Charley spent a week in the hospital, mostly because of an infection that set in after her surgery that left her weak and drained from the ordeal of fighting it off. Her brothers, sisters, grandfather, aunt and cousins came by every day after work, between shifts, whenever they could, bringing books, movies, flowers, chocolate and anything they could think of to cheer her up and help pass the time. Hunter loaned his laptop to the cause, and she used it to watch movies.

While her family was in and out, Tyler was there all the time. He’d appointed himself her ambassador of sorts with the doctors who did rounds when she was asleep and the nurses who came and went throughout the day and night. During the worst of the infection, when she’d been gripped with a fever, he added blankets when she shivered with cold and bathed her forehead with cool cloths when she was sweltering.

It took far longer than it should have for Charley to come to the realization that her siblings, particularly her sisters, had to be in collusion with Tyler for him to have such unfettered access to her. She waited until he’d gone to get some food before she pounced on Ella.

“What gives?” she asked.

Ella paused in the midst of folding a blanket. “What do you mean?”

“He is here all the time. Morning and night. The nurses even let him sleep here. How did that happen?”

“He offered to stay with you, and he was so nice and sincere and worried about you that we couldn’t say no to him.”

“Yes, you could have.”

Ella averted her gaze and bit her lip, a classic Ella “tell.”

“You’re lying! What’s really going on? You’d better tell me, or I’ll kick your ass the second I’m out of here.”

Ella rolled her eyes. “Whatever. You won’t be kicking anyone’s ass for months.”

“I’ll remember this, and I’ll kick yours the minute I’m able to.”

Ella draped the blanket across the foot of Charley’s bed and then sat, gingerly, so she wouldn’t jar Charley’s injured leg. “We like him, Charley. He’s a really good guy, and he cares a lot about you. Plus, when you said you agreed to go to his place after you get out of here, we thought you must like him, too, or you never would’ve gone along with that plan.”

She wasn’t sure how to reply to that, because it made far too much sense.

“Do you like him?” Ella asked.

Charley would’ve squirmed under Ella’s intense gaze, but squirming led to pain. “He’s okay.”

“How can you be so nonchalant when the guy has put his whole life on hold to be here for you when you needed him?”

“I never said I needed him. He decided that.” As she said the words, Charley felt guilty for downplaying his help. He had been amazing and selfless and wonderful. She couldn’t deny that.

“I have something I want to say to you, and I want you to listen to me, all right?”

The unusually serious tone of Ella’s voice put Charley on alert. “What?”

“Tyler is a good man who cares about you for some strange reason. He’s incredibly handsome and adorable and devoted. Will you please be nice to him and show some gratitude for what he’s done for you? Vivienne said he’s got a room set up for you, including everything you’ll need to do physical therapy at home rather than having to go somewhere.”

In need of something to do with her hands, Charley played with the blanket, letting it slide through her fingers. “When could he have done that when he’s been here so much?”

“Apparently, he had it done. Called people. Hired them. Whatever. He’s gone to a lot of trouble—and expense—to make things easy for you. All I’m asking is that you be nice to him and give him a chance.”

“He overwhelms me.”

Ella stared at her, agog. “I’ve never once heard you say anything or anyone overwhelms you.”

Charley scowled at her. “Well, he does. He’s so . . . I don’t even know what the word is.”

“Devoted?”

“Yes! And why is he so devoted? Before this happened, I’d never given him any encouragement. I don’t get it.”

Ella began to laugh, her body silently rocking.

“What the hell is so funny?”

“You are. He likes you, Charley. He really likes you.”

“Why? Why does he like me? I don’t know if you’ve noticed but I can be somewhat unlikable at times.”

“I have no idea what you mean,” Ella said with a smirk. “And you’re not unlikable. You’re exacting. There’s a difference.”

“Exacting . . . Is that what it’s called? Men like me are considered badasses. Women like me are bitches.”

“You’re not a bitch. You’ve got a great big heart, and you’d do anything for anyone. You know what you want and what you don’t, and there’s nothing wrong with being true to yourself. All I’m saying is it might be okay to let down your guard a little with Tyler. He genuinely cares. Even when you were shooting him down, he still kept trying. You’ve got to give him props for that.”

“Maybe,” Charley conceded. He had been determined. She’d never deny that. “Let’s talk about you rather than me. How’s it going with Gavin?”

“Fantastic,” Ella said with a happy, dopey smile and a deep sigh. “It just keeps getting better all the time.” She glanced over her shoulder and then lowered her voice. “We’re moving in together after the holidays.”

“Wow, that’s huge news! When were you going to tell me?”

“You’ve been a little busy being injured and feverish.”

“Still . . . You know how I need to know everything.”

Ella laughed. “My apologies for holding out on you. Won’t happen again.”

“See that it doesn’t.”

“Same to you—I want to know everything that’s going on with Tyler.”

“There’s nothing going on except in your imagination.”

“Yet,” Ella said with the knowing smirk that set Charley’s nerves on edge.

“Still talking about you, not me. Which one of you is moving?”

“I am. He owns his place, and it’s way bigger than mine—and far more private. Mrs. Abernathy has big ears,” Ella said of her landlady, who’d been their math teacher in high school.

“You must be giving her plenty to hear.”

“Maybe,” Ella said with a wink.

“I’m happy for you, El. You’ve got it all figured out, and you got the guy you always wanted.”

“It wasn’t easy. You know that better than most people. But it was worth the hell and heartache to get to where we are now.”

“When’s the wedding?”

“I don’t know yet. We’ve talked a little about the summer, but we haven’t made any solid plans. We’re not in a huge rush.”

“I thought you wanted to have a baby like yesterday.”

“I do, and so does he. If the baby comes before the wedding, we’re both fine with that. I’m going to be thirty-two soon, and we want to have a nice wedding that’ll take time to plan. If I get pregnant before then, so be it.”

“Wow, have you told Mom that?”

“Max sort of paved the way for the rest of us by having Caden when he wasn’t married.”

“That’s true,” Charley said. “Have you talked to him at all? He was in to see me the other day, but he couldn’t really talk with Tyler here and nurses in and out.”

“I haven’t seen much of him since the baby was born. Colton said Max is back to work on the mountain when he doesn’t have Caden.”

“And the baby will still be in Burlington with Chloe the rest of the time?”

“I guess. Not sure how that’s going to work.”

“I can’t imagine how hard it must be for them to have broken up right before the baby was born.”

“I know,” Ella said. “Gavin and I were talking about that the other night. Max has a lot on his plate.”

“He knows he’s not alone, not with this family surrounding him.”

“Still . . . He has to be going crazy trying to figure out how he’s going to work here with Colton while taking care of his son who lives two hours away.”

“Maybe he can talk Chloe into moving over here.”

“Doubtful. She doesn’t seem willing to do anything to make his life easier.”

“I hate this for him. It totally sucks.”

“Yes, it does, and you might want to think about how lousy Chloe has been to him while Tyler is waiting on you hand and foot.”

“You need to work on your subtlety.”

“I’m just saying . . .”

“Yeah, yeah, I heard you the first two hundred times. I know he’s a nice guy. That’s not the issue.”

“Then what is?”

Charley was saved from having to respond when the doctor entered the room with the usual entourage of interns and residents who sucked up to him every chance they got. It had been a source of endless amusement to her and Tyler, who’d been great about taking notes every time the doctor came by on rounds.

“How’re you feeling today, Charlotte?” the doctor asked as he perused her chart.

“Much better and ready to get the hell out of here.”

“Your blood work came back great this morning. If you feel up to it, I don’t see any reason why we can’t spring you today. What’s your plan for recuperation?”

“My, um, friend Tyler, who’s been here with me, has set me up at his house. It’s all one level, and he’s brought in everything we’ll need to do PT at home.”

“That’s one heck of a friend you’ve got there.”

Ella shot her an I-told-you-so look that put Charley’s hackles up. Just because she was letting him help her didn’t mean she was going to marry the guy.

The guy in question came into the room and immediately began questioning the doctor about her progress. Since he’d been there with her all week, the doctor had sought her permission to speak to him directly when he asked questions she never would’ve thought of.

Tyler quizzed the doctor on every aspect of her return home, from medication to possible side effects to physical therapy and how soon it could start.

Charley’s head spun with information, but Tyler listened intently, taking notes on his phone as the doctor spoke.

“The nurses will take it from here,” the doctor said. “I’ll see you in the office next week. Keep a close eye on the incisions, and let me know right away if you see any swelling or redness.” He handed Tyler his card. “My cell number is on there. Call me day or night.”

Tyler shook his hand. “Thanks so much for everything.”

The doctor then shook hands with Charley. “It’s been a pleasure. Charlotte, take it easy and get plenty of rest. Do what this nice young man tells you to.”

Really? He had to say that? “Thanks, Doc,” she said through gritted teeth while Ella beamed with amusement.

“I’ll take good care of her,” Tyler said.

Charley was already having buyer’s regret on this plan of his, and they hadn’t left the hospital yet.

Ella stayed to help the nurses get her up and dressed to leave the hospital. By the time she was seated on the bed, clean and dressed in a sweatshirt and a pair of sweats of Tyler’s that he’d brought in hoping they’d fit over the leg brace, Charley was completely wiped out. She’d never felt more depleted in her life. Between the injuries she’d sustained in the fall and the infection she’d battled after the surgery, she was weak as a newborn.

So much for her grand plan to run a marathon in the spring.

By the time they got her to Tyler’s waiting Range Rover, she was seriously doubting she’d ever move again under her own power, let alone run a marathon.

“Don’t do a thing,” Tyler said. “I’ll do it all with the nurses.”

Because she had no choice, she ceded to his wishes even when her first impulse was to tell him to stop being so bossy with her. He was only trying to help her, and there was no place in the midst of all that devotion for her to be bitchy. Besides, bitchiness would take resources she just didn’t have.

After he buckled her into the car, Tyler produced a wad of keys that he handed to Ella. “These are for my place. You all should come and go as you please while Charley is there.”

“This is so nice of you, Tyler. We really appreciate what you’re doing for Charley.”

“It’s no problem. Least I could do.”

Charley wanted to tell him—again—that none of this was his fault. She’d gone on that run knowing it was dangerous and risky, and she’d done it fully aware that he’d challenged her because he wanted her with him and knew she’d never back down. But telling him that would require energy she just didn’t have.

She’d tell him later. When she could keep her eyes open long enough to form a sentence—or two.

Tyler’s nerves were shredded as he drove Charley home to his place up in the Butler Mountain foothills, not far from where she’d fallen. He’d built the house three years ago and had spared no expense or attention to detail since he worked from home and was there more often than not.

He hoped she liked it as much as he did, and he hoped she’d be comfortable there while she recovered.

However, he also worried that she would take one look at the place and jump to conclusions about him that weren’t that far off. He’d made a lot of money in the stock market and had a comfortable lifestyle as a result. That was just one of many things she didn’t know about him.

Charlotte Abbott had repeatedly dismissed him because she thought she had him figured out. She thought he was like every other guy in Butler who pursued her relentlessly because she was gorgeous and sexy and fun and mouthy and challenging. Until Tyler met her, he’d had no idea that those qualities were a huge turn-on for him.

She’d rejected him more than any other woman ever had, and he still wanted her. His friends said he was a masochist to be stuck on a woman like Charley, who led with her mouth and her fists.

Tyler chuckled softly at that image of her, knowing she’d love that he thought of her in such graphic terms. She didn’t need to know that he also pictured her in sexy lingerie with her mouth and fist wrapped around his cock. The second that thought registered, he hardened. Great . . . Because that was just what she needed—him lusting after her when he’d brought her home to recover from a serious injury.

Put some ice on it, Westcott. This arrangement is all about rest and recuperation. Keep your mind out of the gutter. Throwing the car into park in front of his three-car garage, he kept repeating those instructions to himself over and over again until the throbbing in his lap let up.

Then he made the mistake of looking over at her, and his resolve flew out the window. She was so damned gorgeous, especially asleep with her claws sheathed. Her cheeks were flushed from the heater, her lips puckered in repose and her hands folded peacefully in her lap.

He wanted to reach out and run a fingertip over that perfect face, to see if her skin was as soft as it looked, but he didn’t dare. If she caught him, she’d call a halt to everything and he’d lose the chance he’d been given to prove to her that she belonged with him. Tyler couldn’t say exactly when he’d decided that. It had happened over a period of years and many, many rejections. He’d lost count of how many times he’d asked her out and how many times she’d said no. The number had to be in triple digits by now.

He took a lot of abuse about Charley from his friends and family, who’d been urging him lately to accept defeat and move on. But that wasn’t how he rolled. Defeat only made him dig in deeper and try harder. That was how he’d managed to accrue a fortune working from a home office with a couple of laptops and several TVs set to financial news channels.

Giving up wasn’t an option, not when he was convinced they could have something special, if only she’d give him a chance to show her what was possible. When he began to shiver from the cold, he realized he’d been sitting there staring at her for far longer than he should’ve been.

He pressed the button on the garage door opener and then went around to open her door. Though he hated to disturb her, he didn’t want to touch her without her permission or her awareness. The last thing in the world he wanted to do was cause her any further pain or distress.

“Hey, Charley,” he said softly.

She didn’t budge.

“Charley.”

Wow, she was really asleep. Probably because of the painkillers the nurses had given her to make the trip home more comfortable. Shit, what to do. Since leaving her in the cold wasn’t an option, he went in through the garage to open the doors to the house so he could carry her in without obstruction. He went back to the SUV to get her, reaching over her body to unclip her seatbelt. Then he carefully and gently lifted her into his arms, taking care to keep her injured leg supported.

Though her personality packed a big wallop, she was a compact package that fit easily—and comfortably—in his arms. He moved slowly because God forbid he should slip on unseen ice or jostle her. Inside, he went directly to his room, which his mother had set up for her.

Charley didn’t need to know that he’d given her his room, and she wouldn’t see much of the rest of the house for a few days, which bought him some time until she learned things about him he wasn’t quite ready to share. Not that he thought Charley or any of the Abbotts were materialistic. He didn’t think that at all. They were a nice, hardworking, well-grounded family.

He placed her on the bed, propping her leg on a stack of pillows as the nurses had instructed him to do, put an ice pack on her knee, and covered her with a down comforter.

She never stirred, which told him she’d be asleep for a while yet. Ella was coming over shortly with Charley’s prescriptions, so he would leave her to sleep while he did some work to catch up from the week he’d spent at the hospital.

As he walked out of the room, he couldn’t help but smile. Charley Abbott was sleeping in his bed. The scenario that had brought her here wasn’t exactly ideal, but he hoped to make the most of their time together to show her what might be possible for them.

He no sooner had that thought than another more disturbing one intruded to remind him that it was entirely possible—even probable—that she would leave here as soon as she was able with no more desire to be with him than she’d had before.

“I can’t let that happen,” he said out loud, almost as if saying it would make it so. “She has to see that no other guy is ever going to care about her the way I do.”

The sound of his mother’s voice jarred him out of the disturbing thoughts. “Sweetheart? Are you here?”

“Come in, Mom.”

Vivienne bustled around his kitchen, plugging in the Crock-Pot she had brought and depositing a basket of home-baked bread on the counter. “I brought some stew for you and Charley. I hope she eats meat. Do you know if she does?”

The innocent question was a reminder of how much he still had to learn about Charley. But he wanted to know her—really know her. What she liked and didn’t like, her favorite food, her favorite music, color, movie. “I, um, I think she does.” She’d been on a mostly liquid diet in the hospital, so he wasn’t entirely sure.

“Well, if she doesn’t, she can eat the vegetables. How’s she doing?”

“She’s asleep. Whatever they gave her for the trip home really knocked her out.”

“Just remember to stay on top of the pain meds. You don’t want to let them wear off.”

“Her sister is picking up her prescriptions and bringing them here.”

“You look exhausted, sweetheart.”

“It’ll be nice to sleep in a real bed tonight.”

“I hope Charley appreciates all you’re doing for her.”

Tyler laughed. “Who knows if she does and who cares? You can feel free to tell me I’m totally foolish for using an injury to get closer to a woman.”

“The last word I’d ever use to describe you is foolish. Loyal, devoted, thoughtful, smart, savvy, handsome. I’d use those words before foolish any day.”

“You have to say that stuff. You’re my mom.”

“When have you ever known me to say something because I had to? I mean it. You’re a catch, Ty. And if she doesn’t realize that, she’s the foolish one.”

“She’s not like other women.” Blame the oversharing on the exhaustion and the emotionally charged days that had followed her surgery. The infection had scared the hell out of him.

“No,” Vivienne said with a chuckle, “she certainly isn’t. She’s a tough nut to crack that one, but I like her. She’s feisty and knows what she’s about.”

“Her siblings tell her—to her face—that she’s a pain in the ass. She takes that as a compliment.”

Vivienne laughed. “Of course she does. And her siblings may be right, but at the end of the day, she’s a good person. She does the right thing and cares about the people she loves. Not too many people know that she regularly delivers meals to Mildred Olsen and does her grocery shopping and errands for her.”

Intrigued to hear of Charley’s kindness to the Abbotts’ oldest employee, Tyler said, “Who’s going to do that while Charley is laid up?”

“The ladies in the store have it covered. Don’t worry.” After a pause, she said, “In case you were wondering, Charley also volunteers at the animal shelter and mentors young girls at Butler High School about career opportunities.”

“You just doubled what I already knew about her.”

“My point is that no one is as simple or as complex as they appear on the surface. There’s always more to the story.”

Tyler wanted Charley’s full story. He wanted to know everything about her. “What does it say about me that I’m so gone over a woman I barely know?”

“Attraction is half the battle, my dear. When I first met your father, I remember thinking he could be a garbage man for all I cared. He was so handsome and so kind.” She fanned her face with her hand and flashed a suggestive smile his way. “In fact, I might go see what he’s up to.”

“Please, Mother,” Tyler said groaning. “Stop.”

“What? Aren’t you happy to hear that your parents still got it going on after forty years together?”

“No, I am not happy to hear that. Not one bit happy.”

Laughing at the scowl he directed her way, she went up on tiptoes to kiss his cheek. “I shall hope that you, too, are still hot and bothered for the woman you marry after forty years.”

He covered his ears and closed his eyes. “Make it stop.”

Laughing again, she said, “Stop being such a baby.”

“Whaaaa.”

She chuckled at the face he made at her. “You know, son, her siblings must really like you for her to have agreed to this plan of yours. If they weren’t on Team Tyler, they would’ve figured out a way to have her at one of their homes.”

Tyler dropped his hands and opened his eyes. “I suppose that must be true.”

“I work for them. I know how tight they are. They like you, or she wouldn’t be here.” She zipped up her coat and pulled on gloves. “I’ll be by tomorrow to check on you guys, and call me if you need anything.”

“I will. Thanks again for everything, Mom.”

“Happy to help you any time. You know that.” She placed her hand flat against his chest. “Tread lightly with this kind heart of yours. I like Charley very much, but don’t let her hurt you, Ty. You hear me?”

“Yeah, I hear you.” He kissed her cheek and sent her on the way to God knows what with his father.