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  When the doctor left, Marley closed her eyes. Justin turned her in his arms. She leaned into his tight hug, accepting his comfort as the heat of his body seeped into her limbs. She slid her arms around his waist, under his sport coat. It felt so good to depend on someone other than herself for once.

  “He’s going to be okay,” Justin murmured against her temple. His lips caressed her skin, his breath stirring her hair, and a shiver made its way up her spine. She nodded against his shoulder and opened her eyes.

  First thing she saw was a man with one arm around Kendra’s shoulders and his other hand on her knee as they sat close to each other. Kendra’s left hand rested on his, showing off a beautiful wedding ring.

  Marley’s relief over Nate was magnified by the realization that Justin wasn’t dating the perfect little woman on the couch. She lifted her head, her gaze meeting with Justin’s. His hand rose to brush a strand of hair off her cheek before his fingers cupped the back of her head.

  Her pulse kicked up as he leaned forward. Ever so softly, his lips touched to hers, and she wanted nothing more than to press closer to his strength. From the corner of her eye, she caught sight of Jordan entering the room. Her location hit with the force of a wrecking ball.

  What the hell was she doing, kissing him in front of strangers—and Chuck! Not to mention, Nate was Justin and Jordan’s half-brother and he might be responsible for their grandfather’s death!

  To protect her brother, she needed to stay away from them, Justin in particular. Clearly, she had no self-control where he was concerned.

  She stiffened in his arms and pulled free. He let her go without argument, for which she was thankful and—after her thoughts from a second ago—contradictorily disappointed. The opposite emotions set her even more on edge, and she turned her back to everyone until she reined in her feelings.

  “What’s going on?” Jordan asked into the uncomfortable silence.

  “They just finished surgery, he’s in recovery right now,” Justin told him. “The nurse will come get us when we can see him.”

  Marley swung around to protest, but Justin had turned to his friends.

  “It could be awhile, you guys really don’t have to stay,” he said. “Though we appreciate the support.”

  They rose to their feet, and Kendra gave him a hug. “Any time, Justin, you know that.”

  She moved on to Jordan as the man shook their hands. Marley glanced at the clock to see how long it’d been since the doctor came out. About three minutes. A touch on her arm startled her, and she turned to find the brunette and her husband.

  “I’m Kendra, this is my husband, Colton.”

  Marley summoned a polite smile for the both of them, feeling like the Wicked Witch of the West. “Nice to meet you.”

  “I’m glad your brother is okay,” Kendra said.

  Marley nodded. “Thank you.”

  She watched them leave. Colton said something, and Kendra looked up with a smile as she reached for his hand. Fierce, unexpected longing gripped Marley. The realization that she wanted that started her heart thumping in her chest.

  Facing Justin and Jordan again, she tried to act casual. “Nice friends.”

  “We’ve known Colton since high school,” Jordan said. “He and Kendra got married a few years back.”

  She tried to avoid looking at Justin at the mention of marriage. It worked for about three seconds, then her gaze met his as if drawn by a magnet. He regarded her intently, making her nervous as hell. Desperately searching for something to say that would make sense, she remembered Justin’s repeated use of the word ‘we’ when he spoke of seeing Nate.

  “Why are you guys here anyway?” she asked. “Company concern is great and all, but Chuck covers that.”

  Justin exchanged a glance with Jordan. Her tension increased when his solemn gaze returned to her. “We know.”

  The way he said it, he wasn’t referring to Chuck. Her heart thudded hard. Oh, God. They’d discovered Nate’s part in Karl Hunter’s death. And they were here to confront him.

  Her dismay turned to anger. They couldn’t do this now, not after all Nate had just been through. She drew herself up stiff as a board. “You can’t go in there.”

  Justin frowned. “Yes we can.”

  “No.” She gave a desperate shake of her head. “I won’t let you—I—”

  He took her arm and propelled her away from the waiting area. She began to struggle, but realized it was useless to battle him without causing a scene. Earlier she’d welcomed his strength, now she cursed it.

  “Let me go,” she demanded in a furious undertone.

  He swung her around and leaned close. “He’s our brother, too.”

  Marley froze. Of course…they knew. Her anger extinguished as quickly as it’d flared, leaving her drained. Man, this emotional roller coaster was one helluva ride. She didn’t know how much longer she could stay on.

  “I see you know, too.” Justin released her arm with the accusation.

  “Nate only told me last week.” She rubbed where his touch left her skin tingling. “How did you find out? Did Dale tell you or have you known all along?”

  Justin snorted. “No. I overheard Nate arguing with my dad at the office after he asked me for his job back.”

  Marley frowned. “He didn’t say anything.”

  “Because he doesn’t know I heard. Neither does my Dad.”

  “Oh.”

  She searched her tired mind for something more to say but the nurse arrived to take them to Nate’s room. When she sternly advised they’d only have a few minutes, Chuck said a quick goodbye, promising to stop the next day after Nate had gotten some rest. Marley gave him a grateful hug and thanked him for everything before following the nurse.

  Acutely aware of Justin and Jordan behind her, she entered the room with trepidation. When a hand squeezed her shoulder, she knew without looking it was Justin. As much as she knew she needed to shake him off, she couldn’t make herself move any faster to escape the contact. He pulled away when she approached the bed.

  “Nathan?” she whispered, reaching for her brother’s hand. His pale complexion would’ve scared her if the doctor hadn’t been so optimistic.

  Nate’s eyelids fluttered. He turned his head in her direction. “Mar?” His hoarse voice was barely audible.

  “Yeah, I’m here.”

  “I…n-need…to tell you…”

  She leaned closer, squeezing his fingers. “Shhh. Just rest. We can talk later.”

  His eyes closed again. He moved his head side to side, his hand clinging to hers weakly. “Someone was…there. He…” His voice trailed off as he took a raspy breath.

  To save him the effort, Marley said, “I know, Chuck was there. He came back and found you. He said he’d stop by tomorrow.”

  “Not…Chuck.” He opened his eyes.

  She frowned. “What do you mean? Who else was there?”

  He opened his mouth to speak just as Justin stepped closer to the bed. Marley saw Nate’s gaze focus beyond her. His eyes widened ever so slightly. He looked even farther to the left and saw Jordan. His fingers tightened. His blue gaze returned to Marley. “What are…they doing…”

  “Nate, they know. I’m sorry.”

  His Adam’s apple jerked up, then down. “I’m tired.”

  Her curiosity screamed for him to answer her earlier question, but the desperate look in his eyes prompted her to nod. “Of course you are. Just rest, okay?” She looked at her watch to see it was after ten. “I’ll be back first thing in the morning.”

  She leaned over to kiss his cheek. Before she could pull away, his left hand gripped her shoulder with surprising strength. “Be careful.”

  Her heart leapt into her throat, propelled by the warning in his whispered words and fearful concern in his blue eyes. Be careful of what? Or whom?

  A brisk, authoritative knock at the door drew everyone’s attention. “I’m sorry,” the nurse said as she strode into the room. “You’ll have to leave
now. He needs his rest.”

  Nate released Marley’s arm with a final squeeze, and she straightened reluctantly. She wanted to stay with him, find out what he meant. A glance at the stern nurse told her it’d have to wait.

  “I’ll be by tomorrow, too,” Justin said.

  Marley tried to catch Nate’s reaction to that statement, but the nurse got in the way as she urged them out the door. Jordan didn’t say anything, but in the hall, he turned to Justin.

  “He looks like Dad,” he stated flatly. The undisguised dislike on Jordan’s face surprised Marley.

  “I can see it now, too,” Justin agreed. He turned to Marley. “What was that about in there?”

  “Your guess is as good as mine.” Though her imagination came up with a few guesses, and she didn’t like a single one of them.

  “Was he working late?”

  “Must’ve been. Chuck said he’d returned for some paperwork and found him unconscious in the basement.”

  “Did Chuck say if he saw anyone else?”

  Marley shook her head. “He didn’t mention anything and I had no reason to ask.”

  “I’ll call him.”

  “I’ll talk to Nate in the morning,” Marley reminded him.

  “We’ll talk to him together,” Justin corrected. “And I’ll still call Chuck.”

  Marley began to argue, but one look at his expression, and she decided to save her breath. Wouldn’t matter anyway, she’d just get here before him tomorrow. Right now, she needed a long, hot shower and her bed. To be held in his arms again wouldn’t be so bad either, but she couldn’t go there.

  “Fine. Goodnight.”

  Nate’s warning echoed as she started for the exit. He’d clammed up the moment he’d seen Justin and Jordan in the room. Her mind told her one of them could be the ‘he’ Nate referred to; instinct told her no. Still, if it wasn’t Chuck, then who’d been at the job site with Nate?

  Was it possible his accident hadn’t been an accident at all? A shiver of apprehension left her chilled. Who would want to hurt Nate? And why would he warn her to be careful?

  The disintegrated roof truss that had almost crushed her at the Forrester job site a couple weeks ago flashed in her mind. She’d never come so close to death. Could Justin have deliberately orchestrated the cable break to look like an accident? Or Jordan? And if so, why?

  Hugging an arm across her front as she stepped out into the cool night air, she rubbed from elbow to shoulder with her free hand to warm herself. It didn’t help when she thought again about Jordan’s reaction to seeing Nate.

  No. She didn’t want to believe it. Too many lives had been put in danger, including Justin’s. Their involvement in her accident made no sense.

  What about Nate’s?

  “Marley, wait up.”

  Justin’s voice made her flinch but she didn’t slow down. He caught up a few steps later. She looked back over her shoulder for Jordan. As if reading her mind, Justin said, “Jordan went home.”

  She continued toward her truck. “I thought he was your ride.”

  “I’m going home with you.”

  Marley stopped. Justin took another step forward before turning to face her.

  Be careful. Nate’s warning echoed in her mind, and she lifted her chin. “Says who?”

  “Says me. Says your brother,” he added. When she would’ve argued that, he said, “I heard him in there.”

  “Maybe he was talking about you.”

  “He wasn’t.” His gaze didn’t waver from hers.

  “Easy for you to say, but I don’t know that.” Looking into his eyes, though, she did know. She felt it deep inside as surely as she knew her own name. Her jaw clenched in frustration as she brushed past him. “It’s only been two weeks.”

  “You don’t think you can trust me?” She heard the frown in his voice as he fell into step alongside her.

  She shook her head, not to answer his question, but in denial of the feelings she refused to acknowledge. They weren’t realistic after such a short period of time. “It’s not long enough. It’s just…not long enough,” she muttered to herself.

  “Marley—”

  “You’re not coming home with me,” she said. They’d reached the driver’s side of her truck, and she dug her keys out to unlock the door.

  “You don’t have a choice.”

  She whirled to face him. “Since when?”

  He reached past her to open the door and while her attention focused on that move, he swiped her keys from her hand. “Now.” He cut her protest short by turning her toward the truck. “Get in, I’m driving.”

  She resisted. “I can drive myself, thank you.”

  He stopped propelling her forward, but didn’t let go of her arm. “Anyone can see you’re exhausted and not in the best frame of mind to be behind the wheel right now.”

  As if she needed him to remind her how awful she looked. He was close enough for her to smell his cologne again, and she fought against inhaling the pleasant scent too deep. She looked down at his mouth, inundated with memories of his lips on hers. Quickly, she turned away.

  “Nothing’s going to happen unless you want it to.”

  It scared the hell out of her that it might already be too late for that. She climbed across the driver’s side and deliberately misunderstood. “I want to go home.”

  She settled into her seat as he started the truck and headed out of the parking lot. Once on the road, thoughts of Nate took over. As they approached an intersection, she sat up straighter. “Turn left here.”

  Justin took his foot off the gas and lightly applied the brake. “That won’t get you home.”

  “Just turn.”

  She knew he’d figured out where they were going when he put on the signal for the next turn that led to the Forrester construction site before she told him to.

  “Who do you think was there with him?” Justin asked after a few moments. “Or do you think the anesthetic made him groggy?”

  “I don’t know.”

  He’d barely put the truck in park before she opened the door and headed toward the building. Justin met her at the front of the truck and halted her in the glare of the headlights.

  Annoyance flared until he cautioned, “Slow down. Take a look around first.”

  She relaxed against his hold, recognizing the wisdom in his suggestion. Her gaze skimmed over the shadowed frame of the building, the darker trailer and the…

  She huffed out a breath. “What am I looking for?”

  He scanned the area himself. “Anything out of place, anything that looks suspicious.”

  She looked again. Nothing. With an impatient sound, she started forward again, toward the corner where Chuck had said Nate fell. Just past a pile of scrap lumber, she halted dead in her tracks, her gaze focused on the ground. Her heart thumped. “That’s not a boot print.”

  Justin hunkered down for a closer inspection of the smooth-soled print in the dirt. “Looks like a man’s dress shoe.”

  “The guys are required to wear steel-toes.”

  “And steel-toes have treads.” Justin straightened.

  “Maybe one of the paramedics?”

  His skeptical expression dashed her hope. “I wouldn’t think so.”

  “They could’ve been on call, but out to dinner or something…maybe?”

  He only shrugged. Damn it. She wanted him to agree with her, to reassure her that someone wasn’t out to hurt her brother on purpose.

  No, she thought. Better to figure out and face what was happening instead of lulling herself into a false sense of security. Denial only put Nate in more danger.

  They searched around a little longer but didn’t come up with anything more. Back in the truck, Justin suddenly shifted from reverse to park, exited, and loped back toward the building. She watched him grab a piece of scrap lumber and had an ‘ah-ha’ moment when he marked off the size of the footprint on the wood before returning.

  “Figured we could get a size off it, just in case
.” He handed the two by four to her so he could shift gears.

  “Good thinking,” she said, wishing she’d have thought of it. In her defense, she was tired. She’d really pushed herself on that run in hopes of being able to pass out into her bed tonight and actually sleep. It seemed a good idea at the time.

  But the closer they got to the house, the more nervous she became. The last time he’d been there, she’d been ready to sleep with him. Now he’d definitely spend the night, but…

  Nothing’s going to happen unless you want it to.

  Problem was, she wanted it to. Terrifyingly enough, more than she’d wanted anything in her life. But without him knowing the truth about Nate’s involvement in his grandfather’s death, everything became a lie. Being intimate with him under those circumstances would cheapen what they shared—dirty something that should be special.

  She didn’t want her first time to be contaminated by such an ugly deception.

  Chapter 18

  Justin stretched out on Nate’s bed, his borrowed tee shirt a bit tight, but the sweatpants were okay. Marley had directed him to Nate’s room before informing him she was taking a shower, and she’d see him in the morning.

  He’d stared after her, annoyance at her distant attitude mingling with disappointment. Not that he’d expected anything, but it would’ve been nice to sit and relax with her. Talk a little.

  He rolled his eyes and shifted on the bed. Idiot, just admit it. You were hoping to pick up where you left off last time. Sure, hoping, but not expecting, so disappointment was allowed, wasn’t it?

  The noise of running water ceased, underscored by the slide of a shower door. Images bombarded him. At a time when he should be considering the strange twists in his life, he could only imagine Marley stepping from the shower. He pictured swirling steam and little rivers of water running down her body until she soaked them up with a towel.

  Never in his life had he imagined he’d be jealous of a towel.

  He rolled on his side, away from the wall closest to the shower, and thumped the pillow. It was going to be a long night.

  The sound of the door closing across the hall drew his attention moments later. That’s when it dawned on him that lying in Nate’s room, with two closed doors between them, wasn’t the way to go about protecting her from whatever possible danger Nate had warned agaist.