The Unknown Malone. Anne Eames

name.”

      Big brother joined them on the floor. “My name is John. My grandpa’s name was John, but he’s dead now.”

      Nicole held back a chuckle. The candor of kids always amazed and delighted her. God, how she missed this. She watched John dash for the bookshelf, and she swallowed hard. Was this a blessing or a curse? Could these little ones help ease the pain? Or would they simply keep the wound open and aching?

      John handed her a book and she stopped analyzing. With a smile she watched their eager faces and turned to page one.

      

      Michael couldn’t take his eyes off Nicole. Who was this suddenly wholesome-looking woman who played so easily with children, a woman whose supposed profession seemed at the opposite spectrum from motherhood? Emily settled deeper in Nicole’s lap, resting her head against Nicole’s chest, while John allowed a gentle arm to slip around his small shoulders.

      Michael leaned into the doorjamb and swigged from a bottle. Perhaps she wasn’t part of the world’s oldest profession after all. But then why look for work at the Purple Palace? He was certain she hadn’t come with remodeling in mind.

      A few tendrils of hair had escaped her ponytail and fell softly down her delicate jawline, thinly veiling the dark brown eyes that seemed almost too large for her small face. He remembered how they looked when she stared at him in surprise as he’d carried her into the house, the weightless feel of her in his arms, the sense of total vulnerability, both hers and—

      “She’s a natural, isn’t she?” Taylor whispered.

      Michael turned with a start at the sound of his sister’s voice. “Yes. Seems she is.”

      “I’m surprised at you, little bro.” Taylor smiled teasingly.

      “Surprised at what?”

      “That you’d hire a woman for your helper.”

      Michael turned Taylor around and herded her into the kitchen. “Whoa. Wait a minute. I said she came about the job. I didn’t say I was hiring her for it.”

      Taylor slanted him a doubtful look.

      “Really. She’s broke and hungry. I said she could cook and help out, but she’ll be gone in a few days.”

      “Uh-huh. We’ll see.”

      “Yes, you will.”

      But his sister had to have the last word. “I still can’t believe it—my brother, the cynic, a man who thinks all women lie as easily as they breathe.”

      Michael caught her wrist as she started to turn. “Not all women.” He winked at her playfully. “I don’t think you do.”

      Taylor’s expression grew more serious. “And neither did Mom.”

      Michael dropped her wrist “Not now, sis.”

      “Then when?”

      Josh brushed by them and headed for the refrigerator, then stopped abruptly. “Am I interrupting something?”

      Michael downed the rest of his beer and set the empty on the counter with a thud. “Just your wife sticking her nose in where it doesn’t belong.” The words were no sooner out of his mouth than he regretted saying them. With a quick step forward, he kissed her on the nose and tried to make amends. “But what a cute nose it is.”

      Taylor continued staring at her shoes.

      “I’m sorry, sis.”

      She gave him a bear hug around the waist, but not before he noticed her eyes were bright with moisture. “Me, too.”

      Josh uncapped another beer behind them and said, “Good. Now that that’s settled, when do we eat?”

      Josh led everyone in prayer before the procession of platters and bowls started around the table. There was more food here than Nicole had seen in months. Even when she’d had her apartment in Denver and her little day care business, she’d never made this much food for one meal. She simply couldn’t afford it.

      Yet as delicious as everything looked and smelled, with Michael sitting next to Nicole she only picked at her food, all too aware of his thigh occasionally brushing against hers and the seductive scent of his aftershave. It had been so long since...

      “Nicole?”

      She looked up with a start at the sound of Michael’s husky voice and felt heat creep up her neck to her cheeks.

      “I—I’m sorry. I guess I was enjoying this marvelous meal so much I didn’t hear the question.”

      “Taylor asked where you were from,” Michael repeated, the vivid blue of his eyes making it difficult for her to concentrate.

      “Oh. I’m from De—” she dabbed at her mouth and regrouped “—Delaware.”

      Michael shot her a dubious look from under his sandy brows, a look she’d seen a number of times today. “Really? How did you end up in Montana?”

      She shrugged her shoulders as if to say, Why not Montana? “Always wanted to see the West.”

      “Me, too.” Taylor smiled at her from the far end of the table. “My mother was born out here, but I was raised in Michigan. Came out here for college.”

      Grateful for the shift in focus, Nicole continued the thread, trying to ignore the distraction next to her. “Is that where you met Josh?”

      Josh laughed. “If she knew me from school, she’d never admit it. I guess I had a reputation with the women back then.”

      “You guess?” Taylor eyed her husband with a coy smile.

      Nicole watched the playful banter between the two and saw the look of love on their faces, and pain streaked straight for her heart. Whether it was envy, sadness or simply lost opportunity, she wasn’t sure. But it hurt to watch them.

      “Actually, we got to know each other when I was Josh’s physical therapist. He had this wimpy little shoulder problem he insisted I treat.” Taylor winked at her husband, then looked at Nicole. “I used to work with Josh’s father. He has a clinic at the ranch up the road.”

      “Do you miss it? Your therapy work, I mean.”

      Taylor glanced at her husband before answering the question. “Funny you should ask. We’ve been talking about me returning part-time, but we haven’t solved the sitter situation yet. Savannah and Jenny have their hands full with their kids and the work they do at the ranch. I couldn’t ask—” She stopped talking suddenly and stared at Nicole as if seeing her for the first time, then she looked Michael’s way.

      “Ouch!” Taylor reached under the table.

      John asked, “What’s wrong, Mama?”

      Taylor glared at Michael with an expression of pain and annoyance. “Nothing, sweetie. Just a little cramp in my leg.”

      Josh, apparently seeing a problem brewing, steered the conversation back on course. “Sweetheart, tell Nicole how you saved my life.”

      Taylor waved a dismissive hand before filling her mouth with potatoes and shooting Michael a last angry look.

      “Okay. If you don’t want to tell it, I will.”

      Nicole listened with rapt attention as Josh told of his plane crash, paralyzed legs and Taylor’s healing hands and heart in the months that followed. And again Nicole felt a tug on her heartstrings. At least some people had found their happily-ever-after.

      She chastised herself for her attitude and then counted her blessings as Taylor brought out a chocolate cake and set it in front of her brother to cut. When she returned with a stack of dessert plates and sat down, she touched Michael’s arm.

      “Tell us about your plans for the Palace, Michael. All you said earlier was that you were expecting some lumber.” Michael