“Jeez, get a grip,” she muttered, turning up the Sirius radio in the SUV, hoping the pulsing beat would pound her wayward thoughts into oblivion. Not to mention her regrets, crammed inside her head like the jumbled mess of old sweaters and jeans and tops she’d stuffed willy-nilly inside her pretty new luggage. Clothes that predated Michael, that she’d rarely worn around him because he’d said they made her look dumpy.
Emily’s nostrils flared as her fingers tightened around the leather-padded wheel. Someday, she might even cry.
Someday. When she was over the hurling and cursing stage.
Beside her, a six-feet-and-change Colin snorted and shifted, his arms folded over his chest as he slept. They’d barely made it out of Albuquerque before he’d crashed, his obvious exhaustion rolling off him in waves even more than the funk. If it hadn’t been for that picture Dee had shown Emily—a very serious publicity shot of Colin the photojournalist—she would’ve never recognized him. As it was, between the five days’ beard growth and shaggy hair, the rumpled clothes and saddlebags under his eyes, she still wasn’t sure how she had. It must’ve been the eyes, a weird pale green against his sun-weathered face—
Emily released another breath, aggravation swamping her once more. Although with herself more than Colin, she supposed, for not having the good sense to leave well enough alone. Gah, it was as though she’d been totally incapable of stanching the words spewing from her mouth. Apparently heart-slicing betrayal had that effect on her. But seriously—after a lifetime of making nice, now she couldn’t resist poking the bear? And a grumpy, malodorous one at that?
From her purse, her phone warbled. Her mother’s ringtone. Good thing she was currently driving, because... No.
The man shifted again, muttering in his sleep, the words unintelligible. She imagined a frown—since that seemed to be his face’s default setting, anyway—
“Crap!”
At the laser-like flash of the animal’s eyes, Emily swerved the car to the right, hard, the wheels jittering over rocks and weeds before jerking to a spine-rattling stop. Colin’s palm slammed against the dash as he bellowed awake, a particularly choice swearword hanging in the cold air between them for what felt like an hour.
“What the hell?”
“S-something darted out in front of the c-car,” Emily finally got out, over the sudden—and horrifying—realization of exactly how close she was to losing it.
“You okay?”
How a gruff voice could be so gentle, Emily had no idea. How she was going to keep it together in the face of that gentleness, she had even less of one. But she would. If it killed her.
Her neck hurt a little when she nodded. “I’m fine.”
“You don’t sound fine.”
On a half-assed laugh, she leaned her head back. Or would have if the headrest had let her. “I almost took out Bambi. What do you think?” She dared to cut her eyes to his, only to realize she couldn’t see them anyway. Thank goodness. “Sorry about the sudden stop. Is everything... Are you...?”
“I’m good. Or will be when my heart climbs back down out of my throat.” Which he now cleared. “Good save, by the way.”
“How would you know?” she said, even as pleasure flushed her cheeks. “Since you slept through it.”
“We’re still upright. And alive. So I count that as a win.”
“Funny, you don’t strike me as a look-on-the-bright-side type.”
“You’d be surprised.”
“I already am. Well.” And her heart could stop break-dancing anytime now, she thought as she gripped the wheel. “I guess we should get going—”
“You’re shaking.”
“Only a little... What are you doing?”
This asked as he got out of the car and walked around to her side, motioning for her to open the door. “Taking over the driving, what does it look like?”
“You don’t have to—”
“Actually, I think I do.”
Emily felt her face go grumpy. “I thought you said that was a good save.”
“It was. And I mean that. But I’m awake now—”
“Sorry about that.”
“—and I’m probably a little better at recovering from stress than you are.”
“Heh. You ever driven on the DC beltway?”
“Many times. Although trust me, it doesn’t even begin to compare with Mumbai. Besides, once we hit town, do you have any idea where we’re going?”
There was that. Because, again, she hadn’t driven when she’d been out before. Of course her plan had been to either rely on the car’s GPS or—probably better—on Dee or Josh. Which she could still do. But by now she realized she was beginning to slip across that fine line between independent and mule-headed. And she was whacked, too.
“Emily?”
Again with the gentleness. Jerk.
“Fine,” she said, climbing down from behind the wheel and marching around to the passenger side, huddling deeper into her sweater coat before strapping herself in. Rocks crunched and rattled as Colin pulled back onto the highway, and Emily felt her jangled nerves relax. A little.
Because for some reason this guy seemed a lot bigger awake than he had asleep. And she wasn’t exactly tiny. A fact that had apparently induced no small amount of angst in her petite mother—
“So where are we, exactly?” Colin asked.
“Just past Taos.”
He nodded. “You mind if I turn down the...music?”
“Turn it off, if you want. I don’t care.”
“You sure?”
“I’m sure.”
Except the silence that followed made her brain hurt. Strange how she didn’t mind the quiet when she was actually by herself. But when there was actually someone else in the space—
“So how come you didn’t tell anyone you were coming?”
He hesitated, then said, “Because I didn’t want to.”
“None of my business, in other words.”
His gaze veered to hers, then away.
“And you don’t think they might find it weird when we show up together?”
A single-note chuckle pushed through his nose. “Dog with a bone, aren’t cha?”
Her mouth pulled flat, Emily shoved her hair behind her ear. But after years of being the peacemaker, the One Most Likely to Back Down... “Guess I don’t have a whole lot of patience these days for secrets.”
“Even though this has nothing to do with you.”
“Me, no. My cousin, yes. And her husband. And his family. So...”
“And you’re nothing if not loyal.”
She waited out the stab to her heart before saying, “Out of fashion though that might be.”
That got a look. Probably accompanied by a frown, though she wasn’t about to check.
Another couple miles passed before he said, “And I’m guessing I’ve been the topic of conversation recently.”
“Your name does come up a lot,” she said quietly, then glanced over. “Since, you know, you’re the brother who’s not there. And hasn’t been there for years.”
Seconds passed. “I’ve been...on assignment.”
Exactly what Josh had said, after his and Dee’s wedding, his that’s-life shrug at complete odds with the disappointment in his eyes. And between the leftover shakiness from nearly taking out that deer back there and feeling like hornets had set up shop inside her brain, whatever filters Emily might have once had were blown to hell.
“From everything I can tell, Colin, your family’s great. In fact, most people would be grateful...” Tears biting at her eyes, she gave her head a sharp shake, rattling the hornets. “So what exactly did they do to tick you off so much?”
* * *
And to think, Colin mused, if he hadn’t agree
d to this crazy woman’s suggestion to share the car, the worst that might’ve happened would have been his ending up in a ditch somewhere.
Of course, he didn’t owe her, or anyone, an explanation. Although she seemed like a nice enough kid—if pushy—and surprisingly playing the total bastard card wasn’t part of his skill set. Besides, in a half hour they’d be there, and he’d hole up in one of the cabins, and she’d stay with her cousin in the main house, and they probably wouldn’t even see each other again for the duration of her visit. Right?
Except right now she was watching him, waiting for an answer, those great, big, sad eyes pinned to the side of his face. Yeah, there was a story there, no doubt. Not that he was about to get sucked in. Because he’d come home to get his head on straight again, not get all snarled in someone else’s.
“They didn’t do anything, okay?” he finally mumbled. “Like you said, they’re great people. It’s just we don’t see a lot of things through the same lens.”
He sensed more than saw her frown before she leaned into the corner between the seat and the door—at least as much as the seat belt would let her—her arms folded over her stomach. Thinking, no doubt.
“So what’s different now?”
“Do you even consider what’s about to pop out of your mouth before it does?”
“Probably about as much as you’ve considered their reaction when you show up out of the blue. And with your dad’s heart condition—”
“First off, people keeling over from shock only happens in the movies—”
“Not only in the movies.”
“Mostly, then. And second, Dad’s not at death’s door. He never was, as far as I can tell—”
“And how would you know that if you haven’t been there?”
“Because that’s what he said, okay? For crying out loud, I did talk to him, or Mom, or both, every day at the time. I’m not totally out of the loop—”
“Even if you prefer to hover at its edge?”
If it hadn’t been for the gentle humor in her voice—and something more, something he couldn’t quite put his finger on—he would’ve been a lot more pissed than he was. “They told me not to come home, that it wasn’t necessary. And my reasons for returning now...” He briefly faced her, then looked away. “Are mine.”
“As are your reasons for not giving them a heads-up that you are. Got it.”
“You’re really aggravating, you know that?”
Her laugh startled him. “Then my work here is done,” she said, clearly pleased with herself. Because the chick was downright bonkers. Story of his life, apparently.
“Look,” he said, giving in or up or whatever. “If you’ve been around my family for more than thirty seconds you know they can be a mite...overwhelming en masse.”
Another laugh. “I noticed.”
“So if I’d called my brother and told him I was coming, you can bet your life the whole gang would be at the Vista to welcome me home.” His jaw clenched. “Maybe even the whole town. I know what I’m about to face, believe me. But I’d at least prefer to ease back into the bosom of the clan on my own terms. At least as much as possible.”
“I can understand that.”
“Really?”
“Like you’re the only person in the world who has issues with their family?” she said quietly, not looking at him. “Please.”
The sign for Whispering Pines flashed in the headlights, and Colin turned off the highway onto the smaller road leading to the tiny town. Emily shrugged more deeply into her coat; the higher they climbed, the colder the night got. But the air was sweet and clear and clean. And, Colin had to admit, welcoming.
“It’s the space, isn’t it?” she said, shattering his thoughts.
“Excuse me?”
“Why you’ve come home. Same reason I’m here now, I suppose. To stop the—” She waved her hands at her head, then folded her arms again. “The noise. The crowding.”
The impulse to probe nudged more insistently. He’d assumed she was only there to visit, like people did. Normal people, anyway. Or to attend Zach’s wedding, although that wasn’t for weeks yet. Now, though, questions niggled. Maybe there was more...?
And whatever that might be had nothing to do with him.
“Hadn’t really thought about it,” he muttered, ignoring what had to be a doubtful look in response. Shaking her head, Emily dug her phone out of her purse, only to heave a sigh and slug it back inside.
“No signal. Jeez, how do people even survive out here?”
“Same way they have for hundreds of years, I imagine.”
A soft grunt was her only reply. Thank God. Although Colin had to admit, as wearying as her poking and prying had been, the silence was far worse, providing a far-too-fertile breeding ground for his own twisted-up thoughts. Because despite the universe’s insistence that this is where he needed to be right now, he’d be lying to himself if he didn’t admit this felt an awful lot like starting over.
Or worse, failure.
A dog’s barking as they pulled into the Vista’s circular driveway shattered the silence, although Colin barely heard it over his pounding heart, the rush of blood between his ears. Beside him, Emily gathered her giant purse, then gave him what he suspected was a pitying look before grabbing the door’s handle.
“I don’t envy you right now,” she murmured, then shoved open the door and got out. By now her cousin and his brother were out on the oversize veranda. Even in the screwy light he could see confusion shudder across both their faces.
“You’ll never guess who I ran into in the airport,” she said, and Colin realized he had two choices: show himself, or turn right around and pretend this had all been a mistake. Except the flaw with plan B was that, for one thing, Emily’s luggage was still in the SUV. And for another, she’d rat on him.
So, on a weighty sigh, Colin pried himself from behind the wheel and faced his little brother, who immediately spit out a cussword that would’ve gotten a good smack upside the head from their mother. Two seconds later, Josh was pounding the hell out of Colin’s back, then grinning up at him like a damn fool.
“Holy hell, Col,” he said, his eyes wet, and Colin did his best to grin back.
“I know, right?” he said, feeling heat flood his cheeks before he glanced over to see Emily wrapped tightly in his new sister-in-law’s arms, bawling her eyes out.
Chapter Two
“So how come you didn’t say anything?”
Standing at the sink in the ranch’s ginormous, Southwest-kitsch kitchen, Emily set the now-clean Dutch oven in the drainer, pushing out a sigh for Colin’s question. Not that she’d been able to eat much of the amazing pot roast, especially after embarrassing the hell out of herself earlier. But her cousin’s keeping dinner warm for her—well, them, as it happened—had been a very sweet gesture. Because that was Dee.
Wiping her damp hands across her butt, Emily turned, now unable to avoid the scowl she’d ignored—more or less—all through the late dinner. Even from six or so feet away, Colin’s size was impressive. At least he no longer looked—or smelled—as though he’d recently escaped from the jungle. And he’d shaved, which took the edge off the mountain man aura. Somewhat. But with his arms crossed over that impressive chest, not even his slightly curling, still-damp hair detracted from the massive mouth-drying solidity that was Colin Talbot. For sure, none of the brothers were exactly puny, but Colin was next door to intimidating. Toss in the glower, and...
Yeah.
“Your brother let you out of his clutches?”
The corner of Colin’s mouth twitched. “For the moment. The dog was acting like something was going on outside he thought Josh needed to check out.”
And Dee had gone to nurse her infant daughter—after Emily shooed her off, insisting on cleaning up after dinner.
No buffers, in other words. And judging from that penetrating gaze, Colin was not-so-patiently waiting for her answer.
She shrugged, a lame attempt at playing it cool. “Maybe because your doing the prodigal son routine seemed like a far bigger deal than—”
“Your wedding getting called off?”
Weirdly, he sounded almost angry. Although whether it was because she hadn’t told him, or on her behalf, she had no idea. Not that either of those made any sense. Then again, maybe he was ticked off because of a dozen other things she wasn’t privy to. Nor was she likely to be. So Big Guy didn’t exactly have a lot of room to talk, did he?
And before those weird, light eyes melted her brain, Emily turned back around to wipe down the sink. “In the interest of journalistic integrity,” she said, scrubbing far harder than the stainless sink needed. “I was the one who called it off.”
“Because your fiancé cheated on you. Josh filled me in.”
The wrung-out sponge shoved behind the faucet, Emily faced him again, her arms tightly crossed over her ribs. “Seriously? You reconnect with your brother for the first time in a million years and you guys talk about me?”
“Hey. You were the one who totally lost it the minute we got here. Not me. Although for what it’s worth, I didn’t ask. Josh volunteered the information. And it was like a five-, six-second part of the conversation. Okay, ten at the most. But I thought you’d probably appreciate knowing that I know.” He paused. “Not that I plan on being in your way much. In fact, I’m heading over to the foreman’s cabin in a few.”
Their gazes tangled for a long moment before Josh and the dog suddenly reappeared, the panting, grinning Aussie shepherd mix trotting over to his bowl to noisily slosh water all over the tiled floor.
“Have no idea what Thor heard,” Josh said, striding to the sink to fill a glass of his own. Colin had a good three or four inches on his little brother, who still wasn’t “little” by anyone’s standards. The Talbots grew ’em solid, for sure. Josh’s mossy eyes darted from her to Colin, a quizzical frown briefly biting into his forehead. But whatever he was thinking he kept to himself, thank goodness. Instead he flicked the empty glass toward the sink, then set it back in the drain board before clapping Josh’s arm. “Well, come on—let’s get you set up. Haven’t been out there in weeks, have no idea what condition it’s in—”
Falling for the Rebound Bride Page 2