Linx closed up the Rescue Center after Vanessa departed with the two retrievers and Aurora, the black chow. Poor Bob had been passed over again. Vanessa wanted to take him, but because he was so elderly, she felt it would be another source of grief when he passed on.

Linx gave the bulldog a hearty neck scratch and patted him. “Someone will fall in love with you. You’re such a good dog.”

The rest of the dogs had been fed, and they were quieting down as the shadows lengthened into the cool, summer evening.

She opened Sam’s pen. “Come on, boy. We’re going to take a trip.”

After checking that Cedar was comfortable inside the cabin, Linx snapped a leash onto Sam’s collar and put him in the passenger compartment of her Durango.

Grady’s family had been all over the town looking for him, but after talking to Paul, they decided he might have headed back to Redstone to join a fire crew.

Off they flew, probably on a wild goose chase, every single one of them, including his two pregnant sisters. Grady used to tell Linx how his family smothered him, and that the reason he went incognito was so he could come and go as he pleased, without worrying the people he loved.

He’d spent years training them to stop obsessing about him or bothering him. He claimed he didn’t need anyone to care.

But Linx knew Grady better than anyone.

He was like her—embracing loneliness instead of admitting his need for companionship.

That was why he turned to dogs—until he lost Sasha and turned bitter toward any sort of attachment.

Once, long ago, there was a Grady who watched the eagles soar on a mountain peak, who climbed tall trees and sat up in the branches, looking at the clouds above. A Grady who splashed with her in a hidden swimming hole. Who explored caves and lay on a grassy meadow tracing stars.

He never spoke much, but surrounded by sweet nature, he was happy and content, and she had shared it with him, in those rare moments they’d been able to get away from the fire training camp.

Linx turned the truck up the unmarked road, putting it in four-wheel-drive. The landscape was surprisingly lush with charred stumps surrounded by the pale green shoots of new trees. Vines wrapped fingers around the spidery outlines of the dead, but the giant sequoias stood tall and alive, survivors of centuries of wildfires.

Sam hung his head out the window, sniffing and observing the hillside. He was a quiet dog, pensive, and he didn’t require much attention or affection.

She had no idea if Grady was back, but it didn’t matter. She’d take Sam up there and let him get acclimatized, and she could also use a walk to clear her head. Besides, she was curious to see the progress he made for the new cabin.

Smoke from a campfire drifted up in the wind—oily with charcoal and charred meat. Her heart quickened at the thought that he could be back. She hung the final turn and spotted his truck.

Sam let out a grunt as his nose worked overtime and his body shuddered with excitement.

“Looks like we’re in time for dinner.” Linx cut the engine and opened the door. “One guess as to who’s at the camp stove.”

So she was stalking him, invading his privacy, and he would be within his rights to throw her off his property. But she’d brought a gift, a peace offering, and hopefully, he would be open to her presence, despite the hurtful words they had said in parting.

She closed the door as silently as she could and walked light-footed with Sam up to the clearing.

Grady looked up from the ruins of his old cabin. He’d made a fire inside the stack of bricks over what had been the fireplace.

Linx rolled up Sam’s leash tighter to keep the dog at her side and stood on the flagstones where the door used to be.

Grady took the steak off the grill and wiped his hands on his jeans jacket.

Linx waited.

Maybe he’d pretend she wasn’t present and go on with his dinner. If he was surprised, he sure didn’t show it.

Taking a knife, he cut the steak in half. The blood glistened from the piece of meat and beside her, Sam licked his chops.

Okay, so he’d acknowledged the dog, but not her.

Turning back to the remnants of the stove, he put on fire mitts and removed a covered cast iron Dutch oven from the fire. The smell of pork and baked beans wafted over the ruins of the cabin as he lifted the lid and stirred the contents.

Linx watched him, but she made no move. She wasn’t going to enter his cabin uninvited. Maybe she should let go of the leash and let Sam go to Grady.

Then she’d leave man and dog alone.

Standing there watching him ignore her cut her like a knife. Her heart still bled, and every bone in her body ached to go to him. She needed to know she still meant something to him—needed to feel his arms around her, needed his lips on hers.

Needed what he couldn’t give her.

Bending down, she unclipped Sam from the leash and rubbed his neck. “Goodbye, boy. Be good to him.”

Sam needed no other encouragement. He padded across the dirt and pebbles toward Grady.

Linx turned around and walked away.

It was over. The hurt of losing Jessie was too much for him. She understood.

If the roles had been reversed, she’d fight like a mama bear to get her cub back. And she’d hate him forever for giving her away.

She opened the door of the SUV and whirled around when Grady put his hand over hers.

“You’re not staying for dinner?” he asked, his voice gruff.

His eyes were rimmed with red, and he looked like he hadn’t slept for days.

“Where did you go? You had all of us worried.”

He shrugged and looked back at the camp stove. “Let’s eat. How’d you end up with Sam?”

“Vanessa dropped him off. She’s worried about you, too.”

“Look, I’m not a man any woman should be worried about.” Grady put a hand on the small of Linx’s back and guided her back to the ruins of the cabin. “Tell Nessa, I’m sorry I left her clients in a lurch.”

And he even had a nickname for her, although she did seem more like a Nessa than a Vanessa.

“She seems like a nice woman,” Linx said, swallowing a spike of jealousy. “Very kind-hearted and understanding.”

“She is.” Grady bent down and rubbed the dog’s neck. “I totally blanked out about going to fetch him. He’s not a bad dog.”

“No, not at all.” Linx watched as Grady set out two plates on a pile of wood and divided the steak between them. He served the baked beans and put a fork and knife beside each plate.

“Want to eat out here or in the trailer?” he asked. “Trailer’s a little cramped but we can sit.”

“Let’s stay out here,” she replied. “I love the way it cools down in the evening.”

He cut a piece of steak and threw it at Sam. “How’d you know I was back?”

“I didn’t. I just came up here to check. Your family came up here to look for you, too.”

“They don’t know about Jessie,” Grady said, then gestured to her steak. “Go ahead. Dig in.”

“You haven’t told Cait.” It was more a statement than a question, since Linx had already spilled the beans to Cait. By now, the entire Hart clan would be up in arms, speculating about the little girl. They could even be stalking her at church where her father pastored.

“Why hurt everyone?” Grady shrugged as he chewed on a piece of steak. “It’s not like I have custody of her.”

“Sorry.” Linx sawed at her half of the steak. “I thought you were leaving and not coming back. I’m glad you’re back.”

“My daughter’s here. And you.”

Her heartbeat accelerated at his acknowledgment of Jessie and her. Could it mean he was softening toward her? After the unspeakable thing she’d done?

“Where did you go these past few days?” Linx hazarded a glance at Grady’s solemn face.

His lips turned down. “I went to Redstone to look for Salem’s body. I can’t get over the feeling she deliberately turned her chute into the fire.”

“She committed suicide?” Linx gasped and coughed.

“No. I took a closer look at the terrain, visualized the way it looked with the smoke and burning trees, and the drop area where we landed. Thing is, I might have gotten the directions reversed. The plane turned around several times during the jump.”

“Are you saying she’s alive?”

“They never found her body.”

“The area was burned to the ground, wasn’t it?”

“The place I thought she landed,” Grady said. He pursed his lips and shook his head. “Met Chief Montgomery on the trail.”

“How’s he doing? Fire season must be busy,” Linx said.

“It’s a crazy season. They’ve had a rash of suspicious fires. Chief Montgomery’s house, Jake, Duane, Tim’s trailer all went up in flames three to six weeks back.”

“That’s a heck of a coincidence.”

Grady tugged his collar and nodded. “Especially since they all slept with Salem.”

“Wow.” Linx dropped her fork and reached for Grady across the woodpile. “That explains your parents’ cabin being set on fire. Is Paul in danger?”

“Paul bought the saloon about three weeks back. The fires stopped up there and started here, or at least one fire did. Coincidence?”

“You mean he might have set the fires?”

Grady shrugged and chewed on his steak. “What would be his motive?”

“Revenge, especially if he blames you guys for Salem’s death.” A chill wiggled its way down Linx’s spine, and she glanced at Grady’s trailer. “Is it safe for you to spend the night here?”

“Now that you brought me a dog, yes. Plus, I’m packing a pistol.”

“No, you’re staying with me.” Linx rubbed his arm. “You can still come up here and work on the cabin, but I don’t want you attacked.”

Grady rolled his eyes and twisted a corner of his mouth, looking halfway amused. “A man stands his ground. He doesn’t run and hide, especially behind a woman.”

“We have to report this to the police,” Linx argued. “I’ll ask Todd.”

“To do what? Run a patrol every so often? Heck, your brother would rather I leave town.”

“Not if he knew that Salem intercepted all of our messages. My family thinks you dumped me and denied the baby.” Linx moved her hand down Grady’s arm and held his hand. “Come to dinner with my family tomorrow night and I’ll explain.”

“It won’t change what you did.” He gave her hand a squeeze.

“I know, but it’ll change the way they think about you. It’s important to me.”

Since they were both standing in front of the woodpile, he leaned toward her. “Why do you care?”

Linx felt the earth tilt on its axis, and her heart beat on overdrive. Why did she care? Was this crazy off-balanced feeling something more than sexual desire?

After all, if she only wanted to get laid, why would it matter if her family hated him?

“You’re Jessie’s father. I don’t want them to think he’s a jerk.”

“You didn’t mind that before.” His voice deepened and he closed in, his expression softening.

“I do now. I feel everything differently, knowing Salem cut the lines of communication.”

“We can’t blame her for everything. She was only the catalyst. I still should have followed up.”

“Is that why you went to Redstone? To see if Salem somehow survived and had her baby?”

He nodded solemnly. “I didn’t find her.”

“If Salem’s still alive, do you think she had her baby?”

Grady nodded slowly. “She would have had it end of May, if she’s still alive.”

“Wouldn’t she have contacted Paul? Or asked for paternity tests?”

“Could have decided it wasn’t Paul’s and put it up for adoption.”

“I’m sorry.” Linx stroked Grady’s arm to comfort him. “You can’t let all these what ifs paralyze you. All we know is there’s no body, and someone’s setting fire to the houses of the guys she slept with.”

“I wish I’d never touched what she offered.” Grady’s voice was laced with regret. “That’s not how I feel about you.”

“Oh …”

What could she say? She hated even being compared to any other woman.

He drew her into his arms and held her so close she could hear and feel that big heart of his beating. What was he trying to tell her?

“I’m having a hard time deciding what to do about Jessie.” He finally broke the silence. “I want to be her father. It’s my right, because I never gave consent.”

Linx squeezed her eyes shut as she shuddered with emotion. She, also, had fantasized about taking Jessie home with her, raising her alone and somehow, miraculously becoming a better mother than her own.

“I should have never given her away.” The words choked out. “I could have made it as a single mom. Many women do it.”

Grady’s body tensed and he pushed back. “You were young and confused. It was a good decision at the time. You didn’t know I’d be back.”

“Are you saying I would have been a horrible mother?” Linx whipped her glare at him, not understanding why she felt so defensive.

“No. Not at all.” His dark-brown eyes pierced through her. “I’ve seen you with Ginger. You had no support system, and if Salem were your only friend at the time, I’m sure she told you to give it away.”

“I wanted to keep her, but with my grandmother passing away a month before Jessie was born, no one knew what to do. My father least of all. He’d done the single parent route and it was rough, even with my grandmother around. I wish I hadn’t been so weak.” She bit her knuckles as a surge of tears wet her eyes. “I wish I’d stuck to my guns and been braver.”

“I’m going to consult a lawyer and see what we can do.” He gripped her tightly. “If you’re okay with it.”

“I … I want her back, all the time, but what about her? She doesn’t know we’re her parents.”

“Right, but living a lie is never a good solution.” Grady fixed her with a solemn stare. “I want to be her father, whether you want to be her mother or not. I never gave up my rights.”

“My sister’s a lawyer,” Linx said. “We can get a free consult from her.”

“Sure, guess I will be meeting your family then.” He kissed the top of her head and tucked a tendril of hair behind her ear. “We both have a lifetime of regrets, but while I was looking over the burn scar, I realized something.”

“What?”

“Wildflowers, shrubs, grasses springing up around the dead trees. New hope.”

Linx peeked at Grady’s face, wondering if this was the same surly grouch she’d known these last few months. He seemed strangely at peace.

“Knowing Jessie’s mine.” He swallowed as he cupped her cheek. “Knowing she’s got a home here means I have a home here, too. I want to watch her grow up. I want to teach her how to fly a kite, hit a softball, ride a horse, and be here for her.”

“I want the same.”

If only he’d said these beautiful words seven years ago. Linx leaned up to Grady, her insides melting, and he met her halfway with the most tender, sweetest kiss she’d ever tasted from him.

Her emotions bloomed. She let her lips tangle with his, inhaling his masculine breath, the heat of his body, and gently caressing the two-day growth of beard on his strong jaw.

This was the Grady she’d wished for, the strong, silent type with the big heart. Maybe it’d taken the shock of having a daughter to bring him out of his shell, but whatever it was, her heart ached while a delectable movie played in her mind.

Jessie, Grady, and her, the three of them holding hands as they hiked to the top of the mountain, watching eagles soar and letting the breeze of hope wash over their upturned faces.