Beckett was going to regret this. What the hell was he thinking, promising to certify an almost totally green climber by the end of the week? Irritation—with himself, with the situation, with her—made his movements jerky as he unlocked the equipment shed and let them inside.
You weren’t thinking with your big boy brain.
Which was also ridiculous. She’d be gone in a week. Where did he think this was gonna go?
He blamed Michael and Heather and their absurdly infectious happiness. He blamed this place. Most of all, he blamed the fact that he couldn’t bet against the underdog. He’d been one too often in his life, so he had sympathy for the real Taylor. And a helluva lot of respect for the sister who was willing to put herself out there trying to help her.
“Sit,” he ordered.
She did, witho
