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everyone is secure.”
    “But these aren’t kids, Tom,” Jane threw back at him. “Surely you don’t think these old ladies would be up to anything?”
    Tom blew out a breath of defeat. “Okay, point taken.”
    Jane grinned triumphantly. He really was a nice guy. Most men she knew would not have admitted defeat quite so easily.
    “Truth is, I like a nice stroll before bed,” he continued. “ Keeps me from tossing and turning. Want to make the rounds with me? I doubt there’s going to be undercover action around here tonight. Besides, everything in the kitchen is locked up tight, and only Hattie and I have a key.”
    Jane ’s grin left her lips. She was still mulling over the image his words evoked. The thought of Tom Caldwell in bed, naked save for a tangled sheet, flashed before her eyes. She blinked it away. “Well, I—”
    “Come on, Jane,” he urged, tugging her by the arm as he moved from under the tree. “I don’t bite.”
    Reluctantly, she followed. She didn’t want to spend time with him alone—especially in the moonlight. Normally she would have said no and gone on her way. But she hadn’t this time. Why was that? She clasped her hands behind her back and tried to rationalize her recent behavior. The full moon suddenly caught her attention. Relief filled her. People often acted out of character during a full moon…or so it was said. That had to be the reason she was feeling out of sorts tonight.
    “Do you have family, Jane?” Tom gave her a quick sideways glance, then stuffed his hands in the pockets of his shorts.
    “ My folks live in Des Moines. I have four older brothers,” Jane responded proudly, forcing a calm she didn’t feel. “Two in the Air Force, one in the Navy, and one in the Army like me. And my father is a retired military man himself.”
    Tom nodded sagely. “That explains a lot.”
    Jane’s step slowed. “What are you suggesting?”
    His shrug was slight, the barest lifting of one wide shoulder. “I’m saying you had to get tough with four older brothers in the house.”
    Jane bit her lower lip to hold back the smile, then murmured, “You think I’m tough?”
    Tom chuckled good-naturedly. “Let’s just say that actions speak louder than words.”
    Feeling suddenly brave, she went for broke. “So you’ve decided you don’t want to send me back for a bigger and better model?”
    He hesitated, using the moment to capture her gaze. Those blue eyes twinkled with what might be amusement…or something like it. Not quite enough light to say for sure. Anticipation surged through her veins. Of what she didn’t know, and she definitely didn’t want to analyze it.
    “Nope, I think I’ll keep you.”
    A heat-filled moment passed. Before Jane could decipher the look in his eyes, he turned and started forward again. Feeling as light-headed as she did bewildered, she followed.
    They walked without talking for a while. Jane wondered if he were struggling with that strange little stir that passed between them. Or had he even felt it? Frowning, she mentally scolded herself. She wasn’t some silly schoolgirl. She was twenty-four years old, and a professional soldier in the United States Army. She knew better than to behave in such an adolescent manner.
    What on earth was wrong with her?
    “I’m the oldest in my family,” Tom said, breaking the awkward silence.
    “Brothers or sisters?”
    “Two sisters and one brother.” He smiled. “One doctor, one lawyer, and one aerospace engineer.”
    Jane wondered briefly if Tom’s siblings looked like him. All the Passerellas had dark hair and eyes except her. She had the dark eyes but she’d been blessed, or cursed according to her Aunt Sally, with more blond than brown hair. The whole clan was tall and large-framed, again except her. She was the runt of the litter. She smiled. And Tom was right, her older brothers had made her tough. Tough enough to fend for herself during those turbulent teenage dating years; and definitely