Prologue

“What are you doing here, brat?”

Angel wanted to grind her teeth at what her brother, seven years her senior, had just called her. Just because he was in his second year of college and she was in middle school didn’t make him all-powerful.

“Maybe I wanted to see you,” she said. “Not sure why when you call me a brat.”

Spencer walked over and rubbed his knuckles on her head, messing up her ponytail. Would he ever see that she’d grown up?

“That’s my job,” Spencer said. “That and looking out for you. Which is why I asked why you came. Shouldn’t you be home resting?”

She would have stomped her foot, but that would only cause her brother to make another comment about her being a baby. Like she’d gotten most of her life.

Babied.

“I don’t need to rest anymore,” she said calmly. “I wanted to come with Mom and Dad to see you here at college. They let me do things now. Why do you have to be this way?”

Last year she could barely get out of bed without being exhausted. She’d lived her life with this worry. The old watch-and-wait game.

Until the symptoms were so bad that there was no more waiting.

But that was all behind her!

At least she thought that and hated that no one let her live her life like a normal kid.

“Spencer,” her mother said. “Angel is doing well. I tell you that all the time when you call and ask.”

It was nice to hear that her older brother cared so much. If only he wasn’t such a jerk about it to her face.

“It’s hard to forget everything,” Spencer said, shrugging.

“I’m not a baby,” she argued and crossed her arms. “I don’t need to be treated like one either.”

“I know all too well what that feels like.”

Angel turned when she heard a male voice. She hadn’t realized someone else was in the place.

Her brother lived in a quad on campus. Shared living areas in the middle, two bedrooms, and one bath on each side.

“Coy,” Spencer said. “You’ve never met my sister. This is Angel.”

Her eyes might have popped out of her head at the sight of the guy who was Spencer’s best friend. The one that Spencer went to spend two weeks with last summer on some island off of Boston.

No one told her that he looked like he could be on a poster she’d want to hang in her bedroom.

Brown hair that was styled perfectly.

Dark eyes that seemed to have a ton of humor in them.

She didn’t know what was so funny.

“It’s nice to meet you,” Coy said.

“How do you know what it’s like to be babied?” she asked.

He shook her hand, giving her the respect of an adult.

Something no one ever did.

Not that she was an adult, but the fact he wasn’t treating her like a twelve-year-old went a long way in her eyes.

“I’m the youngest of three boys,” he said. “My older brothers like to rub that point home all the time.”

“It sucks,” she said, scrunching up her nose.

“Don’t I know it,” he said, laughing, and leaned down close. “My mother always says it means they care, but I don’t know about that.”

“I care for my sister, you ass,” Spencer said, shoving Coy.

Coy laughed and winked at her. “I’ve heard a lot about you. I’m glad to meet you.”

Her smile fell. That meant that Coy knew about her health issues and was probably pacifying her because of that.

“I’ve heard a lot about you too,” she said. “Did your family discover the island you live on?”

“They did,” Coy said. “We work hard to keep building it too. My brothers are in real estate like my father.”

“Is that what you’re going to do?” she asked.

“Nope. I’m doing my own thing like I always have. I’m going to be a dentist.”

“Really?” she asked. “On your island?”

“Yes,” he said. “I’ll do my part there too, but I’m going to do it my way.”

She nodded her head.

That was going to be her new motto too.

She was going to do things her way.

“Angel,” her father said, coming into the room. He’d been in Spencer’s room doing something and returned. “Are you getting hungry? I thought we could take the boys out to dinner with us if you don’t mind spending more time with Spencer rather than just visiting now.”

“Sure,” she said. Even though she’d said she didn’t want to on the way down. “Are you going too, Coy?”

“I was going to,” he said. “If it’s okay with you? Or would you rather spend the time with your family?”

And give up the time to talk to him? No way. She needed to somehow find a way to sneak a picture so she could go back and show her friends so they’d believe her when she told them how hot he was.

“I’d rather spend time with someone else who has been in my shoes with an annoying older brother.”

Coy smiled and now she knew what all her friends meant when they said they had a crush.

By the end of the night, she knew it wasn’t merely a crush.

This was going to be the man she’d marry!

Her big brother’s best friend. Her secret crush for over a decade. He has no idea how she feels…but he is about to!

Angel Jansen is sick of being babied, sheltered, and protected her whole life. But she is a survivor and has worked hard for people to see that. What she hasn’t done is work hard enough for Coy Bond to know how she feels about him. Now is her chance.

Coy Bond is the baby of the family. He took a different path in life but stayed rooted in his heritage. He is loyal and honorable to those close to him. When his college best friend’s sister graduates from dental school and is looking for a job, he does the right thing and offers her a spot at his practice.

He didn’t anticipate the currents under the surface, and now he’s having difficulty staying afloat. Those honorable morals he has…yeah, they might be drowning him fast, and he has to decide if he can sink or swim alone or bring Angel down with him.

Prologue

“Hey,” Michael Marshall said to his buddy Owen. “How have you been?”

He held his hand up to the bartender at Fierce. He didn’t know the guy, so it had to be someone new. Brody Fierce was his cousin Alex’s brother-in-law and Michael came in here often.

“Not bad,” Owen said. “Work is kicking my butt this week and I need a beer.”

Since it was a Wednesday, Michael found that funny. “We’ve got two more days to go this week. How are you going to manage it?”

“Like I have been doing,” Owen said. “A stiff drink at the end of the night.”

“I’ll take number five,” Michael said when the bartender came over. He’d been browsing the beer list on the wall.

“The same,” Owen said. “Can we get a menu? I’m starving.”

Two menus were slid in front of them at the bar. They were off to the side and he looked down, saw one of the specials and made up his mind fast.

“What’s going on?” Michael asked. “You said you needed to talk to me about something. Everything okay?”

“It is with me,” Owen said. “But it’s something I heard.”

“About me?” he asked, lifting his eyebrow. That never sounded good.

“Remember Electra?” Owen asked.

“The chick I was dating months ago?” he asked. He’d met her at a bar where Electra worked. The two of them hit it off, but he soon realized how immature she was and a month later they parted ways. He’d avoided that bar since. No reason to stir up any more drama.

“Yeah,” Owen said. “Her.”

“What about her?” he asked.

“I heard she’s pregnant,” Owen said.

“Good luck to whoever that idiot is to be tied to her for years,” he said, shaking his head. “She is a ditz. I’m not sure she’d remember to feed herself let alone a kid.”

Owen picked up the beer that was set in front of him. Michael did the same and they ordered their food.

“Well,” Owen said. “She looks to be about seven months pregnant. I asked around when I noticed it.”

Michael frowned and did the math in his head. “You’re sure?” The beer he’d been thinking of all day was not going down as smooth as it normally did.

“Positive of what I was told,” Owen said. “I stopped there last week with a few guys from work. She didn’t seem to notice or remember me.”

“Not surprising,” he said.

Owen had only met Electra once and he’d agreed that she was a complete airhead and wanted to know what the hell the two of them talked about.

The simple answer had been not much, but they’d spent a lot of time in bed. That was pretty much the only thing the two of them did, talked about, or had in common.

Michael didn’t think he was much of a scholar, but he never got a blank look in his eye if someone asked him what animal a steak came from. That was only one of the more interesting conversations the two of them had.

“Are you going to talk to her?” Owen asked. “I can see it in your eyes. There is a possibility of it. Unless she was sleeping with more than one person when you were together. Or if the person I asked about how far along she is was wrong.”

“Fuck,” he said, his throat closing and the beer not even helping. “I’ll have to see what is going on. I’m sure it’s nothing though.”

“But you can’t let it go either,” Owen said. “You’d want to know, right? Or did you think she’d at least reach out to you?”

“I’d hope she would have,” he said. Jesus Christ. This was too much to think about.

“Let’s eat and have this beer while you process it. Maybe she’s working tonight and we can swing over there. I knew you didn’t want to go there again so wouldn’t have suggested that place without giving you a heads-up.”

“Thanks for that,” he said. Michael picked his beer up and hated that he couldn’t enjoy the taste of it with all this shit going through his brain.

The two of them finished their meal within an hour and were out the door. He was glad Owen was going with him. He might need the moral support.

They drove the fifteen minutes to the bar where Electra worked. He parked in the back, saw her little bright yellow sedan, and knew she was working.

“Is your heart racing?” Owen asked.

“It might if I can get it out of my throat,” he said.

Owen put his hand on Michael’s back. “Let’s hope that person is wrong.”

He opened the door and they walked in, his eyes moving around the place and landing on Electra’s back. He’d notice that bright-colored red hair anywhere. She was more of a blonde but said she didn’t want people to judge her as a blonde bimbo and dyed it fire engine red.

In his eyes, it didn’t matter what color her hair was, once she opened her mouth they got an idea of her personality.

“Can we have a table in Electra’s area?” Owen asked, pointing to Michael’s ex.

“Sure,” the hostess said. “Follow me.”

They moved to an empty table and took a seat. Two minutes later Electra walked up and she was clearly pregnant in her fitted T-shirt and tight black jeans. She’d had a smoking body on her before and all that changed was the watermelon in front of her with a tiny apron tied under it.

“There you are,” Electra said all excited. “I lost your number and was hoping you’d come back. Boy, do I have news for you.”

He looked at his best friend and knew his mouth wouldn’t open.

“I’ll say it for you,” Owen said. “Fuck!”

She has been watching him from afar for years, wishing and hoping. A simple bet will change everything!

Kelly Gifford has some crazy dating stories and past secrets. She has given up hope on finding love and even asks for matchmaking help. Rather than waiting, she decides to take a step and place a bet to get the man she has had her eye on for years to smile at her. Win or lose, she is still getting her date and needs to make the most of it.

Michael Marshall is a single father with more drama than any woman wants to deal with. He puts his son first and makes that very clear to the frustration of many women. All but Kelly Gifford, who knows his situation and still makes a move. He would be crazy not to give it a try.

Will the drama in both their pasts be too much to overcome when Kelly’s secrets come out and Michael’s ex decides to make trouble?

Christmas comes early for Phoenix Westerly, though it’s not a gift he expected to receive.

The sudden death of Phoenix’s best friend leaves him as the sole guardian of a five-year-old child. His life is a mixture of stress, pressure, grief, and now the worries of being a single parent. At the suggestion of his mother, he decides to hire a nanny.

Crystal Winston’s life has been one failure after another. She is the flighty carefree one of the family who can’t hold onto a job or make a decision. It’s time to grow up, and when she sees an ad for a nanny, she thinks, what’s the worst that can happen?

What happens might not be the worst, but it sure the hell isn’t anything Crystal ever thought of or could have planned!

Not everything is always as it seems.

Laurel Glasgow learned the hard way that looks can be deceiving. Leaving her fiancé days before her wedding should have taught her to not judge a book by its cover. Yet when she notices her sexy neighbor, she makes judgments on appearance alone. Something she has hated done to her.

Easton Cooke put his life on hold to help his cousin out. In return, he got more than he bargained for when he witnesses his new neighbor kicking a guy to the curb. Talk about his kind of entertainment.

But will prior assumptions and past experiences freeze them from moving toward their future?

If you haven’t read the Prologue you can now!

Chapter One

See This Through

Six Months Later

Jarrett Bond heard the birds chirping and felt the warm seventy-degree breeze on his neck and arms.

November first and it felt more like spring than fall and he was thrilled he’d taken the day off to get some peaceful fishing in before winter hit.

The peace and quiet was well deserved in his mind, as he’d been working close to seventy hours for the past few months on several cases.

And when his line tugged some, he started to reel it in only to find it empty, but his worm missing.

“Figures,” he said, baiting his line and tossing it again.

He turned his head when he heard a rustling but didn’t see anything. Probably some animals frolicking on this beautiful fall day.

He pulled his line in again and was going to toss it a bit more to the right.

When he pulled his pole back and was ready to let go and release it over his shoulder, he heard louder leaves crackling and turned his head to see a person tumbling down the hill and landing close to the shore. They weren’t moving so he rowed there as fast as he could.

If he was any further away he would be diving in and swimming but knew it’d be better to not ruin his damn phone since he’d be calling for help.

He jumped out, quickly gauging the water would only be up to his knees, and ran the rest of the way while yanking his canoe to shore and abandoning it. 

It was a woman with long brownish-red hair covering her face. He felt for a pulse and got one nice and steady, but the woman was out cold.

He pulled his phone out and dialed.

“Nine-one-one, what’s your emergency?”

“This is Investigator Bond with the State Police. I need an ambulance in Sunshine Cove. I’ll drop a pin to my location.” He pulled his phone back and did what he’d said.

“The ambulance is being dispatched. Can you tell me what is going on?”

“Young female just took a tumble down the hill and hit her head. She’s unconscious, but breathing and has a pulse. I don’t see any other injuries besides a head wound.”

He was just damn lucky her face hadn’t landed in the water, but it was close to it. She could have drowned before he could get to her.

He didn’t want to move her other than just doing an assessment with his hands. He had no idea if there was a neck or back injury at this point.

“The ambulance is about eight minutes out,” the dispatcher said. “Stay on the line with me so that I can give updates.”

“I know the drill,” he said. 

Jarrett continued to monitor the woman and was looking around hoping to find a phone or any ID on her, but she was twisted funny, her butt on the ground and his guess was there was a phone in her back pocket. At least he hoped so. No one left home without a phone on them now.

“I hear the sirens,” he said a few minutes later. “I’m going to run up on the hill and flag them down. No way they can drive down here.”

He hung up and dashed up the hill toward the road, waved his hands and the ambulance came to a stop.

“We’ve been filled in,” Cody said. He knew this EMT who came from the firehouse where his brother Alex was a captain. He wasn’t sure who the other was and it didn’t matter.

“Down the hill,” he said, moving back. He watched as the EMTs came out with a stretcher from the back and their bags.

They all made their way down to the woman lying on the sand. Something reflected a few feet from her to the side and he walked over to see a phone lying there. He’d bet anything it was the woman’s, and when he flipped it over he saw a picture of her and a cat.

He put the phone in his pocket and made his way to the EMTs.

“She’s out cold,” Cody said. “But everything appears fine. Hopefully nothing major, but we’re going to move her slowly and get her on the stretcher and bring her to the ER.

“I’ve got her phone,” he said. “Do you want to take it?”

“Hand it over,” Cody said. “I’ll give it to the hospital for them to see if they can open it and find an emergency contact if she doesn’t come to.”

“I’ll head over too,” he said.

He’d have to see this through. He couldn’t walk away without knowing who she was and if she was okay or not.

Once they had the woman on the stretcher, he helped the two of them carry her up to the ambulance. He wasn’t sure how they’d do it alone, as the terrain was crazy steep even if it wasn’t that far of a drop.

He went back down and pushed his canoe into the water some, hopped in and paddled back to where he’d launched it further down the shore.

He pulled it out and brought it to his SUV and secured it on top and then drove home quickly to put his canoe on the side of the one-car garage.

Then he ran into the house and changed so he wasn’t going to the hospital tracking in water and sitting around with wet sneakers and socks.

He was at the ER forty minutes later and walking to the desk. “Hi,” he said, pulling his badge out. “Jarrett Bond. They just brought an unconscious woman in via ambulance. I was wondering if I could get in the back to find out if she’s awake yet. I’m the one who found her.”

“Sure,” the woman said, buzzing him in. He didn’t think they would tell him no, but he’d always do things by the book.

So much for his day off.

He walked to the nurse’s station to see if he could find anything out when his cousin, Dr. Hudson Mills, moved out of a room.

“Hey,” Hudson said. “I heard you were on the scene of the woman brought in.”

“Yeah,” he said. “Is she awake?”

“Not yet,” Hudson said. “I’m going in there now. The nurses are checking her over and getting her vitals. I’ve done a quick check of her and nothing seems broken, but I’m going to have to run tests and hate doing that blind.”

“Did you check her phone for an emergency contact?” he asked.

“No one said there was a phone on her,” Hudson said.

“I gave it to Cody. The EMT.”

Hudson turned to go into a room and he followed. “Is there a phone here belonging to the patient?”

The nurses looked around the room. “Is that it on the counter?” Jarrett picked it up and saw the picture. “Yep.”

“Don’t know why they put it here,” Hudson said, moving the phone in front of the woman’s face to unlock it. “Here is an ICE, so let’s give them a call.”

Hudson put it on speaker and dialed. It rang three times and then a man answered, “Hey, Andi, what’s going on? You never call.”

“This is Dr. Hudson Mills with the Amore Island Hospital. You’re listed as an ICE on this phone.”

“Oh my God,” the man said. “What happened to Andi?”

“She took a fall down a hill and is unconscious with a head injury. She’s stable and I’d like to run more tests but need to know of any allergies, injuries, or any other medical conditions.”

“She’s allergic to peanuts or tree nuts. I can’t remember which,” the man said. 

 “That’s fine,” Hudson said. “We’ll document both. Any medical conditions we need to be aware of? Past injuries or surgeries?”

“Dr. Mills?” the nurse said, pointing to the woman’s leg. There was a scar on it that didn’t look that old to him. The pant legs had been cut up the sides.

“No medical conditions,” the man said. 

“We see a scar on her left ankle and shin area. Did she have surgery?”

“Yes,” the man said. “She broke her ankle and has a pin in it. The other scar on her shin was from a cut at the same time of the break. Over a year ago.”

“That’s good. We’ll know when we run scans. Any other metal in her body?”

“I don’t think so. Listen I’m going to catch the first flight out and be there as soon as I can. I hope to be there by dinner or a little later having to get to the island.”

“Can you give me the patient’s name?” Hudson said. 

“Andi Benson. Andrea Benson, she goes by Andi. I’m her cousin, Jack Wilson. She’s good about doctors. I think she has one there so maybe her records are in the system.”

“I’m going to have the nurse talk to you, Jack, and we’ll start running tests on Andi and look for her information here. Thanks.”

“Can you keep me posted with updates even if I’m in the air?” Jack asked.

“Does Andi have any immediate family or someone in the area?” Hudson asked.

“No,” Jack said. “I’m her only family and no one in the area. She just moved there a few months ago too.”

“Thanks for the information,” Hudson said. “I’ll keep you posted as we find things and hopefully she’ll wake up soon.”

Hudson passed the phone to one of his nurses.

“I’ll stick around for a bit,” Jarrett said.

“Looks like it’s your day off,” Hudson said. “Sure you want to?”

“I feel like I should, knowing she’s here alone. Maybe she’ll wake up before Jack gets here and we can find out what happened.”

“What do you think happened?” Hudson asked.

“I have no idea. I was fishing and heard a noise and she came tumbling down the hill. Maybe she was alone and tripped. Maybe she was with someone and was pushed. I need to find that out.”

Hudson nodded his head. “Sure you don’t want to call in one of Mac’s detectives?”

His brother Mac was the chief of police on the island. “No,” he said. “I’ve got it since I found her.” 

Jarrett looked at his watch and saw it was barely eleven. He had no clue where Jack was coming from or how long it’d take to get here. He’d go get some food and wait around for a few hours and try to get some work done since he had his laptop with him. If he had to leave, they’d keep him posted, he was sure.

He went to the cafeteria and was paying for his sandwich when his phone rang and he saw it was Mac.

“Hey,” Jarrett said. “I’m sure you found out.”

“Not much stays quiet on this island,” Mac said. “I’ll send someone over to check the scene and see if there was more than one set of footprints. I know you. You’re going to worry this is a crime when it could be someone that is a klutz.”

“Thanks,” he said. “I don’t want to leave her. Something in the cousin’s voice and the need to get here fast sent tingles down my spine.”

“You think there is a problem?” Mac asked.

“No clue. But something isn’t right. For a guy who said she never calls him, he was quick to say he’d be here tonight and wanted updates.”

“You going to run her prints?” Mac asked.

“No,” he said. “No reason to. But let me know if you find anything at the scene. I’ll send you the location from the ambulance.”

“I already have it,” Mac said. 

“Thanks,” he said. He knew he could count on his older brother. “Appreciate it.”

“Don’t overwork yourself,” Mac said. “Just saving you a lecture from Mom. Don’t forget. Dinner on Sunday.”

“I didn’t forget,” he said.

His mother wouldn’t let him. And maybe he wanted to spend some time with his brothers and their wives and see how the other side lived since he was filling his days with work rather than finding a partner.

Since he knew what it was like being alone, his gut told him not to let Andi wake up that way either.

Prologue

Snow covered mountains, crisp air and beautiful hiking trails were a thing of her past.

Now Andi was surrounded by muggy sticky stale air, country music and a twang so thick on her clients she was lucky she could understand two out of ten words.

She couldn’t even say this all landed at her feet because of one person. Or one incident.

Nope, it was several and she had no idea where the hell her life took a wrong turn.

“I don’t think this is a good idea, Andi,” US Marshal Jack Wilson said. “You’ve only been here a year.”

“I don’t like it here,” she said. “It’s too damn hot in the summer and I don’t want to go through it again. I miss snow.”

She’d grown up in Colorado. She never in her wildest dreams thought she’d be living in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Cowboy boots and hats and westerns just weren’t her thing and trying to fit in when she never would was a waste of her energy.

She was lonely and didn’t care if Jack, her father’s partner, was living in town and keeping an eye on her though she didn’t think she needed it. She never asked him to relocate when he placed her here after last year’s debacle, but she knew deep down he would keep them as a package deal to fulfill his promise to her father.

At thirty years old, she didn’t want the shadow of her past lurking around every corner waiting to jump out and snatch her sanity away and needed to move on by herself. She had to start living the new life she’d taken on, however much it wasn’t her choice.

“I will admit the heat is getting to me,” Jack said.

“No one told you you had to come here too,” she said. They were in her cramped apartment while she cooked him dinner for their talk. Even the AC didn’t seem to be keeping up as she wiped her arm over her brow.

“Like I’d leave you alone,” Jack said. “I promised your father and I’m a man of my word.”

Andi let out a sigh. Her father’s passing was still raw. Luke Huntington’s death had come as a shock, but knowing he put his life in danger daily, it shouldn’t have been.

She couldn’t help that Jack felt guilty and responsible. He’d been her father’s partner for five years and he was only nine years older than her, which made it easy to tell people he was her cousin. Brother wouldn’t fly. Friend made people think it could be romantic and it never would be.

“And you have been,” she said. “It’s still far enough away. No one is going to find me.”

Jack picked up his beer. “You’ve been good so far. No problems. But you always did follow plans to the letter.”

“I was raised that way,” she said. “I need you to trust me. I’ve not heard from nor seen Leo. You know that. You’re saying nothing is going on with the Dustin Family crime ring either.”

“I keep my ear to the ground. Nothing on my end,” Jack admitted. “Are you sure this doesn’t have to do with your birthday?”

She picked up her beer for a long sip. The glass was sweating and drips of moisture fell to the floor.

 “Maybe. I just don’t like it here. If I can’t go back home and need a new life, I want a better place than this,” she said, throwing her hands up in an exaggerated fashion.

“What are you thinking?” Jack asked.

“I’ve got a few ideas.”

“There isn’t going to be any arguing with you, is there?” Jack asked.

“I’d rather you didn’t. I don’t want to go over your head.”

Jack snorted. “You wouldn’t and you know it. Don’t try to give me that empty threat.”

“Fine. I’m asking you as my father’s friend. The man that says he has to look out for me. Let me move, please. You don’t have to go with me.”

She knew it might take time for him to get a transfer if he decided to go also. She didn’t want that to hold her up but would wait and see what he said.

“You know I want to, but when you put your mind to something, there is no stopping you. Give me your list and we’ll look it over together. I’ll get you situated with the local office where you end up. But you’re playing by my rules on this.”

She got up and hugged him now that she got her way. “Thanks, Jack. I mean it. I just need to leave. I’m not settled. I’m not sure I ever will feel like I am either, but I’ve got to start somewhere.”

“This is not where you wanted to be,” Jack said. “I know. It was the quickest transfer I could do and we wanted you out fast. It was selfish of me to not take that into consideration. I guess you lasted longer than I thought anyway.”

“Which is why you are letting me do this now. I’ll get dinner on the table and we can talk about the places I’m looking.”

“It’s going to have snow, isn’t it? Please don’t tell me Alaska.”

She smirked at his cringe.

“God no,” she said. “I want some nice weather, but I’d like to enjoy the cooler climate too. Maybe near some water. I don’t know. Something different.”

It was time she found some happiness rather than despair and heartache knowing she was all alone in the world.

Time to take this step and hope to hell life didn’t blow up in her face once again.

A new name. A new location. A new life. Yet none of those things matter when the past resurfaces!

If Andi Benson has learned one thing in her thirty years, it’s that you just have to go with it. And that means making the small tourist island in the Northeast her new home and hoping she can blend in and go unnoticed.

A quiet day fishing in the cove turned into anything but when Investigator Jarrett Bond witnessed a woman tumbling down an embankment and landing near the water’s edge. He rushes to her aid only to discover there is more to this mysterious newcomer than being a klutz and tripping on the trail.

But when her past resurfaces, will his heart allow him to think clearly enough to keep her from harm’s way on his family’s turf?