Yeah, it was kind of funny now that he thought about it. Luke grinned and held his hand out to her brother. “I’m Lucas…Luke Denton. Nice to meet you.”
When her brother didn’t shake hands, Luke shook his head and reached for his denim shirt on a bail of straw near where he and Cassie had spent the night. Better not press his luck.
Not that his luck had been all that great lately.
Hell, he was just trying to help. First to rescue Tika—and now Cassie when he thought the man was a threat. Obviously, she didn’t need rescuing from her own brother.
Epic fumble, Denton.
* * *
Cassie sped along the slippery path to the cabin to escape the explosion of testosterone in the shed. What was Eduardo doing here so early? He had said he would not arrive for at least another week, after the last of his conferences. How did he make it past the snowpack covering her road?
Eduardo caught up with her halfway to the cabin and reverted to Spanish. “I thought he was attacking you. You screamed for him to get off you.”
Cassie had no memory of screaming anything or even that Lucas had been on top of her. Her face grew warm with embarrassment. She’d gone from the throes of one of her night terrors to finding Eduardo attacking Lucas.
Please, Goddess, save me from macho men.
“I was having a nightmare.”
Strange, however, because at one point in her dream, she thought she watched as Lucas fought Pedro off her. She’d never deviated from the actual rape memories before. And then Lucas had held her so tenderly. Even in the fog lingering from the dream, Lucas’s hands had been different from any other man’s. Gentle, loving, protective.
Giving, not taking. For the first time since the rape, she had felt safe with a man—until Diego’s face entered the nightmare.
She blinked away that man’s evil visage, her head no longer fuzzy from her deep sleep and confusing dreams. Thankfully, Lucas had stayed behind in the shed until she could clarify this situation to Eduardo without distractions.
Cassie could well imagine what Eduardo thought about finding the two of them entangled in each other’s naked bodies.
Eduardo continued to struggle for composure. “Who is this man—Luke Denton?”
Lucas must have introduced himself. Such a gentleman. This would all be comical if she did not know how her brother’s machismo could make things very uncomfortable during this visit. So how to explain the man who invaded her cabin nearly two weeks ago?
“He became stranded here in the avalanche.” She narrowed her gaze at him.
“What was he doing up here with you—alone?”
“No, it wasn’t like that. He actually was nearly killed by the avalanche when he followed me home to make sure I arrived safely. I have been nursing him back to health.”
Eduardo touched his side where Lucas had elbowed him. “He does not seem all that weak to me. And what were you doing naked with him?”
She shared what had happened when he had gone after Tika, but her brother seemed skeptical. Perhaps if she changed the subject. “How did you get through? It will take at least another week to clear my road.”
“I hiked my way around the mountain.” Pointing in the direction of the shed, he added, “He could have left…if he had wanted to.” Eduardo’s intense stare made her uncomfortable enough to turn away. She and Lucas really hadn’t made clearing the road a high priority. The slightest exertions seemed to wipe out what little strength he had mustered, even before this latest setback. Of course, he served on the mountain rescue squad in their village and had been here to see her several times over the years. Still, she felt compelled to defend Lucas.
“He did not grow up in the Andes at these altitudes and temperatures. But he also has suffered two possible concussions and hypothermia since he has been here.”
Eduardo rubbed his abdomen. “He seems strong enough to me.”
Cassie marveled that Lucas would even attempt to protect her in his weakened condition. No one had ever come to her defense at potential risk to himself. His actions created feelings in her that…she did not wish to explore at the moment.
Opening the front door to the mudroom, she gestured for him to enter, but he insisted she go first. Eduardo’s backpack sat next to the door, so he must have come inside before he went in search of her in the shed.
In the living room, she gestured toward the loveseat. “Please sit down. Would you like some coffee?”
“Sí.” He went to the fireplace to start a fire instead. His thick hair and dark brown skin showed off his Quechua roots. She wished she had taken more after their mother, too. She loved her Spanish heritage and olive coloring, but Eduardo’s features were much more…classic.
She escaped to the kitchen, hoping to postpone the inevitable interrogation to follow. Eduardo could be worse than having to face her papá, perhaps because he knew enough about American ways to think the worst of her.
She had never told her family what really had happened the night she had come home in the wee hours and had avoided her family for days while nursing her wounds in her room. Even though Eduardo had a wife and son at the time, Papá and Mamá had told him about her being out all night with Pedro. They blamed Eduardo for her newfound American morals because he had been the one to talk his parents into allowing her to go to uni.
Eduardo had shown up in her bedroom demanding that she marry Pedro sooner rather than later so as not to shame the family with her “New York” behavior. He chastised her for not respecting her parents enough to leave her lewd behavior behind when she visited Peru. Clearly, he assumed she had slept with Pedro—willingly.
Yet she had remained silent. Two days later, she announced that the engagement was off and she would be returning to New York early. Even without a place to stay until she could move back onto campus, all that mattered was being as far from Pedro, Luis, and most especially Diego, as possible.
Papá had been so upset he had not even said goodbye. However, Eduardo’s accusations had driven a wedge between the once-close siblings.
Sometimes she wished she had called Diego’s bluff and told her parents what had truly happened that night, but she had not been thinking clearly at the time. She only knew she needed to escape the hurt and pain. The shame of having put herself in such a situation as to be raped.
Only, the hurt and pain had hounded her every day since.
Cassie returned to the living room a few minutes later with a mug of coffee and placed it on the coffee table. “I need to go check on Lucas.”
“Who is he to you, Casandra?”
Here we go again. “Lucas is an acquaintance. A fellow artist. I ran into him recently in Aspen Corners while visiting a mutual friend.” Do not mention you were in a bar. “He followed me home to make sure I arrived safely. That is all there is to it.”
Eduardo made a fist at his side before reaching for the mug. “I found you naked with him lying on top of you. Let me ask another way. What kind of relationship do you have with him? Tell me truthfully.”
“I am being truthful! I hardly know him.” The censure in his eyes told her he did not believe her to be telling the truth. She could not blame him on the face of things. Before this spiraled out of control, as it could with Eduardo, she explained further. “His truck was hit by the avalanche that closed my road. He was injured and needed my help. Why are you not listening to me?”
“Why would you let a stranger follow you home?”
“I did not even know he followed me until our mutual friend called asking about him after the avalanche. I guess he was worried about me living alone up here. Maybe he has some of your machismo.” Goddess, I hope not. Eduardo and Papá were bad enough.
“Or perhaps he had something else on his mind.”
Cassie found herself wanting to defend Lucas who had never done anything to so much as suggest ulterior motives. “I swear to you, he has been recuperating ever since the accident. As soon as we clear the road, he plans to return to his r
anch and horses.”
Eduardo scrutinized her. “I thought you said he was an artist.”
She sighed. “He is an artist by trade but also adopts and rehabilitates abused wild horses at his ranch sanctuary.”
Eduardo took a tentative sip, apparently mulling over what she had told him. After a moment, he set the mug on the table again. “Did he touch you, other than what I saw for myself?”
Not before I touched him.
Her face grew warm thinking about how her fingers had caressed his pecs and nipple last night while he was unconscious. Perhaps that’s what had sparked the sensory memory of having his arms around her when she woke. The reason her nipples had responded without physical contact of any kind to his close proximity. No, best not to mention that part.
Too late. Eduardo began breathing in short bursts. He was psychic, even if he chose not to hone his skills. Had he tuned in on her thoughts? She hoped not. Perhaps he’d only jumped to conclusions again.
Ignoring his agitation, she continued the story the way she wanted it told. The truth. Reality. Not the distorted happenings from her dream state. “Yesterday, one of my alpacas ran away from the shed. Lucas was injured again trying to find her. I was trying to warm his body. He blacked out. Too heavy to carry to the cabin, I chose to stay with him in the shed where it was warm.”
“That does not explain what you were doing lying naked with him today. Did you have sex with him?”
“No! It is not like that, Eduardo.” Frustrated with his one-track mind, she stood. She needed to check on Lucas, but tried once more to explain things to her brother. “He had hypothermia again. I was just trying to raise his body temperature. You know I would never be with a man in that way unless we were married.” Let him think she was honoring her upbringing and not that she had an aversion to men. She never gave them what they wanted. They took it by force.
He narrowed his gaze. “Why have you put yourself in a situation where a man—a stranger you hardly know—can misinterpret your intentions, pequeña?”
Shame poured over her like a bucket of ice-cold water. No! She had no reason to be ashamed. Nothing had happened between her and Lucas. How could she, a grown woman who had lived on her own for many years, let her brother and his code of machismo reduce her to childhood guilt again?
“I am not under your protection, Eduardo. We are not in Peru.”
Still, the censure in his words told her he would never understand what had happened between her and Lucas, much less what the men in the Lima cantina had done to her. Not that he would ever know. Good girls did not go to cantinas with men, not even their fiancés.
Eduardo searched her face until shame once again forced her to cast her gaze away. The memory of so many hands touching her, forcing her, made her skin crawl. She closed her eyes and swallowed hard.
“Excuse me.” She needed to check on Lucas—and escape her brother. She wondered how long Eduardo would stay. She hoped it would not be long. Despite anticipating his visit for months, craving news of their family, and hoping to rekindle what she and her brother had once had as children, his presence brought back too many sad memories.
Before she reached the mudroom, the outside door opened. The concern on Lucas’s face when he homed in on her made her feel…cherished.
No. The heat rising in her face and the way her heart pounded made her feel decidedly uncomfortable.
She didn’t want Eduardo to read anything into Lucas’s worried expression, but cringed when he walked up to her. “You okay, Sweet Pea?” His words were barely a whisper, but she feared Eduardo would hear them and jump to the wrong conclusion again.
Nodding, she ignored her brother and did not make eye contact with Lucas. “I am fine. I need to prepare dinner.” She walked toward the kitchen and away from both men.
* * *
Luke had sensed the tension between Cassie and her brother the moment he entered the cabin. Maybe they weren’t all that close to start with. Luke had no experience with being a sibling, although he had two friends—Marc and Angel—who were what he imagined having a sister or brother would be like.
But Cassie? Well, his hormones fired on all cylinders whenever he was around her—or pressed against her. Luke wondered if he could settle with just being friends with her. Friends. No benefits. Sure he could.
He hated seeing Cassie hurting—and she was downright miserable right now. Strain around her mouth told him she probably wished both of them were out of her home at the moment.
Fighting a headache and extreme lethargy from the events since he’d set out for Tika yesterday, Luke went into the bathroom to clean up. He didn’t have anything but the clothes he’d worn the day of the accident. While damp from his trek in the snow yesterday, they were drying fast enough against his skin. No way would he take them off. Last thing Cassie needed was for him to be running around here in his underwear again while she tried to convince her brother they didn’t have an intimate relationship.
Half an hour later, after he’d warmed himself some more by the fire and wondering if he’d ever stop shivering, the three sat down at her small kitchen table. Cassie sat on the long side between the two men. He noticed she’d found a pair of pants at some point after she’d come back inside. Must be awkward to have your brother see you naked. He bet she’d had to do some explaining. He hoped the man hadn’t been too hard on her but figured he might feel a little overprotective if he’d just found his little sister in a bed of sorts with a man.
Maybe they could find something to talk about besides what did or didn’t happen between him and Cassie. “Eduardo, what is it you do back home?”
“I’m a seismic geoscientist.” His terse response didn’t make Luke particularly want to know more, but he needed to cut the tension in here.
“So you study earthquakes?”
“Mostly the faults that lead to earthquakes, but also volcanic activity.” Something must have broken loose in the man because he then spent the next fifteen minutes discussing the likelihood of earthquakes hitting Peru and California. He’d just come from one conference in Seattle where he’d presented on volcanic seismic activity along the Ring of Fire. To hear him talk, the whole Pacific Rim was about to blow. Good thing Luke lived here in Colorado just in case he was right.
Next week, Eduardo said he would be speaking at a university conference in California. He must be some kind of international expert. Impressive.
“When I heard there had been an avalanche on Cassie’s mountain, I decided to check on her between my two conferences rather than after the last one as planned.”
“You could have called.” Cassie hadn’t said much until now, but her mood hadn’t improved.
“I tried, but there was no answer.”
She furrowed her brow at first. “Oh! I received a couple of missed calls with an area code I didn’t recognize, but there was no message so I assumed they were telemarketers.”
Eduardo shrugged and went back to eating, but Cassie had barely touched her meal. Luke removed the spoon from her hand and scooped up some soup. “Open wide.”
“I do not need you to feed me, Lucas.”
“I won’t if you feed yourself.” He placed the spoon back in her bowl and stared pointedly at her until she picked it up and began eating. She was way too thin from what he’d seen after she’d removed that damned bulky poncho and gone skin to skin with him in the shed.
Satisfied she would continue to eat, Luke turned his attention back to her brother, who scrutinized him more closely for some reason.
After she’d taken a few bites, he asked her, “So it was just the two of you as siblings?” Eduardo nodded. “I was an only child, but my wife was one of five. They drifted apart when she left home after college.” Okay, Luke was rambling, but he didn’t know what else to talk about. Obviously, the two of them weren’t going to talk to each other, and he only knew so much about earthquakes and volcanoes.
Cassie kept her gaze on her bowl and whispered, “That happens someti
mes between siblings.” She glanced at her brother with longing before focusing on her soup again.
Clearly, something had caused the two to drift apart even before Eduardo had arrived on her doorstep. Why was her brother giving her a hard time for helping him recover from hypothermia? Hell, she’d rescued him—twice. While their sibling relationship problems were none of his concern, he hated seeing the yearning for acceptance and love just now in Cassie’s eyes. Apparently, she hoped in vain for something her brother couldn’t—or wouldn’t—give her.
Was he the reason Cassie didn’t want to visit her homeland again?
Luke kept Eduardo talking while surreptitiously watching Cassie empty her bowl.
Good girl.
The two siblings maintained their silence, but after a few more minutes, Luke’s curiosity took over. To no one in particular, he said, “Tell me what it was like growing up in Peru. Sounds exotic.”
* * *
Cassie smiled at Lucas. “Peru and the Andes in particular are very beautiful. The mountains are higher than here. That is probably the only thing exotic about the place. Where we lived, there were mostly miners—all men—and the women were domestics who worked for the mine owners or wives and mothers taking care of their own households.” She shrugged. “Not very exotic, I am afraid. Our father owned one of the smaller mines, but he is retired now. Mamá, who is Quechua—a member of a local native tribe—kept house for our family. She also performed shamanistic ceremonies for anyone interested in the old ways.”
“Shaman like the Native American healers?” Luke asked. Cassie nodded. “Perhaps you have some of your mother’s healing ways about you.”
Before she could negate his words, Eduardo interrupted. For a moment, she had forgotten he was here. “Casandra was raised Roman Catholic, the same as I.” Eduardo did not embrace his Quechua background.
But then Eduardo surprised her. “Cassie is a healer. She saved my life her last winter at home.” Eduardo had never acknowledged her helping him overcome the unexplained fever the month before the rape.
Nobody's Dream (Rescue Me Saga #6) Page 12