His Heir, Her Secret

The caterer returned to clear the table, and Cate jerked away, her expression caught somewhere between horror and what appeared to be revulsion...which made no sense at all. They had been good together. Sensational.

Cate swept the back of her hand across her mouth and whispered urgently, “You have lip gloss on your chin.”

He picked up a napkin, wiped his face and looked at the pink stain on the white linen. Before he could say anything, Duncan and Isobel walked into the room.

Brody’s grandmother had been crying...her eyes were red-rimmed. But she seemed calm and at peace. Brody shot his brother a quick glance. Duncan grimaced but nodded. Apparently, all was well.

“We’ll go now,” Cate said.

Isobel followed her through the house and into the front foyer. While Duncan helped the women with their coats, Brody brooded. “I’ll drive you down the mountain,” he said. “It’s dark, and it’s late.”

Cate frowned. “Don’t be ridiculous. I’m perfectly capable of negotiating this mountain. Unlike you, I like it here.”

Brody winced inwardly. He hadn’t been wrong. Something was going on with Cate. He lowered his voice. “Will ye walk Granny upstairs and make sure she’s settled?”

“Of course.” Cate pulled away from him and put on her gloves. “I’ve been looking after Miss Izzy for a long time. You people came over for the funeral and left again. She’s important to me. I won’t let her down.”

“The implication being that I’m a disappointment.”

Cate shrugged and lifted her hair from beneath her collar. “If the shoe fits.”

Duncan intervened. “If the two of you can quit squabbling, I think Granny’s ready for bed.”

Isobel spoke up. “I can wait. At my age, I don’t need as much sleep. Besides, watching Brody try to woo Cate is a hoot and a half.”

“There’s no wooing,” Cate protested, her cheeks turning red. “We were merely having a difference of opinion. Cultural differences and all that.”

Now Brody felt his own face flush. “I’m Scottish, not an alien species.”

She sniffed audibly. “It doesn’t really matter, does it? Miss Izzy is a North Carolinian, and so am I. You and Duncan are merely passing through.”

With that pointed remark, Cate ushered Isobel out into the cold and slammed the door behind them.

Duncan whistled long and loud. “What in the hell did you do to piss her off? We haven’t even been in Candlewick twenty-four hours.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Brody lied.

“I may be a wee bit younger than you are, but I’ve tangled with my share of fiery lasses. The sexual tension between you and the lovely Cate is nuclear.”

“Don’t call her lovely,” Brody snapped. “Don’t call her anything.”

Duncan rocked back on his heels and wrapped his arms across his chest. “Damn. You’re a fast worker, bro, but even you aren’t that good. Something happened four months ago, didn’t it?”

“None of your business.”

“You messed around with that gorgeous woman and then went home. Cold, Brody. Really cold. No wonder she looks as if she wants to strangle you.”

“It wasn’t like that. Granny introduced us. Cate and I became...close.”

“For the entire four weeks?”

“The last two. It wasn’t anything either of us planned. Can we talk about something else please?”

“Okay. What are we going to do about Granny?”

Hell. This topic was not much better. “We have to convince her to sell. She’s too damned old to be here on her own.”

“She has Cate.”

“Cate’s not family.”

“I don’t think Granny cares. That old woman crossed an ocean with a brand-new husband and started a brand-new life. She’s tough. Losing Grandda was a huge blow, but she’s still upright and fighting. What if we make her go home to Scotland, and it’s the final blow? She hasn’t lived there since she was a very young woman. Candlewick and the business and this house are all she knows.”

“Aren’t you forgetting our father, her son?”

“Dad is an eccentric. He and Granny love each other, but it works really well long distance. That’s not a reason to kidnap her. She’s an independent soul. I don’t want to break her spirit.”

“And you think I do?” Brody’s frustration spilled over in a shout. “Sorry,” he muttered.

Duncan locked the front door and turned off the lights. “We’re both beat. Let’s call it a night. Maybe we’ll have a flash of inspiration tomorrow.”

“I doubt it.”

* * *

Brody fell asleep instantly, but surfaced four hours later, completely disoriented and wide-awake. After a few seconds the fog cleared. It was midmorning back home. On a good day he’d be out on the loch with the wind in his hair and the sun on his back. He slung an arm across his face and told himself not to panic. No one could make him move to America. That was ludicrous.

Without warning, an image of Cate Everett filled his brain. He would never admit it, but even with an ocean between them, Cate had been on his mind most days over the past four months. There was something about her gentle smile and husky laughter and the way her hair spilled like warm silk across his chest when they were in bed together.

She wasn’t exactly uninhibited between the sheets. In fact, the first three times they had been intimate, she’d insisted on having the lights off. He’d thought her shyness was charming and sweet. He’d considered it a personal triumph when she’d actually let him strip her naked in broad daylight and make her scream his name.

The memory dampened his forehead and caused his jaw to clench. The house was plenty cool, but suddenly the bed felt like a prison.

Bloody hell. He pulled on a clean pair of boxers and wandered barefoot through the silent hallways to the kitchen. The generous space had been renovated a decade ago. Despite Isobel’s advanced age, she had never fit the stereotype of a little old lady. She embraced change and even loved technology. Stewart Properties was a sophisticated, cutting-edge company with an incredibly healthy bottom line.

He poured himself a glass of orange juice and downed it in three swallows. Brody owed his grandmother a great deal. She had helped him through a very painful period of his life when his parents divorced. He’d been fifteen and totally oblivious to the undercurrents in the house.

When the end came, life had become unbearable. Isobel insisted that her two boys come to North Carolina for a long visit, long enough for the worst of the trauma to ease. These mountains had provided healing.

Under the circumstances, Brody had a very serious debt to pay.

Even knowing that, his gut churned. Staying in Candlewick would mean dealing with Cate and his muddled feelings.

It was far easier to live on another continent.

After half an hour of pacing, his feet were icy, and sleep was out of the question. Without second-guessing himself, he returned to his bedroom and dressed rapidly. Duncan wouldn’t need transportation at this hour.

Brody guided the boring rental car down the winding mountain road, careful to stay on the correct side of the road. It helped that no one else was out at this hour. Soon he reached the outskirts of town. Candlewick still slept. Main Street was deserted.