James’s unmistakable footfall identified him as he joined her. A quick scrape of metal against wood suggested he’d moved one of her chairs. “Pass over some blanket.” He swiped the top one from her. “I know you hear me.”

Her lips curled, though her eyes remained closed. She shivered under the lost weight of one layer; her grip on the opposite end of her cover thwarted his attempt to steal a second.

“Ha! Knew it.”

“I don’t bother you when you’re recovering.” She made no attempt to turn toward him.

“You’re worrying.” After so many years together, he’d guess right.

Her hair caught between the slats as she turned. She cringed as she fluttered sleepy lids, letting in a sliver of light. She found James’s nose an inch from her own.

“I’m sorry.” Charley whispered the words.

James closed his eyes. “I shouldn’t have let you get close to him.”

“You couldn’t have stopped me.” Her grin grew. “You know that as well as I do.”

“I could’ve tried harder-”

She shook her head. “No. I should have known better.”

James huffed a laugh. “Well, as your big brother-”

Charley snorted a laugh. “Big brother my ass. I’m fifty years older than you and related in absolutely no way, shape or form, and thank god I can’t be male because then I’d have to become you just for spite.” She tweaked his nose. “But you are bigger.” Charley let her head loll away. “That was a first for me.”

“I’m surprised. We’ve all faltered at some point.”

She drew her gaze back to his. How he could relax, proportioned in a chaise half his size, she didn’t know. The single afghan barely reached his knees as he burrowed his body beneath it.

“Why don’t you wear a jacket?” She held the blanket above her lips to keep her smile hidden.

“You act old when you do that.” James spread out the cover more, pulling the edges to their limit.