Caleb Branam sat in the booth in the coffee shop and tried to smile at his friend."You trying to be a do-gooder, Aron?"Aron McCoy just looked at him. "I'm trying to help you get your head out of your ass."Caleb ran his hands up the sides of his face and across the top of his head. "Hmm. Seems like it's still in the right place."Aron snorted. "I should have known. A wiseass, just like at the University of Texas."Caleb chuckled. "Is that better or worse than being a smartass?" The smile disappeared. "You have to stop trying to 'fix' me, buddy. Some people are just permanently broken.""So that means what? You'll just hide away in your cabin up in the hills, relying on your disability funds to pay for your beer and skittles?"Caleb managed a chuckle. "I might if I knew what skittles were."Aron leaned forward. "I'm serious, Caleb. Everyonehas disasters in their lives, but they deal with it. There are a lot of people much worse off than you are."Last night when Libby told

Caleb grumbled to himself as he drove down the two-lane country highway headed toward the address Carson Wagner had given him. He still couldn't figure out how this happened so fast. Or how it even happened at all. One minute he was happily miserable in his self-imposed isolation. He'd even learned to live without sex except for the occasional connection with his hand. The next Aron McCoy had turned his life upside down. He thought it was the fickle finger of fate that they'd bumped into each other in Kerrville and nothing would do but they have coffee together. As if that wasn't bad enough, Aron managed to connect with him again on the one day he came into town to do some grocery shopping. He'd been happy not having to talk to people. Be with people. He could wallow in his misery up in his isolated cabin and feel as sorry for himself as he wanted to. He should have flat out told Aron "No" when the subject came up, but the man just wouldn't take that for an answer. He'd said yes mostl

Jasmine stood in the center of the great room directing the deliverymen from the furniture store. She and Liberty had put a nice dent in her cash but she was happy with everything she'd gotten. She'd even thought to ask Aron what kind of mattress she should get for Caleb. He'd only be staying with her a short while but Aron had told her about his leg and she wanted him to be comfortable. She'd had them set up the room Caleb would be using first thing, so she could make it up with the new linens she bought and washed in fresh-smelling detergent. She even had a television in there. She'd hooked it up to the satellite system and tested it to make sure it worked. She wanted him to be as comfortable as possible. After all, it would be just the two of them alone out here while she finished the songs for the album. The two of them alone!A little shiver danced along her spine at the thought of Caleb Branam living in her house with her, just the two of them. Just his presence had made all

Caleb stood in the middle of the great room, hands in his pockets, just taking in his surroundings. The sun blazing in through the abundance of windows gave a warm honey look to the polished hardwood floor. The furniture was upholstered in cream and maroon, the dining table an unusual slab of granite on a pedestal. One wall had built-in bookshelves and an office area with her computer and printer. The walls were still bare but he chalked that up to the newness of the place. Between the tension of knowing some asshole was out there waiting to disrupt your life and starting the preparations for the album and the tour she probably didn't have a lot of free time for shopping.He wondered at her choice of locations, buying a house on six acres out in the middle of the Hill Country. She was pretty isolated out here. As someone who liked his solitude, however, he could relate to it. He knew what demons he was running away from. Did Jasmine have her own or did she just want her privacy? He su

Jasmine wrinkled her forehead. "Plan for what? I thought you were just supposed to be guarding me." The minute the words were out of her mouth she wished them back, realizing how stupid they sounded. "Sorry. That was pretty dumb of me.""I'll want to go over the details with you, also." Caleb went on as if she hadn't spoken, for which she was thankful. "Whatever you need." She kept alternating between resentment that her life was being affected this way and being grateful that she'd have someone covering her ass. And a generous sprinkling of resentment at Cobra for creating this situation."Good.""So how about a celebration? Want to go into town for dinner?" She was always wound up tighter than a drum when she finished writing, excited about what she'd accomplished and itchy to get into the studio with them. She was filled with excess energy and needed to do something. She was on a high and she wanted to take him with her."Town?" She could see him rolling the question around