“Don’t forget this.” She turned at Joe’s teasing tone and saw he held her shotgun. It was one of the few times she’d seen him smile all evening.
She returned his smile. “Do you think I’ll need it at y’all’s house?”
“Probably not. But make sure you bring it to work with you every day.” His smile faded as he started helping Mason move her things to the wagon.
The men wouldn’t let her carry anything. She stood and watched them work. Despite Mason’s declaration, she knew it wouldn’t be as simple as losing her heart to him. She already felt a subtle draw to Joe as well. From what she’d heard about the cousins, she knew they were close. The last thing she’d want to do was come between them.
No, perhaps a little friendly courting wouldn’t be improper, but she refused to interfere with their relationship. And she knew nothing could come between friends, brothers, or cousins faster than jealousy over a woman.
She thought about Paul’s picture safely tucked inside one of her trunks. On second thought, keeping a little emotional distance might be the safest thing for all of them.
The three of them wouldn’t fit on the wagon seat together. Mason rode his horse while Joe and Katie rode in the wagon. Katie suspected from Mason’s alert, wary manners as he rode that he preferred the mobility of the lone horse. First riding ahead, then behind, rarely alongside for more than a few minutes before he was off again investigating something.
When he disappeared behind them, Joe noticed her glance back to check on him. “He’s paranoid.”
“I gathered as much. About what?”
While still sad, his gentle smile softened his expression. “Be prepared for both of us, but especially him, to keep a close eye on you. At least for the next several weeks or until they catch the man who tried to attack you. He’s very protective.”
“I’ll admit I’m not used to having someone hovering over me.”
“If it gets to be too much, let me know and I’ll have a talk with him. I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable with us.”
“Was this his idea or yours?”
“Do you want an honest answer?”
She tried to gird herself. “Yes.”
“It’s nothing personal, but I’m fine without a woman around.” He glanced at her. “We have something in common, although I don’t claim to compare your loss to mine. I wasn’t married to her yet.”
“He mentioned your fiancée.”
His expression hardened, as did his voice. “Did he?”
She took a chance and touched his arm. “Please don’t be upset with him. I asked. You looked so sad at dinner, and I wanted to know why.”
Like a fickle summer rain shower, his expression cleared. “I’m sorry. I just don’t like to talk about her.”
They rode in silence for a few moments, Mason checking on them before riding ahead. “Sometimes,” she softly said, “it does help to talk about the ones we’ve lost.” This was a subject she had unfortunate experience with.
“I think the worse part,” he finally said, “is some people don’t understand why I don’t just move on. They don’t understand it’s not that easy. No, we weren’t married yet, but I loved her fierce. I was ready to spend the rest of my life with her.”
She squeezed his arm. “No, it’s not easy, no matter how much time you had together. And you’re right that people don’t understand.”
She pretended not to see him brush his hand across his face, wiping at his eyes. “Like I said, please don’t take it personal.”
After gently squeezing his arm again, she released it. “I won’t. As long as you promise to talk to me if you need an understanding ear.”
He nodded. “I promise. Thank you.”
She hadn’t left Brooksville since her arrival the year before, so she wasn’t familiar with the road they traveled. Despite night falling, the large moon provided plenty of light. As they turned onto a private lane, Joe pointed out their house in the distance. Around them, in fenced pastures, she saw clusters of the herd, illuminated by moonlight.
Struggling not to think back to her past with Paul, she forced a light tone. “How many head do you have, Joe?”
“Nearly five hundred. Like I said, we don’t expect you to do any farm chores like that. Just in the house. I pay one of my stable hands to milk and collect eggs, things like that. So all we need you for is things in the house.”
“I appreciate it, but I can do chores like that, too, if you need me. We had a spread of our own. I’m used to farm work.”
“No, ma’am. That’s not our deal.” She caught another faint smile from him. “I don’t go back on my word.” He pulled the team up in front of the house. She loved the large, airy wraparound porch. Unlike many of the small, squat, one- and two-story homes in town, this house spread out a little, designed to catch any breeze wafting across the pastures to help keep it cool during hot Florida summers.
Mason hitched his horse to a rail near the front porch and walked over to help unload the wagon. He untied the ropes securing her things and carted the first trunk inside. Joe climbed down from the wagon before her. Instead of waiting for him to help her, she decided to climb down on her own. Unfortunately, her foot tangled in her skirt hem, and she felt her balance tip the wrong way. She let out a startled cry as she started to fall, but she didn’t hit the ground. Instead, she landed in Joe’s strong arms.
Instinctively, her arms grabbed for his neck as he caught her. When their eyes locked she realized maybe she had an even bigger problem than she realized. Lightning raced through her as his worried face studied her.
“Are you all right, ma’am?”
She nodded. More to break the admittedly pleasant tension than anything, she said, “If you don’t start calling me Katie, I’m going to swat you.”
The next smile he gave her didn’t look as sad. “Sorry, Katie.” He gently set her on her feet.
Mason reappeared. “What happened?”
“Joe saved me from myself,” she said, her gaze still focused on Joe. “I tripped trying to get out of the wagon by myself.”
Wearing a wistful look, Joe turned back to the wagon. “Let’s get you settled.”
An hour later, the men had her things moved inside what now was her room. A large, airy guest room on the northeast corner of the house, it would stay cooler during the summer, she imagined. The cousin’s rooms lay across the hall from hers, and she fought another rush of heat to her face as she remembered the feel of Joe’s strong arms around her.
No, it’d be safer to keep her emotional distance from both men. It would prove far too easy for her to fall for either of them. And having been a married woman, she knew darn well the significance of the hard bulge she’d brushed up against while briefly in Joe’s arms.
She also knew why Mason had frequently adjusted his trousers that evening while he helped her pack, even though she suspected he thought he hid that from her.
Both men were attracted to her. Fair enough, because she felt the same.
She just prayed it wouldn’t cause a problem, because for the first time since Paul’s death, she felt reasonably safe.
As she blew out her lamp and settled into her new, comfortable bed, she suspected sleep would be a long time coming.
Sometime in the middle of the night, Katie heard a soft squeak as the bedroom door opened. When she looked, in the moonlight she spotted Joe and Mason standing there.
Both bare-chested.
She swallowed hard and ignored all her brain’s warnings about common sense and decency as she wordlessly held out a hand to them, welcoming them into her bed.