“Good to see you, Travis,” Caleb offered in a steady voice.

“Figured Seth had to be lying,” said Travis, shoulders square, gaze assessing. “But here you are. A little uptight and overgroomed, but at least you didn’t go soft on us.”

“You were expecting a pot belly and a double chin?”

“And a pasty-white complexion.”

“Sorry to disappoint you.”

Travis shrugged. “What brought you back?”

Caleb’s gaze slid to Mandy.

Travis glanced between them. “What?”

Caleb hesitated, obviously debating whether or not to reveal the information about the will.

“Travis can keep a secret,” Mandy offered, moving toward them. Her family would be in a better position to help Caleb if he’d be honest with them.

Travis tipped his chin to a challenging angle, confronting Caleb. “What did you do?”

“Nothing,” Caleb stated levelly. “I’m solving a problem, not creating one. But I remember gossip spreading like wildfire around here.”

“Welcome home,” Mandy put in, struggling to keep the sarcasm from her voice.

Caleb frowned at her. There was nothing salacious in his expression, no inappropriate message in his eyes. Still, the mere fact that he was looking at her sent a flush across her skin.

“Come back to dance on your daddy’s grave?” Travis asked Caleb.

“You want a beer?” Caleb offered. Surprisingly, there was no annoyance in his tone at Travis’s crass remark.

Mandy took the opportunity to escape from Caleb’s proximity again, passing through the doorway and calling over her shoulder. “I’ll get them.”

She headed straight down the hall to the kitchen at the back of the house, shaking off the buzz of arousal. There was no denying the chemical attraction between her and Caleb, but that didn’t mean she had to give in to it. Sure, he was a great-looking guy. He had an undeniably sexy voice, and he could pull of a Saville Row suit.

She had no doubt he’d look equally good in blue jeans and a Western-cut shirt. When they’d hugged, she’d felt his chest, stomach, thighs and arms, so she knew he was rock-solid with muscle. Whatever he’d been doing in Chicago for the past ten years, it wasn’t sitting behind a desk.