For His Brother's Wife

“It’s one of the things about living on a ranch that I miss,” Cole agreed, his voice just as hushed. It was as if neither of them wanted to disturb the tranquility of the night. A cow bawled somewhere in one of the pastures, causing him to chuckle. “Even when the silence is broken by a cow calling to her calf or a coyote howling off in the distance, it beats the hell out of listening to the sounds of a city.”

Taking a sip of her coffee, she nodded. “When Craig and I first got married and moved to the ranch, I didn’t want to live outside of town and really wasn’t all that happy about being here. Now I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else.”

“I wasn’t aware that you two didn’t have a place of your own before Dad died,” Cole commented.

“Craig thought it would be best for me to be here with your dad when he had to go out of town on business.” She took another sip from her cup. “Your father’s health had already started to decline and I didn’t mind staying with him. He treated me like a daughter and I don’t know what I would have done without his comforting words when my parents were killed in the car accident.”

“I’m sorry you lost your folks in such a tragic way,” Cole said softly. “They were good people.”

“Thank you,” she murmured. “It was a difficult time for me.”

Neither spoke for several minutes, and Paige wondered if Cole was upset that she had been there to take care of his father when he hadn’t.

“I’m glad you and my dad had a great relationship,” he finally said as if he’d read her mind. “He deserved to have someone he loved with him who wasn’t a big disappointment to him.”

Paige frowned as she turned to face him. “Cole, you were never a disappointment to your father. He used to talk all the time about the things you had accomplished and how proud he was of you.”

She wasn’t about to mention that his father’s praise of him had caused a lot of tension between Mr. Richardson and Craig or that their father hadn’t approved of Craig’s business trips. There was no sense in focusing on Craig’s faults when he wasn’t there to defend himself.

“I know that things between you and Craig weren’t good and whatever was going on kept you away from Royal,” she said tentatively. “But your father seemed to understand and was happy that you had built a good life for yourself up in Dallas.”

He gazed at her for several long seconds before he turned to stare off into the darkness. “I did manage to see my dad a few times over the years at the Texas Cattleman’s Club when I had to come down here for a meeting or when he came up to Dallas with a delegation from the Royal chapter. But he never talked to me about R&N Builders. All he wanted to know was if I was ready to come back to Royal where I belonged.”

Paige could tell that it bothered Cole, but she wasn’t going to ask what had happened between him and Craig to keep him away for so long. If he wanted her to know, he would tell her. Otherwise, it was none of her business.

“I think it’s about time to call it a night,” Cole said a few minutes later. “If the crew is back on their feet tomorrow, I’ll need to be ready to work.” He stood up and stretched his arms. “That’s if the weather cooperates.”

“That’s a lot of ‘ifs,’” Paige pointed out as she got up from the swing.

When he reached around her to open the back door, his arm brushed her breast, sending a tingling excitement throughout her body. His sharp intake of breath indicated that he’d felt it, too.

The air was suddenly charged with tension, and as they stared at each other, she watched his eyes darken with the same desire that she was certain shone in hers. Thankfully, neither of them commented on the moment as they entered the kitchen and she held out her hand for his cup. She noticed when he gave her the mug, he held it so that she could grip the handle without touching his hand. All things considered, it was a very wise choice.

She set the cups in the sink and walked with him down the hall to the stairs. As they climbed the steps, she could feel the heat from his hand close to her back, but this time he didn’t touch her.

Reaching the top step, Paige released the breath she’d been holding as she turned toward her bedroom. “Good night, Cole.”

“Sleep well,” he said. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

Paige nodded and, without looking back, went into her room. They had passed the test, and he’d stayed true to his word. He had promised he wouldn’t kiss her again unless she asked him to. She hadn’t asked him to, even though she had been sorely tempted to do just that.