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“This is nice,” she whispered. She didn’t know if he could hear her or even if that mattered. She was merely thinking aloud, encouraging herself to enjoy the moment.

“It is,” Lee said. Even with her high heels on, he was so tall that his lips brushed her temple. “You ready to tell me what was bothering you earlier? You seemed kind of upset when I came into your office.”

If anyone else had asked, she would have brushed it off with a fake smile, but she felt safe confiding in Lee. She laid her head on his chest. “I got some bad news today.”

“What kind of news?”

The steady beat of his heart soothed her as she said, “My sister’s been hurt. She’s in the hospital.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. I thought you weren’t in touch with your family?”

She sighed inaudibly as she placed her palm against his heart. His chest was solid, his skin warm through his thin cotton shirt, just as she knew it would be. “I’m not, but my cousin is.
He
hurt her too.” Indie said the word with such distaste, she knew she wouldn’t have to explain who she was talking about.

“How?”

“He beat her up. According to Penny, it’s bad, really bad.”

His arms tightened around her. “I’m so sorry.”

“So am I.” Indie exhaled slowly. “I may have been angry with Amy, but I never wished this on her, especially not now.”

“Now?”

She finally looked up at Lee, and she was taken aback by the concern in his eyes. He really cared. He wanted to listen and offer her a shoulder to cry on. “I found out my sister has a son. I have a nephew.”

“Wow.” He brushed her cheek to wipe away a tear. “How do you feel about that?”

“I don’t know. I’m kind of stunned.” Her eyes fell to the gold chain around Lee’s neck. “I love children, especially babies. They’re so precious, so innocent. They’d never hurt you or betray you. I guess that’s why I was drawn to being a nanny.”

“You want to meet your nephew.” He could obviously hear the longing in her voice.

She couldn’t deny that the thought of holding that baby, feeling his soft cheek against hers and inhaling the downy scent of his silky hair, was almost enough to make her make the long drive back. “That baby has
his
blood running through his veins. I’m scared for him.”

“Maybe he’ll be put away for a good long while after what he did to your sister. That’s sure as hell what he deserves.”

“I hope so, Lee.” She rested her head on his chest again. “I really hope so.” She was silent for a minute. “My cousin wants me to go home this weekend to see my sister in case…” She couldn’t say it.

“I think you should.” He threaded his hands through the hair at the nape of her neck and tipped her head up. “If you need me to go with you, I’d be happy to.”

Her heart stuttered when she saw the tenderness in his eyes. “But you spend weekends with Hannah.”

“Katie would understand.”

Indie pressed her palms against his chest. “Why would you want to do that for me?”

“Isn’t it obvious? I care about you.”

She should tell him he didn’t know her well enough to care about her, but if that was true, she had no business caring about him either. “Thank you.” She didn’t know if she was thanking him for caring or just for listening and offering his support.

“This would be a good time to tell me not to do what I’m thinkin’ about doing.”

Indie’s breath felt trapped in her throat as his eyes locked on her lips. They were in the middle of a crowded dance floor, and it had been forever since she’d kissed a man. Wrong time. Wrong place. Right man. “I…” Lee stepped back, and she realized that wasn’t what she wanted him to do. “Want you to kiss me.”

Lee appeared stunned by her bold announcement. He framed her face with his hands and brushed her lips gently, giving her time to withdraw. He finally claimed her mouth in a slow and sensuous kiss. It didn’t last long, just long enough for her to know she wanted more.

“Lee…”

“Indie…”

He smiled. “I know this is a bad idea. You’ve got a lot goin’ on. So do I. We both work for my brother, and he was pretty clear about the boundaries when he hired me. Not to mention how young you are.” He brushed his thumb across her lower lip. “You’re so young and so damned sexy. I want you. I can’t help myself.”

“I want you too.” The words fell from her lips uncensored.

“So what’re we gonna do about this mess we got ourselves into?” he asked with a sexy, lopsided grin.

“I don’t know.” Sinking her teeth into her lower lip, she half-hoped he would tell her the obstacles didn’t matter and he would deal with his brother.

“I meant what I said earlier. I think you should go see your sister. If you want me to come—”

“It’s okay.” She released her grip on his shirt. “I’ll have Penny there for moral support.”

“Then you are going?”

Something inside her had shifted when Lee kissed her. She was tired of living in fear, and that meant she couldn’t run from her past anymore. “I’m going.”

“Think you’ll be staying?”

Indie hadn’t even considered that possibility. Nashville was her home. She couldn’t imagine going back to the small town where she’d been raised, not even with her brother-in-law behind bars. “I don’t think so. Not for more than the weekend, anyway.”

“If you need some time off, to be there for your sister, I’m sure Drake will understand.”

“Yeah.” She was sure he would too. She’d refused to take any of her vacation time, and every year he joked she was banking it in case she ever wanted to take off to Europe to
find herself
. “I don’t know. I guess we’ll see when I get there.”

He kissed her forehead. “If you need to talk, don’t hesitate to call, okay? Promise?”

“I promise. Thanks, Lee.”

Lee took Hannah to the restaurant Donato worked at for lunch. Afterward, they were going to the animated movie she’d been telling him about all week.

“Have you decided what you want, sweetie?” he asked, setting his menu down as Donato filled their water glasses.

“I want pasta.” She handed Donato the plastic menu with a gap-toothed grin.

Lee pinched his lips together, trying to hide his amusement. Since it was an Italian restaurant, there was little else on the menu. “What kind of pasta?”

“The big fat round kind that Mommy makes.”

Katie made a twice-baked rigatoni that Hannah loved. Lee spotted it on the menu and said to Donato, “Two rigatonis with marinara sauce, please.”

“You got it, Lee.”

As Donato jotted down their order, Hannah jumped up. “I’m going to the bathroom, Daddy.”

“Do you want me to come with you?”

Rolling her eyes, she said, “You can’t come into the girl’s bathroom with me.”

Lee frowned and started to object, but Donato whispered, “It’s okay, it’s just across the room. If it’ll make you feel better, I’ll ask one of the waitresses to check on her in a minute.”

“Thanks, buddy,” Lee said.

After Hannah had left the table, Donato said, “So listen, I wanted to ask you something. It’s about that girl I met at your brother’s place… Indie?”

Lee tried to appear nonchalant, but he suspected the tick in his jaw might give him away. “What about her?”

“You work with her, right? She got a boyfriend?”

The fact that Indie was closer to Donato’s age than his wasn’t lost on Lee. “No, she doesn’t.”

His face lit up. “Cool. Think she’d go out with me?”

“You know it’s not a good idea for you to get involved with someone right now. The program suggests avoiding that for the first year with good reason.” Lee couldn’t believe how jealous he was about Indie going out with someone else.

They’d only kissed twice, once at Jimmy’s and once before she left town last night. Lee hadn’t wanted to let her go. He was getting in over his head with a
girl
who was too young and had even more issues than he did. He wasn’t looking for a commitment. He needed a lover with no strings attached.

“Man, we can still have a life,” Donato said, looking irritated. “Date, you know, have fun.”

“Indie’s not interested in dating anyone.”

“How do you know that?”

“She told me.” Granted, she’d told him that before she’d kissed him, so Lee didn’t know if that was still true.

“That sucks,” Donato muttered. “I know it sounds crazy, but I haven’t been able to get her out of my head since I met her. There’s just something about her, ya know?”

“Yeah, I know.”

Hannah skipped back to the table. “Is our pasta ready?” She frowned at her empty plate.

“I’ll place that order now,” Donato said, smiling at Hannah. “You in a big hurry, princess?”

“We’re going to the movies,” she said, beaming. “Isn’t that right, Daddy?”

“Sure is, honey.” Lee was determined to put Indie out of his mind and enjoy his time with his daughter.

“In that case, I’ll be sure to put a rush on it for you,” Donato said, winking at Hannah.

***

Indie and Penny walked into the hospital, and Penny approached the front desk to ask for Amy’s room number. Indie thought she might throw up all over the freshly washed floor.

“Hey, are you okay?” Penny asked when she returned. “You don’t look so hot.”

“I just need to sit down for a minute.” Indie chose a chair that faced the elevator.

“I know how hard this is for you,” Penny said, rubbing Indie’s back when she claimed the seat next to her. “But you’re doing the right thing. You’d never be able to live with yourself—”

“Don’t,” Indie said, holding up her hand. “My mother said Amy seemed to have turned the corner, right? Her doctors are optimistic?”

“That’s right.” Penny patted Indie’s knee. “I’m sure everything’ll be fine. Still, I’m glad you’re here. Maybe we can see Cameron. Your mama said he’s staying with them. I wish you’d let me tell them I was bringing you along. They’ll never forgive me when they find out I knew where you were and refused to tell them.”

“Don’t worry about that.” Indie gave her cousin a smile. “I’ll tell them I swore you to secrecy. If they want to be angry with someone, they can be angry with me.”

“Are you kidding?” Penny said, wide-eyed. “They’ll just be so thrilled to see you. I hope it won’t be too much for your dad.”

“What does that mean?” Indie got a sinking feeling when Penny didn’t respond. “What’s wrong with him?”

“He had a slight heart attack last year.”

Indie sucked in a breath. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I tried. Remember on Father’s Day when I suggested you call him? That’s when I found out about it. When I called to wish him a happy Father’s Day, your sister told me your mama took him to the emergency room because he was having chest pains. I called back later that night, and they assured me it was nothing to worry about. I didn’t want to upset you, so I didn’t bring it up again.”

Indie could hardly blame her cousin for keeping quiet. The only time they fought was when Penny tried to convince her to reach out to her parents. “But he’s okay now? I mean, he hasn’t had any more problems?”

“I don’t think so,” Penny said. “He had a minor procedure a few weeks later. Something about blocked arteries, but it was just a day thing, and they assured me it was nothing to worry about. He’s on medication now, but that’s about it.”

“My father was in perfect health when I left,” Indie said quietly, looking at her hands. “That doesn’t make any sense.”

“He’s getting older, honey,” Penny said. “These things happen. Lifestyle diseases. My parents are struggling with the same thing.”

“I guess I just thought…” She thought they would live forever, that she had years to make amends if she chose to. But her sister had almost lost her life, and her father had had a cardiac episode she didn’t even know about. Was that how she wanted it to end, with words left unsaid? She stood. “Okay, I’m ready. Let’s do this.”

At the elevator, Indie almost walked into a man stepping off. “I’m so sorry, I wasn’t—”

“Oh my God,” he said, grabbing her shoulders. “Indie, is that you?”

“Hal?” Indie looked at his familiar face warily. He’d been just a boy the last time they kissed, but he had morphed into a handsome man.

His green eyes were bright with excitement when he pulled her into his arms. “I can’t believe you’re here. God, it’s so great to see you! Where’ve you been? What have you been doing?” He pulled back to look her in the eye. “And why the hell haven’t you called?”

She laughed nervously, trying to wrap her mind around the barrage of questions. He was the last person she expected to see. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m visiting your sister.” He smiled politely at Penny.

“I’m afraid I don’t understand,” Indie said, stepping aside so an elderly couple could get on the elevator. “You and my sister are friends? Are you and Amy…?” She got a sinking feeling. Penny had told her that Amy had been out on a date the night of the attack.

“No,” he said, chuckling. “Amy works for my father at the store. She’s become a friend of the family. When I heard what happened, I had to stop by and see if I could do anything to help.” He glanced at Penny again.

“I’m sorry.” Indie gestured to Penny. “Hal, this is my cousin, Penny. Penny, Hal.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Penny said, accepting his hand with a warm smile. “I’ve heard a lot about you. The boy my cousin left behind.”

“If you want to know the truth, she broke my heart when she left.”

Indie placed her hand on Hal’s forearm. He’d been the first boy to treat her right, and it had frustrated her to no end that her parents couldn’t see past his appearance to acknowledge that. “You weren’t the only one who was heart-broken. I didn’t want to leave without saying good-bye, but the decision was pretty sudden. I’m sorry.”

“I heard what happened,” he said, cupping her shoulder. “I’m the one who’s sorry.” He bent to look her in the eye. “You could have come to me, you know.”

She had no doubt he would have believed and supported her, but she couldn’t have stayed in the same town with her parents and the man who hurt her. “I know. I just needed to get away for a while.”

“Seven years? That’s a hell of a long time.”