A Wife for a Westmoreland by Brenda Jackson

probably conclude that Zane had them as well. All of them had been close to their parents, aunt and uncle. Everyone had taken their deaths hard. The way Derringer had managed to move on, and not look back, was by not getting too attached to anyone. He had his cousins and his siblings. He loved them, and they were all he needed. If he were to fall in love, give his heart to a woman, and then something were to happen to her—there was no telling how he’d handle it, or even if he could. He likedthings just the way they were. And, for that reason, he doubted he would ever marry.
    He crossed the room and placed a hand on her shoulder when he saw her trembling. “Hey, come on, Bail, it wasn’t that bad. You were there at the hospital and heard what Dr. Epps said. It’s been almost two weeks now and I’m fine.”
    “But I also heard him say that it could have been worse, Derringer.”
    “But it wasn’t. Look, unless you came to cook for me or do my laundry, you can visit some other time. I’m going to take a nap.”
    He saw the sad look on her face turn mutinous and knew his ploy had worked. She didn’t like it when he bossed her around or came across as if she was at his beck and call. “Cook your own damn meals and do your own laundry, or get one of those silly girls who fawn all over you to do it.”
    “Whatever. And watch your mouth, Bailey, or I’ll think you’re slipping back to your old ways and I’ll have to wash your mouth out with soap.”
    She grabbed the remote off the table, dropped down on the sofa and began watching television, ignoring him. He glanced at his watch and fought to hide his smile. “So, how long are you staying?” he asked. Because she hadn’t yet inherited her one hundred acres, she had a tendency to spend time at any of their places. Most of the time she stayed with Megan, which suited all her brothers just fine because Bailey had a tendency to drop in unannounced at the most inconvenient times.
    Like now .
    She didn’t even look over at him when she finallyanswered his question. “I’m staying until I’m ready to leave. You have a problem with it?”
    “No.”
    “Good,” she said, using the remote to flip to another channel. “Now go take your nap and I hope when you wake up you’re in a lot better mood.”
    He chuckled as he leaned down and planted a brotherly kiss on her forehead. “Thanks for worrying about me so much, kid,” he said softly.
    “If me, Megan and Gemma don’t do it, who will? All those silly girls you mess around with are only after your money.”
    He lifted a brow in mock surprise. “You think so?”
    She glanced up at him and rolled her eyes. “If you don’t know the truth about them then you’re in real trouble, Derringer.”
    Derringer chuckled again thinking yes, he knew the truth about them…especially one in particular. Lucia Conyers. He didn’t think of her as one of those “silly girls” and knew Bailey wouldn’t either. He would be taking Lucia to the movies Saturday night. He intended to return her panties to her then. He looked forward to the moment her mouth fell open and she realized he knew what she’d done and had known all this time. He couldn’t wait to see what excuse she would come up with for what she had done.
    Before heading up the stairs, he decided to feel his sister out about something. “I ran into Lucia Conyers a few moments ago at McKay’s.”
    Bailey didn’t take her gaze off the television and for a moment he thought that possibly she hadn’t heard him, but then she responded. “And?”
    He smiled. “And we shared a table since McKay’s was crowded.” He paused a moment. “She’s pretty. I never realized just how pretty she is.” The latter he knew wasn’t true, because he’d always known how pretty she was.
    He watched as Bailey slowly turned toward him with a frown on her face. “I hope you’re not thinking what I think you’re thinking.”
    He smiled. “Oh, I don’t know. What do you think