through tears.
He grinned, holding out his hand to Mike. “Let me guess. I need to congratulate you.”
Mike stood, his grin threatening to split his lean face. “You’d better. Layla has finally agreed to marry me.” He reached toward her, and the lovely lady vet stood, stepping into the circle of his arm.
“How could I refuse?” She kissed his cheek lightly. “Strange as it seems, I love the guy.”
A handshake didn’t seem enough. He grabbed his brother in a hug and wrapped his other arm around Layla. He bent to kiss her cheek.
“Welcome. I always wanted another sister.”
“Oh my goodness—Holly.” Mom wiped tears from her cheeks with both palms. “We have to call and tell her. She’ll be so excited.”
“You mean she’ll be mad that I knew first.” Holly, as the elder twin by ten minutes, always wanted to know everything and do everything first.
Mike punched him lightly on the arm. “That’s what it is to live at home again, buddy. You get to be first.”
Mike meant it as a joke, of course, but it was yet another reminder that other people were getting on with their lives while he was stuck in limbo, waiting. Just waiting.
“Right.” He managed a smile, but the stricken look in Mike’s eyes told him Mike had realized what he’d said. “Relax, Mike. It’s good to be one up on Hol for once.”
Mom seemed to have missed that byplay, which was just as well. She caught Layla by the hand, drawing her toward the kitchen. “Come with me to call her, Layla. She’ll want to talk to you.”
“Hey, won’t she want to talk to me?” Mike made a transparent effort to sound hurt.
“Not unless you want to talk about white lace and orange blossoms.” Layla patted his cheek. “Consider yourself lucky to miss the girl talk.”
Mom and Layla disappeared into the kitchen. Ken had to grin at the expression on Mike’s face.
“Hey, didn’t you realize that was what was coming next? A wedding, with all the trimmings.”
Mike shrugged. “I didn’t think. I mean, Layla’s kind of unconventional. I thought maybe we’d just get married, not have a big production.”
“Layla might let you get away with that, but Mom and Holly certainly wouldn’t. Brace yourself, big brother. You’re in for it now.”
Mike squared his shoulders, as if prepared to face anything. “Well, it’s worth it to end up married to Layla. She’s one in a million. What she sees in me and a rundown ranch—”
“Guess there’s no accounting for tastes.” He tried to speak lightly, but there was a lump in his throat. “You’re a lucky man.”
“I am.” Mike said the words as if they were a vow. “You ought to try it, Ken. Quit playing the field and get serious about someone.”
“Playing the field is the last thing I’ve been doing. Trust me, I was too busy to think much about dating. And lately—”
Lately he’d been shuttled from one hospital to another, listening to one Air Force doctor after another.
Mike seemed to pick up on what he didn’t say. “Well, you’re home now, for awhile at least. Why don’t you make some nice Springs woman happy by asking her out?”
“You sound like Holly. Don’t tell me you’re going to turn into a matchmaker, too?”
Although, come to think of it, he did have a date of sorts, with Julianna. He’d better not let Holly get wind of that, or she’d never let him forget her efforts.
“No, no.” Mike shuddered. “None of that for me. I don’t understand heifers, let alone women.”
“Well, you’ve got Layla to take care of that now.”
“Right.” His face grew serious. “After as close to death as we came in that cave-in, I’m not letting her get away from me. Guess you know it was Julianna Red Feather who found us. Are you seeing anything of her over at the construction company?”
“Some.” Mike didn’t need to know how much. Or how recently. “I’ve seen her work with that dog of hers. Pretty impressive, what she does.”
“Nobody knows that better than I do.” His brow furrowed. “I heard from somebody that coming in after Layla and me was the first time she’d been out with her team since that big hurricane last year in Florida. I guess she went through a pretty bad time there.”
It wasn’t any of his business, was it? And yet he couldn’t help caring about anything that had to do with Julianna.
“I hadn’t heard about that, but she’s training with her team now. They were out at the construction yard running a drill.”
“Good. Seems like something too important to give up.” Mike shook his head, smiling. “Funny to think of little Julianna doing that, doesn’t it?”
“Five-foot-two inches of nerve and muscle, that’s Julianna.” She had to have enough courage for three people to do what she did, and he was always intrigued by courage.
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