Light the Stars

by RaeAnne Thayne

  While she was studying Jake Dalton, his attention was drawn to the table with its festive decorations and the thickly frosted cake. "Wow. A party for me? You shouldn't have!"

  Natalie giggled as he set her back on her feet. "It's not for you. It's supposed to be Dad's birthday party since we forgot it yesterday. Only I bet he's not coming."

  "All the more cake for me, then," Jake teased his niece, although Caroline thought for a moment there she saw just a hint of irritation flicker in his gaze.

  Did he also notice his brother's careless attitude toward his children? she wondered.

  He turned to her and offered a smile she somehow found calming and kind.

  "Hello. You must be Caroline. I'm Jake Dalton, Wade's brother. Wade told me you offered to stay on for a few days and help him with the boys. I can't decide if you're insanely nice or just insane."

  "A little of both, I guess." She smiled. "Since you're here, why don't you stay for dinner? I was just about to call your brother to see when he's going to make it back."

  "I just dropped in to take a look at Tanner's hand but I could probably be convinced to stay and eat."

  "And I thought the days of the house call were over."

  "I give special service for five-year-old rascals in desperate need of a sucker transfusion." He pulled a lollipop from his shirt pocket and waved it like a magic wand.

  She played along. "I only hope you're not too late, Doctor."

  "Been that kind of a day, has it?" His expression was both sympathetic and understanding. Dr. Dalton must have a heck of a bedside manner with that calm, competent manner, she thought.

  "He's a young boy in pain. A little crankiness is to be expected."

  "You're an angel to put up with him. If your father's anything like you, no wonder he swept Marjorie off her feet."

  She had spent her entire life trying not to be like her father, charming and feckless and irresponsible, but of course she couldn't say that to another of Marjorie's concerned sons.

  "He hasn't been too bad, as long as I keep him busy," she said.

  "Let's have a look at it, shall we? Climb on up here, cowboy."

  Tanner made a face but obeyed his uncle, scrambling up to sit on the breakfast bar.

  "Caroline, if you're not too busy with dinner, can you play nurse for a moment?" Jake asked her.

  "Of course. Let me wash my hands."

  She scrubbed hard then helped Jake as he started unwrapping the bandage. To Caroline, the boy's injury looked red and ugly but Jake smiled. "You're doing great. Everything looks good."

  "When can I stop wearing the stupid bandage?"

  "Another few days. Maybe a week. You can hang on that long, can't you?"

  "I guess." Tanner didn't look thrilled at the prospect, but his uncle told him a couple of knock-knock jokes to take his mind off it while he pulled some ointment from his bag and applied it with gentle care, then put a new bandage on.

  While he worked, Caroline couldn't help comparing the three Dalton brothers.

  Where Seth had been flirtatious and charming to her at breakfast, the kind of man who knew his own tremendous appeal and reveled in it, in just a few moments Caroline had determined that this middle Dalton brother seemed to be the thoughtful, introspective brother.

  That must make their oldest brother the grouchy, unreasonable one.

  Her sudden smile drew Jake's attention. "So you're the life coach my mother's been working with."

  Her smile turned wary. "Yes," she said, not at all eager for another confrontation with one of the Dalton brothers.

  "You must be doing something right. The last few months Marjorie has seemed—I don't know, more centered, focused—than I've ever seen her."

  "I don't know how much of that is my influence or how much is from her e-mail romance with my father—a courtship, by the way, that I knew nothing about until yesterday."

  Wade didn't believe her but for some reason she felt it important to convince at least one of the Dalton brothers of her innocence.

  "A sore spot, is it?"

  She hadn't realized how much her professional pride had been stung by Marjorie and Quinn's elopement until just that moment. Until the day before, she had been so pleased with Marjorie's progress in the six months she'd been working with her.

  She supposed it was arrogant to think she'd been making a difference in the woman's life, but she had seen her client blossom as she'd started to break free of destructive patterns and take control of her own life.

  Now she had to wonder how much of Marjorie's transformation had been due to her coaching and how much was from Quinn's attentions.

  Jake was waiting for an answer, she realized. She sighed, checking to be sure the children's attention was occupied elsewhere. Tanner was busy with his lollipop in hand and had wandered over to the refrigerator where Natalie and Cody were busy making words out of alphabet magnets. Natalie was spelling out horse, Caroline noted with little surprise.

  "Your brother thinks my father and I are running a scam to bilk mature women out of their retirement nest eggs," she finally said.

  Jake leaned against the counter and folded his arms. "Are you?"

  "Of course not! I have a legitimate business. You can check my Web site with my complete résumé, articles I've written and dozens of client testimonials!"

  "You have a masters in social work, spent five years working in the field then graduated from an accredited coaching school. You've had articles published in various women's magazines, have an active affirmation e-mail newsgroup and will soon be publishing a book from Serenity Press on how to tap into the healing energy within. Sounds great, by the way. I'm going to want to order autographed copies since I've got plenty of patients who can use all the healing energy they can find."

  She stared at him. "How do you know all that?"

  He smiled as he shrugged. "I checked you out months ago when Marjorie started working with you. Wade isn't the only overprotective son in this family. You can find out all kinds of things about a person just by Googling them."

  Caroline wasn't sure what to think about this middle son of Marjorie's. Part of her wanted to be offended that he had run a background check on her, but she expected her clients to fully investigate before signing up for her services. She couldn't be annoyed when their family members did the same thing.

  How far back did his background check go? she wondered. Her record should have been expunged when she'd been cleared, but he might still find evidence that she'd served jail time while awaiting trial. No, he wouldn't be looking at her with such a friendly smile if he knew about that part of her past.

  "You have a solid business," Jake went on, "a healthy reputation and the recommendation of many very satisfied customers. When your book hits the stands, I'm sure you'll have people knocking down your doors wanting your services."

  "I've worked hard for what I've earned."

  And everything would be ruined if Quinn decided to grift someone he'd found on her client list. But she couldn't let herself worry about that now.

  "It shows."

  "Apparently not to your brother."

  "Wade will come around. He's a hard man but he's not completely unreasonable."

  Her doubtful look earned a laugh from Jake but he quickly grew serious again.

  "He's a hard man," he repeated. "But he's had to be. He took on the whole responsibility for running the ranch when he was eighteen years old and helped Mom finish raising Seth and me, not an easy job. These last few years since Andi died have been tough in a lot of ways. If he's abrupt and surly, he has reason to be. Don't take it personally."

  "Thanks. I'll try to remember that. A doctor who makes house calls and doles out advice, too. You must do a booming business."

  "All part of the service."

  He smiled and she couldn't help but return it, but before she could respond, she heard a noise and turned to find Wade standing in the doorway.

  Hard, indeed. Right now the oldest Dalton brother
looked tough enough to chew nails.

  Chapter Seven

  Wade registered two things when he walked into his kitchen.

  The first was the table adorned with balloons and other festive decorations and a birthday cake covered in chocolate icing. His damn birthday party, he remembered. So much for his hopes of grabbing a quick bite to eat and going back to work.

  He didn't like the other thing he saw any better. His brother Jake was there, as solemnly handsome as ever. Normally he enjoyed having Jake around but he wasn't thrilled to see Caroline smiling up at his brother in a way she'd never looked at him.

  His mood darkened further when she caught sight of him and her smile instantly melted away like icicles on a tin roof.

  His reaction was irrational, he knew it, but it bugged the hell out of him that she couldn't spare him so much as a tiny smile, when she seemed to have more than enough for his brothers.

  He wasn't jealous, he told himself. Just protective of his brothers. Sure, they were grown men, but he didn't need either of them to get tangled up with her until they knew what she and her old man were up to.

  Somehow the rationalization rang hollow but it was the best he could come up with.

  Before he could give even so much as a terse greeting, the kids caught sight of him.

  "Daddy birthday!" Cody exclaimed gleefully. "Birthday, birthday, birthday!"

  "You made it!"

  Why did Nat have to sound completely astonished? he wondered. "Sorry I'm a little late. The vet showed up an hour ago and we had a few things to take care of."

  They weren't close to being done either. Wade had planned just to slip away for a moment to eat and say good-night to the kids, but now he wondered if he ought to tell Dave to come back in the morning.

  "That's all right." Caroline's voice was calm but impersonal. "The important thing is that you're here now. The children have been so excited to celebrate your birthday."

  "We made you a cake," Tanner said. "It's chocolate. I got to put on some frosting but only if I used my hand that doesn't hurt."

  "I bet it's delicious."

  "We're having roast beef since I told Caroline it's your favorite dinner," Natalie announced.

  Was it? He liked plenty of different foods—anything put in front of him, usually—and he wasn't quite sure why his daughter thought roast was his favorite.

  "Sounds delicious," he murmured.

  "We didn't make mashed potatoes, though. I told Caroline that was your favorite but she decided to do a different kind of potato. What's it called again?"

  "Twice-baked," Caroline said. For some reason she looked a little embarrassed. "It's a lot like mashed potatoes, just a little fancier."

  "Everything smells great. Um, just let me wash some of the dust off and then we can eat."

  He would rather have just washed his hands and sat down in all his dirt but he couldn't, not with Jake sitting in there looking so suave and professional and doctorly in tan pants and a button-down shirt.

  The thought made him wish, conversely, that he had time to shower, but he knew he didn't, not with the vet waiting, so he quickly settled for changing his shirt, combing his hat-flattened hair and washing his face and hands.

  On the way back to the kitchen, he called Dave to tell him what was up and invite him for dinner.

  "I ate before I came over. Linda's on swing shift this week so we ate before she left for work."

  "Well, come on up for cake then," he mumbled, embarrassed all over again about the whole thing.

  Dave laughed. "Thanks but I think I'll pass. I've got plenty to keep me busy until you come back down and we can finish up."

  "I'll get away as soon as I can," he promised, then disconnected, squared his shoulders, and headed into the kitchen.

  Once there, he discovered Seth had come in while he'd been gone, and his younger brother had taken time to shower, apparently.

  His hair was damp and he looked his usual charming self. He and Jake were both watching Caroline bustle around the kitchen like a couple of fat toms eyeing a nice juicy canary.

  He couldn't blame them for it. With that apron and her hair up in some kind of ponytail thing, she looked sexy and rumpled. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes bright and she had a tiny smudge of what appeared to be chocolate icing on her chin, like a beauty mark.

  His sudden desire to reach forward and lick it off just about had him heading right back out of the kitchen.

  "Sit down, Daddy," Natalie ordered, in what Andi used to call her lady-of-the-manor tone.

  He obliged, taking his place at the head of the table.

  "You have to put on your birthday hat," Nat commanded. "Tanner and me made 'em ourselves.

  He studied it by his plate, a spangled creation that looked like something a mad magician would wear. A shower of multicolored glitter fell off when he picked it up and he figured he would have rainbow sparkles in his hair for weeks.

  Nat, Caroline and the boys all had similar but less gaudy creations on but both his brothers were looking on with bare-headed amusement.

  "Why don't you have hats?" he growled.

  Seth shrugged, but there was a gleeful look in his eyes that made Wade want to pound something. "You're the birthday boy."

  He felt like an idiot but he couldn't disappoint his kids. With a resigned sigh, he pulled on the creation, snapping his chin with the elastic in the process.

  "Let's eat, then," he said.

  * * *

  Caroline had to give credit to Wade for being a good sport.

  Though he looked as if he would rather be sitting in church in his underwear, he wore the birthday hat without further complaint all through dinner; he endured the off-key singing of "Happy Birthday" from his children; he suffered through his brothers' jokes on his behalf about his advancing age.

  He even made a birthday wish before blowing out the candles on his sagging cake—though if she had to guess, she suspected his wish most likely involved figuring out some way to escape the unwanted attention.

  If not for his frequent looks at the clock or the faint, embarrassed expression or the increasingly hard set of his jaw, she might have thought he was even enjoying himself.

  He lasted nearly forty minutes before sliding his chair back and removing the birthday hat.

  "This has been great, guys. Really. The best thirty-sixth birthday party I've ever had."

  Nat made a "duh" kind of face. "It's the only one you've ever had!"

  "Well, I'm afraid I have to go," he said. "I can't keep the vet waiting any longer."

  Seth stood up. "It's your birthday celebration. Why don't you stay and I can go out and help Dave?"

  Caroline saw surprise register briefly on Wade's tanned features at the offer before he shook his head. "Not this time. We're working out the breeding schedule for next year and it's not something I can miss."

  Seth's jaw worked for a moment, but he slouched back down to his seat and reached for his drink, saying nothing.

  Did Wade completely miss the sudden restless light in his brother's eyes? she wondered. How could he completely shoot down his brother's offer of help, especially during his own birthday celebration with his children?

  The way he ran his ranch or his family was absolutely none of her business, she reminded herself as he kissed his children and bid them good-night.

  To her shock, before he left the kitchen, he paused beside her chair, looking big and rangy and slightly uncomfortable.

  "Thank you for the nice birthday dinner. I can't remember roast beef ever tasting so good and those potatoes were wonderful. It was a lot of trouble to go to and I, um, appreciate it."

  She blinked several times but before she could summon a response, he shoved on his Stetson and headed out the door.

  "You're welcome," she murmured to his back.

  What a complicated, contradictory male, she thought. Just when she thought she had him figured out, he threw a curveball at her, leaving her completely unsure what to expect.
r />   He obviously still distrusted her but they'd managed an entire meal in peace. She supposed she should be grateful for that.

  After Wade closed the kitchen door behind himself, Caroline turned back to the table to find Jake standing up as well. "I should go, too. I've got a patient having surgery tomorrow and I promised I'd stop by tonight to answer any of her last-minute questions."

  "Really? You do that for all your patients?" She couldn't believe a doctor would go to so much trouble.

  "If they need it."

  "That's wonderful! It's so refreshing to find a doctor who genuinely cares for his patients as more than just a few dollar signs."

  Jake made a face. "When the patient also happens to be my ninth-grade English teacher, I have to be on my best behavior. Agnes Arbuckle was a holy terror. I barely squeaked past her class as it was and I live in dread that if I don't treat her well, she'll give me a pop quiz about gerunds, and when I freeze and botch it she'll find some way to revoke my diploma."

  "What's a gerund?" Natalie asked.

  "Beats me." Jake winked. "I was never very good at studying."

  Caroline laughed. "That was a gerund right there, Natalie. Studying. It's a verb ending in ing that acts as noun. Like, I love dancing."

  "Really?" Seth stepped into the conversation, though there was a militant light in his eyes. "We ought to go sometime. I can do a mean two-step."

  She gave him a look. "Or I dislike teasing."

  "I wasn't teasing," he said with a smile, though she thought his heart didn't seem to be in his light flirtation. "Just say the word and I'll show you a night out on the town."

  Even with his odd mood, Seth was a remarkably good-looking man. So was Jake, she thought, wondering why on earth she couldn't experience even a little sizzle of the awareness for either of them that surged through her when Wade was in the room.

  "Well, hate to break up this grammar lesson but I really do have to run," Jake said. "I'll echo what Wade said. It's been a long time since I've enjoyed a meal like that. Thank you."

  Seth slid his chair back. "Yeah, I've got to go, too."

  "Where?" Jake asked with a mildly critical look. "The Bandito?"