Tempting Love (Cowboys & Angels 3)

“I’m not sure. You’ll have to talk to him about it. He said he was gonna give you a call about it.”

A knot formed in my stomach at the idea of someone setting Corina’s house on fire. My mind drifted back to Lane standing there, smiling at the burning house.

“Right. Thanks, Doc. We’ll see you in a bit.”

“I’ll have the girls put some things together for the young lady. I’m sure she won’t have anything for the cat.”

I turned and looked at Corina. “That’s awfully nice of ya, Doc. We are sure lucky to have you.”

“Well, the plan is to retire soon, but I won’t leave Oak Springs until I have a replacement I feel worthy of the town.”

My brows lifted. “You’re retiring? The town will sure miss you.”

He laughed. “I’m not leaving Oak Springs anytime soon. You’ll still see me around, and I’m sure I’ll come in and help out the new vet.”

“I’m glad to hear that. Better get going. See ya soon.”

“Sounds good, Mitchell.”

The line went dead, and I was about to say something when my doorbell rang.

“Mitchell?” Blue eyes locked with mine before a pissed-off look washed over Corina’s face. “Who is that?”

“Before you go accusing me, it’s Amelia. She has a key.” Her face relaxed. “She brought you some stuff. I called her last night and was hoping she’d be here before you woke up.”

“Oh, that was really nice of you.” Her eyes drifted away, like she felt guilty about whatever she’d just been thinking.

“Any decent person would have done it.”

Amelia walked into the kitchen, a huge smile on her face. I couldn’t get over how my sister practically glowed.

“Hey,” I said, pulling her into a hug. “You look beautiful. Do you know that?”

Drawing back, Amelia looked up at me. “I do?”

“Yes,” I said as I tapped her nose. “You look good in love.”

She blushed. “Thank you, Mitchell. Wade makes me the happiest I’ve ever been.” Spinning on her heels, Amelia faced Corina. “Waylynn and I raided our closets and have bags of clothes for Mitchell to bring up. I stopped at the store and got you some shampoo, a toothbrush, and some deodorant. I hope I got the right kind. I tried to think of everything you’d need right now.”

Tears filled Corina’s eyes. She buried her face in her hands and lost it crying.

Amelia shot me a dirty look. “What did you do to her, Mitchell Parker?”

My mouth dropped open. “What? I didn’t do anything!”

Corina dropped her hands to her lap. “He…he’s been…w-wonderful. It’s just me. I don’t know what to do. I lost everything. Pictures, memories. Everything I owned is…gone.”

Amelia hit me on the chest and motioned for me to go over to her. I pointed to myself with a ‘Who? Me?’ look, and she nodded.

Looks like Amelia was in on the plan for me to win Corina over.

I motioned I had no shirt on, and she gave me the stink eye. Making my way over to her, I lifted her off the stool and pulled her into my arms. She melted against my body. It took every ounce of willpower I had to keep my dick from going hard.

“All that is replaceable, Corina,” I said. “I know it hurts to lose all of it, but on the bright side, you saved Milo. And you can really make that house amazing with the insurance money!”

Amelia’s eyes widened before she slowly shook her head in disappointment. Corina pulled back and looked up at me. It killed me to see her crying. Using my thumbs, I wiped her tears away.

“Please, don’t cry,” I whispered.

Something moved across her face as she stared at me. “You saved Milo. You ran into the house to save him. Why would you do that?”

My heart was pounding. I wanted to tell her I did it for her. That there wasn’t anything I wouldn’t do for her. Instead, I said, “Instinct. Guess it comes with my job.”

I could practically feel Amelia’s eyes burning a hole in me.

“Oh,” Corina whispered.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Recover!

I shrugged. “Plus, it was Milo. He was yours, and I know how much you love him.”

“So really what you’re saying is, you did it for Corina?” Amelia asked in an annoyed tone of voice.

We turned and stared at Amelia. Now it was my turn with the daggers.

There was no way I was going to let Mitchell see my reaction when Amelia spoke.

“Yes, Amelia. Thanks for clearing that up.”

Amelia smiled. “Sure, no problem. Okay, so if you need anything, let me know? I’m late for a conference call with my agent.”

Walking to her, I pulled her tight and whispered, “Thank you for everything.”

Her hold tightened. “You were there for me, and I promise I’ll be here for you. No matter what.”

When we stepped back, we both had tears in our eyes. I never imagined when I moved to this small town I’d make such amazing friends. Paxton had been a gift in my life, but the addition of Amelia and Waylynn was like icing on top of my favorite cake.