She’s so damn beautiful. I want to reach out and tuck the curl behind her ear, but I don’t want to wake her. I was so angry with her until the moment I saw her get out of the truck. All I wanted at that point was to hold her. I know we probably should have talked, but the overwhelming need to be inside her won out. I couldn’t wait to tell her and show her how much I love her. She is my heart.

Her dark lashes flutter against her cheek as she stretches out her arms. My cock stirs. I can’t believe I can even get hard again so soon. “Easy boy,” I whisper.

She skews one eye open at me. “Who are you talking to?”

I lean my hip against her. “Someone who thinks he can’t get enough of you,” I tease her.

“Seriously? Again?” She raises the sheet to peer down at me.

“It’s your fault for being so damn sexy.”

She rolls her eyes. “There is nothing sexy about me in the morning.” She wipes her fingers under her eyes.

“Really? Let me see.” I jerk the blankets off her, and she screams, trying to pull them back up to cover her bare body. I pin her arms down. “I want to see.” I lean my head down and kiss her belly button. “Even this is sexy.” She lets out a giggle. Her tight body continues to squirm. “If you don’t stop moving, I’m going to lay on top of you.”

She stills.

My eyes gaze up and down her body. “Yep. Every inch of you is gorgeous.” I let her hands free. “I meant what I said.”

“You’ve said many things. Which one are you talking about.” Her fingers toy with my chest.

“I love you.”

Her dark eyes look away, and she bites the inside of her cheek. “We need to talk.” Her words are barely audible.

“I know we do.” I stand and pull on a pair of jeans. “I’ll go make us some coffee. I’m sure you want a shower.” I shut the door behind me and then bend over, leaning on my knees. A wave of dread floods me. I feel like she’s going to shatter my world and I don’t know how to stop her.

My head spins as I raise back up. “Get it together, Keegan.” I can hear Wolfe’s voice in my head. I trot down the stairs to make the coffee.

I’ve almost worn a path on the hardwood floor from pacing the room. I hear the stairs creak and turn to see her beautiful face painted with fear. My stomach rolls. I don’t want to hear what she’s going to tell me.

“I’ll pour you a cup of coffee,” I say, and she sits on the couch. She’s running her fingers through her wet hair. “Here.” I hand her the mug and sit next to her. My leg is touching hers. I want her to feel me next to her.

“I’m sorry I left like I did, but I knew you wouldn’t want me to go by myself.”

“You’re right. I wouldn’t have.” I sip my coffee, not really wanting it.

“I got a lead on Wolfe’s uncle.” She looks down.

“Did you find him? Did you find Wolfe’s sister?” I touch her hand, and she looks back at me. I’m not sure what I see in her eyes.

“I did on both counts.”

“That’s great news.” I smile, feeling a little relieved. “Where is she?”

She licks her bottom lip and then draws it between her teeth. “It seems your address was correct.”

My scowl forms. “I don’t understand.”

“I am Wolfe’s sister.” Her voice slows as she says “sister.”

I stand to pace again. “You can’t be.”

“Moki Hunt was my uncle. He had pictures of Wolfe and me as kids almost identical to the one you mailed me.” I watch as her hand rubs her neck. “My father tried to kill me when I was little. He was a drunken thief. He beat me and threatened to kill my mother and me.” I sit back down beside her. “My mom took me and disappeared. She left Wolfe with my uncle, but our father took off with him in the middle of the night.”

I hold my head between my hands and apply a little pressure to try to control the pain that is starting to shoot through my head.

“My real name is Dyani Rowan. It means deer.” She whispers the last part.

“He had to be mistaken.”

“He knew me the minute he laid eyes on me.”

I sit beside her. “This doesn’t change anything between us.”

“It means I’m not Timber.” Her hands wring together.

“You are Timber,” I say, firmly.

“I’m Shay, not the woman you want me to be.”

“You are the woman I want.”

“I got the test results back before I left.”

My heart shatters. “I don’t care what the lab work shows. I love you.”

“You love the woman you think I am.”

“Maybe that’s how it started, but not now.” Desperation is creeping up inside me.

“I can’t do this with you, as much as I love you. I can’t have you always seeing Timber when you look at me.”

I can’t deny I see Timber. How could I have been so wrong? My body screams she’s Timber. Even if I had any doubts in my head, my body knows her. It knows its home. I shut my eyes not wanting to believe what she is saying. “Please say you won’t let go.” I’m not a praying man, but I’m willing to get down on my knees.

Her fingers running down the overgrown scruff on my face gets my attention, and my eyes focus on her. “I can’t stay. I have a life to get back to.”

“That doesn’t mean you have to let go of us. We can do the long-distance thing for a while. I’m willing to travel back and forth.” My eyes beg her.

“It will never work. I will still be Shay, and you will still want Timber.” She stands. “It’s not just the two of us. What about your daughter? How do you explain me to her?”

“I will tell her you have an uncanny resemblance to her mother. She’s going to want to know Wolfe’s sister.” I hold on to her hand, not letting her walk away from me.

“You should tell her that you didn’t find her.”

“That’s the one thing I did do. We have a strong connection, and I can’t let you go.” I kiss the back of her hand.

“Our kinship was Wolfe.”

My blood starts to boil. “You think this is only a kinship?” I stand. “That’s not the word I would use to describe what is between us. You can hide behind your name, but it doesn’t change the fact that you love me. Me, goddamn it! David Keegan. Whether you are Shay, Dyani, or Timber doesn’t change what you feel in here.” I point to her heart.

“I never said that I didn’t love you. I believe you are the only man that I’ve truly ever loved.”

“Then please don’t walk away. Stay with me. Marry me.” I get down on one knee.

Her head starts to shake, and she meets me on my knees. “I can’t,” she whispers. “I need time to sort out everything. I came here to get away from my life as Shay, the woman that was born twelve years ago. Then for almost two weeks, I believed there was a chance I was Timber. Now, I learn I’m someone altogether different. There are so many pieces of myself that I need to discover. You want me to be someone I’m not. I’ve done that for enough years. Please give me time to work it out.”

“I want you. I don’t care what your name is. Yes, I’ve loved Timber my entire life, and maybe I wanted you to be her, but all I see now is the woman in front of me, and I love you.”

She stands. “If you love me like you say, then you will give me time.”

Standing to be on her level, I say, “I’m afraid once you leave here you may never come back.”

She looks around the cottage and then back at me. “I can’t imagine that I wouldn’t come back here. A part of me will always belong here now.” Her hand lays on my heart this time.