* * *

Still sitting by the creek, Wyatt held his head in his hands. He’d seen the hurt in Erin’s eyes when he laced into her. Despite his initial outrage, he’d had no reason for lighting into her the way he had. Damn it. Normally he went out of his way not to hurt people’s feelings. With Erin, he’d pressed a merciless attack on her femininity, and now he was furious with himself. In fact, when he considered all the angles, he’d be better off mentally and physically if he were playing for the other team. At least then he wouldn’t be plagued with erotic dreams about a female deputy with handcuffs on her belt.

A tingling sensation suddenly washed over Wyatt’s skin, and he snapped erect. Someone or something was approaching him. For a moment, he hoped it might be Erin returning, but he quickly discarded that possibility. She never set off his inner alarms, which was yet another thing about her that messed with his head. He could always sense it when another person or an animal got within a certain distance of him.

He glanced over his shoulder and saw Kennedy angling through the cinnamon trunks of the massive pines to reach the log where he was sitting. Wyatt knew it was no accident that his brother had sought him out. This spot along the creek was too far away from the ranch proper to draw passersby. The afternoon breeze suddenly picked up, stirring the pine boughs so briskly that splashes of sunlight danced over the forest floor.

“Hey,” Wyatt said by way of greeting.

Tall and lean like Wyatt, Kennedy sat next to him on the fallen tree, his bent knees forming bony squares under the snug denim of his pant legs. “Hey,” he replied, his expression troubled. “What were you and Erin talking about? She looked upset when she left, and I’ve got a really bad feeling it’s my fault.”

Wyatt sharpened his gaze on Kennedy’s face. “Why would you think that?”

Kennedy hung his head for a moment. Then he looked up so Wyatt could see his lips. “Because I’m the one who told her you’re gay.”

It took Wyatt a moment to assimilate that. “You did what?”

“I’m sorry, bro. But it was all I could think to do!” As often occurred, Kennedy stopped communicating verbally and switched to American Sign Language, a habit that both he and Wyatt had developed during personal exchanges, because accurate lip reading took all of Wyatt’s concentration and quickly exhausted him. Hands moving rapidly, Kennedy continued. “She was about to quit her job, all because she’s gotten it into her head that men don’t like women who wear uniforms. I overheard her talking to Slade and Vickie about it. How she was planning to go back to college and she’d no longer be able to afford the rent on her cottage. I had to do something. She was about to destroy her whole life! Since I knew your disinterest had nothing to do with her personally, I decided to tell her the truth.”