Skye’s shift three days ago had kept her running from one catastrophe to the next. She hoped for another equally busy day—not for trauma or emergencies because those came at the expense of pain and suffering, but for easy, fixable things. Something that would keep her day jumping and her mind focused. Thinking about Ash and her future with him consumed too much emotional energy.

She walked to the nurses’ counter, spotting her mentor, Bob. He appeared less tired, standing tall, and his hair wasn’t a mess of combed-through worry. Nancy stood across from him, her head nodding in response to whatever he was telling her.

When Skye tapped Bob on the shoulder, he turned and lifted a single eyebrow. “Seems like you’ve had an eventful three days, Dr. Summers. Or should I say Dr. Dean?”

All conversation stopped. Silence rarely happened in the middle of an emergency department.

The sudden weight of it smothered her, leaving her breathless, but she composed herself and dropped her bag behind the counter. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Oh, come on!” Sally, one of the respiratory therapists, looked at Skye’s finger. “Where’s the ring?”

Nancy came flying around the corner, screeching, “Dr. Summers, you married a rock star. Spill the beans!”

Her coworkers crowded around, offering congratulations and surprise at the sudden change in her relationship status. A few asked for autographs or even tickets to the upcoming concerts where Angel Fire would be playing on Friday and Saturday nights.

She grinned, remembering how Ash had told her he needed to be back in town by Friday because he had a thing. That’d evidently meant putting on a show in front of tens of thousands of screaming fans.

Bob hung back, crossing his arms, an unreadable but concerned look etched on his face.

After a few minutes, she waved everyone away. “Enough already. I need to get Dr. Manley out of here.”

She extricated herself from her coworkers. “You ready to sign out your patients?”

He gave a curt nod. “Are you okay?”

“I’m good for my shift, but we probably need to talk.”

“Yes. It seems things have changed for you.”

He walked over to the patient status board, which listed all the critical patients and the state of their current medical workups. Exam status, labs, and X-ray studies were marked with red boxes or checkmarks, denoting their to-do or done status. As always, the board was full.

She couldn’t help but smile at his stern but fatherly expression. “Tell me about the patients, Bob.”

Most looked stable, but a full day of work stretched out in front of her, perfect for a troubled mind. There wouldn’t be any time to worry about the problem named Ash.

Bob signed out all the patients, focusing on those who were critical. Before he left, he hesitated, seeming to struggle with what he wanted to say. “Looks like your nobody became a somebody.”

“I guess he did.”

“And Spencer? How did he take the news?”

She had yet to deal with that string of emails and texts. Spencer remained a problem. He was still out of the country. By Tuesday, he would return, and then she’d give back his ring.

“Still working on that.”

“He’d have to be living under a rock not to have heard, considering it’s all over the news. You sure you want him to find out via the tabloids that his fiancée married another guy?”

“I’ll take care of it, Bob.”

“I hope Mr. Somebody works out for you.” Bob placed a hand on her upper arm. “And, if Spencer lays a finger on you, let me know.” He picked up his things and left without another word.

She dived right into patient care, checking on the critical patients first and making certain their evaluations were complete before moving them to intensive care. Then, she waded her way through the less urgent stream of patients, and the hours whittled away.

Taking care of others always brought fulfillment to her life. If she couldn’t fix herself, at least she could stitch other people’s lacerations, splint their fractures, and treat their diseases. She couldn’t imagine doing anything else, and she wondered about the wisdom of stepping away from medicine to run the foundation with Forest. Perhaps she needed to rethink that choice.

Before she knew it, the shift wound down to a close, and Bob returned. They repeated the patient sign-out process, this time with her signing out patients to him.

Her original plan to ask for Friday off vanished under the realization of how happy she felt surrounded by her coworkers and by the gratefulness of the patients she touched.

The black sedan waited outside along with Reggie and Sam, who held back the few bold photographers who’d managed to track her down. Sam escorted her to the car and slid in beside her while Reggie blocked a particularly aggressive cameraman who had tried to get in her face.

“How was your day?” Sam asked.

Sam was a cutie, but she wasn’t interested in getting chummy with Ash’s security team. “Busy.” Hopefully, he’d get the message with her one-word reply. She leaned against the window and stared out the glass. “Can you stop at the coffee shop on the way home?” She had a craving for cocoa.

“Uh…” Sam shifted on the seat beside her. “We’re supposed to take you to the Verizon Center.”

“Verizon Center? I’m not going there. I have work in the morning. I want my cocoa and one of the sandwiches they make, a hot shower and my bed.”

Reggie huffed a laugh. “Told you so. Pay up.”

She didn’t see anything funny about that bet.

Sam pulled out his cell phone. “He’s not going to like this.”

“I don’t care.” She laid her head against the seat. “He doesn’t work twelve-hour shifts in an emergency department.”

Besides, whatever Ash had planned didn’t fit within a doctor’s busy schedule. If he thought he could snap his fingers and have her come running, that wasn’t going to happen. He needed to put his rock-star ego in check.

Stifling a yawn, she closed her eyes. “Just take me to the coffee shop.”

After a quick stop, they pulled up to her brownstone, only to find the crowd outside had grown.

“Stay here, Mrs. Dean,” Reggie said.

She didn’t correct him even though that was the second time he’d called her Mrs. Dean.

Reggie hopped out and jogged to the door, carrying her backpack, cocoa, and sandwich. He returned a few minutes later, using his bulk to push back the crowd.

“Get ready,” Sam said. “Just like this morning, we’ll escort you inside.”

They clearly had plenty of practice with this type of thing and impressed her with their skill. Sam climbed out and used his body as a shield while Reggie blocked the crowd. Cameras lifted over his shoulder, shooting blindly. When Sam closed the door to the car, Reggie moved beside her, bracketing her between him and Sam. Together, they hustled her up the short walk and got her inside.

She gave a deep sigh when the door closed out the noise. “Is my brother home?”

The house creaked with silence.

“He’s at the Verizon Center for the sound check. Donald’s with him.”

A soft grin ghosted across her face as she knew how excited Forest must be while surrounded by his idols. She sat at her dining room table and pulled out her meager dinner. The decadent aroma of cocoa wafted up and filled her nostrils with its incredible scent. She inhaled deeply, and a day’s worth of tension disappeared.

“Um, you don’t have to stay.”

“We don’t mind,” Sam said.

“I’m not that interesting. I’m going to eat, read a little, and go to bed. I’m sure Ash needs you more than I do.”

Sam agreed with a nod. “We’ll just check the locks.”

“Have at it.” She waved at the door.

They made quick work of their security sweep.

“We’ll be back in the morning to escort you to work. Make sure you lock the door behind us.”

Reggie refused to leave until she assured him that she would do exactly as instructed.

A few moments after she shut the door, he tested the lock, making certain she’d followed his instructions.

Ensconced in her home, alone, silence descended like a welcoming blanket of comfort and relief. She hadn’t been alone in the past four days and relished the solitude. She finished her dinner and drained the last of the cocoa. Too early for bed, she headed to take a long soak in her tub.

A couple of hours later, a heavy banging sounded on the door to her bathroom. Only Forest could beat on a door like that. Before she could tell him to come in, Forest had the door swinging inward.

“Hey, my summer Skye, how was your shift?” He had a lightness to his step and a grin on his face. He sat on the lid of the toilet.

The man couldn’t touch her over layers of clothing without a meltdown, but seeing her naked did nothing. His triggers made little sense, but then neither did hers. She grabbed a washcloth and covered her lady parts. He might not care, but she did.

“Steady, busy.”

“Anyone die?”

Inappropriate as always. He had a morbid fascination with death.

“No. How was your day?”

She curled her legs up, bringing her knees to her chest, trying to find a more modest position. Not that his eyes focused on anything other than her face. Visually, she was as appetizing as chopped liver to him.

“Pretty cool. Got to meet the whole band, and watched their sound check. They played a few sets. Amazing to see it all come together. I think I want to start a production crew. Can you imagine?”

In fact, she could.

“Bash is an amazing drummer.”

Bash? Which one was he? She fell back on her mnemonic. He was the one who’d beaten up Ash. And he’d accompanied Ash to her house last night. She added to her memory jogger. Bash banged on drums.

“I thought the bigger guy was the drummer, the one with the curly hair?” She struggled to remember the name of the curly-haired guy. “Bent?”

“Yeah, but Bent plays bass. Bash is the drummer. Spike plays guitar, and Noodles is on keyboard. Don’t you pay attention to anything I tell you?”

Not when it came to his music obsession, and she had nothing to help keep their instruments straight.

“Not really.”

“Ugh, you’re horrible. Okay, here’s your Angel Fire one-oh-one. Blaze and Bash have known each other since high school, but they had a major falling-out a few years ago over Blaze’s drug use. It practically broke up the band. Bent and Noodles forced Blaze into rehab and kept Bash from leaving Angel Fire. Blaze went into rehab, and the entire band took a sobriety pledge when he got out—well, no drugs; they all drink. Except Blaze. He doesn’t touch anything. He’s been clean for a few years now. We spent a lot of time talking about addiction.”

That was a good sign. If Ash and Forest were trading addiction stories, maybe it would help Forest stay clean.

“My day was amazing. Blaze was pissed, by the way, when you didn’t show up.”

She shrugged. “I have to work, and his name is Ash.”

“Probably best you didn’t show up actually.”

“Why?”

“Those guys have groupies coming out of their ears. I’ve never seen so much loose female flesh. Made me want to gag. And, for whatever reason, the girls kept throwing themselves at me.” He barked a laugh. “I was peeling half-naked women off me all night long.”

“Oh my!”

“I guess my proximity to the band gave me some sort of celebrity status.”

“I doubt that.”

Forest was painfully handsome to men and women even though he didn’t realize it.

“Have you looked in a mirror lately? Women drool over you and then cry their eyes out when they realize you’re not interested in playing for their team.”

He surprised her when a flush colored his cheeks. “That’s not true.”

“Ah, my poor Beanpole.” She snickered at his discomfort. “To have been surrounded by all that wanton female flesh…”

He pressed his hands on his thighs and stood. “That’s why it’s good you’re not there. They were all over your husband, but don’t worry. Blaz—Ash pushed them away.” A hint of respect ghosted across his face. “Actually, he kept sending them to me!”

She laughed at that. “And you turned them all down. Poor things.”

He released the leather thong holding back his hair and shook out his pale blond strands. He stuck his tongue out and pulled a face. “Why would I want tits and pussy when I can have shaft, balls, and ass? Besides, I have someone waiting in the wings.” The corners of his mouth turned up, and his eyes brightened.

She suspected there was more to his fling than he was ready to admit. “Is he still floating around somewhere in the Pacific?”

“He made landfall yesterday, but I doubt he’s figured out my riddle. We’ll see if he earns the right to be a part of my life.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t test people like that.” What was happening to her brother? He never kept people around. He was a use-them-and-lose-them kind of lover. Who was this Daniels he kept going on and on about?

He gave her a look. “Yeah, maybe I should take things slow, like you. Speaking of which, or whom, your hubby was dead set on coming over here tonight. I told him, no way in hell.”

“Bean!”

He shushed with an upraised hand. “Hey, we had a long talk about what might or might not have happened in Niagara.”

“You didn’t!”

“I voiced concerns.”

“Shit, Forest.”

A single eyebrow lifted at her use of his given name, usually reserved for the most serious conversations.

“It’s my duty to look after you.”

“I’m the big sister here. Don’t forget it.” Technically, she was a few weeks younger than him, but when it had mattered most, she’d been the one who held him together.

All color drained from his face. “You stopped being my big sister the day—”

“Stop. What’s done is done.”

They needed to move past what had happened. It was time to heal.

“Don’t let him define who we are now.”

His Adam’s apple bobbed.

“You and I are family. Brother and sister, nothing more, no matter the past.” She grabbed a towel and wrapped it around her body. She would not subject him to the burden of her naked flesh. “Put your arms around me, Bean. Hug me. I need it.”

“I can’t.” His body shook, and he backed away toward the door.

“You have to.”

“But the things I did—”

“Were never your fault.” She prayed this wasn’t a horrible mistake.

He’d violated her in every way imaginable, forced by an even greater threat, as their foster father watched them play out his fantasies for his perverse pleasure. She hadn’t been the only one to endure forced orgasms.

Their bond had been born out of that abuse. It had tried to destroy them, but together, they’d found the strength they needed to be free.

“You can’t fix me.”

“Why not?” But she knew he was right. She’d said those same words to Ash.

Ice-blue eyes stared down at her. “Go to bed, my summer Skye. We’re watching your hubby play tomorrow night. He’s expecting you at the show. The annulment papers are ready, but I think Lover Boy is determined to keep you.”