Sanctuary

behind her she stepped back quickly, looked over her shoulder. A wild turkey cut loose with its quick, gobbling call and lumbered into flight. With a roll of her eyes, Jo patted her skipping heart. It would be perfect if Nathan himself strolled out of the trees and caught her spying into his house.
    She reminded herself that she had dozens of things she could do, dozens of places she could go. It wasn’t as though she’d gone out of her way to see him. By much.
    It was probably best that she’d missed him, she told herself, as she jogged back down the stairs and headed home. Taking the Palmetto Trail, she followed the bend of the river into the thick shade where muscadine vines and resurrection ferns turned forest to verdant jungle.
    She didn’t need the kind of distraction, the kind of complication that Nathan Delaney was bound to bring to her life just now. She was just getting back on her feet.
    If she pursued a relationship with him, she’d have to tell him about ... things. And if she told him, that would be the end of the relationship. Who wanted to get tangled up with a crazy woman on their vacation?
    The path twisted, crowded in by the saw palmettos that gave it its name. She heard the turkey call again, and the long, liquid notes of a warbler. Her camera bag thudded at her hip as she quickened her pace and argued with herself.
    So, by not starting anything, she was just saving them both time and embarrassment.
    Why the hell hadn’t he been home?
    “Ssh.” Giff put a hand over Lexy’s mouth when he heard footsteps coming along the path near the clearing that was guarded by thick oak limbs and cabbage palms. “Someone’s passing by,” he whispered.
    “Oh.” In a lightning move, Lexy grabbed her discarded blouse and pressed it to her breasts. “I thought you said Nathan had gone over to the mainland for the day.”
    “He did. I passed him on his way to the ferry.”
    “Then who—oh.” Lexy snickered as she peeked through palm fronds. “It’s just Jo. Looking annoyed with the world, as usual.”
    “Quiet.” Giff ducked Lexy’s head down with his. “I’d just as soon your sister not catch me with my pants down.”
    “But you’ve got such a nice ...” She made a grab for him, and muffling giggles, they tussled until Jo passed out of sight.
    “You’re a bad one, Lex.” Giff pinned her, grinned down into her face. She still wore her bra—they hadn’t quite gotten around to disposing of it—and he enjoyed the sensation of the slick material rubbing against his chest. “Just how would I have explained myself if she’d come over this way?”
    “If she doesn’t know what’s going on, it’s time someone showed her.”
    With a shake of his head, he leaned down to kiss the tip of her nose. “You’re too hard on your sister.”
    “I’m too hard on her?” Lexy snorted. “Let’s try that the other way around. It fits much better.”
    “Well, maybe you’re too hard on each other. Looks to me like Jo’s had a rough time with something lately.”
    “Her life’s perfect for her,” Lexy disagreed, pouting and twirling a lock of Giff’s hair around her fingers. “She’s got her work, all that traveling. People ooh and aah over her photographs like they were newborn babies. Or they study them like stupid textbooks. And she makes piles of money, enough so that she doesn’t have to worry about stingy trust funds.”
    Love tugged at him as he skimmed his knuckles over her chin. “Honey, it’s a pure foolish waste of time for you to be jealous of Jo.”
    “Jealous?” At the shock of the insult her eyes went dark and wide. “Why in holy hell would I be jealous of Jo Ellen?”
    “Exactly.” He kissed her, just a little nibbling peck. “The two of you are after the same thing. The way you are and the way you go after it are as different as night and day, but the goal’s the same.”
    “Really?” Her voice was cool and smooth as fresh milk. “And what goal would that be?”
    “To be happy. That’s what most people want down under the rest of it. And to make their mark. Just because she’s made hers before you doesn’t make yours less important. And, after all, she had three years’ head start.”
    It didn’t placate Lexy in the least. Her voice went from cool to icy. “I don’t know why you brought me out here if all you wanted to do was talk about my sister.”
    “Honey, you brought me.” He grinned and kept her pinned under him despite her bad-tempered