Page 11 of One Unexpected Gift

“I can’t imagine losing my sister or brothers, and my parents. I also can’t imagine my brothers or me rejecting an orphaned family member, no matter how young and single we were.”

“Really? You’re telling me you would have opened up your bachelor pad and given up your daredevil lifestyle to care for a six-year-old?” The furrow between her sculpted brows was deep.

“I’d like to think I would have.” She was right, though. He’d been a daredevil in his twenties and didn’t even stop five years ago when he turned thirty. Which was why he was in the situation he was in today. No more skiing. No more daredevil rushes.

“Are your siblings like you?”

“Hardly.” He snorted. “I’m the most fun of the bunch. No one will argue with me there.”

“I bet you’re the spoiled baby of the family.”

Nick’s lip lifted as he encroached her. “How much are you willing to put down on that bet?”

She batted her lashes at him. “Since you seem smug and confident, and I’m at an unfair advantage, not a dime.”

“Too bad.” He dropped his hands to the pole and started raking.

Taking his bait, she continued with her probing questions, which he didn’t mind one bit. “You’re the textbook middle child, often overlooked so you act out to get attention.”

“I thought I was the text book baby?”

“Your sister is older, otherwise you’d be the protective big brother, but you don’t put off those vibes.”

This time her words offended him. “I’ll always look out for Camilla, not that she needs us or wants us hovering over her. You actually remind me of her.”

“How so?” Skylar pushed the pile of leaves on the tarp and together, they dragged it to the embankment again.

“You’re both beautiful, but in very different ways. Where you’ve got the fiery Irish redhead and green eyes thing going, she has more of our mother’s Latina features.”

“You’re Latina? Your eyes are so blue.”

The way she spoke made him believe she was at least partially attracted to him. However, he figured she had to be a little to stop by his work before going back to Virginia for a quickie in his supply closet the last time she was in town.

“My father has classic Texas roots going back to the cowboy days. My mother,” he hesitated, still not wanting to reveal too much about his family, “she grew up in Texas, but her family is from Costa Rica. She was, in a way, the girl next door. They married young and it’s worked for them. Still happily married after all these years.”

“That’s sweet. So you’re a mama’s boy as well?”

“You’re not very good at this.” Nick laughed as he shook off the rest of the leaves. “I’m not sure if I should be insulted by all your insinuations. So far you’ve called me a spoiled baby, a middle child pining for attention, and a mama’s boy.”

“A mama’s boy isn’t insulting. It’s endearing.”

“You think I’m endearing? I’ll take it.” He lightly tapped her chin and moved past her, dragging the tarp behind him.

“I didn’t say you were endearing,” she called after him jogging to keep up.

“Yeah, you did.”

“I called you a daredevil.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

“It’s not very safe.”

“Says the soldier who braves the battlefield healing the wounded, risking her life for our country.”

“It’s my job. Skiing down uncharted territories isn’t a job.”

“Tuckerman’s isn’t uncharted.”

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