Cheryl Harper - Winner Takes All

“Miss Yates is going to leave her bags here while we make the run to Alto.” He slid some money across the desk. “She’ll need a room to rest and repack, but we’ll be leaving this afternoon.”

“Certainly, Doctor. I’ll be more than happy to help,” Paulo answered as he slid the nuevo soles into his back pocket.

Daniel paused in the doorway to watch Paulo scramble to lift what had to be enough luggage for three months. As Paulo led Stephanie to the elevator, she turned and waved, looking like an adventurous ray of sunshine in the light streaming down from the skylight.

He didn’t know whether to thank his sister for sending him a slice of home or to curse her. Life on the mountain was hard enough. Once he got used to laughing with Stephanie Yates, he was afraid he’d see the hard work that much more clearly.

Not that it mattered. Hard work was nothing. He was helping people, and that was all he’d ever wanted to do. Coming here had been hard, but now he’d found what he’d spent his life preparing for. Sometimes he wished things were different, that he was back home or just...not alone.

He didn’t need distractions.

If anything was guaranteed, it was that Stephanie Yates would be a fun, frustrating, beautiful distraction. And to be honest, he was sort of looking forward to it.

CHAPTER THREE

STEPHANIE MADE SURE to arrive fifteen minutes early because she knew Daniel would be there ten minutes before the agreed upon time. Since he’d had to chauffer them around more than once before she got her first car, she, Rebecca, and Jen had often heard his opinion on the rudeness of keeping other people waiting. Even in high school he’d been attached to his schedule.

And if she’d spent one more minute in the comfortable hotel room, she might have decided Daniel was right. She’d called her mother to say she’d arrived safely, and her mom’s long list of the threats she should be prepared for had worn her down. How her mother had any concept of the dangers, Stephanie wasn’t sure. She hadn’t left Texas. Ever.

But the warnings turned up the heat under the anxiety she’d tried to hide from Daniel. She could give him a check and do some sightseeing here in the comfort of the big city before hopping on a plane back to her safe small town.

Playing it safe was smart. Comfortable. Easy. But in this case it would also mean failure.

Convincing him to go along with her plan had been a long shot.

Now she had to follow through, even if the idea of heading off into the unknown was giving her Texas-sized butterflies in her stomach. Daniel would keep her safe. All she had to do was keep her emotions in line.

Stephanie was casually filing her nails when Daniel strode through the open door. She nearly grinned at his slightly disgruntled frown when he spotted her. Victory.

“Have you been waiting long?” he asked. “Nobody will notice your manicure in Alto.”

“Multitasking.” She waved a hand. “You know how I hate to waste time.”

He studied her face, and Stephanie tried to fight the warm flush headed straight to her cheeks. Daniel had always been good at calling her bluff.

“Or maybe you aren’t as excited about this trip now that you’ve had some time to think on it.” He paused, one hand over the handle of her suitcase.

He was giving her another chance to back out, which made pretending she didn’t want to twice as hard, but she was committed. “Nope. I’m all in.” Petrified, but committed.

When he didn’t even grunt or grimace at the strain of carrying a bag that she’d dragged, with two rest stops, to the lobby, Stephanie decided that living in the Andes had built up his muscles. Watching them flex in his arms as he tossed the bag in the back of the pickup truck confirmed this suspicion. Also, it was fun.

“I haven’t been down here for long, but I wouldn’t dare keep you waiting,” she said as she slid into the passenger seat and slammed the door. After efficiently buckling her seatbelt, she cleared her throat. “I remember how well you wait. And we both know you would’ve grabbed the first chance to leave me behind, like you left your sister and me at home that time we insisted on going to the movies with you.”

This time he grunted as he stuck the key in the ignition and started the truck. “How long does it take to put on a pair of jeans?”

“For teenage girls? Eternity. Not any pair will do.” Stephanie studied her cargo pants. She should have spent more time on her own wardrobe.

The windshield was already covered with enough insects to be bulletproof, but the interior of the truck was spotless. Just as she’d expect. Determined to be so quiet Daniel wouldn’t even know she was there, she watched the beaches whiz by as they sped down the highway. She didn’t remark on how the mountains ended so abruptly at rocky beaches and crashing waves or the guy riding a ten-speed down the side of the highway or the men selling fruit out of the trunks of cars or the boxes lining the hillside that were obviously homes. And she definitely didn’t ask what the speed limit was. That took real courage. When she noticed how white her knuckles were, she painfully unwrapped her hand from the door and stretched her fingers.

Finally Daniel pulled over at a gas station and turned off the engine. “Better go in and stock up on all the necessities. From here we turn off the paved road. No gas stations. Restrooms are harder to come by. Next stop is about forty miles.”

Thinking that wouldn’t take long at the speed of light or whatever the speed limit was, she answered, “I can wait.”

He shook his head. “No. Go. Now. That forty miles could take the rest of the afternoon. Besides, I warned you about the restrooms. They’re less reliable until we reach Alto.”

Deciding he’d be difficult to live with if she ignored his instructions and he was right—and realizing she’d be crazy to turn her back on time to shop—she slid out of the truck, watched him unload a few gas cans and headed for the station.

“ Hola ,” she called out as the bells jangled on the slamming door. The young woman behind the counter waved. Stephanie thought about asking where the restrooms were in Spanish, one of the few phrases she remembered, but the sign was hard to miss. And it was in English.

She made use of the facilities and then decided to get a drink for the road. Instead of an overwhelming supply of choices she didn’t recognize, her favorite red-and-white can made for an easy decision. With three cold bottles in the basket she found by the door, Stephanie added what seemed to be plain potato chips and a big bag of individually wrapped chocolates. Chocolate was always a good idea. Frowning as she considered what might happen in the sunshine, she added another bag of hard candy. Too much candy was never a problem.

“Playing it safe already?” Daniel asked as he pulled open the glass door and pulled out two bottles filled with some kind of yellow drink.

“I thought those were your orders. We’re turning off the paved road, leaving the world as I know it behind, so I should cling to the familiar while I can.” She tightened her grip on the basket. “Besides, I like Coke and chips.”

He tapped a bottle. “You’ll like this, too. Inca Kola. It’s like Peruvian Coke.”

“But I already have Peruvian Coke. I mean, it’s actually Coke.” She trailed behind him on the way to the cash register and watched him discuss what she thought was the weather with the woman behind the counter while he unloaded her basket. Everything was easy for him, even making casual conversation in Spanish, and she was reminded again how much distance and time was between them now. The Daniel she’d loved like a brother and then crushed on like an idiot was different. His life here was so far from the cozy confines of Holly Heights.