“This is for you,” Emmett said, handing his twin the glass with the added water.
“Thanks. God, I need it.”
A loud boom of thunder shook the cabin, reminding them of the storm still outside.
“We all do,” Emmett said.
Cody agreed, holding up his glass in front of him. “A toast, brothers.”
“God, do you always have to be so dramatic?” Bryant asked.
“I do. Shut up and listen.” Though he and his brothers had never voiced their feelings, there was a hole, a vacancy, an emptiness in their lives. He believed they felt it, too. They were brothers through thick and thin, good and bad—and, boy, there’d been a whole heap of bad—but as tight as their bond was, they’d lost so much after their parents’ death. “To the woman in our cabin, may she recover fully under our care—”
“That’s a great place to end a good toast,” Emmett said.
“—and may she fall head over heels in love with us.” Cody smiled and took a sip of his drink.
Bryant chuckled, but he knew his twin better than even Emmett did. Bryant, the quietest of the three of them, clearly liked the idea more than a little.
Emmett shook his head. “You should’ve stopped while you were ahead, Cody. We’ve got to make sure she’s well. That’s our first and only priority.”
Something about his eldest brother’s tone was different. Cody detected a hint of desire there. He sure hoped so. Hell, he even prayed so. With Emmett, the odds were slim, very slim.
Chapter Two
Bryant Stone finished his whiskey and went to the kitchen to refill his glass. “What do we do now? There’s no way we can get her to Doc in this weather.”
His mind was racing, working out all the likely outcomes that bringing the wounded female to their cabin might result in. Cody had been right about her being beautiful. She was. Never had he seen such a specimen in his life. Curves to die for. Lips he would love to kiss for days and days. And more.
“The road’s likely to be blocked after this storm.” Cody downed the rest of his glass and walked up next to him. “We may not be able to get to town for at least a week.”
“Don’t sound so happy about it.” Emmett sat down in Dad Trevor’s chair. “She’s hurt. Don’t forget that. We’re not doctors.”
Bryant nodded, filling his glass. “He’s right, you know. She might have a concussion. Do either of you know how to treat that?”
His brothers looked dumbstruck.
Emmett spoke first. “Should we use ice?”
“I remember something about the need to keep them awake,” he said, keeping his worry pushed down.
“I couldn’t wake her up earlier. Should we try again?” The panic in Emmett’s voice was something new.
“Maybe we should get her in the tub and get her cleaned up.” Cody’s eyes seemed to hold both concern and lust at the idea. Bryant couldn’t blame him. “We’ll get a better idea about her injuries, and it might also get her to come to.”
Emmett wasn’t a man who was easily rattled. Back when his eldest brother had fallen down the cliff and broken both his legs when they were all teenagers, it had been Emmett who remained levelheaded and saved the day by remaining calm. Definitely not Cody.
So seeing Emmett shook up about a stranger seemed way out of character for him.
“We should try to wake her first. If we can’t, one of us needs to try to get down the road to the pay phone at the gas station. Doc won’t be able to make it up here, but at least he can give us some advice on how to treat her.” Emmett stood from his chair.
Bryant nodded. “Agreed.”
Emmett and Cody thought he was the calmest of the three of them, even more than Emmett, but Bryant knew better. His outside might be granite, but his insides never ceased to churn.
“I just don’t want to make things worse for her.” Emmett sighed. “One of us should’ve taken the EMT training that old Sheriff Grayson asked us to take before he retired.”
“The sheriff only wanted to get one of us under his thumb and you know it.” Cody took the bottle from him and poured himself more whiskey. “Besides, we do know a thing or two about injuries and how to nurse someone back to health.”