Susan Mallery - Only His

AFTER A LONG WEEK at the construction site, Nevada was more than ready to spend a quiet evening not thinking about Tucker. Since “the kiss,” he’d been invading her thoughts way more than was reasonable. So, when her mother had invited her over for a family dinner, it had seemed to be the perfect escape.

She arrived around six, as requested, and met Dakota, Finn and Hannah coming from the opposite direction.

“Who’s my best girl?” Nevada asked, taking the baby from her sister and hugging her tight.

“Na-na-na,” Hannah squealed in delight as she waved her pudgy arms.

“Nevada. That’s right. Who’s a smart girl?” She swung Hannah in her arms, then grinned at her sister and soon-to-be brother-in-law. “Hi, you two. How are things?”

“Great.” Finn put his arm around Dakota. “She’s growing, as you can see. Crawling everywhere. Starting to try to walk.”

He sounded happy and proud, Nevada thought, pleased her sister had found such a great guy.

Just a few months before, Finn had come to town to rescue his twin brothers from a reality show—True Love or Fool’s Gold. The “boys” had actually been twenty-one and more than capable of making their own decisions, but Finn hadn’t seen it that way.

Dakota had assumed she wouldn’t find a forever kind of love and had already contacted an adoption agency. While falling for Finn, she’d received word she’d been approved to adopt Hannah, then six months old. The situation had only gotten more complicated when Dakota became pregnant. It had been a busy few months.

Now Finn had relocated to Fool’s Gold, bought a local air cargo and tour company and they were planning a wedding.

“You two set the date yet?” Nevada asked as the three of them walked toward the front door.

Dakota looked at Finn, then back at Nevada. “No. We’re still talking.”

Finn pushed open the door and they stepped into bedlam.

The rest of the family was already there, along with a big golden retriever — Labrador mix named Fluffy, who did her best to greet everyone by knocking them off their feet and licking them into submission.

“We seem to be the last to arrive,” Nevada told Hannah as the baby looked around and laughed when she saw all the people she loved.

Ethan and his wife, Liz, had their three kids with them. Kent and his son, Reese, were attempting to corral an uncooperative Fluffy, while Montana, Nevada’s other triplet sister, offered advice. Her fiancé, Simon, stood quietly on the sidelines, as he always did. But these days he looked much happier and more relaxed. Tucker was chatting with Denise and—

Nevada stiffened as she visually backtracked. Tucker?

“You’re here!” Denise patted Tucker on the arm and hurried toward the door. “There you are, Hannah. Come to Nana, my darling girl.”

Hannah held out her arms as her grandmother approached, and the child went easily into Denise’s embrace. Nevada stepped back, not so much to get out of the way as to regroup.

“Finn, have you met Tucker?” Denise asked. “He’s an old friend of Ethan’s and now Nevada works for him. His company is the one building the resort and casino outside of town.”

The two men shook hands.

“What is he doing here?” Nevada asked her mother, whispering so the question wouldn’t be overheard.

“He’s alone in town. I thought he would enjoy a family meal.”

“You told Ethan I slept with Tucker so Ethan would beat him up.”

Her mother didn’t look the least bit guilty. “I had to do something. Now he’s been warned and we can move on.”

That was just like her mother, Nevada thought, telling herself she shouldn’t be surprised.

“What are you? A member of the Mafia? Did it occur to you I would find this awkward?” she asked.

“How could you? You work with him.”

Right. Because they didn’t have a personal relationship now — all kissing aside.

“Fine,” Nevada said with a sigh.

“I’m glad you’re all right with this, because I put you next to him at the table.”

Denise took Hannah into the kitchen. Nevada stood there, not sure if she should follow or duck upstairs and hide. Before she could decide, Tucker walked over with a glass of wine and handed it to her.

“I’d forgotten what it was like to be around your family,” he admitted.

“It’s been a long time.”

“Not since that summer Ethan and I went to cycling camp with Josh Golden. We were sixteen.”

That made her all of ten. She hadn’t noticed him back then. He’d just been one of her brother’s boring friends.

“We’re louder now,” she told him.

“And bigger. I can’t get over Ethan’s family.”

She looked at the teenagers, who were laughing about something together. “I like that they stay in the room with us instead of disappearing into the family room to play with the Wii Mom bought them.”

“Both Montana and Dakota are engaged.”

“Uh-huh. Simon’s a surgeon and Finn is a pilot. Cargo and private tours. That kind of thing. He’s from Alaska.”

“We did a job there.”

“Is there anywhere you haven’t done a job?”

“Not really.” He glanced around the room. “I never had anything like this to come home to. My mom died when I was a baby. Dad hired a nanny and took both of us with him.”

“I can’t imagine living without my family. They’re everything to me.”

Tucker rubbed his jaw. “Your brother sure looks out for you.”

“You deserved it.”

He surprised her by laughing. “You’re right. I did. Have I apologized?”

“Yes, and you don’t have to again.”

Ethan walked over and joined them. “Everything all right here?”

“Stop fighting my battles,” she told him. “I can do it myself.”

“Sometimes a guy has to step in and take care of his own. Tucker gets that.”

Tucker nodded.

Ethan asked if Tucker planned to watch the pre-season football games this Sunday. While the guys talked football, Nevada thought about where Tucker might usually spend the afternoon. He’d always been on his own — odd man out. He wasn’t just dealing with a new school every couple of years, but a new country and a new culture, not to mention language barriers. She couldn’t imagine what it would be like not to have roots.

“Be careful,” Ethan was saying. “There are a million single women in town.”

“You’re exaggerating.” Tucker sipped his wine. “I’m not worried.”

Nevada grinned. “You should be. Until recently, we’ve had a man shortage. The ladies will be all over you. A strong, rich, construction guy.” She blinked her eyes several times.

Tucker laughed. “I can handle myself.”

Nevada turned to her brother. “Just think. In a couple of weeks, you’ll get to say, ‘I told you so.’”

“I’m looking forward to it.” Ethan laughed.

Tucker shifted uneasily. “It can’t be that bad.”

“Keep telling yourself that,” Nevada said, before heading to the kitchen to help her mom.

“I KNOW THE WAY HOME,” she said four hours later, after a huge dinner.

“I’m not walking you home,” Tucker told her. “You’re walking me. If what you and Ethan said is true, I need the protection.”

“Oh, please. I think you can handle a few love-starved women.”

“Not at the same time.” He leaned toward her and lowered his voice. “I’ve never been into the group thing. After the first five or six times, it’s not all that fun.”

“You’re not impressing me with stories like that.”

“What kind of stories do impress you?”

“Move across time like Kyle Reese in the first Terminator movie. That will get my attention.”

“I’ll work on it.”

The night was warm and clear, stars dotting the sky. There were still plenty of people walking around, so nothing about walking next to Tucker should have felt intimate. Still, she was aware of him close to her, of the breadth of his shoulders and the sound of his voice.

“Your family is great,” he said. “Your mom really has it together.”

“She’s good at managing a crowd.”

“She’s been alone a long time. Does she date?”

“She started this year. I can’t believe my dad’s been gone over ten years. That’s a long time for her to be by herself.” She glanced at Tucker. “Your dad never remarried.”

“True, but he wasn’t alone. He’s a big believer in the concept of a girl in every port. Or in his case, a woman at every job site. The man’s made a fool of himself over more women than I can count.”

“Does that bother you?”

Tucker shrugged. “I don’t get the volume. He never takes a break. But he loves to keep them coming. He’s pushing sixty and acting like he’s seventeen. Like I said, he’s acting the fool. But love does that.”

“Love doesn’t make people foolish.”

“It can.”

She knew who he was thinking about. “Only if you pick crazy artists.”

“She didn’t change my opinion.”

They rounded a corner and Nevada realized they were on her block. “I thought I was walking you home.”

“I’ll hide in the shadows,” he said.

They crossed the street and walked toward her front door.

Lights were on in both apartments, but there weren’t any sounds.

“Whoever invented headphones deserves to be made a saint,” she said. “Both my tenants are college guys. They don’t make a move without listening to something, but I don’t have to hear it.”

“Lucky you.”

They were standing by her porch. The moon had barely cleared the horizon and she could see it over Tucker’s shoulder. One would think a big white object hanging in the sky would capture her attention, but all she seemed to see was the man in front of her.