“Why?” she asked, curious.
“She left nearly half an hour ago, and just before you got here, she came back—” he leaned close and lowered his voice “—with Sterling. They looked like they were in a hurry to get somewhere private, if you know what I mean.”
“Good for her!” Brooke beamed, delight fizzing through her. She liked Sterling Knight, the new business consultant in town, and was pleased Kat was no longer letting the pain of losing her late husband get in the way of her future happiness.
Tione nodded. “She deserves a bit of fun.”
“You’re right. I’ll give them some time.” Like, a lot of time. She could wait a day or two for Kat’s opinion. It wasn’t like she was ready to set out for Everest tomorrow, and she needed to write more of her doctoral thesis.
On Wednesday, Jack returned for his second session at Sanctuary a little warier than he had for the first. He hoped he didn’t have to deal with Brooke again. He didn’t want to see her cute face and remember how Tione had raved about her while trying to remind himself that she wasn’t for him. Whatever Tione had said, Jack was too rough around the edges for a girl like her. Not that she’d expressed any interest. He was making all of this more complicated than it needed to be.
Today, he’d planned an easy hour-long hike, followed by an abseiling lesson. He’d need some of the participants to carry equipment, but provided they had the same number of people as Monday, it would be a breeze. He parked. Kat was waiting on the doorstep and headed over to greet him.
“Beautiful day, isn’t it?” he asked as he got out of the vehicle.
“We need to talk,” she replied.
Uh-oh. He swallowed hard and pulled up his big boy shorts. “About what?”
She crossed her arms and her lips formed a thin line, her eyes like daggers. Shit, he was really in trouble. He mentally scanned back over the past two days and wondered what he’d done.
“When we agreed to this arrangement, I specifically asked you if you could work with people less capable than yourself, and you said yes.”
“If I remember correctly, I said I’d try my best.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Semantics. The point is, Brooke slept for eighteen hours after you finished with her on Monday, and she should never have been allowed to work herself into a state like that.”
Jack deflated, guilt pinching his soul. “She did? I’m sorry. She seemed okay at the time.” More or less. He’d sensed she was putting on a brave face, but he hadn’t thought she’d been in poor enough condition to sleep for nearly a day.
“That’s not acceptable,” she said, unfolding her arms and placing her hands on her hips. “I need you to do better.”
He blinked. “You’re really angry at me.”
She nodded, the movement jerky. “Brooke doesn’t like to admit when she’s having a hard time. Especially not to people she’s uncomfortable with. As her best friend, I know this. Just like I know she’ll act like she’s fine if she can get away with it, but you’re paid to keep an eye on people, and you should have noticed something was wrong.”
“Like I said, I’m sorry.” Jack squared his shoulders. “I should have watched her more closely, but you need to remember, she’s an adult and she’s responsible for communicating with me when she’s struggling. If she doesn’t do that, there’s not much I can do for her.”
Kat nodded, lips pursed. “I know. She should have been more open with you. I guess I expected you to ease her into it because of her borderline health, but if she was being her usual stubborn self, you couldn’t have known.”
He frowned, something in her words catching his attention. “Tell me more about what’s wrong with her.”
Kat stared at him. “Are you being serious?”
Why would he joke around about this stuff? A woman’s safety was at risk. “Do I look like I’m kidding?”
Her hands fell from her hips. It seemed he’d taken the air out of her sails. “Brooke has lived here for two years. How is it possible you don’t know her background?”
Jack flinched at the quiet rebuke in her eyes. Damn, now he really felt like a tool. “I know a little,” he said. “Asthma, hay fever, chronic fatigue. Is there more to it than that?”
Kat sighed, rubbing one eye and then the other with the heel of her hand. “There’s nothing seriously wrong with her—now. But she has the world’s worst track record. Something wasn’t right with her heart when she was younger. That’s healed—she had some kind of open-heart surgery to fix it—but she also has eczema, gets motion sickness, you name it. A year ago she got glandular fever, and the chronic fatigue is a hangover from that. She’s more or less recovered, but it still rears its ugly head from time to time.”
“Oh.” Yeah, okay, he’d thought she looked like an indoorsy type, but he hadn’t thought she seemed as frail as Kat described. Open-heart surgery? That was a big deal. “If her health is that bad, she shouldn’t be coming on my trips. It’s too risky. I don’t want her getting hurt.” He didn’t want to see her pretty face pale and unresponsive.
“Try telling her that.”
Kat turned to go inside, but he caught her by the arm. “When I agreed to this, I reserved the right to turn people away. I’m using it now. If she’s that unwell, she shouldn’t come.”
Kat gave a saccharine smile. “Like I said, you can tell her.”
He watched her go, exhaling slowly. Wow. He’d never seen Kat go mama-bear over anyone before. She was usually a busybody, but not a fierce one, and to be honest, it was a little frightening. Slamming the car door shut, he strode to the foyer, where the group was waiting. The Kathmandu couple had come back for more and greeted him with eager smiles. Mavis had also returned, but she’d brought Betty rather than Nell. Three fit guys in their twenties lounged against a wall, talking quietly between themselves and stealing occasional glances at the final member of the party. Brooke.
If Kat hadn’t shared what she had, he wouldn’t have believed that Brooke had been anything other than perky and energetic since he’d seen her last. She looked vibrant standing behind the desk, a smile flirting with the corners of her mouth and a rosy flush on her cheeks. Lust speared through his gut and he bit the inside of his lip to stifle a groan. Why did she have to be so appealing, with her electric blue eyes and dewy complexion? His body reacted to her instinctively, going on an all-systems-alert. Strange, when he was rarely affected this way by a woman. Ruthlessly squelching his response, he reminded himself that he couldn’t think of a girl less suited to his lifestyle, and he was sure the same could be said when it came to his suiting her. Unfortunately, his mind and his body had different ideas.
“Hi, everyone,” he said, once he had himself under control. “I’d like you to all head into the parking lot. I’ll join you in a moment.” When they started moving, he pointed at Brooke. “Except you.”
Mavis and Betty tittered and exchanged glances, like they didn’t want to leave her alone with him. He raised a brow and they hustled away, casting dubious looks over their shoulders. He scowled. Did they really think he posed a risk to her?