Lowe sighed. “At least let me get someone to take a look at it, although I’m not sure that she’ll help. Maybe the Hippocratic Oath will make her help. Doctors still swear by that, right?”
“There’s a doctor up here?” Her eyes widened.
Lowe scratched behind his ear and grimaced. “Not here. She lives just south of here with her ma… man. Husband.”
Why had he stumbled over the word man? Had he intended to say something else? She wracked her brain, trying to think of other words that started with ma.
Lowe distracted her by sitting beside her and touching her knee. “I can ask her.”
She looked into his eyes and caught the nerves in them. For some reason, he was worried about asking this doctor for assistance, and some foolish part of her leaped on that, said that he had fallen out with the husband over her. She shoved that thought aside. Lowe didn’t strike her as the sort to go after another man’s wife. The attraction she felt to him was making her look for reasons they couldn’t be together, had her hunting for flaws that weren’t there, and she wasn’t sure why. Was she trying to stop herself from wanting him?
It was the most reasonable explanation for her behaviour. She didn’t want him pulled any deeper into her mess and getting involved with him would drag him as deep as he could get. It was better that they remained as they were—friends of a sort. Not lovers.
“You don’t have to.” She eased the blanket off her legs. It cooled them a little, but she was still too warm. Removing her salopettes would go a long way towards fixing that, but the thought of stripping her legs bare in front of Lowe unsettled her, had that heat flaring hotter again. When he looked as if he might touch her overheating cheeks, she rushed out, “I’m being a burden, and I really don’t want that.”
He pushed to his feet. “It’s really no bother.”
“It is… I am.” She looked out of the window again, at the peaceful world out there, one she felt sure she was close to ruining. “How long have you lived up here? I can’t imagine what it must be like to live up here in winter.”
Lowe glanced at the window and pulled a face. “A while. Saint owns the land. We all pitch in to take care of things, whether that’s repairing the cabins or hunting, or hitting the nearest town for supplies. I know it’s not the most modern of places, and I wouldn’t say no to running water and power, but I love it here. Everyone up here just wants a quiet life.”
“A quiet life,” she murmured.
A life she was in danger of ruining.
“Hey now.” Lowe eased to a crouch beside her and looked up into her eyes. “You’re awfully down this morning. You definitely need a pick me up. Fresh coffee and bacon sandwiches sound good?”
She nodded, but couldn’t stop her mood from spiralling downwards. She didn’t want to wreck this slice of heaven that Lowe and the others had made for themselves, didn’t want to pull them into danger, and she was going to do just that if she remained here.
Lowe’s voice gained a hard edge as he placed his hand over hers, curled his fingers around and held it. “Don’t think for a second that you’re endangering us or that you’re better off leaving… sneaking off or doing something crazy. I can handle this trouble for you. We can handle it. After all, we’re used to dealing with trouble. You should meet our neighbours.”
“There are others up here?” She frowned at him.
He had mentioned a doctor to the south, but she had thought perhaps he had been talking about the nearest town.
Lowe nodded. “Whole pack of people a little south of here, closer to the trailhead. Pains in my ass.”
He didn’t seem to like his neighbours.
He squeezed her hand again. “I’ll get you breakfast, and then I’ll see about asking the doc to look at you.”
When he went to stand and she didn’t release his hand, he turned and looked down at her.
“I’d like to come down too.” She shifted her gaze to the staircase. Her leg was feeling slightly better this morning, but tackling the staircase yesterday had been close to terrifying and she didn’t want to do it again.
Plus, Lowe was right. It was better she rely on him for some things, and asking for his help didn’t make her weak or a burden. He wanted to help her.
He smiled and twisted towards her, scooped her up into his arms as if she really did weigh nothing more than a feather. She looped her arms around his neck and settled her head on his chest, relaxed against him as he carried her downstairs, carefully navigating each turn. When he made the final turn, he froze. Cameo looked up at him, wondering what the problem was, and then looked in the direction of his gaze.
She tensed too.
A man stood near the open door, dressed head to toe in black weatherproof gear, his crystal blue eyes stormy as he stared at Lowe and then her.
“Isn’t this romantic?” he drawled and unzipped his coat.
Cameo could only stare at him as heat climbed her cheeks and she grew painfully aware of how she was pressed against Lowe, tucked close to his chest.
When Lowe had told her that Knox was his twin, and that they were identical, she hadn’t quite believed they would look exactly like each other.
But they did.
The only difference between Lowe and Knox was the colour of their hair, with Knox’s a shade darker than Lowe’s golden blond.
And the darkness in Knox’s gaze.
He slid Lowe a look.
“Yeah, I was about to let her hobble down the stairs.” Lowe bit those words out, an uncharacteristically hard edge to his voice as he finished carrying her down the steps and strode to the couch. He gently set her down on it and gave her a worried look. “Not too warm?”
Cameo shook her head. She was a little warm, but with the door open she wasn’t in any danger of overheating.
“I’ll get you breakfast.” Lowe gave her a tight smile that disappeared, turning into a glare as he straightened and pivoted towards his brother. “You want something?”
Cameo had the feeling he wasn’t asking Knox if he wanted breakfast too.
Knox grunted as he bent to remove his boots. “All the bacon in the world and an Irish coffee.”
“You’ll get a third of the bacon and a straight coffee. It’s too early to be drinking.” Lowe glanced back at his brother as Knox strode to the armchair, peeling his coat off as he went. A worried edge entered his eyes. “You get any sleep?”
Knox tossed his coat onto the back of the armchair and sank into it on a long sigh. He shook his head.
“Saint all right?” Lowe turned to face him now, a plain white mug in one hand and a coffee pot in the other.
Knox nodded and yawned, smacked his lips together and sank deeper into the armchair. “Gods, I need some sleep.”
His dull blue gaze slid to Cameo.
“You’re pretty. He tell you that?”
Lowe glared at his brother. “Watch your mouth.”
“So he hasn’t told you that?” Knox smiled slowly in his brother’s direction.
“Actually, he has.” She had wanted to pick him up on it too. She looked at Lowe, wanting to see whether he really thought she was pretty.
He avoided her gaze, went back to pouring coffee into three mugs.