Spirit of a Champion (Sisters of Spirit #7)

by Nancy Radke

  It looked like she was going to be lucky. A bus was coming, so she wasn’t going to have to stand there for an hour. The two men climbed on and she stepped toward the door, pulling out her fare as she did so.

  A car drove around the parked bus, cut in sharply, and honked. It was blaring enough to cut through her concentration. Someone didn’t want to miss the bus.

  The car’s door swung open and Kyle slid out.

  “Stormy,” he called, waving with his hand for her to come with him.

  She could have kissed him. Her spirits soared as she stepped past the bus and hurried to join him.

  “How did you see me?” she asked, as she slid into the passenger seat. “I was standing behind the bus shelter.”

  He pulled the car away so the bus could move, then glanced over at her. “I was coming up the other side. You crossed the street in front of me. Actually two cars in front, but I saw you, had to find a place to turn around, which is why I didn’t get to you sooner.”

  “Thanks for the lift. I’m headed back to my hotel.”

  “Have you had supper?”

  “No.” And she wouldn’t have, unless...

  “Join me?”

  “Of course. Except...”

  “Yes?”

  “I only have enough money for my hotel room tomorrow night. I can’t pay—”

  “I didn’t expect you to.” He smiled at her and she smiled back, so very happy to see him.

  “So how are things going?”

  “Terrible until you came along. You are like a lifebuoy to a drowning sailor. I was so discouraged, I was beginning to doubt myself.”

  “Why?”

  “No one will listen. Except you.”

  “Have you asked Jerry why he insists on the fight?”

  “Yes. But he won’t answer. He just tells me to leave it alone. I don’t know why he won’t talk to me. He’s never shut me out this way before. He keeps telling me to go home.”

  “Which is interesting in itself. I’d tell you to take a week’s vacation and enjoy Las Vegas. To stay for the match and go home afterwards.”

  She shook her head, not understanding this change in her brother.

  “How long had you been with him before the phone call from the doctor?”

  “Six days. When I finished getting my M.A., I took two weeks and visited my girl friends in Seattle. Ellen, Angie, and Jennel. They’re all married now. Jennel just had her second baby, a darling boy, so I went to the baby shower and stayed in town so I could visit. Angie’s expecting. She just found out. And Ellen has a one year old boy.”

  “So you had a good visit.”

  “Yes. It was fun to have most of our original group back together.” She sighed. “I got back to Idaho during Jerry’s last week of training there. Everything looked like it was on schedule. Jerry might not have known until I found out. I might have overheard the doctor telling him for the first time. I don’t know.”

  Kyle pulled the car up to a very posh-looking restaurant.

  “Oh, Kyle, I’m not dressed for a place like this.” She looked at the sweats he was wearing. “For that matter, I guess neither are you.”

  “This has private dining areas,” he said, getting out and handing his keys to a valet. “We’re fine.”

  They stepped into the reception area. Kyle pointed to the menu placed there. “What would you like?”

  “I don’t care. I eat anything.”

  She followed him inside, where it was dark and cool. They were shown to a small room decorated like a jungle cabana, complete with its own waterfall.

  Kyle gave the waiter some instructions and the man left.

  Stormy sat down and grabbed the glass of water beside her plate and drank it. There was a pitcher of ice water on the table and she poured herself another glassful, but didn’t need to drink all of it.

  “I was careful to make sure I didn’t end up in the same condition I did yesterday,” she told Kyle.

  “You say you are down to just hotel money for one day?”

  “Yes. I pay in the morning for that night. I tried to get some money from Jerry. He was playing the nickel slots and I grabbed some of his tokens. Otherwise I wouldn’t even have that.”

  “How about food?”

  “Food is nice to have, but a person can go forty days without food, you know.”

  He laughed. “Have you ever tried it?”

  She laughed with him.“No. Only two days, when I was in the Idaho mountains and got lost one time.”

  “I’m glad they found you.”

  “Me, too. I was only seven. I had the sense to stay put until I was found. It was one of the things a mountain kid learns early. Stay safe and warm. Wait for help.”

  “That’s what you should do now.”

  “How is that?”

  “Stay safe. Get out of that hovel you’re in. And wait for help. You’ve stirred up questions. Let someone else carry it through.”

  “Like who?”

  “Like me. I was thinking that I could demand that Jerry have a physical before the match.”

  “You’d do that? Really? That’s wonderful!”

  “I doubt it’s ever been done before, but I could try it. I can claim that I will only fight a healthy person, and that I will fight Jerry only if he has a clean bill of health. I might even insist that my own personal physician check him out.”

  “Would they allow that?”

  “I don’t know. We’d have to see.”

  The waiter came in with two plates and a cart with food.

  Kyle tipped him and he left.

  “Oh, that looks good,” said Stormy as he lifted some of the covers.

  “Did you have breakfast this morning?” he asked.

  “No.”

  “Lunch?”

  “No.”

  “Yesterday. Did you have anything besides what you had in my room?”

  “No, but I needed my money for the hotel.”

  “Eat.”

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  As she eagerly put food on her plate, Kyle wondered if the boxing commission would demand that he fight anyway, or would they order the physical for Jerry as he requested.

  He relaxed, finding Stormy extremely comfortable to be around. Her look of delight as she tried the various dishes made him happy. She put away an amazing amount of food for someone her size. She wasn’t tiny, but she wasn’t on the tall side either. Probably five-six.

  He ate slowly, savoring the food and her company. She didn’t talk while eating, focusing on the task at hand. She looked happy to be with him, and Kyle hoped he would be able to solve her problem. He wanted to see more of Miss Victoria Tempest Drake, and killing her brother was not the smartest way to go about it.

  She pushed back from the table. “Thank you. I was hungrier than I realized.”

  “Where did you grow up?”

  “Just outside of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. There was a mountain in my backyard, so to speak. I fished and hunted and hiked with my dad and then with my brother when he got old enough. They’ve introduced wolves now, so it’s no longer safe for a child to run free over the mountains like we did. Not to mention the damage they’ve done to our elk herds.”

  He was quick to change the subject. “Is there a lake there, near the town? Seems I’ve heard of one.”

  “Yes. Lake Coeur d’Alene. I lifeguard there during the summers.”

  “Where do you live now?”

  “Dad lives near Boise. I’ve spent my summers there my college years. How about you? Where do you live?”

  “I have a ranch in Texas, on the panhandle. My dad manages it, but I’m there more and more as my fights get farther and farther in between.”

  “What do you do?”

  “Just general ranch work. Cattle and a few horses. Some sheep on the more barren acres. There is always something to do on a ranch. You don’t have to look very far. A fence down, a wildfire, a cow having trouble calving. Something different every day. You can plan what you’re
going to do, but it might have to be left for later when an emergency arises.”

  “Sounds interesting.”

  “It is. I’d like to show it to you, someday.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes. I think you’d like it there.”

  “All barren and dry?”

  “It looks barren. There are lots of things living there. They just hide well. You have to know how to find the beauty of the land. Our sunsets have to be seen to be believed.”

  “I’ve heard the wind never stops blowing.”

  “Music to your ears. I miss it when I’m away.”

  “You sound like a poet.”

  “People who live on the land are very poetic. If you love the land and are in tune with it, it makes your soul sing.”

  “You’re right. I just never thought of it that way. But you are right. I feel that way when I come home to my mountains and my streams.” She looked at the little waterfall, splashing merrily beside them. “Do you have any mountains there?”

  He chuckled. “Well, we call them mountains, but I think you’d probably call them hills. They aren’t very high from the surrounding plateau. So although they are high in elevation, they don’t look it. When the Texas snow blows across them in a blizzard, they feel high.”

  “It sounds wonderful. Yes. I’d love to come see it.”

  “How about after the fight?”

  “If there is a fight.”

  “Either way.”

  “If Jerry is killed...” She looked at him, the troubled expression back in her eyes.

  “I don’t intend to.”

  “Do you think you can stop it?”

  “I’m working on it.”

  “I’ll keep working on my end. I probably should go. I like to be in my room before things heat up around the hotel.” She stood up.

  “Think about switching,” he said, putting a tip under the plates and holding the door open for her.

  “I don’t know how I can.”

  He drove her to her hotel. Let her out, even though he did not want to.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow...no day after tomorrow. I’ve got a series of press conferences and weigh-in and other activities tomorrow evening. You’ll be okay?”

  “Yes.”

  “You say you have money for tomorrow night?”

  “Yes.”

  “So what will you do for the night after that?”

  “I’ll pray about it.”

  “And that works?”

  “Always has. Sometimes I have to wait a while, but I always get an answer.”

  “If you don’t, call me.” He grabbed a piece of paper and put his cell number on it. “I’ll loan you money just to get you out of this place.”

  “Thank you.” She hopped out of the car. “And thank you for the lovely meal. Food does do a lot to lift one’s spirits.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  He watched to see her go inside, then drove away. He missed her already.

  Stormy amazed him. An unquestioning faith. It was one more quality he wished he could have.

  He had always considered himself self-sufficient and totally in control. He was the champ and life revolved around him. But he wasn’t in control of this situation.

  The seventh day. One week to go. After a fruitless day of waiting to see people who did not want to be seen, Stormy felt like crying. No money either. She’d have to call Kyle and beg some from him. Or else go home. And that was a joke. She didn’t even have money for a ticket home.

  She had been praying for help, but her prayers seemed to go unanswered. It was hard to have faith when nothing worked.

  Then Perri called, giving her their arrival time. Stormy had almost forgotten her cousin was coming in, she was so upset.

  She caught a city bus out to the airport and waited in the baggage claim area for Hugo and Perri. She hadn’t seen them since the wedding, when she had been her cousin’s maid of honor. It was so good to see them walking toward her, secure and confident.

  Perri looked happy and blooming with a golden glow that set off her striking blonde hair. Stormy took one look at her and said, “Are you...pregnant?”

  “On our wedding night!” Perri exclaimed, laughing as she hugged Hugo’s arm. “We weren’t going to wait long anyway, maybe a year, but the kid had a mind of his own.”

  Hugo grinned. “Things got explosive. We were planing to use protection...”

  Stormy laughed at his expression. He didn’t look very upset.

  “Hello, cousin,” he said with a grin.

  He was her cousin now. Hugo was very much her idea of a macho man and she was happy to have him in the family. Stormy knew that Perri and Hugo had met in Mexico, but for some reason, Perri never shared the details of that time.

  They lived on Hugo’s Arizona ranch, which Perri described as fantastic.

  “Come along to our car,” Hugo said, “and we can discuss what’s been happening.”

  Stormy grabbed Perri’s suitcase and followed them.

  “I’m not that far along,” Perri protested. “It’s just been four months.”

  Hugo winked at Stormy. “Ask her, sometime, why she didn’t have her contraceptives with her.”

  “Hugo!” She turned to Stormy. “I put my case down in the elevator, punched the button, got off and left my case with everything in it.”

  “It was late and the stores were closed,” Hugo added as they entered the parking area. “She didn’t even have a nightie.”

  When they got to Hugo’s car, the motor was already running and the air conditioner on, so it was cool and pleasant inside.

  “This is nice,” Stormy said, as Hugo loaded the cases in the back.

  “All our cars are fixed this way,” Perri said. “You can start them while you’re inside a building, so they’ll be warmed up or cooled down before you get to them.”

  “Couldn’t a thief jump in and drive away?”

  “No. The doors stay locked.”

  Hugo slid into the driver’s seat and looked around at Stormy. “Where’s your car? I’ll drive you over.”

  “I don’t have one here. I took the bus out.” She explained why she was low on money at the present. “I got a little bit when Jerry was playing the slots. It looked like the machine was going to eat all his profits, so I grabbed some.”

  Hugo nodded. “Perri’s told me what happened, but let me hear it again. You overheard the doctor talking about soft spots?”

  “Yes. Once when he was talking to Jerry and then I talked to him after Jerry left.”

  “And what cinched your theory that Jerry’s being forced to fight?”

  “Jerry told me that the doctor was talking about Ted, his sparring partner, but the doctor said he didn’t know any Ted.”

  “You’ve talked to Jerry again?”

  “Yes. Both he and Dad tell me to go home.”

  “Even this close to the fight?”

  “Yes.”

  Hugo backed the car up and started toward the exit. “Where you staying?”

  She told him.

  “That’s a dump.”

  She laughed to herself. He sounded like Kyle. “I agree. But it’s the cheapest I could find.”

  “Who all have you talked to so far?”

  “The ring officials, the promoter, Jerry and my dad. And Killer Kyle.”

  “You’re covering all the ground. What did Kyle say?”

  “He said that only the challenger can stop the fight. But he did give me the names of the ring doctors. I’m going to their places next.”

  “How?”

  “By bus. They have a pretty extensive system.”

  “Where do the doctors live?”

  “I don’t know. Finding that out is next on my list.”

  “Hum.” Hugo slowed down, pulled into a side street and turned the car around. “Wrong direction.”

  “Where are we going?” Perri asked him.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  “We’ll go home.” He glanced
back at Stormy. “We’ll get Stormy the addresses she needs. Some money and a car. She doesn’t have much time to stop the fight, and having to ride the bus isn’t speeding her up any.”

  “Oh, I can’t—” Stormy started, but Perri interrupted.

  “Oh yes, you can. Not only are you my dearest cousin, this gives me a chance to pay you back for saving my life.”

  “What happened?” Hugo asked. “I haven’t heard about that.”

  “It was noth—”

  Perri interrupted her. “Yes it was. We were swimming in the Atlantic and I got caught by a rip tide and pulled out to sea. Stormy saw me, swam out and hauled me in. She can swim like a fish.”

  “We were at Virginia Tech at the time,” Stormy said. “On spring break.”

  “Then I completely agree with her,” Hugo said. “You’ll take our help. Otherwise, I’d still be looking for a wife.”

  “You’ll love our place,” Perri said. “And Hugo is the very best when it comes to finding out things.”

  It was a two hour drive out to the ranch near Kingman, Arizona. As Perri had claimed, their home was beautiful, decorated with items from all over the world.

  After they got there, Hugo took her list of names and secluded himself in his study while Perri gave Stormy a tour around the ranch. It looked quite prosperous. Stormy had realized Perri had married well, but now saw that Hugo was very wealthy.

  “What does Hugo do?” she asked again.

  “He’s a rancher,” Perri said with a grin.

  Stormy looked out at the barren Arizona hills. Compared to the verdant mountains of Idaho, these had no feed in sight. She thought of Kyle’s description of his place in Texas. Did it look like this?

  “What do they eat?” she asked.

  “Oh, there’s food out there. And we give them extra hay and grain.”

  “I don’t see how...”

  “Stormy, Hugo writes music. He sells it. He gets royalties from his work. I think he raises cattle just to relax.”

  “That’s right. I remember you telling me now. I just didn’t realize it was such a lucrative profession. Hugh van der Veld sings some of Hugo’s songs. As well as Donegal and his group.”

  “They do.” Perri grinned as if she had some secret joke. “And so do other groups.”