Thunder Canyon Homecoming / A Thunder Canyon Christmas: Thunder Canyon Homecoming

“No, thanks,” he told her. “I’ll catch up with Erin later.”

“If you change your mind, you can catch up with me around four.” Her glossy pink lips curved. “That’s when I finish my shift.”

“I’ll remember that,” he told her, determined to ensure that he was nowhere around when Trina got off work.

With any luck, he would be with Erin.

Erin prided herself on being a reliable employee, someone who could be depended on to get things done, whatever those things might be. But when she woke up Monday morning and still hadn’t figured out what—if anything—to say to her boss about her suspicion that he might be her brother, she called in sick.

When her bell rang shortly after 10:00 a.m., she didn’t think twice before responding to the summons. It wasn’t until she’d peeked through the sidelight and saw Corey on her step, making her heart do a little hop and skip, that she hesitated. Unfortunately, he was looking through the same window from the other side, which meant there was no way she could now pretend she wasn’t home.

Forcing a smile, she pulled open the door.

“Corey, hi.”

He smiled back, and she felt that funny little quiver in her belly again.

“I stopped by the resort to see you, and Trina said you were home sick,” he explained. His gaze skimmed over her, leisurely, appraisingly. “But you look pretty good to me.”

“I wasn’t feeling well when I got up this morning,” she fibbed, conscious that her cheeks were burning. “I thought I should stay home…in case I was contagious.”

“Well, I brought you some homemade chicken soup—my mother’s favorite cure for whatever ails you.”

“You made chicken soup?”

He chuckled at the obvious skepticism in her tone. “No, I bought chicken soup that was homemade by the wonderful chefs at the Gallatin Room.”

She lifted a brow at his mention of the resort’s fine dining restaurant and figured the little plastic bowl in his hand probably cost more than a whole meal at any other restaurant in town.

“Thank you,” she said. “That was a really sweet gesture.”

“But you’ve already had lunch,” he guessed.

She nodded.

“So put it in the fridge for tomorrow.”

It would be rude to refuse his offer, so she did as he suggested, though she wondered what kind of strings might be attached to the bowl in her hand.

“Thank you,” she said again. “I’m sure I’ll enjoy it.”

“What are your plans for the afternoon? Because I know you’re not working.”

“I have no plans. I’m home sick,” she reminded him.

His smile widened. “Don’t worry. I won’t turn you in for playing hooky…so long as you let me play hooky with you.”

“You’re blackmailing me?”

He shrugged. “Whatever works.”

“What did you have in mind?” she asked warily.

“Just grab a jacket and put on a pair of boots.”

Which, of course, told her absolutely nothing about what he had planned. “Look, Corey, I’m flattered that you’d go to such lengths to spend time with me, but I really don’t understand why.”

“There’s nothing to understand. I just think some time outside in the crisp, fresh air will help you feel better,” he assured her.

“I don’t know,” she hedged.

“Trust me.”

It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Corey so much as she didn’t trust herself to be alone with him. The attraction she felt whenever she was near him was both awesome and overwhelming.

As she went to get her jacket and boots, she couldn’t help but think he looked as relaxed and unself-conscious in the jeans and flannel he was wearing today as he had in the designer tux he’d worn for his brother’s wedding, making her curious to know which was the real Corey Traub. Not that it mattered. Her instinctive response to him was the same regardless of what he was wearing.

She didn’t understand the attraction. She’d always dated guys who were…more subtle, she decided. There was nothing subtle about Corey. He was blatantly and undeniably male.

And the way he filled out a pair of jeans made her want to sigh. The cowboy boots didn’t surprise her. He’d even worn a pair at the wedding, with his tux. But those boots had been polished, and these were battered and worn, like the hat on his head.

She’d never known a cowboy before she came to Montana. And even in the past few months, she’d never met any one like Corey.

He wasn’t just sexy. He was knock-the-breath-out-of-your-lungs sexy. And the way he smiled at her, he knew it.

She’d never liked arrogant men. Or maybe it was just that she’d always wondered why the men she’d known felt entitled to their arrogance. With Corey, there was no question of his entitlement. And it made her wonder, not for the first time, why he was interested in her.

She wasn’t oblivious to her own appeal. Over the years, she’d received a fair share of compliments on her appearance, and she knew how to play up her attributes—how to apply makeup so her blue eyes looked bluer, how to dress so that her curves seemed curvier, how to walk into a room so that heads turned in her direction.

Since coming to Thunder Canyon, however, she’d deliberately downplayed her appearance. She’d toned down her makeup and dressed to blend in rather than stand out. No one looked at her twice, and no one asked any questions. At least, not until Erika’s wedding.

When Erin agreed to be a bridesmaid, she’d been thinking that she could somehow hide beneath layers of pink organza ruffles. She should have remembered that her friend had exquisite taste and an eye for fashion. There had been no way to hide in the strapless satin gown that hugged her curves. And she could hardly refuse when the bride suggested that her maid of honor should have her hair and makeup professionally done.

The result was that, as she’d made her way up the aisle, she’d been aware of the attention focused on her—and the speculation. She recognized some of her regular customers from the Hitching Post who had never looked twice when she’d waited on their tables and others who she’d met through her duties at the resort. None of them seemed to realize who she was. And although she’d been all too aware that the groom’s brother wasn’t the only man who had been watching her, he was the only one she’d watched back.

Corey snapped his phone shut when Erin came back with her jacket and boots.

“Everything’s arranged,” he told her.

“What is everything?”

“You’ll find out soon enough.”

“I don’t like surprises,” she warned, following him out the door.

“Everyone likes surprises,” he insisted.

She shook her head as she turned her key in the lock, engaging the deadbolt.