Rafe couldn’t help himself. He peered in at Jillian and Lacy for what had to be the fiftieth time since he’d arrived at the hospital at eight that morning. He’d almost found an excuse to stay the entire night in his office to be there if they needed him and he knew that was stupid.

They weren’t his responsibility beyond what he had already done for them as a physician and their boss.

And Ariella’s brother.

She was his next stop. He needed to check on her for himself. Not only because he couldn’t fight the pull, but because Travis had asked him to when he’d caught him in the lobby.

His brothers had just been leaving; Marcus had finally persuaded Travis to leave Lacy McGareth’s side long enough to shower. Travis hadn’t been too thrilled with it, but Marcus could be damned relentless when necessary. Rafe hadn’t even known his older brother was back in town. Unless someone had called Marcus to let him know what had happened?

Rafe winced. He probably should have done that himself.

Rafe had had to promise to check on the women himself in order to help Marcus move Travis along.

When he walked into Room 404, Ariella was sitting on the edge of the bed with Logan Lanning, of all people, hovering near her.

The sight of the man was so unexpected, Rafe stopped short. Lanning had had nothing to do with Ariella’s care—he shouldn’t be there.

Lanning lingered with an excuse of wanting to just check on her after everything she’d been through, then finally left.

Leaving Rafe completely alone with his younger sister for the first time. He stared at her awkwardly, once again struck by how delicate she looked. She barely weighed one-ten, according to her chart. She actually weighed less than her two shorter friends.

Skinny, model-thin. Beautiful. All big dark eyes and pale skin. Frail. Far more frail than he ever would have expected. Rafe hadn’t ever been frail in his life. Then again, they’d obviously had different fathers. Rafe’s had most likely been Latino. Ariella’s wasn’t. “Ariella.”

“R-Rafe.” She stuttered again, making him feel like an ogre. They hadn’t gotten off to a good start, and he knew it.

Knew it was his fault, too. “How are you today?”

Her chin rose and she crossed her arms over her narrow chest. She shifted on the bed, her entire pose defensive. “I’m ok. I have a headache and my ribs hurt, but I’m fine. When are you letting me out of here?”

He’d made it absolutely clear to her physician that she was to be released only after he’d approved the discharge. No one had asked why, so consumed with Lacy and Jillian’s care that his sister had almost been overlooked. Or at least it had seemed that way to him. Quiet Ariella; how often was she overlooked when with Lacy and Jillian? He didn’t like that thought.

He had a responsibility to her, and he knew it. No matter how much he didn’t like the idea. It wasn’t that he didn’t like her. Far from it. She seemed...sweet. Shy and kind were his first thoughts whenever he saw her. She didn’t deserve his enmity. Hell, she didn’t even deserve him as a brother. “In a bit. Do you have a ride home yet?”

Lanning had mentioned it, of all things. Rafe needed to know she was going someplace she would be safe. Cared for and loved. Just because.

“I’m not going home. I’m going over there. I’m going to sit with them until they wake up.” She pointed to the wall separating them from Room 403. “We need...to be together. I need to be there when they wake up this morning.”

“Ok. Why? Give me one good reason why you shouldn’t go home and rest.”

“Because I love them, and they love me.” She met his eyes straight on, her chin lifted stubbornly.

Simple. Truthful. Hard to argue. “I don’t want you overdoing it. You’re to stay in the chair. If you need anything, you ring the nurses’ station. If I catch you doing more than just resting and watching those two breathe, I’m discharging you and barring you from the hospital. And calling Houghton Barratt himself to come get you.” The guy had already been making noises about taking all three of them back to his castle and keeping them there until they were healed.

Rafe thought that sounded like a damned good idea.

She stared at him for a long moment, making him feel like a bug pinned to a wall. “Why do you care so much about what happens to me?”

Well. He hadn’t expected such bluntness. Not from her. “Excuse me? Why wouldn’t I?”

“It’s obvious you don’t like me, even though you don’t know me. Simply because of genetics. So why are you acting like you care? I didn’t ask you to.”

“Didn’t you?” The words were brave and strong, but he could see how much she was shaking. Damn, this little sister he didn’t want was shy, wasn’t she? Non-confrontational. Some of the anger he felt toward her for coming into his life started to lessen. This girl didn’t want anything from him at all. That was so easy to see. “You sent the letter. You dredged it all up again.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t ever mean to upset you. I know...being her child isn’t easy. I’m so sorry I messed up your life.”

Rafe snorted at that. He wrapped his hand around his sister’s arm, checking her pulse out of habit. It raced against his fingers. She might look calm, but she wasn’t inside. “My life has been messed up long before you were even born because of that woman. You just made me remember it, that’s all. I shouldn’t have taken it out on you.”

“I’m sorry. I never meant to hurt anyone.”

“You didn’t.” He stared at her for a moment longer, then deliberately looked away. “I don’t want a sister or another brother or any other connection to my birth mother. But that doesn’t mean you and I can’t get along when we do meet up with each other. And I have a feeling we will from time to time. So truce?”

“Truce. We’ll treat each other just like anyone else. And if I ever need a kidney, I’ll ask one of my other brothers. I have five, plus my—our—sister; I don’t need another.”

And he didn’t need a sister who would make him need to protect her. Rafe had a feeling this one would do exactly that. If he let her. “Good. Now. Get next door. Sit. Wait for the two of them to wake up, then the three of you can plot to throw me in a pool again or something. No doubt Jillian would enjoy that. I’m sure she needs more ideas. I think she’s the one who glued my office door shut the other day.”

“I doubt it. She’s more subtle than that.”

Rafe watched as the sister he didn’t want slipped out the door, a small bag thrown over her shoulder. And he wondered just what he was supposed to do with her next.

It might have sounded easy, agreeing to keep their distance, but he had his doubts.

It was so damned hard to keep himself from caring.