They all heard the sound of footsteps coming down the hall. James stepped back, a movement he made almost automatically and seemingly without thought. But that step back hurt Pamela’s heart. It hurt her that he had to do that because they weren’t home. It hurt her that she had to restrain herself from showing James affection in public. Oh, not that she’d want to stand around necking with him on a street corner. She wouldn’t do that in public with either of her men under any circumstance.
Adam relieved her of the thermos and then held her right hand. Once they were outside, heading toward the car, she deliberately reached for James’s hand, too.
“I know, sweetheart,” he said. “It’ll take some time for us to get used to how to behave in public.”
“I hate it. I hate that I can’t just show what’s in my heart.”
Adam chuckled. “You, us, and everyone else in the families. But we do have Lusty, and outward displays—or a lack of them—don’t define us or our relationship.”
“No, they don’t.” Pamela sighed. They reached the car, and she held out her hand.
“Sweetheart, I can drive,” James said. “You can snuggle with Adam in the back seat.”
“No, darling. I’ll drive. You two can sip coffee and decompress while I get us home.” She stepped toward the driver’s door. “You’re just going to have to let me take care of you in my own way when I think it’s necessary.”
Her men looked at each other. “Fair enough,” Adam said. He handed over the keys and then nodded toward the front of the car. “I’m going to have a bit of this coffee and close my eyes in the back seat.” Then he turned to James. “Please keep our wife company.”
“You don’t have to ask me twice,” James said.
Pamela settled behind the steering wheel. I won that round. As she started the car, she understood, probably for the first time, that marriage was as much a balancing act as it was anything else.
* * * *
James was used to giving his brother the space he needed. Adam had always been the more serious between them and also, in some ways, the more isolated. Over the years the family had learned to just let him be when he was troubled about something. Adam lived in his head, probably more than any man he knew.
The unexpected turn their day had taken hit him as they neared Lusty. There’d been precious little time to prepare, mentally, for surgery. They’d arrived at the hospital to discover they were short-staffed. Just as well, because he’d known Adam was completely invested in their young patient and would have fought for the right to operate.
The car slowed, and James blinked. Then they were pulling into the driveway of home. “Hell, sweetheart, I didn’t mean to doze off on you.”
“I’m very glad you did.” Pamela’s sweet smile smoothed everything.
Once inside, she looked at them. “I’ve got a hearty bean soup on the stove that will heat in moments. Come and have a bite to eat.”
Watching Pamela in nurturing mode was a wonder. The table was already set, and all they had to do was sit down and spoon the savory soup of pinto beans and tomatoes. There was a loaf of freshly made cornbread to go with it.
“This is good, baby,” Adam said. “Just the right size of supper for me tonight.”
She reached over and caressed his hand. “I’d already figured out that when you had a busy day, your appetite was smaller.”
He shook his head. To James, Adam’s smile looked sheepish. “Here we were wondering, all those weeks, if we could court you so that you would love us, and you were already tuned into us and doing just that—loving us.”
“The past doesn’t matter. The only thing that matters is I love you both. And loving you, sir, I know that, right now, you need your bed. Let’s go, Dr. Jessop.”
James began to tidy the kitchen while Pamela led Adam toward the stairs. Knowing his brother, James acknowledged that Pamela got it exactly right. If they’d been on their own after today’s surprises, Adam would have headed for the stairs the moment he got in the door. He’d likely have fallen face first onto his bed, fully clothed except for his shoes, and been asleep in seconds.
James had just finished off giving the counter a final wipe when he heard Pamela’s step in the hall. He turned and, seeing the look on her face, tossed aside the dish rag and opened his arms.
He snuggled her in tight and laid his face on the top of her head. “He’s all right, sweetheart. He’s always been like that.”
“I think I knew that. I remember one time when we were going to go out to supper, but then Adam had that car crash victim in the ER. He took him into surgery, and we had to reschedule our date.”
James smiled. It had been a date in their minds, too. “He’ll be fine by morning.”
Pamela took a tiny step back and looked up at him. “Can you tell me about it? I spent some time talking with the Penders. They were nice people—focused on their son and grateful for the miraculous appearance of two doctors when they’d needed them most.”
“Mr. Pender was in Dallas, I believe, when the accident happened. Linda rode with us to the hospital.”
“Come and sit with me for a while. Do you want anything?”
“Let’s have some hot tea. Then we can relax.”
It pleased him that he’d paid enough attention he knew she liked a cup, sometimes, in the evening. It didn’t take long to brew a pot. She’d chosen orange pekoe. Judging from the selection she had in the cupboard, he wondered if she’d picked that because it was the only kind he knew.
Before long, they were snuggled together on the sofa. This was the moment he needed, to sit
