Her eyes plastered on Colin, she pointed to the only tree she looked at. “This one.”

Austin hesitated. “You sure?”

“Yeah.”

“Isn’t it a little bare on this side?”

“Fine, you pick.”

Austin moved trees around at her side while she and Colin stared wordless at each other.

“What about this one?”

Parker stopped staring long enough to glance at the tree. “It’s fine.”

“You sure?”

She forced a smile. “Perfectly fine.”

Good with that, Austin lifted it from the tiny water bowl and carried it to the front of the lot.

For the next ten minutes, Parker watched Austin as he trimmed and bagged their tree. All while glancing at Colin from the corner of her eyes. His frustration seemed to wane, and replacing it was something softer.

Austin introduced her to his boss, who then didn’t charge her. She still wasn’t completely comfortable with that. But she let it go and walked beside her brother and Colin as they carried the tree to the parking lot.

Austin tossed it in the back of the work truck. “I’ll see you at home.”

Parker hugged her brother. “Thanks.”

She stood back while Colin and Austin shook hands. “I got it from here.”

Austin waved them off and returned to the lot.

It took twenty minutes to make it home. Twenty minutes of Parker rolling over how she managed to frustrate Colin for not asking him for a favor. How was that even a thing?

Colin followed her through the gate and up the drive. She pulled into the garage and met him by the side of the truck when he stepped out. He didn’t even make it around the back of the truck with the tailgate down before she flat-out asked, “Exactly what did I do again?”

“Never mind, just drop it.”

“No.”

“It’s not important.”

“Are you miffed or not?”

“Yes.” He pulled the tree out of the back of the truck.

“Then it’s important.”

With one hand holding up the bound tree, and the other resting on the side of the truck, Colin had the nerve to look indignant with her. “You ran a man off your property with a shotgun yesterday and didn’t tell me.”

“That’s not exactly how that happened.”

He rolled his eyes. “Was there a guy on the property that didn’t belong?”

“Yes, but—”

“Did you not storm the property and close the gate with a gun in your hand?”

“Yes, but—”

“I rest my case.”

“He had already left! I was pissed and felt violated that he had the nerve to waltz in here uninvited, so I grabbed the shotgun on the off chance he could see me from down the street.”

Parker noticed Colin’s hand grip the side of his truck. “Violated is not a word I want to hear the next day. Violated is the kind of thing you call me for as soon as your cell phone will allow so I can be here.”

He picked up the tree with what looked like angry energy and started up the stairs toward the front door.

She chased after him. “And do what?”

“Be the guy who makes assholes like him know you’re not back here alone.”

“I’m not here alone.”

Colin put the tree down on the patio, wiped his hands on his jeans. “And where is everyone?”

“You know where Austin is, Mallory’s at work. Erin might be home, I’m not sure.”

“Alone. With an alarm system that isn’t set and a dog that would just as soon lick you than bite.” His words snapped at her, accusingly.

“You don’t think I can take care of myself.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“You didn’t not say that.”

“I know you’re a self-reliant woman, Parker.”

Her frustration was starting to reach his level. “You make that sound like it’s a problem.”

“No. It’s not a . . . Can we go inside to have this argument?”

She was half tempted to tell him to give her the tree and go home. Instead, she opened the door and let him in.

“It’s not locked?”

Apparently she couldn’t do anything to please him tonight.

She walked in before him and pointed to the corner of the family room they had always put the tree. “That’s where the tree goes. I’ll grab the stand from the garage.”

“Fine.”

He was soooo not fine.

She dug in the back of the storage closet and found the stand. The sound of her own footsteps said Colin’s irritation had transferred to her.

She climbed the stairs and put the stand where she wanted it.

Scout stood beside Colin, sniffing the tree and wagging his tail, oblivious of the tension in the room.

They went through the motions of putting the tree in the stand. Their conversation consisted of “A little more to the right” and “That’s too much” before the tree was as vertical as it was going to get.

He removed a pocketknife and sliced away at the netting, and the tree sprang free.

“Thank you,” she said . . . leaving out the part where she could have done that all by herself. Or waited until Austin came home to help her.

Colin walked over to the sink and washed his hands while Parker glared.

He held on to the counter as if he were searching for control. “I know you can take care of yourself.”

“Good.”

He lifted his chin and looked at her from over the island in the kitchen.

“I want you to know you can lean on me.”

“Why?”

Colin blinked . . . twice. “What do you mean, why?”

“I mean, why? Why do you need me to lean on you?”

“So I can take some of the stress off your shoulders.”

Parker let his words tumble around in her head. “Picking out a Christmas tree is not stressful. Depending on someone else to do it for you is.”

“Damn it, Parker. Let me help around here.”

She looked at him as if he were crazy. “You have helped around here. Inside my home and out.”

“I want to do more.” His voice was tight.

“And I’m used to doing it all alone.”

He ran a hand through his hair. “Why are you fighting me on this?”

“I’m not fighting you on anything. You created this drama. As far as I see it, you’re arguing with yourself. I just went about my day doing what I had to do.” As she had every day since her parents died. She reached for the towel he’d tossed to the side to wipe some of the tree sap from her hands. “I have to tell you, if you’re going to be ticked every time I do something for myself, this might not work out.” As the words left her lips, her throat clenched in denial.

“Parker . . .” The anger in his voice mellowed and he reached for her hand.

She wasn’t sure if she should pull away or apologize.

He turned her around, placed his hands on her hips, and lifted her onto the island. The movement was so swift, it took her by surprise. Then he caged her in, a hand on each side of her, and looked her straight in the eyes. “I was worried. Okay? Scared after the fact about the guy on the property. Upset I wasn’t here to run him off myself. I left here the other night, after the power outage, and realized how isolated it is here, and if I’m honest, it scares the crap out of me.”