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  Fisher had been having weird dreams all night, but this one took the cake. Beyond the constant ringing in his ears, he thought he heard someone come into the house and walk down the hall.

  “Maybe that conk on the head was worse than the doctor thought.”

  That sounded like his cousin Ben, but what would Ben be doing here?

  “Mom said Jesse James spent the night with Fisher, waking him up every hour.” Hunter’s voice cut through Fisher’s foggy mind. “And there’s definitely more than one body in that bed. I never thought I’d see the day my brother would be spooning with a guy.”

  “It could be a woman,” Ben argued. “Maybe we should let them be.”

  God, this was no dream. It was a fucking nightmare.

  “And miss this? Hell no.” Fisher swore if he weren’t already dead, he’d kill Hunter. “Besides, I know for a fact this guy Jesse James is the sports reporter Karma’s dating. Look at them. If that’s a woman, she’s an Amazon. She’s as tall as Fisher.”

  Hunter and their cousin, Ben, were standing over his dead body talking about Jessica.

  But he wasn’t dead. He couldn’t be. If he were dead, he wouldn’t be in so much damn pain.

  Startled, Jessica moved in his arms as if she’d heard the same thing he had. Shit. Maybe it wasn’t a dream or a nightmare after all.

  A flash of heat flew through Jessie’s body as her stomach tied itself into a knot. Not only was Fisher’s family staring at her body covered with only a flimsy sheet, but they thought she was a man.

  God, it was just like high school all over again. They’d dared Jamie to find out if she was a hermaphrodite—and taking her virginity had earned him bonus points. The memory of the stares and incessant whispering behind her back had her shaking and feeling like she’d just taken another dunk in the river.

  The more things changed, the more they stayed the same. The only difference now was that this was the first time it ever happened in front of her. Worse yet, she could tell by the way Fisher tightened his hold, that he’d heard every word.

  The front door slammed open, and she jumped.

  “Ben, Hunter! Get the hell out of there.”

  Karma’s voice screamed down the hall, followed by running footsteps. “Fisher, Jessie, I’m so sorry. I had no idea.”

  “You knew Fisher was sleeping with your boyfriend?”

  “Hunter, Jessie’s not my boyfriend, you ass. She’s Fisher’s girlfriend.”

  Jessie heard a grunt that sounded as if one of the guys just had the wind knocked out of him.

  “Dammit, Karma. You didn’t have to slug me. How the hell was I supposed to know?”

  Jessie’d had just about as much as she could take. She removed Fisher’s hand from her breast and grabbed the sheet that had sometime during the last hour been pulled over her head and brought it down under her chin, so she could see the group standing in the doorway. “Hi.” She sat, making sure the sheet covered her breasts. “I’m Jessie, and I assure you, I’m one hundred percent female. Sorry to burst your bubble.”

  Fisher sat and grabbed his head. “Now would you mind getting the hell out of the room so we can get dressed and I can figure out how to apologize to Jessica?” Fisher did his best to smile, but the green tinge to his skin and the tension in his face just made him look scary. “Jessica, this is my brother Dumb, and my cousin Dumber, a.k.a. Hunter and Ben. You already know Karma, since the two of you have reportedly been dating.”

  The brawny guy stood there with his mouth hanging open. “Damn, you look like shit.”

  Fisher’s arm came around her. “Hunter, you’d better be talking about me and not Jessica, or I’ll really have to kill you.”

  “Of course, I’m talking about you. And hey, you can’t blame me. Karma had us all believing Jesse James was a man.”

  “Yeah, but I was smart enough to put two and two together once I saw her. Then again, I’ve always been the brains of the family. Now get your collective asses out of here.”

  Ben waved a hand as he backed into the hall. “I knew Jessie was a woman all along. Sorry for barging in. Fisher, Jessie—we’ll wait for you outside. Take your time.”

  Karma shoved the still shocked and sputtering Hunter out the door and followed the guys, closing the door behind her.

  Jessie let out a breath and covered her face with her hands. She didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

  Fisher kissed her temple. “I’m trying to come up with an appropriate apology, but I’m at a loss. I don’t even know where to begin.”

  Jessie knew her face was still flaming. She probably looked like she had a third-degree burn, but she’d have to face Fisher sooner or later. She pulled her hands away and did her best to smile. She must have missed the mark, because his face went from mad to enraged. “It’s fine. They were just concerned about you. Are you okay? You look a little green.”

  “I’m pissed as hell, and if I’m green, it’s only because I sat up too fast and my headache is kicking my ass. I’m so damn sorry. Remind me to get my keys back from them before they leave.”

  “You know, now that your family is here…” She scooted away from him. All she could think about was getting dressed and getting the hell out of there—preferably through the back door.

  “Oh no, you don’t. You can’t leave me with those imbeciles.”

  “It’s fine, Fisher. No harm done. I’ve heard a lot worse.”

  “What could be worse than what just happened?”

  “Believe me, you don’t want to know. Just drop it.”

  “Haven’t you figured out by now that I want to know everything there is to know about you?”

  “Why?”

  “Because I care about you.”

  He was serious. She looked into his eyes and saw no deception, no agenda, no doubt. His lips quirked into the smile she’d come to know so well, a little tender, a little naughty, and a lot sexy, just before he kissed her forehead, her closed eyes, and then her lips. So soft, so warm, so gentle. His hand cupped the back of her head and drew her close. She wanted to sink into him, she wanted to believe, and she wanted to ignore the voice in her head screaming at her to run.

  ***

  Fisher ended the kiss and watched the emotions race across Jessica’s face. At first he’d felt her sliding towards acceptance and then do a U-turn straight into panic. “Breathe.” Damn, it was a good thing he hadn’t told her he loved her. That would have really gone over well.

  Her eyes turned glassy, and for a second, he thought she was about to cry. If he was capable, he’d go beat the crap out of Ben and Hunter for upsetting Jess, but then, in his condition, he wasn’t sure he’d even make it down the hall. “Darlin’, you’re gonna start turning blue if you don’t breathe.”

  “I’m breathing.” She dragged in a deep breath and blew it out. “Are you happy now?”

  “I’d be a lot happier if I didn’t have my family sitting in my den waiting for us.”

  “Us?” She blanched, and he tightened his hold on her as she eyed the door to the patio, looking for an escape. He couldn’t blame her, but he sure as hell could stop her.

  “Yeah, us, as in you and me.” He took her clammy hand in his. “Come on. We need to get dressed. If we don’t see what they want, we’ll never get rid of them.”

  He stood, and his head spun.

  “Fisher, I can’t go out there.”

  “Sure you can. They’re the only ones who have anything to be embarrassed about. It should be fun to watch the three of them grovel. Ben and Hunter have had a lot of practice lately, but it’ll be good to see how Karma does. It’ll definitely be a first.”

  “You think this is fun? God, Fisher, they thought I was a man.”

  “You were covered from head to toe. They had no way of knowing what a beautiful woman you are.”

  She let out a brittle laugh that made his heart ache as well as his head. “Yeah, right.” She dug through the bag she’d tossed on the chair, pulling out clothes, examining them, a
nd then discarding most. When she saw his questioning gaze, she threw a T-shirt on the bed. “I hadn’t planned to meet anyone when I packed for a weekend in a mountain cabin.”

  Fisher held onto the wall as he approached her. Jessica, who’d always been so strong, seemed to wilt in front of him. He stumbled over to her, wrapped his arm around her waist, drew her back against him, and kissed her shoulder. “What you wear doesn’t matter. You’d look beautiful wearing a potato sack.”

  She shot him a withering glance over the same shoulder he’d just kissed, grabbed a thong, a pair of yoga pants, a bra, and the Nike T-shirt she’d chosen, and then shot into the bathroom. It took him awhile to get there, because he had to hold on to furniture or walls to make sure he didn’t fall over. When he slid in behind her, she had already dressed and was brushing her hair as if she were attacking it.

  “Jessica, calm down, darlin’. Just give them a chance to apologize, and I’ll get rid of them.”

  She stared at his reflection in the mirror. “Why don’t you just go along without me? There’s really nothing to apologize for, considering my size. They just jumped to a natural conclusion.”

  Fisher winced. “That I’d sleep with a man. I don’t think so.” He grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the bathroom. The movement made him nauseous, but shit, he just wanted this nightmare to be over, and the longer they waited, the worse things seemed to get.

  ***

  Trapper stepped into Fisher’s house and found Ben and Hunter running down the hall toward him, with Karma hot on their heels, hitting them over the head and screaming.

  “I can’t believe you guys just barged in on them. What the hell were you thinking?”

  Hunter stopped short, almost running into Trapper. “We were thinking Fisher was in bed with Jesse James. That’s what we were thinking. And we weren’t that far off.”

  “What?” Trapper asked. “Did you just say Fisher was in bed with another man? Damn, and I missed it? Did Fisher know he was sleeping with a guy?”

  Karma put her hands on her hips, and Trapper was tempted to step back. She looked madder than a hornet on flypaper. “He wasn’t sleeping with a man. He was sleeping with Jessie.”

  “You mean that sports reporter?”

  “Yes, Jessica is a woman, not that these two Einsteins could figure it out.”

  Hunter shook his head. “As soon as Fisher’s better, he’s going to kill us.”

  “You deserve it after what you just said about Jessie.” Karma smacked Hunter upside the head again.

  Trapper looked at his brother and cousin and raised an eyebrow.

  Hunter threw up his hands. “She’s gotta be six feet tall. Hell, she was able to drag Fisher’s ass from the river to the cabin. She’s no lightweight.”

  “You make her sound like Magilla Gorilla.”

  “We assumed exactly what you wanted us to, Karma.” Hunter turned his attention to Ben and Trapper. “She set us up. Correction—she set Fisher up. Trapper, Karma knew you were leaving town, and that I couldn’t get away from Castle Rock. If Fisher should be pissed at anyone, it’s her.”

  Ben cleared his throat. “Okay, okay, this is getting us nowhere. Obviously, it’s all Fisher’s fault.”

  “What?” Fisher’s voice came from down the hall. “How is it my fault that you two assholes came into my bedroom uninvited and insulted my girlfriend? And what the hell are you doing here, Trapper? I thought you were on one of your seventy-two-hour flings.”

  “Mom called.”

  “You answer the phone when you’re with a woman?”

  “Only if the caller ID comes up ‘Mom.’ And let me tell you, it’s a mood killer for sure, especially when she tells me my little brother almost drowned in the damn river.”

  “I was rescuing Jessica.”

  Trapper gave the woman in question a thorough once-over and winked. “I’m sorry. We haven’t been introduced. I’m Trapper Kincaid, obviously the smarter brother. I’d have never mistaken you for a man.”

  “God, Fisher.” Karma’s hand flew to her mouth, and she sucked in a shocked breath. “Are you okay?”

  Trapper sized up Fisher and cringed. His little brother looked about ready to fall over. He gave the phrase “pasty complexion” a bad name and didn’t even sound like himself. “You look like the walking dead.”

  “Yeah, and it’s great to see you too, Trap.”

  Jessie slid under the arm Fisher wasn’t using to hold himself up and took some of his weight. It was as if they had some kind of silent communication. Fisher held onto Jessie like a lifeline.

  Trapper had never seen Fisher lean on anyone. Ever. He would have sooner expected Fisher to crawl up the hall before he’d ever asked for help. He was always the one to carry the extra load.

  Hunter stepped forward and looked Jessie right in the eye. “Wow, you sure look different than I’d imagined under the sheet. Then again, I’d imagined a guy.”

  Trapper sized up the group. Only Ben seemed smart enough to stay out of Karma’s reach, and she looked ready to tear into Hunter again. One word from Fisher, and if Toni ever wanted kids, she and Hunter would have to adopt. Jessie looked mortified.

  Hunter’s stupid, crooked smile seemed to crumble, along with whatever was left of Jessie’s composure. “Sorry about that,” Hunter continued. “All I saw was the outline of your body, and you’re really tall for a woman.” He licked his lips. “I mean, well, I mean in a good way. Fisher’s always been drawn to sturdy women.”

  Jessie’s cheeks sharpened with color.

  “You know, Hunter,” Trapper said, “as a judge, I can assure you that when Fisher kills you, it will be considered justifiable homicide.”

  Jessie wanted to disappear—all five foot eleven and three-quarters of her. She had everyone’s attention. She wished she was a half foot shorter, about sixty pounds lighter, and well, girly.

  Jessie held Fisher up and cursed under her breath when she saw how much worse he looked than just a few minutes ago. “You need to lie down, and it’s time for your painkillers.” She spoke only to him, doing her best to ignore his family. “You should eat something too. We missed dinner last night.” She walked him to the couch and figured it would be easier to get him into a sitting position if she sat along with him, holding him on the way down. She was afraid he’d drop like a stone if she didn’t.

  Karma, Ben, Trapper, and Hunter all stared with matching expressions of disbelief. She’d always used her height to her advantage; it had always been the great equalizer in men’s locker rooms. But now, in front of Fisher and his family, it was turned against her. It wasn’t as if she didn’t know Fisher was way out of her league, even looking half-dead. She needed to get her game face back on. “I’ll just run and get you some water for your pills.”

  “Hang on a second.” Fisher kept his arm around her shoulder and held her firmly in her seat. For a guy who looked about ready to pass out, he was surprisingly strong. “All of you, apologize to Jessica, and then get the hell out of here. Oh, and give me your keys before you go.”

  The four of them spoke at once, either apologizing or blaming the others, fingers were pointed, and the volume in the room rose.

  When the front door opened, all chaos stopped, and Fisher groaned. “Oh God, it’s Mom.” He kissed Jessie’s temple. “I’m so sorry about this.”

  Jessie tried to get up, but Fisher was holding her down.

  Karma closed in on Jessie’s other side. “And Grampa Joe’s here too.”

  A woman in her early fifties walked through the door, hands on hips, looking fit to be tied. “Ben and Hunter, go out to the car and bring in the food I brought. Karma, you best put coffee on if you know what’s good for you, and for God’s sake, get Fisher some water and whatever painkillers he needs.” Fisher’s mom speared Karma with a do-it-or-die glare. Her green eyes looked so much like Fisher’s, it was scary. “Trapper dear, how was your flight?”

  Trapper took off his cowboy hat and kissed his mother’s cheek. “Just f
ine, Mom. Thanks for asking. I came as soon as you called.”

  The one-woman tornado stopped directly in front of Jessie. “You must be Jessie. I’m Kate Kincaid, and I’m so sorry for whatever it is the three stooges did.”

  Jessie pushed Fisher’s arm from around her and stood as an old man using a cane barreled in beside Kate. He tapped his cane on the hardwood floor. It looked as if he used it more as a prop than a necessity. “I’m Joe Walsh. You must be the little filly who saved my grandson’s life. I’m grateful. I always knew Fisher needed a strong woman who could keep up with him. It looks like with you, Fisher’s met his match. You can call me Grampa Joe. I’m looking forward to some fine, strappin’ great-grand babies.”

  All Jessie wanted to do was strap on her running shoes and bolt. Too bad the men were guarding the door. She knew she should say something, but words escaped her, and she sat down, deflated.

  Fisher took her hand and leaned in. “Breathe.”

  Kate shook her head. “Don’t pay any attention to that old goat.”

  Hunter carried in a box of what looked like food. “I’ve got to get back up the mountain. I left Toni waiting for the guys putting in the new quad-lift.” He looked at his watch. “They should be there by now.”

  Ben followed him in. “Oh yeah, go hide behind your wife’s miniskirt.”

  Hunter elbowed Ben in the gut. “Hey, I learned from the best. Like you don’t have the plane waiting on the tarmac, so you can run back to Gina.”

  Karma jumped up to do Kate’s bidding, and Gramps took her place on the couch next to Jessie. A bottle of water and an assortment of over-the-counter pain meds were procured.

  Jessie shook her head. “Wait. Hold on a minute. Fisher can’t be left alone for the next few days.”

  Kate smiled. “I talked to Karma, and it’ll be fine. We know you don’t cook, Jessie, so we’ll be sure to bring over food until Fisher can get around on his own.” She looked around. “Okay, everyone, let’s leave these two to get some rest. Jessie, dear, you give us a call if you need anything. Anything at all.”