Beyond The Limit (21 page)

Frank studied his hands, which were weatherworn and scarred. “Well, darling girl, Pete's care and concern for you is special, I think. And you mumbled a lot in your sleep. It was all about Pete.”

Cali's heart plunged. “What did I say, Dad?”

“You kept calling for him.” Her dad patted her hand. “And it was obvious to me that you feel more than a boss-to-employee kind of thing. But maybe I'm wrong. I've had a lot of close, friendly relationships on my projects with various owners. Granted, they were all men, but we became fast and lasting friends. And maybe that's what has happened between you and Pete. You became good friends.”

Closing her eyes, Cali felt the pain in her heart more than she did the unremitting throbbing in her head.
Friends.
“Oh, God, Dad. I don't know. I've run this through my mind so many times that I lie awake some nights.”

“I know, I know,” Frank murmured.

Cali opened her eyes and held her father's gaze. “What's the answer here?”

“Answers don't always come when we want them, honey. When we arrived at the hospital, Pete was beside himself with worry over you. He stood there in the hall and told me that he was sorry he hadn't told you so many things. I agreed that life is short and should be acted upon, not set on the shelf until some convenient moment comes up.” Giving her a slight smile, Frank added, “I think my comment gave him a lot to think about.”

Frustrated and weary, Cali whispered, “It's impossible under these circumstances to be on anything but a business footing with Pete. You're the one who taught us you never mix business with pleasure at a construction site.”

“That's true, I did,” Frank said, his tone contrite. “But in your case, a woman in what's nearly a one hundred percent male-dominated field of work, it doesn't necessarily apply. You aren't a robot, Cali. You have feelings, needs and dreams. You're young and beautiful, and relationships are going to be a part of your life and experience.”

She didn't feel very beautiful right now. More like an unraveling ball of yarn. “I'm so afraid…Sometimes I want a relationship so bad I can taste it, and other times it scares me to death.”

“Your mother and I knew there was a good possibility you'd fall in love with a hard hat someday. But for all we know, you could fall in love with an accountant, or maybe a man in another field altogether.”

“Bean counters?” Cali scoffed. “That would be the day.”

“Or a pilot—”

“I want a man with his feet stuck in the earth.”

“Or—” Frank smiled gently “—any of a hundred other careers. There's no telling where you'll meet the guy of your dreams.” Sobering, he added, “I understand the many fine lines you're walking at this project, Cali. I know you're hurting from that sordid affair with Russ. But he lied to you and we all support you and are working to help you repair your reputation. And not all hard hats are like him. I think right now you're working your way through all that stuff. Don't you?”

“You're always able to put how I feel into a sentence or two,” Cali said softly. Her headache was receding a little.

“It's easier to see someone else's life clearer than our own. I'm not so adept when it comes to your mother and me and our stresses, travails and problems over the years. It takes time to see them, Cali, and it's not easy. That's part of life—learning how to understand, cope and change. It doesn't happen all at once, usually. It's a process of discovery and communication.”

Wearily, Cali sank back against the pillows. “Right now, I feel like a raw lump of emotions, Dad. Nothing but confusion.” Her life, her relationships, her plans for the future all seemed scattered like a thousand jigsaw pieces around her feet.

“Those are PTSD symptoms, honey.” Frank held her bandaged hand. “They'll be pretty loud in volume for a while, Cali. Maybe you should take some time off, a month of rest. Dr. Wright said that after a life-threatening experience like this, you'll feel the effects powerfully for many months, until you can work through them. What do you think? You haven't taken the vacation you have coming since being at this site. Go to a favorite place you like to vacation in and get away from here.”

“I can't leave now. There's just been an earthquake. I'm needed back at the site as soon as possible.” Frustration tinged her tone. “I'll get over these crazy feelings, Dad. I will.”

“Well, just think about it,” he counseled her gently. Picking up the satellite phone on the bed stand, he rose to his feet. “And as for all the other dilemmas you're wrestling with, sleep on it, Cali. In the meantime, will you talk to your mother? I know she's worried sick about you.”

Cali's throat closed, choked with tears. “I really want to talk to Mom.” Talking to her mother would comfort her and give her time away from her jumbled thoughts.

Pete had admitted he needed her. Cali wasn't sure how to respond to that. Or if she dared say anything at all. Stymied, she didn't know what to feel toward Pete, or what would happen between them. Everything was a roiling mass of contradictions inside her.

She had three days here at Kabul to recover, and then she would get back to work. Work with Pete. Good God, what was she going to say to him when she saw him? Surely he realized she'd heard him say those words. What was he expecting to hear from her in return? There was no way to avoid the fact that something had changed between them.

T
HE LATE
M
AY SUN
beat down on Pete as he inched his way to the top of a hopper. Albert Golze, the foreman, was on the controls platform next to the opening. Trussed up in a sling that cradled across his hips and thighs, Pete flexed his gloved fingers and jammed his hard hat down on his head.

“Ready, Major Trayhern?” Albert asked.

Glancing down into the yawning chasm of the hopper, which was roughly thirty feet deep and twenty feet in diameter, he nodded. “Yeah, let's do it.” He gripped the rope above him and steadied his booted feet against the scraped and scarred metal wall.

Sweat trickled down Pete's temples. The breeze was hot. At least ten Afghan workers crowded tensely at the various openings to watch what was going on. Because of the earthquake, one of the three hoppers had fallen over. The sand hopper, in the middle, had sustained serious damage to its auger feed. In the past two days, Pete and Roland's welding team had worked nonstop to get the downed hopper erected again, and this one repaired.

The grinding, whirring sounds of the winch began and Pete was lowered in jolting movements downward. He kept his left hand outstretched as he “walked” down the wall with his booted feet. The inside of the hopper was stifling, and Pete longed for any breath of air, any breeze. His short-sleeved camouflage shirt stuck to his body, dripping with sweat.

For a moment he thought he heard a helicopter approaching, but that was impossible. The grinding noise of machinery drowned out all other sounds. His thoughts swung from the auger below him to Cali. She'd been gone two days. And it had been hell on him. At no time had Pete been able to get through to Cali by iridium satellite phone.

When the quake occurred, the site had sustained minor damage, except for the concrete plants. And without the hoppers in operation, no concrete could be mixed. That threatened to put them behind schedule, and Pete could not allow that to happen. He'd had no choice but to come back and provide the leadership needed to get the hoppers up and running again.

His boots scraped the steel wall, and he extended his arm to keep himself upright and balanced. The sloped bottom of the hopper was below him. Spreading his feet, Pete dangled directly above the newly fashioned shutoff gate Roland's men had just installed. He gave Albert a hand signal, and the winch jerked to a stop. Pete felt as if he'd just been rear-ended and suffered whiplash.

Sweat ran into his narrowed eyes. Breathing hard, he leaned over and ran his gloved fingers across the new welds. They appeared solid. After wiping his face with the back of his glove, he moved to the opposite wall. Everything looked good, so he called Albert on his radio. “Open the gate.”

A groaning and clanking started. Pete remained spread-eagled over the huge gate as it rumbled open.

“Good,” he shouted into the radio. “Now shut it.”

The gate closed, Pete noticed a number of workers looking off in one direction. What was going on? From his vantage point deep in the bowels of the metal monster, he couldn't tell. Pete asked for the feed auger to be operated while the gate was again opened and closed. This completed the testing, and he silently heaved a ragged sigh of relief. Giving Albert a hand signal to lift him out of the hopper, Pete prepared to ascend.

The ropes jerked, then grew taunt. More than happy to get out of the hopper, Pete breathed in fresh, hot air as he was pulled to the lip. Albert stopped the winch and then held out a strong hand in his direction. As Pete gripped the foreman's powerful arm, he was easily hauled back to the metal grating of the access platform. In no time, Pete had shimmied out of the harness and handed it to an awaiting worker. Turning, Pete lifted his hard hat and wiped off his sweaty, grimy brow.

“Let's load this hopper half-full with sand, Albert. We'll see if those new gates will hold.”

“Yes, sir, Major Trayhern.” Golze gave orders to the workers below by radio. A number of Afghans scurried toward the front-end loaders to begin dumping the material. Piles of sand they placed on the long, narrow conveyor belt would then spill into the hopper.

“Hey,” Golze said, “did you see that helicopter land?”

Shaking his head, Pete wiped his mouth. “No. Who was it?”

Grinning, the German said, “If my eyes didn't deceive me, it was Fräulein Roland. And the guy with her, I think, was her brother.” Pointing to his eyes, Golze continued with humor, “At my age, I don't see so well at a distance, but I couldn't miss Fräulein Roland's red hair. She's back a day early from the hospital. I wonder if she was bored to death?” He chuckled indulgently.

“Knowing her, she wanted to be back at the job.” Pete's heart leaped in anticipation. Cali was home!

“Why don't you go welcome her, Major Trayhern? I'll take care of the sand-feed tests. I'll report via radio when we're done. Yes?”

“Thank you,” Pete said, grateful for the man's understanding. Golze looked tough, but beneath that rugged exterior was a heart of gold. The German smiled widely and lifted his hand in farewell.

Could Golze see how he felt about Cali? Gazing into the foreman's dancing blue eyes, Pete thought the older man might have answers he presently did not.

Did Cali need him? That was the sixty-four-thousand-dollar question that had hung like a scimitar over Pete's heart. He had told her he needed her. Where had those words come from? He'd not been aware of the violent emotions buried deep inside him until that crucial moment when Cali fell into his arms.

Once he climbed down the metal ladder, Pete bounded over to his Tundra pickup. Just feeling the cool air-conditioning on his hot, sweaty body was a godsend. Pete opened a bottle of water and gulped down half of it before driving out of the concrete plant area.
Cali is back home. Here, with me.
His heart pounded with joy and dread. She might not remember him saying those words to her, but if she did, he'd find out soon enough how she felt. Fear churned in his gut as he drove toward the center of the site and headquarters. All the trailers had, over time, taken on a pinkish-red cast thanks to all the dust.

Trying to ignore his racing pulse, Pete parked the truck. As he got out, clouds of billowing dust blew by him.

Taking the trailer steps two at a time, he gulped hard, twisted the knob and walked into the cool comfort of the Roland headquarters. He immediately saw Cali seated to his left. If he went on impulse, he'd go over and put his arms around her. But to his right, standing at the drafting table, was a tall, dark-haired man in familiar construction clothing. Logan, Cali's brother.

Shifting his attention back to Cali, Pete closed the door and took off his hard hat. He tried to smile. “Hi, stranger. Welcome back,” he said. Cali looked so wan. Her left temple was bandaged and her red hair tousled. Despite this, she looked beautiful.

“I was trying to find out where you were.” Cali smiled weakly.

“At the hoppers,” Pete explained, filling her in on the details as he approached her desk. His throat closed up with emotion. He wanted to tell her how he felt. But then he turned and saw the man at the end of the trailer approaching him.

“Pete, this is my oldest brother, Logan. Logan, meet Major Pete Trayhern, my boss.”

Shaking Logan's lean hand, Pete felt the strength in the man's grip. “Nice to see you again, Logan,” he said. “I'm sorry I didn't get to chat with you at the hospital. Are you babysitting your sister here?”

Pete saw the man's serious expression thaw a little, his mouth curving slightly. “Nice seeing you again, Major.” Logan smiled. “Let's put it this way—my sister is bullheaded and didn't want to be in that hospital room one minute longer. So I told her that I wanted to make sure she got here in one piece.”

Nodding, Pete released the man's hand. “Thanks. We've probably called Cali bullheaded, too, but only behind her back….”

Everyone politely laughed.

Pete turned and studied Cali. She had already started working on the in basket, which was piled high with papers. “How are you feeling?” He heard his voice go husky with concern.

“Oh, headache is all.” Cali pointed to the bandage on the side of her head. “Doc says I'll have them off and on. It's no big deal.” For whatever reason, Cali felt tears prick the back of her eyes. Why? She kept remembering Pete's words: he needed her. With all the uncertainty in her life, she didn't know how to take his confession.

“Do you need some aspirin?” Pete asked, concerned. He could see her copper freckles standing out against her pale flesh. Cali shouldn't be here; she should be in bed, resting.

“Yeah, I took some, but they're running out of steam. I could use a few more.”

“Hold on,” he said, heading for the bathroom at the end of the hall, “I'll get you some.”

Cali gave him a grateful look when he returned with two aspirins along with a cup of water. “You are truly a knight on a white horse. Thanks, Pete.” He had been that and more for her out there in the mountains. Cali would never forget his efforts to find and save her.

When their fingertips met, Pete felt his heart lurch with such powerful emotion that for a moment he was dumbstruck. It felt as if he were a shy teenager with a crush on a girl he could never have. He cleared his throat, more than a little aware of her brother watching him.

“So, what's the plan here?” Logan casually asked his sister.

After finishing the water, she set the cup down and faced both her brother and her employer. “Pete, the doctor told me I wouldn't be fit for duty for about two weeks. My father asked Logan to come along so that he could temporarily replace me at the site.”

“I see.” Pete hid his surprise. From a tactical standpoint, he agreed with the elder Roland's plan. They couldn't afford to be without a site project superintendent. And it was common sense to replace Cali with someone of equal or greater status. But he sure would miss working with her on a day-to-day basis.

Giving him a wry smile, Cali said, “Can you put up with Logan tailing me around for two weeks? I'll direct his work and nothing will fall behind schedule, I promise.”

“Sure, no problem.” He looked at Logan. “Welcome aboard.”

“Thanks. This is only temporary, Major. I know my sister's penchant for perfection in getting things done on time, but she needs to heal now. Roland Construction doesn't want the job falling behind schedule because of what happened.”

“Sounds like a solid plan to me. And call me Pete.”

Logan nodded and smiled briefly. “I can do that. Most people call me Logan.”

Cali sighed. “Phew. Glad that's over with.”

“You were worried I'd say no?” Pete eyed her quizzically. That was an odd reaction from Cali. She was obviously not her normal gung ho, confident self. The seriousness of her injury was just beginning to seep into him. There was nothing he could do, however, and this just about killed him.

Cali shrugged delicately. “I wasn't sure, Pete. We're a good team and we've worked well together. I know it can cause problems to bring someone in to pinch-hit for a while. If these darn headaches would stop, I would be a hundred percent.”

“But the doctor says you'll have them off and on for a while?”

“Yes,” Cali said unhappily. She drowned in Pete's dark gray gaze, which held so much turmoil. She could sense his tight control. What was he feeling? While she ached to fall into his arms again, Cali knew that couldn't happen with her brother around. She certainly didn't want Logan to know how awkward and bewildered emotionally she felt toward Pete, either. Her father knew and had promised to keep her secret.

“Cali, you're looking peaked. How about I drive you over to your trailer?” Pete suggested. Then he turned to Logan. “I can get you up to starting speed in about an hour. Will that do?”

“Sure. I'll go meet some of our people and let them know I'm going to be working with Cali for a while,” Logan answered.

Her head pounding, Cali rose slowly and picked up her hard hat. “Take me home, Pete. I think I've had enough for today.”

Home.
Pete opened the door for her. He wanted to cup his hand around Cali's elbow because she seemed so much more fragile than usual. But he resisted the impulse since he knew she was highly independent. Instead, he followed her to the Tundra and insisted on opening the door for her.

“Thanks.” Cali climbed into the hot, stifling cab.

Pete got in and turned on the engine. Instantly, the cooling breeze of air-conditioning bathed them. As he backed the truck up, he saw her close her eyes and briefly touch her bandaged temple.

“You okay?” he demanded, turning the truck and heading for her trailer.

“Yes, fine. Just tired. Stressed out, if you want to know the truth.” The doctor had said she had symptoms of PTSD. Cali had heard the term used for those who survived combat. But how could she get those symptoms from a kidnapping? She hadn't bothered to research the syndrome while at the hospital, even though Dr. Wright had encouraged her to read up about it. Her heart had screamed at her to get back here to the site. Why? To go back to work? To be close to Pete? A combination of fear and trepidation churned within her. She was just too tired to search for answers.