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and he nuzzled her hair back before kissing her soft, pale skin.
    “I just want you to listen to me, Emmy. I love you. I let you go once. I’m not letting you go again.”
    She went very still against him and slowly raised her head, her luminous blue eyes wide as she stared back at him.
    “I’m not saying I have everything figured out. I think we have a lot of hard work ahead of us. But I need you to know that I’m not walking away this time.”
    A sound at the door turned Taggert sharply away. Guilt crept over his shoulders, and he angrily shook it off. Greer was standing there, his expression indecipherable as he held a tray with a bowl of soup and a glass of tea.
    Nothing Taggert had said would surprise Greer, but Taggert still felt like he was sneaking one over. And that pissed him off.
    Greer carried the tray to the bed, and Taggert touched Emily’s cheek, returning her gaze to him.
    “Sit up for us and eat some soup. You don’t have to take it all, but it’ll make your throat feel better.”
    She pushed against him and struggled upward. He helped her until she was sitting up in bed, then he plumped the pillows behind her back to give her support.
    Greer slid onto the bed on her other side and settled the tray over her lap.
    “Eat up,” he said gently.
    He glanced briefly over at Taggert, but Taggert didn’t see any judgment or condemnation in his brother’s eyes. Just concern for Emmy.
    Greer reached out and caught a tendril of her hair that fell forward as she bent to blow on a spoonful of soup. He tucked it behind her ear and trailed a fingertip over her cheekbone.
    She raised her head slowly to stare at him, and Taggert sucked in his breath at the multitude of emotions expressed in her gaze.
    She was searching for answers that Greer hadn’t supplied so far. There was fear and uncertainty cast deep in the shadows of her eyes.
    Greer sighed. “Not now, Emmy. Not here. Neither one of us is up for what I have to say.”
    Her gaze skirted sideways to Taggert. His first instinct was to rush in, talk for Greer, state his case since he knew damn well what his brother wanted, what he felt for Emily. Anything to make her smile again or at least erase some of the pain from her eyes.
    But he kept silent because he knew this was huge. This wasn’t just about him and Emily. It was about him, Emily and Greer.
    Greer just better hurry the fuck up.
    The two brothers sat in silence while Emily ate her soup. When she was finished, she leaned back against the pillows with a weary sigh. The tears that had stopped briefly while she ate slipped like silver strands over the hollows of her cheeks.
    The discomfort in Taggert’s chest grew until it was a physical ache. He looked to Greer for help, but his brother just quietly collected the tray and headed for the door.
    Anger tightened Taggert’s features, and he battled the urge to go after Greer and ask him what the hell his problem was. But he didn’t want to leave Emily. Or was that what Greer was trying to tell him? That they should leave Emily alone?
    Jesus Christ, now he was looking to his younger brother for guidance?
    He felt a million years old. Too old for Emily, too old to feel so helpless.
    Fatigue whispered through his veins, mixing with sorrow. He loved Emily, had missed her, but he missed Sean too. Somehow, he’d imagined that one day Emily and Sean would come back home even though he’d resigned himself to never having Emily as anything more than a sister-in-law. As much as he wanted Emily, he’d trade a future with her to have his brother back, because then Emily would smile again.
    He glanced down at Emily to see her eyelashes flutter and finally come to rest on the dark smudges beneath her eyes. She looked beautiful and delicate, so very fragile that he was afraid to touch her for fear she’d shatter.
    Carefully shifting his weight so as not to disturb her, he moved further down the bed and put his arm over her waist. She responded to his touch by