LITMIR.BIZ

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      The click of the door told Sarah that Justin had returned. She put down the book she’d been thumbing through and stood. Even in the darkened light of the living room Justin looked good. Tired, but good. His suit jacket was thrown over his shoulder and a hint of beard shadowed his square jaw. Dark brown eyes scanned the room before landing on her.

      “Mickie asleep?”

      Sarah unclasped her hands. “Yes. She fell asleep about an hour ago.”

      Silence fell and Sarah resisted the urge to shift. It was late and for the past hour she’d been wondering how to handle Justin’s reappearance. Before, Mickie had been a buffer between them. Now that buffer was gone and she wasn’t sure how to act or how her brother-in-law would act. She cleared her throat.

      “Well, I’d better go.”

      She started toward the door.

      When her hand was on the knob, Justin spoke. “What really brought you here, Sarah?”

      She stiffened. How could she tell him that in desperation she’d come to him for a job? He wouldn’t believe it. Or worse. He might. And then he’d either laugh at her or pity her. He certainly wouldn’t hire her, knowing she had been let go from her job in a lawyer’s office, no matter what the reason. Doubts and fears crushed in on her, making her shoulders heavy with the burden of carrying them. Sarah forced herself to stand up straight, as if Justin might actually see the weight loading her down. “I came to bury the hatchet,” she quipped, without turning around to face him.

      A wry chuckle escaped Justin’s lips and Sarah felt a warm tingle run down her back. Had that laugh attracted Amy? She knew it certainly affected her.

      “Well then,” he said when silence had fallen again, “maybe I should be glad you didn’t decide to bury it in my neck like…”

      She knew what he would have said—Like when you tried to take Mickie. She stiffened. “Good night.”

      “Wait.” Justin rested his hand on her shoulder even as she pulled open the door. “I’m sorry.”

      She didn’t respond but stood facing the door, hiding her eyes from his scrutiny lest he see what she was feeling.

      “Will it always be this way between us?” he finally asked.

      “I don’t know,” Sarah replied.

      With a sigh, he released her.

      Sarah walked out the door, deciding that she was walking out of his life for the final time. Turning down the street, she headed to where she hoped she’d be able to catch the last bus for the night, wondering why she’d ever thought she could work for the man her sister had married.

      Justin leaned his head against the closed door and sighed again. He was tired. The meeting had been a lot more complicated than he’d expected. What was supposed to be a simple merger had turned into more negotiations. Years ago he wouldn’t have allowed it, but because he’d seen these men making a sincere effort to protect their employees, he’d spent the extra two hours negotiating. Then they’d had to have a new contract typed and finally signed. The men had fortunately found seats on a later flight It was almost eleven o’clock and he’d been worried about his daughter…and he’d treated Sarah badly.

      Pushing away from the door, he turned, then went through the house, flipping off lights and checking windows. There had been no reason for him to say such cruel things to her. Indeed, she’d been trying to bury the hatchet. That was the longest they’d gone without snipping at each other. And then he’d had to ruin it. She was Amy’s sister—the only link he and Mickie had to Amy. The least he could have done was hold his tongue. It was just that when he’d opened the door and seen her rising from the couch, the book of scenic landscapes sliding from her lap, he’d felt as though someone had punched him in the gut. He’d never noticed that Sarah was a very beautiful woman, despite her beat-up jeans and sweater. He’d always pictured her as tough and aggressive. Her soft golden hair, which she’d always worn up, had floated about her face tonight, giving her the look of innocence wronged. But he’d not wronged her. And she wasn’t innocent or soft. He knew her real personality. She had tried to take his daughter away. He’d been right to fight her to keep his child. And he wouldn’t forget the pain that fight had caused anytime soon, no matter how innocent or beautiful she looked.

      He hadn’t felt a spark of interest in a woman since Amy’s death. How could that spark be ignited by the sister who had caused them both so much grief? In anger at his own reaction to her, he’d struck out.

      He trudged up the stairs. After checking on Mickie to make sure she was covered, he undressed.

      Because of his actions, Mickie would probably never see Sarah again. She’d be stuck with a baby-sitter all day—

      Baby-sitter!

      Justin didn’t have a baby-sitter for his daughter, tomorrow or anytime. He collapsed on the side of the bed and dropped his head into his hands. How could he have forgotten?

      Easy. Big blue eyes and a heart-stopping smile had clouded his thinking.

      Well, he couldn’t let them distract him now. He had to find someone for tomorrow. Justin lifted his head. Maybe this was a way to prove to Sarah that he wanted to accept her apology and make amends. He could ask her to baby-sit this weekend, since she probably didn’t work on weekends, and Mickie could get to know her. Of course his day would be short on Saturday. He only had to finish up the paperwork related to tonight’s merger and make sure everything was running smoothly. Then he could invite Sarah over for dinner on Sunday as a gesture of thanks. That should smooth over the mistake he’d made tonight.

      He reached into the drawer by his bed and pulled out the phone book. After finding her number, he dialed it.

      He listened as the call connected.

      On the third ring, instead of an answering machine picking up, he heard a message saying the phone was disconnected.

      Frowning, he put the receiver down. Had she moved lately? He called Information and the operator told him she had no listing under Sarah’s name.

      Thinking back, he remembered Bill, from church, mentioning he’d talked to Sarah only last week. He hadn’t said where he’d seen her or what they’d talked about. His friends were that way. If they met up with Sarah they only informed him that they’d seen her. Few of his friends felt the need to gossip and dredge up past pains. And, he thought, a few were still friends with Sarah, though none ever really talked about her when he was around.

      Bill was the answer. If it had been only last week since he’d talked to her he would know where she was now living. Despite the late hour, Justin picked up the phone and dialed Bill’s number. On the second ring, Bill answered it. Justin smiled. Bill had a thing for computers and was usually up until one or two in the morning playing around with some new software or game.

      “Hey, Bill,” he said. “Uh, sorry to call so late.”

      “Justin? No problem. I’m up. What’s going on?”

      “I just tried to get hold of Sarah. She stopped by earlier today and I need to talk to her. I tried the phone number I have for her, but the service has been disconnected. I figured you could tell me where she moved.”

      Silence followed.

      Justin frowned.

      Finally, Bill spoke, but it wasn’t with the answer Justin had wanted.

      “You say you talked to her today?”

      “Yeah. She, uh, watched Mickie for me. I was in a bind—”

      “You let her baby-sit your daughter?”

      Why was Bill sounding so shocked? “Yeah. She came by to visit. My baby-sitter had an emergency and Mickie seemed taken with Sarah. Look,” Justin said, becoming impatient, “do you know where she moved? I’d like to get hold of her.” Suddenly, it dawned on Justin what had been bothering him. Her number had

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