Whirlwind Wedding by Debra Cowan

Catherine went to him, shaken as much by what she had felt with Jericho as she was that her brother held a gun on her patient. “Lieutenant Blue is in no shape to harm me. Certainly the gun isn’t called for.”
    Andrew glared up at her.
    Jericho reached the bed and sagged down upon it with a grunt.
    Catherine turned toward him, concerned at the paleness of his face.
    Agony carved his features. “Your sister’s right, Andrew.”
    â€œThen what were you doing to her?”
    â€œI fell. She was between me and the wall. That’s all.”
    â€œHe heard a noise and got up to check,” Catherine said. “Please put that gun down.”
    Andrew kept the weapon leveled at the Ranger.
    Though Jericho sat and Andrew stood, neither broke eye contact. She stood between them, trying to decipher their silent communication. “The lieutenant hit his injured leg on the table in the kitchen and I was helping him back to bed.”
    Her brother’s gaze narrowed suspiciously on the big man behind her.
    â€œI wouldn’t hurt your sister.” Jericho’s voice was gritty with pain, his silver gaze locked on the boy. “Not after all she’s done for me.”
    Finally Andrew lowered the weapon, and Catherine let out a deep sigh. She felt Jericho’s relief as keenly as her own. Her heart thundered in her chest as she considered whether to hug Andrew or shake him until his teeth rattled.
    She had never seen her brother be protective of her. Since her arrival three weeks ago, he hadn’t appeared to care about her. Why now? Did Andrew feel Jericho was a threat because he had witnessed her own panic?
    â€œLet me have that thing.” She took the gun from him and gingerly carried it to its place behind the front door. “You scared me to death.”
    â€œSorry,” he mumbled.
    She returned to find him still eyeing Jericho with distrust.
    â€œI think you should apologize to Lieutenant Blue.”
    Andrew’s chin came up.
    â€œNo,” the Ranger said. “He was protecting you, and there’s nothing wrong with that.”
    Her brother’s eyes widened and Catherine searched the Ranger’s face. Compassion was something she hadn’t expected from the rough-looking man. But perhaps she shouldn’t be surprised. The death of his friend, Hays, the Ranger who had arrived with him, had visibly affected Jericho.
    â€œVery well. You don’t need to apologize, Andrew.” TheRanger’s pallor was too marked for further argument. She would have words with Andrew alone, though she wouldn’t be harsh. He had been protecting her, and she wondered if perhaps they might develop a closeness, after all.
    She slid an arm around his shoulders, surprised when he allowed her touch. “I think we’ve had enough excitement for tonight,” she murmured. “Let’s get back to bed.”
    â€œAll right.” Her brother gave Jericho one last warning look before letting Catherine nudge him toward his room.
    Even though her pulse slowed, she still felt the imprint of the Ranger’s body against hers. Chills rose on her arms. They had nothing to do with fear, a fact that unsettled her to no end.
    In Andrew’s room, she straightened his sheet and patted the husk-filled mattress. “I appreciate what you did, Andrew—”
    â€œBut you’re mad at me.”
    She paused. “I’m concerned. You held a gun on a man.”
    He frowned as if he couldn’t understand why she worried.
    â€œWhat if that weapon had gone off?”
    â€œI know how to use it.”
    â€œWould you have?”
    He shrugged. “If I had to.”
    â€œOh, my.” She paced around his bed. “Are you saying that you could kill if necessary?”
    â€œIf that Ranger had hurt you, I would have,” he said fiercely.
    â€œBut he didn’t.”
    â€œYou acted like he did.”
    â€œI was taken aback when he fell