“I asked you to dinner. You don’t remember?”
“Oh, I remember. I just think we’re probably quits on anything you might have offered before I kidnapped you.”
“I won’t feel right if I don’t make good. Anyway, someone has to cook, and I’m not half bad at it. I already know that Kevin and Arnie are useless in that department.”
Alex sighed. “I’m probably just as bad.”
“So it’s settled. Now let’s go improve our aim.”
? ? ?
DANIEL PICKED THINGS up so quickly, it was no wonder Kevin had been recruited. While they practiced, Daniel told Alex about Kevin’s prowess at sports and his particular gift for shooting. Apparently the boys and their father had taken part in many competitions, and Kevin had almost always come away with the first-place trophy.
“I made the mistake of beating him once, when we were nine. Not worth it. From then on, I went along to keep Dad happy, but I didn’t really compete. I found my own interests, things that Kevin didn’t want to bother with. Like books. Community involvement. Distance running. Culinary classes. Girl stuff, as he frequently informed me.”
Alex loaded a new magazine. They were really burning through Kevin’s ammo, but she didn’t much care. He could afford new ammo.
She’d done a thorough search of the barn today and found a few of his cash hoards. It looked like some of the drug money had come home with him. As a general rule, she avoided stealing unless she’d run out of other options, but she was very tempted now to grab as much as she could carry. After all, it was partially Kevin’s fault she was so much poorer than she had been last month.
“I wonder what would have happened to me if I’d had a sibling who was better at chemistry and biology in high school?” she asked. “Would I have given it up? Become an accountant?”
She took a shot, then smiled. Right in the heart.
“Maybe you’re more competitive than I am. Maybe you would have fought it out for the crown.”
He leaned casually into his shooting position and fired a round at a bale a hundred yards farther away than hers.
She fired again. “Maybe I would be happier as an accountant.”
Daniel sighed. “You’re probably right. I was pretty happy as a teacher. Not a glamorous career, but the mundane can be quite satisfying. In fact, being ordinary in general is highly underrated.”
“I wouldn’t know. But it sounds nice.”
“You were never ordinary.” It wasn’t a question.
“No,” she agreed. “Not really. Unfortunate, as it turned out.” Always too smart for her own good, though it had taken her a while to see things that way. She shot her target in the head twice in quick succession.
Daniel straightened up and leaned the long rifle against his shoulder. Einstein got to his feet and stretched out his back. “Well, I had my few areas where I transcended the mundane,” he said, and Alex could tell from his tone that he was purposely lightening the mood. “And lucky you,” he continued, “tonight you get to see me work in my favorite field.”
Alex set the SIG down and stretched, much like the dog had. Her muscles got stiff more quickly with her injuries. She wasn’t moving the way she usually did; she was favoring the damaged parts of her body. She needed to force herself to use her limbs equally.
“Sounds exciting. And I’m hungry, so I really hope the field you’re talking about is the kitchen.”
“It is, indeed. Shall we?” He made a sweeping gesture with his free hand toward the truck.
“As soon as we clean up our toys.”
? ? ?
DANIEL DID SEEM very at home, humming as he diced things and sprinkled spices on things and put other things into saucepans. Of course, she couldn’t help but notice that a lot of the tools appeared to be brand-new and hadn’t been in the cupboards when she’d dug through them earlier. She would hold off on the lecture about how people who were just passing through town rarely bought things for their kitchens. It was starting to smell kind of amazing and she didn’t want to jinx anything.