The Cowboy's Valentine Bride. Patricia Johns

back-slanted handwriting started to curl and blacken as the paper caught fire.

      Standing there watching it burn, he glanced back at the chair he’d just vacated and realized that he’d walked about five feet on his own without any crutches. He felt a surge of victory. His victories seemed small these days, but he’d take them where he could find them. Kaitlyn would be impressed, too, he realized wryly. When was the last time he’d looked to impress a girl by walking five steps?

      But he was a man who could endure pain and get through it. He’d keep moving forward. That’s what cowboys—and soldiers—did.

      * * *

      THE NEXT MORNING, as Kaitlyn bumped along the gravel road in the family pickup truck, her mind was on that letter. When she’d given it to him, she’d been relieved to relinquish responsibility and put it right back where it belonged—on Nina’s shoulders—but things felt different with some time to think. They’d all spent so much emotional energy trying to protect Brody that it was hard to stop now that he was home again.

      “Nina has a good heart,” her father told her that morning. “Don’t be too hard on her. At least they weren’t married yet.”

      Her father had always gone easy on Nina, as if life for a knockout beauty was somehow harder than it was for the rest of them. But as a father, Ron Harpe erred on the side of tolerance. Kaitlyn was pretty sure he still thought of Nina as a girl in pigtails—whether that was good for his daughter or not.

      “We were going to keep the secret until he got back,” her father reminded her. “And now he’s back. He’s a grown man, sweetheart. Quit babying him.”

      Her father had a point, but despite those bulging muscles and steely gaze, Brody was still fragile. He’d been through a lot. He’d nearly died out there, and he’d had some ugly surprises upon returning home. Her father saw the grown man, but she saw the vulnerable war vet. She could only hope she hadn’t made things worse. Nina’s conscience could have waited, for all Kaitlyn was concerned, but the deed was done.

      Kaitlyn pulled up the drive and parked. When she arrived at the side door, she found the screen shut but the main door open and Mrs. Mason pulling on her gum boots. She tugged a hand through her graying frizzy hair and reached for a pair of work gloves.

      “Good morning,” Kaitlyn said.

      “Morning. I’m just heading out to check on a sick cow. Sorry for the rush.” She shot Kaitlyn a smile. Millie Mason was looking decidedly more relaxed now that her son was back from Afghanistan, and her eyes had a new sparkle. None of this had been ideal, but one mother’s heart was very full.

      “No problem.” Kaitlyn stood back as the older woman pushed open the screen and slipped past her onto the step. The air outside was cold, and the snow had a thick crust over it.

      “Your patient is already up, too,” Millie said with a smile. “You’ll see! Oh, and I didn’t get breakfast made, so...”

      So it would be on Kaitlyn to feed Brody. That wasn’t a big deal. Unlike Nina, Kaitlyn knew how to cook. She waved to Millie, then stepped into the warmth inside. She started when she saw Brody standing at the fridge. He had only one crutch tucked under his arm, and he glanced back at her with a slightly smug look on his face.

      “Look at you!” she exclaimed, pulling off her gloves and jacket. “How much is this hurting?”

      “Like hell,” Brody said with a tight smile. “But it’s worth it. I’m making breakfast. What do you want?”

      “I don’t want you landing in my breakfast,” she said with a roll of her eyes. “I’ll get it.”

      “Have I shown off enough?” he asked, then hobbled toward the table and sank into a chair. He looked a little wan, the pain probably near unbearable levels, but he was trying—really trying—and she felt a wave of tenderness. The same old Brody. That was why it was so easy to fall for him. He was so strong and sweet, but with a core of steel. Brody never gave up—not once he was focused on something...or someone. Kaitlyn had never been lucky enough to garner his focus.

      “Very impressive. Now stay down.” She opened the fridge, her gaze falling on a bowl of different-sized fresh eggs on the second shelf. They’d be from the Masons’ chickens out back. “How about eggs?”

      “Sure.” Brody twisted around, his dark gaze following her as she moved about the kitchen. Heat rose in her face at his scrutiny.

      “Have you taken any new pain meds this morning?” she asked by way of distracting him. “Keep in mind that I count the pills.”

      Brody arched an eyebrow. “You think I’d lie to you?”

      No, she didn’t. Brody had always been the honorable type, but pain medication addiction was relatively common for injuries this severe, and Brody’s pain wasn’t only physical. He’d been through the wringer since he got back—and she also felt more in control as the nurse than she did as the friend.

      “Any new pain meds?” she repeated, shooting him a no-nonsense look.

      “No, ma’am,” he replied with a teasing smile. “You’ve gotten bossier.”

      If she didn’t look at him, if she just listened to the tone of his voice and the silly banter, it was possible to imagine that no time had passed, and that Brody was the same muscle-bound cowboy he’d always been.

      “No, I haven’t.” She cracked four eggs into a bowl and started to whisk them together into a creamy froth. “I just have reason to focus it all on you. Aren’t you lucky?”

      Brody rewarded her with a chuckle.

      “Look, Brody, I felt a little bad about dumping that letter on you.”

      “I read it.”

      She glanced back to find his gaze still focused on her. He raised an eyebrow.

      “Curious as to what she said?”

      “Yes,” she admitted.

      “Brian got her pregnant.”

      It took a moment for his words to sink in, and when they did, Kaitlyn frowned. “What?”

      “And she’s very sorry, and all that,” Brody said drily. “Awfully apologetic. And pregnant.”

      Pregnant! That would explain the quick wedding. They’d all begged them to hold off and wait a little bit, but Nina wouldn’t hear of it. She was getting married immediately, and everyone had to scramble to try and keep the news as quiet as possible, and to call everyone who had any immediate knowledge to warn them from letting Brody know. If Nina had just waited, it would have been so much less complicated, but now she understood the pressure.

      “Wow.” Kaitlyn shook her head slowly. “She didn’t tell me.”

      “She said she hadn’t told anyone yet,” Brody said. “But I’m in no mood to keep secrets. There’ve been enough of those.”

      “How far along is she?” Kaitlyn asked.

      “She said she’s due in May.”

      Kaitlyn did the mental math... Nina was five months pregnant? But then, she hadn’t seen her sister since the wedding.