Watching Caris collect her diploma and give her speech on behalf of the class had filled Andy with a rush of affection. Perhaps something more, but he wasn’t going there.

Then witnessing her wrapped around a young doctor who clearly thought he was the coolest thing since the icebox was invented made his blood boil. He wanted to whack the guy. Not in a permanent, dead way, but a get your hands off my …? Sister. Hell no. They had no blood ties. None at all. He knew he was being overly dramatic in his mental protestations, but the alternative was despicable.

When Andy came to live with the Knights, he was fourteen and Caris, eight. He was mixed-up and angry. She was focused and serious even then. He had no time for a nerdy child, and she, for the most part, ignored him.

It didn’t matter back then. He and Ben were best friends from the first day he entered the classroom of his new school, and they spent every moment they could together. Plus, Eloise, the Knight matriarch, treated him like part of the family, which was lucky considering he’d been at Knight Stables more than he was at his own home.

When his father had died, Eloise had fought the system to have Andy come live with them permanently. She and Ben had saved him in different ways from what surely would have been a life wasted. Maybe it wasn’t right, but the relief he’d felt at being an orphan had been immense. Unfortunately, it had also made him wilder.

A stint in the army at eighteen had been the perfect career choice. No one had argued against it and he’d been gone for most of the next five years. When he came home, Caris was seventeen. Still focused, but a little less serious, and totally hot.

She no longer ignored him. In fact, she followed him around like a groupie, until he’d told her to get lost. He’d had to do it to save his soul from eternal damnation in case he acted on the things he wanted to do to her. Her delectable body and full generous lips drew him like he was a divining rod and she was the water he desperately needed.

Luckily, Caris took him at his word. Soon after, she found an apartment closer to the hospital. Then he hardly saw her. As much as he hated that, it had been necessary for both of them. When they did meet at family or work dinners for Knight Industries, she reverted to the aloofness she’d treated him with all those years ago. The rub was that each time he saw her, she somehow seemed more beautiful and just as unobtainable.

He clenched his fists. Caris was not for him. When was he going to get it through his thick head?

After the army, a private security company had seemed the logical step, and he’d studied hard to have the brains to match his brawn and to make it successful. Over the years, he’d managed to save the money he earned, but not enough to start a business.

The family was waiting in the car park. He had the keys to the company limousine and was driving them all back to Knight Stables. When the rest piled into the back, Ben took the seat beside him.

“You okay, Andy? You look more serious than usual,” he half-joked.

“All good here, buddy. Sorry to make you wait. I was checking on Caris.”

Ben laughed. “For goodness sake, she’s twenty-four, been living away from home for years, and is more than capable of organizing herself.”

Andy checked that the window behind him was up before he answered.

“True, but the world’s not a good place right now. People you think are okay can be a nightmare.” He knew it must sound crazy to someone like Ben, but you couldn’t fight for your country and see the things he’d seen without it changing you.

Ben looked at Andy like he was talking another language. It happened a lot these days, but it was generally when he used too much jargon in relation to the family’s well-being.

It had been Ben’s idea to join him as a silent partner by raising most of the cash. It had seemed a great solution, but Ben found it impossible to remain silent, something Andy should have known. Since patience was not exactly a part of his character, Ben wasn’t cut out for the business. He was also stubbornly determined to be good at it. Perhaps being second-in-command of the renowned family business made him feel he had to be the best at everything.

The siblings were all extremely competitive, with Caris the exception. She didn’t care about being top dog in the company, although she obviously had aspirations of achieving great things as a doctor, and she wasn’t a shrinking violet when it came to expressing herself if she didn’t agree with something.

“Are you talking about anyone in particular?”

Andy blinked, having lost his train of thought. Something that seemed to happen regularly when he was around Caris. “That Kane, guy. He follows her around like a sycophant, so I checked him out. The dude has had issues with harassing women, although nothing was ever proven. It’s enough to make me distrust him.”

Ben looked serious. “I’m so glad you’re part of this family, and I know you’ll watch out for her.” Then he grinned, “I’m also glad those skills of yours don’t need to be used on us.”

A heavy silence descended.

Ben turned in his seat. “Hell, no. Tell me it isn’t so.”

Andy didn’t stalk the family, but those who came in contact with them were instantly a priority over his business. He’d diverted a couple of fortune hunters and scammers before they’d caused any damages, but the family didn’t need to know every detail. Even now, he concentrated on the bare facts. It helped when people didn’t want to hear some truths. “When you and Jenna started doing the wild thing I looked into the family.”

“Her family?”

“Yep.”

“Who told you to do that?” Ben’s voice rose in direct proportion to his eyebrows which were knocking on his hairline.

“No one.” He wasn’t sorry, so there was no point in pretending otherwise.

“Well, cut it out!” Ben crossed his arms, signaling the end of the conversation with a glare.

That look was a family trait which didn’t work on Andy anymore. He was immune to all except Eloise’s. “I can’t promise. If I need to know something, I’ll find out about it. It’s my job.”

“How many times do I have to remind you that ‘we’ are not your job?”

“No.” Andy couldn’t hide the fierceness he felt. “It’s not my job. It’s far more than that.”

Ben sighed and relaxed slightly. “I know I can’t win against you when you’ve made up your mind up, but at least stop checking up on me, okay?”

“Behave, and I won’t have to.”

A small silence ensued before loud laughter rocked the front of the limousine. Ben never misbehaved, unless he was giving his brothers a hard time. He was solid. His wife was the only issue if he had any. Then again, all the Knights’ partners were handfuls. In a good way.

“Jenna looks lovely today,” Andy acknowledged.

“Jenna looks lovely every day.” Ben’s answer was emphatic.

“You get no arguments from me.”

“It’s about time you found someone.”

Andy snorted. “I’ve had a few someone’s in my life and none of them come close to what you have with Jenna.”

“She is special, I grant you, but I can’t remember the last time you had a date.”

Andy shrugged. “You don’t know everything I do.”

“Hardly seems fair when you have a finger on the pulse of the rest of us.”

“Fair is not a word I use to describe what I do. It’s not fair that a man or a woman cheats on their spouse, or beats them. It’s not fair that a diplomat or the head of a peaceful organization can be killed while doing their job. And it’s certainly not fair that a person gets murdered for speaking out about injustice.”

Ben put his hands up in surrender. “Hold the phone. It was a slip of the tongue.”

“Sorry. I get carried away. I love my job, but sometimes it does get to me.”

“What? The immovable mountain has troubles?”

Andy laughed. He did what he did, because of those troubles. Compared to his earlier days and the army, life now was simple. Except for when it involved Caris.

Small and fair, she was like sunshine on a cloudy day, and he hated not seeing her. It was for the best. It had to be. If only this pain he experienced when she said goodbye so often, wouldn’t cripple him the way it did.

With the house in sight, Andy felt the rush of pleasure it always gave him. It was home, even though he had his own place closer to town. There was a bed here for him any time he wanted. A meal if he wanted it and someone to talk to, if he needed it.

His father had been a mean SOB. He’d regularly beaten his wife, and when they’d moved to San Francisco it had been Andy’s turn to endure the most of his foul temper, often for no reason. Then again, a man who drank like he did didn’t need one.

Andy sighed heavily. He’d have to tell Ben his plans so he’d have cover in case something happened at his security business. “I’m going home for a week or so.”

Ben turned to him. “Home? What do you mean? You are home.”

He seemed genuinely puzzled, which helped soothe Andy a little, since this trip was not anticipated with any pleasure.

Andy nodded. “Let me rephrase—I have to go to Texas.”

“What for?”

“Apparently, there are some things I have to clean up with regards to my mother’s estate.”

“I don’t mean to be insensitive, but she died years ago.”

“She did, but you know the law is an ass. She had some papers the lawyer recently came across when they were moving to new office spaces. Papers which were somehow misplaced.”

“Sounds damn unprofessional.”

Andy swung the limo into the long driveway and passed under the wrought iron artwork of two horses rearing, front hooves entwined, creating a magnificent arch. “Absolutely, but apparently the guy responsible had dementia and misfiled stuff for years. Anyway, I have to go sign for them. Everything’s running smoothly. I’ll touch base when I arrive.”

“Want me to come along?”

“Best I do this alone.”

“Sure.”

He’d known Ben would understand. There were some things a man simply had to do for himself. Emotions could scar men like them.

Andy pulled up beside the fountain and after helping the women out of the back, the men jostled one another, the mood festive as they moved up the wide stairs and into the large entrance way.

The place had been decorated to celebrate their new doctor. The family had really branched out lately with other businesses, causing quite an upheaval with roles and time devoted to its continued success. None of this touched or was allowed to interfere with Caris.

She’d known from a young age that medicine was what she wanted to pursue and hadn’t had the slightest doubt, as far as he knew, all this time.

Not only did her focus fascinate him, he also had a burning need to have her feel that way about him. Although he knew she wanted him, it wasn’t the same at all. He sighed. If only she wasn’t a Knight. He’d stay a few hours to be polite then he’d be on his way. Back to his apartment. Alone.

He shook himself. He wasn’t this pathetic. His life was how he’d made it and how he wanted it. His investigation business was surpassing all his expectations and there were female companions when he needed them. Some of them were even nice. It wasn’t their fault they weren’t Caris.