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He told himself that was simply down to her proximity. Okay, and maybe because he’d gotten his hands on her. He was a simple man.

When he went out into the living room, Ruthie was standing by the windows talking to Cat and Wilder, who were stopping here on their way back to Bozeman. They’d started commuting back and forth when Cat’s fall semester began. And while they both sounded positive about the experience, it was also pretty clear that this wasn’t their favorite thing to do. But Dallas had to give it to Wilder. He supported Cat one thousand percent, and really, what else could an older brother want?

Tennessee and Matilda came in a few minutes later, in the usual commotion that was the Matilda Stark Lisle experience. A shaggy dog Dallas had never seen before went charging through the house, happy as could be, barking his head off. Tennessee’s husky, with blue eyes to match the rest of the family’s and the oldest Lisle’s same reserve, looked as if he too felt faintly taken aback by the whole thing.

Raleigh and Helena came in together, bickering about something that had Raleigh drawling—to be extra irritating, Dallas was sure—and Helena rolling her eyes to the back of her head. Typical older brother and younger sister stuff. Peyton came in with the two of them, introduced herself to Ruthie, and then went to help Jenny arrange the food—and no doubt to talk about whatever it was mothers talked about at strange gatherings like this.

And after Kitty took off and Finn came back from walking her to her car with an awfully satisfied look on his face, they all settled down in the living room. Jenny had thrown together a few things that were a little more substantial than appetizers from Mountain Mama’s, and everyone was sitting with plates on their laps.

And waiting for the elephant in the room to start performing.

Dallas figured that was him. “This is awkward,” he said.

“Not for me,” Ruthie chimed in, with that grin of hers that was like pure sunshine. She looked around the room and the grin only got brighter. “This is my first time meeting any of you, as far as I know. So no need to tiptoe around anything on my account.”

And he found himself looking at her fondly, probably more fondly than he should, because that broke the ice. It made everyone laugh. It made most of his siblings start firing questions at her about the limits and contours of her memory. All of which she answered in that same cheerful way.

Dallas kicked back in his own seat, not sure he was all that hungry when Ruthie was right here in front of him, seeming somehow more than she ever had when they were younger. When they were alone, of course, she’d been entirely herself, powerful to behold in every way and he’d been so mesmerized by her he’d had to taste her. And he had.

But she’d always had a harder time in groups. He’d wondered if that was part of why she hadn’t much liked the social engagements with the rest of the Army wives they’d known. Because here, with his complicated and happier-all-the-time family, she didn’t seem to have a problem with it at all.

He couldn’t really remember why or how he’d managed to keep from doing exactly what she’d asked him to do today.

“That’s an awfully pretty secret to keep,” Raleigh drawled from beside him.

Dallas looked at the brother who was closest in age to him, though far more of a cowboy than he was—complete with all those broken horses only Raleigh could manage to sort out—and shrugged. “Wasn’t a secret. Just not a topic of conversation I felt like jumping into, randomly. I’m pretty sure everyone else talked about it all the time.”

Raleigh’s mouth curved in confirmation. “So does this mean you’re getting back together?”

Dallas shook his head. “I’m not answering that question. That’s not even a thought at this point.”

And he meant that. So he was surprised when Raleigh laughed. And when he looked at his brother, he could see that that laughter was directed straight at him.

“What?” he asked.

“Brother,” Raleigh drawled, “you’re a terrible liar. Which is ironic, given who your daddy is. You would think lying was in our blood. But I don’t think you’re fooling anybody.” Dallas frowned like he didn’t get what Raleigh meant, so the other man leaned in. “I don’t believe you’ve thought about anything else.”

Dallas was pathetically grateful when the conversation all around them shifted, Raleigh jumped back into it, and he was left there wondering how transparent he was, after all. And why everyone seemed to know exactly where to land all their punches.

He had literally been trained to be impervious to such things, and much worse. He couldn’t say he liked feeling like everyone knew where to leave him bruises.

“So, Ruthie,” Jenny said, when there was a lull in all the talking. “What, exactly, have you been up to all this time?”

“Really, Mom?” Tennessee muttered.

Jenny only shrugged, wholly unrepentant. Ruthie, for her part, just smiled.

“I’ve been down in Georgia, living with my grandmother. She was getting on and it worked out that I could be there as her companion.” She looked around and laughed at the way everyone was very obviously not looking at her. “I mean, I don’t remember why I was available to do that, but it turned out to be a good thing, I think. She needed somebody to care for her and she didn’t trust a stranger to do it. So I took part-time jobs while I could and was happy to return the favor. Because she raised me, after all.” She looked down then. “She didn’t have to do that.”

Dallas wanted to go to her and ask her what she meant by that last part. As if it was an act of charity on her grandmother’s part, when as far as he recalled, Deanna Rae had never treated Ruthie that way. She’d told him once that it had never crossed her mind that there was any other choice. Her son and daughter-in-law were gone, so Ruthie was hers.

But this wasn’t the place to get into things Ruthie couldn’t possibly remember the way he did.

“How do you like Dallas’s lighthouse-shaped midlife crisis?” Tennessee asked, and only let his mouth curve a little when his wife shook her head at him.

Matilda looked at Ruthie. “Please excuse him. He’s not really housebroken.”

“I love that lighthouse,” Ruthie replied, grinning again. “Who wouldn’t love it? First of all, it’s this whimsical, magical thing that shouldn’t be here. Point one in its favor. Second, it’s absolutely beautiful. Did you know that Dallas could do things like that? As far as I’m concerned, it’s a work of art.”