Kennedy leaned his head back and closed his eyes. As his lashes fluttered back up, he said, “I can’t speak for my parents or my grandpa. But if Wyatt’s gay, I’ll be fine with it.”

“Do you think your parents and grandfather may come unglued?”

He straightened and crossed his legs. “I honestly don’t know. As for never getting in Wyatt’s face about it—well, it’s not an easy subject to broach. You know? I’ve almost asked him a few times, but I lost my nerve.”

Erin remembered thinking her friend Julie was out of her mind for suggesting that Wyatt wasn’t attracted to women. It wasn’t as easy to discount the possibility with Kennedy. He was Wyatt’s brother and knew him better than anyone else. “I really appreciate your telling me this. Whether you’re right or wrong, it helps to know that Wyatt avoids all women, not only me.”

Kennedy’s shoulders relaxed. “I wanted you to know so you won’t let his lack of interest push you into changing your profession.”

Erin couldn’t help but chuckle, albeit without much humor. “So where does that leave me? I’ve been here over a year now, and not one guy has asked me out.”

“Ouch.”

“Yes, a big ouch.”

Kennedy pushed to his feet. “Thanks for lending me an ear, and please keep what I’ve told you to yourself. I feel like I’ve betrayed my brother by talking to you.”

Erin rose from the log and wrapped her arms around her waist. “You’re a good guy, Kennedy. The way Wyatt treated me yesterday did do a number on my self-confidence. And it hurt my feelings. Now I feel better about all that.” She wrinkled her nose. “Wow. I never would have hit on him if I had known.”

“Well,” he warned, “we don’t really know anything for sure.”

“True, but just being aware that it’s a probability is a Band-Aid for my wounded ego. Thank you for the heads-up.”

Kennedy gestured upstream. “I’m taking the long way back. I’d rather Wyatt doesn’t see us walking out of the woods together. He’ll wonder what we were doing down here.”

“Good thinking.” She lifted a hand. “Bye for now, and thanks again.”

* * *

Normally Erin enjoyed the drive from the ranch back into town. She watched for deer that might bound out onto the road. She tried to remember the common names of the flora that encroached on the drainage ditches. If it was fair weather and there wasn’t much traffic dust, she liked to roll down the windows and breathe in all the wonderful smells. But this afternoon she had other things to think about. In so many ways, Kennedy’s theory about Wyatt made sense. Except for the day they first met, when he’d felt obligated to nurse her injuries and transport her back to the trailhead, he’d tried to keep his distance from her. It was almost as if something about her set off all his internal alarms. She’d tried to camouflage her attraction to him with mere friendliness, but if Kennedy had noticed, it stood to reason that Wyatt had as well. Little wonder that he avoided her. He was probably afraid she would abandon subtlety and actually hit on him. That would have been embarrassing for both of them.