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His eyes widened. He was surprised. As surprised as she’d been when she’d answered the phone that morning at her shop to find out why Elise Murphy had called. “Your mother hired me to spruce up your place, from the cobwebs in the rafters downward, before your homecoming. Next week.”
“My mother’s been dragging my dad on a tour of the western half of the U.S. for the past two months.”
“Yes, and because she wasn’t here to do it herself, she asked me.” Fay stood, dug the set of keys from her pocket and laid them on the table. “She gave me the code and told me to get the keys from Laurie, which I did. Good thing for you I’m just about done, except for that mess.”
He reached for her when she started to turn, taking her arm. His hand, big and strong, yet gentle in its hold, slowly slid downward.
It was the first time he’d touched her since …
His thumb swept across the inside of her wrist, and she wondered if he could feel the pounding in her pulse. She raised her gaze to his.
His eyes darkened. “You’ve really been coming here and cleaning?”
“Considering the condition you left this place in, it was needed.” She pulled from his grasp. “You’re lucky you have such great parents.”
“I didn’t have time to clean up before I left. Remember?”
Oh, she remembered.
Walking in that first day had taken her breath away. Seeing the blankets still on the floor caused the memories of their lovemaking to rush back to her.
Waking in his arms, the emotional onslaught of shame over what they’d done and the unrelenting truth of how much she wanted him again. Grabbing her clothes. Racing to the bathroom to get dressed. Adam stepping out of his bedroom in his camouflage battle dress uniform.
The regret she could read on his face.
She’d tried to put the memories out of her mind as she worked, reminding herself she was getting paid for this job. More than that, she was doing a favor for Alastair and Elise Murphy. Adam’s parents had been so nice to her over the last six months. There’d been no way she could’ve said no.
“Well, I guess your mom’s idea worked for both of us.” Fay crossed the kitchen and pulled out a broom and dustpan from the pantry. “You’ve got a sparkling home, and I got some much-needed cash.”
“My mom is paying you?”
Fay didn’t look at him as she bent to sweep up the remains of the pot. “What’s wrong with that?”
“What about your shop? Are you still open for business?”
Six days a week. The pregnancy was making her more tired than she’d ever been in her life, but taking it easy wasn’t something she could afford at the moment. “My shop is just fine, but a little extra money never hurts.”
He crossed his arms over his chest. “Are you strapped for cash?”
“No.” Surprised at how easy the second lie she’d told today fell from her lips, she dumped the broken pieces into the trash. “This was just a side job, and now that you’re home, there’s no need for me to come back.”
“Fay—”
“I need to go.” Her control over her wayward emotions faded fast. She had to get out of here before she burst into tears. Or worse. Walking past him, she gave him a wide berth, pausing to grab her purse and keys from the table. “I have to get back to the shop.”
“No one knows I’m home yet.”
She paused, her hand on the handle, not turning around.
“I arrived yesterday, ahead of everyone else,” Adam continued, his voice carrying across the room, “but just so you know, the return date for the entire unit has been moved up. You should be getting notified.”
Tears burned at the back of her eyes. Why would she be called about the new date? It wasn’t like she had anyone coming home.
“I’m trying to lay low,” Adam went on, “get used to being home before I see … anyone.”
“Don’t worry.” A sob caused her breath to hitch as she yanked open the door. “Your secret is safe with me.”
Adam waited until late Saturday afternoon before heading to the Murphy family compound. There was no sign of his parents’ RV camper even though they’d emailed everyone this morning to say they’d be home by dinnertime.
He pulled his pickup truck into the parking area at the rear of the sprawling two-story log home that also served as the corporate office for Murphy Mountain Log Homes, and cut the engine.
He sat for a moment and took in the buildings and grounds. A feeling of peace filled him.
The first person he saw was his niece, Abby.
Nolan’s oldest child, she sat in the gazebo that was a thirtieth-anniversary gift from him and his brothers to their parents a decade ago. Head bent, her long blond hair hid her face as she concentrated on whatever she held in her hands.
He got out of his truck and headed up the path toward her. The sun was warm through the cotton material of his short-sleeved shirt. Boy, it felt good to be in civilian clothes again, to be wearing cowboy boots instead of combat boots.
Abby evidently didn’t hear him approach. As soon as he saw her fingers flying over the smooth keyboard of her cell phone he knew why. So he leaned against the open door frame. “Hey, is this the Murphy place?”
Her head shot up. “Yeah?”
He tugged down his mirrored sunglasses and peeked at her over the rim. A wide smile came over her face.
“Uncle Adam!”
Jumping into his arms, she gave him a big hug. Abby and her brothers were visiting their mother in Boston when he was last home in April, so it’d been eleven months since he’d seen them. What a difference a year made.
“Boy, have you gotten tall.” He returned her hug, set her down and righted his sunglasses. “And even prettier, if that’s possible. Where are the twins?”
Abby grinned at his compliment and rolled her eyes. “You mean Tweedledum and Tweedledumber? Probably inside playing video games on Uncle Dev’s computer.”
Adam laughed. “Is that any way to talk about your brothers?”
“I’ve heard you all calling each other worse names than that,” she shot back. “Most of which I’m not allowed to repeat.”
“Hey, those weren’t meant for young ears.”
She tucked her phone into her pocket. “My ears turned sixteen last winter.”
“Something I’m sure your father is thrilled about.” Adam laid an arm across her shoulders. “Where is everyone?”
She gestured toward the main house. “Having their usual Saturday afternoon wrap-up before a family barbeque. Nana and Pop are coming home today. Aren’t you supposed to be overseas?”
“Yep, so let’s surprise them.” Adam headed up the walkway, his niece tucked in close next to him. “Glad school is out?”
He listened as Abby chattered about her summer plans, his gaze moving around the family’s property that bordered a lake with an official Indian name too difficult to pronounce so everyone just called it “the lake.” There were two smaller log homes that sat nestled in the surrounding trees and the skeletal framing of a third that stood closer to the water near the boathouse.
Nolan had moved into the larger home with his three kids after they’d moved back to Destiny a couple of years ago. According to an email from his mother, the newlyweds, Bryant and Laurie, occupied the one-bedroom cabin where he’d lived for a few years. What he couldn’t see was the log chapel situated deeper in the woods his family had built and where Bryant and Laurie were married last fall.
They entered the main house through his mother’s kitchen, right off the oversize deck. The large and sunny room, like the rest of the place, had grown and changed over the years as the family and the business had. Back here, and the two wings on either side, was where his three single brothers still lived along with his folks.
The front of the house was comprised of offices, conference rooms, a wide staircase that led to the second-story guest quarters and a reception area that doubled as a gathering spot for clients, staff and, on the weekends, family.
A hard kick of anticipation landed in Adam’s stomach. This past year had been tough, especially with his unit losing two of its own during this last tour. Escorting the body of his best friend home the previous summer had been the hardest duty Adam had ever done during his twenty years of service.
Despite all that, he was damn glad to be back in Destiny.
“Dad said you wouldn’t be back for another week.” Abby looked up at him and grinned. “Wait here. I’ll let him know someone wants to see him. They’re all gonna be stupefied when you walk into the room.”
His niece’s unique description was a step above the reaction he’d gotten yesterday from Fay.
Waiting out of sight on the other side of the large log archway, his mind went back to everything he and Fay had said—and didn’t say—to each other.
Much like he’d done ever since she’d walked out his door.
He wanted to call her, to see if she was feeling all right. She’d looked so tired. But every time he grabbed his cell phone, something kept him from dialing her number.
His plan to steer clear was going to be impossible to keep. He’d known that the moment he’d first seen her, touched her.
Except he was sure Fay didn’t feel the same way.
“Hey, Dad, you got a visitor outside.” Abby’s voice carried across the room. “Can I show him in?”
“Now?” His brother’s reply was laced with irritation.
Adam grinned. Nolan was the next in line after him, younger with less than two years separating them, so his annoyance was nothing new.
“The last thing I want right now is to put on a happy face for a client.”
“How about for a brother?” Adam stepped out and headed for the U-shaped seating area in front of the large stone fireplace. “Can I put a grin on that ugly mug of yours?”
Chaos broke out as everyone jumped to their feet and rushed him. Nolan reached him first, his smile broad and sincere. Adam found himself returning hugs with each of his brothers and high-fiving his thirteen-year-old nephews who came to see what all the noise was about.
He ignored Dev’s whispered comment about owing him for keeping his mouth shut, congratulated his kid brother Ric on earning his college degree and ended with giving his new sister-in-law a big kiss since he’d missed seeing her in April, as she’d been traveling on company business.
“Well done, you two.” He shot Bryant a wink. “Glad that brother of mine finally made an honest woman of you.”
“When I told him he either had to marry me or find himself a new senior management accountant, he finally came around.” Laurie grinned. “We’re sorry you couldn’t be there for the ceremony.”
“No worries.” He’d had a trip home planned last October for the wedding, but his plans had been changed at the last minute, courtesy of the U.S. military. “Glad you went ahead without me. We Murphy boys aren’t just good-looking. We’re smart, too.”
“Smart enough to stay single,” Liam called out, returning from the kitchen with handfuls of cold beers. “At least some of us are. Here, bro. You must be wanting one of these.”
Before he could take a sip from the bottle, Adam spotted his parents as they entered the main room through the archway he’d used moments ago. It gave him a thrill to see both of them looking tanned, fit and happy.
“Well, this is a fine welcoming committee.” The clear, sweet voice of Elise Murphy rose over their chatter as she walked into the room. “I expected to find everyone out enjoying this beautiful day and someone manning the grill already …”
Adam stepped out from behind his brothers, who all stood at close to six feet, to face his parents, smiling when his mother stopped short, her words fading when she spotted him. “Sorry, Mom. I guess we got a little carried away talking.”
“Adam!” Elise Murphy raced to him and he pulled her into his arms, easily lifting the petite woman off her feet. “Oh, you’re home!”
Chapter Three
The noise level in the room rose again as the entire Murphy clan joined in welcoming their parents home, but Adam became lost in his mother’s reverent whispered prayers of thanks and the warm dampness of her tears against his neck.
“I can’t believe you’re finally here,” she said, cradling his face in her hands when Adam set her feet back on the floor. “And early, too!”
“Home for good, Mom.” Adam pressed a kiss to her forehead as she released him.
Switching his beer from one had to the other, he kept one arm around her shoulders while returning his father’s strong handshake. But he was momentarily confused by the look in the older man’s eyes.
It reminded him of when he was a kid. Like all parents, his dad had an uncanny ability of finding out when one of his children had done something wrong before the offender got the chance to confess.
In the past forty-eight hours? Without leaving his house?
Adam didn’t think so.
“It’s good to have you home, son.” Alistair Murphy pulled him into a quick hug, complete with the familiar hearty slap to the back. “Real good.”
“Thanks, Dad.”
Adam took a long pull on his beer as everyone sat except the teenagers, who disappeared again with a warning to come back when the dinner preparations started. He then explained how he was able to return to the States ahead of his unit, admitting he spent the last two days holed up alone at his place.
Not exactly the truth, but there was no reason to go into Fay’s visit.
The gleam in Dev’s eye told him his brother was about to mention the mystery of his clean house. Adam quickly turned the conversation to Liam and Bryant, who gave details on the day-to-day running of the business. Then Dev weighed in on the company’s home security program and Nolan spoke about their latest design projects with customers from Hollywood’s A-list to Washington, D.C.’s power players.
Impressed, Adam felt even surer of his plans to concentrate on his ranch, knowing his younger brothers were handling things just fine without him. Although retired, their father was still involved in the company, as evidenced by the way he jumped into the conversation here and there. He even solicited Adam’s opinion a few times, but Adam didn’t take the bait, seeing no reason for his father to expect him to come back to the fold.
“Okay, enough business talk. Let’s get this barbeque going. I’m ready for a steak, blood-rare,” Alistair Murphy commanded, and soon everyone fell in, heading to the kitchen or the back deck to do their assigned chore.
Except Adam, who found himself alone with his parents, who asked him what his plans were now. Not ready to discuss his ideas yet, he told them the next few weeks were for nothing but getting reaccustomed to civilian life.
“I haven’t had a vacation in years,” he said with a smile. “I think I’ve earned some time off.”
“Of course you have, dear.” His mother patted his arm. “This is why I’m so glad Fay agreed to get your place spiffed up for you. Did she get everything done in time?”
Fay had done much more than just clean up the mess he’d left behind, something he’d only noticed after she’d walked out yesterday. “Yeah, the house looks great. I was really surprised.”
“Good, that was the idea.” Elise rose from the sofa. “Now, we better get dinner on the table or it’ll be dark before I can start emptying that camper.”
“Can I ask you something first?” Pushing to his feet, Adam addressed both his parents. “Scott’s been gone almost a year now. How is Fay doing? How are his folks?”
His father stood and his parents glanced at each other before looking back at him. Why did he have a feeling he wasn’t going to like what they had to say?
“We told you about Scott’s father suffering a stroke just after New Year’s,” his father said.
