and he saw no alternative—it would end honestly. He would tell her everything.
“You’re so quiet,” she said as they turned up the long, bumpy road that led to the cabin.
“I was thinking.”
“Well, that’s fine, but you haven’t picked one fight in five hours. I’m worried about you.”
“I don’t want to fight with you.”
“Now I’m really worried.” She’d known that something was on his mind, something that caused her palms to sweat. Deliberately she made her voice light and cheerful. “We’ll be back in a few minutes. Once you’re trapped inside the cabin, hauling wood and eating out of a can, you’ll be your old cranky self.”
“Sunny, we have to talk.”
She moistened her lips. “All right.” Her nerves began to hum as she stopped the car in front of the cabin. “Before or after we unload?”
“Now.” It had to be now. He took her hand and said the first words that came to mind. “I love you so much.”
The little fist of fear in her stomach unclenched. “We’re never going to fight if you keep talking like that.” She shifted closer to kiss his cheek. It was then that she noticed the smoke pumping out of the chimney. “Jacob, someone’s here.”
“What?”
“In the cabin.” She saw the front door open. “Libby!” With a laugh, she shoved the car door open and bounded out. “Libby, you scared me to death.” As Jacob watched, she threw her arms around a slim brunette. “Look at you! You’re so tanned!”
“There’s a lot of sun in Bora Bora.” Libby kissed her sister’s cheeks. “When we got back last night we thought you’d skipped out on us.”
“Just a quick trip into the real world to recharge.”
Libby’s laugh was smooth and easy. She knew her sister very well. “That’s what I told Cal. All your books were still here.” Suddenly she gripped both of Sunny’s hands. “Oh, Sunny, I’m so glad you’re back. I can’t wait to tell you. I—” A movement caught her eye. Glancing over, she saw Jacob as he climbed out of the Land Rover. As their eyes met, her half smile of greeting faded and her fingers tightened on Sunny’s.
“What? What is it? Oh.” Smiling, Sunny turned. “Guess who dropped in? This is Jacob, Cal’s brother.”
“I know.” Libby felt as though the ground had vanished from under her feet. She’d seen his face before, in the picture Cal had kept on his ship. But this was no picture. It was a flesh-and-blood man, a furious one. As they stared at each other in silence, the blood seeped slowly out of her face.
He’s come for Cal, she thought, and had to bite back the scream of protest that rose into her throat.
She’s terrified, he realized. Something moved inside him that he stubbornly ignored. He wouldn’t feel for her. He wouldn’t think of her as anything but the obstacle preventing his brother from returning home.
“J.T.?” Instinctively Sunny put a protective arm around Libby’s shoulders. There was something here, she realized. And she was the only one not in on the secret. “Libby, you’re shivering. You shouldn’t be standing out here without a coat. Let’s go inside.” She tossed a look back over her shoulder. “Let’s all go inside.”
“I’m all right.” Shaken, Libby walked inside to the fire and tried to warm her icy hands. No amount of heat could warm her trembling heart. She wouldn’t look at him again, not until she had herself under some kind of control. In the back of her mind, the little germ of fear had lived. Someday they would come for him. But she hadn’t believed it would be so soon. They’d had so little time.
Time, she thought bitterly. It was a word she could learn to hate.
Sunny stood between them, baffled. The tension was so thick in the small room that she could smell it as easily as the woodsmoke. “All right.” She looked from Libby’s rigid back to Jacob’s stony face without any idea who she should go to. “Would either of you like to tell me what’s going on?”
“Hey, Libby, if that was that sexy sister of yours, I want to tell her—”
Barefoot, his sweatshirt torn, Cal strode in from the kitchen. Everyone turned toward him. It was like a slow, deliberate ballet. His easy grin froze. All motion stopped.
“J.T.” His voice was hardly more than a whisper as joy and disbelief flooded through him. “J.T.,” he said again. Then, with a whoop, he was across the room, grabbing his brother in a hard hug. “Oh, God, Jacob! It’s really you!”
Libby watched them until tears blurred her vision and she turned away.
Sunny beamed. The two brothers held each other in a fierce embrace. She could see the emotions run over Jacob’s face and found them beautiful.
“I can’t believe it,” Cal murmured, pulling his brother back to study, to devour, his face. “You’re really here. How?”
He kept his hands on Cal’s arms, needing the simple and tangible contact. “The same way as you, but with more finesse. You look good.” Somehow he’d expected to find Cal pale and thin and tired from coping with the twentieth century. Instead, his brother was tanned, alert and obviously happy.
“You, too.” His smile faded a bit. “Mom? Dad?”
“They’re fine.”
Cal nodded. It was a hurt he had learned to live with. “You got my message. I couldn’t be sure.”
“We received it,” Jacob said dully.
“You’ve met Libby, then.” Regret vanished. Turning, he held a hand out for his wife. She didn’t move.
“We’ve met.” Jacob inclined his head and waited. She could take the first step.
“You’ll both have a lot to talk about.” Using every ounce of effort, she managed to keep her voice steady.
“Libby.” Her name was a murmur as Cal crossed to her. He laid a hand on her cheek until she lifted her eyes to his. He saw the love and the fear in them. “Don’t.”
“I’m fine.” Calling up more strength, she squeezed his hand. “I have some things to do upstairs. You two should catch up.” She shifted her glance to Jacob. “I know you’ve missed each other.”
Turning, she fled up the stairs.
Sunny shifted her gaze from her sister’s retreating back to Cal’s unsmiling face and then to Jacob’s angry eyes. “What the hell is going on here?”
“Go up with her, will you?” Cal laid a hand on her shoulder but continued to look after his wife. “I don’t want her to be alone.”
“All right.” She could already see, just by looking at the two of them, that she’d get no explanations here. She’d damn well get one from Libby.
Cal waited until Sunny had climbed the stairs. Facing his brother again, he recognized the fury, the passion, and the hurt in him, “We have to talk.”
“Yes.”
“Not here.” He thought of his wife.
“No.” Jacob thought of Sunny. “We’ll go to my ship.”
Sunny paused outside the bedroom door. Taking a deep breath, she pushed it open. Libby sat on the edge of the bed, hands folded. There were no tears. Tears would have been less heartbreaking than the despair on her face.
“Honey, what is it?”
Libby felt as though she were in a dream. Looking up, she focused on the reality of her sister. “How long has he been here?”
“About three weeks.” Sunny sat on the bed to take Libby’s hand in hers. “Talk to me. I thought you’d be happy to finally meet Cal’s brother.”
“I am—for him.” Hoping that much was true, she pressed a hand to her jittery stomach. “Did he explain to you why he’s here? Where he’s from?”
“Of course.” Puzzled, Sunny gave her a little shake. “Come on, Libby, snap out of it. J.T.’s a little rough around the edges, but he isn’t a monster. He’s just concerned about Cal, and maybe a little hurt that he chose you and settled here.”
“Oh, God.” Unable to sit, Libby rose to pace to the window. She heard the hum of an engine and saw the Land Rover disappear into the forest. “I would have let him go,” she said quietly, and closed her eyes. “Back then I was prepared to. I couldn’t have asked him to give up his family, his life. But now I can’t let him go. I won’t.”
