Maia was silent, careful to keep her expression from reflecting the horror and compassion in her mind. She couldn’t blow the moment by speaking, by saying or doing the wrong thing. Cole Steele was telling her something she doubted he’d ever admitted to anyone. He might have glossed over a difficult childhood, but he’d never spoken the details aloud to another human being. She picked up the mug of chocolate, now cool, wrapping both hands around it.
“Don’t think I’m telling you this for sympathy,” Cole said harshly. “It’s important for you to know what Jase has had to deal with. I don’t want him to become like me. I want him to be normal. This is about Jase. You understand? Just Jase.”
Maia managed to nod, blinking rapidly to keep tears at bay. Cole Steele was a lost man fighting desperately for his younger half brother. She swallowed the lump threatening to choke her. Who was going to save Cole?
“He responded to you. You’re the first person I’ve ever seen him do that with. He has that distance between him and everyone else, but he laughed with you. Actually laughed. Jase needs something I can’t seem to give him.”
“You’re giving him exactly what he needs right now, Cole. Stability and a sense of family. After so many years, you said he’s, what? Fourteen?” At Cole’s nod, she continued. “Jase is afraid to trust anyone completely. He wants to, but it’s ingrained in him not to. Time will take care of that. As long as you don’t let him down, he’ll count on you and learn to rely on your relationship.”
“Men like Al’s brother-in-law, they wanted to pretend what went on here at the ranch was all right, just something they had to put up with to keep their families going, but they were part of it, holding Jase here, watching what the old man did to him. I don’t want them anywhere near Jase, with their smirks and patronizing bullshit.”
Maia heard the suppressed rage in Cole’s voice. The men he’d fired were luckier than they knew. Cole was capable of extreme violence. “Jase isn’t ever going to get over this completely, Cole. It doesn’t work that way. The things we’ve experienced become part of who we are. It can make him a stronger, better person, but he won’t ever forget it or be able to get away from the consequences, the impact on his personality.”
Cole leaned back in his chair, allowing his breath to leave his lungs. “Who are you, Doc? Where do you come from?”
“I’m no big mystery, Steele. I grew up in a small town. My parents were killed in a car accident when I was about sixteen, and I went to live with my only relative, my grandmother. She was an awesome woman, and I hope I learned a lot from her. I loved animals, got decent grades, and decided I’d be a veterinarian. I was about halfway through school when my grandmother died, and I discovered she had a bit of money put away. It enabled me to buy my own equipment, and the rest is history.”
“Your entire life in a few short sentences.” He saluted her.
Maia smiled at him. “I told you it wasn’t a big deal. Now, you are different. You’re surrounded by mystery and intrigue.”
“It’s what women find appealing.”
“Really? I thought it was your brooding loner image. I guess it ties in though, I can see that. Are you going to give tips to Jase on dealing with women?”
Cole shook his head. “Jase is going to find a really nice woman someday and have a family. He’ll have two kids and come home every night to someone who loves him.” He sighed. “He’s not excited about going to a regular school. I was hoping he’d go to a private one or even the public school, but he’s always had tutors, and he isn’t comfortable with anything else.”
“He isn’t comfortable not being with you. In effect, this ranch has been the only place he’s ever been. Didn’t you say your father kept him prisoner here? Or close to it? He’s staying in his comfort zone. We all do that. We stay with what we know.”
Cole tried not to wince. She was lashing him, and she wasn’t even aware of it. If anyone stayed in his comfort zone, it was he. Cole didn’t duck the issue. He was an adrenaline junkie, and he kept the rest of the world at a distance. She was just sitting there, looking beautiful, pointing out his every flaw, and through it all he had the most incredible urge to kiss her until neither of them could think anymore. “Isn’t it about time you tried to get some sleep?”
Maia glanced at her watch, deliberately ignoring the flare of desire in his eyes. “You’re right. It’s already morning. It doesn’t look like we’re going to get much of a break from this storm.”
Cole stood up, waited until she’d rinsed out her mug and climbed the stairs to the long sweep of a landing. “Good night, Doc, thanks for everything you’ve done.”
Maia smiled at him over her shoulder. “Anytime, Steele.”
chapter
6
“JASE,” COLE SAID casually, “the doc’s out with the horse right now, so there’s no rush. Before you go out to check on him I want to run something by you. I need a little advice.”