Cole waved his arms in the air, renouncing the issue as out of his hands, and left. Buddy disappeared into his room, leaving Morgan alone. Silence was a rare occurrence in the Brownfield house, and Morgan relished the opportunity to lean back and close his eyes.

*  *  *

His wife had died years ago, leaving him alone with five children to raise. Lily, his only daughter, was the only one who’d moved out of the house. She and her husband, Case Longren, lived on a ranch outside of Clinton, Oklahoma, and were about to present him with his first grandchild. The way things looked, it might also be his only one.

Cole, a detective with the Laguna Beach Police Department, was a loner. Buddy, his middle son, was a virtual genius and loved only one thing: his computers. The youngest were the twins, J.D. and Dusty, actors who, at the present time, were away on location of the latest film on which they were working.

Morgan opened his eyes, glanced down at his watch, and reached for the remote control of his television. It was almost time for Wheel of Fortune. He decided to let Debbie wear off the traces of travel. Tomorrow was soon enough for a welcome.

*  *  *

Debbie rolled over on her back, stared blankly up at an unfamiliar ceiling, then down at herself, and wondered where she was and why she’d just spent the night in her clothes. Suddenly, the memory of yesterday came rushing back along with a sick feeling that the man she’d most wanted to impress had all but poured her into bed. At least I’m still alive, she thought. So much for great first impressions.

She rolled out of bed, standing for a moment just to assure herself that the world had finally stopped spinning, and then sighed with relief. Things felt pretty close to normal and that was good enough for her. She pulled her suitcases onto the bed and began to unpack, taking time as she worked to appreciate the very feminine wallpaper and the soft pastel colors on the bed and matching curtains. Framed pictures on the wall indicated she was in Lily’s old room. It made this trip just the least bit less uncomfortable, knowing that she was in the room in which her good friend had grown up.

Volunteering to come had been one thing. Giving up her job as a cashier in a grocery store wasn’t exactly giving up a life-long career. Now that her brother, Douglas, was finally out of college and more or less on his own, she could think about herself. Knowing that she was going to live in the same house with the first man she’d met in years who had even made her think of lasting relationships had been another altogether.