She nodded, looked down at herself. “The boob effect. I get it.”

“Boobs over boys always win.”

“Do you ever listen to yourself?” Colin chided his brother.

“Not if I have another choice.”

“Neanderthal.”

The front door opened, and the click of his sister’s high heels sounded on the tile. “I saw Matt’s bike.”

Colin turned and faced Parker, mouthed the words I’m sorry.

Good sport that she was, she smiled and mouthed back . . . It’s okay.

Grace waved a bottle of white wine. “I was hoping you were here.” She walked over to Parker first and gave her a hug. “I’m tired of drinking beer, and that’s all Colin ever has.”

“You’re complaining about my free beer?”

Grace came over to him and kissed his cheek. “No, I’m complaining that your free selection is limited to beer. There’s a woman in your life, time to step it up.”

Matt waved his finger at him. “The woman has spoken.”

Grace looked in his silverware drawer, paused. “Wait, do you even have a wine opener?”

“Of course I do.” Wait . . . do I?

He rummaged through a utensil drawer until he found one a girl he once dated had left behind. Colin took the bottle from his sister.

“I bought him wineglasses a couple of years ago, so I know he has those,” Grace told Parker.

“The well-rounded bachelor.”

Parker sat on one of the barstools at the island.

“How is the project?” Grace asked him.

“We’re wrapping it up again. Pulled out another twenty-three thousand cubic yards.”

“That’s a lot of mud,” Matt said.

“You’re telling me. And the long-range forecast isn’t showing any significant breaks over the next few weeks,” Parker told them. “I think we can say that the drought is over.”

Grace set the glasses down. “No one is screaming that yet. They wouldn’t dare because that would mean lifting water restrictions in the summer and lowering rates from DWP.”

Yeah, the Department of Water and Power was great about increasing everyone’s bill, but sucked at lowering it.

“Well, I haven’t seen the property this green in years. Too bad the hillsides look like crap,” Parker said.

“I’ve been meaning to get over there.” Grace handed Colin a glass to fill once the cork popped free.

“You’re welcome anytime.”

Colin handed Parker the wine, lifted his beer in the air. “To a night where we don’t have to worry if Noah’s ark is big enough to hold us all.”

That had Parker laughing. “Cheers.”

Grace took a seat beside Parker. “I bet you can’t wait for Cabo.”

Colin held his breath and looked at Parker.

She sipped her wine and Colin could see her wheels turning. “I’m looking forward to it.”

His sister closed her eyes, smiled into a thought. “Sandy beaches, warm sun.”

“No mud,” Matt said.

Grace opened her eyes abruptly and turned toward Parker. “Wait a minute. Have you traveled to Mexico since they mandated a passport to come back into the States?”

Parker shook her head. “No, actually.”

“Do you even have a passport?” Grace asked.

Colin looked at Matt, who was looking across the room.

“Actually . . .” Parker met Colin’s eyes. “No. I don’t. I’m working on it, though.”

He opened his mouth to say something, Grace cut him off. “Cuz you have nothing better to do these days than deal with government agencies that love to make you wait.”

“I assumed you had one,” Colin said.

Grace waved him off. “Men never think everything through.”

“Hey!” Matt yelled.

“When is the trip again?”

Colin told her the dates.

Parker revealed the day of her scheduled appointment at the passport office.

Grace took charge. “That’s cutting it way too close, one week off and you’re screwed. You need to push those dates back a couple of weeks, big brother.”

“That’s easy enough.”

Parker’s face brightened as if a weight had been lifted.

When Grace stood and moved behind Parker so she couldn’t see her, his sister looked directly at him and mouthed the words You owe me.

Colin looked at Matt, who smiled and changed the subject.

God, he loved his siblings.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Heat swam up against her face, her hair whipped around with the force of the wind. She couldn’t breathe. Everything was dark. She couldn’t see them, no longer heard their voices calling out to her.

If only the smoke would lift so she didn’t have to crawl.

She coughed and sputtered the ashes that fell into her mouth. Austin, Mallory . . . Where are you?

Only she couldn’t scream.

All she could do was crawl.

Fear clenched her heart in a grip so tight it threatened to stop it altogether.

Austin!

Mallory!

Not again.

Her hand landed on an arm.

The arm didn’t move.

Agony told her to look away.

She couldn’t.

Colin lay there motionless, his eyes a blank stare.

Parker screamed.

“Wake up. Parker, wake up.”

She jolted from her sleep, heart racing, with sweat beading on her brow. “Oh, God.”

Colin wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into his chest. “Shhh, it’s okay. Just a bad dream.”

She couldn’t stop trembling. “You were dead. The fire . . . the smoke.”

“Shhh.”

“I couldn’t find them. It felt so real.”

“Just a dream. I’m here.”

Her breathing started to slow. “I thought I was over the nightmares.”

Colin stroked her hair and pulled her back down to the bed. His room was dark, the digital clock told her it was after three in the morning.

“Do you have them a lot?” he asked.

“I did. They’d gotten better in the last couple of months. I thought I was past it.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

She closed her eyes, held him tight. “It’s always the same. There’s a fire. I can’t see it, but I smell it, feel it . . . hear it. My mouth is full of ashes and I can’t yell. At first, I hear Austin and Mallory, then I can’t. I’m crawling and scared they’ve left me. That I’ll find them. Only sometimes it’s not them. It’s my parents.”

She felt tears in her eyes.

“I keep thinking I didn’t get them out in time. If I’d only left sooner.”

“Oh, Parker.”

“My dream is so twisted, like an alternative reality of what could have been.”

“Just a dream, hon. It can’t hurt you.”

“Why did all this happen, Colin?”

“I don’t know. But I’m here, and it isn’t going to happen again.”

She felt him kiss the top of her head. “I’m sorry I woke you.”

“Don’t be. I’m glad I’m here to hold and calm you down. We got this, Parker. It’s all going to be okay. Now go back to sleep so I can wake you in a few hours and make love to you again.”