on the baby Cassie made it to the kitchen and turned on the kettle. She heard the shower running and tried to concentrate on making tea. The wall clock read just past eight-thirty and she hoped once Tanner had showered he’d give in to the jet lag and crash out for the night.
But not so.
Fifteen minutes later he appeared in the doorway. He wore low-rise, loose-fitting jeans and a white Henley shirt that did little to disguise the washboard belly and broad shoulders. His hair was damp and flopped over his forehead.
So, he’s as sexy as sin.
It wasn’t exactly a news flash. The first time she’d met Tanner she’d been aware of his many physical attributes. Doug had joked how his brother had gotten all the looks in the family. Not that he’d been unattractive, but he certainly hadn’t possessed the classic handsomeness of the man now hovering in the doorway.
“Tea?” she asked and tried not to think about how the air seemed suddenly thicker.
He shrugged. “Coffee?”
Cassie nodded and grabbed a couple of mugs. “Is instant okay?” she asked. “Or I can put the percolator on for—”
“Instant is fine,” he said easily.
She relaxed a little and began making the coffee. “Now that you’ve showered and changed do you feel human again?”
“Yeah. I don’t mind flying, but I always seem to get a chronic case of jet lag.”
“Doug loved flying,” she said as she poured his coffee and then sugared her tea. She remembered that Tanner liked his coffee with only a little milk. Funny how some memories stuck.
“My brother always was the adventurous one.”
Cassie didn’t quite believe that. While Doug had joined the army and made a career as a soldier, she knew Tanner had traveled the world before settling in South Dakota to work his special kind of magic with horses. He had the swagger and confidence of a man who knew who he was. Now she wondered how much the accident had changed his life and the work he loved.
“Can you still ride?” she asked, figuring there were things that had to be said and she needed time to work up to the hard questions.
“Not yet,” he replied and came farther into the room.
Cassie glanced up. “When you called to say you couldn’t come to the funeral because you were in hospital I kind of zoned out and didn’t ask many questions about what had happened to you. I think I was still in shock at the time.”
“Understandable,” he said and walked around the table. He pulled out a chair and sat down. “I was in a bit of shock myself. I guess I always thought Doug was invincible.” He tapped his leg in a kind of ironic gesture “Turns out, no one is.”
Cassie brought the mugs to the table and sat down. “So, what happened?”
“You mean the accident? I got in the way of a frightened horse and was trampled.”
It sounded oversimplified and she raised her brows. “And?”
“A busted leg, broken wrist, four fractured ribs and concussion. Cuts and abrasions. And I lost my spleen.”
“A horse did that?” she asked, horrified by the seriousness of his injuries.
He sipped his coffee. “I was at a friend’s ranch. His young daughter got between the colt and the fence and I pulled her out of the way. But I wasn’t quick enough to make it back through the corral gate. The horse struck me in the chest and once I was down that was it. There was nothing anyone could have done.”
Cassie’s throat tightened. “You could have been killed.”
He shrugged lightly. “I spent a month in hospital and the next six working to get back on my feet.”
“It happened only a few days or so before Doug died,” she said quietly, thinking of the irony. “It must have been hard for you, being in hospital and getting the news your brother was gone.”
He shrugged again, but Cassie wasn’t fooled. There was something in his expression that told her losing his brother had been shattering. She’d always thought Tanner to be aloof and insensitive. Doug had called him a free spirit, the kind of man who would never settle down, never lay down roots. But she wasn’t so sure. She decided to ask him. There was no point in being coy. There was too much at stake. “What are you really doing here, Tanner?”
He sat back slowly in his seat and watched her. “I told you.”
“To see your nephew?” It seemed too easy. Too simple.
“That’s right.”
“How long are you staying?”
He pushed the mug aside. “I’m not sure.”
Cassie’s back stiffened. “Then I have to ask you,” she said and pushed her shoulders back. “Are you kicking us out of this house?”
Tanner had expected the question. He knew she’d want to know about the house. It had to be hard for her. She’d lived in the house since she was a child. When her grandfather’s health had declined, the house was put on the market and sold...to Doug. Tanner had no idea why his brother had bought the place. But he knew Cassie had a deep connection to the home she’d once shared with her grandfather.
“Of course not.”
She let out a long breath, as though she’d been holding it. He noticed her knuckles were white around the mug. “Oh, okay.”
“This is still your home, Cassie.”
“But Doug—”
Tanner straightened his spine. “It’s still your home,” he said again, firmer this time.
“For the moment. And according to Doug’s lawyer, the house belongs to you.”
“An oversight, obviously.”
It wasn’t the truth. It wasn’t even close to it. But Tanner wouldn’t divulge that knowledge. There was no point. Doug was dead. His brother had left a mess behind—one Tanner had to clean up before he returned to South Dakota.
“I don’t understand what you mean.”
He lied again. “I’m sure Doug had every intention of—”
“I’m not sure what Doug intended,” she said, cutting him off.
But Tanner did. Doug had made his thoughts about the house and the child Cassie carried very clear. He drank some coffee and looked at her. She was so effortlessly pretty. His insides stirred and he quickly pushed the thought aside.
“It makes no difference now.”
She shook
