“I mean, she’ll miss her flight, that’s what I mean,” Buddy said, mouthing each word slowly and distinctly, as if his family’s elevators didn’t go all the way to the top. It is a trial, living with people who can’t understand the simplest facts, he thought. “Are there any brownies left?” he asked of no one in particular, and started out of the room.

Cole grabbed him by the arm and plastered him against the wall. The hard stare was unmistakable. Buddy began to get nervous. His brother was mad.

“How do you know she’ll miss her plane, Buddy?” Cole’s voice was very quiet. “What have you done?”

That he’d done something, there was no doubt. Cole had also known his brother too long to miss the look of feigned innocence.

“Well, it was obvious that you weren’t going to do something,” he accused, and pushed Cole’s hands off his arms. “So it was left up to me, that’s all.”

“I repeat,” Cole said. “What the holy hell did you do?”

“I put my castle and princess computer game in her luggage, that’s all,” Buddy said.

Cole’s mouth dropped. He slapped his forehead with his hand to keep from slapping his brother instead. “You don’t mean the—”

Case was lost. He didn’t understand these Brownfield men. He was still having a hard time understanding the woman. “I don’t get it,” he asked Morgan and Cole. “What’s the big deal about a game? Everyone has them.”

“Not like Buddy’s,” Cole said. “It’s one of a kind, and it looks like a remote control for detonating a bomb. Remember when we came to Oklahoma last year? Well, we spent several hours in LAX trying to explain that our brother is a harmless nut.”

Cole spun around and slammed his fist against the wall. “For the love of God, Buddy. You’ll get her arrested, and you know it. What were you thinking?”

Buddy looked at them as if they’d suddenly lost their minds. He couldn’t understand it. How could he have a family so dense? “I was thinking that you love her but that you’re terribly stupid.”

“Oh,” Cole said. There was nothing else to say. He patted the baby’s tiny back. “It was nice meeting you, Charlie,” he said quickly. “I’ll be back later. I’ve got a plane to catch.”

“She won’t be on the plane,” Buddy reminded him.

“She will kill us all,” Cole said, and made a run for the door.

Chapter 12

If anyone had told her she’d be running away, Debbie would have called him a liar. But the truth was, she’d met her match. It was time to face facts, no matter how much they hurt. Cole might love her, but he didn’t trust her. And without trust, there was no love.