I gave Charlie until the end of the week to figure out how to make my dream a reality. That’s when Isaac would be released from the hospital. He would leave having a total of three surgeries. And there was no way in hell, I was sending him home to hobble around on his own.

I had purchased the skimpiest nurse outfit I could find and intended to wear it for him every day if that’s what he wanted. I wasn’t going back on the promise I made the night he was hurt.

I didn’t have to say anything. There was never a discussion—Dylan just moved his things to my house the night of the game. He was waiting for me when I got home from the hospital with two suitcases and a backpack. It was as if Isaac’s injury brought us closer. He made sure I wasn’t alone. He stepped up, taking on the role of two men.

Most people wouldn’t have believed me if I told them what Dylan had taken on. But how could I? That would expose us. Expose Isaac.

I loved how in late fall Texas nights were still warm.

The pool water felt like a bath enveloping my skin. I floated on my back in the salt water, staring at the brightest stars I’d seen. It was one of the best parts of living outside of the city. The sky was lit up like it had been invaded by diamonds.

Dylan swam beside me, resting his chiseled arms on the stonework of the pool. He sipped a cold beer. I had learned to stock them. I had every flavor and brand he and Isaac liked.

“Damn, I love Texas,” he mused holding the bottle in his hands.

“Have you ever lived anywhere else?” I swam to his side, letting my legs kick behind me. They scissored slowly as I held onto the ledge.

I watched his throat move as he swallowed. He was so gorgeous. I inhaled.

“Nah. Only Texas. I’m a College Station boy.”

I smiled. “I can see that about you.”

“How so?”

“You have that cowboy swagger,” I teased.

“Oh really?” He put his beer down, wrestling me in front of him. The water splashed as I pretended to swim away. “You like cowboys?”

I chewed on my lip, looking at the stars. “Oh, I think I like artists, musicians, you know poets…”

Dylan tugged the strings on my bikini, as he pulled me closer. I laughed and squirmed in his arms. My top and bottoms floated away as he pivoted me to straddle him.

“You want to say that again?” he dared.

I settled around his waist, gripping the back of his neck. He started walking backward and I realized he was taking us to the hot tub. He stepped up and over the stone step so that we were surrounded by swirling jets.

I nodded. “Yes, I’ll say it again.”

“Such a trouble maker tonight.” He gnashed at my lips, taking them with a rough kiss.

I climbed his body, feeling him slide between my thighs. His skin was slick and smooth in the water. I didn’t know when he had lost his board shorts, but I felt his hard shaft press into my heat.

I nodded. “I’m your trouble maker.”

He bent, sucking my nipple in his mouth. I thrashed backward in the water as my breasts bobbed above the surface.

“You know what cowboys do to trouble makers?” he teased.

I opened my eyes, blinking innocently. “What?” I asked, my voice breathy and husky.

“It might involve a lasso and some rope burn.”

“Shit,” I whispered. I kissed him hungrily. I pressed my mouth to his, tasting the beer swirl on my tongue. “I want to cause more trouble,” I moaned. “The worst kind.”

I felt how hard he was pressing into my thigh.

“Fuck, Vanessa.”

His hands tangled in my hair. I knew we were drowning. Sinking and swimming for life. My veins pulsed with excitement.

He scooped his hands under my knees. “I’m taking you upstairs now. And I’m tying you to our bed.”

I waited for the next words. He carried me out of the hot tub.

“And I’m not going to stop fucking you until the sun comes up.”

“Oh God, Dylan.” I clung to his neck, hanging on as he grabbed our towels on the chaise. He wrapped me in one and tucked one around his waist.

I started to dab the water from my skin. I reached out for Dylan, feeling the world start to spin.

“Whoa.” He caught me before I fell. “You ok?”

I nodded. “I think the hot tub made me light-headed. That’s all.”

“Maybe I need to carry you the rest of the way.”

“Maybe.” I grinned.

He drew me to his chest. I leaned into him. “Thank you for everything this week, Dylan.”

“Don’t,” he whispered. “Don’t say it.”

“But I want to say something. I have to.”

My body was buzzing. My head felt funny. It had to be from the hot tub, but before we got carried away in the rest of the night I wanted him to know what he had done for me went behind words.

“That’s the whole point, darlin’. You don’t have to say a word. I know.” He kissed my forehead tenderly. It made him even sexier how he could go from complete sex machine to thoughtful and tender. I knew it was a side of him he kept hidden.

He scooped me in his arms and kicked open the French doors. “I have some cowboying to do.”

I giggled hysterically. “Is that what you call?”

He took giant steps through the living room and was ready to turn for the staircase when I screamed.

Dylan almost dropped me.

“What the fuck?” he shouted. “Who the fuck, are you?”

My mouth dropped. I knew I was staring at a ghost. I never thought I’d see that face again. It couldn’t be possible, could it?

His lips curled into a smile. He pushed his sandy brown hair out of his eyes.

“Hey sis. Catch you at a bad time?”

“Danny?”