Page 95 of Wind Whisperer

Angelina leaned in to kissing distance of Harlon’s ear and whispered something.

Someone jostled through the crowd, blocking my view of them. A moment later, they were gone.

Good riddance,I decided, though I knew it was only temporary.

* * *

It took a while, but Nash and I finally escaped the crowd and drove home. It was time for a powwow, for sure. I’d already texted my sisters, and Nash’s contact at the agency had just returned his call.

“Hey, man. What have you found out?” Nash asked.

I listened in, privy only to Nash’s side of the conversation. His expression filled in the ominous pauses, telling me the news wasn’t good.

“She did what?” he yelped.

I touched his arm. WassheAngelina? And, yikes. What did she do?

Nash stared at the road, still listening to his friend. Then he sighed. “How can it get worse?”

I winced. We’d faced a year’s worth ofworsein half a day. What now?

Nash’s brow creased more and more deeply. I’d never seen him so stunned.

Then he gave himself a little shake and said, “Yeah, I’m still on the line.”

I pulled over slowly and not just because we were about to lose the cell phone signal.

Nash ran a hand through his hair, and it struck me how abruptly he’d returned to the hollow, weary look he’d worn when he’d first arrived in town. Over the past days, he’d slowly…well,perked updidn’t exactly fit, but it was close. As if he’d cometo Sedona a little lost but gradually homed in on whatever he’d been looking for.

His eyes met mine, and wow. I got a repeat of that glorioussun bursting through the cloudsmoment, all within the universe of his eyes. The dark, broodysomethinglifted, and tiny points of light danced. They danced all the way over to me, lifting my soul.

Destiny,a voice in the back of my mind whispered.

I’d heard the stories, of course. That destiny wasn’t just a concept, but a force. One with the power to bring people together — or tear them apart. And once destiny decided on one of those two actions, it was pointless to resist.

Old wives’ tales? Maybe not, because my whole body warmed. My mind churned slowly, stupidly.

Nash… Me… Destiny?

Destiny,the glow in his eyes confirmed.

The phone crackled with a faraway voice, making Nash blink. Me too, as we both emerged from that momentary spell. Then he cleared his throat and spoke into the phone. “I’m putting you on speaker. Repeat what you just said.”

“Um, Nash…” his friend said hesitantly, loud and clear now.

“You can trust her,” Nash assured him.

My heart doubled in size, but his friend didn’t sound convinced.

“Okay, but call me Frank for now,” his friend insisted.

Ha. A code name. I couldn’t blame him, though.

Nash rolled his eyes. “Okay,Frank. Go ahead and repeat what you just said.”

Still, “Frank” hesitated.

“It’s okay,” Nash assured him. “She and I are in this together.”

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