Free The Wedding Guest (Colorado Billionaires Book 5) by Regina Duke Page A

fill in while I’m gone. I’m just a guest, like you. It’s not like I’m a member of the wedding party.” Madlyn thought she detected a note of sadness in his voice, but before she could ask about it, he prompted her, “Tell me more about Eagle’s Toe.”
    “Okay. But where are we going?”
    “Don’t know yet. As long as you’re here, I could just drive around all day and be happy.”
    “In that case, would you mind finding some straight roads to drive on? These curves through the trees make me carsick.”
    “Glad to oblige. We’ll head north. Now fill me in on everything.”
    Madlyn babbled on about her job, about growing up in a small town. Worried that a world traveler might find that too boring, she also told him about Pueblo. Then she talked about her dreams, and told him again about Mina’s desire to expand and her troubles with funding. She told him how much her parents were enjoying being able to travel now that they were retired, and how she still lived in their house.
    “But it’s not really like living with my parents,” she assured him. “I’m more of a caretaker. A couple of years ago, there was a fire, and I had to handle that disaster. Well, Vicky helped.”
    “She sounds like a terrific friend. I look forward to getting to know her better.”
    “I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for her. She flew us out first class. I guess she’s one of those normal rich people you were talking about.”
    Kirby nodded, a haunted smile on his face.
    “What about you, Kirby? I know your favorite books, your favorite movies, your favorite foods. But what about your family?” Madlyn reached out to touch his arm gently. “Brewster told Vicky your mother died when you were twenty.”
    Kirby glanced at her. “What? He told her?”
    “About your mom.”
    Kirby rubbed a hand over his mouth.
    “What’s the matter? Accidents can happen to anyone. You don’t have to feel bad about that.”
    He chewed his bottom lip.
    “If it’s too painful, you don’t have to talk about it.”
    Kirby exhaled in a whoosh. “It was the biggest shock of my life,” he said at last. “I adored her. And I begged to go along. She was climbing Everest. It was a life-long dream of hers. She insisted I stay at school and finish my exams.” He closed his eyes against the pain, but only for a moment. His hands clenched the steering wheel. “I felt like she was my only link to the good things in the world. If it hadn’t been for her uncle, I would have been left completely alone.”
    “You have an uncle?”
    “A great-uncle. My mother’s uncle.” His expression grew tender. “His name is Kirby, too. He’s the person I told you I’d like you to meet. He kept me going. He’d always been very supportive and kind, but when mother died, he took me under his wing and got me through that horrible month.”
    “A whole month? For the funeral?”
    “We had to—” He choked for a moment, then began again. “We had to ship her body back from Nepal. There were problems. Uncle and I ended up flying over there to—” Again he choked and had to clear his throat. “—identify her. It was rough.”
    “I’m so sorry,” said Madlyn softly. “I apologize for bringing it up. I can see now why you haven’t spoken of it.”
    Kirby took another deep breath. “No, it’s fine. I can’t believe I’m saying that, but telling you about it is a huge help. I’ve kept it inside all this time. My mother was an angel on Earth. She worked as a tutor and a nanny to support me. My father was killed in the first Iraq war. I was four. My mother was employed by a very wealthy family, and we lived in their mansion. A year after my father’s death, my mother remarried. I’ve always felt like the ugly stepchild, if you know what I mean.”
    “I don’t know how you could ever feel ugly,” Madlyn said, “but I do know what you mean.”
    “My stepfather’s son was older than I, and he was the center of the household and the apple of his