Karen didn’t need to be reminded. “I really did need you to tell me to keep my distance, Gwen. If anything happened between Zach and me, we’d both feel remorse on colossal levels. I may know that I’m not cheating on my husband, but Zach wouldn’t. What kind of woman sleeps with her husband’s brother? And what kind of brother goes after his sister-in-law?” No matter how she looked at the situation, the outcome was bad.

“Matters of the heart are not dictated by societal restrictions, Karen.”

She didn’t need Gwen to tell her that. She’d been married to a homosexual man for a year because of societal views.

“Doesn’t change the facts. If I did anything right now to jeopardize Michael’s secret, I’d never forgive myself. I love him too much.”

“What if Michael were to give his blessing?”

“That isn’t going to happen unless he tells his family about the entire arrangement. After yesterday, I don’t see that happening.”

Gwen sighed. “I suppose you’re right.”

“I know I am.”

“Can you promise me something?”

Karen glanced toward the white fluffy clouds in the sky and cursed such a perfect day. “Sure.”

“Promise me if anything does happen between you and Zach that you won’t hate yourself for it.”

“Nothing is going to happen.”

“Good intentions aside, if something did—”

“I can’t let it happen.” God knew she’d already gone there in her head and the experience had been fabulous. The fallout, however, was a bitch…even in her dreams.

“Be true to yourself, Karen. You know where I am should you need me.”

Karen counted her blessings for having such a great friend. “Thanks. Say hi to everyone.”

Nolan had shown up ten minutes early and eagerly jumped into whatever Zach wanted him to do. Zach hadn’t bothered approaching his father for more hours for the kid. Working retail was fine if you owned the business or had another source of income. It wasn’t something that would sustain Nolan in life. With Zach, Nolan would learn a trade that could support a family.

After listening to Karen’s concerns about Nolan and his girlfriend, Becky, he couldn’t walk away from these two kids’ problems. Not that Zach needed to invite any more issues into his life.

After breaking up with Tracey and fantasizing about Karen all night, Zach only managed a few hours’ sleep. He had to put in a full workday considering the entire job site would shut down for the Founder’s Day festivities on the next.

His second-in-command, Buck Foster, was going to keep an eye on things over the next several days in Zach’s absence. The Gardner family routinely vacationed together up at the cabin after Founder’s Day. Sometimes they spent an entire week up in the forest. Other times they’d scrape together only a handful of days. With Michael joining them for the first time in years, it should be something to celebrate.

Only Zach was dreading it.

He knew that if he witnessed Michael so much as lay a finger on Karen in a harmful way, he’d flatten his Hollywood profile to teach him some manners. Zach wanted to believe Karen when she told him that Michael had never treated her poorly in the past. But he couldn’t be too sure. Something about his brother was off and he had yet to figure out what.

Then there was Karen herself. How the hell was he going to sleep in the same room with her only feet away? The cabin was communal. There was a huge loft upstairs where for years they’d all dropped into their bunks at the end of the day. The only bedroom was on the main floor and that was his parents’ sanctuary. Up until Zach had obtained his contractor’s license, there had been only one bathroom. But with so many women under one roof, he wasn’t about to leave the cabin with one shower. They owned over a hundred acres at the top of the mountain and Zach had considered more than once to build a second structure. Now that Rena and Joe’s family was expanding, the cabin felt smaller and smaller.

Maybe he’d bring a tent…just in case.

“Where did you find this kid?” Buck asked as the two of them were visually inspecting the latest supply shipment that had come in that morning.

“He works for my dad. Just graduated from high school.”

“I thought I recognized him. He’s eager.”

Zach glanced over and noticed Nolan lugging an armload of two-by-fours. “I can see that. What we need to see is if he has the ability to learn.”

“I paired him with Sean. We’ll figure out how he is with framing.”

Zach nodded. “Good idea. Let me know if there are any problems. He still has hours he has to work at my dad’s, so see if we can keep him going here part-time.”

Zach checked the invoice order numbers against the pallets of kitchen hardware.

“How is it with your brother in town?” Buck asked.

Zach tried to separate his brother and Karen in his head in order to answer the question.

“I’m looking forward to getting him away from his adoring fans in town.” And he was, he decided.

“Gotta get him off his own personal float first. I hear the mayor has the road sign ready to unveil tomorrow morning.”

He’d forgotten all about that. All across the country, small-town America celebrated its stars with freeway signs that boasted things like HILTON, UTAH, HOME OF MICHAEL WOLFE, hoping to draw in tourist dollars. Hilton was taking the opportunity to bestow such a sign on Mike.

“His ego can handle it.” At least Zach hoped it could.

Buck pushed into another pallet to check his set of numbers. “I hear his wife is hot.”

Did he have to mention Karen?

“She is beautiful.” He rubbed the back of his neck.

Buck cut through the cellophane that kept the boxes on the crate together with a grunt. “You know…when he started doing those plays in high school several of us laid bets that he was g*y.”

Zach froze.

“Guess we were wrong about that.” Buck ripped the packing slip away with a curse. “Dammit, I ripped off the number. What do you have?”

Zach shook his head, looked on his invoice, and repeated the numbers Buck asked for.

“Close enough.”

Zach scratched his head, lost in his thoughts. “Yeah, close enough.”

Chapter Fourteen

The flowers started arriving shortly after Karen stepped from the shower. She’d arrived back at the Gardner home to find Michael gone. She shouldn’t have been surprised, but with his family eyeing her every move…all of them no doubt wondering what had transpired between them to warrant a night on the couch, she felt a little abandoned. The brat.