Read Online Spirit of a Champion (Sisters of Spirit #7) by Nancy Radke - Free Book Online Page A

at
the sweats he was wearing. “For that matter, I guess neither are you.”
    “This has private dining areas,” he said, getting out and
handing his keys to a valet. “We’re fine.”
    They stepped into the reception area. Kyle pointed to the menu
placed there. “What would you like?”
    “I don’t care. I eat anything.”
    She followed him inside, where it was dark and cool. They were
shown to a small room decorated like a jungle cabana, complete with its own
waterfall.
    Kyle gave the waiter some instructions and the man left.
    Stormy sat down and grabbed the glass of water beside her plate
and drank it. There was a pitcher of ice water on the table and she poured
herself another glassful, but didn’t need to drink all of it.
    “I was careful to make sure I didn’t end up in the same
condition I did yesterday,” she told Kyle.
    “You say you are down to just hotel money for one day?”
    “Yes. I pay in the morning for that night. I tried to get some
money from Jerry. He was playing the nickel slots and I grabbed some of his
tokens. Otherwise I wouldn’t even have that.”
    “How about food?”
    “Food is nice to have, but a person can go forty days without
food, you know.”
    He laughed. “Have you ever tried it?”
    She laughed with him.“No. Only two days, when I was in the Idaho
mountains and got lost one time.”
    “I’m glad they found you.”
    “Me, too. I was only seven. I had the sense to stay put until I
was found. It was one of the things a mountain kid learns early. Stay safe and
warm. Wait for help.”
    “That’s what you should do now.”
    “How is that?”
    “Stay safe. Get out of that hovel you’re in. And wait for help.
You’ve stirred up questions. Let someone else carry it through.”
    “Like who?”
    “Like me. I was thinking that I could demand that Jerry have a
physical before the match.”
    “You’d do that? Really? That’s wonderful!”
    “I doubt it’s ever been done before, but I could try it. I can
claim that I will only fight a healthy person, and that I will fight Jerry only
if he has a clean bill of health. I might even insist that my own personal
physician check him out.”
    “Would they allow that?”
    “I don’t know. We’d have to see.”
    The waiter came in with two plates and a cart with food.
    Kyle tipped him and he left.
    “Oh, that looks good,” said Stormy as he lifted some of the
covers.
    “Did you have breakfast this morning?” he asked.
    “No.”
    “Lunch?”
    “No.”
    “Yesterday. Did you have anything besides what you had in my
room?”
    “No, but I needed my money for the hotel.”
    “Eat.”

CHAPTER TWELVE
    As she eagerly put food on her plate, Kyle wondered if the
boxing commission would demand that he fight anyway, or would they order the
physical for Jerry as he requested.
    He relaxed, finding Stormy extremely comfortable to be around.
Her look of delight as she tried the various dishes made him happy. She put
away an amazing amount of food for someone her size. She wasn’t tiny, but she
wasn’t on the tall side either. Probably five-six.
    He ate slowly, savoring the food and her company. She didn’t
talk while eating, focusing on the task at hand. She looked happy to be with
him, and Kyle hoped he would be able to solve her problem. He wanted to see
more of Miss Victoria Tempest Drake, and killing her brother was not the
smartest way to go about it.
    She pushed back from the table. “Thank you. I was hungrier than
I realized.”
    “Where did you grow up?”
    “Just outside of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. There was a mountain in
my backyard, so to speak. I fished and hunted and hiked with my dad and then
with my brother when he got old enough. They’ve introduced wolves now, so it’s
no longer safe for a child to run free over the mountains like we did. Not to
mention the damage they’ve done to our elk herds.”
    He was quick to change the subject. “Is there a lake there, near
the town? Seems I’ve heard of