"That's not true." She frowned. "You're very good at your job. I wouldn't know what to do without you."

"Hey, I didn't mean to make you feel guilty. I like being your gofer. Where else would I get paid for traveling all over the world and accepting your abuse?" His smile faded when she still looked troubled. "Stop it, Hannah. Do you think I would have worked with you all these years if I hadn't wanted to do it? I love you, but I'm not that self-sacrificing. I've always known you were the smart one in the family. Not only are you a mathematical and mechanical whiz, but you have that quirky memory. I knew from the minute you took one glance and quoted my Boy Scout manual from cover to cover that I was going to be trailing behind you."

"I didn't mean to make you feel-I was just a kid trying to be a smart aleck. You were always making fun of me. It's what brothers do. I guess I wanted you to think I was special."

"And you were special," he said gently. "And I could see it wasn't easy for you. I saw how the other kids teased you. That's why I stopped doing it myself. Being different is always hard. A lot of jealousy. A lot of misunderstanding. I never wanted that burden. I'm no Einstein, but that's okay. I like what I do, and I like who I am." He grinned. "And thank God Cathy likes who I am, too."

She cleared her throat, and said gruffly, "She'd better. You're kind of special."

"Not 'kind of.' Absolutely."

"And you are smart."

He chuckled. "I have horse sense, but there's no brilliance lurking in my noggin. I wouldn't want it. It would be too uncomfortable." He gave her a sly glance. "And it might prevent me from enjoying the finer things in life. Look at you. You can't even enjoy the beauty of this submarine. It's a true work of art."

"It was built to kill, Conner. At the time it was in action it was a state-of-the-art nuclear submarine."