because I can find … something else to do with him.”

“What happened?” Peg asked, rushing to the driver’s

door to look in the window. The first thing she saw was that

the right leg of Duncan’s pants was split up to his thigh and

his knee was sporting a serious-looking brace. His left

hand was bandaged, there was an ugly purple bruise on his

temple, and he was cradling his ribs in his sleep. She

stepped back in surprise when a dog suddenly poked

between the seats from in back, gave her the once-over,

then crawled onto the console and careful y laid its head on

Duncan’s arm. She turned to Alex. “What happened to

him?” she repeated.

“He fel . His ribs are bruised and he’s banged up pretty

much al over, but at least he didn’t blow out his knee like he

suspected. It’s only badly wrenched.”

Peg clutched her throat in a futile attempt to stop al the

blood from draining from her face. “Was someone chasing

him? Or was he trying to stop someone from sabotaging

his equipment again?”

Alec’s eyes narrowed. “Now why would ye immediately

jump to that conclusion?” He stepped closer and grasped

her shoulders. “Ye need to tel us what happened to your

van, Peg. Tel me,” he softly growled, giving her a slight

shake.

“I … I pushed it into a flooded old slate quarry,” she said,

glancing toward Duncan. She looked back at Alec and

pul ed in a deep breath. “The day you took the boys for me,

I was parked down at the other end of town near the woods

and someone spray-painted the passenger side.”

His hands tightened. “Spray-painted what?”

She dropped her gaze to his chest, the blood rushing

back to her face in a wave of heat. “It … it said land-raping

bitch,” she whispered.

He pul ed her against him and wrapped his arms around

her with a growl. “I’m sorry some coward targeted you

instead of us.” He clasped her shoulders again to bend

down and look her in the eyes. “But I’m even sorrier that you

were too … what, embarrassed to tel us? Or is too

stubborn a better word?” he asked, even as he pul ed her

into a hug again. “Aw, Peg, ye real y need to get over the

notion ye can’t ask for our help.”

“I can’t get used to asking for help,” she muttered into his

jacket. She looked up. “And they’re just stupid words, and I

didn’t want …” She slipped an arm free and waved at the

truck. “We both know Duncan would have gone looking for

whoever did it and only added more fuel to the controversy.”

She smiled, trying to get him to smile. “And you guys are a

bigger target than I am.” She sighed when he scowled, and

since her arm was free she patted his chest. “I’m a local, so

the worst they’l do to me is spray-paint a few obscenities.

But you guys are from away, so they won’t care what it

takes to drive you off.” She looked at Duncan, then up at

Alec. “Did he real y just fal ?”

He nodded and let her go, and final y smiled clear up to

his eyes. “It seems to be an affliction he’s only recently

acquired.”

“So what’s the favor?” she asked, even though she was

afraid she already knew.

“They shot him up with a powerful pain med at the

hospital and sent him home with some pil s, and I’m a little

concerned about leaving him alone for the next couple of

days. So I was hoping ye might be wil ing to … babysit him

for me. You can say no,” he rushed on. “I’l understand if ye

don’t want to deal with an invalid.” He smiled again.

“Although he’l be a happy invalid if you keep feeding him

those pil s. But staying with you is the only way I can keep

him off the job site long enough to heal.” He glanced toward

the picnic table. “There’s no school today?”

“This week is spring break, and we’re al working on the

new house together.”

“Then don’t stop.” He grinned. “Duncan can watch.”

Peg walked over to look in the truck. “I guess he can stay

here. I’ve got a big old recliner at the new house he can

sleep in during the day. Is he mobile enough to … to …”

She sighed when she felt her face flush again.

Alec chuckled. “He can take care of himself for the most

part. It’s keeping him away from heavy equipment that I’m

needing. But if he has you and the kids to focus on, then

maybe he’l stay out of Sam Dalton’s hair long enough to

get the camp up and running.” He turned Peg around to

look at him. “I understand your concern for your mum and

aunt now, and we’l keep an eye on them.” His hands

tightened. “And on you. But ye need to tel us if anyone even

says anything threatening, you understand? We can’t fight

an enemy we can’t see.”

“It’s only a few stupid people.”

“It only takes a few.” His hands tightened again. “You

promise?”

She nodded, then turned away to look inside the truck

again. “Where did he find the dog? It looks like it’s only a

pup.”

“It found him, actual y. He told me he intends to let your

kids name it.”

“Wonderful,” Peg muttered as she walked back to the

picnic table. “Go ahead and drive right up to the new

house,” she said over her shoulder. “I’l meet you there.

Okay, gang, a smal change in plans,” she said to the four

pairs of curious eyes watching Alec climb back in the truck.

“Duncan fel and hurt his knee and ribs, so al of us are

going to be his nursemaids for the next couple of days

while we work on the house.”

“Have you noticed he fal s a lot, Mom?” Charlotte said,

smiling crookedly.

“Yeah, I have. But I’ve been told he’s normal y not so

clumsy.”

“Mom, he’s got a dog!” Peter cried.

Peg turned to watch the pickup drive past and saw Alec

trying to pul the pup off Duncan as it pressed its nose up

to the window, trying to see them. “Yes, he’s got a dog,” she

muttered. “Okay. I want you al to clean up the table and

take everything inside. Charlie, you make sure stuff goes in

the refrigerator. Isabel, put the dirty dishes in the sink, and

Jacob and Peter, you wait to walk to the house with the girls

because the trucks are hauling today.”

Orders given, Peg picked up her untouched plate of crisp

and headed toward the knol with a sigh, wondering what

she possibly could have done to deserve this.

Duncan sat in the large, overstuffed recliner in the middle of

the half-constructed house, grinning like the vil age idiot as

he wolfed down a woman-sized helping of extra sweet

apple crisp and contemplated replacing Sam with Peg as

his foreman. The woman was one kick-ass delegator, and

had even managed to put the pup to work.

Charlotte and Isabel were going through each of the

rooms—which were separated by only studs at this point—

counting the number of electrical switches and outlets on

each wal and writing the number down on a paper attached

to a clipboard. Jacob and Pete were sorting al the scrap

pieces of lumber into two large trash buckets, agreeing and

sometimes arguing over whether a piece was long enough

to be used for something else or should be considered

kindling for their campfires. The pup’s job, apparently, was

to run around the open house and lug any two-by-fours it

found over to the boys.

Granted, Duncan felt a little funny just sitting there

watching everyone work while he stuffed his face with some

of the best damned apple crisp he’d ever had—Lord, he

hoped it didn’t count as one of his eleven crisps—but not

so much that he couldn’t stop grinning. That is, until he saw