Hold Me (11 page)

“Making friends with people her own age is the best thing for her right now,” he said. “So she can feel like she belongs.”

Destiny nodded. “She did seem really happy yesterday when she came home from camp.”

“One of my partners has a daughter about her age. Why don’t I call Ethan and see if we can set something up for Starr and Abby the night of The Man Cave opening? The girls can go to a movie and hang out. You can come with me. You’ll both have fun, and being away from the situation at home will give you both perspective.”

She gave him a smile. “Always with the fixing.”

“But you’ll admit it’s a good idea?”

She paused for a second, then nodded. “It’s a very good idea.”

CHAPTER SEVEN

D
ESTINY
SAT
IN
the living room and waited for Starr to get home from camp. She’d been doing a lot of thinking about what had gone wrong between them. Talking to Kipling had really helped. She appreciated how nice he’d been about the whole thing. She tried to remember the last time she’d had someone to lean on, however briefly, and couldn’t think of when it had happened. Because she didn’t have friends, she realized. Her friendships were of the brief, temporary kind.

There were probably a lot of good reasons. She was always leaving for the next assignment. So why get too involved? And while that was a great idea in theory, in practice it meant she was always starting over, and she had no real continuity in her life. Not emotionally. Not only was that not particularly healthy, it was also kind of lonely. Something she hadn’t seemed to notice until the blowup with Starr.

She hadn’t had anyone to call. No one to talk things over with. She could have phoned her mother, but wasn’t sure Lacey was the best person to give advice under the circumstances. Lacey loved her daughter and stayed in touch, but Destiny didn’t think her mother would want to be pulled into a situation involving her ex-husband and one of his mistresses’ children. As for her other half and step siblings—she barely knew some and hadn’t met the others.

Kipling had been an unexpected rock.

The front door opened, and Starr walked in. Unlike the previous night, she didn’t look the least bit enthused or happy. She glanced at Destiny then away. But instead of heading directly for her room, she sat on the sofa and stared at her hands.

“How was your day?” Destiny asked.

“Fine.”

“Still liking camp?”

Starr nodded.

Destiny wished for wisdom, but there wasn’t any. And despite Kipling’s great advice, she couldn’t imagine what Grandma Nell would say, mostly because she was too smart to ever get in this situation.

“I’m sorry about yesterday,” Destiny told her sister. “About what I said. I blew the whole thing with Carter out of proportion. I have my own worries and fears, and I shouldn’t project them on you.”

Starr raised her head. “You’re afraid of men?”

“No. Just of making a mistake. Of being swept away. And that doesn’t matter. I want to talk about you right now. Us. Starr, you’re my sister.”

“Your
half
sister. That’s how you always introduce me.”

Destiny felt her eyes widen. She wanted to protest, only she had a feeling that Starr was right.

“I’m sorry for that,” she said. “I won’t ever do it again. Because we’re sisters. Not half or three-quarters. Just sisters.”

The teen stared at her for a long time. “Okay.”

“This is a difficult situation for a lot of reasons, but mostly because we don’t know each other. I want that to change. I want you to be happy here. With me, I mean. We’ll be leaving Fool’s Gold when my assignment is finished.”

“Where will you go after that?”

“I don’t know.”

“You move around every couple of months?”

Destiny nodded. “I can try to be in one place for the summer, but other than that, my job means I’m always somewhere new.”

“That means boarding school for me.” Starr studied her hands again. “I guess that’s how it’s going to be.”

Which didn’t sound like a ringing endorsement for going back to boarding school, Destiny thought grimly. But what was the alternative?

“We’ll have holidays and the summer,” she said. “If you’d like that.”

“Because you’re stuck with me.” Starr sounded more scared than defiant.

“I don’t think of it as stuck,” Destiny said. “It’s actually kind of nice. You’re right, I am always the new girl, and it does get lonely. Having family around helps. I’m not sorry you’re here, Starr. In case you were thinking that.”

Her sister looked at her. “Really?”

“I promise.” She smiled. “I have all the ingredients to make fried chicken. I was going to prepare it last night, but with everything that happened, I never got around to it. We’ve had it once already, and now I want to teach you the old family recipe. Are you in?”

Starr smiled. “Sure. Let me put my stuff away.”

Destiny watched her walk to her room. Tonight, after dinner, they could play guitar together. She would teach Starr more chords and how to play a couple of her dad’s songs. If they both kept at it, they could find their way into being a family in deed and not just in name.

* * *

T
HE
CAVEMAN
STATUE
by the door turned out to be a bigger hit than Kipling had expected. Nearly everyone coming through the door stopped to take a picture or have their picture taken with their mascot. There were also some hilarious selfies.

In honor of opening night, the pictures were then texted to the bar and loaded up onto the TVs. The resulting slide show had the crowd clapping and cheering.

Kipling circulated through the throngs of people. He wasn’t keeping count, but he had a feeling they were nearing capacity. He had no idea how seriously the local fire department took that sort of thing. Not that having a line outside the building was a bad thing.

He greeted his guests, kept an eye on the servers and watched for Destiny’s arrival. Given how early he’d had to show up for the opening, they’d agreed to meet at the bar. He wanted to make sure he saw her the second she showed up.

Anticipation, he thought with a grin. It made for a very good day. She was a complex woman, but he liked that. Easy was for sissies. Working hard to get what he wanted only made the reward sweeter. And he would have his reward. Destiny might be a little tightly wound, but he knew she would loosen up eventually. All she needed was to feel safe.

He walked by the bar, stopping to talk to people as he went. He’d been in town less than six months and knew just about everyone he saw.

Nick waved him over. He excused himself and went to talk to the bar’s manager.

“What’s up?” he asked.

Nick grinned. “It’s official. Jo’s closed every night through the weekend.”

“Jo as in Jo’s Bar?”

“That’s the one.”

“Why is that a big deal?”

Nick’s expression turned pitying. “You still don’t get it. The women in this town are powerful, my friend. Jo’s is their place. If we cut into her profits, Jo won’t be happy, and then the ladies won’t be happy.”

Kipling dismissed the information. “We serve a different clientele. Most of our customers won’t have gone to Jo’s. We’re not taking anything from her. Plus, we’re going to get about half our business from tourists.”

He knew. He’d been to every one of the meetings where he and his partners had discussed their business plan. They figured they would be most successful in summer with the tourists. Guys watching sports would sustain them in the winter. Jo could keep her lady clients.

“We’re meeting a need,” Kipling told Nick. “When I moved here, all I heard was guys complaining about Jo’s place. How they were stuck in the back room, and the TVs weren’t big enough.”

“That’s one way to look at it.”

“You’re worrying about nothing.” Kipling had seen a problem and put together a group of investors to fix it. That made today a very good day.

Nick shrugged. “Just spreading the news,” he said, then pointed. “You have company.”

Kipling turned and saw Destiny standing by the door. From his perspective, the noise in the bar faded and the lights shifted to a spotlight that focused entirely on her. He was pretty sure he was seeing things the way his dick wanted, rather than how they were, but he was willing to go with it. Especially when it meant staring at a beautiful woman.

She’d curled her hair and put on makeup. He couldn’t remember seeing her all done up before, and the results were impressive. Her green eyes looked huge, her hair was all curly waves and her mouth was a glorious, kissable pout of shiny pink.

He walked toward her, not bothering to talk to anyone as he went. She was all that mattered. All he needed. As he got closer, he saw she’d pulled on a short jacket over some kind of white lacy fitted shirt. She had on tight jeans and boots. The perfect combination of comfortable and sexy, he thought as he approached. It was the kind of thing only women could do, and speaking on behalf of all men everywhere, he appreciated the effort.

“Hey,” he said as he got closer.

She looked up and smiled. “Hey, yourself. Congratulations. There’s a crowd milling outside, and the rest of the town is oddly empty. You’re a success.”

“At least for tonight.” He took her hand in his and drew her against him. He inhaled the sweet scent of her shampoo and maybe a little perfume, then lightly kissed her cheek. “Thanks for coming.”

“It’s going to be fun.”

He stared at her for a second. “You’re better. You make up with Starr?”

“How did you know?”

“You’re more relaxed.”

“I don’t like how you can read me. Most people have trouble knowing what I’m thinking.”

“Think of it as a gift.”

“I’m not sure I’m willing to commit on that one,” she told him.

“Then let’s get you liquored up and see where that leads.”

She laughed. “At least you’re honest with your intentions.”

He leaned close. “My intentions are bad.”

She looked away. “I suspected as much. I’m afraid tonight is going to be a bit of a disappointment, then.”

He dropped his hand and put his arm around her. “Not if you’re going to tell me no. Because I’m interested in working for it. Don’t you worry.”

“Because you like the conquest?”

“I like all of it.”

They made their way to the bar. People were standing three and four deep, but Kipling went to the end where he knew he would be spotted. One of the advantages of being a partner, he thought. No waiting for service.

“What would you like?” he asked Destiny.

She looked up at him. “Okay, don’t laugh, but I would love an Old Fashioned.”

“You’re a Southern girl at heart. I would expect no less.” He ordered her drink and a beer for himself. With everyone jammed into the space, there wasn’t much room, which forced her to press up against him. Something he wasn’t going to complain about.

When they got their drinks, he led her toward the back room. It was quieter there. They also had the rear door open to let in more air.

He greeted people as they walked. When he saw the Hendrix brothers together at a table, he stopped to say hello to them.

“Destiny, meet Ethan, Kent and Ford Hendrix,” he said. “This is Destiny Mills. She’s here putting together the search and rescue software program.”

Ethan raised his beer. “Nice to meet you.” He paused, then grinned. “Starr’s sister, right? You met my wife, Liz, earlier.”

“I did.” Destiny turned to Kipling. “I took your advice. Starr is hanging out with Abby and her friends tonight.”

“I’m glad.” He wondered if the hanging out included a sleepover. That would be convenient. Although he doubted Destiny was one to put out on the first date and with her, he was happy to wait.

Ethan nodded at Kipling. “Good job. This place is great.”

“Thanks. Where are the ladies?”

“They said it wasn’t their thing,” Ford said. “They’re hanging out with our mom, baking.”

Kipling nodded. “How’s the bet going?”

Ford and Kent eyed each other.

“Fine,” Kent said. “I’m winning.”

Ford shoved his brother. “You don’t know that.”

Kent shoved back. “I have every faith in my wife.”

Ethan, on the other side of the table, shook his head. “You’re both idiots. You know that, right?”

Kipling smiled at Destiny. “Apparently, the Hendrix brothers have a bet going. Who can get his wife pregnant first.”

“You’re betting on it?”

Kent shrugged. “Yeah, but it’s not that serious a thing.”

“Which is why I’m going to win,” Ford said smugly. “Just wait and see.”

“What do your wives say about the bet?” Destiny asked.

“They, ah, don’t exactly know,” Kent murmured. “We’d be obliged if you didn’t say anything.”

“Because if Isabel finds out, the most that will happen is she’ll be mad,” Ford pointed out. “If your wife finds out, she’s perfectly capable of killing you.”

“True,” Kent said cheerfully. “But she never would.”

“You wish.”

Ethan sipped his beer. “My brothers are idiots. I’m not proud of that fact, but I can’t avoid the truth forever. Total and complete idiots.”

Kipling laughed. “Can’t wait to hear how it all turns out.”

He put his arm around Destiny again and led her through the back room and out onto the patio. There weren’t many people here, and they could breathe in the cool night air. With a little luck, she might get chilly and snuggle close.

She sat at one of the tables. He took a seat across from her. She shook her head.