Read Online Claiming His Brother's Baby by Helen Lacey - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Helen Lacey
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talk to. Someone with soft skin and warm hands to curl up with at night. Tanner liked that idea, too.
He’d spent so many years pouring all his energy in his horses, building the ranch and trying to live in the present and forget the past he’d somehow ignored the future. But being with Cassie made him think about it.
No, he corrected immediately. It was Oliver who got him thinking. Cassie was just... She was just the girl who’d sparked his interest all those years ago on the beach. Being around her brought back those memories, that’s all. He had a handle on his attraction for her. And he’d forget all about it once he went home.
Only, last night he could have sworn he saw something in her eyes...a look...a connection...and it was something he hadn’t expected. Because she’d loved Doug.
Which means she can never be mine.
He shook the feeling off. The less he thought about Cassie being his or anyone else’s, the better. Tanner put the baby down for a nap and then took a quick shower. He dressed back into his jeans and padded barefoot down the hall toward the spare room. He rummaged around and found some of Doug’s clothes hanging in the wardrobe. He pulled out a shirt and slipped it on. It was a little tight in the shoulders and baggy around the waist, but it would do. He stayed in the room for a while and flipped through a few of the boxes. He found his brother’s uniforms neatly packed inside one box and another smaller carton held his medals. Tanner sat for a while, looking at the collection of memories. What would Doug make of him being with Cassie and Oliver? Would his brother be angry? Resentful? Would he eventually have come around to the idea of being a father to Oliver?
Tanner didn’t think so. Doug liked his freedom. Strange, then, that he’d joined the military. But Tanner understood why. His brother needed the army to give him companionship. And to give him solitude. Within the corridors of discipline and routine he found the family he’d needed. He’d bonded with people who understood him, who were like him, who had his back. Tanner knew his brother had never felt that with his real family. When their parents were killed Doug was already estranged from them. He’d never fit into the life on the farm. He’d never wanted to work the sugarcane and small herd of cattle. Doug had bailed at eighteen and headed for the city, where he worked a succession of transient jobs. After their parents’ accident he returned and reclaimed what he believed was his...and promptly sold off Tanner’s legacy.
Then came Tanner’s years at boarding school. During that time he learned to despise his brother...and yet still love him. He was family. And family was everything. Despite the repeated betrayals. Despite Doug’s behavior with Leah. Despite the mishandled inheritance. Despite all of it, a part of him still wanted to believe in the idea of brotherhood.
Tanner ignored the heavy feeling in his chest, folded the box shut and got to his feet. He headed to the kitchen, heated up some soup he found in the pantry and carried a tray into Cassie’s room.
She was sleeping and he was pleased that the racking cough that had kept her awake for most of the morning had abated for a while. Tanner slipped the tray onto the bedside table and watched her for a moment. She stirred and let out a soft moan. The soft hum of the humidifier he’d found in the nursery cupboard and set up by the bed was the only other sound in the room. He noticed she’d pushed the blanket aside and moved closer to pull the cover back up. She looked peaceful in sleep and as he watched her a strange sensation knocked behind his ribs. For years he’d put her out of his thoughts and programmed himself to
not
think of her. But when Doug died that changed. He had a blood tie and a responsibility to Oliver. His nephew would never feel what he had when he was a child—alone, abandoned, discarded. He’d always be there for his brother’s son
He’d spent so many years pouring all his energy in his horses, building the ranch and trying to live in the present and forget the past he’d somehow ignored the future. But being with Cassie made him think about it.
No, he corrected immediately. It was Oliver who got him thinking. Cassie was just... She was just the girl who’d sparked his interest all those years ago on the beach. Being around her brought back those memories, that’s all. He had a handle on his attraction for her. And he’d forget all about it once he went home.
Only, last night he could have sworn he saw something in her eyes...a look...a connection...and it was something he hadn’t expected. Because she’d loved Doug.
Which means she can never be mine.
He shook the feeling off. The less he thought about Cassie being his or anyone else’s, the better. Tanner put the baby down for a nap and then took a quick shower. He dressed back into his jeans and padded barefoot down the hall toward the spare room. He rummaged around and found some of Doug’s clothes hanging in the wardrobe. He pulled out a shirt and slipped it on. It was a little tight in the shoulders and baggy around the waist, but it would do. He stayed in the room for a while and flipped through a few of the boxes. He found his brother’s uniforms neatly packed inside one box and another smaller carton held his medals. Tanner sat for a while, looking at the collection of memories. What would Doug make of him being with Cassie and Oliver? Would his brother be angry? Resentful? Would he eventually have come around to the idea of being a father to Oliver?
Tanner didn’t think so. Doug liked his freedom. Strange, then, that he’d joined the military. But Tanner understood why. His brother needed the army to give him companionship. And to give him solitude. Within the corridors of discipline and routine he found the family he’d needed. He’d bonded with people who understood him, who were like him, who had his back. Tanner knew his brother had never felt that with his real family. When their parents were killed Doug was already estranged from them. He’d never fit into the life on the farm. He’d never wanted to work the sugarcane and small herd of cattle. Doug had bailed at eighteen and headed for the city, where he worked a succession of transient jobs. After their parents’ accident he returned and reclaimed what he believed was his...and promptly sold off Tanner’s legacy.
Then came Tanner’s years at boarding school. During that time he learned to despise his brother...and yet still love him. He was family. And family was everything. Despite the repeated betrayals. Despite Doug’s behavior with Leah. Despite the mishandled inheritance. Despite all of it, a part of him still wanted to believe in the idea of brotherhood.
Tanner ignored the heavy feeling in his chest, folded the box shut and got to his feet. He headed to the kitchen, heated up some soup he found in the pantry and carried a tray into Cassie’s room.
She was sleeping and he was pleased that the racking cough that had kept her awake for most of the morning had abated for a while. Tanner slipped the tray onto the bedside table and watched her for a moment. She stirred and let out a soft moan. The soft hum of the humidifier he’d found in the nursery cupboard and set up by the bed was the only other sound in the room. He noticed she’d pushed the blanket aside and moved closer to pull the cover back up. She looked peaceful in sleep and as he watched her a strange sensation knocked behind his ribs. For years he’d put her out of his thoughts and programmed himself to
not
think of her. But when Doug died that changed. He had a blood tie and a responsibility to Oliver. His nephew would never feel what he had when he was a child—alone, abandoned, discarded. He’d always be there for his brother’s son
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