to the point that the State of Colorado ordered they be put in foster homes. Dillon had appealed that decision and won. Lucky for the four youngest Westmorelands, Dillon had known their acts of rebellion were their way of handling the grief of losing their parents. Now Aidan was in medical school; Adrian was working on his PhD in engineering; Bane had joined the navy and Bailey was taking classes at a local university while working part-time.
Aidan’s thoughts shifted back to Jillian, although he didn’t want them to. The birthday party yesterday had been a surprise, and the shocked look on her face had been priceless—adorable and a total turn-on. If he’d had any doubt about just how much he was attracted to her, that doubt had been dispelled when he saw her.
She had walked out onto the patio expecting a going-away party for his sister Gemma, who had married Callum and was moving to Australia. Instead it had been a surprise birthday party for her. After shedding a few happy tears, which he would have loved to lick away, she had hugged Pam and Dillon for thinking of her on her twenty-first birthday. From what he’d heard, it was the first time Jillian had had a party since she was a little kid.
While everyone had rushed over to congratulate her, he had hung back, checking her out. The sundress looked cute on her and it was obvious she wasn’t the seventeen-year-old he’d met four years ago. Her face was fuller, her features stunning and her body...
Where had those curves come from? There’s no way he would have missed them before. She was short compared with his six-foot-two-inch height. He figured she stood no taller than five feet three inches in bare feet. And speaking of her feet, her polished toes, a flaming red, had been another turn-on. Pam might not want to hear it, but her sister was Hot with a capital H.
When he realized he had been the only one who hadn’t wished her a happy birthday, he was about to do so when his phone rang. He had slipped off the patio to take the call from a friend from college who was trying to fix him up on a blind date for next weekend.
When he returned to the patio after finishing his call, everyone else had gone inside to watch a movie or play cards, and she’d been alone. She would never know how hard it had been for him to sit across from her without touching her. She looked good and smelled good, as well.
Jillian Novak had definitely caught his eye.
But Dillon and Pam would pluck out that same eye if he didn’t squash what he was feeling.
Everybody knew how protective Pam was when it came to her sisters. Just like everyone knew Aidan wasn’t one to take women seriously. And he didn’t plan to change his behavior now. So the best thing for him to do while he was home for the next three days was to keep his distance from Jillian as he’d always done.
So why did I get her phone number and give her mine, for crying out loud?
Okay, he reasoned quickly, it had been a crazy moment, one he now regretted. The good thing was he doubted she would ever call him for help and he would make it a point never to call her.
That was a good plan, one he intended to stick to. Now, if he could only stop thinking about her that would be great. Glancing down at the medical journal he was supposed to be reading, he tried to focus on the words. Within a few minutes he’d read one interesting article and was about to start on another.
“Will you do me a big favor?”
Aidan glanced up to stare into the face of his sister Bailey. She used to be the baby in the Denver Westmoreland family but that had changed now that Dillon and Pam had a son, and Aidan’s brother Ramsey and his wife, Chloe, had a daughter.
“Depends on what the favor is?”
“I promised Jill that I would go riding with her and show her the section of Westmoreland Country that she hasn’t seen yet. Now they’ve called me to come in to work. I need you to go with Jillian instead.”
“Just show her another day,” he said, quickly deciding that going horseback riding with Jillian wasn’t a smart idea.
“That was my original plan but I can’t reach her on her cell phone. We were to meet at Gemma Lake, and you know how bad phone reception is out there. She’s already there waiting for me.”
He frowned. “Can’t you ask someone else?”
“I did but everyone is busy.”
His frown deepened. “And I’m not?”
Bailey rolled her eyes. “Not like everyone else. You’re just reading a magazine.”
He figured there was no use explaining to Bailey that his reading was important. He just so happened to be reading about a medical breakthrough where the use of bionic eyes had been tested as a way to restore sight with good results.
“Well, will you do it?”
He closed the medical journal and placed it aside. “You’re positive there’s no one else who can do it?”
“Yes, and she really wants to see it. This is her home now and—”
“Her home? She’s away at school most of the time,” he said.
“And so are you, Adrian, Stern and Canyon, and this is still your home. So what’s your point?”
He decided not to argue with her. There were times when his baby sister could read him like an open book and he didn’t want her to do that in this instance. It wouldn’t take her long to figure out the story written on his pages was all about Jillian.
“Fine. I’ll go.”
“Act a little enthused, will you? You’ve been kind of standoffish with Jillian and her sisters since Dillon married Pam.”
“I have not.”
“You have, too. You should take time to get to know them. They’re part of the family now. Besides, you and Jill will both become doctors one day so already you have a common interest.”
He hoped like hell that would remain their only common interest. It was up to him to make sure it did. “Whatever,” he said, standing and walking toward the door, pausing to grab his Stetson off the hat rack.
“And, Aidan?”
He stopped before opening the door and turned around, somewhat annoyed. “What now?”
“Try to be nice. You can act like a grizzly bear at times.”
That was her opinion. Deciding not to disagree with her, because you could never win with Bailey, he walked out of the house.
Jillian heard the sound of a rider approaching and turned around, using her hand to shield her eyes from the glare of the sun. Although she couldn’t make out the identity of the rider, she knew it wasn’t Bailey.
The rider came closer and when her heart began pounding hard in her chest, she knew it was Aidan. What was he doing here? And where was Bailey?
Over breakfast she and Bailey had agreed to go riding after lunch. Because the property
