LITMIR.BIZ

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she going to organize an event the size of this birthday celebration with him. That would mean hours of going over decorations, music, menu selections and sending out invitations—which was only a formality anyway since folks around here planned their Septembers around Mrs. Ashton’s birthday.

      Beth sprinted the rest of the way to the cottage. All she had to do was find out what had started it. Then she could prod the two old friends into making up. They’d been friends an eternity without the first ripple.

      How hard could it be to straighten out this little misunderstanding?

      SHE WAS HERE.

      And she was even more beautiful than ever. To top it off, she was not only all grown-up, she was available. Zach took a long, deep breath and forced his thoughts away from Beth. He never could think straight around her.

      Determined to get past the shock of seeing her, he made his grand entrance into the house only to find that his mother was sleeping. Betty, the housekeeper, said that Mrs. Ashton had retired for a brief nap before the arrival of her son.

      Deciding his mother needed the rest and that he could get settled in the meanwhile, Zach lugged his bags up the stairs. He deposited them into his old room and then eased quietly to his mother’s door at the other end of the hall. He smiled as he watched her sleep for a moment. Even at seventy-five she was a lovely woman. He inhaled the scent of White Shoulders and surveyed the familiar room. It looked just as it had when he’d been a child. Elegant and luxurious. His mother’s taste was impeccable. And beneath that pretentious appearance beat a tremendously caring heart. The whole town loved and respected her. She was the best mom a guy could ask for.

      Suddenly feeling glad to be home, Zach soundlessly closed the door and made his way back to his own room. He took a deep breath and studied the past that was well documented in the unchanged décor. Football trophies, team photographs and banners covered the walls. Memorabilia of family vacations was scattered about on bookshelves and the tops of his dresser and chest of drawers. Zach picked up a picture of his father and smiled sadly. Graduation day from law school. His father had been so proud. Zach still missed him, though he’d been gone for more than a decade.

      Zach carefully placed the picture back on his dresser and wandered to the double windows on the other side of the room. He leaned against the window frame and watched Mrs. McCormick and Beth in the rose garden.

      She’d been so gorgeous all those years ago when she’d kissed him. Heat stirred inside him at the memory of her sweet young body pressed against his. He’d wanted her so much, but he’d known that it couldn’t be. She’d only been seventeen. He’d been twenty-four.

      But how he’d wanted her. Had loved her for as long as he could remember, but that feeling hadn’t turned sexual until she turned fifteen. He’d known it wasn’t right. Had chastised himself every night for the dreams he couldn’t escape. He’d done his level best to get her out of his head. But no matter how many girls he dated, no matter how many he shared himself with, his feelings for Beth didn’t change.

      So he’d avoided her. Fortunately, whenever he visited after that one incident, she usually wasn’t around since she’d gone off to medical school. Once or twice they’d run into each other during one of his brief visits with his mother. And then he’d heard that she was getting married and he’d decided that was good. With her married to someone else he could get on with his life instead of waiting for her.

      Zach closed his eyes and shook his head. He had been waiting for her to grow up and get her M.D. She’d apparently never forgiven him for turning her away that one time and the next thing he knew it was too late.

      He thought about the way she’d felt in his arms when he hugged her only minutes ago…the way she’d looked at him. And he wondered if she still felt it, too?

      He shook off that ridiculous idea. They were different people now. Just because his body didn’t realize that fourteen years had passed since that kiss was no indication that things hadn’t changed big time for Beth.

      Everything was different now.

      Zach touched the glass as if he could somehow reach out to the woman who had stolen his heart so very long ago.

      But he couldn’t change the past.

      Chapter Two

      A quick shower relieved Beth of the grit and sweat of working in the garden with her mom, but nothing she did the entire afternoon assuaged the fire building in her belly for Zach. She could not evict him from her head now any more than she had been able to from her heart all those years ago. He was always there, just around the next thought. And she did not want to think about him.

      Beth sighed and smoothed her hands over her cotton-blend sheath. She surveyed her reflection in the oval full-length mirror and was pleased with what she saw. The pale lemony color of the fabric contrasted well with her tanned skin. She didn’t bother braiding her shoulder-length hair, allowing it to remain loose, something she seldom did. The color, she noted, was streaked with more gold than usual after her summer of helping in the garden when not at the hospital. She had never been much on housework. The outdoors beckoned to her on every level. Her father had ingrained the love of nature and all it had to offer deeply within her. Though he’d been gone half her life, she still missed him.

      Despite her most valiant efforts, Zach pushed into her musings, shoving aside all else. Did he see that same little girl next door when he looked at her now? After all, it had been five years since they’d even seen each other. Or did he see her as the woman she had so wanted him to notice all those years ago? Beth shook her head and chased those questions from her thoughts. She didn’t care what Zach thought. If it was up to her she’d send him packing and right back to that fancy agency in Chicago. What was it called? The Colby Agency—that was it.

      Why did he have to stay two weeks anyway? The answer zinged a direct hit right between her eyes. Mrs. Ashton had probably called and told him of the trouble she and Beth’s mother were having. Colleen most likely persuaded her one and only son to come to her rescue. Not that Beth could blame her, especially considering she’d had that minor heart attack. And since she had no other children, who else would she call? Still, Zach’s visit sure put a cramp in Beth’s style. It was selfish of her to feel that way, but she did.

      No matter how hard she tried not to, everything she did and said during his stay would be weighed against what he thought and whether or not she might run into him whenever she set foot outside her door.

      Just like fourteen years ago all over again. Why else would she be standing in front of this mirror now? She rarely spent more than a few seconds checking her appearance. She wasn’t a makeup, big hairdo kind of girl. Never had been. No hair spray or curling irons could be found in her bathroom, and few cosmetics. That realization had her peering even closer at her face and hair. She’d had the same cut for years. Was it time for a change?

      Beth squared her shoulders and glowered sternly at the suddenly insecure woman staring back at her. “You are an adult,” she scolded. “Act like one.”

      With that reprimand ringing in her ears, she went in search of her mother. They needed some one-on-one time in neutral territory—away from the Ashton environment.

      Beth had to know what was going on with Colleen and Helen. All she had to do was find a way to get them back together and she would be saved. Helen would insist on taking charge of the party planning and Beth would be off the hook with Zach. Avoiding him wouldn’t be that difficult then.

      Helen McCormick was busily peeling potatoes when Beth entered the kitchen. Lingering near the door, she watched her mother for a bit before speaking. At sixty-five, Helen was still an attractive woman. She’d stayed fit and kept a good attitude about growing older. Her hair was more gray now than blond, and she kept the long mane braided and coiled around the crown of her head just like she had since Beth was a child. She smiled. Her mother was a good woman, a hardworking one who enjoyed life and never took anything for granted.

      That was the main draw between Helen and Colleen. Both had such a zest for life. Though their backgrounds

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