Winning the lottery means finally living her dreams...

Stephanie Yates isn’t really sure she’s ready to leave her hometown and see the world, but there’s not much she can do about it now: her friends have sent her on her way! And her first stop is a village in the breathtaking mountains of Peru, where Daniel Lincoln, her lifelong crush, is setting up medical clinics.

Stephanie thought she could hide her feelings for the hotshot doctor no problem, but Daniel has changed. And spending time with this strong, caring man helps her imagine a new life for herself, and for Daniel. That is, if he can start seeing her as more than just a friend...

He needed her friendship.

Anything else was dangerous. Besides, she was like a sister. They’d survived acne, cafeteria pizza and countless fights over the remote.

“Listen, I’m happy to see you, but coming to Alto is a bad plan. The conditions aren’t what you’re used to and—”

“And you’re afraid I’ll tumble right on into love with you again. It’s okay. I’m smarter now than I was then. I realize you were right. We are good friends, and that doesn’t mean we should be anything more. Don’t worry.”

She squeezed his hand.

“Friends. That’s all. Now help me show your sister and Jen that they don’t know everything they think they do. Take me to Alto. I’ll stay until you’re coming back to Lima. I might even be able to help.”

Dear Reader,

Traveling the world from my couch has been a hobby of mine for a long time. As a young girl, I would check out the coffee-table photography books of Ireland and Scotland and dream of castles. In junior high, a project on Barcelona led me to the travel-guide shelves. Since then, I’ve carefully planned every vacation I’ve taken and dreamed big dreams about the ones I’ve yet to manage. What I didn’t know then, when I was studying big pictures of places large and small, was how travel could change the way I see the world and myself.

In Winner Takes All, Stephanie Yates learns this lesson after she takes a trip to Peru on a dare. Her best friend’s older brother is making a difference and making a life in the Andes Mountains. Once Stephanie has a chance to show what she can do, she understands that she’s limited only by her own fear. The conditions are nothing like home. And neither is the satisfaction she feels with each new adventure. I hope you enjoy seeing some of Peru and meeting Stephanie and Daniel.

If you’d like to know more about my books and what’s coming next, enter fun giveaways, or meet my dog, Jack, please visit me at cherylharperbooks.com. You can sign up for my newsletter, too. I’m also on Facebook (CherylHarperRomance) and Twitter (@CherylHarperBks). I’d love to chat!

Cheryl Harper

Winner Takes All

Cheryl Harper

www.millsandboon.co.uk

CHERYL HARPER discovered her love for books and words as a little girl, thanks to a mother who made countless library trips and an introduction to Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House stories. Whether it’s the prairie, the American West, Regency England or Earth a hundred years in the future, Cheryl enjoys strong characters who make her laugh. Now Cheryl spends her days searching for the right words while she stares out the window and her dog, Jack, snoozes beside her. And she considers herself very lucky to do so.

For more information about Cheryl’s books, visit her online at cherylharperbooks.com or follow her on Twitter, @cherylharperbks.

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Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Introduction

Dear Reader

Title Page

About the Author

Dedication

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Copyright

CHAPTER ONE

“SO HE REACHED across the table and took my hand—” Stephanie dropped into her normal spot on the couch with a huff “—and told me how much he appreciated my help with Stacy. He never would’ve patched things up with her without my friendship.”

“That’s Brian’s loss,” Rebecca said. She eased down beside Stephanie and fluffed her ruffled apron over the sundress she’d worn to celebrate the last day of school. Rebecca offered Stephanie a plate of chocolate chip cookies. “You did the right thing. It’s not bad to be such a good friend.”

“But he was my date.” Stephanie took a cookie in each hand and glumly bit into one of them. “The dating service was supposed to change this talent I have for converting every romantic possibility into another guy who values my advice.” She’d signed up believing she needed to broaden her horizons, get out of Holly Heights. Apparently her skill had nothing to do with the city limits.

“Some people can add ridiculously large sums in their heads. Others can play concertos without sheet music. You can make a friend out of anyone. That’s handy, right? People depend on you.” Rebecca nodded encouragingly as she passed the plate to Jen, the third of the Holy Horrors. Rebecca’s older brother had given them that name the first summer they’d dogged his footsteps.

Stephanie took a bite of the cookie in her left hand to stop herself from rolling her eyes in response.

Jen snorted. Of the three of them, she was most likely to call it like she saw it and let the chips fall where they may. “You should take a film crew on your next date. Then we can evaluate your skills, do some careful study of how you keep doing this.”

“Great idea. Wish we’d thought of it years ago. We could even do an educational video for people like me.” If there were any others who managed to convert chemistry to camaraderie with a hardly perceptible fizzle.

“Enough of Brian and his baggage.” Jen shook her head, her dark hair swinging thanks to the asymmetrical bob. “He was safe. So was the last guy... What was his name? Andrew? And the one before him and the one before that. It’s like they’re all beige. Not a single one stands out. I’m starting to think that’s why you like them.”

That was hard to argue with. “Safe is good. Boring but good.” Her mother might not have said it in exactly the same way, but there was no doubt where Stephanie had picked up that philosophy.

“We aren’t going to challenge you there,” Rebecca said. “What Holly Heights lacks in excitement, it certainly makes up for in predictability.” She pointed at each of them in their usual spots in her living room. Jen was sprawled across an armchair wiggling one foot with nervous energy, and Stephanie was curled up on the couch. With a cookie in each hand. “But it doesn’t seem like safe makes you happy lately.”

“I thought searching outside Holly Heights would work. Here there’s no mystery, none of that anticipation. Maybe I need to try... I don’t know...rodeo clowns or stuntmen or...” She couldn’t even think of a third crazy example. How depressing.

But she could easily imagine her mother’s wrinkled brow if she ever managed to track down a stuntman and bring him home to dinner.

“Forget him. Forget that. Focus on what you want out of life and go after it.” Jen waved a hand. “If we’re done with Brian, let’s move on. I have news.”

Her bright eyes darted over to Rebecca, who smiled and clapped. Stephanie wondered whether she was the only one in the room who didn’t know...whatever it was...because she’d launched into her dating woes.

As she finished her first cookie, Stephanie agreed. “Of course. You’re right. I’m being overdramatic. Men aren’t the answer. Living the life I want is. All I have to do is figure out how.” And wait until everyone who knows me has moved away so I don’t kill them with the shock of refusing to run the Christmas parade or the back-to-school supplies drive.

Yates men and women were known for their civic pride and unwavering service to Holly Heights. Admitting that she’d rather have a root canal than shovel up the road apples after the parade horses passed by would seem completely out of character. Bringing a rodeo clown to dinner might necessitate an intervention.

Jen patted her leg. “Cheer up. It’s the last day of school. Got our lottery ticket right here. You were voted Favorite Teacher at Holly Heights for the third year in a row.”

“No, I tied for Favorite Teacher. Again. How is that even possible? How can a vote like this turn into a tie for three years in a row?” She and Rebecca turned to Jen. “You’re the math teacher. Got any idea how that might happen?”

“None. I’d suspect someone was tampering with the vote, but this is a popularity contest and not a real election.” Jen smoothed her hair behind her ear as she stretched forward to pour wine into three glasses. “Haven’t you won enough popularity contests—Class President, Best Dressed and Miss Congeniality? Even Rebecca, the most supportive person in history, is getting tired of clapping.”

Rebecca was sending death glares at Jen, despite her Suzy Homemaker apron with its cheery sunflowers. But then Rebecca smiled sweetly and patted Stephanie’s hand. “Ignore her. Jealousy. I’ll clap for you until my hands fall off.”

Jen snorted and they all three laughed. Stephanie had to admit Jen had a point. She could let this contest go. Tying was almost as good as winning.

Said the eternal best friend.

Even in her own mind she was the spunky sidekick instead of the star of the show.

“Switch places with me.” Stephanie stood up and tugged Jen’s hand.

“What? Why? This is my spot. I like my spot.” Jen grumbled and moved over to sprawl on the couch. “Ugh. How uncomfortable.”

Rebecca poked Jen. “Get a grip. A change in outlook could do you both some good.”

Stephanie pretended to whistle innocently as Rebecca raised an eyebrow at her. The message was loud and clear.

Stephanie stared up at the unfamiliar patch of ceiling over Jen’s usual chair. Nothing was any clearer on this side of the room. “A good job, a nice family, the best friends in the world—why can’t I be happy with that?” Most of the people in Holly Heights chose to live there because of its easy distance to Austin and the benefits of small-town community. Her mother was content. Even Jen and Rebecca were cheerfully anticipating the summer.

“You’re bringing me down. We are officially on vacation, and this is going to be a summer like no other.” Rebecca clapped her hands but stopped and fiddled with her apron when Jen gave her the warning look.

Jen slid their lottery ticket across the coffee table. “There’s always next year for Favorite Teacher. Eventually Ms. Diaz will set aside her periodic table and retire so all you have to do is outlast her. Things are looking up for us.” She picked up her wineglass and raised it. With her sleek haircut, layers of thrift-store chic, tall boots and the rakish tilt of her chin to accompany her raised glass, Jen was a cross between a fashion model and a swashbuckler prepared to take on the world. Actually, the description fit Jen pretty well. “We need a toast.” Jen waited patiently for the other two to raise their glasses. “To possibilities, taking chances and a long summer.”

“And to friends who remind us what’s important,” Rebecca added.

“Vacation!” Stephanie said. They clinked glasses and each one took a sip of good wine.

Rebecca picked up the ticket and closed one eye to read the print. Did she need glasses? Yes. Would she wear them? No. “You changed the numbers.”

“I did,” Jen answered in a singsong voice. “I let the machine pick this time. Roll the dice. Trust the universe. Et cetera and so forth. What could it hurt?”

“Have you checked the winning numbers yet?” Stephanie shoved the seductive plate of cookies farther away while she wondered what was up with Jen. She never did a sing-song anything.

“If we’re winners, what will you spend your share on?” Jen crossed one long leg over the other. The secondhand boots she’d rescued looked fabulous on her bouncing foot. “Other than paying off student loans and buying a car with windows that completely roll up, which seems to be the height of my imagination.” Jen closed her eyes and moaned as she bit into a cookie. “I’d definitely pay Rebecca to make these for me every single day.”

“That would make it easier for me to give everything away. I could live in your guest-house, clean your pool and make cookies every day. Sounds like a plan to me.” Rebecca stretched her arms wide, her blond curls and blue eyes shining like that of the perfect animated princess. Stephanie was glad to know Rebecca had some of her own imperfections. They never would have been friends this long without them. “Imagine all the good millions could do.”

Jen shook her head. “Even playing make-believe you have to save the world. It must be genetic.” Stephanie’s stomach knotted at the threat of changing the topic to Rebecca’s brother, Daniel. She did not want to go there. She definitely would need more cookies if they did.

Rebecca held up a hand. “Well, how about this? I would buy myself a gourmet kitchen. Cooking on my mother’s old stove is nostalgic, but I wouldn’t mind six burners. Ooh, and a commercial refrigerator, one with the deep freezer drawer.” Stephanie and Jen exchanged a knowing look as Rebecca dreamed of appliances. “And granite countertops on a big island.” The hushed tone she used suggested it was a life goal, not simply a practical upgrade.

Stephanie tried to guess how many times they’d sat in the same places through the years and discussed all the important issues. Rebecca’s house had been their gathering spot as girls and nothing much had changed, even though her parents had retired and moved to a sunny beach and her brother was off saving the world one patient at a time. This place was home. It was easy to dream crazy dreams here.

Neither Jen nor Rebecca seemed to want to change that, even with the world of possibilities a lottery win could bring.

“You’d never leave this place,” Jen said. “Be honest.”

Stephanie stiffened but relaxed as she realized Jen was talking to Rebecca.

“No, but I would remodel it to within an inch of its life. Hire a handsome contractor, buy top-of-the-line everything and know I was the luckiest woman in the world. I love this place, but it could be upgraded.” Rebecca picked up a cookie and waved it. “We all know the food’s just as good now coming from my cramped out-of-date kitchen, but it sure would be fun to have expensive toys.”

“Okay, so I’m paying off bills and hiring staff. Bex is giving it all away, either in the form of checks or to-go plates from her fancy kitchen. What are you going to do, Steph?” Jen asked.

“I would...” Her voice trailed off. Jen and Rebecca knew her better than anyone. Why was she afraid to be honest with them? For some reason it was hard to confess she wanted something else, something different than what she had. “I would travel. Go to Paris. See the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre and get out of Holly Heights for a while.”

Jen pursed her lips. “I could see that. Be back in time to hand out the syllabus on the first day, but rack up some travel miles before that. Maybe, after all the bills were paid, I’d get a passport and join you.”

Stephanie wasn’t so sure she’d report back to work the first day of school if she had any other way to pay the bills. Lately, it seemed as if every day was the same.

“Would you come back?” Rebecca asked, the look in her eyes serious as she studied Stephanie’s face. “To Holly Heights?”

“What? Of course she would. She practically runs the place, thanks to her forefathers and general popularity. How does she even have time to date, what with all the civic duty?” Jen propped her boots on the table. “Where else could you go to get the royal treatment?”

Nowhere. She couldn’t go anywhere else in the world and find people who remembered her winning the spelling bee in fourth grade or her mother’s prizewinning cherry pie or her grandfather’s years of service as the county judge or how helpful she was or sweet or funny or...boring. Jen was right. She was popular in Holly Heights, but sometimes she wanted to try meeting people without her history waving behind her.

Likable was fine, but maybe she could be interesting somewhere else.

“The town would fall apart if the last Yates moved away.” Jen sighed. “And so would we.”

“No need to worry. This is home.” And it was. Rebecca and Jen were family. The Yateses were big believers in family.

“Doesn’t mean you can’t see the world,” Rebecca said. “You know, with your imaginary lottery winnings. You’ve planned a thousand trips with your collection of travel guides and coffee table books. The money could mean you stop planning and start going.”

Sure. New, lucky, rich Stephanie could be adventurous. That would be interesting.

And if the freedom she’d been dreaming of didn’t make her happy, she’d have to assume there was something wrong with her, not her hometown.

She needed to dream bigger.

“You’re right. So, instead of taking a trip I’ve planned a million times, I’d put on a blindfold and throw a dart at the map. I’d aim for Paris, but how exciting would it be to pack a bag, get on a plane and go see someplace you’ve never thought of?” She leaned her head back and imagined herself deplaning from a private jet. Somehow she was dressed like Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s because why not.

When she realized how quiet the other two had gotten, she opened her eyes to see them both watching her closely. “What?”

“You, go somewhere without careful planning, the required shots and an insurance policy against acts of God? That sounds wrong.” Jen stood up, topped off the wineglasses and added, “But I like it. Let’s do it.”

Annoyed all over again at how impossible it was to try something new without everyone reminding her that it was out of character, Stephanie said, “Do what? Just...win the lottery?”

“I’m pretty sure the darts are still in Daniel’s closet. We need a map.” Rebecca stood up, shook out the skirt of her sundress and disappeared down the hallway.

Jen walked into the kitchen and came back with a dish towel. “Not a real blindfold but it should work. No peeking.” She paused in front of Stephanie, grabbed her hand and started to pull her off the couch. “We’ll go ahead with the dart in case we win and you need to jump on a plane quickly. You like to be prepared.”

Giving in to Jen’s demands, Stephanie eased up off the couch and smoothed down her Holly Heights High School T-shirt over her hips. “You act like you don’t trust me.” She yanked on her ponytail to tighten it and then waved her hands. “Wait, you act like we’re actually going to win the lottery.” Either one was a crazy thought.

Rebecca trotted back into the living room with a giant map poster and a dart. “I’m not sure all these countries still exist, but Paris should be there.” She yanked open a closet door and taped up the poster. “Remember when we had a dartboard here? Daniel smoked us every time we played.”

Stephanie crossed her arms over her chest and said nothing. She didn’t have to. Jen and Rebecca both turned to stare at her.

“I got an email from him yesterday. Sounds like things are going well,” Rebecca said and studied her carefully. “And then there are his Facebook updates.” Rebecca raised her eyebrows and dared Stephanie to say she had no idea what she was talking about.

The thing about best friends is that they never forget your first love or first crush or whatever it was she’d had for Daniel Lincoln, her best friend’s older brother and the first male to shove her into the role of friend when she’d wanted more. Bravely asking him to dinner had been an un-Stephanie kind of thing to do. Doing it on his worst day ever was poor planning.

Nobody had forgotten it, actually. But that whole fiasco had happened a long time ago. Now he wasn’t even in Holly Heights, and her friends had already established she could never leave because the town would fold without her.

The risk she’d taken in telling him how she felt hadn’t paid off. His easy rejection had made it clear he’d never seen her as anything other than an adopted little sister.

That didn’t mean she’d made a mistake or that stepping out on a limb this time would mean failure. If she never made a change, she’d never know what was possible.

“Give me the blindfold. I’m ready to hop on a plane to anywhere, you wait and see.” She tied the dish towel over her eyes and held out her hand. Jen pressed the dart into her palm and said, “See the map. Be the map.” They all chuckled, remembering countless slumber parties where Daniel had tried to show them how to hit the dartboard instead of the innocent closet door.

Rebecca put her hands on Stephanie’s shoulders and spun her around once. “Do your best!”

“Come on, Paris!” Her heart racing with excitement and fear, Stephanie tossed the dart and hoped to hit land. She could see herself stepping off a plane. Floating on a boat, not so much.

She tried to yank off the dish towel but Jen shoved her glass of wine in her hand. “Before you see where you’re landing, let’s make another toast. To new beginnings and lottery winnings.”

Thinking they were spending a whole lot of time making plans for something that would never happen, Stephanie held out her glass, waited for the clink and took a sip. Then Jen yanked off her makeshift blindfold and said in her best game show host voice, “Let’s see where you’re headed.”

The three of them lined up in front of the map. Somehow she’d completely missed France, not to mention the tiny dot of Paris. In fact, she’d overshot Europe as well. The dart was planted squarely in the middle of nowhere Peru.

“That’s impossible. There’s no way I missed the entire continent of Europe.” The images of Peru that came to mind were of llamas and Machu Picchu, which she might enjoy seeing, but that was not where the dart had landed. No, apparently she was going to...Alto, a place she’d heard of once in her life thanks to a posting on Daniel Lincoln’s Facebook page. She narrowed her eyes at Rebecca. “What did you do?”

“Have another cookie,” Rebecca said and blinked her eyelashes as she held out the plate. Of the three of them, Rebecca had always been able to put on the best innocent face.

“I have no clue what you mean.” Jen yanked down the map, folded it and handed the dart to Rebecca. “It seems your first destination is the Andes. When we win.”

Stephanie wagged her finger at Rebecca. “You moved the dart. You had to. There’s no way that I, the dart queen of 2001, would have missed by that much.”

“Now why would I do that?” Rebecca asked.

Thanks to years of experience, Stephanie was skeptical of her perfectly angelic expression.

Rebecca narrowed her eyes at Jen. “Did you see me move the dart?”

“I did not.” Jen shook her head firmly. Her boots shifted on the hardwood. “And for what reason would Rebecca send you to the area where her brother is working? I mean, what could she hope to gain from it? Have another cookie. You’ll feel better.”

Stephanie studied the plate of cookies Rebecca was waving under her nose. She crossed her arms again. “It doesn’t matter. We won’t win. I don’t know why you’d... What? Push me in his direction. If you’ll recall, I tried that once. He patted me on the head and told me he liked me too much to try dating. Remember? And he could never kiss me.” She wrinkled her nose in the same way Daniel had when he’d said the word as if she’d asked him to kiss the south end of a north-bound donkey.

“People change, Steph. Maybe he has, too. He’s lost his job, moved halfway around the world. That’s got to cause some careful consideration of what’s important in life.” Jen turned to Rebecca. “He’s not dating anyone, is he? Not that it matters.”

“No, he’s not dating. And getting involved with a man like Daniel would be a terrible idea. He’s married to his job. But...” Rebecca shrugged.

When Rebecca didn’t add anything else, Jen dropped back into her usual spot and kicked one jean-clad leg over the arm of the chair. “It’s not like running into the guy you measure other guys against is a bad thing, is it? Maybe that’s all you need to get out of the friend rut and on to the road to love, happiness and Favorite Teacher. Well, that and a few million dollars.”

At the reminder of the nonexistent money needed to fuel this imaginary trip, Stephanie eased back against the couch again. They could tease her all they wanted. Nothing would come of it unless the numbers the machine had spit out were winners. She’d ask the math wizard in the group what the odds were, but she didn’t want to let them know how shaken she was at the idea of either a trip to Peru or seeing Daniel Lincoln again in his no doubt trailblazing glory.

If she needed a mentor in learning to make new paths instead of waiting for things to change, he would be a solid choice.

As far as either of them knew, she’d had a crush and now it was over. Right? She watched Rebecca, her best friend since first grade, finish her cookie with what seemed to be a touch of smugness.

Then Rebecca and Jen glanced at each other and the smugness bloomed and spread.

Faking a stop in the Andes Mountains couldn’t be that hard. She took a deep breath. Lying might not be the most honorable solution, but it would definitely be the easiest, and she wouldn’t feel the least guilty about cheating a couple of dart-moving cheaters.

“We’re going to hold you to your fabulous idea, Steph. One dart and you pack your bags, get on a plane. Unless you bring back photographic evidence of you, Daniel and his clinic in Alto, we’re going to know you chickened out, you big chickeny chicken.” Jen’s satisfaction was hard to face, but Stephanie did her best not to show her dismay.

Rebecca wagged a finger. “Great idea, Jen. Evidence.”

Stephanie snorted. “So what happens if I decide to take my millions and head for France and ignore the clucking sounds you make every time you see me from now until the end of time?”

“No cookies for you.” Rebecca moved the plate out of reach and Jen whistled.

“Harsh but effective.” Jen raised an eyebrow. “Not that you need consequences. You want to make a change. Here’s the push you need. After we win the lottery.”

“Okay, so you managed to fix the dart-throwing exhibition. If you can figure out a way to rig the lottery, I am going to be so impressed.”

Jen exchanged a glance with Rebecca, and as soon as Stephanie put the wineglass on the table, Jen shouted, “We won!” She and Rebecca jumped up and down like the excitement could no longer be contained. “Five million dollars split three ways. We won!”

“Pack your bags,” Rebecca sang as she hugged Stephanie. “It’s time to make a wish come true.”

Stephanie tipped her head to the side and raised an eyebrow. “You’re talking about seeing Peru, right?”

“Sure.” Rebecca blinked slowly. “What else could I be talking about?”

“Fine, but you’re going with me,” Stephanie muttered. And added through gritted teeth, “My treat.” If she was going, she was certainly going to take a buffer with her.

“Can’t.” Rebecca held up her hand and ticked off the points. “No passport. No tranquilizers. No airplanes. No way.” Her fear of flying was well documented. They’d tried it the first summer after her parents moved to Florida.

It had gone badly. Very badly. Now they took road trips.

“And Jen’s out. She signed up to teach summer school.”

Before Stephanie could argue that Jen had no need to pick up the extra money, Rebecca added, “This is your thing. You don’t need us.”

Oh, yes, she did. It was fine to dream big on Rebecca’s sofa. Actually going to a foreign country all alone might be too big.

And the fact that she was sitting on the edge of panic over the trip instead of dancing in celebration over winning the lottery was something to think about. Later.

“Are you matchmaking?” Stephanie asked. “Because...”

“I love you. I love him. The two of you together, I don’t know about, but you’re in a rut. This ought to fix that.” Rebecca wrapped her arm around Stephanie’s shoulders. “And if I know my brother, his rut’s deeper than yours, even on a mountaintop. Of the three of us, you were always the best at getting him to do what we wanted.”

“But what do we want him to do?” There had to be an ironclad excuse to get out of this.

“Simple. I want him to be happy.” Rebecca shrugged. “And you, too. What if the best way to stop turning dates into friends is to make a friend...something more? I dare you to give this a shot. One trip. Easy.”

Stephanie was speechless as she considered Rebecca, who had walked away to pull a casserole out of the oven that was now living on borrowed time. Rebecca was her best friend. They would be friends until the end of time. But she might have been breathing in the oven fumes for too long.

Still, she could go, see Daniel and return with the message that he was happily saving the world one vaccination at a time. The trip also would prove that her feelings had been settled, once and for all. He was a friend. He’d stay a friend.

And having a purpose made the trip a little less intimidating.

But only a little.

Ready or not, she was headed for Peru.

CHAPTER TWO

“WHY ARE YOU updating now, you stupid piece of junk?” Daniel rubbed his forehead, watched his laptop count up slowly and tried to think happy thoughts. Before he’d settled in to start and finish the overdue fund-raising report, he’d checked his parents’ Facebook page. The cruise to Alaska was going well. But there were no other updates. Nothing from his sister. He would’ve called her to check in, but his recent uptick in homesickness wouldn’t be helped by hearing her voice.

Since he’d been about half a second away from hitting the medical recruiting sites he’d started checking now and then, just to see who was hiring close to home, he should thank his computer for saving him the angst.

While giving him a whole different bucket of angst, of course.

His life was in Peru. He missed home and his sister more than he’d ever admit, but he was a grown man. He’d deal. There was plenty to do here to keep his mind off what he was missing in Holly Heights.

Daniel scanned the small lobby restaurant and watched three guys in business suits working happily on laptops with better timing than his. At least he wasn’t trying to do this in a necktie and white coat. The doctor’s dress code had been replaced with comfortable jeans, his favorite Baylor T-shirt and a dusty ball cap that kept the sun out of his eyes.

Most of the time, he was the lone doctor in town. He had the freedom to dress the way he wanted and run the best clinics he could.

That had to be the unlikely silver lining to his flameout at Holly Heights Hospital. Refusing to discharge a patient whose insurance wasn’t up to par—against his sound judgment as a doctor—was one thing. Insulting the hospital administrator in front of the board was where he’d stepped over the line. And as a result the hospital’s summer job shadowing program for high school kids—the one his sister had drafted and he’d called in every single favor he could to get approved—had also been axed.

Letting Rebecca down had been a hard way to learn the lesson, but he’d never again make the mistake of believing his skills made him bulletproof. Even worse was imagining the disappointed kids who might have missed out on finding their calling.

In Peru he didn’t have to worry about offending any number crunchers in expensive suits. Well, except for the guy watching him over the top of his newspaper.

Daniel shoved the computer out of the way, yanked his breakfast plate closer and scooped up a heaping tower of fluffy scrambled eggs. At least this meal was on his schedule. That was one of the perks of this business-class hotel in Lima. Everything ran on time. Reliable electricity. Running water twenty-four hours a day. And hot water whenever he turned on the tap. City life definitely had its bonuses.

When the laptop finally whirred back on, he sighed and reopened the document he’d been staring at for long minutes before his computer had taken its life in its hands by shutting down and restarting without his permission.

He smiled at the woman who kept his coffee cup full. After she’d gone, he ate his toast and tried to come up with the next paragraph of his fund-raising report for HealthyAmericas.

The patterns on the ceiling hadn’t changed since the last time he’d stared up for inspiration. “I should have found someone else to work on this report.” Not that he’d really trust anyone else with something so important. He was the project leader. The success or failure of HealthyAmericas outreach in the Pasco region rested squarely on his shoulders.

“And success depends pretty heavily on money, so you shouldn’t have put this off, idiot.” He surveyed the room to see the other diners shooting glances at him out of the corners of their eyes and decided talking to himself was a habit better left to long hikes in the Andes Mountains. Apparently it made the city people nervous.

“The clinic in Alto continues to serve the population of the town and the surrounding region through vaccinations and basic...” Boring. Why would anyone care about these colorful, three-dimensional people when all he could give them was gray, flat statistics? “I could write a report about one patient, make it clear how donations help an individual. People love to hear feel-good stories. Especially about cute kids.”

The businessman seated across from him wrinkled his nose as though he wasn’t quite convinced, and the idea of starting all over again made Daniel want to escape. Head back to the mountains. Get his hands dirty and make a difference the best way he knew how.

But coughs needed medication, cuts needed stitches, and there were babies and mothers and little ladies with arthritic hands or worse all depending on this funding.

Why did good medicine always seem to come down to money?

When his email dinged, he seized his chance to do anything else and clicked to open the message from his sister.

“Won the lottery?” Daniel laughed out loud in relief. His sister would write a check, no problem. “And Jen and Steph, too.” His fist pump froze all activity in the restaurant while everyone waited to see what the crazy American would do next. He waved his arms broadly. “Good news!”

They all smiled awkwardly in return and kept on watching him surreptitiously.

He went back to the message and reread it. “A big investor coming here? Today? I don’t have time for that.” He tried to imagine what sort of businessperson would come all the way to Lima to check out his operation and decided it didn’t matter. He needed donations.

The plate of scrambled eggs and toast was demolished in a flurry of happy bites before he fired off a congratulatory email with the standard “make a donation now” request. Then he quickly drafted another message for Dr. Wright, a medical school colleague who’d founded HealthyAmericas, to let her know big donations were on the way and that his fund-raising letter would be delayed but he’d have it ready for the big donor event in two months.

“Or else,” Daniel muttered. He added his regrets that he couldn’t make it back to Texas in time for the event before he hit Send. She wanted him to be the face of the doctors serving in South America. He was pretty sure he didn’t want to show his face around there. Too many people would remember him leaving in disgrace. Austin was close to Holly Heights and it was a small, small world.

He clasped his hands behind his head, stretched in his chair and studied the ceiling again. “Definitely a case study. Maybe a few, with pictures to show the real-life benefits of having medical teams making regular stops. That’s the way to go.” He ignored the curious stares and tried to think of someone who could do a good job with the report in order to free up his time for more patients. “I should request an intern or something, somebody who’s good with a camera and a computer.”

Making a mental note to add that to his budget for the next year, he closed the laptop, shoved it in the beat-up bag he carried with him at all times and pulled out his wallet to leave nuevo soles as a tip. He smiled at the waitress again. “Gracias.”

Before he could head back to Alto, he had to check out of the hotel and make sure the truck with the medical supplies was scheduled to deliver next week. And now he needed to come back to the hotel to meet with this investor. Flights arrived early from the States, so he should still be able to make it to Alto. He’d leave a message at the desk with a time and hope whoever it was checked in soon.

Every day he had a long list of things to do, so he was glad to push off the report that was making him crazy. When he made it back to Lima in another two weeks, he’d do it. Definitely.

A husky laugh drew his attention to the lobby desk where Paulo was talking with a tall blonde dressed for African safari. She was khakied and cargoed from head to toe, although silky hair trailed down her back. Something about her was familiar, but that could be attributed to the homesickness that struck now and then. He was happy in Peru, but that didn’t mean he never dreamed of going back to the way things were, when he was such a skilled surgeon he could bend the rules as he liked. As always, he shoved aside the disappointment and stood as the blonde turned away from the desk.

“Stephanie?” He had to sit back down before his weak knees made him stumble.

Stephanie pulled out the chair opposite him, but before she sat down, she wrapped her arms around his neck and squeezed so tight he almost turned blue. The hug surprised him, but it shouldn’t have. She’d always greeted him the same way. The bigger shock was that he wasn’t quite ready to let her go when she braced both hands against his chest. She smelled like lavender dryer sheets and about a million things he’d learned not to take for granted, things that made him think of home.

And immediately he was reminded of how sweet she’d been when she’d asked him out to dinner. Since he’d just burned every bridge at the hospital, he hadn’t been as careful with her as he should have been. Protecting Rebecca, Stephanie and Jen had been his job ever since the first night he’d been stuck babysitting.

Seeing her here brought his homesickness back—with a crash. He’d missed her. She was home and family and laughing and not taking himself so seriously in one beautiful, sweet package. He realized he was still holding on to her hands and forced himself to let go.

“What are you doing here?” He frowned as she settled in the chair with a tired sigh.

“The frown’s more like it. For half a second I thought you were happy to see me.” She rolled her eyes at him and waved the waitress over.

“Yes, ma’am, what would you like to order? May I bring you a menu?”

Stephanie waved her hands. “No, no need for that much trouble. How about eggs and toast? Orange juice?”

The waitress wrote down her order. “Certainly. I’ll have that right out.”

Stephanie clapped her hands. “Wonderful.” Before the waitress could walk off, she added, “Before you go, those are great shoes. Are they comfortable?”

Daniel did his best to keep the annoyance at a low simmer while the two women discussed comfortable shoes and where to find them in Lima. By the time the waitress walked off he was amazed she and Stephanie hadn’t exchanged phone numbers.

“So you’re surprised to see me. Didn’t Rebecca let you know I was coming?” Stephanie’s gaze darted away. “I’m happy to see you, too, by the way.”

The discomfort on her face reminded him that even if he’d almost forgotten their last awkward conversation, maybe she hadn’t. He hated that. He didn’t want anything to change between them. That had been the whole point of turning her down. Stephanie had always looked up to him. He’d watched over her. That was the arrangement he was comfortable with.

“No, she didn’t mention it. Obviously. You nearly missed me. I was about to go pick up medical supplies.” And now he had no idea what to do. Time to prepare would have been nice. “Did you buy one of everything at Camping Corral?”

She frowned at her outfit, studied his for a long minute and then grimaced. “Okay, I overdid it. A little. But this is what happens without enough time to study a place.”

As she surveyed the lobby, she pointed at the skylight. “Clouds. That’s something I didn’t expect. I had this picture of sunshine and green mountains, not oceans and heavy cloud cover.”

“You can get that here, too. Wait an hour and everything changes.” He watched her lean back and thank the waitress with a friendly smile.

“How wonderful. Scrambled eggs are my favorite. They’re the perfect start for a beautiful day. I bet you hear that all the time, don’t you?” She picked up a fork and waited patiently for the waitress’s answer.

The woman stopped and thought for a minute. “No, ma’am, I don’t. But I like a good breakfast, so it’s nice to meet another fan.” She pointed at the skylight. “And it’s nice to meet someone else who isn’t bothered by a few clouds.”

Of course she wasn’t bothered by clouds. Stephanie was like sunshine—wherever she went it was only a matter of time until the clouds passed.

The waitress made sure to pour Stephanie a nice cup of coffee. She happily dug into her breakfast and he shook his head as the waitress brought her a fresh bowl of jelly, a stack of clean napkins and a paper from the front desk.

He’d had to lay down a healthy tip to get service with the same friendly attitude.

“I’m sure you’re in a hurry to get on with whatever brings you to Peru.” He was always in a hurry. He sipped his lukewarm coffee and wondered if he could get her to ask for a refill. “How long are you here?” And could you just hand me the checks and let me get back to my day?

The homesickness had no cure, but getting back to work would help the symptoms.

She fiddled with the edge of the folded napkins for a minute and the niggling thought that everything wasn’t going to go according to his plan settled in his brain.

“Your sister, Jen and I have this sort of agreement. Maybe it’s a dare. I’m not really sure.” She picked up a slice of toast and carefully, thoughtfully chewed it all while he did his best to ignore the impatience he could feel building with the tick of the clock. He rested his elbows on the table, propped his chin on his hands and pretended he was patient.

“I threw a dart. It landed on Alto. I have to go there or listen to them clucking at me for the rest of my life.” She shrugged. “You get that, right?”

He leaned back in his chair and wondered who in the world could figure out what was happening from a nonsensical statement like that.

Only one who’d spent countless Friday nights listening to his sister and her friends giggle over badly thrown darts. He’d also learned to carefully consider every sentence that came out of Stephanie’s mouth. She’d always been the one to give him the most trouble. Rebecca he could threaten into compliance by mentioning their parents. He was pretty sure nothing threatened Jen but she’d never tried cajoling him, either. All that had come from Stephanie. At sixteen she’d been good at getting cooperation, even from a cocky high school senior.

“Let me translate. You won the lottery. They dared you to throw a dart at the map and get on a plane. If you don’t do it, they’ll never let you forget it.” And just like when they were kids, he’d been dragged into their brilliant plan.

The urge to lecture her on the dangers of traveling alone to spots off the beaten path was strong.

“Sort of. You’ve got the basics anyway.” She spread grape jelly on her toast. “So, how soon can we leave for Alto? I need a picture of you, me and your clinic. Then I’ll be out of your hair and you’ll have some nice donations.”

She didn’t meet his gaze as she said it, so he was pretty sure that wasn’t the full story. “You want to come to Alto?” He shook his head. “Impossible.”

“There’s the reaction I was expecting,” she muttered and sipped her steaming hot coffee.

“Now the safari getup makes more sense, but—” he yanked off his ball cap and ruffled his hand through the hair that was long enough to drive him crazy, something he didn’t need with a woman bound to get him there in two seconds flat “—it’s a hard drive and once you get there the amenities are seriously lacking. The Andes can be dangerous, and if you fall or break something, it’s a long, painful ride back to Lima. It’s nothing like home. Better just leave the check. If you’re determined to see the sights, head to the tourist towns or even stay here for a few days. It’s a nice place. Lots of interesting history. The hot running water will be right up your alley.”

If he warned her about the traffic, protecting her valuables and being aware of her surroundings, Stephanie would mock him. He might deserve it. The dangers in Lima were much the same as in any big city and she’d been navigating Houston and Austin with two troublemakers at her side for years.

Stephanie pursed her lips and pushed away her empty plate. Instead of dragging in like a woman who’d spent most of the night on a plane, she seemed energetic. Full of life. She always had.

“Here’s the thing. We can do this the easy way or the hard way, but I’ve flown halfway around the world to satisfy the doubters back home, have a little adventure and, yes, leave you a big check.” Stephanie shook her head. “The question you have to ask yourself is how bad you want it. Bad enough to play tour guide for a couple of days?”

“I moved to Peru to avoid donor requests like this, Stephanie. You know I have important work to do. The drive up to Alto takes a full day, but there are stops to make along the way because there are people who need doctors, don’t have them and have no way to get to them. So I go to them. I’m too busy for a sightseeing trip.” He banged his hand against his bag. “By the time I make it to Alto, unload the medical supplies, hike out to all the villages that need attention and come back to Lima, you’re looking at two weeks. Nobody has time to load you up and bring you back to wash your hair.”

She blinked as though he’d slapped her, and Daniel noticed the guy with the paper had pursed his lips and was shaking his head in disapproval. Daniel sighed. The nosy guy was right. She didn’t know how hard the travel was and treating her like some shallow nuisance was unfair. Besides, he didn’t like the way disappointing her made him feel.

“Sorry. That was a little more forceful than I’d intended.” He spread his hand out over the cursed laptop. “I have a few things on my mind.”

“No ‘Hi, how’ve you been?’ or even ‘What’s new?’ or ‘What brings you to the neighborhood?’ Just full-on skipping the small talk and telling me how busy you are.” She nodded. “At least you haven’t changed much.”

“Did you hope I would? Change?” The question about whether she thought time in the mountains would make him think differently of her and their...romantic potential hovered on the tip of his tongue, but he wouldn’t ask it. He was afraid of her answer. Friends were a lot more valuable and harder to come by than dates. Or at least he thought that was still true.

“Not really, no, although you could stand to relax.” She raised her eyebrows at him and just like that he could picture her teasing him in front of the dartboard. Even in high school he’d been driven. His sister and her friends had sort of adopted him, included him and teased him for the arrogance that had raged nearly unchecked until he’d hit medical school and someone educated it out of him.

She patted his hand as though she was consoling an ailing relative, and he realized his own lofty opinion of his importance still didn’t mean much to her.

“Don’t you remember that time you ran out of gas down by Sarah Anderson’s house? We borrowed your dad’s car and rescued you. Who kept your secret? Who made sure no one knew the infallible Daniel Lincoln did something as everyday human as running out of gas while driving past a pretty girl’s house? I did. If you want to ease up on telling me how important you are, I’ll make sure I keep that secret, too.” She tugged his bag out from under his hand. “What’s so valuable in here? You’ve got a death grip on it.”

“You can’t go, Steph. There’s no room for you in my schedule.” He hated to say it so baldly, but the truth was always the best choice. “I need your donations. Money like this will accomplish so much, but I have work to do.”

She ignored him. Of course. After she flipped open the bag and saw a laptop, she shut it again and pouted a little. “I was hoping for something to use as blackmail. Of course you were working. You’re always working.”

“How do you know? We haven’t seen each other in years.” He didn’t like the idea that he couldn’t surprise her.

“You told me you hadn’t changed, D. You would never lie.” Her eyes weren’t quite as reserved this time when he managed to catch her attention.

The connection that stretched between them was sweet and made him uneasy at the same time. He needed her friendship. Anything else was dangerous. Besides, she was like a sister. They’d already survived acne, cafeteria pizza and countless fights over the remote. There was no way romance could outlast that.

“Listen, I’m happy to see you, but coming to Alto is a bad plan. The conditions aren’t what you’re used to and—”

“And you’re afraid I’ll tumble right on into love with you again. It’s okay. I’m smarter now than I was then. I realized you were right. We are good friends, but that doesn’t mean we should be anything more. Don’t worry.” She squeezed his hand. “Friends. That’s all. Now help me show your sister and Jen that they don’t know everything they think they do. Take me to Alto. I’ll stay until you’re coming back to Lima. I might even be able to help.”

“You aren’t a doctor. You’ll slow me down.” He closed his eyes against her wince. “I’ve got a group waiting, and I need to focus. We’ll be hiking and setting up clinics during the day and at night, I’ve got to work on this fund-raising report to keep the doors open. It’s a lot, Steph. Can’t you just...”

“Write a check? Make you happy? Get out of your way?” Stephanie reached for the backpack she’d set down next to her chair. She pulled out a digital camera and a nice leather-bound journal. “For my travel blog. The one I’m going to write. For me. I won the lottery. I’m going to travel and I’m going to document it all.” She tapped her finger on top of the journal and watched him while she waited for his brain to work everything out.

“You could help me. Instead of an annoying intern—”

“You could have an annoying donor with a large, healthy checkbook whose single wish is to see Alto and help you with your fund-raising. Just imagine...killing two birds with one trip. That has to please the always busy Dr. Lincoln even if Daniel is remembering my unfortunate habit of singing pop tunes at the top of my lungs.”

“They’re all in Spanish here,” he said, frowning. She had a point. She also had the equipment, and an English teacher should be able to craft something people would enjoy reading. HealthyAmericas would benefit from the trip. He could use the help.

“Once I hear them a few times, I’m sure I can mangle the Spanish cheerfully.” Stephanie raised the camera and snapped a quick photo of him.

“Intense concentration. Wonder how many shots it would take to get any other expression?” she asked as she flipped through the shots on her camera.

“Two weeks and you’ll write me a check for twenty-five thousand dollars. Plus, you’ll help me draft a compelling report to help HealthyAmericas with the upcoming donor event.” He offered her his hand.

Stephanie studied it closely. “How about a check for twice that and two more from some dear friends? And I’ll make sure I’m more help than hindrance on this trip.” Then she held out her hand.

“You’re really bad at negotiation. You went the wrong direction. Yes to the checks, but stick to the report, please. That’ll be a big weight off my shoulders.” He waved his hand impatiently.

She slipped her hand in his and the warm shock of soft skin and awareness surprised him. He squeezed her hand and then nodded.

“Come on. Don’t look so serious. We’re going to have fun. You’ll see.” When she straightened up, pulling her hand away, he had the impression that he missed her hand in his. After a second’s touch. Crazy.

Had to be the homesickness. That’s all.

“Two rules before we go.” He tightened his hand in a fist under the table and waited.

Stephanie crossed her arms over her chest with a gusty sigh. “How did I know there was more negotiation coming? Did you think I needed the practice?”

“I don’t want to talk about Holly Heights Hospital. At all.” He waited for her to agree, watched her open her mouth to argue and then reluctantly close it.

“Fine. But you need to talk to someone. It’s been four years. It’s only a big thing in your own mind, and your sister wants...” She shook her head. “What’s the second rule?”

He was glad she’d stopped. He and Rebecca had always been close and missing her made it harder to be happy doing this job that mattered so much. He wasn’t sure what he’d do if Rebecca asked him to come home to Texas.

Focus. She hasn’t asked and you have a job to do, visitors from home or not.

“You’re going to have to follow my orders. My trip means my rules.”

“Bossy. Just like old times.” Stephanie rolled her eyes. “I’ll try. That’s all I can promise. I never graduated from obedience training, Doc.”

This would be a disaster. One way or another, she’d interfere with his work. But he wanted the help and having a piece of home so close was hard to resist.

He turned his wrist over to check the time and then reviewed everything he still had to get done before they could leave Lima. “How much luggage do you have?”

Stephanie jerked in her seat as though she hadn’t quite believed he’d give in. He should have negotiated harder. He tried to remember how many times he’d ever won against Stephanie and decided he’d never stood a chance anyway. She pointed over her shoulder. “See the pile next to the desk? That’s all mine.”

From here he could count two big suitcases and three duffle bags. “More khaki?”

She tapped her lips with one finger. “Are you making a joke? It’s so hard to tell.”

“There’s no way we’re dragging all that with us. Go through and cull to one bag. Make good choices. Pants, shirts, things we can wash if we have to.” He checked under the table and nearly winced. “Unless you’ve worn those hiking boots for more than the plane ride down here, bring along your running shoes. And Band-Aids. Sunscreen. I’ll be back in two hours. I’ll tell Paulo to store the rest of your bags with mine so you can pick them up on your way home.” He scooted back from the table and stood, ready to execute his plan.

Until Stephanie held up one soft hand and said, “Wait a minute. I respectfully request a question-and-answer period with each sweeping order, sir.”

“Two rules. You can’t keep up with two?” He sighed. “I knew this was a terrible plan.”

Her lip twitched. “But you still want my money.”

“I do.” He tapped his left foot impatiently.

“And my help?” She batted her eyelashes at him and he could remember so many other times when she’d been able to tease him out of whatever cloud he’d been under.

“I do.” She wouldn’t back out now, would she?

“Fine. My backpack is okay, right? It’s got all my camera stuff.” She shoved her camera and journal in and stood while she waited for his answer.

“Yes. One bag and your backpack.” Some of the tension in his neck and shoulders that had been building into a low-level headache eased when she saluted and clicked the rubber soles of her boots.

“I’ll meet you right here. Should we synchronize our watches?” She held up her bare, slender wrist and tapped it as if she was trying to get a stopped watch working again.

He was shaking his head when he grabbed his bag and walked off, but there was something exciting about facing the trip he’d already made so many times with a new partner. Whether she disliked the journey or actively hated it, she’d be a lot of fun along the way. Stephanie Yates made sure everyone enjoyed life if it was possible. That was why the town of Holly Heights had loved her since she sprang into the world with a dimple and a bow taped to her head. He’d seen the pictures. She was adorable. And that was why the waitress hugged her neck on the way out.

“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.

To keep this trip on the right track, she needed to cling to the first Daniel, the one who’d seen countless pimples and the horrifyingly bad perm she’d had at sixteen. She would explain to everyone that he was a good friend, nothing more, and then she’d find a new and exotic man in romantic Paris.

Convincing herself that he was only a good friend might make all the difference back in Holly Heights, too. Maybe she’d take the men who sat across from her on dinner dates more seriously.

In a flash they were rung up, checked out and back in the car. “You know, for a guy who’s trying to raise money, you haven’t pushed your luck. Shouldn’t I be bankrolling my own junk food habit?”

She opened the bag of chips and offered it to him.

He took a handful of chips out, started the truck and said, “Don’t worry. I’m putting it all on your tab.”

The truck lurched as Daniel made the turn on to the dusty gravel road, and she gripped the handle above the door again. He laughed and glanced her way, so she pasted on a confident expression. “Oh, I’m not worried. Thanks to the Big Star lotto, I can cover the tab.” A hard jounce shook her across the seat, and she grabbed the bag of chips before it could sail on to the floorboard. The bumps in the road and the crackle of gravel under the tires were loud so Stephanie shut up and held on.

“This more like what you expected?” Daniel asked as he slowed to pass a woman walking beside a donkey. The woman raised a hand to her straw hat.

“It’s still pretty flat. That’s not what I pictured.” She glanced in the side mirror to see the dust cloud fall between the truck and the woman, dimming the bright colors in her wrap.

Daniel pointed over the steering wheel. “Not for long. We’re going up.” They drove quickly past a small town that seemed nothing more than deserted strips of small homes made of concrete-block walls and tin roofs, crossed a trickle of water that might be a stream on some days, and started winding their way up the mountain. At the first insane hill, Daniel flipped off the air conditioner and rolled down the windows. “This is when the khaki might come in handy. If the dust gets too much...”

What? Let me know? Too bad for you? She wanted to know how that sentence ended but she was too busy biting her lips to ask.

Stephanie was doing pretty well with the whole “faking being totally okay with this speed” thing until he wedged a knee under the steering wheel to twist off the cap of a bottle of Inca Kola. “Here. Try this.”

Instead of shrieking at him to concentrate, she studied the bottle.

Calm, Stephanie. He’s watching you, waiting for you to freak out and prove him right. Proving him right this early on will make the rest of the trip impossible.

Glass bottle. Cold yellow liquid. How bad could it be?

“Put both hands on the wheel and I will.” She took the bottle and very obviously waited for him to comply. When he did, she put the bottle to her lips and took a tentative sip. “Mmm, that’s good.”

She handed it back and tried not to think about how sharing a bottle was the kind of thing a happy couple might do.

“Definitely worth taking a chance on the unknown now and then.” Daniel nodded, tilted the bottle back. For a split second Stephanie was distracted by how good he looked with those muscles, that cold drink and the satisfied sigh. Then she remembered the speed and the road.

Enough was enough. Nagging would confirm his suspicions that she should have been left in a cushy hotel in Lima. But there would be no fun in saying “I told you so” if they were both dead. “Please slow down. The medical personnel for the area is in this truck so if we crash...”

“No worries. We’d never survive the drop.” Daniel’s lips were twitching as she gasped out loud. “Come on. This is fun, right? And beautiful.”

Daniel pointed and for the first time Stephanie noticed the amazing stretch of mountains ahead of them. Also, the curving road that seemed to completely disappear. The sheer wall of mountain marked one side of the road that was just wide enough for one car with a complete lack of rail on the other side that might prevent them from taking a long drop. Like, a very long drop. Where was the bottom of that fall?

She expected Daniel to comfort her with dry statistics on how few people died by plunging over the side of the road. Brushing off her concern and the real danger took some getting used to.

A cold drink might be the only thing to save her, so she fished a Coke out of her convenience store bag. The first sweet sip was calming.

“What do we do if we meet another car?” Stephanie asked and bit back a frightened squeak as gravel spun under the truck’s tires.

“Negotiate. Very carefully. You’ll see.” His certainty didn’t reassure her.

That’s what she’d been afraid of.

Was he trying to frighten her back to Lima? One glimpse of his face convinced her that this was his normal. In fact, he seemed to be enjoying himself.

If he’d wanted peace and quiet for his drive to Alto, he was totally going to get it. She couldn’t have made inane conversation about sports teams and weather if her life depended on it. She was too busy swallowing back pleas to slow down and be careful. Be more careful. Please be more careful.

Then the truck lurched, headed for the wall instead of the drop and Daniel cursed. Before she could gather her breath to scream, before the movie of her life began to flash in front of her eyes, he had the truck stopped. “Flat tire.” Instead of shouting it like it might be the thing that spelled the end, his voice was flat with annoyance.

As though a flat tire while clinging to the side of a mountain was the same as a hangnail.

Here it might be.

Stephanie glanced wildly over both shoulders as if something might have changed in the two seconds she’d had her eyes squeezed shut. “Here?”

Daniel rested his chin against his chest for a second and then handed her his bottle. “They hardly ever happen on nice, level spots, especially around here.” He slid out of the truck, and she put both bottles in the cup holders before she inched her way out between the truck and the dusty mountain.

“But you know how to fix it?” Her fingers ached and she realized she’d tangled them together in a tight ball. At this second, in this place, she was as equipped to change that tire as she was to fly back to Lima. Eventually she might figure it out, but not before they were flattened into more Peruvian dust.

Daniel wrapped both hands around hers, the ones she didn’t know she was wringing like a true damsel in distress, until some of his calm and warmth seeped through her skin. He’d always been able to do that, break through her worry and give her some peace.

“Relax. This is business as usual. I can change it. Haven’t I always kept you safe? You and the other Holy Horrors have trained me well. Big brother to the rescue again.” He tilted his head to catch her stare, and they stood there for a long minute. “We’ll get the tire fixed in the next town. Everything is fine.” She matched every deep breath he took and realized that, although he was a brilliant doctor, this ability he had to convince her that everything was going to be okay made him the best.

Then she understood what he’d said. Big brother. Except he wasn’t and the way he saw their relationship hadn’t changed at all.

But she had.

Or she could if she wanted to, and this trip was her shot to show him and prove it to herself.

Starting right here, on the side of this mountain, where they both might be pulverized together if they didn’t get a move on.

“Okay. What can I do to help?” Now that she was breathing properly, she was ready to do whatever she could to get them moving again.

“Get back in the truck.” He turned away, pretty much assuming his order would be carried out quickly.

“Can’t get back in the truck. I’m helping.” Forcing her hands to her side was a strong first step. From there she could...do something.

When Daniel turned around, his impatience was impossible to miss. He raised a single eyebrow in response.

“I’m lending moral support.” She motioned at the narrow space between the truck and the mountainside. “You won’t even notice I’m here.”

Unexpectedly, his lips were twitching when he let out the long beleaguered sigh that had often been his response to their shenanigans.

“Stay there, between the truck and the mountain. If someone comes around that curve, I don’t want you out in the road.” He pulled the spare out of the back of the truck along with the jack, and once again she was reminded that now he was the sort of doctor who did heavy lifting. Obviously. Watching him work was pleasant.

“Well, since you asked so nicely...”

Then she focused on what he’d said. Someone else might be coming around that curve? She leaned over the hood to try to gauge the chances of another car making it around them. “We’re all going to die.”

His rough chuckle was easy to hear even as he worked the jack. “Nobody’s going to die. I have patients to see tomorrow.”

She thought about explaining how that made absolutely no sense, but she didn’t want to distract him. Instead she stared out over the vast space between the road they were on and the amazing mountain opposite them. Nothing but air and dirt and a tiny little ledge that cars and people were supposed to move along.

“Are you still with me?” Daniel asked. He must have had to repeat himself because he was standing next to her, wiping his hands on a towel that couldn’t have been much cleaner than his grease-covered palms.

“Ready to go?” The shrill tone didn’t please her, but maybe Daniel gave points for effort because he didn’t tease her or show any impatience. He nodded, walked around the truck and slid onto the driver’s seat.

The cold bottles were sweatier than her hands, but Stephanie took them out of the cup holders and handed him one. “Nice job, Doc.”

“I couldn’t have done it without your support.” His warm smile reminded her of other sunny days, other adventures. Everyone else thought he was so serious.

Was she the only lucky one to see this side?

They clinked the necks and Daniel started the truck. The shot of cold and sweet settled her jitters, and she was able to concentrate on how smoothly he negotiated the road.

“That didn’t even bother you, did it? Change a lot of flat tires on your Mercedes back home?”

He yanked off his cap. The wind blew through the window, ruffling his sweaty curls and Stephanie tried to remember if she’d ever seen them before. Daniel wasn’t answering her question about his former pride and joy, and she needed a distraction from her calculations on how long they could travel without meeting a car coming the other direction, so she said, “Not breaking any rules. That has nothing to do with Holly Heights Hospital or being fired, although if you’d like to talk about it, we certainly can. If you’d told me what a rotten day you were having, I would have never added to it by propositioning you.”

And she might not have to wonder if her invitation, which had bordered on a declaration, was one of the things keeping him away from Holly Heights. The poor guy might have made it home sooner if he hadn’t been afraid there’d be a lovesick fan waiting right behind his sister.

“Propositioning me? You asked me to dinner. Choose your words more carefully, English teacher.” He navigated a sharp turn in the shadow of the mountain. She watched his lips tighten and he rolled his shoulders slowly. “Flat tires are just another day around here. The first one rattled me, but I’ve learned I can handle them. That’s one good thing about this life. You find out pretty quickly you’re capable of more than you ever imagined.”

So he was going to skip over the parts he didn’t want to talk about. That made a lot of sense.

She’d already started doing more than she’d imagined. She’d had her doubts whether their friendship would be enough to get her into the truck. If she’d known about the condition of the road, Stephanie was certain she would have believed herself incapable of riding shotgun without gasping at each turn. By the time she landed in Texas again, what else would she be have mastered? “You going to teach me how to change a flat?”

He slowly shook his head. “Not until I show you how to drive on these roads, and neither one of us is up to that.” He shot a look at her death grip on the handle over the door. He was right, but she wouldn’t let him know that.

“Pretty sure I could handle it.” Just like that, she had to eat her words when they met not a car but a truck filled with people coming the other direction. Daniel immediately stopped his truck and eased it back to a dip in the mountain wall. “First rule of passing: hug the mountain.”

“Let them take the outside? Got it.” They both watched as the truck eased around them with shouts and waves from the passengers, and then Daniel pulled out of the dip and hit the gas.

Stephanie picked up the bag of chips, forced herself to let go of the handle and calmly shoved a handful in her mouth. By the power of carbs, she’d make it through this. When they rolled to a stop in the small main square of the next town, she’d managed to work her way through the bag, her Inca Kola and the Coke. And she felt better.

“Proposition, to propose something, like a date. I am good with words, Dr. Lincoln. In fact, I’d say we’ve already had our dinner date. We just shared a bag of chips and a drink. That’s almost a meal—a really cheap date with spectacular scenery.” She waved a careless hand to demonstrate how un-terrified and well-adjusted she was at this point in the trip and her life.

The fact that she’d actively plotted a way to prove her lack of injury, years after the incident, might not support her claims.

“Stay here. Don’t move. I’ll take you to the hospital for the restroom as soon as I get the tire patched.” Before she could salute smartly, Daniel was out of the truck. She glanced back in time to watch him lift the tire out of the back. He was tall and strong and didn’t seem much like the hotshot doctor she remembered. Dirty jeans and tan skin were a good look for him. The dark frown on his face was a lot more familiar. After he walked down the middle of the street and turned the corner, she checked on her suitcase, gasped in dismay over the solid coating of dust, and settled back in her seat.

“Stay here. Don’t move,” she grumbled. His voice wasn’t easy to copy but the frown was. “Big brother or dictator? It’s a fine line.”

That was when she noticed a line of schoolgirls forming on the sidewalk behind the truck. Dressed in adorable navy and gray uniforms, they watched the truck closely and giggled.

Small town Texas or mountain village in Peru, giggling eight-year-olds must have been universal.

Digging around in her bag from the convenience store, she grabbed the candy she’d picked up and then took her camera out of her backpack. One more glance showed impatient mothers joining the kids. Even better. She could ask permission to give candy and take photos.

If she could remember that much Spanish.

Maybe they knew English.

Stay here. Don’t move. Those had been his orders and she couldn’t claim she’d forgotten his second rule with a straight face. So this was going to make him mad.

Would he be shocked to learn that his disapproval wouldn’t keep her from doing what she wanted? Maybe. She was sort of surprised herself. Living in Holly Heights meant spending a lot of time pleasing the people in her life.

They loved her and wanted the best for her, but the “best” was always safe, predictable and matched what they wanted, too.

The freedom felt so good.

The straggling line of kids dressed in school uniforms was right outside her window, practically begging to be her first adventure in bad Spanish.

She grabbed the candy and eased out of the truck, not quite convinced her plan was solid but more certain staring out the window because she was afraid to take a chance was a serious fail.

No one on the sidewalk moved.

“Would it be okay if I—” She held up the camera and mimed taking shots. The women in charge of the group turned and spoke in rapid-fire Spanish. Stephanie had no hope of keeping up and cursed this trip and its lack of planning. If only she’d had time to cram. Visiting Peru would have been a lot less intimidating if she could do more than ask where the bathroom and library were.

Finally the women agreed and gathered the children into a neat group. The backdrop of the dusty street and the church across the square filled the frame with a real slice of daily life. Stephanie snapped the photo and then turned the camera around to show the women. “Very pretty. Bonita.”

They nodded and answered her. Waving her hands, Stephanie said, “Lo siento. No hablo espanol. Malo.” She was sorry. The questions she wanted to ask burned on her tongue. This once-in-a-lifetime chance to make friends and her inability to do it would bother her for a long time. More than anything she wanted to ask about school, what they were studying and how they liked it. She could ask the mothers about their days and what it was like living with all this beautiful sunshine.

Meeting people and being unable to connect was torture. She didn’t want to let the opportunity slip away.

You won the lottery. There’s no reason this has to be your last chance, Stephanie.

Reassured that her dismal language ability wouldn’t hold her back forever, she grabbed a handful of candy and offered it to the women. In a heartbeat, the kids had cleared all the inventory and lined up for seconds. Their beautiful grins made it impossible to say no.

While she was rummaging in the truck, the commotion behind her turned from quiet giggles to happy squeals and cries of “Doctor! Doctor!”

She was busted.

Not that she’d had any intention of trying to pretend she’d followed his orders.

Still, it might have been nice to have the choice.

Determined to show him that she was different, even if she had to learn how to be different on this trip, Stephanie straightened her shoulders and tossed a bag of candy to him. “Found it.” Then she smiled brightly in response to his complete lack of expression and picked up her shield, the camera.

With the lens between them and a circle of kids surrounding him, his features softened. Instead of impatient, Daniel was happy. Kind. Following the excited conversation was beyond her, but it was clear that he knew these kids, remembered their names and could tease them into more laughter.

She’d seen him striding down the halls of Holly Heights Hospital. In a white coat and a dark tie, he’d been intimidating, even awe-inspiring. The kind of man it was impossible to argue with or doubt.

In his dirty jeans, ragged shirt and messy curls, Daniel looked more like an adventure guide than a man who’d performed complicated surgery in sterile operating rooms.

He also smiled like a man who enjoyed every single minute of his life.

Maybe she wasn’t the only one who’d come to Peru to make a change.

She should take a page from his book.

With her luck it would be written in Spanish, but that didn’t make reading it impossible.

All she needed was a translator.

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