Only His

Telling her sisters what had happened was one thing, but explaining the details to her brother wasn’t a place she was willing to go.

“I’m not interested anymore.”

“Why? I don’t get this. Are you scared?”

“No.”

“Then, what?”

Ethan was a great big brother. In school, he’d looked out for his baby sisters, and as an adult, he’d put his own dreams on hold so he could run the family business and put his younger siblings through college. He’d grown Hendrix Construction into a much larger company and had started a successful turbine business as well. He was a good guy.

That was why she couldn’t tell him about her sordid past with Tucker. Ethan would feel the need to do something, which would only complicate the situation.

“Ethan, I love you. Let it go.”

He stared at her for a long time, then shrugged.

“Tucker’s a great guy. Why wouldn’t you want to work for him?”

“I just wouldn’t.”

“You’re being an idiot. You know that, right?”

“Yes.”

“Okay. It’s your decision.” He walked away.

Nevada was left alone in her office, her head pounding, the past threatening to bubble over into the present. She tried to busy herself with work, but could not stare at her computer screen. Not with her headache. Giving in to the inevitable, she left for the day and walked home.

Late summer was a beautiful time in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. Fool’s Gold sat nestled at about twenty-five hundred feet. Just high enough for them to have all four seasons, but not so high that they still had snow until June. To the east were the jagged peaks, to the west were the vineyards and the highway that led to Sacramento.

Nevada took a slightly longer route home, mostly because she wanted to be on quieter streets where she was less likely to run into anyone and have to make conversation. Between feeling like roadkill and having a very unusual urge to cry, she wanted to simply be, without any expectations.

As always, catching sight of her house made her feel better. It had been built in the 1920s by a man who loved all things Victorian. The three-story house rose well above all the neighboring homes, a fussy dowager out of place among more modern offerings. She’d bought the place three years ago and had done all the remodeling herself.

The new exterior paint had toned down the pink-and-yellow trim to a soft white. The house itself was a pale gray. Turrets stood on either side. One was her master bath, the other was part of the guest room.

She’d turned the main floor into two small apartments she rented out to college kids. This year her tenants were grad students who did something with computers. She wasn’t sure what, but they were quiet and paid their rent on time, which worked for her.

She climbed up the main staircase to her place—a spacious two-floor unit. After passing through her living room, she took a second set of stairs up to the third floor and walked into her bathroom.

She’d spent most of her time and budget on this bathroom and the kitchen and loved how both had turned out. The bathroom was huge, with a separate shower and a reproduction claw-foot tub. Big stained-glass windows let in plenty of light while giving her privacy and, when she stretched out in the tub, she could see the fireplace in the master bedroom.

Now, her head still pounding, she turned on the water and threw in a handful of jasmine-scented bath beads. In a matter of seconds, the soothing smell had combined with the steam, already relaxing her.

She walked into the bedroom and took off her boots, then stripped off her clothes. She shrugged into a robe and returned to the bathroom to wait for the tub to fill.

Without wanting to, she remembered the first time she’d met Tucker. She’d been maybe ten and Ethan and Josh had brought him home with them from cycling camp. The most exciting thing about his visit was his father’s flying to pick him up in a private jet. She’d found that far more intriguing than Tucker himself.

Eight or so years later, when she’d gone off to college, Ethan had told her to look up his old buddy. She’d made the duty call and was surprised when Tucker was enthused about seeing her again.

He’d given her directions to an industrial complex by the Los Angeles airport. She remembered being surprised by the location. The address was for a building nearly as big as an airplane hangar. The first thing she noticed when she stepped out of her small truck was the sound of music. The pounding rock beat had made the windows rattle.

She’d knocked on the half-open door, but no one had answered. Probably because no one could hear her. She pushed opened the door and stepped inside.

The open area was huge, maybe ten thousand square feet, with soaring ceilings. Big windows allowed the L.A. sunshine to illuminate everything. The floor was concrete, and the music was even louder here. The bass caused her chest to vibrate.

But what caught her attention was the scaffolding in the center of the massive room. Reaching nearly as high as the ceiling, it was a complex framework with platforms and railings. It surrounded a gigantic, twisted piece of metal.

The piece seemed to curl in on itself, yet reached up at the same time. As Nevada studied it, she felt as if the shards had been ripped open by a blast, then hastily put back together, but not in the right order. There was tragedy in the work. A sense of loss.

After a few seconds, she noticed a woman stood near the top of the scaffolding, welding sparks showering her. From this distance, Nevada couldn’t tell much about her, except that she was tall and thin.

“You made it.”

The voice came from her left, a shout to be heard over the music. She turned and saw Tucker. Only this guy wasn’t the tall, skinny teenage boy she remembered. This guy was broad and handsome, with an easy smile and eyes that beamed with pleasure at seeing her. Despite the loud music, the strange building and the unusual artwork, everything disappeared. The world became a pinprick of light, expanding again until there was only Tucker.

Nevada had never believed in love at first sight. Never thought it was possible for one soul to recognize another. Never knew what it was like to have the very breath stolen from her body. She stood rooted, unable to move or speak. She could only stare at the man she knew she would love for the rest of her life.

He said something. She saw his lips move, but couldn’t make out the sound. He laughed, grabbed her arm and pulled her outside.

“Hi,” he said when they were in the relative quiet of the parking lot. “You made it.”

“I did.”

He hugged her, his body warm against hers. She wanted to lean in, to get lost in his strength and heat, but he straightened too quickly and she wasn’t ready to let go. Not yet.

“How’s college?”

“Good. I’m settling into my classes.”

“You’re okay in the dorm?” He sounded more like a parent than a friend, but she nodded anyway. “Ethan’s good?” “He’s dealing.”

The humor faded from Tucker’s face. “I’m sorry about your dad.”

“Thanks.”

Over the summer, her father had unexpectedly died, leaving the whole family shocked and devastated. Although she and her sisters had protested going off to school, their mom had insisted. Ethan had been the only one to put his dreams on hold, to take over the family business.

“It’s complicated,” she said. “I still can’t believe he’s gone.”

Tucker put his arm around her and kissed the top of her head. “I want to tell you it will get better, but right now that’s pretty meaningless, huh?”

“I know it won’t hurt so much later, but it’s hard right now.”

He stared into her eyes, making the emptiness kind of fade into the background. He still had his arm around her, another amazing concept. Had he felt it, too? The connection?

For once she wished she had more experience when it came to men. In high school, she’d never much seen the point. There had been the occasional guy, but no real boyfriend.