“That's a lot of family members," he said. "Kevin told me your father doesn't live around here." He shook his head. "I guess he's our father, too. I don't think of him that way yet." Kyle and Travis glanced at each other. "He's in Florida with wife number six or seven," Travis said.

“I've lost count. None of us stay in touch with him."

“Why?" Kevin asked.

“He's…" Travis hesitated. "He wasn't a great father to us." Nash leaned forward. "Don't worry about offending us with anything you say about him. As far as Kevin and 1 are concerned, Earl Haynes is just a guy who got a seventeen-year-old virgin pregnant and then walked out on her."

“That was Dad's style," Kyle said quietly. "He was chronically unfaithful. He and his brothers believed that if they slept in their own beds at night, that was about as good as it had to get. They didn't worry about details like being true to one woman or giving a damn about their kids."

“We wanted to be different," Travis told them. "Each of my brothers and I knew how unhappy we'd been and we were determined to keep history from repeating itself. After three generations of bastards, we wanted to make something of our lives, to get involved with our wives and kids. To be good men." Kyle chuckled. "To have daughters."

“Why would that matter?" Nash asked.

The waitress arrived with their burgers. Once they were served, Kyle reached for the mustard in the center of the table.

“Until Travis and Elizabeth got married," Kyle said, "there hadn't been a girl born to a Haynes man in four generations."

“Not counting Hannah," Travis said. "We didn't know about her." He glanced at Nash.

“Right. Okay, no girls except for Hannah."

“Travis and Elizabeth had a daughter. Then Sandy and me, then Craig and Jill," Kyle said. "Holly and Jordan were next. He's the one who came up with the theory."

“Which is?" Kevin asked.

“Haynes men can only have girls when they're in love with the woman."

“That's crazy," Nash said.

“There's a lot of female Hayneses running around," Travis pointed out. He nodded at Kevin. "Just you wait until you and Haley are having kids." Kevin grinned. "I look forward to our children, whatever their gender."

“Good," Kyle said, "Because you're probably going to have a lot of them."

Chapter Five

Nash left the diner after lunch and headed back for the B &B. He'd enjoyed meeting his half brothers, although he found the thought of their large families overwhelming. Five kids. That seemed like a lot.

He'd never much thought about having or not having kids of his own. After marrying Tina, he'd wanted to wait for a while before they started a family. She'd pressured him, but he'd refused to agree. Not until things were more stable between them. He'd assumed there would be children in his future, but when he thought about them they were vague shadows playing on the field at some sporting event. Not real people. Not like Stephanie's kids.

Thinking about Brett, Adam and Jason reminded him of the previous evening. He'd enjoyed helping with homework and staying for dinner. The boys were a lot of fun, each with a distinct personality.

Brett was still waiting to accept him, but Nash respected that. Jason was ready to charm the world while Adam was shyer. As for Stephanie…

Better not to go there, he told himself. As it was, he'd had a restless night filled with erotic dreams of his hostess. He couldn't remember the last time he'd awakened so damn hard. Not since he was a teenager and in the throes of adolescent hormones. Back then he'd had lots of desire but little knowledge about what was supposed to happen between a man and a woman. Now he knew exactly what he wanted to do to and with Stephanie, should he ever get her in his bed.

He grinned as he realized a bed wasn't required. He'd been pretty creative in his dreams. Based on what he remembered, he could happily make love with her just about anywhere. One particularly vivid nocturnal event had been of him holding her up against a wall. She'd wrapped her bare legs around him and he'd He groaned as heat and pressure poured into his groin. Determined not to arrive back at the B &B with a hard-on the size of Argentina, he concentrated on the road and forced himself to think about how the houses lining the streets would look if they were all painted green.

The distraction nearly worked. By the time he pulled up in front of the B &B, he was no longer hard, although a dull ache lingered. It throbbed in time with his heartbeat. Experience told him it would go away… eventually.

He climbed out of his rental car and started toward the large house. As he walked along the path, he heard sounds coming from a small gatehouse by the driveway. The front door was open.

Nash changed directions. When he reached the gatehouse, the faint sounds became a song on the radio. He followed the music into an empty living room in the midst of being sanded and patched. Stephanie stood in a doorway about fifteen feet away. She had a piece of sandpaper in each hand.

That morning she'd been dressed in what he thought of as her "public" clothes. Tailored slacks, a dark pink sweater. While he'd been gone, she'd changed into jeans and a T-shirt. A scarf covered her head.

As he watched, she reached up and rubbed at a spot well above her head. Her T-shirt rode up, exposing a bit of stomach. Instantly his groin sprang to life. What was it about this woman and her belly? Shouldn't he be finding her breasts erotic, or even her legs?

“You need a ladder," he said conversationally.

She jumped and squeaked, then glared at him. "I have to go to the grocery store in the next couple of days. I swear I'm going to swing through the pet department and buy you a collar with a bell."

“It's not going to fit."

“I'll put it around your wrist."

“You'll have to wrestle me into submission first." He'd meant the comment as a joke, but at his words, her eyes darkened and awareness sharpened her features. Tension crackled in the empty room.

So this attraction wasn't all one-sided, he thought with satisfaction. Not that the information meant anything. Stephanie was a single mom with threekids. Which meant she wasn't exactly the kind of woman looking for a good time with no commitment. Too bad.

He might want her, but there was no way he would take advantage of her. He'd grown up with a single mom and he knew how hard that life could be. He wasn't there to contribute to the problem.

He ignored the tension and the need snapping between them and pointed to the bare walls.

“Is this going to be the presidential suite for Serenity House?" he asked.

Stephanie blinked slowly, as if coming out of a trance. "What? Oh. No. It's for me and the kids." He glanced around at the old gatehouse. It wasn't huge, although there was a second story. "Why would you want to move?"

“It's always been the plan." She rubbed a piece of sandpaper against the door frame, then shook her head and leaned against the wood. "When Marty and I bought the property, we'd intended to fix this place up and move here. That way there would be more rooms to rent out. When he died, my first priority was to get rooms ready for paying guests and this project got put on the back burner. I'm hoping to get it done by midsummer."

“Isn't there more room for you and the kids at the main house?"

“Technically, yes, but when we have a lot of guests, the boys have to be quiet. We're on the third floor with guests underneath. They really try to cooperate, but they're young. Plus I hate reminding them all the time. I don't want their only memories of their childhood to be 'stop making noise.' We're all willing to sacrifice space for privacy."

“Makes sense. Mind if I look around?"

“Help yourself." He walked through the living room. There was a fireplace at one end, with built-in bookcases on either side. Large windows opened up to the street. The door on the right led to a short hallway and the stairs. There were two bedrooms in back, a bathroom, a kitchen that led to a small dining room, which. opened onto the living room. Stephanie stood in that doorway. At the very rear of the house was a utility room with washer and dryer hookups.

Nash climbed the stairs and found a good-size master bedroom with a private bath. The ceilings were high on both floors, and the rooms had big windows, molding and lots of painted wood trim.

He returned to the living room. "Very nice," he said. "Only three bedrooms, though. Will the twins share?"

“They already do and they love it, so that's not a problem." Nash watched her work for about thirty seconds. When she stretched up past her reach again, the flash of belly skin hit him like a sucker punch.

“Go sand something closer to the floor," he growled and grabbed a piece of sandpaper. She spun toward him. "What?"

“You're not tall enough. I'll do that." Her gaze narrowed. "I'm perfectly capable of doing this myself."

“Not without a ladder." He set his hands on her upper arms and gently moved her out of the way. For a brief second he had the impression of curves, heat and feminine scent, then he deliberately turnedhis back on temptation and went to work on the top of the door frame.

“I can't let you do this," she said.

“Never turn down the offer of free labor. It may not happen again."

“But you're a guest."

“I'm restless and bored. I need something to do." She laughed. "Right. How silly. Of course I'm the one doing you a favor by letting you help me. Why didn't I see that before?"

“Beats me." He glanced at her over his shoulder. Her chin jutted out and she had her hands on her hips, as if prepared to do battle.