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doing things for people, and she was always low-key, giving the unit the credit instead of taking any for herself. He liked to think the cookies might mean she felt something for him. But as wife of their Captain, he knew this was all too normal for Makenna.
    From the moment they’d met, Titan knew he was playing a dangerous game with himself. He could’ve walked away and let someone else take his place, found some other way he could serve the community. Remove himself from temptation. Instead, he’d chosen to stay, knowing he was helplessly attracted to a woman he could never have. A woman he couldn’t even hint he had feelings for.
    Titan pushed his summer Stetson back on his head, wiping the dampness from his hairline. His memory from the other night after the fire was a bit hazy, but he thought he might’ve said something he shouldn’t have—or at least started to say it. Now he was worrying. Damien had acted strange, but it wasn’t jealousy. He just couldn’t pinpoint what the man had been getting at when he said he’d have to ‘straighten’ Makenna out.
    Lost in thought, when Titan finally noticed his surroundings, he discovered Valiant had carried him home. He loved his house. It wasn’t huge, a split-level ranch style made from local stone and cedar. Titan had built it with his own hands. Heading his mount into the red two-story barn, he made sure the stallion was settled with fresh oats and water. Trying to figure out what he was going to fix himself for supper, he finally decided to grab takeout when he went into town to have Meg check his dressing. The doctor had wanted him to stay another day or two in the hospital to avoid infection, but since he refused to go along with that, he’d finally compromised with the check-ups.
    Stomping his boots on the porch steps, Titan knocked as much dust off of his feet as he could. He winced, ignoring the pain as the tight flesh on his back pulled with the exertion. When he opened the screen door it creaked. The sound was loud, crashing through the silence. Stepping over the threshold, he flipped on the light attached to the ceiling fan.
    Damn, he needed to pick up a little. Housekeeping was never his strong suit. To appease his conscience, Titan gathered up a couple of Austin-Statesman newspapers and three empty coffee mugs. Carrying them to the kitchen, he threw the papers in the trash and put the cups in the dishwasher. Pausing to drink some water right from the sink, he stared out the window, snorting when he saw his two little goats butting heads and bouncing around. He kept a whole menagerie of animals at Skyview. If he’d had all of these critters when he was a kid, Titan would’ve thought he was in hog heaven. As he gazed out into the distance, he imagined seeing a little boy running through the grass wearing cowboy boots and a plaid shirt or a little girl with dark pigtails tied with pink ribbon…
    “Get a grip, Sloan,” he whispered, turning to go upstairs. He washed off as best he could in the vanity sink, promising himself a full blown hot shower as soon as he got cleared. When he was dressed, Titan headed to town.
    Their community was lucky to have a medical clinic folks could come to for non-life-threatening issues. Even though they were no more than sixty miles from Austin, an hour was a helluva long time when every minute counted. He hadn’t taken three steps through the door of the red brick facility before he saw Makenna. She was coming out of one of the side rooms, walking slowly.
    “Makenna?” She stared at him for a second, then dropped her head. She was still beautiful, of course, but there seemed to be a gray pallor to her skin. “Are you sick?”
    “Ah, no,” Doc Proctor said, putting his arm around Makenna’s shoulders. “Ms. Wade just bruised some ribs. She’ll be fine.” He looked down at her. “Is Damien picking you up?”
    “Yes,” she answered quietly.
    “How did you hurt yourself?” Titan asked, concerned. “Were