"It'll be my pleasure. A thank-you for all the good care you're giving Dad."

Casey wasn't at all sure he liked the sound of that, and then he caught himself. Dr. Wagner was a grandpa, for crying out loud. A kind old man who'd known his father forever. Yet...Lois had the same d.a.m.n thought, given her spiteful expression. She smiled, but it was a smile of malicious intent.

Casey wondered how much Emma would let him help. Considering what he'd learned, he knew it wouldn't be easy for her to be home with both her parents. Yet her father's health dictated that she do just that.

He wanted to do what was best for her, and if that meant helping her with Dell... He and her father were not on great terms a not since the night Dell accused him of getting Emma pregnant a but Emma would have cleared that up with her father by now. Dell would certainly have realized that he wasn't a grandfather, and Casey wasn't a father.

Not that he didn't want to be. Someday. With the right woman.

He looked at Emma again and felt a strange warmth spread through his chest. Emma was such a gentle, affectionate, sensitive woman, she'd make a wonderful mother.

And if she knew your thoughts, Casey told himself, she'd probably head directly back to Chicago. h.e.l.l, he scared himself, so he could only imagine how Emma would react.

"You'll be hearing from me." Dr. Wagner shook her hand, then clapped Casey on the shoulder. "I'm off to see the rest of my patients."

He went out, yet Lois lingered. She looked Emma up and down with a sullen sneer. "A ma.s.sage therapist? Is that what they're calling it these days?"

Casey felt like strangling the little witch for her insinuation, yet Emma only smiled. "Far as I know, Lois, that's what they've always called it. You didn't know that? I'm surprised, since the field of ma.s.sage therapy has become an integral part of health care, and you are a nurse, after all."

Stung, Lois pursed her mouth. "It sounds like a shady front to me. I remember you too well. I can just imagine what you do while ma.s.saging someone."

Emma leaned toward her, taunting, egging her on. "It is scandalous. Why, I light scented candles and play erotic, relaxing music. But I'm good, Lois, so good, that I get a lot of repeat customers." She held up her hands. "I'm told I have magic fingers and that I can work the tension out of any muscle."

Red-faced, Lois said, "It's an excuse to get naked and get...rubbed."

"You make that sound so dirty!" Emma laughed. "Actually, people with real physical ailments come to me. Strained muscles, stress, rehab after an injury..."

Lois sputtered in outrage. "You should encourage people to see real professionals."

"Oh? You mean like the ma.s.sage therapists employed by the hospital? I noticed their offices downstairs. They're not quite as well equipped as I am, but they're still adequate."

"They're accredited."

"Me too." Emma fashioned a look of haughtiness. "I'm certified with the AMTA and licensed by the city of Chicago. You know, you look so puckered up, you should really try a little ma.s.sage. All that frowning ages a person and gives her wrinkles."

"I do see a few frown lines, Lois," Casey managed to say with a straight face. It was strange, but seeing Emma so confident, even c.o.c.ky, turned him on. "Maybe the folks downstairs will give you an employee discount."

Clearly knowing she'd lost that round, Lois stalked out in a snit.

Unwilling to let Emma leave the same way, Casey caught her elbow. She'd put up a good front for Lois, but he could see that she was miffed over his interference with the doctor. "Do you want to visit with your father some more before we head off?"

She considered it, and finally nodded. "Maybe just to smooth things over before I leave."

Casey hated for her to face him alone again, but he already knew he wasn't welcome. "Hey." He touched her chin and resisted the urge to kiss her. "Don't let him get you down, okay? He's bound to be a little grouchy, all things considered."

"It's not that." She started out of the room. "There are some things my father and I will never agree on, that's all. But I don't want to argue with him here, not while he's hurt and sick."

This time Casey waited for her in the hall, but he could hear them speaking. The words were indistinct, but the tone was clear: Emma calmly insistent, Dell complaining, even whining. Casey winced for her. Under the circ.u.mstances, being Dell's caretaker wasn't going to be easy.

When she emerged ten minutes later, looking more agitated than ever, he slipped his arm around her waist. They walked down the hallway to the elevator in silence, but once inside, Casey pulled her into a hug. "Ms. Clark, I'm noticing a few frown lines on you, too."

A reluctant smile curled her lips, but her eyes remained dark with worry. "Is that right? Think I should stop for a ma.s.sage?"

"What I think is that you should talk me through it. Maybe I have magic fingers too."

The smile turned into a grin. "I never doubted it for a second."

"But first, a day on the lake with the sun in your face will work wonders."

To his surprise, Emma sighed. "Oh, that does sound like heaven."

Aware of a slow, heated thrumming in his blood, Casey urged her off the elevator and through the lobby. Already he visualized her in a bikini, her skin warmed by the sun, dewy with the humidity... He had to swallow his groan to keep from alerting her to his intent. He'd have her alone in the boat, on the lake, with no way to escape. Touching her, kissing her, was a priority.

But first he intended to discover all her secrets. Something had happened to her, something bad enough to make her leave her home. Bad enough to make her leave him.

He wasn't letting her off the boat until he knew it all.

CHAPTER NINE.

B.B.'S HOT BREATH pelted Casey's right ear as he drove. The dog, like Emma, enjoyed having the top down, his face in the wind.

Emma's long hair whipped out behind her and she constantly had to shove it from her face. In something akin to awe, she breathed, "It's so beautiful out here."

Glancing at her, Casey agreed. Now that they'd hit the back roads leading toward the lake, the foliage was thicker, greener, lush. Blue cornflowers mixed with black-eyed Susans all along the roadway. Cows bawled in sprawling pastures, goats chewed on tall weeds grown along crooked fence posts. Blue-black crows as fat as ducks spread their wings and cawed as the car went past.

The narrow roads forced Casey to slow his speed, but he didn't mind. Watching Emma reacquaint herself with her hometown made every second enjoyable. She waved to farmers in coveralls who tipped their straw hats to her and then lazily waved back. She strained to see tobacco huts and tomato stands and moss-covered ponds. She embraced the wind in her face and the sun in her eyes.

She laughed with the sheer joy of it all.

And Casey felt positively frenetic with l.u.s.t. It burned his stomach and tightened his throat and kept him uncomfortably edgy.

If, as he'd first a.s.sumed, he had only l.u.s.t to deal with, he'd have already pulled over to the side of the road and taken Emma beneath a tree on the sweet gra.s.s. She claimed to be willing and there was plenty of privacy here once you got far enough from the road that no cars would notice you. Making love to Emma with the hot sun on his back and the birds overhead would be downright decadent, something straight out of his dreams.

But he was afraid what he felt for her was more than mere l.u.s.t. He wasn't sure how much more and he wasn't sure how hard it'd be to convince her of it. Emma seemed h.e.l.l-bent on remembering how he'd once rejected her, instead of giving them both a chance to get reacquainted as adults. Not that he blamed her. Looking at her now, he couldn't understand how he'd ever turned her down.

Emma was as earthy and s.e.xual and appealing as a woman could be. And she was in her element here.

She belonged in Buckhorn. Did she belong with him?

They'd stopped at the motel where Emma had changed into her suit and a zippered terry-cloth cover-up. Snowy-white and sleeveless, it hung to midthigh, showing off the shapely length of her legs. She'd raised the zipper high enough to rest between her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. Casey could see the top of her beige, crocheted bathing-suit bra, which made him nuts wanting to know if it was a bikini or a one-piece.

She wore dark sungla.s.ses and brown slip-on sandals, and she had a large cotton satchel stuffed with a colorful beach towel, sunscreen, a bottle of water and her cell phone. She commented that she wanted the hospital to be able to reach her if they needed to.

Before they'd left the motel she'd also taken the time to call Damon on his phone, and discovered that the car was repaired and he was touring the area. Emma had promised him that she'd be back for dinner. Luckily, to Casey's way of thinking, Damon had explained that he had a date, so Emma should take her time visiting.

Emma hadn't seemed at all surprised or concerned with how fast Damon had gotten acquainted. Apparently he had a way with women, given the fond smile Emma wore while rolling her eyes.

Casey had no idea what Damon had planned, and he didn't much care. As long as Damon stayed busy, he couldn't interfere with Casey's pursuit of Emma.

He turned the car down the long driveway to his family's home. The property here was lined with a tidy split-rail fence to contain the few farm animals they kept. Their menagerie often varied, since some of his father's patients paid for medical services with livestock, which they in turn often donated to the needier local families.

At present, they had several horses, an enormous hog, a fat, ornery heifer and two timid lambs. They'd keep the horses, and Honey had grown partial to the lambs. But the hog and heifer had to go. They terrorized Honey every chance they got. Whenever Honey was around, the d.a.m.n cow dredged up the most threatening look a big-eyed, black-spotted bovine could manage.

Casey adored Honey, and a day didn't go by that he didn't appreciate her and all she gave to them, to his father. Because Sawyer's first marriage had been such a public fiasco, no one had ever expected him to remarry.

Casey had enjoyed being raised in an all-male household, but having Honey around had been even better. Softer. Over the years, she'd planted numerous flowers along the outside of the fence: enormous white peonies, tall irises and abundant daisies. Something was always in bloom, making the area colorful and fragrant.

Holding her hair from her face, Emma glanced around at the familiar stretch of land. "I thought we were going to the lake?"

"We are." He kept his gaze on the road and off the sight of her creamy skin. "But I want to stop at the house first. I need to change and grab the boat keys."

"You live at home?"

"In the apartment over the garage. I lived in Cincy for a while, just because I thought it'd be more convenient. But it didn't take me long to decide I prefer the forty-minute drive to and from work every day." Now, more than ever, Casey was glad he hadn't moved out of the area.

The sprawling log house came into view. Built on a rise and surrounded by mature trees and numerous outbuildings, it looked impressive indeed. In his younger days, Casey had lived there with his father and his uncles. Morgan now had a house farther up the hill, but not more than a ten-minute walk away. Jordan had moved into Georgia's house with her and the kids after they married, and Gabe bought a place in town with Elizabeth.

Morgan's newest official vehicle was in the yard. Because so many people in Buckhorn lived off the beaten path or in the hills, Morgan drove a rugged four-wheel-drive Bronco. Misty, his wife, had convinced him to trade from black to white last year. Actually, she'd wanted red, but Morgan had refused that. He said the sheriff's emblem painted on the side would clash.

Casey saw Emma take in the crowd in front of the house. With the dark gla.s.ses on, he couldn't see her eyes. But he watched the tilt of her head, the lack of a smile on her pretty mouth.

It appeared Morgan and Misty were dropping off the kids, Amber and Garrett. They stood on the steps, Morgan wearing his tan uniform and Misty in a casual dress. Sawyer and Honey were beneath the shade on the porch, drinking tall gla.s.ses of iced tea. Shohn was there, too, with Morgan's dog, G.o.dzilla. All in all, they made an intimidating crowd of people.

When they saw Casey pull up and park beneath an oak tree, the kids raced to the car to greet him. The boys were shirtless and in sneakers; Amber wore a T-shirt and cutoffs and was barefoot.

B.B. twitched his ears, alert to the activity but not overly concerned. When he spotted the kids, his tail started thumping in earnest. Casey hadn't known they'd all be there. He waited, worried that Emma would be upset to be dropped into the middle of his overwhelming family.

Instead, she sat back in her seat with a sound of wonder. "It's incredible, but they look almost the same."

Relieved, Casey reached over and smoothed a long lock of hair behind her ear. "Dad has gray at his temples now, but Honey says it makes him look distinguished."

"She's right. He's still so handsome it's almost unfair. And Shohn looks just like him. But, if anything, Morgan's gotten even bigger."

"Misty calls him a brick wall." Casey looked at his imposing uncle in time to see Morgan pat Misty on the rump. She swatted at him and he laughed.

Shaking his head, Casey said, "I swear, they still act like newlyweds."

"Yeah, and it's wonderful." Emma sighed. The kids had almost reached them. They were making a clatter, laughing and calling out. "You can see which kids are his. That shiny black hair, and just look at those blue eyes."

Emma opened her door, not waiting for Casey. B.B. jumped out beside her and whined in excitement, practically pleading to be released so he could play with G.o.dzilla. The kids skidded to a halt in front of Emma and then stared.

Shohn squinted up at her. His dark hair was mussed and he had dirt on his knees. "Does your dog bite?"

"Only on bones." She grinned as she said it. "But not leg bones. Just steak bones."

Garrett held out a hand and B.B. licked it. "Can we play with him?"

The dog whined again with the most pitifully pleading expression, amusing the kids.

Because they had plenty of land for running, Casey unhooked the dog's leash. "You guys go easy on him, okay? He doesn't know you yet."

Amber stroked his muzzle and giggled when his tail started furiously pounding the ground. "We'll watch him for ya, okay?"

Casey left it up to Emma.

"Honey won't mind having him loose?"

"'Course not." Luckily, Honey loved animals as much as they all did. Except for big cows and snarling hogs.

"All right." Emma scratched B.B.'s ear, then patted his side and released him by saying, "Go play."

B.B. bounded forward, leaping this way and that in his exuberance at seeing another dog. G.o.dzilla went berserk with his own joy, which prompted the kids to do the same. Amber and Garrett ran off after the dogs, but Shohn hung back, still squinting. "You Casey's girlfriend?"

Casey started to reply, but Emma beat him to it. "I'm a friend and I'm a girl, so I guess you can call me a girlfriend."

"He's got a lot of girlfriends."

Emma's mouth curled. "I never doubted it for a second."

Shohn laughed, but in the next second Casey threw him over his shoulder and held him upside down. "Brat. Quit trying to scare her off or I'll have to hang you by your toes."

Casey pretended to drop him and Shohn roared with laughter. When Casey finally set him back on his feet, Shohn moved a safe distance away, posed to run, and gave a c.o.c.ky smile. "If she turns you down, Case, I'll take her. She's real pretty."

Fighting a laugh, Casey feigned an attack and, like a flash, Shohn ran off to join the other kids. Casey looked at Emma and saw she wore an ear-to-ear grin, which prompted his own. So she liked kids, did she?

A good thing, since there were quite a few in the family. "You're not going to turn me down, are you, sweetheart?"

Rather than answer, she said, "Gee, he reminds me of someone else I know. Now, who could it be?"

Every moment Casey spent with her canceled out the time they'd been apart. He pulled her into his side. "I was shy."

"Ha!"

"Shohn's only ten, but I swear he's girl crazy already. The little rat flirts with every female, regardless of her age. Makes Honey nuts. Dad just shakes his head." He gave Emma a squeeze. "And of course, my grandmother says he reminds her of Gabe."

Emma laughed. "Where is your grandmother?"

"She and Gabe's father, Brett, live in Florida, but they get up this way every couple of months to visit."

Because Casey was lingering in the yard, giving Emma a chance to brace herself for his family, Sawyer left the porch and headed toward them. It seemed he'd been seeing patients, given that he wore dark slacks and an open-necked b.u.t.ton-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up. He smiled at Emma without recognition. "h.e.l.lo."

He held out his hand and Emma took it. "h.e.l.lo, Dr. Hudson. It's been a long time."