Page 27 of Pure Temptation

“It was really hard on her. But complicated. She was a hotshot, too, before they had me, so she understood why he wanted to be there, on the front lines of the fires.”

Her mother’s experience also gave her mother a well-honed sense of when to worry. There were days of silence, where her father’s absence took up all the air in the house, all the space at the dinner table, suffocating them both. Then, when he finally called, the relief came first. Meals were filled with bright bursts of a week’s worth of conversation, finally freed, now that her father was safe. But there were nights, not long after, when that relief turned to anger, usually when she caught sight of her mother’s expression, worn and weary. Why did her father keep going back when he knew how much they worried?

Kendall didn’t reveal all these details, but she could tell she had said enough that Daxon understood. When they pulled over by the smoothie place, under the shade of the palm trees that lined the parking lot, he turned off the engine but stayed in his seat.

“You didn’t tell me all of this when we were in Costa Rica,” he said.

She shrugged. “It’s not a secret. But we were talking in general terms, not about my situation. I didn’t think it was relevant.”

He was quiet for a moment, and then he nodded. “But it’s relevant to me.”

The little smoothie shack was on the edge of a farm, with a grove of banana trees where guests could wander and spiky pineapple bushes sprouting out of the ground. They walked around the grounds, sipping smoothies, as he asked more questions about San Francisco State University, about her traveling physical therapy job, about boyfriends and friends. Then they climbed back into the car, and as they headed back to the main road, she thought it was fair to turn the inquiry tables on Daxon.

She knew the basics about his past—just about everyone did: growing up with only his mother, adventurous from a young age, never much for school. He entertained her with stories about his travels while filming, trying local foods and local activities all over the world, and she got the sense that he played down the more dangerous parts of these stories.

“How many people would you say do what you do, climbing the faces of mountains without ropes?” she asked.

“Expert-level free soloists? Not sure. Probably under fifty.”

“How many died this year?”

There was a long pause. “One.”

“How about last year?”

“One.”

And he was going to follow up his Moonlight Buttress ascent with El Capitan, the most dangerous climb of them all. Didn’t he see that these crazy stunts would probably lead to his death? One glance at him told her he knew exactly what she was thinking, and he didn’t agree. Kendall opened her mouth to argue, then closed it. Not her battle. And she wasn’t going to let it ruin her day, either.

They continued south, past Hilo, past the active volcanoes. Kendall looked out the window at the lush, green hills that rose up on one side. The dormant volcanos were steep, green and treeless, and the road cut into the side of them, winding around each cone. There was nothing in sight but the sea and the grass and an occasional cow grazing on the mountainside. It was gorgeous, but where were they going? For most of the ride, she had assumed that they’d go to the active volcano, but they had passed that turnoff miles ago. They had also passed the Black Sand Beach, another attraction in the area. What else was there?

“You’re still not going to tell me where we’re going?”

“You haven’t guessed yet?” he said, glancing over at her with a little smile. “We don’t have far to go before we start heading north, up the other side of the island.”

“Exactly. So whatever it is must be coming soon.”

Daxon pointed to a sign in the distance. “That’s where we’re going.”

It read South Point, 12 Miles, with an arrow pointing to a turnoff on the left. The southernmost point in the US?

This was the destination Daxon had chosen for the best day of her life? It was...a little underwhelming.

“You’ve never been there, have you?” he asked, turning down the narrow road.

Kendall shook her head slowly. She hadn’t even considered visiting this spot.

“Good. I checked with Alana,” said Daxon.

Her eyebrows shot up. “You talked to Alana about this?” she asked, motioning between them.

He looked a little guilty, but not nearly guilty enough. “It, um, depends upon what part of this—” he motioned between them like she had “—you’re referring to. I would’ve just asked you but you were busy with a client.”

There was a hint of mocking in his tone.

Kendall let out a breath and steered the conversation back on track. “Well, Alana was right. I’ve never been here.”

The grin was back on his face. “I was hoping so. There’s something here that I thought might be fun to watch.”