LITMIR.BIZ

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she asked, walking beside him.

      “Thanks for the offer, but Stella has a town council meeting and I promised I’d meet Aaron for dinner at the TCC clubhouse to discuss business.” He felt guilty when he noticed the disappointment she couldn’t quite cover with her smile.

      “Okay, then I’ll see you tomorrow morning,” she said, turning toward the house.

      “I’ll be here for the next couple of weeks or so,” he felt compelled to tell her. Maybe knowing it wouldn’t be just a night or two would change her mind about having a houseguest for such an extended period. “Before I leave to go back to Dallas, you’ll probably get tired of looking at me over the dinner table.”

      His words didn’t seem to discourage her. If anything, her smile brightened. “I’ll plan on making something special for dinner tomorrow evening to welcome you back home.”

      Cole’s guilt at avoiding her the past six months increased tenfold as he watched her walk up the back porch steps to enter the house. He knew Paige had to be lonely. Her parents had both passed several years ago, and with Craig gone, charity work could only go so far to fill in the empty hours of a day. She was obviously anticipating having someone to talk to for a change.

      Climbing into his truck, Cole started the engine and drove down the lane to the main road. The next few weeks were going to be a true test of his fortitude. From the time he’d seen her walking down the hall at Royal High School all those years ago, he had wanted nothing more than to make her his girl. But it was too late for that. She had married his brother and, even though he and his twin had never gotten along and hadn’t spoken in more than ten years, Cole wasn’t about to disrespect Craig’s memory or his marriage to Paige.

      * * *

      The following morning when Paige got out of bed, she found that she looked forward to starting her day for the first time in longer than she cared to remember. What she had told Cole yesterday afternoon had been all too true. Craig had been away on business several nights out of each month for their entire marriage, but she had always known he would be returning home. And even though they had stopped sharing the same bed a few years ago due to Craig’s restlessness while he slept, she had taken comfort in the fact that she wasn’t alone—that he was just down the hall in the master suite. But the finality of his death not only forced her to face the fact that she had been lonely for a very long time, but also made her realize that their marriage had never been what she had wanted it to be.

      She sighed as she walked into the bathroom for a quick shower. Maybe their relationship would have been different if circumstances had been less stressful when they’d gotten married and she hadn’t lost the baby. But she’d had very little control of the situation. The minute Craig’s father had learned she was pregnant, he had insisted that Craig do the right thing and marry her immediately. Her parents had been older and very conservative and the news of their only child being pregnant out of wedlock had broken their hearts. That was why when they urged her to accept Craig’s awkwardly worded offer of marriage—she hadn’t wanted to disappoint them further and agreed.

      Unfortunately, only a few short weeks after she became Craig’s wife, she’d lost the baby and had been unable to become pregnant since. She supposed she could have requested they end the marriage and go their separate ways. But she had made a lifetime commitment when she’d recited her wedding vows and she had been determined to be a good wife to Craig, even though they hadn’t been in love.

      As she finished drying her hair, Paige decided not to dwell on the past. Craig was gone and, although they might not have had the closeness she had always wanted for their marriage, they’d had a comfortable life together and gotten along well. That was more than some couples could say.

      She went downstairs to the kitchen and started the coffeemaker. As she looked out the window above the sink, she noticed that Cole’s truck was parked close to where the barn used to be. “When he says he gets up early, he means it,” she murmured aloud. The pearl-gray light of dawn hadn’t fully given way to the rising sun and Cole had already arrived and was ready to start work.

      When the coffeemaker finished, she poured two cups of the steaming brew and left the house. She walked down to where Cole stood looking at a set of blueprints. “I thought you might need some of this,” she said, handing him one of the cups.

      “Thanks.” He smiled as he took it from her. “Since most of the jobs I’ve been in charge of are on the opposite side of Royal, I couldn’t see any sense in driving all the way across town and back every morning for coffee at the diner.” Taking a sip, he nodded his approval. “This is the best coffee I’ve had in the past six months.”

      “Doesn’t the Cozy Inn have coffeemakers in their rooms?” she asked.

      He grimaced. “They do, but either I’ve been doing something wrong or they need to find a different brand of coffee packets.”

      “Well, you’ll at least have decent coffee while you’re here at the ranch,” she said, taking a sip from her own mug.

      “About that...” He hesitated. “I’m not sure it would be appropriate for me to stay here.”

      She frowned. “Why on earth would you say that? There’s nothing improper about you staying here. This ranch has been in your family for five generations.”

      He stared at her for several long moments before he finally nodded. “I guess you have a point.”

      “I know I do,” she stated firmly. “Did you check out of the Cozy Inn?”

      “I have to go back into Royal to meet with the crew working on rebuilding the hospital wing that collapsed during the storm.” He shrugged. “I’ll check out then and bring my things with me.”

      The sound of a big truck had both of them turning to see a semi pulling a trailer full of lumber coming up the lane, followed closely by three R&N Builders pickup trucks. “It looks like it’s time for me to go back to the house and let you all get started on my barn.”

      Cole handed her his empty cup. “Thanks for the coffee.”

      His hand brushed hers, and a pleasant tingling sensation zinged up her arm. “I—I’ll have your room ready when you get back from town.”

      As she walked back to the house, she felt Cole’s gaze following her as surely as if he’d touched her. Climbing the back porch steps, she entered the kitchen and took a deep breath. Maybe she shouldn’t have been so insistent that Cole stay with her on the Double R, she thought as she set his cup on the counter. When she had been in high school, she’d had a huge crush on him. Perhaps it hadn’t completely disappeared.

      Thinking back, she could have sworn he had been just as smitten with her. But the one time he had asked her out, she’d had to explain that she wasn’t allowed to date until she was finished with school. He had assured her that he would ask her out when he came home from college for the summer after she’d graduated. But he had apparently forgotten his promise and stayed at the university to take a couple of summer classes. By the end of summer, Craig had charmed her into going out with him instead and the following spring they had gotten married. The only time she had seen Cole after that had been when his and Craig’s father had passed away.

      She poured herself another cup of coffee and sank into one of the chairs at the table. The tension between the brothers at the funeral had been palpable and she never had learned why they were at such odds. She’d thought twins, even fraternal ones like Craig and Cole, were supposed to be close and share a bond that defied logic. But the Richardson brothers were as different as night and day. Whereas Craig had been outgoing and filled with restless energy, Cole was quieter and had a calming air about him. And the contrast didn’t end with their personalities.

      They looked absolutely nothing alike. Cole had beautiful dark green eyes, was a couple of inches over six feet tall and had a muscular build and straight, light brown hair. Shorter by at least three inches, Craig had pale green eyes, wavy, dark blond hair, and had been on the thin side. Both men were extremely handsome but in different ways. Craig’s features

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