Hold Me

Destiny didn’t know what else to say. How had the mayor known Starr’s age? Or that she was home alone? Although maybe the latter wasn’t hard to figure out. After all, Destiny wasn’t home with her, and they’d been in town less than two days.

Guilt followed that realization. Because Starr was by herself. At fifteen she should be fine, but that wasn’t the point.

“There are charming festivals all summer,” the mayor continued. “I hope you’ll take advantage of them while you’re here. Fool’s Gold is a wonderful place to live.”

Somehow Destiny found herself outside the office. She didn’t remember walking there or saying goodbye. It was the strangest sensation.

Kipling stood next to her. He flashed her a grin. “Kind of wondering what just happened?”

“Yeah.”

“You’ll get used to it. Nice idea about the camp for your sister.”

Destiny nodded. There was no way she was going to explain that until ten days ago, she’d never even met Starr. That between them, her parents had been married twelve or fourteen times, and there were dozens of step-whatevers and a few half siblings floating around the country. No one could keep up with it all, and Destiny had stopped trying years ago.

She held the folder tightly. “Speaking of my sister, I should probably get home and check on her.”

“Sure. I’ll catch you later.”

Right. Work. She forced herself to focus. “We need to talk about the training schedule.”

“Give me your phone.”

She handed over her cell. He punched in some numbers, then handed it back to her.

“Now you can get in touch with me anytime you want.”

He waved and headed for the stairs. For a second Destiny stared after him. Kipling was a good distraction. But when he disappeared from view, she was left with the reality of a new job, a new town and a sister she barely knew.

One problem at a time, she told herself firmly. And right now that meant dealing with her family.

CHAPTER TWO (#ua2db14b0-04a2-534e-b7ec-4b8fcef1a5d1)

DESTINY TRAVELED CONSTANTLY for work. While on assignment, she worked 24/7 until the job was done then had a few weeks off until she had to report to the next location. Except for a beautiful summer in northern Canada, she’d only been sent to clients in the US.

She was used to not knowing the best places to eat or where to find a good doctor if she needed one. She’d learned to ask questions and shop local. She preferred corporate housing to hotels.

On her time off, she retreated to her condo in Austin, where she caught up on whatever she’d missed while she’d been gone. Being alone was a natural state for her. One she liked. Sure, her mother visited every three or four months, and there were phone calls from friends or the few of her siblings she’d grown up with, but for the most part, Destiny took care of herself. She didn’t have to worry about someone else’s preferences.

When people asked if she was ever lonely, she only smiled and shook her head. Grandma Nell had taught her the pleasure of solitude. How with a good book or a guitar, she was never truly by herself. Books and music were constant companions. Better than people, they never argued or demanded. And they were always familiar. Unlike the fifteen-year-old waiting at home.

Destiny stood in front of the small house she’d rented for the summer. It was older in a charming, lived-in kind of way, with two bedrooms and baths. There was an attached garage and a fenced backyard. The house was comfortable. Huge by her normal corporate housing standards. She would never have rented it for herself, she thought as she walked up the front steps. But this summer was different. This summer she had her half sister with her.

She opened the front door and walked inside. Starr sat curled up in a corner of the sofa, reading on her tablet. She looked up at Destiny, her green eyes similar to the ones Destiny saw in the mirror every morning, although the wariness was unfamiliar. They’d inherited their eyes and their red hair from their father. But everything else was different.

Destiny was tall. She’d always felt she was all arms and legs. Starr was shorter and more delicate. Destiny was right-handed, Starr left. Destiny was an early riser, and Starr seemed to be a night owl. But they were sisters, and Destiny knew that trumped any differences.

Two weeks ago, Destiny had been getting ready for her trip to Fool’s Gold when she’d received a call from her father’s lawyer. The man had been on retainer for as long as Destiny could remember and was responsible for picking up the pieces after each of Jimmy Don’s mishaps. Her father was a legend, and cleaning up after him was a full-time job.

He’d told Destiny that one of Jimmy Don’s daughters was coming home from boarding school and had nowhere to go. Jimmy Don was out of the country, and the girl’s mother had overdosed the year before. There was no one to take Starr Mills for the summer.

While keeping up with her father’s women took more time than she had to spare, Destiny remembered the torrid affair and the illegitimate child that resulted. From all she’d heard, Starr was truly alone in the world. Saying no to the implied request hadn’t been an option.

But although she and Starr were biologically half siblings, in truth they’d never met until ten days ago when Destiny had picked up the teen at the Austin airport. So far all their conversations had been of the superficial “Hi, how are you” variety. Starr was quieter than Destiny had expected. There weren’t a lot of cell calls to friends or frantic texting sessions.

“Hi,” she said as she closed the front door behind her. “How’s it going?”

“Fine.” Starr put down her iPad. “I was reading.”

“Have you been out today?”

Starr shook her head.

Destiny might not have a family yet, but she knew that a fifteen-year-old cooped up in a strange house for days at a time wasn’t good. It wouldn’t be good even if the house wasn’t strange. Kids needed to be going and doing. Making friends.

Destiny let her small backpack fall to the floor, then sat on the chair kitty-corner to the sofa and held out the material Mayor Marsha had given her.

“I had an interesting meeting this afternoon,” she said, determined not to mention the fact that the mayor had known way more than she should about Destiny’s personal life and her nonexistent relationship with her half sister.

“It turns out there’s a summer camp in town. Or maybe up in the mountains. I haven’t read all the information yet. But it’s close, and I thought it might be fun for you.”

The wariness never left Starr’s eyes. “Why?”

“There are kids your age there. And different classes. Drama, singing, music. You’d be outdoors. That’s better than being stuck in here.”

Given the choice, Destiny always preferred to be outside. She wasn’t sure if she’d been that way before she’d gone to live with Grandma Nell, but she certainly was after. The sky seemed to beckon her. Trees were tall friends who provided protection and shade on a hot, sunny day. There were a thousand discoveries to be made and the magic of the music Mother Nature created with rustling leaves or the call of birds.

Starr took the offered brochure and opened it. “I’d like to study drama,” she admitted. “And music.” She looked up. “Get better on the guitar.”

There was no accusation in the statement. Just fact. Which didn’t prevent Destiny from squirming. The day she’d picked her half sister up at the airport, Starr had asked if Destiny could help her learn to play her guitar better. She’d admitted to being self-taught and frustrated by a lack of instruction. Destiny had lied and said that she didn’t play much and couldn’t help.

Two weeks later, the lie still sat heavy on her shoulders. Music had been as much a part of her upbringing as breathing. Given who her parents were, it was inevitable, she supposed. She’d been playing a child-size guitar before she could read, and by the time she was six, she’d added piano to her skill set.

Nearly twelve years ago she’d made the decision to put that part of her life behind her. To focus on what she saw as the normal world. She rarely played anymore and did her best to ignore the lyrics that bubbled up inside her head. Sometimes she gave in and spent a long afternoon playing and writing. Usually, that was enough to get it out of her system until the next time the feeling overwhelmed her.

She told herself that she had the right to make that decision. That she didn’t owe Starr that piece of herself. And while that might be technically true, she knew she shouldn’t have lied about it.

“I looked,” Destiny said with a smile. “There are guitar classes. Piano, too, if you’re interested.”

“Do you play piano?”

“I used to.”

“You don’t have one in the house.”

No, she had a portable keyboard with a great set of headphones instead. It was tucked under her bed.

“I move around too much to have a piano,” she said with a shrug. “It would be tough to bring a piano on a plane as my carry-on.”