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  He kept an unobtrusive eye on her and the boys from the barn for the remainder of the morning. He couldn’t believe Joel and Britt had so casually left their children in her care. Sure, she seemed harmless. Didn’t look or even act the type that’d steal cars and wield knives, but Colton knew better. Yes, he was insanely attracted to her, and yes, he was slowly beginning to respect her, but until she came clean and revealed her secrets, he couldn’t trust her. He wasn’t willing to leave her alone with the kids all afternoon.

  After lunch, she walked to the barn office with the three boys, who asked if they could play in the hayloft. He warned them to be careful, and they disappeared in a flash. Kendra requested to brush one of the horses.

  “Sure. Cinnamon isn’t overly protective, she’ll probably let you brush her colt, too.”

  Her quick, appreciative smile hit him in the gut. It lit her brown eyes and made him want to see it again. Damn her for continually surprising him and throwing him off balance. He didn’t want to like her when he still didn’t trust her. A firm reminder of how she’d tossed him over her shoulder did the trick. Not that he particularly liked the memory, but it was the quickest way to stop the unruly train of thoughts racing through his mind.

  He returned to his bills and wrote out the final check of what felt like fifty for his father’s medical expenses. The whispers and giggles of Cody, Dustin and Noah up in the loft registered on his consciousness. They made an occasional detour downstairs, and their antics brought a smile to his face.

  To be young again with no worries, he thought, staring at a five hundred dollar payment for the latest batch of prescriptions. Blowing out a sigh, he stuffed it into the envelope, sealed it and set it aside before deciding he’d had enough for the day.

  Colton strode outside to collect his Arabian stallion, Lucky, from the paddock, but noticed the water trough needed to be filled. The faucet and hose were just inside the barn doors. With a practiced flick of his wrist, he turned the water on and reached for the sprayer attached to the end of the hose so he could unwind it from the reel.

  Cold water showered him from head to toe. Colton leapt back. He eyed the water arching from the sprayer. What the hell? A muffled giggle from the hayloft brought him around in time to see three heads duck behind a hay bale.

  “Little brats.” A reluctant smile tugged at his lips as he turned his head away from the spray and reached to turn off the faucet. Water trickled from the sprayer, and he now saw that the handle had been tied open with a piece of twine. He looked toward the hayloft. The boys had hunkered down until all he could see was a tuft of Dustin’s dark hair. They wanted to play, did they?

  Grinning, he spun the faucet handle to full blast and approached the opening to the loft. Holding the hose at the ready, he waited patiently for curiosity to lure the kittens up.

  It didn’t take long. First there was a flurry of hushed exchanges, then they popped up; one, two, three. Colton aimed the sprayer and doused them before they had any clue what’d hit them. His devilish laugh overrode their surprised shrieks.

  Kendra rushed from the stall as Colton shook his dripping hair out of his eyes. She frowned at the hose in his hand. “What are you doing?”

  He lowered the sprayer without losing his smile. “Payback.” Raising his voice, he added, “When you mess with the big boys, there’ll always be payback.”

  He laughed the exaggerated devil laugh again. Kendra shook her head but he thought he glimpsed a smile as she turned away. The boys made their way down, teeth chattering, bodies shaking.

  “Little bit cold, guys?” he asked, because he was.

  “We’re going to change,” Cody said with an irrepressible smile. Noah looked less than cheerful, and Dustin just looked miserable. Colton took pity on him and scooped him onto his shoulders, calling out to Kendra that they were going to change.

  By the time they were all dry, the riders had returned. After the bus departed, and Dustin left to spend the night at a friend’s house, Britt invited Colton, Kendra and Noah to dinner.

  Noah turned to Kendra halfway through the meal. “Ken, can Cody sleep over?”

  She glanced at Joel and Britt for confirmation, and Britt said, “I don’t mind if you don’t.”

  “Please, Aunt Ken?” Cody begged.

  She nodded, and the boys slapped a high five. Colton grinned, thinking how close the two had become. His gaze shifted, catching a sad look on Kendra’s face a split second before she smiled. He contemplated the fleeting emotion. Why sad when the two were obviously having fun? Did she regret not revealing their existence sooner after their mother’s death? Or was she anticipating an imminent departure? Those questions joined the one that was always in the back of his mind. Why were they really here now? And more recently, instead of wondering how soon before they left, he wanted to know how long would they stay?

  Dinner clean up went fast with everyone helping, and when the last dish was put away, Britt offered the guys a beer before turning to Kendra. Colton saw her stifle a yawn as he slowly followed Joel toward the living room.

  “I’m pretty tired,” Kendra said. “I think I’ll go lay on the couch while the boys watch a movie.”

  Shortly after, Britt went upstairs, leaving Joel and Colton to watch the baseball game. Now was the perfect time to discuss his concerns about Kendra with Joel. Trouble was, he’d put the discussion off for far too long and was unsure how to broach the subject.

  As if he’d read his mind, Joel provided the perfect opening while Colton took a long drink of his beer.

  “Sure is nice to have Kendra and Noah here. Though it’s still hard to believe I have a sister and a brother.”

  Colton tensed. He took another pull from his bottle before commenting, “It’s a little strange how they just showed up out of the blue.”

  “That was a shock,” Joel agreed. “But, I guess no more so for me than it was for her when she found out.”

  Colton sat forward, resting his elbows on his knees as he fiddled with the beer label. “Yeah, but seems to me she had a couple years to get used to the idea. What took her so long?”

  Joel shot him a look, and Colton knew he heard the suspicion in his tone. Hell, he hadn’t attempted to hide it.

  “Some people need time,” Joel answered, his calm voice at odds with his expression.

  “Two years?” Colton shot him a level look. “All I’m saying is, you really don’t know anything about her. How do you really know?”

  Joel sat forward. “I’m not stupid, Colton. I used to be an investigator, remember? She checks out, everything she’s told me checks out.”

  Yeah, but what about what she hasn’t told you?

  “She’s my mother twenty-four years ago,” Joel continued. “Every so often when I look at her, it takes a couple seconds to realize it’s Kendra, not Vivian. I feel a connection with her and Noah that I’ve only ever felt with my father, my wife, and my kids, and…I just know.”

  Dull pain lanced through Colton’s chest. He’d pushed and Joel’s warning was clear; it was none of his business. Though only ten years separated them, he looked up to Joel as a father figure, or big brother. There was so much Joel didn’t know, but Colton backed off. If he didn’t, it could go one of two ways. He was right and Joel would be pissed he didn’t open his mouth sooner. Or he was wrong, and Joel would be pissed he’d tried to cause problems between him and his sister. Either way jeopardized their friendship, and he didn’t have a whole lot else in this world.

  Acknowledging his reasons were somewhat selfish, he justified his continued silence by vowing to be the first line of defense. Whatever Kendra was up to, he’d just have to prevent her from succeeding.

  He finished his beer and the inning, then said goodnight.

  Joel walked him to the back door. “I do appreciate your concern. It means a lot that you cared to ask.”

  Colton nodded with a knot in his throat before making his way across the yard. Entering the guesthouse, his determination to figure out what wa
s going on grew. Cody and Noah sat on the living room floor playing cards and watching TV. At first glance, he thought Kendra watched the movie, too, but a second look revealed she was out cold. He quietly shut the door and looked at his watch.

  “Time for bed guys.”

  “Aw, come on, Colton,” Cody protested. “Mom said we could stay up.”

  “Then take the game to your room, and you can play a little longer in there.”

  “You can’t say,” Noah argued as Cody gathered the cards.

  Colton kept his tone friendly but firm. “Your sister is sleeping, so, yes, I can say.”

  Noah cast him a mutinous glance, but they both went to Noah’s bedroom. Colton wondered briefly why the kid suddenly showed him such dislike.

  Noah was quickly forgotten when he faced the couch. His gaze was drawn to Kendra like a horse to its grain. Her dark lashes rested against her cheeks, and she was curled on her side with her knees drawn up. She looked like an innocent little girl.

  His gaze swept the length of her, drawn to the curve of breasts and hips, lingering where her pajama top had ridden up a few inches above the bottoms. His blood heated, and he was forced to revise his thought. Nope, no girl here, she’s all woman.

  Reining in his imagination, a glance at the loud TV made his mouth quirk. So much for her claim of not being able to sleep with the noise. Yet another lie, trivial though it may be.

  The odd angle that her head rested on the couch arm convinced him she’d be more comfortable in her bed, so he sidled up to the couch and softly said her name. She didn’t stir. Two subsequent attempts in a little louder voice yielded no results.

  Noise fib aside, he thought about the number of mornings he’d heard her in the kitchen well before dawn. She may sleep like the dead, but maybe a few hours at a time was the only sleep she actually got? His hand hovered above her shoulder, bare save for the thin strap of her top. Now he hesitated waking her when he could easily carry her to her room.

  Just like a little girl? his subconscious mocked.

  Chapter Nine

  Kendra woke to find Colton’s face directly above hers. Disorientated and alarmed, it took a moment for her to realize he’d squatted next to the couch and was lifting her into his arms.

  “What are you doing?” She struggled to sit up.

  Thrown off balance, Colton said, “Just wait…hold on—”

  “I’ll give you hold on…”

  Her lunge upward made him lose his battle with gravity. He landed on his butt and Kendra fell on him, grabbing his shoulders to keep from tumbling all the way to the floor. As it was, he brought his hands up to her waist to steady her and their noses ended up less than three inches apart.

  She froze between the initial fear of her unexpected awakening in a man’s arms, and the sudden insane desire to press her lips to his. She could smell a hint of the beer he’d drank under the stronger scent of mint. Staring into his eyes, she finally blinked. With that brief break in eye contact, she realized she sat on his lap, her butt cradled by his muscular thighs. Her cheeks flamed as she searched for an apology.

  Wait a second! He started this. She squirmed to get off his lap. “Where’s Noah and Cody?”

  “Noah’s room playing cards.” His voice sounded a bit rough.

  Another attempt to leverage herself off him elicited a groan. Then his large warm hands spanned her waist, assisting her to her feet. She slapped at them, then watched him pick himself off the ground.

  “What exactly were you doing?”

  “I was just going to put you to bed,” he said quietly.

  “I bet.” Kendra made no attempt to hide her distrust.

  Colton stiffened. “To sleep,” he clarified.

  “Do my legs look broken to you? Keep your hands off.”

  “No problem,” he bit out. “Besides, I prefer blondes, remember?”

  She was sick of hearing that, too, and scoffed. “Men take whatever they can get, preference be dammed.”

  His eyes narrowed, and it was obvious her veiled accusation offended him.

  “Not this one,” he stated, spinning to walk away.

  “Prove it.”

  He turned back with a look of disbelief. “What?”

  Yeah, what? Okay, so maybe she was sick of the lies he told…or, more accurately—and fairly—the lies of men in her past. But Colton was so sure of himself she couldn’t resist demonstrating to him how weak all men really were.

  “I said, prove it,” she repeated with unmistakable challenge.

  His gaze swept over her, heating her on the inside. “And how do you propose I do that?”

  Great. She’d started this one, now she couldn’t back down. Then again…maybe what she really wanted was another glimpse of the feelings he’d stirred the other day when his lips covered hers. Something had awakened that now refused to go away whenever he was near. The dream she’d been having just before waking in his arms didn’t help, either.

  Desperately nervous, Kendra forced the next step to the last, stopping inches from his tall body. His warmth enveloped her, heating her on the outside. He didn’t move a muscle save for the one ticking along his clenched jaw. Then she noticed the pulse at the base of his throat beating in time with her own.

  She reached up, linked her hands behind his neck and pulled his head down as she rose up on her tiptoes. Though he’d closed his eyes, his lips were firm, cool and unresponsive. Heart racing as her own lashes lowered, she lightly brushed her mouth back and forth on his. Colton stood still. Forcing herself to continue, she increased pressure and tentatively pressed her tongue against the seam of his lips. Still nothing. Even his hands remained rigid at his sides.

  Good lord, had she read him wrong?

  His sudden indrawn breath revealed she hadn’t. A crazy sense of relief softened her mouth against his, easing the brash determination to prove her point. She angled her head, senses registering the fullness of his bottom lip along with the taste of beer and mint. Basic instinct took over and her tongue slid between his parted lips as she unconsciously sought the heady experience of her earlier dream.

  Colton’s shoulders bunched beneath her forearms, her only warning before he gathered her tight against his hard body with a deep, surrendering groan.

  Distantly, an alarm bell rang in her head. The rational part of her brain demanded she end the kiss. She’d achieved her objective. There was no further reason to continue.

  Except…he was so warm. And the kiss that she began, he’d just completely taken over, and she hadn’t thought that far ahead.

  She’d kissed a few men in an attempt to move on after the rape, but never had she been kissed as good as Colton kissed. Nothing prepared her for the onslaught of sensation that wiped out coherent thought as his mouth alternately coaxed and demanded her response.

  He caught her bottom lip between his teeth, sucked lightly, then stroked his tongue against hers. All the while, he held her tight, his hands threading her hair.

  She became aware of the beat of his heart against hers at the same time she felt something soft, yet firm against the back of her knees. Colton reached out with one hand to brace their decent, and she clung to his shoulders as he lowered her…onto her bed.

  It took a dazed moment for her to realize he’d maneuvered them into her bedroom. The fact that she hadn’t even been aware they’d moved was as sobering as finding out her half-brother wanted her dead. When Colton’s weight pressed her into the mattress, she felt a hard bulge through his jeans against her thigh.

  The ramifications of her current position hit home with dizzying force. She stiffened in panic. Sensations that had been so wondrous moments ago paled with the memory of how she’d tried to fight Jeremy. How he’d beaten her into submission. Paralyzing helplessness washed over her, wiping out any thought of self-defense.

  Colton felt for the hem of Kendra’s pajama top. The moment his palm connected with the silky skin at her waist, he felt her tremble beneath him. Then her entire body went rigid,
including her lips. He lifted his head, his hand frozen on her ribcage. “What’s the matter?” he asked gruffly.

  The fear in her expressive eyes shocked him. She’d kissed him; why would she be afraid now? His confusion compounded when she drew a shuddering breath and a growing determination sharpened her features.

  “I believe I’ve proved my point,” she stated.

  Her icy tone, shaky though it was, hit him like a bucket of mountain spring run-off tossed in his face. Comprehension dawned and anger swept away concern. He shoved off the bed with a single violent push. She flinched, but he didn’t pause on his way to the door. He was more furious with himself than he was with her; he’d played right into her hands.

  The door he’d closed only minutes earlier banged against the wall and swung half way closed as he strode through. His anger carried him outside, straight to the barn, into Lucky’s stall. The Arabian approached, searching for the treats he usually kept in his pockets and Colton fed him absently while his mind whirled.

  He was a complete idiot. He’d known what she was doing—hell, she’d flat out challenged him to prove her wrong. And he hadn’t even been able to last a damned minute before any rational thoughts flew out the frickin’ window. What the hell was it about her that he couldn’t resist?

  He hadn’t been lying—he did prefer blondes. He couldn’t remember a single woman he’d dated more than once that hadn’t been blonde. He’d even harbored a crush on Britt for the first year of his employment, before he’d matured and recognized their friendship deserved better than that.

  But, more confusing than his attraction, was Kendra’s enthusiastic response, then the dizzying one-eighty she’d pulled when they hit the bed. Further consideration determined she’d purposely let it go that far to effectively prove her point. Hell, if she hadn’t called the screeching halt, heaven help him, brunette or blonde, he’d be in bed with her right now.