"Sounds like one hell of a lady.” Shamus smoothed Cyndi's hair back from her face, not liking the pallor of her skin.

"She is.” A tiny smile played across her lips. “She got rid of him and helped me build a life. Aunt Verna runs her own B & B in Vermont and I started out working for her. I eventually went back to school and worked in various hotels for a few years. When I found out my father had died and left everything to me, I was shocked. At first, I wasn't even sure I was going to come back to Jamesville. I handled all the legal affairs by long distance. But Aunt Verna knew I had to come back in order to lay the ghosts of my past to rest. Eventually, I came to that realization myself.” Cyndi sighed, resting her head against his chest. “So here I am in Jamesville, determined to stay, no matter what. Now you know everything."

No, he didn't know everything. No one would ever know the years of suffering that she'd lived through. He held her tight, rubbing his hand over her back, needing to just touch her, to reassure himself she was in his arms and she was safe. No one should have to live like that. The fact it was her own father that had abused her made it even worse.

As he stroked her back, he noticed something he hadn't before. Now that he was no longer in the clutches of sexual desire and he knew Cyndi's story, what he was feeling took on new meaning. He shoved the comforter out of the way, exposing her back to his view. She stilled, but made no motion to cover herself.

He swallowed hard as his finger traced several white scars. They were old, but they were there. A testament to the past she'd survived. There weren't many, but even one was enough to send sheer fury bolting through him. He actually shook, he was that angry.

He was so lost in his haze of anger, it took him a moment to realize Cyndi had slipped her arms around his neck and was now murmuring words of comfort to him. Him. She was the one who'd lived through hell and she was comforting him. It wasn't to be borne.

Burying his face in her neck, he inhaled her sweet scent. She smelled of flowers, maybe violets, he wasn't quite sure. Beneath it was the musky scent of desire. Shamus needed to touch her, to bury himself in her welcoming warmth, to celebrate the fact that she'd not only survived, but also found a way to thrive. “I need you.” Fancy words were beyond him. Lust, elemental and basic, coursed through his blood.

He shifted them both so that Cyndi was flat on her back, staring up at him. She cupped his face in her hands and pulled him closer. Swooping down, he captured her lips. At the last second, he managed to get control of himself, softening the kiss. So many emotions were flooding through his mind, firing his blood. But for Cyndi he reached deep and grabbed onto gentleness as he began to stroke her skin.

Slowly, he built the fire between them, sheathing himself in a condom before sliding into her silken depths. Taking his time, he rocked them to completion, his eyes never leaving hers as they both shuddered with need. The orgasm wasn't as physically explosive as the earlier one, but it rocked his soul.

When it was over, he managed to find the strength to discard the condom and pull Cyndi into his arms. With her safe in his arms, they both slept.

Still shaken from the revelations of the night before, Shamus strolled into Jessie's to meet his brother for breakfast the next morning. He'd awoken early, sliding out of bed to grab a quick shower before heading out. He hadn't wanted to leave Cyndi without talking to her, but knew she needed some time alone this morning.

Her attempt to pretend she was still asleep hadn't fooled him, but he'd left her with a kiss on her forehead and a note on the bedside table. He'd see her later today.

"Morning, Shannon.” He paused long enough to drop a kiss on his sister-in-law's cheek as he made his way to a booth in the corner.

"Morning.” Shannon followed close behind him, coffee pot in hand. Not bothering to ask him, she filled his cup and handed it to him. “Hard night?"

"You could say that.” He accepted the mug and took a sip. He knew he looked rough this morning. Sleep had eluded him, and he'd spent the entire night replaying Cyndi's words over and over, seeing the marks on her back, and filling in the blanks of everything she'd left unsaid.

"What will it be this morning?"

"Scrambled eggs, bacon, toast, and hash browns.” They'd never finished their dinner last night and he'd pretty much missed lunch yesterday, too. He was starving. “But I'm supposed to be meeting Patrick for breakfast."

Shannon nodded. “He said to tell you he'd be along in a few minutes. He had to run by the station first."

"Anything serious?” Since Patrick was the sheriff, one never knew what he was facing on any given day.

Shannon smiled. “No. He said he wouldn't be long.” The bell over the door rang and she glanced over her shoulder. “Speak of the devil."

Patrick strode over to his wife, nodding at several other men who were having breakfast. Pulling her into his arms, he planted a long, hot kiss on her lips. Someone whistled behind them, but Patrick finished kissing Shannon before glancing over his shoulder. “You're just jealous, Burt, because I got the finest woman in town."

Burt Banner, a grizzled, old man of about eighty, just laughed. “You got that right, boy. She's not only purty, she can cook.” The old man paused. “She also has the coffee pot."

Shannon's face turned a rosy red as she laughed. Quickly, she filled a mug for Patrick before hurrying off to pour Burt more coffee. Patrick watched his wife for a second before sliding into the seat across from Shamus.

"Dani asked where you were last night."

Shamus sighed inwardly. He'd hoped his brother wouldn't be quite so confrontational this morning, but no such luck. “What did you tell her?"

Patrick shrugged. “Just that you couldn't make it because you had other plans."

Picking up his mug, Shamus took a sip. He wasn't in the mood for this. “Is there a point to this?” Usually he had all the patience in the world, but after last night, Shamus was feeling rather protective of Cyndi.

Patrick cocked an eyebrow and sat back. Shamus resisted the urge to take a deep breath and roll his shoulders. He felt stiff and tired and not up to another confrontation with his brother. Still, he'd agreed to breakfast, so he'd stay. Extending his long legs, he forced himself to relax and sip his coffee.

When Shannon came back to the table a few minutes later with his breakfast, she glanced from him to Patrick and back again, frowning. “Everything okay?"

Shamus reached for his fork and knife. “Everything is just fine. This looks delicious."

Patrick hadn't ordered, but Shannon placed a plate loaded with eggs and bacon in front of him. Shannon hesitated, but when neither man said anything else, she shrugged. “Just give me a holler if you need anything."

"Will do.” He smiled to ease her concern. The last thing he wanted to do was upset Shannon. She was another woman who'd had more than enough strife in her life, and he didn't want to add to it.

They ate in silence until both plates were clean. Shamus felt no urge to fill the void with meaningless conversation. The bell over the door chimed again and he glanced over, suddenly wishing he'd gone straight to work instead of coming here. Burke strode over to the table, looking as if he'd gotten up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.

Shamus laid his fork and knife across his plate and pushed it aside. “Pull up a chair and join us."

Burke seemed momentarily taken aback by Shamus's good humor, but recovered quickly. “Don't mind if I do.” Taking a chair from nearby, he pulled it up to the end of the table and sat.

Shannon came over long enough to refill their mugs and place a fresh one in front of Burke. She didn't say anything. The tension was palpable and Shamus was sick of it.

"What's on your minds?” He'd had enough of this. He had things to do today.

"Got somewhere important to be?” Burke leaned back in his chair.

"Work. I'm taking this afternoon off and there's a lot I need to see to before lunch.” He was already making a mental list of everything he needed to tell his foreman.

"Everything okay?” Burke leaned forward slightly. “You never take off work."

"Yeah. I'm helping a friend with something.” He wanted to go over Cyndi's plans with her. With everything that had happened last night, they'd never had a chance to talk about the changes she wanted to make in the house.

Burke's lips thinned and Patrick swore. “Damn it. You're spending the afternoon with her, aren't you?"

His patience was hanging by a thread, but Shamus hung onto it. Barely. “Yes, I'm spending the afternoon with Cyndi. She wants to talk about some renovations on the house."

"The mansion not good enough for her?” Burke's lip curled slightly.

"Not for a B & B, it's not,” Shamus retorted. Immediately, he regretted his outburst. This was Cyndi's business and she might not want anyone to know what she was thinking about doing yet.

"What does she know about the hotel business?” The skepticism was evident in Patrick's voice.

Shamus had had enough. “What the hell do you know about her?” Planting his hand on the table, he leaned forward. “She's worked in the business for more than a decade, so she knows what she's doing."

He started to slide out of his seat, but Burke's voice stopped him cold. “You don't really know anything about that woman."

A knot grew in the pit of his stomach as he stared at his brother and brother-in-law. “No, you're the ones that don't know her at all. You knew who she was, and even then you have no idea of who she truly was and what her life was like."