Vivian Arend - High Passion

Dinner itself was lovely. Bowls of homemade food passed again and again. Alisha laughed when Devon started scooping tidbits of extra stuff onto her plate, insisting she wasn’t eating enough to feed a bird.

“Devon, stop teasing her,” his mom warned.

Devon shrugged. “Sorry, instinct. Years of training around this table. I see an empty plate and I’m compelled to fill it.”

“Have you given any more thought to the business idea I suggested?” One of the brothers shook his fork at Devon. “I’m ready whenever you are to get you up to speed.”

Devon smiled, his expression tighter this time. “Thanks again for your generous offer, Mark, but I’m pretty happy with my career as it is.”

“Boys. You can take this conversation up after dinner.” His mom turned her bright smile on Alisha. “So, dear, tell me. What are you planning on doing once you’re done in Banff?”

Devon snorted softly, and Alisha took a deep breath. “Well, I’m not sure what the question is. Devon and I are on the Lifeline search-and-rescue squad, you know. It’s a solid, full-time job, and it looks like a good career for the future.”

Charley frowned from across the table. “You can’t keep doing that sort of work once you have a family.”

Oh boy. Alisha kicked Devon’s ankle under the table in the hopes he’d stop snickering. “I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.”

“You’re how old, twenty-one?”

Well, that would have made her a touch precocious, even in the climbing community. “Twenty-six; thank you for the compliment.”

Charley seemed to be doing the mental math. Probably coming up with a number of baby-making years that were rapidly diminishing. She set her frown more firmly in place and rescued a scoop of potatoes from a toddler’s fork only seconds before it toppled to the tablecloth.

And that was the introduction to the remainder of the meal. Devon got offered a job from one of his older brothers—something suitable for a family man with high potential for moving up in the world and making a name for himself. Alisha got grilled on what other jobs were interesting to her once her obsession with being outdoors couldn’t support her anymore. Once she found her senses and swelled with child.

Through it all Devon kept his cool. Laughed. Lightheartedly teased his way out of committing to anything, and without actually saying the words, made it appear he agreed what he was doing in Banff was frivolous at the best and at the worst? Selfish.

Alisha grew more agitated by the minute, but she kept her annoyance hidden. Only when given the opportunity to escape, she took it.

“Devon promised to show me the horses. I hope you don’t mind?”

Devon scooped the final bit of his third piece of pie into his mouth, then grabbed her hand. “It’s true. Excuse us.”

Dirty dishes were still being carried to the kitchen, and maybe it was rude to leave before they’d helped clean up, but Alisha was seconds away from exploding on Devon’s behalf. She allowed him to guide her from the room, lips tightly pressed together to avoid saying something she’d regret.

He led her toward the fence line, the horses in the field shifting and approaching slowly. Devon clicked his tongue and called to them before turning to face her. His painted-on fake expression slid off and turned into real frustration and sorrow.

Alisha grabbed him by the collar and leapt upward, wrapped her legs around him, and clung on tight as she kissed him hard in the hopes it would consume some of her tightly compressed anger.

He didn’t care that they were on the front path to his parents’. Didn’t care that a dozen people could be gawking out the windows at them this minute; in fact, he hoped they were. Hoped they were watching and wishing they had the kind of life that involved a woman like Alisha. Her fire rolled over him and softened all the aching spots inside he’d had clutched like a fist for the past couple of hours.

Her heated lips over his became something to focus on rather than his frustration. The solid weight of her body pressed tight to his anchored him.

The slick of her tongue slowed slightly as she explored, her hands stroking his shoulder muscles while those incredible legs squeezed him tight enough to promise all manner of wicked things.

He took the offer. Accepted it. After years training together and moments in the field where life was on the line, they’d learned to speak a silent language. A nearly instant assessment of imminent danger and life-stealing hurts. They both knew there was a give and take of necessity and importance. The person who needed the most was provided for first, brought to aid, attended and cared for. Right now she gave and he took, and it was exactly what he needed.

Once the initial flare burned down, he cupped her face and pulled them apart, far enough so he could look her in the eyes. “Thank you.”

“Please tell me we can go home. You’ve done more than your share of family duty time, and I’d really like to work off some of my frustrations. So either we go hiking or we find a place to fuck until we can’t walk.”

“How about both. At the same time if we could,” he teased.

She slipped down his body but caught his hands in hers, this time tugging him to the side to admire the horses that had arrived at the fence line. “You never told me a lot of things.”

“What’s to tell?”

Alisha stroked the mare’s nose, confidence in her touch, and Devon relaxed. He should have known she hadn’t been kidding about being able to deal with horses.

“You’ve got the same shitty attitudes here as I have with my parents. None of them think you’re good enough. That your job is a real job.”

“One huge difference, though. No one laid an arbitrary deadline on me like they did to you.” Devon shrugged. “After a while, I figured changing their minds would take more effort than I was willing to give. They work me over good at holidays, and the rest of the time they’re, well, more subtle. It’s not worth throwing a snit over.”

“It still sucks,” Alisha corrected him. “They might not have someone they expect you to marry . . .” When he didn’t answer right away but instead stared off into space, she glared at him. “Tell me they don’t have a girl picked out for you.”

His laughter sounded sour in his ears. “They would have, but anyone who was on the list ran screaming when I registered for the Banff SAR School. Mountain bums aren’t hot commodities in most circles. I mean, we’re pretty to look at, and fun to play with, but not to keep.”

He should have kept his mouth shut and gone on kissing her. That would have stopped her from hearing the bitterness that washed his words.

Alisha slipped her fingers around his forearm, her strong grip holding him in place as she made eye contact. Her wide eyes had turned storm grey. “You get dumped by someone, Devon?”

“Old news is old news, Alisha.”

She rested her head on his shoulder. “I was right. It sucks, doesn’t it?”

Yeah, but it was a long time ago, and he’d moved on. “I can’t base my life on teenage disappointments, or the expectations of my family. I’m doing what I want, and I’m damn good at it. That’s what counts.”

“Still sucks,” Alisha said.

And she was right.

They made their good-byes, escaping from the house without much fuss while all his siblings were busy with the family stuff. He drove them as far as the trailhead to the falls, stripping off his dress shirt in the parking lot and exchanging it for a T-shirt from his gear bag.

Alisha glanced around the parking lot. She slid beside him on the driver’s side and pulled her dress over her head.