LITMIR.BIZ

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distance like she had in New York.

      Her body swayed toward him as if it couldn’t resist his pull.

      “Mommy, I forgot a towel,” Amber yelled over the noise of the shower.

      Maggie tried to find something more in Brady’s eyes, but the shutters fell and he stepped back.

      “I’ll be right up.” Maggie didn’t move. They weren’t kids anymore. Both had responsibilities elsewhere, and their paths were only joined by one thing—Amber. That’s all they had between them.

      Brady cleared his throat. “What time does school let out?”

      “Three.” Maggie was glad the word came out without being breathless.

      “Tell Amber good-night for me.” He brushed past her and headed to the front door.

      She sighed and let out a little shiver before turning to go upstairs.

      “Good night, Maggie,” he said softly as the door shut.

      Brady stood on the front porch of his childhood home. A whole host of memories had swarmed in to greet him. From toddler to teenager, he’d spent many days on this porch, dreaming of a future far away. He’d loved his parents and wanted to make them proud, but farming had never been his passion.

      He’d made sure to be the best at anything he tried. To be better at school and sports than his two brothers. It hadn’t mattered. Sam was his father’s favorite and Luke had been their mother’s favorite. Not that Brady had been neglected. He’d been loved. He’d just been different. Never quite fit in.

      As he was getting ready to knock, the door swung open.

      “Brady.” Sam moved out of the way to let him through.

      So many emotions played through Brady’s mind. Guilt, hurt, past resentment. Nothing compared to the anger for keeping Brady’s daughter a secret.

      “Sam.” Brady rolled his suitcase into the dining room and shrugged off his laptop bag. Nothing had changed in the house. Sam had kept it exactly as Mom had left it. Everything had aged, though. What was once a cream-colored paint had yellowed. From here he could see that the kitchen vinyl was worn from years of boots treading across its surface. The place was clean but far from spotless.

      “I made up your bed.” Sam moved farther into the house, going through the doorway that led to the kitchen.

      Brady closed his eyes and took a deep breath. It was as if he had only been gone for the school year and not eight years. He should have decked Sam when he answered the door, but nothing would come from a confrontation. Sam wasn’t going to change.

      From the kitchen came the sounds of a chair rubbing against the floor and a newspaper rustling. If Brady weren’t emotionally drained from meeting Amber and dealing with Maggie, he might have gone in there and started in on Sam for his lies. Instead, Brady lifted his suitcase and climbed the stairs to his old room. The doorknob was still loose in the casing and made a metallic rattle when he opened it.

      Exactly as he left it with the exception of the quilt. Brady had taken the quilt his mother had made for him when he left. Even though he’d felt compelled to leave everything behind and start a new life, he couldn’t let go of such a simple thing as a blanket.

      The double bed barely fit in the small room and left little room for the dresser. When he was fourteen, Mom had found the old bed frame at an auction.

      As always, if Mom had wanted something done, the three of them would move heaven and earth for her. They’d managed to get the bed up the narrow stairs with a few bruises and a lot of cussing. Brady ran his hand over the smooth wood footboard. Now he barely spoke to his brothers. Luke kept in touch when he could. He had always been the mediator between Brady and Sam. But their lives were all so different and without Mom and Dad to draw them together…

      Pushing the thoughts from his head, he quickly unpacked his suitcase and tucked it away under the bed. He hadn’t worked at all today but since it was Sunday, it probably didn’t matter.

      He would have to find somewhere else to work. Sam had to have a computer hidden somewhere in this house, which meant there might be a decent desk and chair for him to work on.

      Shouldering his laptop bag, Brady made his way downstairs. Anywhere he went in town, he would run into people from his past and his parents’ past. Interruptions would eat into his work time.

      He walked through the farmhouse, trying to ignore the memories floating on the edge of his mind and to concentrate on finding somewhere to work. The main difference in the living room was the fancy flat-screen TV and stereo components. Gone was the old tube TV console and rabbit ears. Their father had always complained that if you had time to sit, you had time to work. There were always chores to be done.

      Obviously, Sam didn’t feel the same way.

      The little room had a meager office with an old dial-up modem hooked to the modern computer. Brady wondered if he could even get a signal for his wireless router this far down in the valley.

      The metal folding chair and particle-board desk wouldn’t be ideal for working long hours. Back in the dining room, Brady set his laptop on the table and stretched out his shoulders. He could hear the rustle of a newspaper from the kitchen.

      If he told Sam off for keeping Amber from him, what good would it do? Sam had never listened to anyone but their father. In his mind, Sam had probably justified it with some bullshit he’d decided on when Brady had left.

      No. Sam was one demon Brady wasn’t ready to face yet. And given the silence from the kitchen, Sam wasn’t ready, either. Maybe they never would be. Two weeks and Brady would be gone again. Nothing was going to change that. And nothing would change between them.

       Chapter Nine

      Maggie sat at her desk working on some bills for the furniture store while Amber did her homework at the kitchen table. Brady had brought in his laptop and sat next to Amber. Two minutes later, he’d answered a call on his cell phone and wandered out to the front porch.

      “Alex Conrad puked in the hallway today. It was so gross.” Amber tipped back in her chair to look around the door frame at Maggie.

      “That sounds unpleasant. All four on the floor.” Referring to the chair legs. Maggie looked at her watch again. Brady had been outside for the past thirty minutes. She’d begun to like the guy yesterday. He’d been attentive and helpful in the airport and the car ride to Tawnee Valley. He’d focused on Amber, answering her nonstop questions like a pro. Just when she thought he was going to give it a real go and leave the workaholic in New York, the New York Brady had shown up at her door jonesing for an internet connection.

      She’d wanted to ask how it went with Sam, but he hadn’t spared her more than a couple of sentences since he’d arrived.

      “There were chunks—”

      “That’s enough, Amber Marie. Get back to your homework.” Maggie finished the last check and started putting things away. “Maybe after homework and dinner, we can go get some ice cream.”

      “Yay!” Amber bent her head over the page of math problems.

      Maggie carried the stamped envelopes out the front door. Brady stood on the far end of the porch, gesturing while he spoke intensely on the phone.

      She walked to the mailbox and dropped the bills in. At least he was passionate about his work. What would it be like if he were that passionate about Amber? Would he even give a second thought to the phone when it rang? Would it have been better if Maggie had left it alone? If he’d never found out about Amber? It’s not as if he would visit Sam and accidentally run into Amber and her. Besides, half the town thought Amber was Sam’s. The other half thought she was Luke’s.

      “Don’t

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