Tim threw a quick glance Banner's way, then looked at Lucy again. “What do you do, Lucy?”

“Dr. Guerin is a mathematics professor,” Banner surprised her by saying before she could respond.

“Dr. Guerin?” Tim's eyes widened. “You're a college professor?”

“Yes.” Lucy sighed a little and shook her head. “I really don't know why that seems to stun everyone who hears it.”

“I think Tim is surprised that I have a friend who finished college, much less teaches it,” Banner drawled.

A friend. Lucy stashed that description away to mull over later.

Tim sounded defensive when he said, “I didn't say I was surprised that you have a friend like Lucy. She simply seems too young to have a Ph. D.”

“I'll take that as a compliment.” Lucy smiled at Tim, then gave Banner a look that silently requested he behave himself.

Banner cleared his throat “So, uh, Tim-do you need any money or anything?”

Lucy supposed Banner considered his offer to be a show of supportiveness, even though Tim immediately turned defensive again.

“No,” he said. “I didn't come here for money.”

“Then why did you come?”

Tim rubbed his palms on the legs of his jeans before answering, “Maybe I was hoping to find one person who would tell me I did the right thing.”

Lucy held her breath until Banner finally spoke. “You're sure this is what you want to do?” he asked Tim.

Tim nodded, no trace of uncertainty in his voice when he replied, “I'm positive.”

Banner shrugged. “Then you did the right thing.”

The expression that flashed through Tim's eyes made Lucy's chest ache.

“Thanks,” he murmured.

“So what are your plans now? Tonight?” Banner asked.

Pushing a hand through his hair, Tim replied, “I guess I'll find a place to crash tonight, then start looking for a job and an apartment somewhere. Dad's been paying my rent while I've been in school, but that's over. I told him I didn't want him supporting me any longer.”

“That's the only way you're ever going to get out from under his control,” Banner commented.

“I know. I've got some savings stashed away to live on until I find a job. Although I'll have to find one pretty quickly.”

“I'm sure your brother wants you to stay here until you find another place,” Lucy hinted broadly, nudging Banner sharply with her elbow.

“Uh…yeah, sure.” He rubbed his rib cage as he spoke.

Tim's drooping shoulders straightened. “Really? I mean, I was sort of hoping I could bunk here for a day or two, but if you'd rather I didn't…”

He glanced at Lucy as he spoke, making it clear that he worried about having crashed a romantic idyll. It had to have been obvious to him, of course, that Lucy had spent the night here and had just crawled out of Banner's bed when Tim arrived.

“Of course you should stay,” she said firmly. “After all, the closest motel is fifteen miles away. And it's New Year's Eve. We'll have a party.”

Banner frowned. “Does this party involve decorations? Am I going to have to chop down another tree?”

She laughed and leaned over to kiss his cheek, causing him to blush again. She simply loved seeing this ultra-controlled, habitually gruff man rattled enough to flush. He wasn't nearly as stern and detached as he pretended to be, but she knew it was a facade born of self-protection.

She wanted Banner to understand he could be free to be himself with her, without fear of judgment or criticism. Perhaps that simple level of acceptance had been all too lacking in his life.

Tim's life, too, apparently, she thought, glancing at the young man who was studying her so curiously.

“No tree this time,” she promised Banner. “But we must have champagne. Do you have any?”

His mouth twisted. “That's not exactly something I keep on hand.”

Not at all surprised, she nodded and rose. “Then I'm off to do some shopping for party supplies. Is there anything else you need me to pick up while I'm out?”

Banner pushed himself to his feet. “I'll do the shopping. Just make a list of what you need, and I'll-”

“No, I'll go. You stay here with Tim.” Which was, she thought, exactly what he was trying to avoid. “Do you have black-eyed peas to eat tomorrow for good luck in the new year? If not, I'll have to buy some while I'm out-though it might be hard to find them this late. I waited until New Year's Eve last year, and the shelves were almost empty of black-eyed peas.”

“I have them…and a ham hock to season them with,” Banner replied, making it clear he followed at least one local holiday tradition. “But, really, I don't mind making the grocery run.”

She patted his cheek in a breezy manner that made his eyes narrow. “Talk to your brother, Banner,” she murmured in his ear. “He needs your support.”

Because he was a man who clearly knew when to surrender, he nodded and stuffed his hands into his pockets. “Be careful.”

“I will.” Giving Tim an encouraging smile, she headed off to find her purse and shoes.

She had champagne to buy.

Banner and Tim were left staring at each other in Lucy's wake, both of them at a loss for words. Knowing Lucy would tell him that it was his place to get the conversation rolling, Banner cleared his throat. “So, uh…”

Maybe he should have had something in mind to say before he started speaking, he thought with a grimace, falling silent again.

Tim took up the effort. “Lucy seems really great. How did you meet her?”

“She was stranded here during the ice storm last week, along with several other travelers.”

“Really?” Tim looked intrigued. “She's been here ever since?”

“No. She left to spend Christmas with her family in Springfield, then came back yesterday. She said she, uh, wanted to get to know me better,” he added, still occasionally amazed that Lucy had actually returned.

“And then I show up.” Looking apologetic, Tim shook his head. “Sorry, dude, it's obvious I'm in the way here. I'll clear out before she gets back.”

“No. She'd have my head if you're gone when she returns. She's all set for a New Year's Eve party-and trust me, when Lucy sets her mind on something, you might as well just nod and ask what she wants you to do.”

Tim's smile was a bit quizzical. “I didn't think you would let anyone boss you around, not even someone as pretty as Lucy.”

“Lucy doesn't boss anyone around. She just sort of guides people into cooperating with her.”

“And you're okay with that?”

Banner shrugged. As much as he admired and desired her, he wasn't blind to Lucy's flaws, just as he was quite sure she was aware of his. Sure, she had a tendency to take charge of things, but he figured he could hold his own with her if it concerned something that particularly mattered to him. He just didn't expect her to hang around long enough for it to become an issue.

Deciding a change of subject was in order, he tried to remember the name of Tim's girlfriend, who he had met at a very stilted and uncomfortable Thanksgiving dinner with his father's family. “So how's…Jessica?”

“Jennifer. She's history.”

Studying Tim's morose expression, Banner asked, “Did you dump the girlfriend along with law school?”

“Actually, she dumped me. She really wanted to marry a lawyer.”

Banner winced. “Uh, sorry.”

“Don't be. It stung a bit, but I couldn't have spent the rest of my life pretending to be something I'm not just to try to keep her happy. And to be honest, it didn't hurt as badly as it probably should have. So maybe she and I weren't right for each other, after all.”

Because Banner could identify all too well with those sentiments, he studied his half brother from a new perspective. Truth be told, he had never paid a lot of attention to Tim.

Banner had been nearly eight when the boy was born, and he had already become aware of the estrangement from his father's family. He still remembered hearing his father bragging about his “boy” and knowing that Richard hadn't been referring to him. Just as he remembered the way his perpetually nervous stepmother had hovered nearby every time Banner had attempted any interaction with baby Tim, as if she feared he would do something to harm the younger boy. As Banner had gotten older, choosing to spend even less time with his father, the rift had grown wider, until he'd hardly known his paternal half siblings.

Banner had thought of Tim as brilliant, social, ambitious, driven-all the adjectives their father valued so highly, which Banner could simply never apply to himself. It had never occurred to Banner that Tim could have more in common with him than with their old man.

Which, he reminded himself, was not necessarily a good thing. He would hate to see young Tim end up living alone, isolated from his family, feeling as if he had failed at every relationship he had attempted. And Tim didn't even seem to have a passion he wanted to pursue, the way Banner had always enjoyed his woodworking.

The extent of his concern about Tim rather surprised him. He wouldn't have expected to care what the kid chose to do with his life.

Because he didn't know how to express his misgivings, he said only, “You can crash here as long as you need a place to stay. But your parents are going to hate it. They'll probably figure out a way to blame me for corrupting you. Accuse me of being a bad influence or something, not that I had anything to do with your choices.”

“Maybe more than you think,” Tim murmured.

Banner was almost relieved when his dog interrupted the conversation before he had to pursue that particular comment. With a big, noisy yawn, the animal rose from his rug, stretched dramatically, then wandered over to Banner. The dog butted the hand that had been resting on Banner's knee, an unsubtle hint that he wanted a head rub.