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aggression. Out of the two men, Caleb had always
been the one that lost his cool first, though he never scared her.
She felt safe with him, just like she did with Pax.
    "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." She gripped his
arm tighter. His shoulders sagged, the tension seeping from his
body and seconds later he had her swept into a tight hug. He picked
her up off the ground, whispering into her ear. "I've been needin'
to hear that, but don't think it's forgotten. I want the truth,
Syd."
    Breathing a sigh of relief for now, she
wrapped her arms around his neck. Turning her face into his
shoulder she inhaled, amazed when he smelled exactly as she
remembered, a deep musky scent that had her hormones surging.
    "Christ, I missed you," he groaned, and for a
second she thought she felt his lips against her cheek.
    Pax's dog, Cloud, interrupted their
precarious reunion when he raced across the yard, barking loudly.
Caleb lowered her back onto her feet, smoothing a loose strand of
hair from her eyes. "Guess I'd better be feedin' you if Jack said
so. Wouldn't want to get on his wrong side."
    He linked his fingers into hers, tugging her
lightly and led her to the main house.
    The 4D ranch had been in Pax's family for
generations, the land increasing in size as each owner bought more.
The house never grew with the land. Each generation decided the two
bedroom barn conversion sufficient for their needs. Clad in dark
wood slats, the outside had large windows cut into the upper and
lower levels. The house blended perfectly into the scenery, as did
the small cottage her father was staying in. She'd always found the
house cozy when she'd visited as a teenager. The perfect place to
raise a family.
    Caleb continued to usher her up the steps,
pushing the mesh door open before leading her into the living
space.
    "Looks just the same." She sighed.
    "Yeah, we don't really have the time to
decorate."
    "What? You and Pax don't have any lady
friends to help out with the decor?" She tried to hide the slight
jealous edge to her tone, because the thought of any woman around
her men clawed at her.
    Caleb didn't miss the light inquiry, calling
her on it right away. "Jealous? Want us all to yourself? Well,
Ne-Ne, you can't do that from hundreds of miles away."
    Her eyes grew wide in shock. Did he mean it?
Had Caleb known all along about her problem?
    The ringing of his cell phone put a halt to
their conversation. It gave her time to calm down. Her heart raced
and she fought to make sense of his little comment. She strolled
over to the kitchen, noting they had changed the place a little bit
because it looked new. The stainless steel gleamed, the counter top
pristine and the stove looked like it had never been used. She
grinned, guessing if she looked in the trash she'd find it full of
frozen pizza packages. These men needed a shakeup. Her father
included.
    The low murmur of Caleb's voice filtered into
the kitchen. Sydney closed her eyes, feeling it reverberate through
her torso. Fooling herself had only worked for so long. She missed
him terribly and hated herself for the pain she'd caused. Even now
he was being nice to her, allowing her time to talk at her own
pace, not his. The love had never gone but had certainly grown
stronger, and not just for Caleb. No matter how hard she thought
about the situation, she couldn't see a way around it. It would be
easier if she stopped entertaining thoughts of either man.
    "Syd?"
    She spun, startled by his voice because she
had been so lost in thought. "Um, sorry, I was miles away."
    "Yeah, I got that." He waved his cell phone.
"That was Pax. He's up in the top field with Roman and the other
horses. He thought you'd want to go and see them. Told me to grab a
saddle and take you up there."
    "Roman's okay though, right?"
    "Sure is. Rode him myself early this morning.
His stall was barely touched by the fire and we got the horses out
before it could cause any damage to them anyway."
    Her lip quivered. The fire could have been
far