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Only Mine
Susan Mallery


You can’t win if you don’t play…Her town’s lack of men may make headlines, but it isn’t news to Dakota Hendrix. The beautiful blonde has bigger problems to deal with, such as overseeing the romance reality competition filming in Fool’s Gold. Screening eligible bachelors is a difficult enough task, but Dakota hits an unexpected snag when a sexy stranger comes to town. Finn Anderssen will do anything to keep his twin brothers—the perfect contestants—off the show.Despite Dakota’s better judgment, she finds herself drawn to the mysterious outsider. Like her, Finn knows about heartbreak and how a family can fall apart, so she doesn’t dare to hope for anything more than a fling. After all, even in the Land of Happy Endings, finding true love is never as easy as it looks on TV.










Praise forNew York TimesandUSA TODAYbestselling author

SUSAN MALLERY

“Mallery’s prose is luscious and provocative.”

—Publishers Weekly

“Susan Mallery’s gift for writing humor and tenderness

make all her books true gems.”

—RT Book Reviews

“Romance novels don’t get much better than Mallery’s expert blend of

emotional nuance, humor and superb storytelling.”

—Booklist

“Mallery sets up some very tough choices for her heroine,

making this book compelling and intense.”

—RT Book Reviews on Finding Perfect

“[A]n emotional story with a beautiful happy ending!

Another must read by Susan Mallery.”

—Good Choice Reading on Almost Perfect

“Warm, funny, and sexy, this lighthearted yet touching page-turner

is a satisfying, rewarding read and the �perfect’ beginning

for Mallery’s Fool’s Gold series.”

—Library Journal on Chasing Perfect

“As demonstrated in this compelling story, family doesn’t have to share

blood, just emotions. Filled with emotional drama, devastating treachery

and the power of love, this finale will delight fans.”

—RT Book Reviews on Hot on Her Heels

“One of the Top 10 Romance Novels of 2009!”

—Booklist on Straight from the Hip


Only Mine

Susan

Mallery














www.mirabooks.co.uk (http://www.mirabooks.co.uk)


To Marilyn, my sister of the heart.

You are sweet and generous and funny, just like Dakota. This one’s for you.




CHAPTER ONE


“WHAT’S IT GOING TO take to get you to cooperate? Money? Threats? Either works for me.”

Dakota Hendrix looked up from her laptop to find a very tall, stern-looking man standing over her. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me. What’s it going to take?”

She’d been warned there would be plenty of crazies hanging around, but she hadn’t actually believed it. Apparently she’d been wrong.

“You have a lot of attitude for someone wearing a plaid flannel shirt,” she said, standing so she was at least something close to eye-level with the guy. If he hadn’t been so obviously annoyed, she would have thought he was pretty decent-looking, with dark hair and piercing blue eyes.

He glanced down at himself, then back at her. “What does my shirt have to do with anything?”

“It’s plaid.”

“So?”

“It’s hard to be intimidated by a man wearing plaid. I’m just saying. And flannel is a friendly fabric. A little down-home for most people. Now if you were in all black, with a leather jacket, I’d be a lot more nervous.”

His expression tightened, as did a muscle in his jaw. His gaze sharpened, and she had a feeling that if he were just a little less civilized, he would throw something.

“Having a bad day?” she asked cheerfully.

“Something like that.” He spoke between clenched teeth.

“Want to talk about it?”

“I believe that’s how I started this conversation.”

“No. You started by threatening me.” She smiled. “At the risk of sending your annoyance level from an eight to a ten, sometimes being nice is more effective. At least it is with me.” She held out her hand. “Hi. I’m Dakota Hendrix.”

The man looked as if he would rather rip off her head than be polite, but after a couple of deep breaths, he shook hands with her and muttered, “Finn Andersson.”

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Andersson.”

“Finn.”

“Finn,” she repeated, being more perky than usual, simply because she thought it would bug him. “How can I help you?”

“I want to get my brothers off the show.”

“Hence the threats.”

He frowned. “Hence? Who says that?”

“It’s a perfectly good word.”

“Not where I come from.”

She glanced down at the worn work boots he wore, then back to his shirt. “I’m almost afraid to ask where that is.”

“South Salmon, Alaska.”

“You’re a long way from home.”

“Worse, I’m in California.”

“Hey, you’re in my hometown. I’ll thank you to be polite.”

He rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Fine. Whatever. You win. Can you help me with my brothers or not?”

“It depends. What’s the problem?”

She motioned to the seat across from her small desk. Finn hesitated for a second, then folded his long body into a seated position. She took her chair and waited.

“They’re here,” he said at last, as if that explained everything.

“Here instead of back in South Salmon?”

“Here instead of finishing their last semester of college. They’re twins. They go to UA. University of Alaska,” he added.

“But if they’re on the show, then they’re over eighteen,” she said gently, feeling his pain, but knowing there was very little she could do about it.

“Meaning I don’t have any legal authority?” he asked, sounding both resigned and bitter. “Tell me about it.” He leaned toward her, his gaze intense. “I need your help. Like I said, they’re one semester from graduating, and they walked away from that to come here.”

Dakota had grown up in the town of Fool’s Gold and had chosen to return after she’d finished her schooling, >so she didn’t understand why anyone wouldn’t want to live in town. But she would guess Finn was a lot more worried about his brothers’ future than their location.

He stood. “Why am I even talking to you? You’re one of those Hollywood types. You’re probably happy they’ve given up everything to be on your stupid show.”

She rose as well, then shook her head. “First of all, it’s not my stupid show. I’m with the town, not the production company. Second, if you’ll give me a moment to think instead of instantly getting angry, maybe I can come up with something that will help. If you’re like this with your brothers, I’m not surprised they want to get a couple thousand miles away from you.”

Given the little she knew about Finn from their thirty-second relationship, she half expected him to snarl at her, then disappear. Instead he surprised her by grinning.

The curve of his lips, the flash of teeth, wasn’t anything unique, but it hit her in the stomach all the same. She felt as if all the air had rushed out of her lungs and she couldn’t breathe. Seconds later, she managed to recover and told herself it was a momentary blip on her otherwise emotionally smooth radar. Nothing more than an anomaly. Like a sunspot.

“That’s what they said,” he admitted, returning to his seat with a sigh. “That they’d hoped being at college would be far enough away, but it wasn’t.” The grin faded. “Damn, this is hard.”

She sat down and rested her hands on the table between them. “What do your parents say about all this?”

“I’m their parents.”

“Oh.” She swallowed, not sure what tragedy had brought that about. She would guess Finn was all of thirty, maybe thirty-two. “How long ago …?”

“Eight years.”

“You’ve been raising your brothers since they were what? Twelve?”

“They were thirteen, but yes.”

“Congratulations. You’ve done a good job.”

The smile faded as he scowled at her. “How would you know that?”

“They made it into college, were successful enough to get to their final semester and now they’re emotionally tough enough to stand up to you.”

The scowl turned into a sneer. “Let me guess. You’re one of those people who calls rain �liquid sunshine.’ If I’d done my job with my brothers, they would still be in college, instead of here, trying to get on some idiotic reality show.”

There was that, Dakota thought. From Finn’s perspective, nothing about this was good.

He shook his head. “I can’t figure out where I went wrong. All I wanted was to get them through college. Three more months. They only needed to stay in school three more months. But could they do that? No. They even sent me an email, telling me where they were—like I’d be happy for them.”

She reached for the files on her desk. “What are their names?”

“Sasha and Stephen.” His expression cleared. “Is there something you can do to help?”

“I don’t know. As I said, I’m here representing the town. The producers came to us with the reality show idea. Believe me, Fool’s Gold wasn’t looking for this kind of publicity. We wanted to say no, but were concerned they would go ahead and do it anyway. This way, we’re involved and hope to have some kind of control over the outcome.”

She glanced at him and smiled. “Or at least the illusion of control.”

“Trust me. It’s not all it’s cracked up to be.”

“I’m getting that. All the potential contestants were vetted thoroughly, background checks on everyone. We insisted on that.”

“Trying to avoid the truly insane?”

“Yes, and criminals. Reality television puts a lot of pressure on people.”

“How did the TV people hear about Fool’s Gold if the town wasn’t courting them?” he asked.

“It was just plain bad luck. A year ago a grad student writing her thesis on human geography discovered we had a chronic man shortage in town. The hows and whys became a chapter in her project. In an effort to bring attention to her work, she shopped her thesis around various media outlets, where the part about Fool’s Gold was picked up.”

He frowned. “I think I remember hearing about that. Didn’t you get busloads of guys coming in from all over?”

“Unfortunately. Most of the reports made us sound like a town of desperate spinsters, which isn’t true at all. A few weeks later, Hollywood came calling in the form of the reality show.”

She flipped through the stack of applications of those who had made it to final selection. When she saw Sasha Andersson’s picture, she winced. “Identical twins?” she asked.

“Yes, why?”

She pulled out Sasha’s application and passed it to Finn. “He’s adorable.” The head shot showed a happy, smiling, younger version of Finn. “If he has a personality more exciting than that of a shoe, he’s going to get on the show. What’s not to like? Plus, if there are two of them …” She set down the folder. “Let me put it another way. If you were the producer, would you want them on the show?”

Finn dropped the paper. The woman—Dakota—had a point. His brothers were charming, funny and young enough to believe they were immortal. Irresistible to someone looking to pull in ratings.

“I’m not going to let them ruin their lives,” he said flatly.

“The show is ten weeks of filming. College will still be there.” Her voice was gentle and hinted at compassion. Her dark gaze was steady. She was pretty enough—had he been looking for that kind of thing. All he cared about right now was getting his brothers back to college.

“You think they’ll want to go back after all this?” he demanded.

“I don’t know. Have you asked them?”

“No.” To date he’d only lectured and issued orders—both of which his brothers had ignored.

“Did they say why they wanted to be on this show?”

“Not specifically,” he admitted. But he had a theory or two about their thinking. They wanted to be out of Alaska and away from him. Plus, Sasha had been dreaming of fame for a long time.

“Have they done this sort of thing before? Run off against your wishes, given up on school?”

“No. That’s what I don’t get. They’re so close to being finished. Why couldn’t they suck it up for one more semester?” It was the responsible thing to do.

Until now, Sasha and Stephen hadn’t given him much grief. There’d been the usual driving too fast, a few parties with friends and plenty of girls. He’d sweated bullets waiting to hear one of his brothers had gotten a girl pregnant. But so far that hadn’t happened. Maybe his thousands of lectures about using birth control had gotten through. So them wanting to leave college for a reality show had stunned him. He’d always figured they would at least finish school.

“They sound like great kids,” Dakota said. “Maybe you should trust them.”

“Maybe I should tie them up and throw them in the back of a plane headed for Alaska.”

“You wouldn’t like jail.”

“They’d have to catch me first.” He stood again. “Thanks for your time.”

“I’m sorry I can’t help.”

“Me, too.”

She rose and circled the table so she was standing in front of him. “To repeat a cliché, if you love something, set it free.”

He stared into her dark eyes. They were an interesting contrast to her wavy blond hair. “If it comes back, it was meant to?” He managed a smile. “No, thanks. I fall into the �if it doesn’t, hunt it down and shoot it’ category.”

“Should I warn your brothers?”

“They already know.”

“Sometimes you have to let people mess up.”

“This is too important,” he told her. “It’s their future.”

“The key word being theirs, not yours. Whatever happens here isn’t unrecoverable.”

“You don’t know that.”

She looked as if she wanted to argue more. She wasn’t a yeller, and he appreciated that. Her points were well thought out. But there was no way she could change his mind on this. Come hell or high water, he was getting his brothers out of Fool’s Gold and back to college, where they belonged.

“Thanks for your time,” he told her.

“You’re welcome. I hope the three of you can come to terms.” One corner of her mouth twitched. “Please remember we have a very efficient police force in town. Chief Barns doesn’t take kindly to people breaking the law.”

“I appreciate the warning.”

Finn walked out of the small trailer. Filming or shooting or whatever they called it was due to start in two days. Which gave him less than forty-eight hours to come up with a plan to either convince his brothers to return to Alaska on their own or physically force them to do what he wanted.

“I OWE YOU,” Marsha Tilson said over lunch.

Dakota picked up a French fry. “Yes, you do. I’m a highly trained professional.”

“Something Geoff doesn’t appreciate?” Marsha, the town’s sixty-something mayor, asked, her blue eyes sparkling with amusement.

“He does not. I have a Ph.D.,” Dakota muttered. “I should make him call me doctor.”

“From what I know of Geoff, I’m not sure that would help.”

Dakota bit into her fry. She hated to admit it, but Mayor Marsha had a point. Geoff was the producer of the reality show that had invaded the town—True Love or Fool’s Gold. After randomly sorting twenty people into couples, the pairs would be sent on romantic dates, which would be filmed, edited and then shown on television with a one-week delay. America would vote off the couple least likely to make it.

At the end, the last couple standing would receive $250,000 to share and a free wedding, if they were really in love.

From what Dakota could tell, Geoff didn’t care about anything except getting good ratings. The fact that the town didn’t want the show around hadn’t bothered him at all. In the end, the mayor had agreed to cooperate on the condition that there be someone on his staff who was looking out for the interests of the good citizens of Fool’s Gold.

All that made sense to Dakota, though she still didn’t know why she’d gotten the job. She wasn’t a public relations specialist or even a city employee. She was a psychologist who specialized in childhood development. Unfortunately, her boss had offered her services, even agreeing to pay her salary while she worked with the production company. Dakota still wasn’t speaking to him.

She would have turned down the assignment, except Mayor Marsha had pleaded. Dakota had grown up here. When the Mayor needed a favor, the good citizens agreed. Until the production company had shown up, Dakota would have sworn she would happily do anything for her town. And, as she’d told Finn a couple of hours before, it was only for ten weeks. She could survive nearly anything that long.

“Have the contestants been picked?” Marsha asked.

“Yes, but they’re keeping it a secret until the big announcement.”

“Anyone we need to worry about?”

“I don’t think so. I’ve looked over the files and everyone seems fairly normal.” She thought about Finn. “We do have a family member who isn’t happy.” She explained about the twenty-one-year-old twins. “If they’re half as good-looking in person as they are in their pictures, they’re going to be on the show.”

“Do you think their brother will make trouble?”

“No. If the boys were still underage, I would worry that he would try to ground them. As it is, he can only worry and threaten.”

Marsha nodded sympathetically. Dakota knew the mayor’s only daughter had been something of a wild child, then had gotten pregnant and run away. It couldn’t be easy, raising a child. Or in Finn’s case, two brothers. Not that she knew about being a mother.

“We can help,” Marsha said. “Look out for the boys. Let me know if, or maybe when, they’re chosen for the show. We don’t have to like that Geoff brought us this mess, but we can make sure to keep it contained.”

“I’m sure the twins’ brother will appreciate that,” she murmured, suspecting Finn might be grateful but wouldn’t have much expectation for the town helping.

“You’re doing a good thing,” Marsha told her. “Keeping an eye on the show.”

“You didn’t give me much of a choice.”

The mayor smiled. “That’s the secret to my success. I box people into a corner and force them to agree.”

“You’re very good at it.” Dakota sipped her diet soda. “The worst part is I actually like reality TV. Or I did until I met Geoff. I wish he’d do something illegal so Chief Barns would arrest him.”

“We can always hope.” Marsha sighed. “You’ve given up a lot, Dakota. I do want to thank you for taking on the show and protecting the town.”

Dakota shifted in her seat. “I haven’t done all that. I’m on set and making sure they don’t plan anything truly insane.”

“I feel better knowing you’re around.”

She was good, Dakota thought, eyeing the older woman. Years of experience. Marsha was the longest-serving mayor in the state. Over thirty years. She thought of all the money the town had saved on letterhead. It never had to change.

While this was far from Dakota’s dream job, working for Geoff had the potential to be interesting. She knew nothing about making a television show, and she told herself she would enjoy the opportunity to learn about the business. At least it was a distraction. Something she wanted these days—anything to avoid feeling so … broken.

She reminded herself not to go there. Not everything could be fixed, and the sooner she accepted that, the better. She could still make a good life for herself. Acceptance would be the first step in moving on. She was a trained professional, after all. A psychologist who understood how the human mind worked.

But knowing and believing were two different things. Right now it seemed as if she would never feel whole.

“THIS IS GOING TO BE GREAT,” Sasha Andersson said as he leaned against the battered headboard. He glanced down at the copy of Variety he’d bought from the old guy at the bookstore. Someday, he would be making thousands, or even millions, and he would subscribe and have it delivered to his phone, as the real stars did. Until then, he bought a copy every few days, to keep costs down.

Stephen, his twin brother, lay across the other bed in the small motel room they shared. A worn Car and Driver sat open on the floor. Stephen dangled his head and shoulders off the mattress as he flipped through an issue he’d probably read fifty times.

“Did you hear me?” Sasha asked impatiently.

Stephen looked up, his dark hair falling over his eyes. “What?”

“The show. It’s going to be great.”

Stephen shrugged. “If we get picked.”

Sasha tossed the paper to the foot of the bed and grinned. “Hey. It’s us. How could they resist?”

“I heard there were over five hundred applicants.”

“They narrowed that number down to sixty and we’re going to make the final cut, too. Come on. We’re twins. TV audiences love that. We should make it seem like we don’t get along. Fight and stuff. Then we’ll get more camera time.”

Stephen shifted on the bed, then rolled onto his back. “I don’t want more camera time.”

A fact that was both irritating and true, Sasha thought grimly. Stephen wasn’t interested in the business.

“Then why are you here?”

Stephen drew in a deep breath. “It beats being back home.”

Something they agreed on. Home was a tiny town of eighty people. South Salmon, Alaska. In the summer, they were flooded with tourists wanting to see the “real” Alaska. For nearly five months, every waking moment was spent working impossible hours, struggling to keep up with the crowds, to get the job done and get paid before moving on to the next job. In winter, there was darkness, snow and crushing boredom.

The other residents of South Salmon claimed to love everything about their lives. Despite being direct descendants of Russian, Swedish and Irish immigrants who had settled in Alaska nearly a hundred years before, Sasha and Stephen wanted to be anywhere but there. Something their older brother, Finn, had never understood.

“This is my chance,” Sasha said firmly. “My shot. I’m going to do whatever it takes to get noticed.”

Without even closing his eyes, he could see himself being interviewed on Entertainment Tonight, talking about the blockbuster movie he was starring in. In his mind, he’d walked a million red carpets, celebrated at Hollywood parties, had women show up naked in his hotel room, begging him to sleep with them. Which he graciously agreed to do, he thought with a grin. Because that’s the kind of guy he was.

For the past eight years, he’d wanted to be on TV and in movies. But the industry never made it to South Salmon, and Finn had always dismissed his dreams as something he would outgrow.

Finally old enough to be able to do what he wanted without his brother’s permission, Sasha had been waiting for the right opportunity. A casting notice for True Love or Fool’s Gold had been it. The only surprise had been when Stephen had wanted to come with him on the interview.

“When I get to Hollywood,” he began, playing a familiar game, “I’m going to buy a house in the hills. Or at the beach.”

“Malibu,” Stephen said, rolling onto his back. “Girls in bikinis.”

“Right. Malibu. And I’ll meet with producers and go to parties and make millions.” He glanced at his brother. “What are you going to do?”

Stephen was quiet for a long time. “I don’t know,” he said at last. “Not go to Hollywood.”

“You’d like it.”

Stephen shook his head. “No. I want something different. I want …”

He didn’t complete the sentence, but then he didn’t have to. Sasha already knew. He and his twin might not share the same dreams, but they still knew everything about each other. Stephen wanted to find a place to belong, whatever the hell that meant.

“It’s Finn’s fault you’re not excited about this,” Sasha grumbled.

Stephen looked at him and grinned. “You mean because he’s so hell-bent on us finishing college and having a good life? What a jerk.”

Sasha chuckled. “Yeah. Where does he get off demanding we’re successful?” His humor faded. “Except it’s not about us. It’s about him. He just wants to say he’s done a good job.”

Sasha knew it was more than that, but he wasn’t willing to admit it. Not out loud, anyway.

“Don’t worry about him,” Stephen said, reaching for the magazine. “He’s a couple thousand miles away.”

“Right,” Sasha said. “Why let him ruin our good time? We’re going to be on TV.”

“Finn will never watch the show.”

True enough. Finn didn’t do anything for fun. Not anymore. He used to be wild—before …

Before their parents had died. That’s how all the Andersson boys measured time. Events were either before or after the death of their parents. But their brother had changed after the accident. Today Finn wouldn’t know a good time if it bit him on the ass.

“Just because Finn knows where we are doesn’t mean he’s going to come after us,” Sasha said. “He knows when he’s beat.”

Someone knocked on the door.

Since Sasha was closer, he stood and leaned over far enough to reach the knob. The door eased open. Finn stood there, looking as mad as he had the time the twins had trapped a skunk and left it in his bedroom.

“Hello, boys,” he said, stepping inside. “Let’s talk.”




CHAPTER TWO


FINN TOLD HIMSELF that yelling wasn’t going to accomplish anything. His brothers were technically adults, although it wouldn’t be hard to make a case that, over eighteen or not, they were idiots.

He stepped into the tiny motel room, crammed with two full-size beds, a dresser, battered television and the door to an equally small bathroom.

“Nice,” he said, glancing around. “I like what you’ve done with the place.”

Sasha rolled his eyes as he sank back on his bed. “What are you doing here?”

“Coming after you.”

The twins exchanged a look of surprise.

Finn shook his head. “Did you really think an email telling me you’d left college to come here was enough? That I would simply say, �No problem. Have fun. Who cares if you abandon college in your last semester?’”

“We said we were fine,” Sasha reminded him.

“Yes, you did and I do appreciate it.”

As there weren’t all that many motels in Fool’s Gold, locating the twins had been relatively easy. Finn knew that money would be tight, which had eliminated all the nice places. The motel manager had recognized them immediately and hadn’t minded giving Finn their room number.

Stephen watched him warily but didn’t speak. He’d always been the quieter of the twins. Despite the fact that they looked nearly exactly alike, they had different personalities. Sasha was outgoing, impulsive and easily distracted. Stephen was more silent and usually considered his actions. Finn could understand Sasha taking off for California, but Stephen?

Stay calm, he reminded himself. Having a conversation would get him further than shouting. But when he opened his mouth, he found himself yelling from the very first word.

“What the hell were you thinking?” he demanded, slamming the door shut behind him and planting both hands on his hips. “You had one semester left of college. Just one. You could have finished your classes and graduated. Then you would each have had a degree. Something no one could take away from you. But did you think of that? Of course not. Instead you took off, quitting before you were finished. And for what? Some chance to be in a ridiculous show?”

The twins looked at each other. Sasha sat up and sucked in a breath. “The show isn’t ridiculous. Not to us.”

“Because you’re both professionals? You know what you’re doing?” He glared at them both. “I want to lock you in this damn room until you figure out how stupid you’re being.”

Stephen nodded slowly. “That would be why we didn’t tell you until after we were here, Finn. We didn’t want to hurt you or scare you, but you’re holding on too tight.”

Words Finn didn’t want to hear. “Why couldn’t you finish college? That’s all I wanted. Just to get you through college.”

“Would it really end there?” Sasha asked him, coming to his feet. “You said that before. That all we had to do was finish high school and you’d get off our butts. But you didn’t. There you were, pushing for college, staying on us about our grades, our classes.”

Finn felt his temper rising. “How is that wrong? Is it bad that I want you to have a good life?”

“You want us to have your life,” Sasha said, glaring at him. “We appreciate all you’ve done. We care about you, but we can’t do what you want anymore.”

“You’re twenty-one. You’re kids.”

“We’re not,” Stephen said, sitting up. “You keep saying that.”

“Maybe my attitude has something to do with your actions.”

“Or maybe it’s just you,” Stephen told him. “You’ve never trusted us. Never given us a chance to prove what we could do on our own.”

Finn wanted to put his fist through a wall. “Maybe because I knew you’d pull something like this. What were you thinking?”

“We need to make our own decisions,” Stephen said stubbornly.

“Not when they’re this bad.”

Finn could feel control of the conversation slipping from him. The sensation got worse when the twins exchanged a look. One that said they were communicating silently, in a way he’d never understood.

“You can’t make us go back,” Stephen said quietly. “We’re staying. We’re going to get on the show.”

“And then what?” Finn asked, dropping his hands to his sides.

“I’m going to Hollywood to be on television and in the movies,” Sasha told him.

Hardly news, Finn thought. Sasha had been starstruck for years.

“What about you?” Finn asked Stephen. “Want to become a spokesmodel?”

“No.”

“Then come home.”

“We’re not going back,” Stephen told him, sounding strangely determined and mature. “Let it go, Finn. You’ve done all you needed to. We’re ready to be on our own.”

They weren’t. That’s what killed Finn. They were too young, too determined to screw up. If he wasn’t nearby, how could he keep them safe? He would do anything to protect them. Briefly he wondered if he could physically wrestle them into submission. But then what? He couldn’t keep them tied up for the entire trip back. The thought of kidnapping wasn’t pleasant, and he had a vague notion that he would be flirting with felony charges the second he crossed state lines.

Besides, getting them back to Alaska wouldn’t accomplish anything if they weren’t willing to stay and finish school.

“Can’t you do this in June?” he asked. “After you graduate?”

The twins shook their heads.

“We don’t want to hurt you,” Stephen told him. “We really do appreciate all you’ve done. It’s time to let go. We’re going to be fine.”

Like hell they were. They were kids playing at being adults. They thought they knew it all. They thought the world was fair and life was easy. All he wanted was to protect them from themselves. Why did that have to be so hard?

There had to be another way, he thought as he stalked out of the small motel room and slammed the door behind him. Someone he could reason with. Or, at the very least, threaten.

“GEOFF SPIELBERG, no relation,” the long-haired, scruffy-looking man said as Finn approached. “You’re from the city, right? About the extra power. Lights are like ex-wives. They’ll suck you dry if you let them. We need the power.”

Finn studied the skinny guy in front of him. Geoff “with a G” was barely thirty, wore a T-shirt that should have been tossed two years ago and jeans with enough rips to make a stripper nervous. Not exactly Finn’s mental image of a television executive.

They stood in the middle of the town square, surrounded by cords and cables. Lights had been set up on stands and strung up on trees. Small trailers lined the street. Two trucks carried enough Porta-Potties for a state fair, and tables and chairs were set up by a tent with a buffet line.

“You’re producing the show?” he asked.

“Yes. What does that have to do with my power? Can I get it today? I need it today.”

“I’m not from the city.”

Geoff groaned. “Then go away and stop bothering me.”

Even as he spoke, the producer was heading toward a trailer parked on the street, his attention on the smartphone in his hand.

Finn kept pace with him. “I want to talk about my brothers. They’re trying to get on the show.”

“We’ve made our casting decisions. Everything will be announced tomorrow. I’m sure your brothers are great and if they don’t make it on this show, they’ll find another.” He sounded bored, as if he’d said those same words a thousand times.

“I don’t want them on the show,” Finn said.

Geoff looked up from his phone. “What? Everybody wants to be on TV.”

“Not me. And not them.”

“Then why did they audition?”

“They want to be on the show,” he clarified. “I don’t want them to be.”

Geoff’s expression shifted to disinterest again. “Are they over eighteen?”

“Yes.”

“Then it’s not my problem. Sorry.” He reached for the handle of the trailer door.

Finn got there first and blocked his way.

“I don’t want them on the show,” he repeated.

Geoff sighed audibly. “What are their names?”

Finn told him.

Geoff flipped through files on his phone, then shook his head. “You’re kidding, right? The twins? They’re going to make it. The only way they’d be better for our ratings is if they were girls with big boobs. Viewers are gonna love them.”

Not a surprise, Finn thought. Disappointing, but not a surprise. “Tell me what I can do to change your mind. I’ll pay you.”

Geoff laughed. “Not enough. Look, I’m sorry you’re not happy, but you’ll get over it. Besides, they could be famous. Wouldn’t that be fun?”

“They should be back in school.”

Geoff’s attention had been captured by his phone again. “Uh-huh,” he murmured as he scrolled through an email. “Right. You can make an appointment with my secretary.”

“Or I could convince you right here. You like walking, Geoff? Want to keep being able to do that?”

Geoff barely glanced at him. “I’m sure you could take me. But my lawyers are a whole lot tougher than your muscles. You won’t like jail.”

“You won’t like a hospital bed.”

Geoff looked at him then. “Are you serious?”

“Do I look serious? We’re talking about my brothers. I’m not going to let them screw up their lives now because of your show.”

Finn didn’t enjoy making threats, but nothing was more important than making sure Sasha and Stephen finished their degrees. He would do what he had to. If that meant physically crushing Geoff, then he would do it.

Geoff shoved his phone in his pocket. “Look, I appreciate your position, but you have to see mine. They’re already on the show. I have nearly forty people working for me here, and I have a contract with every one of them. I’m responsible to them and to my boss. This is a lot of money.”

“I don’t care about the money.”

“You wouldn’t, mountain man,” Geoff grumbled. “They’re adults. They can do what they want. You can’t stop them from doing this. Say I kick them off the show. Then what? They head to L.A.? At least while they’re here, you know where they are and what they’re doing, right?”

Finn didn’t like the logic, but he appreciated it. “Maybe.”

Geoff nodded several times. “You see what I’m saying. Better they’re here, where you can keep an eye on them.”

“I don’t live here.”

“Where do you live?”

“Alaska.”

Geoff’s nose wrinkled, as if he’d just smelled dog excrement. “You fish or something?”

“I fly planes.”

The scruffy producer brightened immediately. “Planes that hold people? Real planes?”

“As opposed to those that are remote controlled? Yes.”

“Sweet. I need a pilot. We’re already planning a trip to Vegas and we’re flying commercial to keep costs down. But there are other places, maybe Tahoe and Frisco. If I rented a plane, you could fly it, right?”

“Maybe.”

“It would give you a reason to stick around and watch your kids.”

“Brothers.”

“Whatever. You’ll be part of the production staff.” Geoff placed his hand on his chest. “I have family. I know what it’s like to care about someone.”

Finn doubted Geoff cared about anything or any one but Geoff. “I would be there while you were filming?”

“As long as you didn’t get in the way or cause trouble. Sure. We’ve got some chick from the city hanging around already.” He shrugged. “Denny, Darlene. Something.”

“Dakota,” Finn said dryly.

“Right. Her. Stick with her. She’s gotta make sure we don’t hurt her precious town.” Geoff rolled his eyes. “I swear, my next gig is going to be filming in the wilderness. Bears don’t have demands, you know? That’s a whole lot easier than this. So what do you say?”

What Finn wanted to say was no. He didn’t want to hang around while they filmed their reality show. He wanted his brothers back in college, and he wanted to return to South Salmon and get on with his life.

Standing between him and that was the fact that his brothers weren’t going to go home until this was over. His choices were to agree or walk away. If he walked away, how could he make sure Geoff and everyone else didn’t screw them?

“I’ll stay,” he said. “Fly you where you need to go.”

“Good. Talk to that Dakota chick. She’ll take care of you.”

Finn wondered how she would feel about him hanging around.

“Maybe the twins will be voted off early,” Geoff said, opening the trailer door and stepping inside.

“My luck’s not that good.”

DAKOTA WALKED to her mother’s house. The morning was still cool, with a bright blue sky and the mountains to the east. Spring had come right on time, so all the trees were thick with leaves, and daffodils, crocuses and tulips lined nearly every walkway. Although it was before ten, there were plenty of people out on the sidewalks, residents as well as tourists. Fool’s Gold was the kind of place where it was easier to walk to where you were going. The sidewalks were wide, and pedestrians always had the right of way.

She turned onto the street where she’d grown up. Her parents had bought the place shortly after they’d married. All six of their children had grown up here. Dakota had shared a room with her two sisters, the three of them preferring to live in the one bedroom through high school, even after their older brothers had moved out.

The windows had been replaced a couple of years ago, the roof a few years before that. The paint color was cream instead of green, the trees taller, but little else had changed. Even with all six kids out on their own, Denise still kept the house.

She walked around to the backyard. Her mother had said she would be spending much of the week working on the garden.

Sure enough, when she opened the gate, she found Denise Hendrix kneeling on a thick, yellow pad, digging vigorously. There were tattered remains of unworthy plants scattered on the grass by the flower beds. Her mother wore jeans, a Tinkerbell hoodie over a pink T-shirt and a big straw hat.

“Hi, Mom.”

Denise looked up and smiled. “Hi, honey. Was I expecting you?”

“No. I just stopped by.”

“Good.” Her mom stood and stretched. “I don’t get it. I cleaned up the garden last fall. Why do I have to clean it again in the spring? What exactly are my plants doing all winter? How can everything get so messy, so quickly?”

Dakota crossed to her mother and hugged her, then kissed her cheek. “You’re talking to the wrong person. I don’t do the garden thing.”

“None of you do. I obviously failed as a parent.” She sighed theatrically.

Denise had been a young bride to Ralph Hendrix. Theirs had been a case of love at first sight, followed by a very quick wedding. She’d had three boys in five years, followed by triplet girls. Dakota remembered a crowded house with plenty of laughter. They’d always been close, drawn more so by the death of their father nearly eleven years before.

Ralph’s unexpected passing had crushed Denise but not destroyed her. She’d pulled herself together—most likely for the sake of her children—and gone on with her life. She was pretty, vibrant and could pass for a woman in her early forties.

Now she led the way through the backdoor, into the kitchen. It had been remodeled a few years ago, but no matter how it looked, the bright open space was always the center of the home. Denise was nothing if not traditional.

“Maybe you should get a gardener,” Dakota said as she collected two glasses from the cupboard.

While her mother pulled out a pitcher of iced tea, Dakota filled the glasses with ice cubes, then checked the cookie jar. The smell of fresh chocolate chip cookies drifted to her. She tucked the ceramic ladybug container under one arm and made her way to the kitchen table.

“I would never trust a gardener,” Denise said, sitting across from her daughter. “I should plow the whole thing under and pour cement. That would be easy.”

“You’ve never been into easy. You love your flowers.”

“Most days.” She poured iced tea. “How’s the show going?”

“They announce the contestants tomorrow.”

Humor brightened her mother’s dark eyes. “Will we see you on the list?”

“Hardly. I wouldn’t have anything to do with them if Mayor Marsha hadn’t guilted me into agreeing.”

“We all have a civic responsibility.”

“I know. That’s why I’m doing the right thing. Couldn’t you have raised us not to care about others? That would have been better for me.”

“It’s ten weeks, Dakota. You’ll live.”

“Maybe, but I won’t like it.”

Her mother’s mouth twitched. “Ah, that maturity that always makes me so proud.”

The teasing was good, Dakota thought. Things were about to get a lot more serious.

She’d put off this conversation for several months now, but knew it was time to come clean. It wasn’t that she wanted to keep things a secret, it’s that she knew the truth would hurt her mother. And Denise had already been through enough.

Dakota took a cookie and put it on a napkin in front of her but didn’t taste it. “Mom, I have to tell you something.”

Nothing about Denise’s expression changed, yet Dakota felt her stiffen. “What?”

“I’m not sick or dying or going to be arrested.”

Dakota drew in a breath. She studied the placement of the chocolate chips, the rough edges of the cookie, because it was easier than looking at the one person who loved her best.

“You know at Christmas I talked about wanting to adopt?”

Her mother sighed. “Yes, and while I think it’s wonderful, it’s a little premature. How do you know you won’t find a wonderful man and get married and want to have kids the old-fashioned way?”

Material they’d been over a dozen times before, Dakota thought, knowing she only had herself to blame. Regardless of her mother’s opinion, she’d gone ahead with the paperwork and had already been vetted by the agency she’d chosen.

“You know my period has always been difficult for me,” she began. While her sisters sailed through “that time of the month,” Dakota had suffered from a lot of pain.

“Yes. We went to the doctor a few times about it.”

Their family doctor had always said everything was fine. He’d been wrong.

“Last fall things seemed to get worse. I went to my gynecologist and she did some testing.” Dakota finally raised her gaze and looked at her mother. “I have a form of polycystic ovarian syndrome and pelvic endometriosis.”

“What? I know what endometriosis is, but the other?” Her mother sounded worried.

Dakota smiled. “Don’t panic. It’s not all that scary or contagious. PCOS is a hormone imbalance. I’m handling it by keeping my weight down and exercising. I take a few hormones. On its own it can make getting pregnant really difficult.”

Denise frowned. “All right,” she said slowly. “And the pelvic endometriosis? That means what? Cysts or growths?”

“Something like that. Dr. Galloway was surprised I had both, but it can happen. She cleaned things up so I don’t have the pain anymore.”

Her mother leaned toward her. “What are you saying? Did you have an operation? Were you in the hospital?”

“No. It was a simple outpatient thing. I was fine.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because that was the least of it.”

Dakota swallowed. She’d been so careful not to let anyone know. She hadn’t wanted to have to listen to sympathy, to hear people say it would be fine when she’d known it wouldn’t be. She’d been in a place where words would only make things worse.

But weeks, then months, had passed and the old cliché about time healing all wounds was nearly true. She wasn’t healed, but she could finally say the truth aloud. She should know—she’d been practicing in her small rented house for days now.

She forced herself to look into her mother’s concerned, dark eyes. “The PCOS is under control. I’m going to live a long, healthy life. Either condition makes it more difficult to get pregnant. Having both of them means it’s pretty unlikely I can get pregnant the old-fashioned way, as you said. Dr. Galloway says it’s about a one-in-one-hundred shot.”

Denise’s mouth trembled and tears pooled in her eyes. “No,” she whispered. “Oh, honey, no.”

Dakota had half expected recriminations. A cry of “Why didn’t you tell me?” Instead her mother stood, then pulled her to her feet and held on as if she would never let go.

The warmth of the familiar embrace touched Dakota’s cold, dark places. Those buried so deep, she hadn’t even known they were there.

“I’m sorry,” her mother told her, kissing her cheek. “You said you found out last fall?”

Dakota nodded.

“Your sisters mentioned something had upset you. We thought it was a man, but it was this, wasn’t it?

Dakota nodded again. She’d gone into work after finding out what was wrong and had started sobbing in front of her boss. While she’d never told him the cause, her grief hadn’t exactly been subtle.

“I shouldn’t be surprised you kept it to yourself,” her mother told her. “You were always the one to think things through before talking to anyone.”

They sat back at the table.

“I wish I could fix this,” Denise admitted. “I wish I’d done more when you first had these problems as a teenager. I feel so guilty.”

“Don’t,” Dakota told her. “It’s just one of those things.”

Denise drew in a breath. Dakota could see the determination returning to her mother’s eyes.

“Regardless,” Denise said firmly, “you’re healthy and strong and you’ll get through this. As you said, there are things that can be done. When you get married, you and your husband can decide what you want to do.” She paused. “This is why you’re adopting. You want to be sure you have children.”

“Yes. When I found all this out, I felt broken inside.”

“You’re not broken.”

“I know that in my head, but in my heart I’m not so sure. What if I never get married?”

“You will.”

“Mom, I’m twenty-eight years old. I’ve never been in love. Isn’t that weird?”

“You’ve been busy. You had your doctorate before you were twenty-five. That took tremendous effort.”

“I know, but …” She’d always wanted a man in her life. She just couldn’t seem to find him. At this point, she wasn’t even searching for Mr. Right. A reasonably decent guy who didn’t run screaming into the night at the sight of her would be pretty darned fabulous.

“I don’t want to wait anymore. I’m perfectly capable of being a single mom. It’s not like I’ll be alone—not in this town, or with my family.”

“No, you wouldn’t be alone, but having children will make it difficult to find the right man.”

“If I meet someone who can’t accept all of me, including an adopted child, then he’s not the guy for me.”

Denise smiled. “I raised such wonderful children.”

Dakota laughed. “Because it’s all about you.”

“Sometimes.” She leaned forward. “All right, adoption it is. Have you started looking? Can I help?”

Emotions swelled inside of Dakota—the most powerful was gratitude. No matter what, she could always depend on her mom.

“I couldn’t go through it without you. Adopting as a single parent isn’t easy. I researched international adoptions and applied with an agency that works exclusively in Kazakhstan.”

“I don’t even know where that is.”

“Kazakhstan is the ninth largest country in the world and the largest country that is completely landlocked.” Dakota shrugged. “I did research.”

“I can tell.”

“Russia is to the north, China to the southeast. The agency was very open and encouraging about the adoption. I filled out the paperwork and prepared to wait.”

Her mother’s mouth dropped open. “You’re getting a child.”

Dakota winced. “No. In late January, after I’d finished the paperwork and had the home and background checks, they called and said they had a little boy for me. But the next day they called back and said there’s been a mistake. He was going to another family. A couple.”

She drew in a breath to keep from crying. At some point the body should just run out of tears, but she had enough personal experience to know that didn’t happen.

“I’m not clear if it was an honest mistake or if they prefer couples and that’s why I didn’t get him. I’m still on the waiting list and the director of the agency swears it’s going to happen.”

Her mother leaned back in her chair. “I can’t believe you’ve been through all this on your own.”

“I couldn’t talk about it,” Dakota said quickly. “Not with anyone. At first I felt too frail to discuss it at all. Then I was afraid I’d jinx the adoption. It wasn’t you, Mom.”

“How could it be?” Denise asked. “I’m practically perfect. But still.”

For the second time, Dakota laughed. It felt good to find humor in life again. She’d had a few months where nothing had been happy or right.

Dakota touched her arm. “I’m dealing. Most days it’s okay. Sometimes it’s hard to get out of bed. Maybe if I’d been in a relationship, I wouldn’t have felt so unlovable.”

“You’re not unlovable. You’re beautiful and smart and fun to be with. Any man would be lucky to have you.”

“That’s what I tell myself. Apparently the entire gender is blind and stupid.”

“They are. You’ll find someone.”

“I’m not so sure. I can’t blame my lack of love life on the man shortage here. Not entirely. I didn’t date when I was away at college, either.” She shrugged. “I haven’t told anyone, Mom. I’ll talk to Nevada and Montana in a few days. If you wouldn’t mind, I thought you could tell my brothers after that.” Denise would explain what had happened in simple terms, and it would be a whole lot less embarrassing than coming from her.

Her mother nodded. Once her sisters knew, they would want to rally, but there wasn’t anything to do. Her body was different. Most of the time she was okay with that.

“You’re still on the list to get a baby from Kazakhstan?” her mother asked.

“Yes. Eventually I should get a call. I’m staying positive.”

“That’s important. I know you don’t love working on the reality show, but it’s a nice distraction.”

“It’s beyond crazy. What were they thinking? Mayor Marsha is terrified something bad is going to happen. You know how she loves the town.”

“We all do,” Denise said absently. She frowned slightly. “Just because you haven’t fallen in love yet doesn’t mean you’re not going to. Loving someone and being loved is a gift. Relax and it will happen.”

Dakota hoped she was right. She leaned toward her mother. “You got really lucky with dad. Maybe it’s a genetic thing, like being a good singer.”

Her mother grinned. “Meaning I should start dating again? Oh, please. I’m too old.”

“Hardly.”

“It’s an interesting idea, but not for today.” She rose and walked toward the refrigerator. “Now, what can I fix you to eat? A BLT? I think I have some frozen quiche, too.”

Dakota thought about pointing out that this wasn’t a problem that could be fixed by food. Not that her mother would listen. Denise was nothing, if not traditional.

“A BLT would be nice,” she said, knowing it wasn’t the sandwich that would make her feel better, but the love that went into it.

DAKOTA WAS MEETING her sisters at Jo’s Bar. She arrived a little early—mostly because her house had gotten too quiet, with only her thoughts to keep her company.

She crossed to the bar, prepared to order a lemondrop martini, only to realize that Finn Andersson was standing in the center of the room, looking more than a little confused.

Poor guy, she thought as she walked toward him. Jo’s Bar wasn’t the usual kind of hangout where a man went at the end of a difficult day.

Until very recently, most of the businesses in Fool’s Gold were owned by and catered to women. Including everyone’s favorite bar.

Jo was a pretty woman in her thirties. She’d moved to town a few years ago, bought the bar and converted it into the kind of place where women felt comfortable. The lighting was flattering, the bar stools had backs and hooks for hanging purses, and the big-screen TVs were tuned to Project Runway and pretty much anything on HGTV. Music always played. Tonight it was �80s rock.

The men had their place—it was a small room in back with a pool table. But without preparation, Jo’s Bar could be shocking to the average male.

“It’s okay,” Dakota said, coming up behind Finn and leading him to the bar. “You’ll get used to it.”

He shook his head as if trying to clear his vision. “Are those walls pink?”

“Mauve,” she told him. “A very flattering color.”

“It’s a bar.” He looked around. “I thought it was a bar.”

“We do things a little differently here in Fool’s Gold,” she told him. “This is a bar that mainly caters to women. Although men are always welcome. Come on. Have a seat. I’ll buy you a drink.”

“Is it going to have an umbrella in it?”

She laughed. “Jo doesn’t believe in putting umbrellas in drinks.”

“I guess that’s something.”

He followed her to the bar and took a seat. The padded stool seemed a bit small for his large frame, but he didn’t complain.

“This is the craziest place I’ve ever been,” he admitted, glancing at her.

“We’re unique. You heard about the man shortage, right?”

“The very piece of information that brought my brothers to town.”

“A lot of jobs traditionally held by men are held by women here. Nearly all the firefighters, most of the police, the police chief and, of course, the mayor.”

“Interesting.”

Jo walked over. “What’ll you have?”

The words were right, Dakota thought, telling herself not to blush, but Jo’s look of speculation promised many questions to come.

“I’m meeting my sisters,” Dakota said quickly. “I rescued Finn. It’s his first time in.”

“We generally serve your kind in the back,” Jo told him. “But because you’re with Dakota, you can stay here.”

Finn frowned. “You’re kidding, right?”

Jo grinned. “Not the brightest bulb. Too bad.” She turned to Dakota. “Your usual?”

“Please.”

Jo strolled away.

Finn glanced at Dakota. “She’s not going to serve me?”

“She’s bringing you a beer.”

“What if I don’t want a beer?”

“Do you?”

“Sure, but …” He shook his head again.

Dakota held in a laugh. “You’ll get used to it, don’t worry. Jo’s a sweetie. She just likes messing with people.”

“You mean men. She likes messing with men.”

“Everyone needs a hobby. So how are things? Have you convinced your brothers to leave?”

His expression tightened. “No. They’re determined. Solidarity in numbers and all that.”

“I’m sorry things aren’t working out, but I’m not surprised. You’re right about the solidarity thing. I’m a triplet and my sisters and I always protected each other.” She thought about the conversation she was going to have with them later. “We still do.”

“Identical triplets?”

“Uh-huh. It was fun when we were younger. Now it’s less thrilling to be mistaken for someone else. We try to look as different as possible.” She tilted her head. “Now that I think about it, looking different has gotten easier as we’ve gotten older and started developing our own style.” She glanced down at the blue sweater she’d pulled over jeans. “Assuming we have something close to style.”

Jo appeared with her lemondrop and a beer. She set down the drinks, winked at Finn, then walked away.

“I’m going to ignore her,” Finn muttered.

“Probably for the best.” Dakota took a sip of her drink. “What happens now? If your brothers are staying, are you going back to Alaska?”

“No. I talked to Geoff.” He took a drink of his beer. “I threatened him, he threatened me back.”

“And you’re taking a house together on the shore?”

“Not exactly. He said Sasha and Stephen were both going to be on the show, so I volunteered to work as his pilot. Flying contestants around, that sort of thing. I’m staying.”

Dakota told herself that having a tall, handsome, caring man in town was a meaningless bit of info. That any pleasure she took in sitting next to him, having a drink, was just her natural joy in spending time with a fellow human. She wasn’t impressed by the strong line of his jaw, the crinkles by his eyes when he smiled or the way he filled out his plaid shirt.

“You’re a pilot?”

He nodded absently. “I have a cargo company back in South Salmon.” He picked up his beer. “I’d rather knock both of them senseless and drag them back home,” he said. “But I’m doing my best to show restraint.”

“Think of this as a growing experience,” she said.

“I’d rather not.”

She smiled. “Poor you. Do you have a place to stay for a few weeks?” The words replayed in her mind. “I, ah, mean that if you want something other than a hotel room, I can recommend a couple of furnished rentals, or …” She swallowed and held on to her drink.

Finn turned to her, the stool shifting until he faced her. His dark eyes started on her face, dropped a little lower, before returning to lock with her gaze.

There was something intense about all that attention. Something that made her previous rocklike stomach give a little wiggle. Nothing overt. Just the slightest quivery shift.

“I have a place,” he said, his voice low and a little gravelly. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. I, ah, do think your brothers could be on the show for a while.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of.” He leaned toward her. “I have a life back in Alaska. The plane cargo business comes with a partner. Bill is going to explode when I tell him I have to stay.” He ran one hand through his dark hair. “It’s early spring. In about six weeks, we’ll start our busy season. I need to be back by then. They should have come to their senses by then, right?”

She wanted to give him hope, but knew it would be silly to lie. “I don’t know. It depends on how much they’re enjoying themselves. They could get voted off early.”

“And then head for L.A.” He grimaced. “That’s what Geoff said. At least here, I can keep my eye on them. Kids. Giant pain in the ass. You have any?”

“No.” She sipped her drink, searching for a shift in topic. “It’s just the three of you?”

“Yeah. Our parents were killed in a plane crash.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It was a long time ago. For years it was just us, you know? My brothers were great when they were young. There were a few scrapes, but they tried to be responsible. What the hell happened?”

She stared into his dark eyes. “Don’t take it personally. You’ve done a great job with them.”

“Obviously not.”

She touched his arm, feeling heat through the soft cotton of his shirt. Note to self, she thought. It had been a very long time since she’d had a man in her bed. She would have to do something to fix that.

He was staring at her. It took her a second to remember she’d been making a point.

“Um, this is just a blip in their lives. You see it as huge, but I don’t think it will be. They’re testing boundaries, testing themselves, but you’ll be here if they need help.” She carefully removed her hand, then waited for the sense of heat and strength to fade.

It didn’t.

“They won’t ask for help,” he grumbled, obviously not the least bit affected by her. Which was very annoying.

“Maybe they will. Besides, you should take pride in the fact that they’re comfortable enough with themselves and their lives to risk disappointing you. They’re not worried about losing your love and support.”

The glower from that morning returned. “You’re way too happy a person. You know that, right?”

She laughed. “I’m actually pretty normal on the happy scale. I think you’re jaded.”

“You got that right.” He drained his beer, then tossed a couple of bills on the bar. “Thanks for listening.”

“You’re welcome.”

He stood. “I guess I’ll see you at the show or on the set.”

“I’ll be there.”

Their eyes locked. For a second, she thought he might lean in and kiss her. Her mouth was more than ready to take him for a test drive. But he didn’t. Instead he gave her a slight smile and headed out.

She stared after him, her gaze dropping to his very nice butt and lingering. They knew how to grow �em in South Salmon, she thought, raising her glass toward the north. At least she thought it was north.

She told herself that finding Finn attractive was a good thing. As far as she could tell, she hadn’t had a single sexual thought since last fall, when her gynecologist had told her about her inability to have children. If she was stirring, so to speak, then it must mean she was healing. Healing was good.

Having Finn kiss her would have been better, but at this point, she would take whatever she could get.




CHAPTER THREE


“WHO’S THE GUY?” MONTANA asked as she walked up to Dakota. “He’s cute.”

“His brothers will probably be on the show and he’s not happy. He wants them to finish college.”

Montana raised her eyebrows. “Good looking and responsible. Is there a wife?”

“Not that I know of.”

Montana grinned. “Better and better.”

Jo waved at her and pointed to a table that had opened up in the corner. Unlike regular bars, Jo’s was more crowded midweek when it was easier for women to get away. Come weekends, the place went more “date night,” and that wasn’t as appealing to the regulars.

Dakota grabbed her drink and followed her sister to the empty table. Montana had been letting her hair grow out. It came more than halfway down her back, a cascade of different shades of blond. Last year it had been brown—the blond looked better.

All three sisters had their mother’s coloring with blond hair and dark brown eyes. Denise said it was the result of her surfing childhood—a humorous claim considering she’d been born and raised in Fool’s Gold and the town was over two hundred miles from the nearest ocean.

Dakota settled across from Montana. “How’s it going?” she asked.

“Good. Max is keeping me busy. Some guy from the government came by earlier in the week. I’m not sure which agency he works with, mostly because he didn’t tell us. He’d heard about the work Max does and wanted to test some of our dogs for their ability to differentiate scent.”

Last fall Montana had left her position at the library and gone to work for a man who trained therapy dogs. She’d attended several seminars, had learned to train the dogs and seemed to be loving everything about her new job.

Dakota sipped her lemondrop as a Madonna song played in the background. “Why?”

Montana leaned toward her and lowered her voice. “I think they would be trained to sniff out explosives. The guy wasn’t very clear. He knew Max from before, which makes me curious about his past. Not that I’m asking. I know Max likes me and all but I swear sometimes when he looks at me, he’s wondering if I even have half a brain.”

Dakota laughed. “You’re being too hard on yourself.”

“I don’t think so.”

Nevada walked up to the table. Although she was the same height and weight as her sisters, she managed to look completely different. Maybe it was the short hair or the jeans and long-sleeved shirts she favored. While Montana had always been on the girly end of the spectrum, Nevada preferred the tomboy look.

“Hi,” she said as she sat down across from Dakota. “How’s it going?”

“You should have been here earlier,” Montana said with a grin. “Dakota was with a guy.”

Nevada had raised her arm to wave at Jo. She froze in place and turned her brown eyes toward her sister. “Seriously? Anyone interesting?”

“I’m not sure if he’s interesting, but he’s yummy,” Montana said.

Dakota knew there was no point in fighting the inevitable. Even so, she tried. “It’s not what you think.”

Nevada dropped her arm and grinned. “You don’t know what I’m thinking.”

“I can guess.” Dakota sighed. “His name is Finn and his brothers are here to appear on the reality show.” She briefly outlined the problem—at least the one from Finn’s point of view.

“You should offer to comfort him in his hour of need,” Montana told her. “A hug that lingers. A soft kiss with a whisper of need. Soul-stirring touches that …” She looked at her sisters. “What?”

Nevada glanced at Dakota. “I think she’s slipped over the edge.”

“I think she needs a man,” Dakota told her, then looked at Montana. “Soul-stirring touches? Seriously?”

Montana dropped her head to her hands. “I need to spend some quality time with a naked man. It’s been too long.” She straightened, then smiled. “Or I could get drunk.”

“Whatever works,” Nevada muttered, accepting the tall vodka tonic Jo handed her. “Montana’s slipping over the edge.”

“It happens to the best of us,” Jo said cheerfully, passing Montana a rum and Diet Coke.

As Jo left, the front door opened and Charity and Liz walked in. Charity was the city planner, married to cyclist Josh Golden, while Liz had married the triplet’s brother, Ethan. Both women saw the sisters and headed over.

“How are things?” Charity asked as they approached.

“Good,” Dakota said, eyeing her friend. “You look amazing. Fiona is what—three months old? You’d never know you just had a baby.”

“Thanks. I’ve been walking a lot. Fiona is sleeping longer, so that helps.”

Liz shook her head. “I remember those baby nights. Thank goodness mine are older.”

“Wait until they start wanting to drive,” Nevada told her.

“I refuse to think about that.”

“Want to join us?” Montana asked.

Liz hesitated. “Charity’s been reading my work-in-progress and wants to discuss a couple of things. Next time?”

“Sure,” Dakota told them.

Liz wrote a successful detective series that had, until recently, featured victims who looked surprisingly like their brother Ethan. Now that he and Liz were together, Dakota had a feeling the next dead body would be completely different.

The two women walked to another table.

“How’s work?” Nevada asked Montana.

“Good. I’m training a couple of new puppies. I talked to Max about the reading program I’ve been researching. I have an appointment with a couple of school board members to talk about a trial program.”

Montana had discovered several studies that explained that kids who were bad readers improved more quickly when they read to dogs instead of people. Something about dogs being all support and no judgment, Dakota thought. When her sister had approached her about the studies, Dakota had done a little research and found even more supportive literature.

“I love the idea of going into schools and helping kids,” Montana said wistfully. “Max says we’re going to have to expect to do it for free in the beginning. Once we show results, the schools will hire us.” She wrinkled her nose. “Honestly, most of what we do is for free. I can’t figure out where he gets his money. Someone is paying my salary and to take care of the dogs. Even if he owns the land and the kennel is paid for, there’s still upkeep.”

“He hasn’t said where the support comes from?” Nevada asked.

Montana shook her head.

“You could ask him,” Dakota told her.

Montana rolled her eyes and picked up her drink. “That’s not going to happen.”

Montana wasn’t big on confrontation, Dakota thought. She turned to Nevada. “How are things with you?”

“Good. The same.” Her sister shrugged. “I’m in a rut.”

“How can you say that?” Montana asked. “You have a great job, you’ve always known what you want to do.”

“I know. I’m not saying I want to stop being an engineer and take up pole dancing, but sometimes …” She sighed. “I don’t know. I think my life needs to be shaken up a little.”

Dakota smiled. “We could always set Mom up on a date. That would be a distraction.”

Both her sisters stared at her.

“Mom date?” Montana asked, her eyes wide. “Has she said anything?”

“Not seriously, but she’s vibrant and attractive. Why wouldn’t she date?”

“It would be weird,” Montana said.

“Or uncomfortable.” Nevada picked up her drink. “She would probably find a guy in fifteen seconds. I can’t remember the last time I was on a date.”

“That’s what I thought, too,” Dakota admitted. “But don’t you think one of us should be successful at the dating thing?”

“You don’t see the humiliation of that person being our mother?” Nevada asked.

Dakota grinned. “There is that.”

Montana shook her head. “No. She can’t. What about Dad?”

Dakota studied her. “It’s been over ten years since he died. Doesn’t she deserve a life?”

“Don’t get all logical and therapist-y on me. I’m very comfortable not being the mature one.”

“Then you shouldn’t worry. We were just joking about it.” As a way to release tension, Dakota thought sadly. As a distraction from the truth about her inability to have children.

“She didn’t sign up for the show, did she?” Nevada asked. “Not that I wouldn’t support her if she did.”

“No, she didn’t.”

“Thank God.” Nevada leaned back in her chair. “Speaking of the show, when do they announce the contestants?”

“Tomorrow. They’ve already made their casting decisions, but they’re not telling anyone in advance. I think they’re broadcasting live or something. I’m trying to stay out of it as much as I can.”

“Will Finn be there?” Montana asked.

“Nearly every day.”

Montana raised her eyebrows. “That will keep things interesting.”

“I’m sure I don’t know what you mean,” Dakota said lightly. “He’s a nice man, nothing more.”

Nevada grinned. “You expect us to believe that?” “Yes, and if you don’t, I expect you to pretend.”

AURELIA DID HER BEST to tune out the rant as she carefully put dishes into the dishwasher. The tirade was a familiar one. That Aurelia was a terrible daughter, selfish and cruel, who cared about no one but herself. That her mother had cared for her for years so it wasn’t wrong to expect a little support and comfort in her old age.

“I’ll be gone soon,” her mother declared. “I’m sure you’re counting the days until I’m dead.”

Aurelia turned slowly to face the woman who had raised her on a secretary’s salary. “Mama, you know that’s not true.”

“So I’m a liar?” her mother demanded. “Is that what you tell people?” Her mother’s face crumpled. “I’ve only ever loved you. You’re the most important person in my life. My only child. And this is the thanks I get?”

As always, Aurelia couldn’t quite follow the train of the argument. She was clear on the fact that she’d messed up—she always messed up. No matter what she did, she was a constant disappointment. Much like her father, who had abandoned both his wife and daughter.

Aurelia didn’t know if her mother had been a professional victim before he’d left, but she’d certainly taken on star status in the “poor me” department after.

“Look at you,” her mother continued, pointing to Aurelia’s long, straight hair. “You’re a mess. You think this is how to find a man? They don’t even see you. This is Fool’s Gold. There aren’t that many men. You have to try harder to get one here.”

Harsh words that were true, Aurelia thought. She moved through the world in a bubble. Doing her job, going out to lunch with her work friends, invisible to every man, including the president of the company. She’d worked for his firm for nearly two years, and he still had trouble remembering her name.

“I want grandchildren,” her mother declared. “I ask for so little, but do you give them to me?”

“I’m trying, Mama.”

“Not hard enough. You’re with businessmen all day long. Smile at them. Flirt a little. Do you even know how? Dress better. You could lose a little weight, too. I didn’t put you through college so you could be alone your whole life.”

Aurelia closed the dishwasher and then wiped down the counter. Technically her mother hadn’t paid for college at all. Aurelia had received a couple of small scholarships, a few grants and had worked to pay the rest. However, she had lived at home for free, so that was support. Her mother was right—she should be more grateful.

“You’ll be thirty soon,” her mother went on. “Thirty. So old. When I was that age, you were five and your father had been gone four years. Did I have time to be young? No. I had responsibilities. I had to work two jobs. Did I complain? Never. You lacked for nothing.”

“You were good to me, Mama,” she said dutifully. “You still are.”

“Of course I am. I’m your mother. You need to take care of me.”

Which was what had happened a few years ago. Aurelia had graduated, gotten her first job and moved out. A year or so later, her mother had mentioned money was a little short and asked her to help her out. A few dollars here and there had become the reality of nearly supporting her mother.

While her accounting job paid well, paying rent on two places, not to mention utilities and groceries, didn’t leave very much left over.

Other parents seemed proud of their children’s successes. Not her mother. She complained that Aurelia took horrible care of her. In this household, being a child meant a never-ending debt that only grew with time.

Aurelia stared out the kitchen window at the backyard beyond. Instead of a neat garden, she saw a giant balance sheet covered in red. Near-physical proof that she was trapped forever.

It wasn’t supposed to have been like this, she thought sadly. She’d always had dreams of finding someone special, of falling in love. She just wanted to belong without having to feel there was always a payment to be made.

An impossible fantasy, she reminded herself. She wasn’t especially pretty or interesting. She was an accountant who actually loved her work. She didn’t go to clubs or bars, and should a man ever speak to her, she wouldn’t have a clue what to say back.

“If you get picked for that show,” her mother warned, “don’t embarrass me by saying or doing something stupid. Be on your best behavior.”

“I’ll try.”

“Try!” Her mother, a small woman with penetrating dark eyes, threw her arms in the air. “It’s always try with you. Never do. You try and then fail.”

Not exactly a pep talk designed to make her feel better, Aurelia thought, walking through the kitchen to the small living room. She hadn’t wanted to audition for the reality show being filmed in town, but her mother had bullied her until she’d agreed. Now she could only hope she wasn’t chosen.

She’d even tried to get out of it by saying that she had to work, but when she’d mentioned the application to her boss, it had been one of the few times he’d seemed interested in her. He’d told her she could take off time during the day whenever she needed as long as she got her work done later.

“I need to get home,” she said. “I’ll see you in a couple of days.”

“Your own apartment,” her mother said with a scowl. “So selfish. You should move back here. Think of the money you’d save. But no. It all has to go for your pleasure, while I have nothing.”

Aurelia thought about pointing to the check she’d left on the table by the door. The one that would cover the rent and utilities for the month. Her mother was still working, earning what she’d always earned. So where was her money going? Perhaps for things like the new car in the garage and the stylish clothes she favored.

Aurelia shook her head. There was no point in going there. After all, once she gave her mother the money, it wasn’t her business how it was spent. A gift was to be given freely.

Although the checks never felt like a gift. They were much more a guilt payment.

She grabbed her purse, told her mother goodbye and stepped out onto the small porch. Her own apartment was only a few blocks away and she’d walked.

“I’ll see you soon,” she called over her shoulder.

“You should move back,” her mother yelled.

Aurelia kept walking. She might not be able to stand up to her mother, but she was determined that she would never live with her again. She didn’t care if she had to work five jobs or sell her own blood. Moving back would be the end of anything close to a life.

As she walked along the tree-lined streets, she wondered where she’d gone wrong. When had she decided it was okay for her mother to treat her so badly, and how was she supposed to figure out how to stand up for herself without allowing a lifetime of guilt to get in her way?

FINN HAD NEVER BEEN on a movie set, so he couldn’t speak to what happened there, but from what he could tell, television was all about the lighting.

So far the crew had spent nearly an hour adjusting lights and big reflectors in a newly built soundstage on the edge of town. Rows of chairs had been set up for the audience that was due to arrive, and there had been at least three sound checks on microphones and the canned music, but it was the lights that seemed to have everyone frantic.

He kept out of the way, watching from a far corner. Nothing about the situation interested him. He would rather be back in South Salmon, getting ready to ferry shipments north of the Arctic Circle. Unfortunately, his regular life wasn’t much of an option. Not until he could drag his brothers with him.

A few people walked toward the stage. He thought he recognized the tall man wearing a suit and what looked like an inch of makeup. The host, Finn thought, wondering what was the least bit appealing about being on TV. Sure, the pay was good, but at the end of the day, what had anyone really accomplished?

The host guy and Geoff had a long conversation with plenty of arm waving. A few minutes later, all the would-be contestants were led on stage. The curtain had a logo of the cable company on it—the stylized letters meaningless to Finn. He rarely watched network television, much less cable.

He saw a few people well over forty, a lot of good-looking kids in their twenties, a few ordinary types who were seriously out of place and the twins.

It was all he could do not to stomp onto the stage, grab one under each arm and head for the airport. Only a couple of things stopped him. First, the fact that it was unlikely he could actually wrestle either of his brothers into submission. They were as tall as him, and while he had more muscle and experience in a fight, he cared about them too much to really hurt them. Second, he had a feeling someone with the production company would call the police and the situation would go downhill from there.

“You’re looking fierce about something,” Dakota said, coming up and standing next to him. “Plotting to kidnap them?”

Finn was impressed by her mind-reading skills. “Want to be an accomplice?”

“I make it a rule to avoid situations that end with me going to jail. I know that makes me less fun at a party, but I can live with that.”

He glanced at her and saw her brown eyes were bright with laughter.

“You’re not taking my pain seriously enough,” he told her.

“Your pain is in your head. You know your brothers are capable of making their own decisions.”

“If we exclude their present situation.”

“I don’t agree with that.” She turned to the stage. “Everyone deserves to follow his or her dream.”

“They’d do better to finish college and settle down,” he grumbled.

“Did you?”

He studied his brothers. “Sure. I’m the poster boy for responsible.”

“Because you had to be. What were you like before your parents died and you were left with two thirteen-year-olds? Something tells me you were a lot wilder than they’ve ever been.”

She was right, damn it. He shifted. “I can’t remember.”

“Do you expect me to believe that?”

“I might have been slightly less responsible.”

“Slightly?”

He’d been crazy, he thought, refusing to admit it to her. He’d loved parties and women and defying every law of physics in his airplane. He’d gone beyond testing boundaries—he’d been reckless.

“That was different,” he said. “We didn’t know what could happen.”

“Meaning they do and should act accordingly? They’re twenty-one. Give them a break.”

“If they go back to college, I’ll give them a break.”

“Silly, silly man.” Her gaze was both amused and slightly pitying.

Under normal circumstances, that probably would have annoyed him, but he found he liked spending time with Dakota. Even when she disagreed with him, he liked hearing what she had to say.

He was aware of her standing close to him in the dark shadows of the back of the soundstage. They would see everything, and no one knew they were there. For a second, he wondered what he would have thought of her under other circumstances. If he weren’t here because of his brothers. If he didn’t have to worry about their welfare. If he was just a guy intrigued by an attractive woman with a killer smile.

But these circumstances didn’t allow for distraction. He’d promised himself that once he got his brothers through college, it would be his turn to follow his dream. After eight years of taking care of them, he’d earned it. He didn’t want to spend the rest of his life flying cargo. But that thought was for later—after he’d gotten his brothers out of this mess and knew that they were safe.

On stage, Geoff shooed everyone out of view. The potential contestants were gathered together.

Dakota glanced at her watch. “Show time,” she murmured.

From what he’d been able to figure out, there would be a combination of live scenes and taped segments of the various potential contestants. Whatever it took to drag out the show, he thought grimly. He stared at his brothers, willing them to suddenly come to their senses. Neither of them noticed him.

The big lights went on, someone called “We’re live in five, four, three …” Cameras were moved silently, then the host began.

He welcomed the viewers, explained the premise of the show and started introducing the potential cast. Dakota reached for Finn’s hand and drew him through the darkness to the other side, where they had a better view of a wide-screen television.

She released his fingers and leaned toward him. “That’s the feed going out,” she murmured, her voice soft, her breath tickling his ear.

He inhaled a feminine scent—something floral and clean. Heat from her body seemed to slip across his arm, making him aware of her curves. For a second he considered pulling her deeper into the darkness and paying attention to her mouth instead of the screen.

Don’t go there, he told himself. Big mistake. He had to remember what was important, and right now that was the twins.

On stage, the host began calling names. Finn found himself stiffening. The first couple was older. Late �50s early �60s. He ignored them. A blond guy got paired up with a dark-haired, busty Amazon. At least that was something, he thought. The girl looked like she could take Sasha and Stephen together.

“I promised you some fun contestants,” the host said with a smile. “Here’s where it gets interesting.” He motioned for Sasha and Stephen to join him on stage.

“Twins,” he said with a grin. “Can you believe it? Sasha and Stephen.”

Finn watched his brothers carefully. They looked at ease on the stage. They smiled at the camera, chatted with the host. They looked like they belonged.

“Now which one of you is which?” the host asked.

Sasha, wearing jeans and a blue pullover, the same damn color as his eyes, grinned. “I’m the better-looking one. So I must be Sasha.”

Stephen gave his brother a shove. “I’m better-looking. We could take a vote.”

The host laughed. “You boys are going to do just fine. Now let’s find out if you made it on the show.”

Finn felt his fingers curl into fists. Tension swept through his body. If only, he thought. But he knew what was going to happen. It had been inevitable from the day his brothers had left South Salmon.

The host looked at the card in his hand. He turned it over and showed it to the camera. Sasha’s name was clearly visible. The audience, mostly bused in for the show, although a few locals had shown up, applauded. The host drew another card from his suit pocket. The girls waiting just behind him leaned toward the camera. A couple seemed ready to grab Sasha and run for the hills. A sentiment Finn could understand, although his reasons were different.

“Are you ready?” he asked Sasha.

Sasha grinned for the camera. “I can’t wait to meet her.”

“Then let’s get the two of you together.” The host turned the second card toward the camera. “Lani, come meet Sasha.”

A petite, dark-haired, beautiful young woman stepped toward Sasha. Her eyes were large, her smile welcoming. She moved with an easy grace that had every man in the room watching her. Even Finn noticed her beauty.

Sasha’s expression was comical as his eyes bugged out, and he leaned so far forward, he nearly lost his footing. He and Lani moved toward each other.

“Hi,” she said softly. “Nice to meet you.”

“Ah, nice to meet you, too.”

They stared at each other. If Finn didn’t know better, he would swear he was witnessing love at first sight. But he did know better. Or rather he knew his brother. Sasha would never let a girl stand between him and what he wanted.

“They look good together,” Dakota said. “Or should I not point that out? Are you dealing okay?”

“I’ll survive, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“Not that you’ll like it?”

He glanced at her. “What’s to like?”

“You’re not really a go-with-the-flow kind of guy, are you?”

“What gave me away?”

“Something tells me we’re going to be seeing a lot more of those two,” the host said cheerily.

Finn had yet to meet the man. He didn’t know his name, but he knew he didn’t like him. He couldn’t imagine having to listen to him for ten or twelve weeks, or however the hell long the show lasted. Although disliking the host was the least of his problems right now.

Sasha and Lani linked hands and stepped to the side of the stage. The host put his arm around Stephen. “Guess you’re next. Nervous?”

“More excited than nervous,” Stephen said.

The host nodded to the girls waiting behind them. “Got a favorite?”

Stephen smiled. Unlike his brother, he didn’t feel the need to charm the world. He’d always been serious. More studious. He had a sincerity the girls had always liked. If Sasha was the flash, then Stephen was the substance.

“Do I have to pick just one?” his brother asked.

The host chuckled. “You need to leave some for the rest of the contestants. How about if I pick one for you?”

Steven turned back to the camera. “Whichever one you pick is fine with me.”

The host called for quiet. Finn wanted to point out that no one was talking but knew his comments wouldn’t be appreciated. Once again the host removed a card from his suit pocket and held it up for the camera.

“Aur elia.”

The camera panned across the girls, then paused as one of them stepped forward. Finn frowned. It wasn’t that the girl was unattractive, or even badly dressed. She was just … different from the other girls. Less polished, less sophisticated. Plain.

She wore a navy dress that fell past her knees, low-heeled shoes and no makeup. Her long hair fell in her face, making it hard to see her eyes, not that she looked up as she approached. When she finally stepped next to Stephen and glanced at him, her expression was more one of horror than anticipation.

Finn studied her for a second, then frowned. “Wait a minute. How old is she?”

“Aurelia?” Dakota shrugged. “Twenty-nine or thirty. She was a year or two ahead of us in school.”

He swore. “There’s no way this is happening. I’m going to crush Geoff. I’m going to leave him bleeding and broken on the side of the road.”

“What’s wrong?”

He spun toward Dakota and glared at her. “Can’t you see it? She’s what? Nearly ten years older than Stephen. There is no way in hell I’m going to stand by while my brother is devoured by some cougar.”

The corners of Dakota’s mouth twitched. “Seriously? You think Aurelia is a cougar?”

“What else would she be? Look at her.”

“I am,” Dakota said. “You look at her. She’s mousy. She was always like that in high school. I don’t know her whole story but I’m pretty sure I remember she has an awful mother. Aurelia never got to do anything. She wasn’t allowed to go to school dances or football games. It’s kind of sad. You don’t have to worry—she’s not the type to trap him by getting pregnant or something.”

“Cry me a river. I don’t care about her past, I care about her being with my brother.” He froze. “Pregnant?” He swore. “She can’t get pregnant.”

Dakota winced. “I shouldn’t have said that. Stop worrying. She’s no danger to Stephen. Come on, Finn, she’s a nice girl. Isn’t that what you want for your brother? A nice girl?”

“Sure I want a nice girl, but I want a nice girl who’s his age.”

Dakota grinned. “It may seem like a big age difference now, but when he’s forty-two she’ll only be fifty.”

“You’re not making me feel better. I don’t think you’re even trying.”

Finn was done talking. Bad enough that his brothers had come to Fool’s Gold to be on the stupid show. Maybe he could learn to live with that, but he was not going to stand here and let his brother be set up for a fall.

But before he could stomp down to the front of the stage and disrupt the live broadcast, Dakota stepped in front of him.

“Don’t go up there,” she said firmly, staring into his eyes. “You’ll regret it, but more important, the boys will be humiliated on live television. They’ll never forgive you. Right now you’re an annoying older brother who wants to keep them safe. That’s a livable condition. I’m serious, Finn.”

He could see the truth in her eyes, and as much as he didn’t want to believe her, he knew he had to. But the thought of leaving his brother alone with that woman …

“He doesn’t have any money.”

“Aurelia isn’t after his money.”

“How do you know that?”

“She has a great job. She’s an accountant. From what I’ve heard, she does amazing work. There’s a waiting list to be one of her clients.” Dakota grabbed his arm again and stared into his eyes. “Finn, I know you’re worried. Maybe you have reason to be. It would have been great if your brothers had stayed in college like you wanted them to. But they didn’t. Please don’t make this worse by going out there and acting like an idiot.”

“I know you’re trying to help,” he said, realizing he sounded frustrated.

“Look at it this way. If she is as boring as I think she is, they’ll get voted off early.”

“If she’s not, he’ll be in trouble.”

She dropped her hands to her sides. “You’ll be here to make sure nothing bad happens.”

“Assuming he’ll listen.”

He glanced toward the stage. Aurelia stood next to Stephen. If her body language was anything to go by, crossed arms, averted gaze, posture so stiff it was as if she were made of steel, she really wasn’t happy about the situation. Maybe he would get lucky and they wouldn’t last a date. He was due for some luck.

“You’re quite the tough guy,” Dakota told him. “Is that an Alaska thing?”

“Maybe.” He took a deep breath and looked into her dark eyes. “Thank you for talking me off the ledge.”

“I’m a paid professional, it’s my job.”

“You’re good at it.”

“Thank you.”

He continued to stare into her eyes, mostly because he liked it. She was easy to be around. And his body couldn’t help but be aware of the smoothness of her skin, the shape of her mouth.

“I need to get going,” she said. “Can I trust you to stay here on your own?”

“Sure.”

“Have a little faith,” she said, stepping back. “It’s going to be okay.”

She couldn’t know that, he thought. But for today, he was going to believe her.

He waited until she had left before walking out of the sound studio. After pulling his cell phone out of his pocket, he dialed the number for his office in Alaska.

“South Salmon Cargo,” a familiar voice said.

“Hey, Bill, it’s me.”

“Where the hell are you, Finn?”

“Still in California.” Finn shifted the phone to his other ear. “Looks like I’m going to be stuck here for a while. They both got on the show.”

A couple of thousand miles away, Bill sighed. “We’re going to get busy soon. I can’t do this by myself. If you can’t get back here soon, we’re going to have to freelance a couple of extra pilots.”

“I know,” Finn said heavily. “Go ahead and start looking. If you find somebody good, hire him. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

“I need faster than soon,” his partner told him.

“I’ll do my best.”

The business mattered, he thought as he ended the call. But his brothers would always be more important. He was stuck here until he finished the job he’d come to do.




CHAPTER FOUR


THE AIRPORT AT THE NORTH END of Fool’s Gold was typical for its size. There were two runways and no tower. Pilots were responsible for staying out of each other’s way. Finn was used to flying under those conditions. It was the same in South Salmon but with a lot worse weather.

He got out of his rented car and walked to the main office of Fool’s Gold Aviation. He’d been told this was the best place to find out about renting a plane. He was also going to talk to the owner about picking up some extra work. There was no way he could stay in town for any length of time without doing something more productive than flying show contestants a couple of times a week.

He knocked on the open door and stepped into the two-room office. There were a couple of battered desks, a coffeepot on a rickety table by the window and a view of the main runway. An older woman sat at the larger of the desks.

When he entered, she looked up. “Can I help you?”

“I’m looking for Hamilton.” He’d been given a single name and little else.

The woman, a pretty redhead in her fifties, sighed. “He’s out with his planes. I swear, if he could sleep with them, he would.” She pointed to the west. “That way.”

Finn nodded his thanks and went around the building. He saw an older man bent low over the right tire of a Cessna Stationair.

Finn was familiar with the plane. It had a 310 fuel-injected horsepower engine and could cruise for nearly seven hours. The rear double doors made it easy to load cargo.

Hamilton looked up as Finn approached. “Thought I felt the tire go when I landed last night,” he said, straightening. “Seems fine now.”

He walked toward Finn and held out his hand. Hamilton had to be in his seventies, with wild white hair and a permanently lined face.

“Finn Andersson,” Finn told him, shaking hands.

“You a pilot?”

“On a good day.” Finn told him about his cargo business up in Alaska.

“That’s wild flying,” Hamilton said. “We don’t get weather like that here. We’re below twenty-five hundred feet, so we miss the worst of the snow and wind. There’s some fog, but nothing like what you deal with. What brings you to Fool’s Gold?”

“My brothers,” Finn admitted and told Hamilton about the twins and their involvement with the show.

“They’re going to use me to fly people around. I guess to save money.”

“I don’t care who rents my planes as long as they know what they’re doing. Sounds like you do.”

Finn knew the old man would need more than his word, but confirming credentials would be easy. “I’m stuck here for a few more weeks and wondered if you needed a pilot. I can fly cargo or people.”

Hamilton grinned. “I do have some extra business. I hate to turn it away, but I’ve only got one set of hands and can only take on one flight at a time.” He sighed. “There’s plenty to be done. Rich people like to fly back and forth to town. Makes �em feel special. The restaurant at the lodge is all fancylike and I fly in their fish. I have contracts with a few delivery companies, that kind of thing. Just tell me when you want to work and I can keep you busy.”

“I’d appreciate that,” Finn told him, relieved to know he wouldn’t have to spend his day sitting around and watching his brothers.

“Let’s go back to my office and see what’s on the schedule. I guess I’ll need to make it official and check on your license. We can go for a flight when we’re done with the paperwork, if you have time.”

“I have time,” Finn told him.

“Good.”

Back in the building, they went into Hamilton’s office. It was smaller than the front room, but tidy. There were pictures of old planes covering the walls.

“How long have you been here?” Finn asked.

“Since I was a kid. Learned to fly before I could drive, that’s for sure. Never wanted to do anything else. My wife keeps bugging me to move to Florida, but I don’t know. Maybe soon.” He glanced at Finn. “The business is for sale, if you’re interested.”

“I have a business,” Finn told him. “Although you could do a lot here.” Not just charter and deliveries, he thought. Air tours could be lucrative. And there was that idea of his about teaching flying.

Dreams for another day, he reminded himself. When he knew for sure his brothers were grown-up enough that nothing bad would ever happen to them.

“If you change your mind, let me know,” Hamilton told him.

“You’ll be the first.”

IN HER REGULAR LIFE, Dakota spent her days working up curricula for math and science programs. In theory, a year or two from now, students from around the country would be able to come to Fool’s Gold and spend a month immersed in a math or science program. Dakota and Raoul worked hard to solicit donations from corporate and private benefactors. It was work that excited her. It was work that made a difference. But was she doing that important work now? No. Instead, she’d spent the past hour on the phone with various hotels in San Diego, negotiating room rates so reality show contestants could have a dream date.

The door to her makeshift office opened and Finn stepped inside. She hadn’t seen him in a couple of days, not since the contestants had been announced. She half expected to read an article in the local paper saying that two twenty-something twins had gone missing. But so far, Finn seemed to be holding it all together.

“Am I interrupting?” he asked.

“Yes, and I’m desperately grateful.” She tossed the papers she’d been holding. “Do you know I have a doctorate? I can make people call me doctor. I don’t, but I could. Do you know what I’m doing with that degree right now?”

He took the seat across from her desk. “Not loving your job?”

“Not today,” she said with a sigh. “I tell myself I’m doing the right thing. I tell myself I’m helping the town.”

“Let me guess. It’s not working.”

“I’m getting very close to wanting to bang my head against the wall. That’s never a good sign. As a health care professional, I’m very aware of that.”

She leaned back in her chair and studied him. Finn looked good. Hardly a surprise. When had the man looked bad? He was solid. Dependable. His concern about his brothers proved that. She supposed her next line of thought should be that he was nice. Instead she found herself acknowledging that he was every woman’s definition of a hot, sexy guy.

“Can I help?” he asked.

“I wish.” She sighed. “Let’s talk about something else. Nearly any topic would be more cheerful.” She pointed to the papers on her desk. “I see Geoff kept his word. You’re the pilot of choice for several of the dates. What you’re doing for your brothers—” she smiled “—let’s just say, parents across America will be so proud.”

“That’s one way of looking at it,” he said. “I’d rather not have to be here at all.” He looked at her. “Present company excluded.”

“Thanks. Are you still going to come between Stephen and Aurelia?”

Finn shrugged. “Once I figure out how. They haven’t been on a date yet, and both my brothers are avoiding me.”

“Are you surprised?”

“No. If I were them, I’d be avoiding me, too.” He shook his head. “Why couldn’t they rebel in Alaska?”

“Missing home?” she asked.

He swung his gaze back to her and shrugged. “Some. This is very different.”

“The landscape or the people?”

“Both,” he admitted. “Compared to where I come from, Fool’s Gold is the big city. Back in South Salmon, there’s still snow piled ten-feet deep. But the days are getting longer and warmer. Bill—that’s my business partner—and I should be gearing up for the busy season. Instead Bill’s doing it himself.” Finn sank lower in the seat. “We’re going to have to hire a couple of temporary pilots.”

“That can’t be good,” she said.

“It’s a pain in the ass.”

“You blame your brothers.”

He raised one dark eyebrow. “Any reason I shouldn’t?”

“Technically, you don’t have to be here.”

“Yes, I do.” He glanced out the window. “If I wasn’t worried about my brothers and work, being here wouldn’t be so bad.”

She smiled. “Are you saying you like Fool’s Gold?”

“The people are friendly enough.” He straightened. “I went out to the airport and talked to a guy there about renting planes for the show. I’m going to work with him while I’m here.”

“Flying cargo?”

He nodded.

“I didn’t know we flew cargo in and out of Fool’s Gold.”

“You’d be surprised what comes in by air. Even here. He also has charters. Taking people to remote places.”

“Do you do that in South Salmon?”

“Some, although Bill and I focus mostly on cargo. I’ve thought about expanding, or even starting a new company. Bill wants to avoid dealing with passengers. It may be hard to believe, but I’m more of a people person.” He grinned.

She reacted with a burst of heat to her belly and the knowledge that he’d made her toes curl. Thankfully, the latter was something he couldn’t see.

“You’re willing to take on the tourists?” she asked, trying to speak without having to clear her throat.

“They can be fun. I’ve also thought about opening a flying school. There’s freedom up there, but you can’t be stupid about it. My dad used to say the only time he knew I wasn’t taking crazy chances was when I was flying.” He chuckled. “Of course, he was wrong about that. Still, it teaches responsibility.”

“Sounds like a calling.”

“In some ways it is.” He gazed at her. “You’ve been nice to me. I know you don’t have to be, and I appreciate your counsel.”

Nice? Great. She wanted him to think she was sexy and irresistible. Someone he couldn’t wait to get in his bed. Wouldn’t you just know it—the first man to get her attention in nearly a year thought she was nice.

“I do what I can,” she said lightly. “If there are any particular goods or services you need in town, just let me know.”

His dark gaze settled on her face. His mouth curved into one of those smiles designed to make a woman do just about anything. “I’ve been looking for a place to have dinner,” he said. “Somewhere quiet. Somewhere a man can have a conversation with a beautiful woman.”

If she’d been standing, she would have been in danger of tumbling over in shock. Was Finn asking her out to dinner? Or was he talking about someone else? It was pretty presumptuous of her to assume she was the beautiful woman in question. If he had said reasonably attractive, that she could have bought into.

“Well, I …” She paused, not sure what to say.

Finn shook his head. “I’m obviously out of practice. I was trying to ask you out to dinner, Dakota.”

“Oh.” Now was her turn to smile. “I’d like that.” Then before she could stop herself, she added, “What if I cook? I mean, you could come to my place. I don’t do gourmet or anything, but I know a couple of good recipes.”

“Sounds perfect,” he told her. “Just tell me when and I’ll be there.”

“How about tomorrow?”

“Works for me.”

They settled on a time and she gave him her address. When he left, Dakota found herself smiling just a little more broadly as she picked up the phone to call another hotel in San Diego.

AURELIA STOOD in front of Geoff’s desk and did her best to look confident, rather than horrified. Despite his jeans and worn T-shirt, a Hollywood producer intimidated her. Not a huge surprise, she thought. Most people intimidated her. The only place Aurelia felt confident was at work. In her office, with her computer and her numbers, she ruled her world. Everywhere else, it was all she could do not to apologize for simply breathing.

“There’s been a mistake,” she said, forcing herself to stare at him rather than at the ground. “I really appreciate being picked for the show. I didn’t expect to be. It’s just …”

How to say it? How to explain the truth without confessing her deepest, darkest secrets?

“I’m not a cougar,” she said, speaking very quickly. “I’m actually allergic to cats. I’m not a man magnet.” She could feel herself blushing. The man magnet statement was ridiculous. Geoff could tell what she was and wasn’t simply by looking at her.

The producer glanced up from the laptop on his desk and frowned, as if he hadn’t known she was in the room. “Who are you?”

“Aurelia. I’m paired with Stephen. He’s one of the twins. They’re twenty-one.” She twisted her fingers together, not sure how she was going to make him understand. “Maybe there was a mistake. Or we could make a change. What if I was with someone older? Maybe a widower with a disadvantaged kid. I could do that.”

Geoff returned his attention back to his laptop. “Not gonna happen. We need ratings. There are no ratings with a widower and some kid. Cougars are hot right now. It’ll be fun.”

She could tell he’d already lost interest in the conversation. Normally, she would simply accept whatever the circumstance was and go with it. But this time she couldn’t. This time she had to fight.

She squared her shoulders and stared at the man who held her destiny in his indifferent hands. “No,” she said firmly. “I’m not a cougar. Look at me.” When he didn’t glance up from his computer screen, she repeated the instruction. “Look at me!”

Reluctantly, Geoff raised his gaze from his screen. “I don’t have time for this,” he began.

“You’re going to make time,” Aurelia told him. “I’m only on this show because my mother insisted. She makes my life a living hell, and you don’t get to do that to me, too. Sure I want to meet someone. Sure I want to get married and have children. I want a normal life. But I’m never going to have that with her around, dragging me down. I thought maybe, just maybe, if I did this, I could catch a break.”

She felt her eyes starting to burn with tears and did her best to blink them back. “And look what happened. You put me with a child!”

When she’d finished, she expected Geoff to tell her to get out and return his attention to his computer. Instead he leaned back in his chair, folded his hands behind his head and studied her.

She felt his slow gaze start at her mousy brown hair and move down to her knees, which was about all that was visible, what with her standing in front of his desk.

She’d come straight from work, so she was dressed in one of her conservative navy suits. They were a uniform of sorts. She had five, along with two black suits and one in pale gray for when it was really hot in the summer.

On the same rack in her closet were an assortment of blouses. On the carpet below were a row of sensible, low-heeled pumps. Hers was not a wardrobe any cougar would be caught dead in.

Geoff dropped his hands to the desk. “You’re right—you’re not a cougar. But sex sells and a woman on the prowl is interesting to viewers.”

“Not when that woman is me. I’ve never prowled.”

His mouth turned up slightly. “You never know. People might feel sorry for you.”

She held in a wince. How nice. The pity vote.

“I can’t do this.”

Geoff shook his head. “I hate to be a pain in your ass, Aurelia, but here’s the thing. You’re with Stephen or you’re out.”

While the words weren’t a surprise, she had been hoping for a miracle. Apparently the universe was fresh out. Or busy with someone else.

“I have to do this,” she said earnestly. Contestants were paid twenty thousand dollars. It wasn’t a huge amount, but it was enough. When added to the small amount she’d managed to save, she would finally be able to buy a condo. She would own her own home.

The dream was better with a husband and child, but right now she was willing to take what she could get.

“Then do it,” he told her. “If you need to be on the show to get your mother to back off, you have to take the chance. Go through with it. What’s the worst that could happen?”

The humiliating possibilities were endless, but that wasn’t the point. Geoff was right. If she believed the show was her way out, then she had to be willing to do the show.

“For what it’s worth,” Geoff said, “Stephen isn’t a bad guy.”

“Can I get that in writing?”

He laughed. “No way. Now get out of here.”

Aurelia felt a little better as she stepped out of Geoff’s office. She could do this, she told herself. She could be strong. She might even be able to fake being a …

Her proud, brisk exit walk came to a halt when she slammed into someone tall and broad.

“Oh, sorry,” she said, then found herself looking up and up until she fell into the dark blue gaze of Stephen Andersson.

She’d only seen him one other time—during the initial filming, taping, whatever they call it, of the show. During those brief minutes, she’d barely glanced at him. All she’d been able to think about was her humiliation. The reality that he was absolutely the last man she could ever imagine dating. Okay, Gerard Butler would have been worse, but only marginally.

“You really think it’s going to be that bad?” he asked. “Being with me?”

The question was horrible enough, but worse was the realization that he had heard at least part of her conversation with Geoff. She felt herself flush.

“It’s not you,” she said quickly. “It’s me. I’m sure you’re a great guy.”

“Don’t say nice,” he warned her. “That only makes it worse.”

“Okay, then,” she said slowly. “I’m sure you’re not nice. Is that better?”

He surprised her by smiling. A casual but friendly smile. One that made her forget how to breathe.

“Not by much.” He took her elbow and led her into an empty meeting room. “So what’s the deal? Why don’t you want to be on the show with me?”

It was hard to think with his fingers curled around her elbow like that. In her world, men didn’t touch her. They barely knew she was alive.

He was standing too close. How was she supposed to think with him taking up all the air in the room? While this would be a good time to self-edit, the truth bubbled up before she could stop it.

“Look at you,” she said. “You’re this gorgeous guy. You could have anyone. You should be hitting on coeds. You’re not anyone who would be interested in someone like me. Even ignoring the age difference, I’m not your type. Do you know what I do in my regular life? I’m an accountant. Look up boring in the dictionary and you’ll find some version of me.”

Knowing that if she didn’t get some small measure of self-control soon, she was going to make an even deeper hole to fall into, Aurelia pulled her arm free and stepped back.

Instead of looking horrified, Stephen appeared amused. Humor brightened his eyes, and one corner of his mouth twitched slightly.

“That’s quite a list,” he told her. “Where should I start?”

“No,” she said with a sigh. “I understand this is my fault. I should never have signed up to do the show. I didn’t really want to, it’s just …” She twisted her hands together. “At the risk of being a cliché, my mother made me do it. She’s always on me about stuff. And the money. I thought … maybe, if there was someone else, it would be easier to stand up to her.” She groaned. “That makes me sound so pathetic.”

“Hey, I get it. I know what it’s like when someone in your family thinks they can run your life. Not wanting to do what they say doesn’t mean you don’t love them.”

Aurelia wasn’t sure what she felt for her mother. Love, of course, but sometimes the love felt more dutiful than sincere. Which made her a horrible person, she knew.

“My brother flew here from Alaska to yell at me about leaving college,” Stephen said. “That’s how much he doesn’t want me to do this.”

“What’s wrong with you doing the show?” She did the math in her head, then looked at him. “You’re really close to graduating, aren’t you?”




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