Tempted by the Soldier. Patricia Potter

nodded, and she couldn’t tell what he was really thinking. But a house full of animals probably didn’t hold much fear for a guy who had been involved in wars for a number of years.

      “How is the cabin?” she asked, struggling to be more sociable. For Eve and Josh.

      “It’s great. I had a visitor today.”

      “Who?”

      “A Mrs. Byars, I think.”

      “Brownies?”

      “How did you know?”

      “She’s famous for them. Her son died in Vietnam. She has a special place in her heart for veterans.”

      She turned into a driveway that led to a sprawling ranch house with a big porch. A barn stood next to it, and three horses grazed in a pasture. As they drove up to the door, a tow-headed boy ran out of the house followed by a troop of dogs. Only one remained at the door.

      “I’m Nick,” the boy said as he reached the van and Clint stepped out. “Josh told me to bring you inside. He’s at the grill.”

      “I’m delighted to meet you, Nick,” he said formally. “And your friends.”

      “I knew you would,” Nick said. “Mom suggested I leave them inside, but they wanted to meet you, too.”

      “I’m very glad they did,” he said solemnly.

      Nick beamed.

      Stephanie followed man and boy inside and watched Clint charm the shoes off Nick, which wasn’t hard to do. Nick already worshiped his new stepfather and that was going to carry over to anyone who served in the military. To her chagrin, Clint sounded totally sincere as he talked to Nick and then bent down to let the dogs sniff his hand. Only Braveheart stood back.

      It was hard to fool children and dogs. Mark had never even pretended to like dogs. That should have been a very loud warning bell, but when she’d asked him whether he had pets, he’d said he’d been too busy and it wouldn’t be fair to an animal. That had sounded logical and even animal-friendly. Get him out of your head.

      Eve met them at the door, a broad smile on her face. “Welcome,” she said as the dogs sidled in alongside Clint. “I see you’ve met my motley crew.”

      “I have, and I’ve had a warning about the larcenous one.”

      “Just don’t take off a shoe,” Eve warned. “Would you like something to drink? A beer? Or something else.”

      “A beer sounds great.”

      Eve’s smile grew broader. “I’ve been anxious to meet you since Josh told me about your ‘encounter of a bovine kind’ with one of Steph’s patients. I decided then and there that I was going to like you. What do you think about the cabin?”

      “It’s terrific. Far more than I expected. Your husband did a great job.”

      Eve beamed, and Stephanie sighed. No ally there.

      “You sit here and get off that foot,” Eve said. “Stephanie will bring you a beer. Nick, you go out and help Josh.”

      Clint did as instructed, and Stephanie gritted her teeth as she followed Eve to the kitchen. It was going to be a very long evening.