He braced himself for more questions, but Carter only shrugged. “Makes sense. What about Felicia? How long has she lived in Fool’s Gold?”
“A few months. She came in with CDS. Not to work for them. More to get the business up and running. But she was looking for a different kind of job, and when she was offered a chance to run the festivals, she was excited.”
Which was almost true. She’d also been nervous about not getting it right. She had a strong sense of duty and wanted to fit in. A woman with principles.
“And before that?” Carter asked.
“She was in the military, too. She handled logistics for a Special Forces unit. She got them and their supplies where they needed to go and made sure they had a way out.”
“They let girls do that?”
Gideon chuckled. “I suggest you avoid asking Felicia that question directly.”
Carter grinned. “You’re right. She’s really smart, but nice, you know? She cares about people.”
“She does have a big heart.” And an amazing body, which wasn’t anything he was going to discuss with a thirteen-year-old boy.
“She always has an answer,” Carter said, then drank more of his lemonade. “I think my mom would have liked her.”
“I’m sure she would have.”
“Do you know Consuelo Ly?”
“I’ve met her a couple of times. Why?”
“She’s teaching the class I go to at CDS.” The teen grinned. “She’s hot.”
Crap, Gideon thought. Was he going to have to deal with hormones in addition to everything else?
“She’s a little old for you, isn’t she?”
Carter sighed. “Yeah. I asked her to wait, but I don’t think she will. I wonder if she has a boyfriend.”
“You know she could totally kick your ass, right?”
Carter grinned. “I know. She’s already flipped me on my back. It hurt, but it was cool, too. You know? When I grow up, I’m going to get every girl I want, no matter what.”
“It’s not always that simple.”
“Because they don’t always like you back?”
“Sure. Or the timing’s wrong. Or she’s with someone else.”
The teen’s grin turned cocky. “If a girl doesn’t want me, then there’s something wrong with her.”
“You’ve got attitude,” he said, chuckling. “I’ll give you that.” He looked around at the various booths. “You want any books?”
“No. I don’t read books. Not paper ones. I read them on my laptop. Felicia bought me a couple the other night.”
Great. So if books weren’t interesting, what was he supposed to do with Carter? He glanced at his watch and held in a groan. It was barely noon. How was he supposed to fill a whole day?
“Any suggestions for the afternoon?” he asked.
Carter finished his lemonade, then nodded. “Sure. We can have lunch, then you can show me around the radio station.”
“You’re interested in the station?”
“I’ve never seen one before. I want to see where you work.”
Something he’d never considered. “Okay,” Gideon said. “Let’s go get lunch.”
* * *
AFTER THEY’D GRABBED pizza from a vendor, Gideon drove them out of town and to the radio station. As it was the weekend, the regular office staff were off.
“Not many people are in today,” he said. “On weekends we run the station with a computer.”
Carter followed him to the door. Gideon unlocked it and they stepped inside.
“You mean there’s no people?”
“There’s one guy to make sure the computer works. I usually hire college kids who can use the time to study. Watching a computer do its thing isn’t that interesting.”
Gideon led the way back to the engineering booth. A blond-haired guy looked up and grinned. He stood as Gideon and Carter stepped into the room.
“Jess, this is, ah, my son, Carter. Carter, this is Jess.”
“Nice to meet you,” Carter said politely.
“You, too.”
“I’m showing him the station.”
Jess nodded. “Not much to see these days. Most radio stations are run by a computer. No people required. Except for me. I make sure it all doesn’t break down.” His grin returned. “Like I’d know how to fix it. I’m really here to call in the tech experts if something goes wrong.”
Carter glanced at all the equipment. “So the computer says what songs play?”
“More than songs. Commercials, too. Weather, even local news can be synced in. I recorded a bunch of announcements about the festival yesterday, and they’ll play all day.” He cleared his throat and lowered his voice. “New York Times bestselling author Liz Sutton will be signing at three today, outside Morgan’s Books.” Jess shrugged. “Stuff like that.”
Carter glanced at Gideon. “Do you ever do recordings?”
Jess chuckled. “He’s the man. Nearly every local customer wants Gideon to do the commercials. Chicks dig his voice.” He paused. “I probably shouldn’t have said that, boss.”
Gideon waved away the comment. “It doesn’t matter because you’re exaggerating. Half the people at the station work on commercials.”
Two of a Kind (Fool's Gold #11)
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