LITMIR.BIZ

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      Luke chuckled.

      “Would you like to see our cats?” Crissy asked when they finished dessert. “They live in the barn.”

      “Go ahead,” Elysia told the other three occupants of the table. “I have to clear away.”

      Tom hesitated, but Crissy caught his hand and coaxed him out the back door.

      Luke hesitated before he followed. “You okay?” he asked his sister.

      She managed a smile. “I suppose so. Not that we’ve settled anything, but we’re not attacking each other, either. I don’t mind if he sees Crissy.”

      “They seem to be forming a bond.”

      “I noticed.” She sighed. “Luke, you don’t think he’ll try to take her away from me?” she asked worriedly.

      “No, I don’t. He isn’t that kind of man.”

      “I do hope you’re right. I’ve only been around him for a few…”

      The sound of tires on the gravel outside caught their attention. A tall, dark-haired man was just getting out of a racy red foreign sports car.

      “Why, it’s Matt!” Elysia exclaimed. “Whatever is he doing here?”

       Chapter 4

      Matt Caldwell was a handsome devil, dark-eyed and lean-faced and dark-browed. He moved with a lithe, sure gait and he was the favorite target of most of the single women in Jacobsville. Not that Matt ever seemed to notice any of them, except Elysia, and only on a friendly basis. His full name was Mather Gilbert Caldwell. But everyone called him Matt.

      He grinned as he approached the people on the front porch, showing perfect white teeth.

      “Are you a delegation?” he queried.

      “You’d better hope we’re not a lynch mob,” Luke chuckled. “What brings you out here?”

      “I’m looking for your dinner guest. Where is he? I’ve got a message for him from his sister.”

      “It must be a pretty important one to bring you out here,” Elysia said. “And how did you know he was here?”

      “Mr. Gallagher,” he murmured dryly.

      She groaned. “He’s out in the barn with Crissy.”

      “Mind if I deliver the message?”

      “Of course not,” Elysia said.

      He caught her by the hand and pulled her along. “You come, too.”

      She let him lead her away with an amused glance toward her brother.

      “Is it bad news?” she asked as they approached the barn.

      “Not at all.” He glanced down at her. “Why is your dinner guest in the barn with Crissy?”

      “She’s introducing him to our cats.”

      “I heard she and Luke spent today out at Turner’s Lake fishing with Tom.”

      “They did.”

      “Is he Luke’s friend, or yours?” Matt asked, pausing to stare down at her.

      She fidgeted. “That’s personal. You and I are just friends, Matt.”

      “Of course we are,” he agreed. “But friends take care of each other. Our Mr. Walker has a cold, nasty

      temper and he seems to be going out of his way to antagonize you. I felt a little guilty about it, so I came out to see why Luke brought him home.”

      His wording went right by her. “Crissy likes him,” she said.

      “Crissy likes me, too,” he said pointedly.

      She couldn’t say any more without giving away secrets. She grimaced. “Matt, be a dear and stop grilling me, could you?”

      “Is he why you left New York so suddenly?”

      She glared at him. “Hey. That’s too personal!”

      “Sure it is. We’ve already agreed that we’re friends, haven’t we?” His dark eyes narrowed. “Crissy looks a lot like him, don’t you think?”

      “Matt!”

      He let out a long sigh. “Well, she does. I’m not blind or stupid, and I knew more about Fred Nash than most people. He wasn’t in any shape to become a father…”

      “Oh, God, not you, too?” she groaned.

      “Yes. Me, too. For heaven’s sake, hasn’t it dawned on you that I was responsible for Tom being in Jacobsville? That I planted the seed in his mind, encouraged him to do a market study of the area and move down here?”

      She actually gasped. “You didn’t!”

      “I did,” he said firmly. “He had a right to know.

      Not that I said anything about Crissy to him. I thought fate would take care of that. And it has. He knows, too, doesn’t he?”

      She glowered up at him.

      “Of course he knows,” he answered his own question. “He isn’t blind, either. And he’s been giving you fits ever since he moved here. Damn, I’m sorry.”

      She slumped. “Matt, you were only trying to help. But it’s all such a mess.”

      “Most messes can be cleaned up with the right broom.” He tilted her face up, smiled and bent to kiss her on the cheek. “Cheer up. The world isn’t going to end. In fact, things are going to work out beautifully. All you have to do is give them a chance.”

      The squeak of the barn door opening brought both heads up. Tom was standing there with Crissy beside him, glaring blackly at the newcomers.

      “There you are,” Matt said genially, still clinging tightly to Elysia’s hand. “Kate phoned. When she couldn’t find you, she found me. She has news.”

      Tom stilled. “Bad news?”

      “Hell, no,” Matt said, chuckling. “She’s pregnant. You’re going to be an uncle again.”

      Tom whistled through his teeth. “Imagine that. They’ve tried for years to have a second child.” He laughed with pure delight. “I’ll bet they’re both over the moon.”

      “Kate sounded that way when I spoke to her,” Matt agreed. “She said Jacob’s already planning a new nursery. He wants a girl this time. I think Kate does, too.”

      “They’ll be happy with whatever they get. They’re both crazy about kids.”

      “Their son will like having a playmate.”

      “And Kate is a wonderful mother,” Tom added. “I’ll call her as soon as I get home. Why are you holding Elysia’s hand?” he added so abruptly that it caught Matt by surprise.

      “Was I?” He loosened her fingers with a smug look that neither of them saw.

      “He can hold my hand if he wants to,” Elysia told Tom.

      “I noticed,” he said coldly. “You must like him. You haven’t thrown anything at him. What’s the matter, can’t get your shoe off?”

      “Just you give me a minute and we’ll see…!” She struggled with a loafer, using Matt’s arm for a prop, but she was immediately tugged upward.

      “Stop that,” Matt muttered.

      “Did she throw a shoe at you, Mr. Tom?” Crissy asked, wide-eyed.

      “Yes, she did,” he replied curtly. “A high-heeled one, at that. She could have knocked my head off.”

      “That was the idea, all

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