She rolled her eyes and fought a surge of anger. “Come on, J.D., you haven’t shown much interest in them until now. Why all of a sudden? Don’t tell me that just because you had a motorcycle accident you’ve had some kind of epiphany, because I won’t believe it. It’s not your style.”

“And you know what my ‘style,’ as you call it, is?” His voice was low. Way too sexy. It brought back all those old, ridiculous emotions that she’d fought for much too long a time.

“Unfortunately, yes. I think I already mentioned that you’re too independent, irreverent and self-serving to work for your father.”

His eyes glinted with male challenge. “No doubt he’d agree with you, but he didn’t have much choice because he seems to think blood is thicker than water.”

“Is it?” There was no use continuing this conversation. “Time will tell.” She turned toward her little girl. “Chrissie, I’m going into the house and check on Stephen. Stay in the backyard.”

The imp, squatting and watching a butterfly flit from one dandelion head to another, didn’t reply.

“I’ll watch her,” J.D. offered.

“The gate’s locked, she’ll be all right,” Tiffany retorted. “You don’t have to—”

“I said I’ll watch her.”

Fine. What did she care? “I’ll just be inside,” Tiffany said rather than argue with the man. She stalked through the house and up the stairs, telling herself that she only had a few weeks with J.D. so close at hand, several months at the most. She could handle it.

She had no choice.

A DO NOT ENTER sign was posted on the doorknob of Stephen’s room. Tiffany ignored it, tapped lightly on the door and opened it herself.

Stephen was half lying on his unmade bed, staring up at pictures of models and rock bands and fast cars that he’d taped to the ceiling. His guitar lay across his abdomen and his injured eye was nearly swollen shut. He rolled it toward her as she approached. “I want you to come with me to the emergency clinic and I don’t want to hear anything else about it,” Tiffany said.

“Forget it.”

“We’re going, and right now. I can’t take a chance with your eye. So come on and get into the car. On the way there you can tell me why you and Miles got into it.”

“It wasn’t a big deal.”