Footsteps on the walkway interrupted his musings. Both he and Stephanie stood.

“Anybody home?" a man called.

“Hey, Nash, did your landlady kick you out already?" He didn't recognize the first voice, but he knew the second.

“Kevin," he said and headed toward the front porch. Nash assumed the other man was one of the Haynes brothers.

When he stepped outside he saw he'd been right. Kevin and Travis stood by the sidewalk. They waved at him and walked closer.

Kevin smiled at Stephanie. "I knew you'd get tired of his ugly face. Threw him out, huh?" She laughed. "Actually he's helping me patch and paint my gatehouse. He does quality work and if he's at it much longer, I'm going to have to give him a discount on his room." Kevin shook his head. "Nash getting his hands dirty? I can't believe it." Nash stepped next to his brother and threw a mock punch. Kevin ducked, shot out a jab, then slapped him on the back. "Wait until you hear what Travis has to say." Travis Haynes wore a khaki-colored uniform and a beige Stetson. He pulled off the hat and smoothed back his hair.

“Kevin and I were talking," he said. "I happened to mention that once a year the Glenwood sheriff'sdepartment along with local firefighters and paramedics get together with the army base about fifty miles from here. We break up into teams and spend a couple of days playing war games. The more experienced men are paired up with new recruits, giving them a chance to learn. What with your background and all, I thought you might be interested." Nash could see Stephanie out of the corner of his eyes. She stood on Travis's right. At the mention of war games, she rolled her eyes.

“Gage already said yes," Kevin said. "I did, too. If Quinn shows up in time, I know he'll be in.”

“I'm in," Nash said.

Kevin nudged Travis. "Told you he'd say yes." Nash turned to Stephanie. "What about you?" She shook her head. "I have an actual life that requires me not to play games. Why is it men refuse to stop acting like little boys?" She looked stern, but her tone was teasing.

“Everybody has to play sometime," Nash said. Her gaze locked with his. He felt the sexual tension return and wished they were alone.

“I like a different kind of game," she informed him, then turned her attention to Kevin and Travis. "Gentlemen, I need to get back to my painting. I hope your war games are everything you want them to be." Travis grinned. "You sound just like my wife. She makes fun of me every year." Stephanie waved and headed back into the gatehouse. Nash watched her go, his gaze drifting from her trim waist to the sway of her hips. Heat flared inside him. He knew he had it bad and he didn't give a damn. Wanting Stephanie was the most fun he'd had in years.

“The war games start in a couple of weeks," Kevin said. "You're going to have to extend your vacation.

Nash thought of all the time off he'd accumulated in the past couple of years. "Not a problem.”

“Good."

“We need to-" Travis's cell phone rang, cutting him off. "Just a sec," he said as he pulled out the phone and pushed the Talk button. "Haynes." He walked a couple of steps away as he listened.

Kevin stepped closer and lowered his voice. "So what's with you and Stephanie?" Nash wasn't surprised his brother had noticed his interest. He and Kevin might not be identical twins, but they were still closer than most brothers and didn't have a lot of trouble knowing what the other was thinking.

Nash looked at the gatehouse. "Nothing significant."

“That's not how it looked from here."

“She's great, but I'm not into permanent relationships. As it turns out, neither is she."

“You can't be alone forever," Kevin said. "Why not?"

“It's better to be with the right person." Nash shook his head. "You say that now that you've found Haley, but six months ago you thought alone was a fine way to be."

“You loved Tina enough to want to marry her. What happened that was so bad you wouldn't want to risk trying again?"

“Nothing was bad." Nothing specific. Hecouldn't point to any one event and say "this is the reason I don't want to get involved." Probably because his problem wasn't about his marriage. It was about him.

“You're stubborn, Kevin said.

“We have that in common."

“I know. Mom used to complain about it all the time." He took a deep breath. "Speaking of which, I want to invite her and Howard out here for a few days. To meet everyone. I know you're not going to like it, but you're going to have to deal with it. You can't-" Nash cut him off with a simple, "Fine with me." Kevin stared at him. "You're serious?"

“Sure. Give them the name of Stephanie's B &B. They can stay here." Nash thought of his recent revelations about the past. Maybe things hadn't been exactly as he'd remembered them. Maybe being twelve had colored his view of the truth. Maybe it was time to change things.

“Great. I'll call tonight." Kevin grinned. "They're going to like Stephanie."

“Don't go there," Nash growled. "You start making trouble for me and I'll tell Haley about the time Mom walked in on you with those two cheerleaders. If I remember correctly the three of you were naked." Kevin winced. "I was only sixteen," he protested. "I didn't know what I was doing."

“You seemed to know exactly what you were doing. As for being sixteen, that doesn't help your cause. The cheerleaders were both in college." Kevin grumbled under his breath, then nodded his agreement. "I won't make trouble with Stephanie," he promised.

Nash believed him. Kevin had never wasted his time with lies.

He knew Kevin thought he was doing Nash a favor by wanting things to work out with Stephanie. What Kevin didn't know was Nash wrestled with more than a bad marriage. His brother knew how Tina had died, but not the details. She'd been killed in the line of duty. What Kevin didn't know was that she'd been assigned as backup on one of Nash's negotiations.

His superiors had never blamed him, but Nash knew what had really happened that day. He'd been responsible for the death of his wife as surely as if he'd detonated the bomb himself.

Chapter Ten

Nash put his arm around Stephanie and drew her close. She leaned her head against his shoulder and sighed. The soft puff of air teased his neck and made him think of other ways they could be touching. The blood heating in his body told him to get her upstairs right that second, but he resisted the desire growing inside him. They had the whole night to make love. Right now he was enjoying being next to her.

The night was clear and cool. Overhead, stars glittered in the sky. He could hear the faint sound of a stereo next door. The boys were in bed, but probably not asleep yet, which was another reason to wait before heading inside.

“What are you thinking?" Stephanie asked from her seat next to him on the top step of the porch. "That you're so incredibly hot for my body that you're tempted to rip off my clothes right here? And if that's not what you're thinking, you need to lie." Nash smiled. "I was also thinking about your kids, that it would be better to wait until the little guys are asleep, then head inside."

“Good point. As long as you were thinking about it." He turned his head and brushed his lips against her forehead. "I'm having trouble thinking about anything else."

“An excellent quality in a man." She wrapped her arms around his waist. "Dinner was fun. Thanks for joining us."

“I had a good time, too. The twins look so much alike, yet their personalities are different enough that I don't have any trouble telling them apart."

“I know. I don't understand how they can be so physically identical and so unalike on the inside. I've always wondered if some personality gene didn't split exactly in half or something." He grinned. "That would be your technical, biochemical explanation?"

“Do you have a better one?"

“No. Yours is perfect." She laughed. "I'm a fairly intellectual person, which explains why I beat your fanny when we were playing Go Fish."

“You are a card shark." She winced. "Bad pun, but I forgive you. The whole evening was fun. Sometimes I get so caught up with the boys' homework schedules and their activities that I forget to take time for us to just hang out and enjoy each other's company. Life becomes a treadmill and the routine becomes all-important.

Occasionally I need a reminder that it's okay to have a good time. Thanks for doing that tonight."

“My pleasure." He dropped his hand to her hip and rubbed the curve there. "You said something earlier that I can't stop thinking about."

“What?" She raised her head and looked at him.

“You wanted to know why men refused to stop acting like little boys. The implication being we don't grow up. I know you were teasing when you said it, but I wonder if that's what you really believe." She pulled back slightly, shifting so she faced him. One of her hands rested on his knee, the other toyed with the sleeve hem of his shirt. In the porch light, he could see her large eyes and the way the corners of her mouth twisted slightly.

“You're the first man I've ever spent any time with who seems to be a grown-up," she said. "My father was completely irresponsible and I've told you about the horror of being married to Marty. I've been burned twice and that makes me less than trusting."

“Is that the real reason you haven't been dating?”

“Yikes! Talk about going for the throat.”

“Is it?"

“Maybe. Probably. I don't know."

“Come on." He put his hand over hers and squeezed. "You do know." Her gaze narrowed. "You have that masters in psychology, don't you? Now you want to try out some of your theories on me."

“You're avoiding the question."