sky blue.
Little more than a year ago he’d been skiing down a mountain in New Zealand, preparing to start serious training. He’d been fresh off his Olympic win and totally unstoppable. Or so he’d thought.
After the crash, he’d been more worried about whether he would walk again than thinking about the end of his career. Then Mayor Marsha had shown up, out of nowhere. She’d offered him a job and had promised to take care of Shelby.
He still remembered how he hadn’t believed her. How he’d promised to follow her to hell if she would protect his sister. He still remembered exactly what she’d said.
“You don’t have to be alone in this, Kipling. Nor do you have to go all the way to hell. Just come to Fool’s Gold when you’re able. We’ll be waiting for you.”
She had kept her word. He knew now that Ford Hendrix and Angel Whittaker had flown to Colorado that very day. When Shelby’s mother had died, they’d brought Shelby to Fool’s Gold. Kipling had followed when he was able. In January, he’d accepted the job as the head of HERO.
When he’d realized there wasn’t a place for guys to hang out, he’d thought of The Man Cave. He’d gotten several business partners together, and they’d hired Nick.
He’d been so sure it was the right thing to do. It fixed a problem. He wanted to say it was the same with Destiny, only it wasn’t. Because she was more important than all the rest of them put together.
He turned away from the park and walked the last couple of blocks to her house. When her door opened and he saw her, his whole body relaxed. Being with her was right.
“Hey,” he said with a smile. “I wanted to see how you’re doing.”
“I’m glad you came by.”
She had on cut-off jeans and a T-shirt. Her hair was back in a ponytail, and she was barefoot. Not overtly sexy, but she sure got to him.
He wanted to pull her close and kiss her. He wanted to do other things, too, but mostly he wanted to hold her. They sat on the sofa, facing each other. She looked good, he thought. Maybe a little tired, but all her.
His gaze dropped to the ring on her finger. The simple gold band looked lonely. He wanted to add a nice engagement ring. A sparkly diamond. Sure it was traditional, but he was mostly a traditional kind of guy.
“I’ve missed you,” he told her. “Is everything okay with Starr?”
She nodded. “We’re getting along well. We’re sorting through songs I’ve written. My mom’s manager is going to fly in next week to talk about the music.”
“Good for you. You’re too talented to ignore your abilities. How are you feeling?”
“Fine. I have a gynecologist appointment next week.”
“With Dr. Galloway?” he asked, hoping the answer was no.
“How did you know?”
He shrugged. “I’ve met her.” There was no need to go into the “flowering” conversation with Destiny. “Can I come with you?”
She nodded. “I want you to be as much a part of me being pregnant as you’d like.”
It struck him that everything about this was wrong. They were married. They should be holding each other and heading to the bedroom to make love. Their conversation should be easy and natural—not stilted and informational. This was Destiny—they knew each other. Only right now it felt as if they were strangers.