He scooted his hand beneath her shoulder and pulled her toward him, resting her weight against his lap until he could slide his other arm beneath her knees. Then he stood, carefully shifted his load until he had her in a firm grip, and walked back toward the house with her weary head bobbing against his bicep.

The breeze teased at her hair as the sun played across her face. Guilt followed every step. The movement didn’t even faze her.

My God! She’s got to be exhausted to sleep through all this.

He glared at his father and brother, stalked through the door Buddy was holding open, and left them behind.

Morgan watched the look of protective possession playing across his eldest son’s face. A smile came and went. He’s finally coming to his senses, he thought. Nothing would please him more than to see a relationship develop between those two.

*  *  *

The door to Debbie’s room was closed, and rather than take a chance on waking her, Cole chose the only open door down the hall.

His!

He laid her down in the midst of his unmade bed, shifting cover and pillows that he’d abandoned only hours before. The pale-green jumpsuit she was wearing would be wrinkled, but there was nothing he could do about that. The thought of trying to remove it without waking her did cross his mind. But the thought came and went so fast, he knew it was only a notion, not an intent. He unbuckled the straps of her sandals and slipped off her shoes.

The moment Debbie’s head touched the pillow, she turned on her side, slid her hand beneath her cheek, and burrowed beneath the loose covers like a little mole.

Cole’s smile was as gentle as the touch he left on her cheek. He closed the door and walked away.

“Is she all right?” Morgan asked. “We didn’t mean to be thoughtless. She was sleeping so peacefully, it seemed the only kind thing to do.” He shrugged, softening his explanation with a smile.

“She’s in my bed,” Cole said. “She’s exhausted. We’ve been expecting entirely too much of her. Have you looked at her lately?” He fixed Buddy with a pointed stare that sent him scurrying into his computer room without answering. “Hell’s fire, she’s so damned little, I don’t know where she keeps the energy she has, but it’s obviously used up. From now on, we give her some space.”

“You’re right, son,” Morgan said. “You’re absolutely right!”

Cole nodded, glad that his concern had gotten through to at least one member of this family.