Taking Heart (6 page)

“Julia, I—”

A wet, slobbery tongue covered the space between the two of them as Tango licked Dylan from his chin to the top of his forehead. He jumped up from the log and swiped a hand over his face, grimacing. Roscoe jumped up from his position on the ground, instantly alert.

“That was disgusting. I swear he's warning me to stay away from you.”

Julia couldn't help the giggles that bubbled from within her chest as she tried to hold back her laugher. She knew Tango licked only people he liked, and he seemed to have taken an uncommon liking to Dylan, whether he wanted him to or not. “Tango, down.” The dog sat and lowered his head, sheepishly, but still managed to look up at Dylan. “See, he's sorry.”

“Yeah, well, I hope you don't mind if I keep my distance and stay over here.” He sat at the other end of the log, but she could see the corner of his mouth turn up as he tried to hide his grin.

She wasn't going to admit that the log felt empty without him seated beside her. Any more than she was going to admit how much she'd wanted to feel his lips on hers, or to feel his hands on her skin again. She had to find something to distract herself from these thoughts that were bound to lead to the ache of loneliness.

“So, tell me about your brother.”

D
YLAN CURSED THE
stab of jealousy that pounded in his chest when Julia asked about Gage. If it hadn't been for that damn dog, he'd be kissing her right now, letting his fingers brush over her cheek, tasting her—

What in the hell was he thinking? He should be grateful Tango saved him the rejection. If she was asking about Gage, she obviously hadn't wanted to be kissed by him. It had been so long since he'd been with a woman, he couldn't even read the signals he thought she was giving.

“What about him?” He heard the clipped tone of his voice and forced himself to take it easy. She could be just making conversation, inquiring about his family the way he had hers. He might be reading far more into her question than she meant.

She looked at him oddly, narrowing her eyes, as if she could read his thoughts. “I don't know. What does he do for a living? Did he join the military, too?”

Maybe not. “No.” Dylan tried to keep the bitterness from his voice. “He actually owns his own IT company. He started it with some friends from college and then bought them out about four years ago.”

She gave him a sideways glance as if trying to read his expression as Roscoe sat up and looked at him. “A regular genius, huh?”

“The golden child of the family, that's for sure.” At least, that was the way his mother had always introduced them. He didn't tell Julia that, though. Or how he'd been the one to put his brother through college. Or paid for their mother's cancer treatments.

He didn't begrudge his brother's success and was glad to have been a part of helping him attain it. It didn't matter to him that he'd never really had a childhood or the high school experiences his friends had playing sports and dating. He'd never had the money for either, nor had he had the time. Instead, he'd learned from a young age the value of hard work, responsibility, and loyalty. It had shaped him into the man who'd saved lives on the battlefield, the man he was today.

The man you used to be
, his brain reminded him.
That man is gone.

“We should head back.” Dylan rose and moved toward the horses, leaving Julia no choice but to follow him.

D
YLAN AND
G
AGE
sat at the kitchen table, watching carefully as Julia instructed Dylan on how to cook with Roscoe in the kitchen. Food was always a distraction for the dogs, so he would need to be vigilant to make sure Roscoe was concentrating on him rather than a treat.

“So, which of you does most of the cooking?” She looked back at the pair as she cut up the carrots and tossed them into the pot. The evening air held a chill, and beef stew would be a good choice to fill up these two.

“I do,” Gage said. He jumped up from the table and walked to the counter, grabbing a piece of the chopped carrot. “But I avoid it when I can and order out.” He shot her a disarming grin and winked. “I like to do my part to keep the local take-out places in business.”

“And I'm sure they appreciate it.” Julia returned his quick smile, marveling at how two men could look so similar yet be so different. She wondered again if their personalities had been more alike before Dylan's injury, and if it had caused his broody disposition. “Dylan, I'm sure you'll be cooking once you have your own place again, so why don't you come chop the celery so Roscoe gets used to it?”

“You're making a pretty big assumption.” He frowned but rose from the table and came to stand beside her. Roscoe followed and sat down at Dylan's feet.

Julia's gaze jumped to Gage's, and she wondered if she'd said something wrong. Gage shrugged a shoulder slightly and shook his head. Dylan had seemed even more moody than usual since they left The Ridge and hadn't quite snapped out of it, even after Gage arrived. She looked up at Dylan and wondered if they should just call it a night. He and Roscoe were doing well. There was no need to rush either of them.

“You know what?” She smiled up at Dylan and set the knife down. “Why don't the two of you finish chopping up the celery and drop it into the pot with everything else? We'll let this simmer, but I'm in the mood for pizza and a movie. I'll call it in while I go feed the dogs. What do you guys say?”

“I'm game.” Gage sounded overly enthusiastic, and she wondered at the reaction.

“Whatever.” Dylan shrugged, looking somber.

Julia arched a brow at him and shook her head. “Don't sound so excited, Dylan.”

“I'll probably just go to bed early.”

Gage glared at his brother, but Julia wasn't going to be deterred by his foul mood. “Suit yourself. That just means more for us.” She winked at Gage and watched fury fill Dylan's eyes as she exited the kitchen.

“W
HAT
'
S YOUR PROBLEM
?” Gage spun on him as soon as Julia was out the back door.

Dylan knew Gage wasn't about to let him off easy. “Nothing, leave me alone.” Roscoe pawed at his leg but he ignored him.

“So, you're just planning on being an ass tonight? Because if so, I should warn Julia.”

“Shut up, Gage.” Dylan grabbed the knife and began chopping the celery as his brother leaned a hip against the counter.

“You know, you're adorable when you get all domestic.”

Dylan set the knife down and pounded the side of his fist against the cutting board. Instead of looking intimidated, Gage winked and blew him a kiss, quickly moving out of arm's reach. Roscoe jumped up at the commotion and moved between the brothers. “Is everything a game to you?”

“Okay, I'll stop, but only if you tell me what's going on. Did something happen today while you guys were on your ride?”

Dylan glared at his brother before swiping the celery into the pot. “No. Yes. Crap, I don't know.” He ran a hand over his shaved head before wiping it over his mouth.

“You don't have long before she gets back in here, so spill it.”

“I almost kissed her,” he blurted.

Gage froze in place for a moment before frowning. Dylan knew this would be his reaction. Gage had already expressed his interest in Julia. Suddenly, a smile spread over his lips and Gage actually laughed out loud. “You should have. What stopped you?”

“What do you mean, what stopped me?” Was his brother insane? There were at least one hundred reasons for him not to kiss her. He slid the cutting board into the dishwasher and put the produce back in the refrigerator. “I can't kiss her.”

“Why not? It's a kiss, not a marriage proposal.”

“She doesn't want to kiss
me
.” Dylan loaded the dishes into the dishwasher and looked pointedly at his brother. “She's interested in someone else.” Gage waited for him to say more. Did he have to spell it out to him? “You, Gage. She's interested in you.”

Gage burst out with a loud guffaw, which only pissed Dylan off even more. This wasn't funny. He didn't like feeling envious of his brother. In all their years, he'd never once coveted anything his brother had. Dylan was proud of what he'd accomplished on his own. But this was different. He didn't want to want Julia. It wasn't right, and doing what was right was the only constant in his life, the only thing he could hold on to from the man he'd once been. Too bad knowing it was wrong didn't seem to lessen the wanting.

“Don't make me beat the crap out of you.”

Gage waved his hand at him, barely controlling his laughter. “No, it's just . . . I can't believe you.”

Dylan clenched his jaw, refusing to be drawn into his brother's antics. “Screw you, Gage.”

“Wait! I'm sorry.”

“Dylan, she isn't interested in me. I have no clue why you'd think she was, but Julia's made it pretty obvious from the start that I don't even register on her radar.”

“She asked about you.”

“Heaven forbid she make polite conversation and get to know about your family. What's her sister's name? What does she do for a living?”

Dylan looked at his brother, confused. “Jessie said she rescues abused horses.”

“What about her brother?”

“Justin. He's a veterinarian in town.”

“And you know that because you've gotten intel on her? Or because you asked her about her family?” Gage threw his hands in the air. “Geez, chill out. If you want to kiss her, kiss her. If she doesn't want you to, she'll let you know.”

Maybe Gage was right and he was just overthinking this. It was only a kiss. People did it all the time, and he'd kissed more than his fair share of women, even if he didn't date often.

That was before.

And therein was where his problem lay. His life was split into two parts—life before his injury and life after. Life before hadn't been easy, but he'd enjoyed it, lived it as capably as possible. But life after was a different story. Life after was haunted by memories and regrets, of loss and never-agains. He wasn't a man, he was the shell of one. He had nothing to offer a woman now, and it wasn't fair to start something he couldn't see through.

“You don't get it.”

“I
do
get it, but this entire trip is about you making changes for the better. I'm going to help you make this one.”

“What are you talking about?”

Julia appeared at the back door and stamped her feet before opening the door, greeting them both with a bright smile. Dylan felt his heart skip whenever he saw her smile, and it didn't disappoint now.

“Okay, the pizza is on its way. I just ordered pepperoni since I forgot to ask what kind you both preferred.”

Gage shot Dylan a quick glance before he rose. “I'm so sorry, Julia, but I can't stay. I just got a call from work and there's some sort of issue with our biggest client. I have to head back to town and work tonight.”

“Oh, okay.” Julia didn't seem overly disappointed by his brother's sudden departure. “No biggie. We'll do it another night. I hope it's nothing serious.”

Gage gave him a pointed scowl. “I think if a few people can get their act together, it will all work out beautifully.” Dylan clenched his fists at his sides and glared back at his brother. Roscoe began pawing at his leg.

“Are you all right?” Julia looked up at him and back down at the dog.

Dylan followed her glance and realized the dog was alerting her to his state of mind and the frustration that swirled in him like a whirlpool. “I'm fine. Come on, Gage. I'll walk you out.”

As soon as they were outside, he shoved his brother's shoulder. “What the hell was that? You're leaving?”

“I'm doing you a favor, and for crying out loud, if the opportunity presents itself tonight, kiss her. If only for the sake of climbing back onto that horse. You were injured. You're not dead.” Gage shook his head as he slid behind the wheel of the Camaro. Dylan was tired of feeling as if he was nothing more than a disappointment. “Will you, please, just start living again?”

If only he remembered how.

J
ULIA LET
D
YLAN
pick out the movie as she set the pizza on the coffee table, ignoring the pathetic, mournful glances both dogs cast at the food. She watched as he squatted down in front of the television with an easy grace, confident in his own skin, yet oblivious to his sex appeal. She took a deep breath, trying to calm her suddenly overactive libido.

It made no sense that, after nearly four years of having no attraction to any men, this dark, brooding male was the one to wake her body. It was true that Dylan practically oozed sexuality, but he hadn't given her any indication that he saw her as more than his dog's trainer. She couldn't count the moment they shared on the log, since she'd been vulnerable at the time and he'd simply been offering a shoulder to cry on. She needed to regain control of herself and shake off whatever hormonal overload she was suffering from.

He walked back and sat beside her, leaning forward to slide a slice of pizza onto a paper plate. “Jim Carrey okay?”

“Sure.” She was a bit surprised by his choice of movie since he didn't seem like the comedy type, but she also wondered if he just felt the need to laugh. She was more shocked that he'd chosen to sit so close when there were recliners on each side of the couch, but she wasn't about to complain, even as her pulse leapt into hyperdrive. Any thoughts of eating went right out the window as her stomach did a nervous flip.

Julia picked at her pizza, finally setting what was left of the slice on top of the box and turning her attention to the movie, instead of the man beside her. She forced herself to relax, curling her legs under her and letting her head rest against her palm. Dylan was reclined in the corner of the couch, his eyes focused on the television with a ghost of a smile on his lips. She let her eyes stray over him.

He was incredibly handsome, the way only movie stars and sports figures were. Muscular, tanned, and rugged. Real people weren't supposed to look the way he did. But there was a sadness that seemed to cling to him, even when he laughed, as if he couldn't let himself go completely. She remembered how it felt to hold a part of herself hidden from life. She still did it at times, although not as often as she had at first after being released from the hospital. There was always a fear that lingered, something that couldn't quite be buried. She saw that same pain in Dylan's dark eyes.

She laid her head on her arm, blinking slowly. The last thing she heard was Dylan's warm laughter, and she knew she couldn't help but fall in love with the rich sound of it.

D
YLAN HEARD THE
rattle outside the back door at the same time as the dogs jumped up. Tango gave a low growl in his throat while Roscoe edged closer to the kitchen before looking back at him. He glanced at Julia, who'd fallen asleep on the couch. He didn't want to wake her, so he eased himself from the cushion and made his way toward the sound.

He signaled at Roscoe to heel and noticed that Tango had moved to stand between him and Julia. It was right where he wanted him to be, and he was surprised by the dog's protective instincts, although he knew he probably shouldn't have been. He heard another noise in the backyard, but this time it sounded like footsteps. He pressed his body against the wall, sliding through the doorway into the dark kitchen. Squatting low, Dylan moved into the shadows, creeping forward on the balls of his feet, and edged closer to the back door, listening for any other sounds. A dog barked in the kennel once but fell quiet. He heard a whisper of sound, like the wind through the shrubbery—or a person snapping a branch. The dog in the kennel began barking again, letting out a howl before the entire group joined in, creating a cacophony of canine singing. He heard distinctive footsteps this time and the slam of the back gate.

Moving quickly, he ran into the backyard, remaining low so he wasn't seen. Pushing open the gate, he could see a shadow disappearing behind the kennel, too far away to make out. The intruder might be gone now, but Dylan had his suspicions as to the identity of the shadow. This time, he didn't care how much Julia argued. He would insist she call the police.

Roscoe scratched at the door, jumping up to see Dylan through the window as he made his way back through the gate, making a mental note to get a lock on it tomorrow. He went back inside and found Tango still standing, watching for any threat to his mistress while she slept on the couch, oblivious to the danger.

“Good boys,” he praised the dogs, reaching one hand to Roscoe's head and noticing how it shook.

He slid back onto the couch, marveling at the fact that he'd been able to remember his training, use it, and yet not slip into the darkness that was usually triggered when something reminded him of his time in the service. It had been the first time since returning from overseas that a stressful situation hadn't triggered an episode. As grateful as he was for the success, he wondered why.

It could have been Roscoe, or that his mind wouldn't let him slip with Julia in danger. Whatever the reason, Julia wasn't out of danger yet. He had to make her understand that this situation wasn't something she could ignore. It wasn't going to simply disappear. If it had been Evan outside her house tonight, as Dylan suspected, he was getting more brazen and was bound to make a move soon.