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as a nightie. She pulled it out and tossed it across the bed with a lilac-
colored lace thong. After her shower, she used the scented creams and
lotions she found in the bathroom for her skin and then slipped into the T-
shirt. Barefoot and feeling a little chilly, she hurried down to the living
room. All conversation stopped when she appeared in the doorway. Three
sets of eyes glued themselves to her legs. She was glad she d shaved them.
Evan was the first to break the silence. Come in, Evie. We have
eggnog and cookies. Help yourself.
Thanks, she said, feeling shy all of a sudden.
She strolled over, hiding her nerves, and poured a drink. Someone had
spiked it, and it warmed her insides going down.
That s bourbon whiskey and cognac, Evan said with pride. She
assumed he had been the one to make it.
Tastes good, she assured him, and took another sip. Soon, the
alcohol helped loosen her up, and Evie sat amid a mountain of ribbons,
balls, knickknacks, and garland, watching Joel act like an idiot in an effort
to get her to laugh. She managed only a smile and was surprised at how
sad she would be when they were no longer a part of her life.
Be careful, she warned Joel just before he took a wrong step and fell
backward to land on a box of glass bulbs. The pieces shattered beneath his
palm, and blood began to soak the rug. Evie shrieked and jumped to her
feet. She rushed over to Joel to see how bad the damage was. Oh no, we
might need to get you to the hospital. This cut is deep.
No hospital! the three men said at once.
Evie frowned. This is not the time for acting macho. Your hand will
need stitches. She turned to Dane, knowing he would convince Joel to
stop being a child.
No, Dane said. If you want to help him, get it washed and
bandaged. There s a first aid kit in the kitchen. Joel will show you where.
She stood there for a minute, staring at him, not believing that he could
be this cold about his friend getting hurt. Evie turned her back on Dane
and hurried to the kitchen with Joel. When she had run water on his
wound and cleaned out as much glass as she could see, she used butterfly
bandage strips to hold the skin together and then wrapped the entire hand
in gauze.
I can t believe Dane would be so hard, she said when she was done.
He acted like he didn t care about you.
Don t be so hard on him. He was just saying what I feel too no
hospitals.
What s the big deal? I know you aren t scared. The three of you strike
me as not being afraid of anything.
Joel grinned. He pulled her close and kissed her lips. Thanks, Nurse
Evie. Will you sponge bathe me later?
She smacked his chest and stomped out of the kitchen. When they both
arrived back in the living room, Evie avoided looking at Dane. She offered
Evan her help in sweeping up the shards of glass.
No way. You don t have any shoes on. We would have to go to the
hospital if you get cut. I don t want you hurt.
His concern warmed her. Well, I m sure I d have to bleed almost to
death if Dane had anything to say about it. I don t think he has a heart.
Evie, stop it, Evan snapped, startling her with his about face. You
don t know what Dane has dealt with in his life. He
Do not discuss what s my business to share, Dane growled, and
Evan fell silent. Evie was about to announce she was going to bed and
request a six a.m. ride to the airport when Dane touched her arm. She
hadn t even heard him move across the room. She glanced up into dark,
troubled eyes. Come sit by the fire.
Is that an order?
Please& I will tell you what you should know about me.
Chapter Seven
Dane stared into the fire, his face a mask of indifference, yet Evie was
sure that was the farthest from what he felt right now. While she waited
for him to speak, Evie accepted a mug from Evan and watched him give
another to Dane. Evan had made hot toddies. Evie sipped hers slowly.
You may have noticed that I was never at my own house when we
were kids, Dane began. I always stayed with Evan or Joel. She nodded
and remembered how, around Christmas time, while they were piled up
with presents from their parents, Dane always concentrated on the things
Joel s mother bought him. She must have been spacey back then, but she
never learned why. Maybe his parents had died.
Did you lose your parents? she asked, feeling insensitive just asking.
Lose? He sneered. I guess, in a way, they lost me when I was
fourteen. I woke up, and they were gone. No note, no explanation. Before
they disappeared, life wasn t that great. We never had a lot, and the ranch
where we stayed wasn t ours.
Evie gasped.
It turned out my dad was just the manager there. He d lied to me
about that, saying it was his. Since I spent most of my time rushing
through my chores to get away from him and then went into the mountains
with Joel and Evan, I never knew any different.
Evie laid a hand on his arm, but when it didn t seem like enough, she
scooted closer on the thick rug and then climbed onto his lap. She half
expected him to push her away, needing his space at the moment, but he
twisted her around and pulled her back to his chest.
Since my father had abandoned his position, the owner wasn t too
happy to keep his brat around. He kicked me off the property. So, that s
my childhood.
Evie looked up at him above her head. I m so sorry. I guess we re
kind of the same. Both abandoned. She smiled at him, hoping it would
help soothe what she now realized was Dane s way of dealing with the
wounds his parents had inflicted.
Yes, Dane agreed.
He lifted her chin and kissed her. Evie shivered. Could she& should
she sleep with him as she had the other two? It sounded so crazy, so slutty,
but it wasn t like that. Dane, Evan, and Joel meant a lot to her, much more
than just sex.
Only, Dane continued, I didn t let what those bastards did to me
drive me from the home I love. When her eyebrows rose, he said, Slate
Ridge, the Laramie mountains, and my friends. That s what s important,
Evie. But you re still running away.
I m not, I
He put a hand on her breast, making her gasp. Tell me this isn t what
you want on a long term basis.
She didn t know what to say or what to feel. Of course she wanted
him. That fact wasn t something she denied. Staying was a whole other
story. Dane teased her nipple until it hardened into a peak. He skimmed
his fingers over the length of her T-shirt and found her throbbing heat
underneath. Her eyelids fluttered closed until she forced them up. At some
point, Dane had laid her flat on the rug and leaned over her.
You think somehow you don t deserve this thing that feels so right.
He did that to you. Dane shoved her T-shirt higher, exposing her flat
belly. He kissed along her skin with each feathery touch exciting her more.
When he tore her thong off and dropped it in shreds on the floor, Evie bit
down on a scream. Dane s anger was palpable, but she knew he wouldn t
hurt her. He had no right to take you from us, and you have no right to
stay away.
His eyes blazed with emotion. Evie realized in that moment that she,
too, had hurt Dane by leaving, even though he knew she had no choice.
Her heart ached for him, but the discovery was fleeting when Dane s
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