One Summer in Santa Fe - By Molly Evans Page 0,15

waited for the computer to boot, she realized this was the first time Elizabeth would truly be on her own. Away from Ida. Away from her. She hoped that Elizabeth would do well on her own. A sudden pang hit Piper’s heart as she wondered how she was going to do when Elizabeth didn’t need her.

Thoughts of her evening adventure with Taylor pushed aside thoughts of responsibility and cooking school. A man like that made her want to abandon all restraint and the goals she had set for herself and just dive right into him. He would certainly be a joy to behold in the bedroom. Of that she was certain and her stomach clenched just at the thought of him. Strong, commanding, a man who knew his way around a woman’s body. Piper shivered and sipped her tea. Those kinds of thoughts weren’t going to be conducive to sleep.

A little icon raced across the computer screen, alerting her to new e-mail.

That was the ticket. Distraction. Keep her mind off Taylor. Distraction. Keep her mind on the e-mails. Distraction, she thought as her mind recalled the long, lean strength of his muscled legs. Yes, Taylor was nothing but distraction. But, oh, what an exceptional distraction he was.

Could she consider this a hardship assignment?

CHAPTER FIVE

JUST after she arrived home from work the next day, Piper’s phone rang and she groaned, hoping it wasn’t the night nurse calling about something she’d forgotten.

“Hello?”

“Hi, Piper. This is Alex, Dr. Jenkins’s nephew. Remember me?”

Pleasure filled her at the sound of the young voice on the phone. “Well, sure, I remember you. How could I forget?”

“Anyway, Uncle T. and I are going climbing on Saturday, and I want you to come with us. Can you come?”

Hesitation filled her. Although she’d love to go, she wasn’t sure about climbing. Her feet rarely left the ground and when they did for airplane transportation, sedation was usually involved. “Does Taylor know you’re calling me?”

“Yeah. I told him. I mean, I asked him if I could invite you.”

She smiled at that. “And what did he say? It was okay?”

“He really wants you to come, too,” Alex said.

At that, a bubble of pleasure burst over Piper and the fatigue from the workday evaporated. Although she doubted Alex’s sentiment was completely accurate, the idea of it still pleased her. What else did she have to do on a beautiful summer Saturday except watch two men risk their lives climbing a big dangerous rock? “Is he there? Can I talk to him a minute?”

“Hold on.”

Seconds later, Taylor’s voice came through the phone into her ear. “Piper?”

Heat suffused her at the sound of her name, and she shivered involuntarily. The phone lent an intimacy that wasn’t real, but Piper clutched the phone to her ear as if it were. Intimacy had been almost forgotten in her life, and the sound of his voice breathed a memory of it through her.

“Hi. Alex tells me you’re going climbing, and he wants me to go along. Are you okay with that?” she asked, hoping that he was. For some unknown reason, she wanted to be with him, even if it was on such an expedition.

“Absolutely. We can take a picnic or something, make a day of it.”

“You’re not going to the Alps, are you?”

The sound of his deep laugh sent a thrill of pleasure through her. “No. No Alps this weekend.”

“Okay, then. I’ll come.” Whether she was going to regret this or not, she didn’t know, but she was going to go climbing for the first time in her life.

“Are you kidding?” Piper exclaimed. “I’m not climbing that.” She pointed to the huge rock formation they stood in front of. She looked up and up and up at the giant craggy brown rock and felt her stomach slide all the way to her feet.

“It’s not that big,” Taylor said, and laughed at her reaction. “Besides, we’re not climbing that one.” He pointed to a much smaller rock nestled up against the larger one. “We’re going on that one.”

“Uncle T.! That’s only ten feet high. I climb higher than that at camp,” Alex said, protest in every syllable.

“I’m not taking you up 500 feet the first time out. You gotta show me what you got first, kiddo. Learn to trust each other as a team, and we go from there.”

Alex nodded, bounced around lightly on his feet and shadow-boxed. “I’ll show you what I got. Just you wait and see.”

“Alex, are you sure you want to do this?”