Myra steered the Prius through the back gate of her parent's home, careful to avoid the new shrubs the landscaper installed yesterday. With a sigh and a chuckle, she rolled her eyes, thinking about her mom's penchant for change. Myra understood better than anyone the need to beautify everything around you. But really, how many times did a person need to change the type of bush adorning the road of a back gate only a few eyes would see? Oh well, it made her mother happy. That was really all that mattered anyway.

Myra had a simple plan as she pulled inside the gate:

1. Park by the barn where no one else would see her car.
2. Tell her dad about the small incident when they were alone.
3. Bring dad to look at the car by the dim light of the barn where that dent would look much smaller than it actually was.

Myra had total confidence in the viability of the plan as she parked beside the four-stall barn that now housed only two horses. The rest of the family would be inside by now, since it was dark, so she pushed herself out of the car and crossed to the passenger side. She just needed to see for herself, one more time, that it really wasn't so bad. Running her hand over the bump, then over the indentation, she sighed in defeat.

"Whatcha looking at, sis?"

Myra jumped with a squeal, whirling to face her brother, who was looking at her with his head cocked and a smirk firmly in place. Her eyes darted to the man standing beside him. Where her brother looked amused, he instead looked concerned.

"Keegan!" She winced inwardly at the sound of her own voice, shifting her body to cover the place she'd just been studying. Why did her voice always go up twelve octaves when she was nervous?

"I uh, I was just looking at something - nothing - nothing really."

She rocked back on her heels and clasped her hands in front of her, hoping Keegan would leave it alone.

"Hi Liam." She tried to redirect the attention of her brother, bit her bottom lip nervously, then released it, chastising herself inwardly.

"Hello Myra."

Oh, that voice just melted her every time.

Liam Anderson was her brother's best friend. He was the guy who made GQ models look average. Women fawned over him, men wanted to be him. When he smiled and that dimple made an appearance, angels cried. Also, he was the man with whom she was madly in love. Not that she would ever, ever let him know it. Because in no world would Liam Anderson ever be interested in a girl like her.

Nope.

Liam Anderson was destined to be her unrequited heart-throb.

"Why'd you park down here, little sis?"

"I have a name, you know." She answered defensively. "And I'm not little."

Keegan laughed and took two big strides toward her. He wrapped his arms affectionately around her, then playfully knuckle-sandwiched the top of her head.

"You'll always be my little sis." He told her with a laugh.

Ugh! She was so embarrassed. How would men ever see her as a woman when her brother constantly treated her like this? She loved the big oaf, knew he loved her and her sisters more than anything in this world, but honestly, couldn't he treat her like an adult at least sometimes.

Like when Liam was around.

With an effortless swoop, Keegan moved her to the side and bent to inspect her car. After a few minutes, he let out a slow whistle, stood, and looked at her expectantly, one eyebrow raised in question.

"It rained yesterday and I couldn't have known the dirt would be so soft and I just wanted to paint the cows and then I was stuck and I didn't want to bother you and I called the roadside service guy and he helped me out…"

"Myra."

She took a deep inhale and looked wide-eyed at her brother. The stern look on his face said he was not happy about the words that had just come out of her mouth.

"Where were you?"

"Um." She nervously wiggled the toe of her boot in the dirt, her eyes fixed on the hole she was creating.

Keegan let out a heavy sigh, then addressed her again with a clipped tone. "Myra. Where. Were. You?"

"Out by the Kendrick's place." She whispered, biting her lip again, telling herself to stop it.

"Little sis!” Keegan threw his hands in the air. “You can't just call random men to come get you on deserted back roads! How many times do I have to tell you? Call me. It doesn't matter where you are or where I am. Call me. Do NOT call men you don't know!"

Thankful for the cover of darkness, Myra felt the color rising in her cheeks at her brother's chastisement. "It wasn't some random guy Keegan!" And there went her voice again. "He was with my roadside service.” She didn’t dare mention how creepy the man had been. Because yes, there was a moment when she'd been a tinsy weensy bit afraid, out there on that deserted road with Ol’ Bill.

She felt the tears prick her eyes and hated how quickly she became emotional. Plus, Liam was standing there watching the whole thing, his dark eyes boring into her, his chiseled face otherwise unreadable. How would he ever see her as anything more than a little girl when she made choices like that? Myra sniffed, trying with futility to hold back the moisture brimming her eyes.

Keegan's demeanor softened immediately as the first tear rolled down her cheek. He reached out, pulling her against himself in a tight embrace. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. I just want you to be safe.” He stroked her hair. “I want to keep you safe."

Comforted by the warmth of his embrace, Myra relaxed against her brother’s big frame and wrapped her arms around him. "I know, Keegan. I'm sorry I didn't call you."

Keegan released her, letting her wipe her eyes. She patted her cheeks, steeling a glance at Liam from the corner of her eye. He looked back at her with that unreadable expression, his hands firmly shoved into the pockets of his perfectly tailored slacks. Feeling pitiful, Myra let her gaze fall to the ground, then turned back to Keegan.

"Please don't tell daddy, Keegan." She pleaded. "I have to tell him myself."

"Ok. But don't tell him about the service guy. We're trying to keep his blood pressure down."

"Deal." She said with a smile as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, steering her to the staircase leading to the main house.

* * *

Liam followed Keegan and Myra up the stairs, kicking himself for looking at Myra’s perfectly round backside as he did, but looking all the same. When she'd started rambling about her little accident, he thought it was cute until she'd gotten to the part about the serviceman. He completely understood Keegan's rant, although he shared her brother's sentiments for different reasons. Thinking about Myra on a deserted anything with another man caused his sanity to slip a little. Thinking about a man taking advantage of her sweet innocence made his blood boil.

Myra was every man's fantasy with her tiny, curvy body, wispy blonde curls, and those big blue eyes that haunted his dreams. She had no idea what she was working with, had no idea how men looked at her, what they thought when they did. But he knew. He knew because he was one of them, probably worse than any of them.

Liam knew plenty of beautiful women who were all-to-eager to flaunt their assets in his direction. He'd had plenty of those women, women who were willing and able to cater to his darker side, but Myra was the woman he saw when he closed his eyes. The problem, was that she was his best friend's sister. His best friend's baby sister, who was quite possibly as vanilla as a girl could get. At least, Keegan had never mentioned anything about Myra having a bent towards the kinkier side of things. Liam knew he had absolutely no business looking at her, much less thinking about her the way he did. His intellect had a firm grasp on the concept. His imagination and his body, they didn’t care what he knew intellectually.

Myra and Keegan led the way through the back of the house that had become a second home to him. His own parents died in a car accident just after he’d started college, and Keegan, his roommate at the time, insisted Liam spend the Holidays with them. That was the first time he met a very young Myra, and she’d been haunting him ever since. The Valentine family took him in like one of their own and he'd been one of them for many years. He wasn’t going to do anything to jeopardize that relationship, no matter how many sleepless nights and cold showers he had to endure.

The heavenly smells of Brenda Valentine’s cooking wafted across his nostrils just before the sounds of feminine laughter met his ears. "There you are!" Brenda exclaimed when the trio strolled into the kitchen, her arms spread wide in greeting. She pulled Myra from beneath Keegan's arm and the two women shared an affectionate hug. Brenda pulled back from her daughter, brushing the soft curls away from her face. "Hi Baby."

Liam watched Brenda kiss Myra's forehead and smiled at the smile that played on Myra's lips.

"Hi mom." She said sweetly. "Is everyone else here already?"

"We were just waiting for you." Brenda replied, gesturing for them to follow her to the sitting room.