LITMIR.BIZ

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room with pale pink walls and a lacy bedspread on the full-size mattress. “I wouldn’t go that far.”

      Cassie patted the bed, indicating that her sister should have a seat. “It’s true. Come on, Chloe, it’s time for you to leave. It’s what you’ve always wanted. Sometimes I think you’ve stayed because of me, but I’m practically your age and I’ve been all grown-up for a long time. Aunt Charity and I will be fine without you. Of course we’ll miss you, but it’s time for you to move on. We can take care of the house until you’re ready to come back.”

      Chloe reached out and squeezed her sister’s hand. “You’re way too nice a person. Why do you put up with me?”

      “Beats me.”

      Chloe smiled. Then her humor faded as the familiar guilt took its place. She knew that Cassie would take care of the house for her. Cassie wouldn’t think twice about it, but she, Chloe, was annoyed that it was an issue. Their parents had been wrong, she thought, as she had dozens of times in the past. They should have left everything to the girls equally. Instead Chloe had inherited the house and a small trust fund. Cassie had inherited a large trust fund—equal in value to Chloe’s inheritance—but not equal in spirit. The message had been clear. Their only blood heir had received the family home.

      Chloe knew that Cassie put on a brave face; she never said anything. But Cassie was the real traditional one in the family. She was the one who believed in the legend—she was the one who loved the house. It should have been hers. She also knew that on some level Cassie had been hurt by the will. But Chloe didn’t know how to talk to her about it.

      There was a knock on the open door.

      “Chloe, there’s a call for you,” Charity told her. “It’s Arizona.”

      Cassie made kissing noises again. Chloe rose to her feet. “I’m ignoring you,” she said as she crossed to her sister’s desk and picked up the extension. “Hello?”

      “Chloe, it’s Arizona. I hope I’m not interrupting.”

      “Not at all.” If the nerves soft-shoeing inside her stomach were anything to go by, she was very happy to hear from him.

      “Something’s come up. I’ve been doing some research about a lost tribe up in the Pacific Northwest. I just got a call from some friends of mine working up there. They’ve found something I need to take a look at. The lecture series doesn’t start for a few days and I don’t have much holding me here, so I thought I would go and see what they’ve found.”

      “I see.”

      He was leaving. She’d always known that he would—it was the nature of the man. But she hadn’t expected it to be so soon. The nerves in her stomach fizzled into a cold knot of disappointment.

      “I’ll work on the article while you’re gone and save any questions I have until you get back,” she told him, hoping she sounded calmly professional.

      “That’s one scenario,” he agreed. “However, I thought it might be interesting for you to come along. You could observe what I do firsthand.”

      She wanted to jump up and down shrieking “Yes, yes, oh yes!” at the top of her lungs. Instead she drew in a deep breath. “An interesting idea.”

      He was probably coming on to her, a voice in her head said. As lines went, it was a good one, but still a line.

      “I hope you don’t think I’ve made this up simply to get you alone in the wilderness. Actually I’m just not that creative, otherwise I would have. But the artifact is legitimate. I can give you a number to call to check it out.”

      He could read her mind. Why was she not surprised?

      Of course she wanted to go. Desperately. She wanted to spend as much time with Arizona as possible and she refused to question her motives. “I’ll need to run this past my editor,” she said. “Can I call you first thing in the morning?”

      “Sure. I’ll be hoping for a yes.”

      Me, too, she thought. “I’ll be touch. Bye.”

      When she hung up the phone, Cassie was dancing from foot to foot. “You’re going away with him. This is so cool. You’ll be in wilderness. It’ll be romantic. Maybe you’ll see him naked and we can get that picture for his fan club!”

      Chloe’s heart was pounding and she wanted to jump up and down like her sister. Instead she shrugged. “It would be okay to go. I think it will add some dimension to my article.”

      “Article-smarticle. I’m talking about adding some dimension to your life! Chloe and Arizona sittin’ in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G.”

      “I’m ignoring you,” Chloe said as she walked out of the room.

      “Confess,” Cassie called after her. “You want to see the man naked.”

      “I’m sure he’s not that impressive.”

      “Liar!”

      But Chloe didn’t know if the accusation came from her sister or her conscience. After all, she had seen Arizona without his clothes, and it had worked for her in a big way.

      * * *

      “I’M NOT sure what he’s going to look at,” Chloe continued nervously. “But I think seeing an archaeological dig and watching him work will add depth to the story.”

      Jerry didn’t even look up from the papers he was reading. Her editor made a grunting noise low in his throat. She wasn’t sure what that meant.

      “So you want me to go?” she asked.

      Finally, he spared her a quick glance. “Yes, I want you to go. Keep track of expenses. The magazine will reimburse you for the reasonable stuff. Don’t go ordering any expensive wine with dinner. Don’t sit in poison ivy.”

      “I think I can handle that.”

      “Good.” His gaze narrowed. “How’s the guy? Is the piece gonna be decent?”

      She thought about telling Jerry all she’d learned about Arizona, about the fan club on the Internet, the inherent charm, the way he actually believed in magic. But she didn’t think her boss really cared about the details. He would find all that out when he read the article.

      “It’s going to be great,” she told him.

      “Better be.” He grimaced. “Nancy said you were on the right track and I trust her. Not that I should. Pregnant. Do you know she actually expects time off after the kid is born? I asked her what for. She says she wants to breast-feed. Can you believe it? Like a bottle’s not good enough. What is it with women today?” He shook his head in disgust and glared at her. “Don’t you have a story to write? Packing maybe? Get out of here.”

      “Yes, Jerry.” Despite herself, Chloe grinned. Jerry acted so tough all the time, but he would be the first one at the hospital after Nancy gave birth. He would be cooing like everyone else over the newborn.

      She made her way back to her desk. She had her permission. She was really going away with Arizona. Out into the wilderness, where anything could happen.

      * * *

      CHLOE STARED AT the clothes folded neatly on top of her bed. “I don’t know what to take,” she admitted. “I’ve never been camping.”

      Cassie sat in the chair by the desk and smiled. “You’ll do fine. Take jeans and underwear. Shirts and sweaters. You’ll want to layer if it gets cold, but you won’t want anything bulky.”

      “Arizona says we’ll have to hike in the last part, so I have to carry everything with me.”

      Cassie leaned forward, picked up the blow-dryer and waved it in the air. “In that case, I’d leave this behind. It’s big, heavy and you’re not going to have electricity.”

      “I know. I just thought—” She shuddered.

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