Sunday evening, Sean Malone sat on the back porch of his Uncle Dan’s beach house. It was unseasonably warm for late March. The outside thermometer had reached a high of seventy-four degrees earlier in the day. Even now, with the sun almost completely set, it only felt like the low sixties. Still warm enough to sit outside for a little bit longer.

With his feet resting upon another chair, he finished the final chapter of the thriller from one of his favorite authors with the help of the porch light. He’d meant to read it when it was first released, but work had kept him busy over the past year or so, and his downtime had mainly been spent trying to catch up on his sleep. Now, he was two days into his month of accumulated vacation time and he planned on doing nothing but relaxing before starting his new position at the FBI office in Greenville, North Carolina. That was a little over an hour away from his uncle’s cottage in Whisper on the Outer Banks, where he was staying for the next three weeks while his leased apartment was being renovated and updated. The apartment was halfway between Whisper and Greenville and a bit of a mess at the moment—the previous tenants hadn’t been good housekeepers. Sean didn’t mind, though, since he had the beach house all to himself. And although he was already missing the warmer Florida weather, he was happy to be near his family again.

He’d put in for a transfer from the Jacksonville, Florida headquarters six months earlier, after he found out his eldest brother, KC, and his new wife, Moriah, were expecting a baby. The child, due in three weeks, would be the first Malone of the next generation and Sean wanted to live near them so he could be a part of his niece or nephew’s life. KC was a SEAL instructor at the Little Creek Navy Base in Virginia, ninety minutes north of Whisper, and Moriah was a substitute teacher at the local elementary school. Their middle brother, Brian, also lived near Whisper, in the suburbs of Elizabeth City, NC where he worked as an investigator for the State Bureau of Investigations.

Dan Malone had raised his three nephews in the tiny beach house after their parents were killed in a plane crash when the boys were teenagers. Since then, they had grown into men and had moved on with their lives, and Dan was now living in an apartment above his hardware store in the middle of the small town. The old man was sentimental and would never sell the little cottage, keeping it so his nephews could use it whenever they wanted.

Sean glanced at his watch. Ten to six. His uncle and Bonnie Whitman were bringing dinner over in a few minutes. He was looking forward to Bonnie’s famous beef stew. It wasn’t often he had a home cooked meal anymore, and the woman could cook better than anyone he knew. She had been Dan’s wife’s best friend since first grade and remained close to the Malone family ever since Dan was widowed at a young age.

“Sean? Are you here?”

He frowned at the strange, female voice. It wasn’t Bonnie—he didn’t know who it was. He stood, stepped over to the porch railing, and looked down. The outside lights bathed the patio and porch in a soft, white glow. He was startled to see a beautiful, blonde woman waving up at him. Her long hair was up in a ponytail, but he could tell just by looking that it was soft and silky. The striking, green eyes staring up at him were familiar, but he couldn’t recall why.

When he didn’t say anything right away, the woman’s mouth widened into the sexiest smile he’d seen in a long time. “You don’t remember me, do you?”

“Um, I’m sorry, I don’t,” he responded in confusion as the woman started climbing the stairs to where he stood.

“I’m Grace Whitman, Bonnie’s niece.”

Sean’s eyes grew wide in shock. “Grace? Holy cow! I’m . . . I’m sorry, I didn’t recognize you.” Looking her up and down—and definitely liking what he saw—he continued. “Wow! The last time I saw you I think you were thirteen and still dressing like a tomboy.”

“And you were eighteen and running off to join the Army.” She walked straight up to him and gave him a friendly hug. His breath caught at the sudden contact. “You look great.”

As she stepped back, he gave her another appraising look. “So do you. I mean, look at you! I can’t believe you’re the same person. I remember you having short hair, skinny knees, and braces.”

She grimaced then smiled wryly. “Yeah, well, I grew up over the past fourteen years.”

Boy has she ever. He shook his head to clear any potential dirty thoughts about her very adult body. Bonnie was family, which made her niece family, too . . . unfortunately. “Not that I’m not glad to see you, but what are you doing here?”

“Aunt Bonnie and Dan told me to meet them here for dinner. Didn’t they tell you I was coming?”

He shook his head again, this time in response to her question. “No, they didn’t.”

“Then that’s why you look so shocked.” She giggled. “I can’t believe how long it’s been since I’ve seen you. Between college and then work, I haven’t been down this way often over the past few years, and when I did manage to come down, you were never here.” She paused, then handed him the bottle of wine she was carrying. “I thought a nice merlot would go great with Aunt Bonnie’s stew.”

Taking the bottle, he indicated the table he had been sitting at earlier. “I’m sorry, where are my manners? Have a seat. I’ll go grab a few glasses and a corkscrew.”

He placed the wine on the table and hurried inside, his thoughts completely on the woman sitting on the porch. Wow! Little Grace Whitman has grown into one hot, gorgeous lady. He never would have expected that. The last time he saw her, she had been short, flat-chested, and all arms and legs with no hips. A little girl. But time had definitely changed her for the better. Now, fourteen years later, she was about five eight, trim, with curves in all the right places, and all woman.

Sean’s adulterated thoughts were interrupted by the sound of car doors slamming. Glancing out the kitchen window, he saw his uncle and Bonnie walking up the driveway. Dan was carrying a large stock pot, while Bonnie held a brown paper bag with a loaf of French bread sticking out the top of it. Leading the way was Dan’s rescue dog, a black Labrador mix named Jinx. Grabbing four wine glasses and a corkscrew, Sean headed back out toward the deck.

Dan, Bonnie, and the dog climbed the porch steps, and the younger Malone held the door open for them with his hip since his hands were full. The aroma from the stock pot almost brought him to his knees. It seemed like a lifetime had passed since he’d tasted Bonnie’s beef stew—at least three years, he figured.

Bonnie winked at him. “I see our surprise got here before we did.”

He winked back. “And a delightful surprise she was. I just wish I’d had a little warning. I’m dressed like a street bum.” And he was. He glanced down, suddenly dismayed that he was wearing an old pair of jeans, with holes in both knees, and a wrinkled, grey T-shirt.

She gave him a quick kiss on his cheek. “Don’t worry. You look fine.”

Letting the door close behind the couple after they entered the cottage, he strode to where Grace was sitting. He placed the wine glasses on the table and set about opening the bottle. “So how long are you visiting for?”

“Oh, I’m not visiting.” Grace began handing him the glasses one by one to be filled. “My move to Whisper is official as of last week.”

“Really? What happened to New York? Aren’t your parents still there?”

“My folks retired to Prescott, Arizona six months ago, but I’m an east coast girl at heart, so I decided to move down here to be closer to Aunt Bonnie.” Taking the last filled glass from Sean, she leaned back in her chair and relaxed. “I’m opening my own physical therapy practice in town, hopefully in two weeks.”

“That’s right! Bonnie told me a few years ago you became a physical therapist. She said you were working for some hospital in New York City.” He took the chair next to her and settled in.

“Right. Columbia Presbyterian. I was there for the past four years and got some great experience.” She paused and shrugged. “But, I’ve always wanted to open my own place. When mom and dad told me they were going to move to Prescott, I decided to open my PT business in Whisper. I looked into it, and there are no physical therapy clinics near here—closest place is a twenty minute ride. This way people don’t have to drive that far two or three times a week. I applied for my state license and got it a few months ago.”

“Good for you.” He held his glass out to her. “Here’s to your success.”

She clinked her glass with his. “Why, thank you. And from your mouth to God’s ear.”

“What are we toasting?” They both looked up to see Dan Malone and Jinx walking toward them.

“To Grace’s new business,” his nephew replied. He handed Dan one of the filled glasses.

“Well, then . . .” Dan raised the glass in a toast. “Here’s to Grace. May she be so busy she has to hire some help.”

Grace laughed, and Sean thought he had never heard anything so beautiful. Giving himself a mental shake, he reminded himself this was Bonnie’s niece. He had no business thinking of her as anything but . . . damn it.

“The chef sent me out to get you,” Dan said. “It’s a little too chilly for us old folks to eat out here so we set the table inside.” He grabbed the fourth glass of wine as Sean stood and took the now empty bottle with him. Grace followed, and Sean held the door open for her and his uncle.

Grace grinned at him. “I see all those manners your parents and Dan drilled into you still exist.”

He chuckled as he followed her inside. “Not holding a door for your elders or a woman is a mortal sin in Dan’s book.”

“Damn straight,” Dan agreed. Spotting Bonnie coming out of the kitchen, he put the wine glasses on the dining table and ran to relieve her of the large bowl of stew she was carrying. “And not helping a lady in need is another one.” He gave Sean a meaningful look. “Now go grab the salad and bread so Bonnie can relax. She’s been slaving over your dinner all day.”

Sean gave his uncle a smile and a smart salute. “Yes, sir!”

The women laughed as Dan scowled at him. “Little brat,” he scoffed in a tone that was nothing but affectionate for his youngest nephew.

Sean returned with a big bowl of salad and a basket of warm, sliced bread and placed them on the table. Taking a seat across from Grace, he bowed his head as Dan asked for God’s blessing for their meal.

As Jinx snored softly from his spot under Dan’s chair, the conversation at dinner consisted mostly of Grace and Sean relating what had been going on in their lives since they’d last seen each other. Sean told her how he’d received his master’s degree in criminal justice while in the Army. After he was accepted into the FBI academy in Quantico, he put in for, and received, his honorable discharge. “I’ve spent my entire career, so far, in Jacksonville, Florida. But I put in for a transfer to be near my new niece or nephew.”

Grace nodded as she swallow a sip of wine. “Dan told me KC got married and his wife is pregnant. That’s great. I can’t wait to meet them. I barely knew KC since he was seventeen when you all came to live with Dan, and then he took off for the Navy the following year. Since I was nine then, and only here visiting Bonnie during the summers and on holidays, I knew you and Brian better.”

Sean thought back to his teenage years. He had been fourteen and his brother Brian sixteen when their parents were suddenly taken away from them. The couple had been flying to Hawaii to celebrate their twentieth anniversary when the plane crashed shortly after takeoff, killing all 194 souls on board. Dan, a widower with no children of his own, had taken the three boys in to finish raising them as his brother and his wife had—with rules, sternness, and a lot of love. He may have been thrown unexpectedly into the role of parent, but Dan Malone had fully accepted the responsibility and the boys had flourished. Despite the tragedy in their formative years, the three boys had grown up to be respectable men, each serving in a different branch of the military. KC had chosen a career in the Navy, and Sean and Brian had both gone into law enforcement after stints in the Army and Air Force, respectively. Their uncle couldn’t be prouder of them and was always bragging about their accomplishments to anyone willing to listen.

Bringing his thoughts back to the present, Sean told Grace, “Well, you’ll see KC and Moriah in two weeks for Easter, since they’re coming here. Bonnie invited us all for dinner—God bless her and her fantastic cooking.” He chuckled, giving the older woman a quick look filled with fondness. “You’ll see Brian, too. He’s a detective with the state troopers now and lives near Elizabeth City.”

“Good for him,” Grace replied, then added enthusiastically, “I can’t wait to see him.”

Sean silently gritted his teeth. He remembering teasing his older brother when it had been obvious the prepubescent Grace had an enormous crush on Brian. Now, though, the thought of Grace and Brian together bothered the hell out of him. Did she still have an infatuation for the middle Malone brother? He sure as hell hoped not.

The rest of the evening went by quickly, but comfortably, and Sean’s guests left just after 10:00 p.m. Three hours later, he was sound asleep having a very erotic dream about a woman who looked, not surprisingly, exactly like Grace Whitman, and she was doing incredible things to him with her mouth and hands. But for some reason, there was an annoying telephone ringing in the background of his dream. It was making it hard for him to concentrate on what his fantasy woman was doing to him.

His eyes opened, and he realized the ringing was coming from his cell phone on the nightstand next to him. Groaning at the untimely interruption and the fact that he was harder than he had been in a long time, he grabbed the phone and answered it without looking at the caller ID.

“Who the hell is this?” he growled.

There was a pause and then, “Sean? It’s Sheriff Griffin. Sorry to wake you.”

“Matt?” He glanced at the bedside clock. One fifteen in the morning. A brush of fear swept over him. “What’s wrong? Is it Uncle Dan?”

“No! No! Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you,” the sheriff apologized. “But I need your professional assistance. Dan told me you were staying at the beach house. I’m out on a homicide, and I think we have a major problem on our hands. I’d appreciate it if you could come take a look.”

Sean sat up, the last of his dream fading quickly from his head. He climbed out of bed. “Where are you?” Whatever Matt needed help with, it didn’t sound good. In fact, the man actually sounded scared.

“Do you remember how to get to Red Maple Park?”

“Yeah.” He pulled a clean, unripped pair of jeans out of the middle dresser drawer.

“Well, when you get here, follow the lights.” The sheriff paused again as he cleared his throat. “And Sean?”

“What?”

“I hope you have an empty stomach.”

Fuck.