Free Hold Me by Susan Mallery Page A

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    * * *
    “T HEY ’ RE INTENSE ,” K IPLING SAID .
    Destiny watched the two tech guys work on the computers. They wore headphones and typed intently. She would guess they had no idea there were other people in the room.
    “They’re the best,” she told him. “They’ll get everything up and running, work out the bugs and disappear into the night. When we’re near the end of the training, they’ll come back and put in all the customization we’ve figured out you’re going to need for your program. Then we test it, and you’re good to go.”
    They headed outside. The day was warm and sunny. To the side of the office was a small garden with a few tables and benches. A good place for volunteers to collect, Destiny thought. And for them to get updates and rest before heading back out on a call.
    Other arrangements would have to be made for the winter, she thought. Maybe they could meet at the nearby fire station. Not that it was her problem to solve, she reminded herself. When she was finished with her job, she would move on. No matter how much she enjoyed a particular location, she never came back.
    They sat across from each other at one of the tables.
    “I talked to Miles this morning,” Destiny said. “He told me you’ve found him some part-time work.”
    Kipling shrugged. “He said he got bored. I knew a couple of guys who might want to expand their business using a helicopter. It seemed like a win-win.”
    “Shelby said you liked to fix things. I can see what she meant.”
    “Is that a bad thing?”
    “No. It’s just an interesting trait. Is there a psychological reason, or were you born that way?”
    He chuckled. “Which do you think?”
    “I don’t know. I think how we’re raised has a big impact on how we act later in life.” She’d learned a lot of lessons watching her parents. Of course those lessons had mostly been about things she needed to avoid. But there had been positive lessons, too.
    “I agree with you on that,” he said, then hesitated. “What Miles said about your parents. You weren’t happy.”
    She resisted the urge to duck her head and bolt. “No. I don’t tell a lot of people. They ask questions that I don’t want to answer.”
    “Or assume things that aren’t true.”
    “How did you know?”
    “Let’s just say I’m not a famous country singer, but I’ve been in the limelight before. It’s not all positive attention.”
    “Of course. You’re that hot skier guy.”
    One eyebrow rose. “You think I’m hot?”
    Heat instantly burned on her cheeks. She cleared her throat. “I was speaking in generalities, not specifics.”
    “So you don’t think I’m hot.”
    He was teasing her. Flirting maybe. She almost never got to that point with any guy, so she wasn’t sure what to do. Destiny suddenly realized that her plan to find someone sensible and ignore everyone else had a giant flaw. She was twenty-eight years old, and she didn’t really know how to deal with a man outside of a work setting.
    Miles was easy. She thought of him as a brother. The tech guys and her boss were colleagues. People she met as she went from town to town were kept at a careful distance. No one got close, which kept her safe, but what happened when she found the one? How was she supposed to get close to him?
    “It wasn’t supposed to be that hard a question,” Kipling told her, his eyes twinkling with amusement.
    “You know you’re very good-looking. You don’t need more compliments from me.”
    “More implies there have been some. So far, you’re a disappointment in the compliment department. I was hoping for more.”
    “Handsome is as handsome does.”
    He frowned. “What does that mean?”
    “I don’t know. It’s something my Grandma Nell used to say. But it sounds wise.”
    “Or confusing. Is the flip side of that ‘ugly is as ugly does’?”
    “I have no idea.”
    “So who’s Grandma Nell?”
    Destiny felt herself relaxing as she remembered the other woman.