It felt so good to be using her brain again. Challenging problems, focusing on tasks. Even if, for the time being, they were simple things like answering phones and sending contracts or emails.

When she’d spotted a simple error in Trey’s calculations, he’d listened to her, actually listened, and had even taken her advice. It had been years since a man had given her respect when it came to technical things.

By the time five o’clock rolled around, she felt a little anxious and excited to end her first day of work. Wishing for the following day to arrive too soon could make her look pathetic. Still, it was hard not to want to dive into something else exciting.

Trey had packed up his laptop and started shutting off lights in the place. She followed him around to see what was involved with closing the office down each day.

“Normally, we’re out of here on time, but there are nights Tyler has to work late.” He showed her how to set the alarm, gave her the code and, to her surprise, handed her a set of keys. “We’re usually here at eight sharp. On Fridays, we pick up donuts and coffee at Belle’s Bakery. We have an account with them, so if you want to take that task on…”

“Sure.” She nodded eagerly.

“Wonderful. We also have an account at Grangers Market for office items and the grocery store for milk, coffee, kitchen supplies, and anything else we need. I’ll make sure to let them know to add you to the list.”

She nodded and thought about where his company was going. It was an exciting field, on the verge of new technology, something she’d always dreamed of diving into further.

While her brother had been caught up in sports and being popular, Dylan had buried her head in the books. Anything and everything science was her calling. She loved spending hours with test tubes and beakers or scanning the magnifying glass until her eyes turned fuzzy.

It was one of the reasons she’d gone dateless until her senior year, when she’d gone in to get her first tattoo and met Jax. She’d hidden her brain from him and their relationship had grown. From then on, she’d found that if you played dumb, there was always a line of men waiting.

Now, however, with Trey, she didn’t feel like she had to hide that part of herself. She’d first spoken out about his mistake in calculations without thinking.

Before the accident, she’d been looking at attending Stanford, but with her parents’ death, her dreams had died as well.

Even though being a glorified secretary for the McGowan’s was a step up from waitress at a dive bar, it was a far cry from her dreams. Still, it was a step and one that would hopefully pay enough to get them out of the small hotel.

She watched Trey lock up and then glanced around. Her shoulders slumped when her brother’s truck wasn’t in sight.

“He’s late,” Trey said beside her.

“Yeah.” She pulled her jacket closer to her and cursed the fact that the coat wasn’t thicker. She had hoped, but in her heart, she knew he’d either be late or forget all about her and hit the bar instead. “It’s not that far…”

“Stop right there.” He held up his hand. “You may not know this yet, but Kristen, my sister-in-law said the same thing once. She was kidnapped on the way back to the same hotel.” He shook his head. “Come on, I’ll drive you there myself. Tomorrow, you can check out the sedan we use for corporate business.”

She followed him. “What happen to her?”

He glanced over as he pulled open her door. “Kirsten?” She nodded. “We found her. The bastard had stashed her in a cave.” He nodded towards the hills that surrounded the small town. Currently, it was too dark to see anything other than soft snow falling. “We found her just in time.”

“That’s good.” She relaxed into his car and waited until he got behind the wheel. “Who kidnapped her?”

Trey’s eyes turned dark.

“Dennis Rodgers. You’ll want to watch out for that one.” He started the car.

“Watch out… Isn’t he rotting in jail by now?” she asked as he pulled out of the parking lot.

“No proof other than Kirsten’s shoe, which Tyler found in the back of Dennis’ truck. He claims Tyler planted it. He denied anything to do with Kristen’s kidnapping, but confessed to a bunch of other stuff, like siphoning funds from his employer. He ended up going free shortly after though, since NewField’s, his ex-employer whom he’d swindled out of a thousand of dollars, the proof they had against him went up in smoke when their building burned down.” He motioned to an empty lot. “Shortly after, he was walking around town like nothing happened. Other than losing his job and his wife in a messy divorce.”

“It must be hard on Kristen and Tyler,” she said as the snow started falling more heavily. It was going to be a cold night and she hated that the hotel room’s heater couldn’t be set past seventy-one.

“Yeah, but we upped our security.” He shrugged. “There isn’t much more we can do but keep an eye out for our own.” He pulled into the parking lot and stopped in front of her door. She wondered briefly if he knew which room theirs was. “Which is why, until you can get a car of your own, you’ll have full access to the corporate car. We need to know you can get to and from places safely, especially in this weather.”

“I’m not in any danger?” she asked.

“No.” He shook his head. “Everything’s been quite since…” She could tell that he caught himself.

“Since?”

He sighed and leaned back in the seat. “Okay, there was an incident with Addy’s Jeep, but we’re pretty sure that was Darla, another one you’ll want to watch out for. She works down at the Wet Spot.” He motioned down the street. “Anyway, she’s been quiet for a while too. Ever since Tyler and Kristen’s wedding, things have been quiet.”

“Too quiet?” she added.

He glanced at her. “I’m sure they just moved on. It’s not like the entire town of Haven has it out for us.” He smiled. “We just learned to be a little more… cautious.”

She nodded. “Okay, sounds good.” She reached for the door handle, but he stopped her.

“I’ll pick you up tomorrow morning. A quarter till eight.”

She smiled. “I’ll be here.”

“Night.” He reached across and slid open her door. “Stay warm, it’s supposed to get cold tonight.”

“It’s Montana in January,” she said dryly. “It’s always cold.”

He laughed as she got out of the car.

* * *

It was so nice having a set schedule, knowing exactly where you should be and who you were meeting, having all your paperwork where it belonged, not to mention seeing Dylan every day. They fell into a nice pattern, working around one another, with one another. He had even asked her into his office to help with some calculations.

Sure, he could have used the computer or Googled how to solve the problems, but he enjoyed watching her do the math herself. Not to mention that for almost an entire hour after she’d left his office, he could still smell her sexy perfume in the air.

Each day she came into the office and he tried to figure out how to keep her there. He had to admit, she’d been right about everything he’d asked her about. Each calculation she’d done for him was spot on. And even more impressive, she had been quick at solving each problem.

“You were a total geek in school,” he said looking over her shoulder as she helped him calculate how much pipe they needed for a certain job. He had a little cheat sheet he’d made up to help with calculations, but at the moment, he couldn’t find it.

She smiled over her shoulder at him. “Don’t hold it against me.”

“Are you kidding, it’s a huge turn on,” he’d joked, but he saw her eyes change. Quickly, he changed subjects. “So, I have a possible house you and your brother might look at renting.”

Her dark eyebrows shot up. “Oh?”

“Sure, I can drive you by the place during lunch break, if you want to look at it.”

She bit her bottom lip. “Any clue what rent is?”

“What’s your price range?” he asked.

She sighed. “Well, with just my paycheck, I was hoping to stay under half of my monthly income.”

“Not calculating your brother’s in?” he asked.

She frowned. “Not that I don’t believe he’ll stick, but I’ve learned to not rely on him forking over anything himself.”

“Nice brother,” he said sarcastically.

She shrugged. “He was there when no one else was. My father’s parents, my grandparents, couldn’t be bothered during their own grief of losing their son to deal with two teenage grandchildren.” She rolled her shoulders. “Sorry, still a little bitter.”

“No, it’s totally understandable.” He moved over and sat on the edge of the desk, next to her. “After my father passed away, we had family members we had never heard of coming out of the woodwork asking for handouts or demanding they were due something.”

She nodded. “It was the opposite for us. My grandparents didn’t want to be responsible for us. We’ve been on our own since then.”

“What did you do?” he asked.

She leaned back in the chair, looking very relaxed behind his desk. Something clicked in his mind that she belonged there, in a position of power. Even with her jet-black hair, her cropped bangs, and the many colorful tattoos showing, she was the smartest woman he’d ever met.

“I went out and worked two jobs while I finished school. I took accelerated classes my senior year. Then I worked three full-time jobs to support us.”

He frowned. “What about your brother?”

“Oh, he had a few jobs here and there. He couldn’t keep any one for too long. There were a few DUIs. At one point, he ended up staying at a halfway house. It was the best three months of my life.” When she talked, he could tell she’d lost herself and spoke her mind. Upon her last words, she shook free of the spell and sat up a little.

“Sounds like you could use a break from your brother.” he hinted.

She cleared her throat. “Yeah, well, we can’t choose family.” She stood up slowly. He followed her, their bodies close. She blinked as she looked up at him. “We are afraid to care too much, for fear that the other person does not care at all.” She almost whispered it.

He nodded in agreement. “Gandhi?”

She smiled, and her entire face changed. Her eyes sparkled in the daylight streaming in through the window behind him, and he felt like he could lose himself in her eyes. He could spend the rest of the day, happily standing there, discovering every curve, every freckle, every inch of her skin.

“Eleanor Roosevelt,” she corrected. “One of my favorites. Did you know that both of her parents died when she was young? She went on to attend one of the best academies in London and she has done more for human rights than most. Not to mention that she singlehandedly changed the role of First Lady.” She took a deep breath and he was pretty sure she could have gone on further, but something changed in her and she once again bit her bottom lip.

“Why do you do that?” he asked, curiously.

“What?” Her eyes dipped to her own hands in front of her.

Using his finger, he nudged her chin up, until their eyes met again. “Stop yourself, hold yourself back?” He shook his head.

She was silent for a moment. “It’s just… people aren’t always happy around smart people. I tend to have a lot of useless knowledge moving around in my head. Sometimes it spills out and I have to catch myself from boring people too much.”

“You don’t have to worry about that with me. I find your knowledge, and you, extremely fascinating.” His fingers spread out and, suddenly, he was cupping her face. He didn’t know who leaned in first, but slowly, the gap between them closed. Just before their lips touched, his office door opened.

“I thought you said you hired…” Trent walked in and stopped dead in his tracks. His confused look turned instantly to humor. “Oh, now I see…” He chuckled as he backed out of the room.

Dylan, for her part, jumped away from him, almost tipping over his chair. He’d reached out to steady her, but she’d pushed him away and quickly rushed from the room while making some excuses about filing something.

“You have great timing,” he said sarcastically to his brother.

“How was I supposed to know you’d be in here making out with our new secretary?” Trent joked after tactfully shutting the door behind him, gaining him a glare from Trey.

“What are you doing back so early? I thought you were coming in tomorrow.”

“Well, I wound things up early so I could get home.” Trent and sat down on the sofa across from Trey’s desk.

“You were just missing Addy.” He sat down and glanced at his computer screen, still impressed at Dylan’s abilities. “I bet you stopped off at the house for a quickie before coming in here.”

His brother sighed heavily and looked mighty pleased with himself. “You’re just jealous I have someone to go home to tonight and all you have is Dopey.”

“Don’t knock Dopey.” Trey came to the defense of his almost year-old puppy, brother to his mother’s dog Doc, Tyler and Kristen’s dog Bashful, and Trent and Abby’s dog, Happy. “Dopey is a hell of a lot smarter than any of his siblings.” Trey smiled. “Kind of like me.”

Trent laughed. “In your dreams.”

“Speaking of smart siblings.” Trey shifted the conversation. “You’ll have to let me know your take on Dylan.”

Trent nodded towards the door. “The new secretary?”

“Office Manager,” he corrected. “Yeah, there’s a lot of unused hidden talent. She’s blown me…” His brother’s chuckle stopped him and glared in his direction as he continued. “She’s blown me away with her knowledge of everything science-y that dad would have easily picked up.”

“Science-y?” Trent laughed.

“Sure, I mean, hell, we grew up around this shit, and half of it we still don’t understand.”

“That’s what Tyler’s good for.” Trent crossed his legs as he leaned back on the sofa, looking like he was going to use his sofa for a nap.

Trey stood up, getting his brother’s attention. “You know those figures I sent you for our order?”

“Sure.” Trent shrugged. “You saved our butt with those new numbers.”

“I had nothing to do with it.” He nodded towards the door.

Trent’s eyebrows shot up. “The secretary?”

“Office Manager,” he corrected again. “And her name is Dylan.”

Trent chuckled. “Geeze don’t get your panties in a bind.” His brother stood up and stretched his arms above his head. “It was a long drive back, I’m heading home. I just came to get a few things.”

“Yeah.” Trey followed him out of his office. “I’ll introduce you, officially.”

Trent smiled and wrapped his arm around him. “Then come on and make it official.”

He playfully slugged his brother in the gut, who faked being hurt. In truth, the three brothers were physically almost identical. The only exception was that Tyler and Trent had their mother’s straight dark hair and brown eyes, while Trey took after their father with curly blonde hair and blueish-silver eyes.

It had taken him years to catch up to Tyler in the weight department. He’d spent countless hours in the garage using his father’s old weight set to gain the extra inches on his biceps. In the end, he’d finally caught up with the other two. Now, most people in town had a hard time telling them apart if they were bundled up for winter. He couldn’t count the number of times he’d been mistaken for one of his brothers.

“Dylan, this is my brother Trent,” Trey said when they entered the front area.

“Sorry about barging in.” Trent offered her his hand.

“Nothing happened,” Dylan added quickly. She blushed slightly.

“No, of course not.” Trent cleared his throat. “Trey was telling me that you’re the one who saved our butts on that last pipe order.”

Dylan nodded. “Math comes easy for me.”

Trent laughed and slapped Trey on the back. “Not for my little brother here. Did you know Trey failed algebra, twice?”

“Shut up,” Trey said under his breath as Trent wrapped an arm around him playfully.