Spirit of a Champion (Sisters of Spirit #7) (15 page)

Stormy lifted the lids. Fresh fruit, scrambled eggs, whole wheat
toast. Water.

There was only the one plate and set of silverware. Stormy ate
off the platter and fruit bowl, using the serving utensils. She cleaned up all
the food, even though the eggs and toast were cold by now, and sat back with a
sigh. She was still tired, although no longer sleepy.

As a dead person, she couldn’t use the phone, call room service
or even turn on the TV very loud. Maybe Kyle would bring her a good book.

She looked around the room. A deck of cards, still in its
wrapper, caught her eye.

Solitaire. She knew several games. She broke off the hotel’s
seal, pulled out the jokers, and dealt herself a game of Klondike. It was a
mindless game, keeping her hands busy while she thought about what had happened
to her.

She had indeed been fortunate, ending up in a luxury suite
instead of a watery grave.

The lock clicked, and Stormy shot out of her chair and into the
other bedroom. The hallway door opened, then closed.

“Stormy?” It was Kyle, whispering. “You awake?”

She came out to see him. “Yes.” 

He looked at the cards on the table. “Bored already, are we?”

“Sort of. I wanted to keep quiet and didn’t know if I could turn
on the TV or not.”

“You can turn it on in your room, I think. Just keep the sound
down. There should be a personal set of headphones for it. So one person can
sleep while the other watches. Check the drawers.”

“Okay.”

He walked into his bedroom and came out with an ipod and
headphones. “If you like country western music..,” he said.

“I do.”

“Then you might enjoy what I’ve got loaded on this. I listen to
it while I’m running, but the rest of the day, you can have it.”

“Thanks.”

He pushed the cart out into the hallway and shut the door again.
“How’re you doing?”

“Would you believe, I slept eleven hours?’

“Yes. I can easily believe it. You had quite a day yesterday.”
He walked over and hugged her. “You really had me scared. After not paying much
attention to your account of an exploding car...”

She looked up at him. “It did sound strange.”

“Then you showed up with a credit card when you said you had no
money.” He put his hands on her shoulders, as if to assure himself she wasn’t
going anywhere.

“So you thought I lied to you.”

“I couldn’t see how otherwise you had one. No bank would give
you one on a moment’s notice. And you drove up in a very expensive car.”

She reached up to touch his face. “Oh, Kyle, I’m sorry. Hugo
told me not to tell anyone I was getting help.”

“That’s some cousin you have.”

“Yes.”

“And you know something?”

“What?”

“I’d rather have you...and Hugo, on my side than anyone I can
think of.”

“Why, Kyle. That’s, that’s...”

“That’s the truth. I’ve seldom seen anyone as dedicated as you.
Jerry’s lucky.”

“Thank you.” She scooped up some of the cards to put them away.

“How are you feeling now?”

“Fine. Actually, extremely frustrated. I hate being inactive. It
reminds me of when I was preparing for my last term tests. I locked myself in
my room and devoured the books to refresh everything I’d learned. I’d spent so
long writing my Thesis, I’d forgotten certain things. I was going spare, but I
got my Masters.”

He picked up the last few cards and handed them to her. “And now
you’re trying to decide where to teach.”

“Yes. When I’m not so irritated at these stupid cards that I
throw them.”

“Better cards than a lamp. We need good teachers. What will you
teach?”

“Applied math.”

That brought his head up. “I never figured you for a
mathematician.”

“Why not?” She had always loved numbers. They were unchangeable.
You could depend on them to always give the same answer if you did the problem
correctly.

“I would think a mathematician would be rigid in her thinking.
You seem like a free spirit. One who finds causes.”

“Who tilts at windmills?”

“Right. So what got you interested in math?”

“A good teacher who showed me the wonder of numbers. Math is
logic, the purest form there is. Using math you can solve problems in several
ways. You don’t need to always use one formula. My teacher made math fun. I
intend to do that for my students.”

“So why teach at the college level? Why not high school, where
you could give some kids a good start?”

“I was thinking of teaching teachers, so that this way of
learning math would spread out.”

He nodded his head.

Stormy put the cards back on the table. “What do you plan to do?
You can’t box all your life.”

“I thought I’d run for office. A state seat, in congress.
Texas.”

“Then you better learn more about the federal land grabs.”

“Then you better teach me.”

“Right now?”

“You doing something better?”

“No.” She guessed not. Now
was as good a time as any. She showed him maps and statistics on his lap top.
Articles written about the issue.

Kyle was amazed at Stormy’s quick mind. She had a wide range of
knowledge on the subject.

“You’ve done a lot of research,” he said. “I’ve never even heard
of some of this.”

“You need to read the farm journals, and listen to some land
owners who have to put up with the regulations put out by the EPA. Private
property rights are guaranteed by our constitution, but unelected people in the
government put so many rules on the land, that it’s almost impossible to do anything
anymore. They could have never built Hoover Dam today. They wouldn’t have
gotten past the environmental study stages.”

A soft rap on the door sent Stormy scurrying into the next room.

Kyle waited until she was safely gone, then opened it. Hugo
slipped in.

“It’s Hugo,” he said, and Stormy came out of the other room to
join them.

“You’re looking better,” Hugo told her. “Here’s a cell phone for
you,” he told Kyle, pulling one out of his pocket and giving it to him. “A
disposable one. Use it to contact me. Use your other one the rest of the time.”

“Okay.”

“I just wanted to bring you two up to speed. After you left, I
checked out Jerry’s finances. There is no record of money made or lost, except
for his fight winnings. We’re going to have to rule out gambling. If he was
gambling, there would be a fast outgo of money, in bunches when he lost, and a
few big influxes when he won. The only big credits to his account is right
after a fight he won.”

“It has to be something.”

“Do you think they threatened his wife? Or daughter?”

“If they did, only he knows about it,” Kyle said. “She arrived
in Vegas yesterday and was all smiles and happy about the prize fight. I doubt
that he’s told her about his condition.”

“You do believe me, don’t you,” Stormy said looking at the two
of them. “About the soft spots?”

Both Kyle and Hugo nodded.

“Yes,” Hugo said. “And someone else does or they wouldn’t want
to keep you from the doctors.”

Hugo strode to the hotel room door. “I’ll leave now. Things are
escalating. The commissioners assigned a new pair of doctors to the fight. Good
going, Stormy. You have them worried.” He opened the door and left.

Kyle walked over and locked it. He returned to sit opposite her.
“Where were we?”

She looked at him steady on. “You said you wanted to go into
politics.”

“Yes.”

“Why?” she asked.

“Well, because, I thought it would be a good thing to do.”

“Do you have any strong convictions about things?”

It was the first time anyone had challenged him to think about
it. “Not, not really.”

“Then stay out. Let people run who feel so strongly about
returning this country to its founding principles, they are willing to die for
it.”

“Is anyone like that?” he asked, feeling skeptical.

“Yes. The men who wrote the constitution were. They were signing
their death certificates when they signed the Declaration of Independence. And
they knew it.”

“And also the people involved in the Civil War.”

“Yes.”

“But why is it important now?”

“You like your freedom don’t you?” she asked.

“Yes.”

“Well, the bigger government gets, the less freedom people have.
Some politicians see no problem growing government. Others want to shrink it.”

“And you?”

“Shrink it so that it goes back to being a servant of the
people, rather than the ruler.”

He nodded. “I think...No, I know. If I go into politics, I’m
going to need your eyes.”

“You need to use your own. And your ears. You can’t represent
people if you don’t know what they need.”

“You’re right. I’d like you to help me prepare, so when I do run
for office, I won’t be naive about the issues.”

“You want me?”

“Yes.” He wanted her for many reasons. This was just one of
them. The more he thought about it, the more he realized he didn’t want to go
any further in his life without her next to him. He’d had plenty of time to
think abut her this morning while he was out doing his road work. He could
hardly wait to get into the car and come back to her.

He tried to explain. “I see things differently when I’m with
you. I feel like a whole new world opens up. Things I never thought about
before. You truly care about things. You don’t just talk, you do something. I’d
like to be like that.”

“I’d think with your boxing that you were a doer.”

“But I only channeled my energy into the ring. Everything I did
was for myself. Winning the world championship was the most important thing in
my life.”

“Isn’t it still? Keeping it, I mean.”

“No. Ever since I met you, it’s no longer important to me. It’s
strange. I don’t care if I win or lose this fight.”

“Why not? What happened?”

He felt uncertain. He wasn’t used to considering why he felt one
way or the other. Yet here she was asking him to put a reason to his feeling.

What had happened?

Stormy had come into his life and turned everything upside down.
His unwavering focus on the title match had swerved off course and settled on
her. She was now the focus of his life. And whatever she was interested in, he
was interested in. He just might be falling in love with her.

He suddenly realized how self-centered he had been most of his
life. Stormy was the opposite and her strong personality was pulling himself
out of his fixation on his needs and goals and redirecting them towards other
things.

“Well?” she asked when he hadn’t answered her.

“I guess you made me realize that there are more important
things in the world than winning a prize fight.”

“Like my brother’s life?”

“That and other things. Like looking for a girl to settle down
with. Raising a family. Serving my state, or country.”

“You don’t have a girl?”

“No. Would you like the job?” He held his breath. He hadn’t
planned on saying that. At least not until she had a chance to know him better.

“Yes. I mean... I’d need to get to know you, but...”

“But what?”

“Are you sure? I mean, we just met a week ago.”

“Is that all the longer it’s been? I look for you, everywhere I
go. I forget the series of punches I’m supposed to be working on. I love to
watch you, talk to you, be around you. You have moved the center of my universe
from me to you. So...I guess I’d better ask, how do you feel about me?”

“Nothing that overwhelming...I don’t think.” She stared at him.
“But right now, you are the only man I’ve ever met that I think I could spend
the rest of my life with.”

“I’d like a daughter that looked like you, and crusaded for
things like you do.”

“Four boys that looked like you.”

“Four?”

“At least. I never do anything half-measures. Like this is the
weirdest conversation I’ve ever had.”

“We could stop talking...” He stood up and she met him halfway
across the room.

Life would never be dull with Stormy, he realized as he kissed
her with a joyfulness that she completely matched. He felt his happiness soar.
She was his other half. She completed him. This is what he had been looking
for. The loneliness of his life stood in stark contrast to the fullness of what
life could be with her.