I took my time with the finishing touches, even if it was just a casual dinner with Ryan and my brother. It had been a long time since I’d put on a little makeup and taken some time with my clothes. I flicked on an extra bit of mascara and smoothed my hair one last time. In spite of the humidity, I’d finally gotten it to fall in a long, silky curtain of coppery gold. I smiled into the mirror, pleased with the confident young woman staring back at me.

“You ready?” Dean called out as the screen door banged shut behind him. “We’re meeting at La Casita, and we’re already running late.”

I slipped my feet into strappy heels and pulled at the hem of my skirt. It was shorter than I was usually comfortable with, but I hadn’t done laundry in a week. It was either this, or old denim jeans with the knees torn out. I had settled for too-short.

“I’m starving,” I replied, as I grabbed up my bag and keys. “I haven’t had Casita’s tacos in a hundred years. Let’s get a move on.”

Dean opened the door for me and closed it again, before heading around to the driver’s side. He put the car into drive and we headed out. He’d changed a lot physically in the last four years, just as I had. The boyish hands I remembered from childhood were calloused and thickly veined now. They were the hands of a man.

“You look great, sis,” he said, as he merged into the freeway traffic. He looked over and gave me a warm smile. “Smart, pretty, ambitious as hell,” he shook his head and smiled out over the road. “You make me proud, Maggie. You really do.”

I grinned, dipping my head to hide how foolish I must have looked. But it felt good, so damned good to hear those words.

“I’m proud of you, too, Dean,” I said honestly. “Neither one of us had it easy after Dad died. And just think, next time this year you’ll be a nurse. I know how hard you’ve worked. And I respect what you’ve accomplished.”

His smile widened, too, and we drove on in silence for a few moments.

“I’ve wanted to tell you this for a long time now,” he began. “How sorry I am that I wasn’t really there for you, when we were kids.” He cleared his throat and stared at the road ahead. “It was rough between me and Dad back then. And I never really saw how hard it must have been for you, too. You were so little… and somehow I just convinced myself that Dad’s problems, and mine, didn’t really affect you.” He glanced over at me and I saw the depth of his emotion in his eyes. “I was a kid, too, really. All caught up in myself and my own feelings. I wasn’t the kind of brother you deserved, and I’ve wanted to tell you how sorry I am. That I wasn’t there for you.”

I put my hand on his shoulder. “You’re here now, Dean. We may not be kids anymore, but I’ll always need my big brother.”

“And I’ll always be here for you, Maggie. I want us to make up for lost time. Even though I’m still in school, I want to do whatever I can to help with your foundation. Volunteer, load trucks, wipe noses, or hand out bandages… I want to support you any way that I can. I want to prove that I’ve finally grown up, and that I’ve got my kid sister’s back.”

I caught back a choking mix of laughter and tearful sobs. He gave my fingers a squeeze and patted the back of my hand so comfortingly that the tears eventually won out. He handed me a tissue and patted my back with one hand as he drove, as I wiped away the streaks of my carefully applied makeup…

“Thank God, Joe was there,” he said as he pulled into the restaurant parking lot and shut off the engine. “He wasn’t just Ryan’s brother, or my best friend. He was a big brother to all of us, back then. Hell, he kind of still is. I’m glad he was there to take care of you, when I wasn’t. When Dad wasn’t. But you’ve got me now, Maggie. And I’m not going anywhere.”

“Well, you’re late. Typical.” Ryan was already seated, a sweaty pitcher of iced tea forming a puddle on the tabletop.

Dean pulled out my chair, and I blinked, hesitating only a second before sitting down. La Casita wasn’t fancy, not by the plainest of standards, but they had the best Tex-Mex for at least a hundred miles and a house salsa that people crossed state lines for. Across from me was an empty seat, a half-full glass sat on the damp, wrinkling paper placemat.

“Sorry, Rye,” I said, leaning over the table to drop a light kiss on his lips. “My fault. Did you bring someone?” I asked hopefully. I knew only too well how Ryan’s tastes ran, but he had always kept his private life very private, in spite of my encouragements.

“Hello, Maggie.”

Joe’s voice came from behind me, and I felt the tiny hairs at the back of my neck rise, like the prickly sensation before lightning strikes…

He was close enough I could feel the heat of his body, but he never touched me. He stepped around, and sat across from me, looking deeply… disquietingly, into my eyes. I felt a flush of heat rising to my cheeks, and I looked away.

“I talked Joe into joining us, Maggie,” Ryan offered. “We got to talking about your work over at the Star, and it sounds like the two of you might have some business to discuss.”

“Business?” I shot a look across the table. Joe’s blue eyes were watching me steadily. “What business?”

The waitress came over with her pad and pencil in her hand and a greedy smile on her face. Her gaze blew right over me, wandered over Dean and Ryan appreciatively before settling on Joe. His white shirt was immaculate even in the unbearable heat, and it was stretched tight by the heavy cords of muscle underneath. I couldn’t blame her for looking. So was I. So was every woman in the room over fifteen. Didn’t mean I had to like it.

“Hey, sweetie,” she said to Joe, in a voice that set my teeth on edge. “I haven’t seen you in here for ages. Hey, Ryan. Is this your baby sister?”

I dug my fingernails into the palm of my hand and smiled up at her. “Maggie,” I said, with a curt nod. “I’m Dean’s sister…”

She gave him a sweet smile, too, and wrote down our orders. Joe, it seemed, hadn’t even noticed her. He’d never taken his eyes off my face.

“I want to help out with the foundation,” he said, once the waitress had gone. “Do a few stories, get attention where it’s needed. I want to show the world what one girl with vision can accomplish.” He lowered his eyes ever so slightly. “I find y…”

“I find it inspiring,” he finished.

“Then have a reporter ready to head out with us,” I said, watching the waitress’s exaggerated hip swing as she walked by. “We’re loading up the trucks and heading for Osage on Friday.” I turned to Dean and Ryan. “Jackie will be here by Sunday. It’ll give us most of the week to pack up the supplies, the emergency kits we’re passing out. This’ll be our first major aid dispersal, and we’ll be getting there before the worst of the storms. I don’t intend for this to be aftercare. We’re shooting for advance care.” The words came out pricklier than I intended. Joe’s use of the word girl had hit a fucking nerve.

“Consider it done,” he said, as the waitress headed back over with our plates. She served Joe first, leaning in to display more ample bosom than was strictly necessary. I put my head down and let the delicious scent of carne asada tacos waft up. Delicious distraction.

I bit in, letting the juices slide down the side of my cheek as she put the rest of the plates down and gave Joe one more lingering look. He nodded politely to her, signaling to her that we were good, but he continued to watch me. I wiped my mouth self-consciously and swallowed.

“Can you and Ryan take the big delivery truck? I want Jackie in the van with the volunteers, and I figure I’ll bring up the rear with the box truck.” I took a sip of tea and looked over at Joe’s face. His eyes were dark, his lips in a tight, flat line.

“You can help us pack,” I offered shortly, unsure why everything I said came out sounding like a challenge. “If you want to do more than just supply some kid reporter, you’re welcome to get your hands dirty with some real work…”

“You think you’re driving into an active tornado zone? That area’s already been hit, and the worst is still yet to come.”

“I don’t think so, Joe,” I shot back testily. “I am going.

The decision has already been made.”