1
“W hy are you doing this ?” Cameron Levery asked, shaking his head in frustration. “I just don’t get it.”
“Cam, I’ve explained this to you a thousand times. I don’t know what more I can say.” Cat eyed her brother with the patience of the frequently nagged and resumed packing.
“Catherine, I didn’t want to bring this up, but you’re leaving me no choice.” Cam cleared his throat as if stalling for time. “Are you leaving because of Matthew?”
Cat sat back on her heels and sighed. Her beloved, older brother only used her full name when he was feeling particularly paternal. Which seemed to be all of the time lately. She felt a bead of sweat trickle down her neck, and she reached for her glass of lemonade. Sipping the cool, tart liquid, she considered her brother’s question.
Matthew Gerard – or the big dumb jerk, as she liked to think of him – had been her fiancé. Six months after their engagement, she’d caught him with his pants down, literally, in his accountant’s office. She winced when she thought of it. His accountant, a buxom brunette, had control of more than just his tangible assets. When Cat had confronted him, the big dumb jerk said she was boring, that he felt strangled by their relationship.
It had been a sock in the ego to be rejected, but much to her surprise, relief had crept in. Matthew was right. She’d been a clinging vine, entwining herself so tightly about him and his needs that there had been no room left for herself. She’d become a bore.
By focusing so much energy on Matthew, she’d managed to alienate most everyone else. She’d lost touch with her friends and dropped most of her hobbies. The only constants in her life outside of the big dumb jerk were her job and her family.
“Hello?” Cam waved his hand in front of her face. “Are you in there?”
“Yes.” Cat shook her head. “I am leaving because of Matthew, but I’m also leaving because of you.”
“Me?” Cam gaped at her in confusion.
“Yes, you,” Cat repeated. “And Julia, and Mom and Dad, and everyone else who’s been taking care of me for as long as I can remember. I’m twenty-six years old. I need to be on my own.”
“But to move to Arizona,” Cam argued. “Isn’t that a bit extreme? If you have to move, why can’t you stay in Massachusetts or at least in this time zone?”
“Because Sally Jenkins, the teacher I’m swapping positions with, lives in Copper Creek, Arizona,” Cat replied.
“I don’t like it.” Cam frowned. “I mean what kind of school system hires a teacher they’ve never even seen?”
“The kind of school that has all of my records and that has interviewed both me and my principal online.” Cat put down her lemonade and taped up the box.
“Why do you have to drive? Why can’t you fly out there and have your things shipped?” he asked.
“Because I have never been out of New England,” Cat explained with an eyeroll–no longer feeling as patient. “This is my chance to see the country. How could I pass it up?”
“Well, can’t you find someone to go with you?” Cam asked desperately. “Julia and I were talking, and we thought maybe you could take a friend.”
“Cameron,” Cat groaned in exasperation. Honestly, he could be such an old woman at times. “Don’t you understand? I don’t want to take anyone with me. This is my chance to prove I can take care of myself. Besides I won’t be alone, I’ll have Lucy with me.”
“That puppy? Be serious. If a burglar broke in, she’d probably hold the flashlight for him.” Cam picked up the box she’d finished taping and piled it with the others. “Catherine, you need someone to take care of you.”
“No, I don’t.” She resisted the urge to tape his mouth shut.
“Do you want me to list the reasons?”
“No, I...”
“You’re a lousy judge of character, you’re na?ve, gullible, entirely too trusting, and you have a horrible sense of direction.”
“I am not, and I do not,” Cat argued through clenched teeth.
“Was it or was it not you who befriended an ex-con and ended up driving the getaway car when he held up a convenience store?”
“I was sixteen, and he seemed like a nice old man. It could have happened to anyone,” she protested.
“And when we went camping for the weekend, were you or were you not the one who got lost in the woods for six hours while looking for firewood?”
“I was eight, and I was not lost. I just took the scenic route,” she huffed.
“Baloney. You could get lost in your own bathroom.” Cam waved his arms impatiently. “And now you want to drive across the country. You’re giving me an ulcer.”
“Consider it a goodbye present.”
“Not funny.”
Cat took in her brother’s distressed appearance and felt a chuckle bubble to the surface. His sandy brown hair stood on end, his hazel eyes were wide with worry, and his mouth wore the wobbly line of a man who knew he wasn’t going to get his way and didn’t know what to do about it.
Cat’s chuckle burst forth, and she wrapped her brother in an enormous bear hug. Not an easy task as he was twice her size. He’d been her chief tormentor and protector since the day she was born. It broke her heart to leave him, but she knew this was something she had to do.
“Have I ever told you you’re the best big brother a girl could ever have?”
“Yeah, right,” he muttered, hugging her in return. “That’s why you’re leaving.”
“I love you, you know,” she said.
“I love you, too, Sis,” he sighed in defeat.
Cat examined her small Cape-Cod-style house, satisfied that it would pass even the fussiest housekeeper’s inspection. She wanted Sally to feel at home when she arrived, so she left most of her knickknacks out, packing away only the most fragile and sentimental of mementoes.
Despite the nonchalance Cat adopted with her family, she was frightened by the prospect of leaving everything and everyone she’d ever known. Frightened being the understatement of the century. She was freaking out!
But she forced herself to breathe and discovered that with the anxiety, there was also a giddy sense of excitement. To strike out on her own, like a real pioneer, and travel west. Was there any greater adventure to be had? Of course, her covered wagon was a rented van with emergency road service.
Still, she was following the path of millions of settlers before her. If they could do it then, surely, she could handle it now.
Or so she tried to convince her worried family. She’d spent the weekend with her parents at their house on Cape Cod. They weren’t happy. They’d even managed to make Cam’s henpecking seem negligible by comparison.
Tonight she was going to Cam and Julia’s for dinner. She knew it was going to be just as difficult. Flash flood warnings would probably be issued for the outlying area if she began to cry again.
“Come on, Lucy,” she called to her black Standard Poodle puppy, who was gnawing on one of her old sneakers. “We have one more goodbye to make.”
Cameron’s house was across town from Cat’s. A white ranch house, it sat back in the woods secluded from both the road and neighbors. Cat braked the car and hopped out with Lucy in tow. Not bothering to knock, she bounded through their front door.
“Hello. Anybody home?” she called, wandering through the foyer and into the living room.
Lucy leapt ahead of her, looking for a treat. As Cat rounded the corner into the kitchen, she saw Julia sneaking the puppy a fat slice of bologna.
“What’s Lucy going to do without you to spoil her?” Cat asked as she hugged her sister-in-law.
“As if you don’t.” Julia hugged her in return and eyed her expectantly. “Tomorrow’s the big day. Are you ready?”
“As I’ll ever be.” Cat laughed, dropping onto a stool beside the counter. “What can I do to help with dinner?”
“Nothing.” Julia tossed her thick, black hair off her shoulder and waved for Cat to stay put. “Cam’s out grilling the steaks and everything else is just about finished.”
“Julia, do you think I’m doing the right thing?” Cat asked, knowing she could trust Julia, not just her sister-in-law but also her friend, to give her a truthful answer.
“Yes.” Julia’s tobacco-brown gaze met hers. “You’re going to have the most incredible adventure. I envy you. If we weren’t settled in this house, which I love dearly, I’d want to do what you’re doing.”
“Really?”
“Yes,” Julia answered, mixing her pasta salad. But don’t tell your brother I said that. He’s going to miss you and so will I.”
“I know,” Cat answered, feeling a lump well in her throat. “I’ll miss you both, too.”
“Julia, is she here yet?” Cam’s voice boomed from the other room.
“Yes, I’m here,” Cat answered for her sister-in-law and left her seat to go hug her brother. “You didn’t think I’d stand you up, did you?”
“No, but I was afraid you might get lost,” he teased, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “Catherine, there’s someone I want you to meet.”
He steered her toward the porch, and Cat caught a glimpse of the man silently stepping through the open door. He was tall and broad with the kind of frame no woman could ignore. Hours in the sun had left their mark upon him with darkened skin and a thick thatch of sun-bleached, blond hair that disreputably dusted his forehead.
When his brazen, blue gaze and cocksure smile focused on her, Cat felt a nervous flutter start in her belly and shimmer all the way to her fingertips. Jared McLean! She hadn’t seen him since Cam and Julia’s wedding five years ago. He was even more devastating than she remembered. Much like the first time she’d met him, her mind went blank and her tongue twisted itself into a knot.
When he clasped her hand in his larger one, she felt his callused palm rub against her own. His grip was firm but gentle. Cat quickly removed her hand, before it started to sweat.
“Cat, you remember my college roommate, Jared?” Cam asked. “Did you know he lives near Copper Creek?’
Jared’s smile was pure devil, and Cat felt a tingle start at the base of her spine. He was the kind of man your mother warned you about and with good reason. Common sense and Jared McLean were not likely to appear in the same place at the same time.
“Nice to see you again.” Jared’s voice was as deep as a gravel pit and just as treacherous. “I hear we’re about to become neighbors.”
Cat licked her dry lips and tried not to sound as breathless as she felt. “Yes, I’m leaving for Arizona tomorrow.”
“Really?” His deep voice drawled, making her insides flutter. “I’m heading back myself in a day or two.”
“How are you getting back?” Cam asked innocently. Too innocently.
“I haven’t made any formal plans as yet,” Jared answered.
“Maybe you could drive out with Cat,” Cam suggested with a wide-eyed glance from Jared to Cat. “What do you think, Sis?”
Cat ripped her gaze away from Jared and eyed her brother through narrowed lids. “I think I want to talk to you, Cameron. On the porch. Right now!”
Cat disengaged her brother’s arm and stalked to the porch. As soon as Cat shut the door behind him, she crossed her arms over her chest and began her interrogation.
“What are you up to?”
“What do you mean?” Cam blinked.
“I may be na?ve, Cameron, but do you really think I’m stupid?” she sputtered furiously. “Do you really expect me to believe this old chum of yours, who lives in Arizona, just happened to be here the night before I leave on my trip?”
“But it’s true,” Cameron protested. “Jared comes to New England every summer to escape the desert heat. He has a cabin up in Maine, and he always stops by for a visit.”
“Then how come I’ve never seen him on one of his ‘visits’ before?”
“You were always with Matthew, you never had the time.”
“Oh.”
“I swear.” Cam raised his right hand in a mock pledge. “This is a total coincidence.”
“And I suppose it’s coincidence that he lives near Copper Creek?” Cat glared at her sibling, unwilling to let him off too easily.
“His family has a place halfway between Copper Creek and Phoenix.”
“It’s mighty suspicious.” Cat frowned.
“Would I lie to you?” Cam asked.
“Are you kidding? Aren’t you the one who convinced me I could fly off the garage roof if I flapped hard enough?” Cat retorted.
“Hey! I signed your cast and said I was sorry. Jeez, that was twenty years ago, don’t you forget anything?”
“No.” She resumed her chastising. “If this is a coincidence, then why are you trying to pair us up for my trip out to Copper Creek?”
“It just seemed like a good idea.” Cameron shrugged. “Hey, if you don’t want to carpool, I’m sure it won’t impact the climate crisis at all. And just because Jared seldom has enough money to buy a plane ticket, that’s no reason for you to give him a ride. I’m sure he’ll be fine if he hitchhikes per usual.”
“Hitchhikes?” She frowned.
“Yeah, Jared likes to live on the edge,” Cam explained. “Now, me, I wouldn’t be able to handle that. Never knowing if the next car that picks you up is some psycho, just waiting to make you the highlight of the evening news. Nope, I couldn’t do it. But that’s just me.”
Cat bit her lip and frowned.
Cameron watched the concern flit across his sister’s face. He hated lying to her, but it was for her own good. He knew his sister well enough to know she was incapable of abandoning a stray. So, if he had to lie to get her to adopt Jared, like she’d adopted that dog of hers, well, that was a small price to pay to insure her safety.
Jared was the most honorable man he’d ever known. Cameron knew he could trust him with his sister. In fact, there was no other man of his acquaintance who he would trust with his sister.
She didn’t need to know that Jared was as poor as the royal family and about as likely to hitchhike. If Cat fell for this line, there was no telling what a professional con artist could do to her. Nope, even if she was mad at him until she was sixty-five, he was going to con her into taking protection. Protection that answered to the name of Jared McLean.
“I’m sorry I doubted you,” Cat said. “Of course I’ll give your friend a lift to Arizona. I’ve waited this long to be on my own, I don’t suppose another week will kill me.”
Cameron felt a pang of guilt, but he shrugged it off as a necessity to achieve the greater good. His sister shouldn’t drive three thousand miles across the country alone, especially when she believed the pile of bull he’d just shoveled her.
“Thanks, Cat. I’m sure Jared’s going to appreciate it.” Cam turned to the grill and loaded the steaks onto a platter. Leading the way into the house, he called, “Let’s eat!”
Cat stood on the deck, watching dusk envelop the trees surrounding the house. The crickets were tuned up and blaring their nightly symphony, while the moths waltzed around the yellow porch light.
“I wonder if Arizona is like this in the evening?” she mused.
“In some ways it is,” Jared answered from where he sat in a lawn chair, studying her.
“Oh!” She started and a becoming blush flooded her cheeks. “I thought I was alone.”
Jared studied her. He’d met her once before at Cam’s wedding, but his memory was obviously playing tricks on him. He remembered her as quiet and awkward. The one time he’d tried to speak with her, she’d squeaked like a mouse and run. She didn’t look or sound like a mouse now.
Her disobedient hair shunned the clip she tried to tame it with and framed her face with winsome curls, a pale brown with streaks of gold and copper. Her eyes were just as mysterious. Not blue or green or gray, but a kaleidoscope of all three, and they were enormous. Her elfin face sported a pointy chin and a delicate nose, making her large eyes all the more startling.
She sighed, and Jared’s gaze was drawn to her body. From the small but curvy proportions that filled her tank top to the slender legs that tapered from her shorts, she was much more well-rounded than he’d remembered.
She had the wide-eyed look of an innocent, but the figure of a siren. She was the kind of woman who could blend charm with sensuality, never knowing she had either.
And he was supposed to be stuck in a rented van with her for the next week? He had a feeling this was going to be the longest road trip of his life.
When he’d agreed to do this favor, he’d been under the misconception that he’d be baby-sitting a nerdy, absent-minded professor type. Cameron obviously suffered from the brotherly disorder of not seeing his sister as a strikingly attractive woman.
Jared understood. He had a sister of his own. But this was not his sister, and the response she kindled within him was anything but brotherly.
She sat beside him, sitting on the edge of the chair as if uncertain of her safety within such close proximity to him. Smart girl. The scent of her unexpectedly spicy perfume lingered in the air between them, teasing him.
“Cam told me that you intend to hitchhike home,” she began, her voice softly chastising. “That’s not a wise thing to do.”
“He told you...” Jared shook his head in disbelief. He had a feeling Cameron Levery was going to owe him one after this. “I...uh...of course, you’re right.”
“That’s why I think it would be a good idea if you drove out west with me,” she offered.
“Is that an invitation?” he asked, amused by her matronly disapproval.
“Yes, it is,” she assured him.
“I’d be happy to make the trip with you,” Jared lied. He would just think of her as a surrogate little sister, he told himself. That should cure any attraction he might feel for her. Absolutely.
A gnawing sound drew her gaze from his.
“Lucy?” she called to the puppy at the end of the deck. “What have you got? Lucy?”
The puppy turned her back to them and continued chewing, but not before Jared recognized the object.
“Hey, that’s my sneaker!” he shouted and jumped from his chair.
“Lucy!” Cat scolded as she approached the dog. “Drop it.”
The black fur ball just looked at them and wagged her tail. Cat snatched the sneaker and handed it to Jared.
“Bad dog,” Cat scolded. “Bad.”
Lucy cocked her head and licked Cat’s hand. Jared didn’t think she looked a bit remorseful.
“She didn’t do any damage, did she?” she asked.
Jared slid the sneaker onto his bare foot. He looked down and saw his big toe staring back up at him.
“Oh, I am so sorry,” Cat said. “I’ll buy you a new pair.”
“Don’t worry about it.” He shrugged and resumed his seat. “They were old.”
“No, I insist,” Cat said. “It’s the least I can do.” Her little black puppy followed her, collapsed onto her Keds and began snoring.
Glancing down at the furry bundle draped across her feet, he asked, “Is she going with us, too?”
Her gaze followed his, and she smiled. “I hope you like dogs.”
Jared was more of a horse man, but Cat looked so cute with her big eyes, he had to lie. “Sure.”
He reached down to scratch the dog’s ears and was distracted by the soft puppy fur that covered the little head. He was gentle, stroking the puppy’s forehead with his thumb. A large, jaw-popping yawn was his only reward.
“Do you know what route you want to take?” he asked.
“I planned it all online,” she said. “I have the whole trip mapped out—places to stop, where to get a hotel, alternate routes in case of construction, that sort of thing. I know exactly how many miles we have to go each day in order to make good time.”
“Make good time?” he asked.
“Yes, school starts in two weeks and I have to be there. What? Is something wrong?”
“Nope.” He scratched his jaw with the back of his hand. “It’s just that all of that planning takes all of the sport out of it.”
“Sport?” she asked. “I’m uprooting my entire life. That’s more than enough sport for me.”
She blew out an exasperated breath and Jared was intrigued by the way her lips pursed. She had a great mouth. Her upper lip curved toward the center in a pouty line. It was an invitation to tease. Her lower lip was full and defined, looking like it might melt under too much pressure. It was an invitation to taste. The desire to kiss her was as unwelcome as it was unexpected. Jared choked it down with a sip of iced tea.
Thoughts like that weren’t going to make the next week any easier. He had to remember that he’d promised Cameron that he’d take care of Cat. It was a promise between friends, and Jared respected the unspoken guy code that stated a friend’s sister was off-limits. He knew he’d kick any friend’s butt who made a move on his sister. He suspected if Cameron had any idea that his thoughts were traveling this path, Cameron would call the whole thing off and ship Cat to the nearest convent.
“Have you lived in Arizona all of your life?” Cat asked him.
“No,” he answered, watching as she twisted a thin gold bracelet around her wrist.
When he didn’t elaborate, she cast him a look that screamed frustration. She’d been probing him about his life since before dinner. Jared didn’t talk about his life. It wasn’t that he had anything to hide, he just didn’t talk about it. He knew his silence made her uncomfortable, and he felt bad about that, but he couldn’t break the patterns of a lifetime just to put her at ease.
“What time would be good for you to leave tomorrow?” she asked. “That is if leaving tomorrow is okay with you? I’d like to leave tomorrow, because, you know, it’s a long drive, and we’ll have to stop frequently for the dog. Because she is a dog and well, they need to be walked, and I—”
“Catherine.” Jared cut her off before she made him dizzy, but softened his tone. “I can be ready whenever you are.”
“Oh, good,” she sighed.
“Now, just hold up,” Cam said as he and Julia walked out onto the porch, each carrying a tray of dessert and coffee. “We were counting on having breakfast with you.”
“Cam, I really think I...we...should make an early start,” Cat said.
“I want to check over the van and make sure you have all of your emergency supplies and such in order,” Cam insisted.
“I checked through it and everything seems fine,” she said.
Cam eyed her repressively. “We’ll go over it tomorrow.”
Cat shrugged helplessly at Jared and smiled at her brother. “If it’ll make you feel better then all right.”
Jared replaced his iced tea with a steaming cup of coffee and a fat slice of apple pie. The exchange between brother and sister was enlightening to say the least. It seemed Cat wasn’t a scatterbrain so much as a pushover.
Jared knew Cameron Levery was a compulsive worrier when it came to those he cared about. After all, he had nagged Jared through four years of college. It was one of the reasons Jared trusted him, and Jared seldom trusted anyone.
He could appreciate his friend’s concern for his sister. His own sister, Jessica, had caused him endless worry at times. But where Jessica would tell him to shove off when his concern became too stifling, he suspected Cat would rather cut off her left arm than risk hurting anyone she cared for by a show of independence.
He watched Cat as she closed her eyes and chewed a bite of pie. She moaned a guttural purr in her throat. Jared dropped his fork onto his plate. He’d never met a woman who moaned when she ate. He felt the tips of his ears grow hot, and he cursed the loyalty that brought him here.
The need to be on his ranch, surrounded by nothing but horses, was tempting enough to make him debate running away. Unfortunately, running away seemed like the coward’s way out and Jared was no coward. With a silent curse, he retrieved his fork and dug into his pie.
Cat dragged herself out of bed before the sun had a chance to lighten the horizon. Second thoughts had chased away any chance she’d had of a decent night’s sleep. With the bags beneath her eyes weighing in at a pound each, she stumbled for the coffeepot.
As soon as the coffee started to drip, she began to revive. With her eyes focused and brain beginning to function, she could feel a pair of soft baby browns boring into her with anticipation.
“Yes, yes, I’m on it.” She walked to the kitchen door where Lucy sat thumping her tail.
She opened the back door, and Lucy bounded out, her nose pressed close to the ground. Cat watched in amusement as Lucy tracked all of the various scents, never wandering far from Cat’s side.
The morning air was already thick with humidity, leaving everything feeling weighted down and wet. Even the short, cotton nightshirt she wore felt oppressive and damp.
Lucy dashed across the yard to retrieve her favorite toy, a red rubber ball. Clamping it between her teeth, she trotted back, dropping it at Cat’s feet. She barked and danced around, waiting for Cat to throw it.
“Okay,” Cat sighed, forcing her sleep-deprived muscles to bend. Scooping up the ball, she tossed it overhand down the path toward the lake.
She’d miss the lake, she realized as she began to follow the path. She’d miss her walks along its banks and her evenings of contemplation, spent under the old maple tree on the shore, her feet dangling in the water’s cool depths.
Cat laughed when Lucy, clutching the ball in her teeth, splashed into the lake. She couldn’t blame her. The summer heat was already coating her skin with a sticky sheen of perspiration.
“Come on, Lucy.” She clapped to draw her in. The puppy gazed at her with big brown eyes. “Come here, Lucy.”
As if trying to bark around the ball in her mouth, Lucy jerked her head back. The ball hit the water with a plunk. Lucy barked at it bobbing gently.
“Get it, Lucy.” She pointed and Lucy barked. “It’s your favorite toy, if you want it, you’d better go get it.”
The red ball began to drift farther out into the lake. Lucy barked and leapt for the shore, shaking water all over Cat and gazing at her with pleading brown eyes.
“I don’t believe this. You’re a water dog, you’re supposed to like to swim,” she scolded the puppy. Lucy thumped her tail and whined. “Oh, all right, I’ll go get your stupid ball.”
Jared left his borrowed car and followed the sound of the barking. Cat had been determined to get an early start, and he couldn’t agree more. The sooner they left the sooner they landed in Arizona. And, frankly, after a restless night’s sleep caused by big eyes and a pointy chin, he was more than ready to have this trip over and done with.
He reached the path, and a soggy puppy immediately pounced on him, looking for affection.
“Where’s your mama, girl?” He crouched to scratch the downy head. As if in understanding, Lucy barked at him and raced back to the water’s edge.
Cat was waist-deep in the lake with her back to him, but the water carried the sound of her voice, and Jared heard her muttering about a “stupid red ball” and “no Milk-Bones for you.”
“That’s all right,” he assured her. “I prefer eggs for breakfast.”
Cat whirled about at the sound of his voice and let out a horrified wail. She flailed her arms as if trying to chase away a bee and, even as Jared registered the problem, she hit the water with a splash and disappeared from sight.
“Cat!” he yelled and Lucy barked.
Before he could panic, Cat shot up from the water as if she’d been launched and howled, “Ah! That’s cold!”
Jared couldn’t help himself. He tightened his lips, looked away, trying to keep his laughter from escaping, but it just came out his nose in a chorus of snorts. He glanced back at Cat and saw her blow a soggy strand of hair out of her face. Her lips curled with annoyed disgust, and Jared turned his head away, trying desperately to suppress the laughter that shook his shoulders.
“Ha ha, very funny!” Cat sniped, letting him know he hadn’t fooled her. “What are you doing here anyway?”
Her cotton nightie clung to her curves, and she tried to cover herself by crossing her arms. An embarrassed flush stained her cheeks a lovely shade of pink, and her eyes darted to the bushes as if debating the possibility of hiding amongst their leafy limbs.
Jared could have told her not to bother. Instead, he fastened his attention on the puppy at his feet and forced his chuckles to cease and desist. “I thought you might need a hand getting ready this morning, so I came over early.”
“Well, you could do me one favor.” Her voice was a tart blend of shy embarrassment and chagrin.
“What’s that?” he asked, his gazed fixed on the dog.
“Could you go get my robe?” she asked. “It’s hanging on the back of the bathroom door.”
Jared glanced up. She stood hip deep in the water, unable to come any closer to shore. He could only imagine why. Swallowing to moisten his parched throat, he said, “Sure.”
He got no more than four steps away when he was hit in the rear by what felt like a rock.
“Ow!” Spinning around, he glanced down and saw a red rubber ball rolling on the ground. Lucy pounced on it, and Jared glanced up to see Cat blinking at him. She looked as innocent as a kid standing next to a broken window, holding a slingshot.
“It’s the first door on the left at the top of the stairs,” she instructed.
Rubbing the sore spot on his rear end, Jared turned and marched toward the house with a grin parting his lips and Lucy racing around his feet.
It took the better part of the morning for Cat and Jared to convince Cameron they were ready to go. Cat’s house had been gone through and locked up, the van was examined and found to be in order, and the route was double- and triple-checked. Lastly, the “AZ or Bust” sign was hung on the back of the van. It was time to go.
Cat handed Cam the keys to her house and her car. “Please give these to Sally and be nice to her. She doesn’t know anyone here, and she’ll need some friends.”
“I will,” Cameron promised.
Cat felt the lump in her throat swell until she couldn’t speak, and the tears behind her eyes burned with the need for release. Her brother, despite his henpecking ways, was her best friend. She relied upon his unconditional love to give her strength during the hard times and laughter during the good times.
“What am I going to do without you?” she whispered. Before she could stiffen her upper lip, she felt her face crumple. Hugging her brother close, she felt all of her uncertainty shudder through her. And much to her dismay, she bawled.