“If you say so.” She was silent a moment. “I’ll give you what you need from me, Eve. You’ll find your Beth.”

“You’re damn right I will.” Then she added haltingly, “But thank you for your cooperation. I appreciate it.”

“That was hard for you.” Kendra was suddenly chuckling. “You like to handle everything on your own. And you say you’re not desperate? I think you protest too much.”

Eve opened her lips to protest again, then said grudgingly, “Maybe I’m a little assertive. But, then, so are you.”

“True.” Kendra leaned back in her chair. “But it shows up on you like a red flag. We have to tamp that down tomorrow. Put your hair up in a chignon and wear those glasses I saw you with in some of the newspaper articles on the Net. Stay in the background. No confrontation.”

“I’m not usually confrontational.” She smiled faintly. “You were one of the exceptions.”

“Oh, I’m an exception all right,” she said wryly. “It’s the story of my life.”

“Do you regret it?”

“People trying to use me? Occasionally. The ability to use every sense to the max? Not for a minute. After all these years, I’m still drunk with the sensation. I wish I could share it, but it doesn’t work that way. You have to concentrate and let the senses come alive. You should try it sometime.”

“Maybe I will.”

“And maybe you’ll get busy and think it’s not worthwhile. But that will be your loss.” She drew her jacket closer around her. “It’s getting cooler. I’m going to stay out here a while longer, but you’d better go on in. Quinn’s probably going crazy with frustration by now.”

“What?” Eve was startled. “Frustration? How do you—” She broke off as she saw Kendra’s expression that contained both slyness and a touch of mischief. She wasn’t sure that she wanted to probe how Kendra had known about the passion that was driving Joe and Eve that night. It could be simple guesswork or that damnable highly tuned sensitivity that was anything but simple. If it was the latter, she didn’t want to be told what physical or psychological signs had made that sexuality so transparent. She got to her feet. “It is chilly.” She started across the verandah. “Good night, Kendra. I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Good night.” Then Kendra called after her, “Why did he stop? Were you interrupted? Is it something I should know about?”

Eve gazed back over her shoulder in exasperation. “Do you have to know everything?” Then she reined in her temper. This wasn’t only about Joe and her. Of course, Kendra should know everything concerning Beth Avery. She was going to help them, and they should share information. “Joe had to take a call from the ski resort where Beth had her accident. I’ll give you a report in the morning if he found out anything important.”

“Thanks,” Kendra called as Eve left the verandah. “I was … out of line. I’m sorry.”

“Yes, you were.”

“Well, it wasn’t that bad. I’ve been worse. Have a nice time.”

Eve wanted to shake her, but she had an idea Kendra’s puckish humor would cause her to enjoy the reaction. Just face her down. “Oh, I will.” She found that her annoyance was fading as she strolled back toward the room. It was clear that she was going to have to learn to deal with Kendra Michaels on her own terms. For a short time back there, she had actually felt in tune with the woman. No, admit it, she had genuinely liked her. It was only when Kendra had invaded her space that she had become defensive. How many people in her life had Kendra turned away because she had been able to unable to resist letting them know that she could see far beyond their comfort level? If Kendra was as intuitive and sensitive as Eve was beginning to believe, she must have tremendous restraint that she had learned at great cost over the years.

But she had also enjoyed life to the max. Eve recalled her shining eyes, her lips slightly parted.

I’m still drunk with the sensation.

You have to concentrate and let the senses come alive. You should try it sometime.

Joe was lying naked in bed when she opened the door of the room. “It’s about time. What kept you?”

“I ran into Kendra. We talked a little.”

“Too long.” He held out his hand. “Come here.”

“In a moment.” She started to undo the buttons on her blouse. But only a moment. She could feel the tension mounting every second. They had waited too long already. “What did you find out from the resort?”

“That Beth had gone skiing alone and the resort sent a team out to investigate when she didn’t come back to the lodge. They found her unconscious at the bottom of a hill next to a tree and assumed she’d hit her head. They airlifted her to a clinic near Boston for treatment.”

“Clinic? Not the local hospital?”

“Family request. Later, the personnel at the resort heard that she was in a coma and had been sent to California for more tests.”

“So there was a serious legitimate injury.”

“There was an injury,” Joe said. “We still don’t know how serious.” He paused. “Or how legitimate. The rescue team said that the head wound was to the back of the head. If she crashed into that tree, wouldn’t the injury have been to the front of the skull?”

An attack from behind? “Strange things happen in accidents. I suppose a back skull wound is possible.” But it was another red flag. “What about the clinic?”

“I checked. It went out of business ten years ago. All records on Beth Avery were sent out to Santa Barbara. Everything seems to be centered around that hospital on the hill.”

“Then it’s good that we brought Kendra to help make some sense of what happened here.” She was naked now and walking toward him across the carpet. “I think we may be lucky to have her, Joe.”

“I wasn’t lucky to have her keep you away from me so long tonight.” He made a face. “Evidently, you may be on board, but I’m beginning to think that she may not be as valuable as I first thought.”

“Oh, she’s valuable. There may be a lot we can learn from her.”

You have to concentrate and let the senses come alive.

Joe’s eyes were suddenly narrowed on her face. “Such as?”

Concentrate. Heighten every sense, the scent of him, the sound of his breathing. She reached out and touched his shoulder, the warmth of his skin, the play of muscles beneath her fingers. The sensation was almost too intense.

He inhaled sharply as he sensed something new, something different. “What are you doing?”

“Concentrating…”

She climbed on top of him and slowly rubbed her breasts against his chest. She tried to isolate every separate sensation, the warmth, the faint roughness of his hair against her nipples, the tensing of his muscles. She felt an explosion of heat. More. Give more. Take more. “Slowly. Think about it. Feel.”

He shuddered as his hands grasped her shoulders.

Don’t ignore one motion, one feeling, build on it, share it.

Maybe you’ll get busy and think it’s not worthwhile. But that will be your loss.

No way, Kendra …

*   *   *

“YOU LOOK VERY SUBDUED, EVE,” Kendra said as she strolled toward the car at eight the next morning. “And those glasses are a good touch. I knew they would be.” She tossed her duffel and guitar in the backseat of the car and got into the passenger seat. “I’ll try to keep attention off you, but stay in the background.”

“I’m hardly a riveting personality,” Eve said dryly as she started the car. “It’s not as if I was flamboyant before.”

“But people look at you, then look again.” She was studying her face. “Particularly this morning. There’s a glow…”

Eve gave her a forbidding glance. “Don’t go there.”

She grinned. “I wasn’t. I’m more subtle than that.” Her gaze shifted to the hospital in the hills, and her smile faded. “And, besides, it’s time I got down to business.”

“And start to concentrate?”

Kendra nodded soberly. “That’s the name of the game.”