Her Sister's Secret Son

The sun poured through a large window overlooking Main Street. Pierce Sawmill was emblazoned across the glass in gold-edged letters.

Rachel worked in accounting. Her job wasn’t glamorous, but she enjoyed it—usually. Today, the air conditioner was broken. Despite a requisition, no one had come around to repair it.

The metallic scream of a saw biting into hardwood drowned out the sound of Jared’s arrival. Only the stirring of warm air, the office door opening, alerted Rachel to his presence. She looked up from her desk, wondering how long he’d been standing there watching her. The thought sent a forbidden shiver down her spine—one she quickly rejected.

“Can I help you with something?” She felt the heat in her face rise as she lifted her voice above the noise.

“Jessie mentioned you worked for Drew.” His voice seemed to echo and bounce off the four walls.

Unable to suppress the defensive note, Rachel said, “I work for the Pierces.” Another log tumbled with a deafening crash. To her relief, Jared closed the door. Her relief lasted about a second. He’d shut himself in with her. Her office was small. It shrank with Jared Carlisle in it.

He apologized. “I should have called first.”

“Did you want to see Evan?”

Rachel assumed he wanted to see Drew’s brother who managed the sawmill.

“I wanted to talk to you,” he said, as if she hadn’t interrupted. “Could we go somewhere for coffee?”

“I’m sorry. We’re short of staff. I can’t leave the office unattended.” At her refusal, the air crackled between them. What were they playing, cat and mouse? Hit and miss? Who was keeping score? Rachel sighed. She wasn’t very good at this male-female game.

“What about after work?” he said.

Rachel latched on to a ready-made excuse. “I’m sorry. Dylan will be expecting me home at four.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Look, if it’s about the other day. I’m sorry if my father upset you.”

“He didn’t upset me,” she insisted. “In any case, he was right. Risking your life for a dog was foolish.”

He winced. “Ouch.”

“Is there anything else?”

“Actually there is,” he said with quiet intensity. “Is there any reason why we can’t be friends?”

The request caught her off guard. “Not really,” she said after a moment’s hesitation.

“Good.” He smiled. “If you recall, the puppies are due for their shots. You forgot to give me your home address.”

That wasn’t surprising; she’d hoped he’d forget all about her, and the puppies. She gave him the address, adding, “I’m sorry if I inconvenienced you.”

“Not at all.” There was a gleam of amusement in his eyes—as if he knew she wasn’t sorry at all. “I had to come into town. The sawmill isn’t that far out of the way.”

The office door opened. “Rachel—” Her boss, Evan Pierce, frowned at Jared’s presence. “Am I interrupting?”

Jared replied, “I was about to steal your assistant away, but she resisted.” He walked out, saying, “I’ll be in touch.”

After Jared left, Evan said, “Whenever you have time, please log this in.” He handed her a thick file. “By the way, my mother sends her regrets. The family left town after the trial, but she’s very anxious to get to know Dylan better. She’s expecting you both to join her.” Evan didn’t smile.

Rachel could never tell whether he approved of her or not. “I’d like that, too. But Dylan still needs to adjust to this move, and school’s starting soon—then, there’s my job.”

“There are schools in Bar Harbor,” he said dryly. “And as far as your job is concerned, we have connections there. It shouldn’t be too difficult to line up a job.”

Rachel stiffened, refusing to let Drew’s influential family take over her life. “Please thank your mother. Dylan and I would love to visit sometime, but not now.”

After he walked out, Rachel tried to concentrate on work. She stared at the figures on her computer screen and watched them blur. The numbers didn’t add up. The trial had left the Pierces in debt. And with no funds to buy new timber, cut or standing, the situation at the sawmill was only bound to get worse.

With the migrant camp closed since the previous summer, the local farmers were in trouble. Henderson relied heavily on the lumber industry. Hundreds of jobs depended on the sawmill remaining solvent, including Rachel’s.

When she finished work, Rachel walked home—surprised to find Jared there. He and Dylan were in the yard playing catch.

While she stood unnoticed, Jared threw a long one, and Dylan missed. The ball flew into the woods, and Dylan and Sunny took off after it. The dog was barking with glee, Dylan was laughing, so was Jared. The scene was so normal, so rare…everything she wanted for Dylan.

At that moment, Jared saw her. Unable to tear her gaze away, she watched his easy grace as he crossed her yard. She pushed her hair back, aware of a certain expectancy.

He spoke first. “I got here about half an hour ago. Mary Ellen explained you were running late, so I told her she could leave. I hope you don’t mind,” he said with a crooked smile some women might find endearing.

Apparently, he’d charmed the baby-sitter. But Rachel wasn’t an impressionable teenager. She frowned, refusing to be swayed by his rampant masculinity. “She should have called me and let me know.”

He raised an eyebrow. “And what would you have said?”

“That’s hardly the point.”

At her tone, he looked surprised. “You’re upset.”

“Of course. I’m responsible for Dylan.”

Jared’s mouth tightened in a flash. “And you think I might do something to harm him? Believe me, you have nothing to fear in that department.”

Not reassured, she decided to drop the subject, but felt compelled to add, “Next time, please let me know.” Assuming there was a next time.

He nodded toward the sign on the lawn advertising free puppies. “Have you had many takers?”

She nodded. “We’ve got a waiting list.”

“I gave them their shots, they’re ready to go. You’ll be glad to get your life back,” he said, as if her life was filled with thrills and excitement whenever she wasn’t dog-sitting.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Rachel hadn’t had a date in more months than she could remember. “I’d still feel better if you’d accept some kind of payment.” Her mouth went dry when his gaze slid over her lips.

When she blushed, Jared felt like a fraud—a lecherous one at that. The urge to kiss her soft pink mouth had come out of nowhere. He cleared his throat. “It’s not necessary.”

When Dylan turned up with the ball, Jared said, “Before I forget, there is one other thing. I waited for your mom to get home.” He’d left a box in the back of his truck parked in the shaded driveway. Now, he reached in and pulled out a squirming ball of fur. Jared set it on the ground where it shook itself into a floppy-eared black and white puppy. “Remember this little one?”

“He made it!” Dylan’s voice held awe.

At the tone, Jared’s grin grew wider. “He had a little trouble at first, but he’s a fighter.” He didn’t reveal the lengths to which he’d gone to save the puppy. There was little he could do for Dylan, but using his veterinary skills was a start.