of Whisper Falls beautiful, what do you do?”
She returned his grin, though hers said she knew he was changing the subject and empathized. She was a nice woman.
As he chewed his ham and provolone, Heath recognized that he was sharply drawn to Cassie Blackwell, to her bright mouth and alabaster skin. His reaction puzzled him. She was friendly to the max, but didn’t flirt, yet Heath found her astonishingly attractive. Pulse-bumping attractive. Not that he worried about it much. He was accustomed to fast, brief relationships that went nowhere. Whether from duty or boredom, his interest in Cassie would burn out like the rest.
* * *
Cassie dipped the paintbrush into a tray filled with baby-blue color while her sister-in-law, Annalisa, worked her way around the small bedroom with a roll of masking tape and a straight edge, making sure every vertical stripe on the nursery wall was perfect.
A slight breeze drifted in the open window, a natural ventilation source, though Cassie had set a box fan in the doorway to help extract the paint fumes. The fan also kept the pack of dogs, particularly her apricot poodle, out of the way—much to Tootsie’s annoyance. Even now, the spoiled mutt lay in the hallway, gazing in with a wounded expression.
Cassie had offered to paint the room alone, but Annalisa had insisted on helping. After all, this was her baby, her project, but working together was fun. Cassie was grateful to her sister-in-law for allowing her to be part of transforming the old guest room into an adorable nursery for her brother’s baby. It was something she’d never get to do otherwise. Like her marriage, the dream of babies had died with her husband.
“The walls are looking gorgeous, Cassie.” Annalisa sat back on her heels, blond ponytail dangling, to admire their handiwork. Latte-brown already covered the upper half of the nursery and now they were striping the bottom in latte and blue. White chair rail divided the upper from the lower, and white enamel trimmed the windows, doors and the bottom of the wall. “Everything looks so crisp and clean. I can’t wait to put up the moon and star decor. Won’t it be pretty?”
Cassie rolled her tired neck and smiled softly at her beautiful sister-in-law and dear friend. “No prettier than the stars in your eyes.”
“Your brother—” Annalisa pushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear and sighed, one of those romantic, madly-in-love sounds that said more than words. “Who could imagine I’d end up on a ranch with a cowboy where I’m so happy I pinch myself every day to be sure it’s real? I really love him, Cassie. More now than ever.”
Annalisa’s devotion to Austin never failed to warm Cassie. Her brother had been through a terrible time with his emotionally disturbed first wife, and she’d despaired of ever seeing him embrace life and love again. But a lost and abused woman in the woods and a whispered prayer had changed him.
“You make him happy, too, Annalisa.”
“I know. That’s the beauty of true love. We’re both blessed, but I think I am most of all.” She rubbed a palm over her basketball belly. “Finding Austin was the best thing that ever happened to me. And having our little cowboy pretty soon is a wonderful bonus.”
Annalisa was one of those pregnant women who glowed. Her skin was clearer, her blue eyes brighter, and other than an intermittent battle with her blood pressure, she was full of energy. The ranch house had never been this clean! Not that housework was ever Cassie’s gig. She’d rather have her toenails removed. Annalisa, on the other hand, thrived on making a house a home.
“Only a few more weeks and I’ll be an aunt.” Something odd twisted in her chest.
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