LITMIR.BIZ

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used to give up when he set his mind on something. That’s how he’d ended up with Hannah. Carly smiled at the similarity between her brother and his daughter. “Tell you what. If I get married, you can be the flower girl and Austin can be the ring bearer.”

      “Promise?” The girl’s hopes and dreams filled the one-word question.

      “Your aunt said if, not when,” Jacob clarified. If being the key point, and Carly was grateful for him pointing it out.

      “But if you do, Aunt Carly…”

      Even Austin leaned toward her in anticipation of her response.

      She smiled. “I promise.”

      Married? To Carly? Too funny.

      Jake could barely contain his laughter when the kids had brought that up, but the way she’d sent dagger-worthy glares his way kept him quiet.

      Poor Carly. Those kids had pushed every one of her buttons. Some twice. With a shake of his head, he carried Carly’s suitcase upstairs.

      She followed behind him. “I’d forgotten all about the wall of infamy.”

      He glanced back and saw Carly staring at the photographs. “You mean wall of family.”

      She didn’t take her eyes off the pictures. “I call it as I see it.”

      “Me, too.”

      Eight years ago, he had dreamed about being a real part of the Bishop family, of having his photo up on that wall. A wedding photo. He’d wanted to be Nick’s brother-in-law, Carly’s husband. And then, while Jake was taking his time waiting for her to grow up, Iain had taken his shot at happiness. The daring young climber had almost blown it though, and given Jake another chance, but when all was said and done, Carly stuck with Iain after he apologized for putting a climb before her birthday.

      At the time, Jake told himself everything worked out for the best. But it hadn’t.

      Not for Iain, killed right before his wedding.

      Not for Carly, widowed before she was a bride.

      Not for Nick, dead before his time.

      And not for Jake, either.

      He continued up the stairs.

      But what had happened or how he had felt about Carly was in the past. All that remained was for him to make sure she was happy and living life the way she should. Once he knew that, then he, too, could move on.

      “Hannah will run out of wall space someday.” He glanced back and saw Carly still staring at the pictures. “Or photos.”

      “Wall space perhaps,” she said. “But thanks to digital photography, Hannah will never run out of pictures.”

      “True, she carries her camera everywhere.” He listened to the kids in the kitchen doing homework. “Hope that wasn’t too much for you downstairs.”

      “Well, it’s not every day you get into a head-on collision with your past.”

      “Good thing you had an air bag to soften the blow.”

      “What air bag?” Carly asked.

      “Me.”

      “Oh, yes, that thumbs-up was a huge help.”

      “You were doing great on your own.” He respected the way she handled the situation. “I just provided a little cushion.”

      Her mouth twisted on one side. “How can Mr. Hard Body be a cushion?”

      He grinned, remembering the teasing from years gone by. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

      “You would.”

      Jake laughed. “Still the pesky little sister shadowing her big brother, aren’t you?”

      “Being here brings it all back.” The amusement had disappeared from her voice. “But that’s not such a bad thing. Living so far away, it’s easy to forget.”

      He entered the guest room and placed the suitcase on the bed. “Everyone’s missed you.”

      “I’ve missed them.”

      Jake had missed her, too. But he saw a new maturity in her, a difference from the girl she’d once been. That hadn’t come across in her e-mails. He liked the changes.

      “The promise you made to the kids,” he reminded. “They will hold you to it.”

      “I expect them to.”

      “So you plan to marry someday.”

      She shrugged. “I’ve learned you can’t really plan on something like that. But if I met someone and fell in love…well, maybe I’d want to marry him.”

      Not the answer Jake was looking for. “You don’t sound like the girl who started reading bridal magazines when she was sixteen.”

      “I haven’t met anyone I’ve wanted to marry….”

      Except Iain.

      Though Jake wondered how marriage to an adventurous, full-time climber would have been for Carly. Still, the fact she hadn’t seemed to have gotten over Iain’s death made Jake feel guilty. Okay, guiltier.

      “But you could.” He wouldn’t be happy until she moved on with her life the way Hannah had. Carly deserved a happy ending, too. Jake would somehow make sure she found one. He owed her that much.

      “I could.” Carly didn’t sound that confident as she opened her suitcase.

      Jake didn’t blame her. He hadn’t known what to make of Iain the first time he’d met him. The kid’s confidence bordered on cockiness, but Jake had soon learned the talented climber had a heart of gold. He couldn’t help but like and respect Iain. Envy him, too. For his fearlessness. For his climbing talent. For being the recipient of Carly’s love and adoration.

      At least until finding Iain’s bloody, bruised and broken body covered in snow. The image had given Jake nightmares for years. He blinked, hoping to erase the picture in his mind. “You really should.”

      Another shrug. “Do we need to check on the kids?”

      He listened to the sound of voices drifting upward. “Nope. I hear them.”

      “I thought it was good when kids were quiet.”

      “Noise is good,” Jake said. “Quiet means start worrying, but I can hear them. We’ll help them with their homework later.”

      “What about you?” Carly asked.

      “My homework days are long past.”

      “That’s not what I’m talking about.” She picked up a black camisole from her suitcase and threw it at him. The same way she’d tossed a dishrag or a sweatshirt at him years ago.

      He caught it as he always had. “Nice throw.”

      But the action felt too intimate to Jake in a way it never felt before. This was the kind of top a man peeled off a woman.

      Pink tinged her cheeks. “Sorry, habit.”

      “It’s okay.” Jake handed her the top rather than tossing it back to her. “What did you want to know?”

      “Have you given marriage much thought?” she asked.

      He was hoping she wouldn’t go there, but maybe after coming home to face her demons—and the devil kids downstairs—she deserved the truth. It wasn’t as if the information would change anything between them. “I was engaged, but other than that…”

      Her gaze met his. “Nobody told me. You never told me.”

      He shrugged. “It was four…no, five years ago.”

      “So what happened?”

      His

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