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Ever since his mother’s death, he’d made a conscious decision. He didn’t do feelings. By maintaining complete control over his heart, he had built up a facade that proved his father wrong.
Weak? Wimp? Worthless? He had never let anyone get close enough to find out if it was true.
His encounters with women had been brief and casual. The rules were established up front, and both partners had walked away with good memories and no regrets.
Then along came Bree.
And Rylan was learning the hard way that his heart wasn’t as iron-clad and compliant as he’d always believed. No matter how much he tried to suppress the need to tell her how he felt, it was there below the surface, like a volcano waiting to blow.
But he couldn’t do that to her. She had just gone through a horrible trauma, and she was vulnerable. The physical attraction between them was already strong, and there was more to it. An emotional connection that went beyond sex. It was only natural that Bree should turn to him right now. She saw Rylan as the man who would take care of her. Deep down, some primal instinct made her want to take shelter in his arms.
What kind of man would take advantage of that? One who had already proven himself untrustworthy? Unworthy?
His mind might be whirling in a million different directions right now, but one thing was irrefutable. For the first time in his life, Rylan was truly afraid. Because if he told Bree he loved her, he could only see two outcomes. The first, and most likely, was that she would gently let him know that she didn’t feel the same way. The second was that, caught up in a web of fear and anxiety, she might mistake her own heart. He wanted to hear Bree tell him she loved him more than he wanted his next breath, but not because she was looking for a comfort blanket.
And she doesn’t know me.
Like the rest of the world, she saw the tough guy exterior. If she knew what lay beneath...
His musings were interrupted as Bree entered the kitchen with Jekyll at her heels. It was hard to believe she’d been through such a stressful incident the previous day. She was wearing jeans with tiny flowers embroidered all over them, a huge baggy fisherman’s sweater and biker boots. Although her hair was loose, a floral headband kept it back from her face. She was fresh-faced, bright-eyed and absolutely gorgeous.
“Pancakes.” He forced himself to concentrate. “And there’s syrup or fruit. There’s even freshly squeezed orange juice.”
“Heaven.” Bree took a seat and helped herself to food. “Kasey was in surgery when I spoke to her mom, but she had a restful night. Mrs. Spencer said she had been talking, she understood what was happening and seemed in okay spirits. Her mom will send me a text message later to let me know how the surgery went.”
“From what the doctor said, this is just the start for Kasey,” Rylan said quietly.
“I know.” Bree’s expressive mouth turned down at the corners. “She was only in the basement because of me. When David asked me to go with him to look at paint, I wasn’t really suspicious of him, but I remembered what you’d said about not trusting anyone. So I asked Kasey to come with us.”
“You couldn’t have known what would happen.” Rylan attempted to reassure her. “At that point, none of us suspected him.”
She ate a few bites of pancake. “Based on your experience, what do you think David will do next?”
“Hard to say without knowing the motive of the mystery puppet master,” Rylan said. “If his intention was purely to cause a problem for the Coltons, he may decide David has become a liability. If that’s the case, David is on his own. He must know Trey has all his resources focused on finding him. Sticking around Roaring Springs wouldn’t be his smartest move.”
“So you think he’ll leave town?”
“He will if he’s got any sense. And if he’s thinking straight.” Rylan gave her a direct look. “He’s already proved he has an obsessive personality. I’m not sure we can rely on him thinking straight.”
“This other person seems to have another motive. Stockpiling weapons sounds sinister.”
“If we’re dealing with something very different, your brother probably needs outside help. I’m sure we can leave it to Trey to deal with that.” Rylan leaned back in his chair. “After we’ve checked on the animals, how would you like a spa experience?”
