LITMIR.BIZ

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the room and then rounded out her shoulders. The man certainly was stubborn. She flipped off her shoes and shimmied farther onto the mattress.

      When Tanner returned she pasted on a grateful smile. He passed her a glass of water and a couple of painkillers. “Thank you. I appreciate your concern,” she said and looked at him over the rim of the glass. “Even if you are being bossy.”

      “If it gets you into bed, then I’ll do what I have to.”

      Cassie was sure he didn’t mean to sound so suggestive, but once the words were out the air in the room seemed thicker, hotter, as if a seductive wind had blown through the opened doorway. She looked at him, felt the heat rising between them and desperately willed it to go away. But no. It stayed. And grew. And made her mounting awareness of him bloom into a heady, full-blown attraction. It’s because he’s handsome and sexy and friendly, that’s all. She’d have to be a rock not to notice, right?

      She said his name and waited for several seconds while he continued to watch her and the heat in Cassie’s blood intensified and her cheeks burned. Her skin was on fire and she wondered how much it had to do with her fever, and how much had to do with the man standing beside her bed. She’d never experienced anything quite like it before and despite the headache, sore throat and fever, Cassie knew that whatever she was feeling, he was feeling it, too.

      But how? Why? Cassie didn’t have any illusions about herself. She wasn’t beautiful or glamorous or overly smart. She was pretty at best. The same ordinary girl she’d been all her life. A single mother. The mother of his brother’s child. The very reason they shouldn’t be looking at one another with such scorching desire.

      Finally, he spoke. “I should go. Get some rest, Cassie.”

      “Oliver will—”

      “I’ll take care of the baby. Just rest.”

      He left the room quickly and Cassie stared after him.

      Okay...so they had...chemistry.

      It didn’t have to go anywhere. It wouldn’t. It couldn’t. She was Oliver’s mother. She had a child to think about and fantasizing about a man like Tanner wasn’t going to do anyone any good. She dropped back onto the bed and pulled the covers up. Her head hurt, her throat hurt, even her bones ached. Maybe he was right about getting some rest.

       I just need to sleep and clear my head.

      By tomorrow she’d be over it. And over her attraction for Tanner.

      There was no other option.

      * * *

      Around ten the following morning Tanner found Cassie’s cell phone and called her friend Lauren. Within an hour she and her doctor fiancé were on the doorstep. Cassie’s fever had become progressively worse overnight and by morning she was burning up and clearly unwell. He managed to get her to take some more aspirin and drink a little water just before midnight and she woke again after seven, coughing and shaking from the chills.

      “You were right to call us,” Lauren said when she came from Cassie’s room and met him in the nursery. “Gabe said she has a mild flu. I’ll arrange for some medicine to be delivered as soon as possible. That and a few days’ rest and she should be fine.” She looked at him and smiled. “You don’t seem surprised by the diagnosis.”

      “I’m not,” he replied and held Oliver against his chest. He wasn’t about to explain he’d spent most of the night alternating between the chair in Cassie’s room to make sure he was close by if she needed anything, and the sofa in the living room. If he’d thought it was something more serious than mild influenza he would have bundled her in the car and taken her to hospital. “But I’m pleased she’ll be okay.”

      Lauren gently touched the baby’s head. “You stayed last night?”

      “Of course.”

      She nodded slowly. “Well, I’m glad that you’re here to look after...things. However, we can take Oliver home with us if you—”

      “No,” he said quickly. “That’s not necessary. I’ll stay until Cassie’s feeling better. And I’m sure she’d prefer that Oliver remain here.”

      He thought she might insist, but Lauren only nodded. “You’re probably right. Let me know if you need anything. You have my number.”

      They left a few minutes later and Tanner quickly checked on a restlessly sleeping Cassie before he headed for the kitchen to feed Oliver. He’d become quickly attached to the little guy and was enjoying the time he got to spend with his nephew. Oliver was a placid baby and caring for him made Tanner think about the prospect of having children of his own. One day. He was surprised how much he liked the idea. The ranch could be a lonely place and more so than ever before, he let himself imagine a couple of kids running across the yard to the house and then along the wide verandah. And a woman...a wife. Someone to talk to. Someone with soft skin and warm hands to curl up with at night. Tanner liked that idea, too.

      He’d spent so many years pouring all his energy in his horses, building the ranch and trying to live in the present and forget the past he’d somehow ignored the future. But being with Cassie made him think about it.

      No, he corrected immediately. It was Oliver who got him thinking. Cassie was just... She was just the girl who’d sparked his interest all those years ago on the beach. Being around her brought back those memories, that’s all. He had a handle on his attraction for her. And he’d forget all about it once he went home.

      Only, last night he could have sworn he saw something in her eyes...a look...a connection...and it was something he hadn’t expected. Because she’d loved Doug.

       Which means she can never be mine.

      He shook the feeling off. The less he thought about Cassie being his or anyone else’s, the better. Tanner put the baby down for a nap and then took a quick shower. He dressed back into his jeans and padded barefoot down the hall toward the spare room. He rummaged around and found some of Doug’s clothes hanging in the wardrobe. He pulled out a shirt and slipped it on. It was a little tight in the shoulders and baggy around the waist, but it would do. He stayed in the room for a while and flipped through a few of the boxes. He found his brother’s uniforms neatly packed inside one box and another smaller carton held his medals. Tanner sat for a while, looking at the collection of memories. What would Doug make of him being with Cassie and Oliver? Would his brother be angry? Resentful? Would he eventually have come around to the idea of being a father to Oliver?

      Tanner didn’t think so. Doug liked his freedom. Strange, then, that he’d joined the military. But Tanner understood why. His brother needed the army to give him companionship. And to give him solitude. Within the corridors of discipline and routine he found the family he’d needed. He’d bonded with people who understood him, who were like him, who had his back. Tanner knew his brother had never felt that with his real family. When their parents were killed Doug was already estranged from them. He’d never fit into the life on the farm. He’d never wanted to work the sugarcane and small herd of cattle. Doug had bailed at eighteen and headed for the city, where he worked a succession of transient jobs. After their parents’ accident he returned and reclaimed what he believed was his...and promptly sold off Tanner’s legacy.

      Then came Tanner’s years at boarding school. During that time he learned to despise his brother...and yet still love him. He was family. And family was everything. Despite the repeated betrayals. Despite Doug’s behavior with Leah. Despite the mishandled inheritance. Despite all of it, a part of him still wanted to believe in the idea of brotherhood.

      Tanner ignored the heavy feeling in his chest, folded the box shut and got to his feet. He headed to the kitchen, heated up some soup he found in the pantry and carried a tray into Cassie’s room.

      She was sleeping and he was pleased that the racking cough that had kept her awake for most of the morning had abated for a while. Tanner slipped the tray onto the bedside table and watched her for a moment. She stirred and let out a soft moan. The

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