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her take a deep breath.
    “Give me a couple of minutes.  I
want to come over and talk to you face-to-face.”
    “Claire, come on.  It’s been a
long day.  I’m tired.”
    “I don’t care.  The girls are
asleep.  I’ll be there in two minutes.”  She hung up and he hung his
head, knowing he wasn’t going to avoid her when she was determined like that.
    True to her word, two minutes later,
he heard his gate open and then Claire was coming to sit across from him.
    “So, her name is Sarah.  You saw
her at lunch, paid for her lunch and then sent her roses after overhearing her
name and the name of where she works.  You took her to Diamondbacks. 
You took her out on the boat and to a movie and then back here where y’all sat
out here by the fire for how long?”
    He glanced at the time on his
phone.  “About four and a half hours.”
    “What did you talk about?”
    He let his head fall back on a
groan.  “Claire.”
    “Talk to me, Bubba.  The girls
were spying on you non-stop.  Coop was spying on you.  In all the
times they were watching and Coop and I were watching, we only saw you kiss her
twice.  The rest of the times you were talking and laughing.”
    “Yeah…she’s easy to talk to.”
    “So, what did you talk about?”
    “Hell, I don’t know.  A little
bit of everything.  What I did in the Army.  What she was like
growing up.  She was adopted.  Her parents were older and passed away
within months of each other when she was eighteen.  She has no other
family.  She doesn’t know her birth family.  She’s been all alone
since she was eighteen.”
    He could see compassion shining in
his sister’s eyes.  She knew too much about loss and he knew she would
empathize with Sarah.
    “So, it’s been twenty-four
hours.  You aren’t seeing her tomorrow because you don’t want to overwhelm
her.  I take it you really like her, then?”
    He scrubbed his hand over his
face.  “She fascinates me,” he admitted.  “I can’t help but think
there’s more to her than just what’s on the surface.  She’s smart and
she’s beautiful and I think she has a big heart, and a lot of potential.”
    “Oh, my gosh!  You really do
like her.”
    “God, what are we, in junior high?”
he groaned.
    “I want my brother to be happy, is
there anything wrong with that?”
    “Just do me a favor and don’t say
anything to Mom about her, OK?  Like you said, it’s only been twenty-four hours.”
    “OK, I won’t say anything…yet.”
    “Promise, Claire,” he demanded.
    “Fine.  I promise.”
    “And tell the girls not to say
anything, either.”
    “That is easier said than done, you
know.”
    “Yeah, I do, but tell them anyway.”
    His phone buzzed, drawing both their
attention.  He lifted it up and saw it was a text from Sarah.
    Made it home.  Just wanted to
thank you again for a wonderful day.  Have fun with your girls tomorrow…or
later today, as it were.  Good night.
    He smiled as he read it, tipping
Claire off as to who it was from.  She leaned over and kissed his cheek.
    “Good night, Bubba.”
    “G’nite, Sis,” he said, watching her
walk back over to her yard.
    He put out the fire and then went
inside, settling into bed before texting Sarah.
    I can still feel you in my arms
and taste you on my lips.  Sleep isn’t going to come easily for me
tonight.  Every time I close my eyes I see you on the boat, the wind in
your hair.  My dreams, when I finally do go to sleep, will definitely be
sweet.
    Settled into her own bed, Sarah felt
her heart literally skip a beat when she read his text.  Today had been
like a dream for her.  Truth be told, she could still feel his lips
against hers, his tongue in her mouth.
    ‘blushing’…I swear you’re too good
to be true.  I keep thinking any minute now I’m going to wake up and
realize the last twenty-four hours were just a really, really good dream. 
I’ve never felt so relaxed around a guy before.  I can’t believe it’s