Capture the Rainbow Read Free

yet.” Skip’s voice was as coolly measured as a metronome. “There are five men on the team who have the experience for the job and they’d all give their union cards to get it.”
    “I could do it. You
know
I could do it. I’m good with cars. Almost as good as Casey was. Give me the gag and you won’t be sorry, Skip. I won’t let you down. One take, I promise.”
    “There wouldn’t be any question of that,” he answered. “There’s no run-through possible on this one. It’s either make it or end up at the bottom of the canyon. And my people don’t end up like Casey, Ken. Not when I’m running the action.”
    She was still looking at him hopefully, but he was shaking his head. “I’m not going to promise it to you, Ken. I haven’t worked with you in two years and I’ve been hearing a few disturbing things about you lately.” He was turning away. “I’ll think about it, but I’m not going to commit myself to anything until I watch you work. We’ll talk again in Sedikhan.”
    He was gone as quickly as he’d appeared, leaving her to gaze after him. Disappointment mixed with a glimmer of hope. At least he hadn’t rejected the idea entirely and that was something. If he hadn’t given the gag to someone else there was still a chance for her to get it. Skip was absolutely fair and, if she could prove herself to him, he’d give her the job.
    “Sorry to be so long; the bar was a mob scene.” Dave pressed a champagne glass into her hand and grinned down at her. “I saw Skip talking to you so I didn’t try to speed up the bartender. I thought you’d welcome the chance to try to get him to let you do the jump. Did you convince him?”
    A little smile tugged at her lips. “You know me too well, Dave.” She shook her head. “No, he’s reserving judgment at the moment, but I’m not giving up.”
    “I didn’t think you would.” Dave gave a mock shudder. “Better you than me. That stunt would make Evel Knievel turn pale. I can’t understand why you stunt people fight so ferociously for the privilege of breaking your necks.”
    “Money,” she said succinctly. “And the chance of beating a record set by some other stunt person.” She took a sip of champagne. “And some can’t resist the challenge of walking that tightrope between life and death.” She shrugged. “There’s any number of reasons why we do it if you think about it.”
    “None of which makes any sense to a sane individual,” Dave said dryly. His blue gaze was fixed musingly on her face. “You appear to be feeling better. There’s some color in your cheeks now. When I first saw you, you looked so strained and exhausted that I was worried.”
    She
was
feeling better, she discovered to her amazement. The painkillers must have done their stuff because her back wasn’t aching at all now. In fact, she’d never felt more vibrantly, glowingly alive in her entire life. She looked down at the champagne in her glass and smiled broadly. She felt like one of the bubbles that rose in the golden liquid—effervescent, yet very clear and sharp. It was such a lovely sensation. But was it too lovely? She couldn’t be a little tipsy, could she?
    Nonsense, she had only had one glass of champagne! It must be the relief of knowing she had a chance at the jump that explained this strange exhilaration. “I feel fine,” she said, smiling brilliantly at Dave. “Wonderful. Now why don’t you tell me what you and Sheila have been up to lately?”
    She continued to float on iridescent bubbles during the next hour and, if possible, the euphoria escalated to an even more shimmering plateau. When she’d first arrived at Joel Damon’s home in Laurel Canyon, she had thought the stark black-and-white decor was cold. Now she changed her mind. It was a perfectly beautiful room. Everything was perfectly beautiful.
    Dave’s face was beautiful too, with his bright blue eyes and warm understanding smile. But he wasn’t smiling at the moment, she realized