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“Beth!”
Zach Ashton strode in her direction and her heart felt as if it had stopped beating entirely…which was impossible since she didn’t drop dead.
He was not fat.
Or balding.
Or wearing reading glasses.
He was perfect. Just like all those years ago, only better. He was tall, lean and absolutely gorgeous. His khakis might be slightly travel wrinkled, but the navy blue polo shirt that molded to his perfect pecs and broad shoulders more than made up for it.
He stopped directly in front of her, pulled off his designer sunglasses and hugged her fiercely.
He smelled like fresh air and sandalwood. And his strong arms felt like heaven around her. For about two seconds she resisted the urge to press her cheek to his chest and then she gave in. He’d held her just like this a hundred times before. When she’d cried after Sammy Potter pushed her down on the playground. When she’d gotten her period at eleven and realized she had to be a girl whether she wanted to or not. And then, at sixteen when her father had died and she’d been devastated.
Eventually Zach drew away and stared down at her, his hands still bracketing her waist. “God, you look great.”
Color shot to her cheeks. She did not look great. She had on jeans and a T-shirt and worn-out sneakers. She was sweaty and dusty from puttering in the garden with her mother.
She was—darn it—she was a mess.
“Hi, Zach,” she managed to croak. “You look…terrific.”
Boy did he. His hair was shorter, but still dark and thick. Those eyes. She melted just looking into them. As clear and blue as when he’d been twenty-two and visiting from college. And his face. How could anyone so close to forty still look that damn good? There was a line or two here and there, but they only gave him character.
“God, I’ve missed you,” he said wistfully. “What are you doing here? Visiting your mom?”
This was it. Insecurity riddled what was left of her bravado. She was divorced, living with her mother and…God Almighty…still in love with Zach Ashton.
“No,” she admitted, the word seeming to ring out in the otherwise silence that surrounded them. “I’m living here again. I’m on staff at Cartersville General.”
He looked stunned.
She felt humiliated.
“I thought you were—”
She shook her head, cutting him off before he could utter the M-word. “Not anymore.” Apparently their two mothers had kept their word about not mentioning Beth’s marital woes.
Zach took her left hand in his and stared at her bare ring finger. He frowned. “I’m…” his concerned gaze reconnected with hers “…sorry.”
Beth manufactured a smile. “I’m not.” She stepped out of his hold. “Your mother’s inside. I’m sure she can’t wait to see you.”
He nodded distractedly. “Yeah.” He hitched a thumb toward his car. “I should get my bags.”
Beth blinked. “Bags?”
That devilish grin that had charmed every female in this county as well as the next spread across his devastatingly handsome face. “Didn’t she tell you? I’m taking a little time off. I’ll be here for two weeks. That’s why I drove instead of taking a flight.”
Two weeks?
Beth couldn’t take two weeks of having him right next door. The past was bound to come up. He’d want to talk. She’d want to…she slammed the door on that notion.
“I thought maybe I could help with the birthday organizing,” he added when she didn’t respond.
“That’d…be great,” she forced out. “Just great.”
He started to back away, those amazing blue eyes never leaving hers. “Let’s have dinner or something,” he suggested in that sexy, utterly male way that came as naturally as breathing to him.
“Sure,” she lied.
Dinner was out of the question. She couldn’t have dinner with him. She couldn’t have anything with him. What was she thinking? Blast it all, it was like she was a teenager again and unable to think properly in his presence.
He was halfway to his car before he finally turned his back to her, but before he did, he shook his head and exhaled a big breath of genuine masculine approval. “You look…terrific. It’s really good to see you.”
Beth managed to keep her smile in place until he’d turned around. Then it collapsed into a ground-dragging frown. Only then, with his mesmerizing attention focused elsewhere, did her heart stumble back into an acceptable rhythm.
She was doomed.
Doomed to replay her tortured teenage years when she’d lived and breathed Zach Ashton.
Whatever it took, she had to get her mother and Mrs. Ashton back on speaking terms. Living next door to Zach for two whole weeks would be bad enough. No way was 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 differed greatly, from education to financial status, the two were so much alike it was astounding and yet, each woman was entirely different—unique in her own right. Beth had seen the two squabble from time to time, but never had she known them to stop speaking to each other.
It just wasn’t natural.
Zacharius Ashton, Senior, had been very generous to Helen in his will, for no other reason than to show his appreciation for her years of companionship to his wife. Not that the McCormicks had ever wanted for anything anyway. The cottage was Helen’s until the day she died. Her salary had always been well above average for the services she rendered, as had been Beth’s father’s. No one could accuse the Ashtons of anything less than complete fairness.
The arrangement had worked like a charm for nearly half a century. What on earth could have changed a relationship that long-standing?
“Let’s have dinner out tonight, Mom,” Beth suggested hopefully, announcing her presence as she crossed the kitchen to stand beside her mother. “You’ve worked hard today, you need a break.”
Helen didn’t look up from her efficient paring. “Thanks, honey, but I’ve got my heart set on that potato soup your grandmother used to make.”
Beth shrugged. All dressed up and no place to go. “What can I do then?” She reached for the drawer that held the aprons while mentally reviewing the ingredients they would need.
“You just run along,” Helen said, still not looking up. “I need some more thinking time.”
Beth closed the drawer and leaned one hip against the cabinet. “Mom, look at me.” She folded her arms over her chest and waited. When her mother at last relented and turned her way, Beth continued, “I don’t know what’s going on here, but I wish you’d let me in on it. This whole situation’s just too disturbing. I can see what an effect it’s having on you, not to mention Mrs. Ashton.”
Helen dropped the knife and the nearly naked potato into the sink and dried her hands on a towel. “I can’t tell you,” she said finally. She folded the towel neatly and put it on the counter, her gaze focused intently upon the ivy embellished terry cloth. “This is between Colleen and me.”
Beth wasn’t going to give up that easily. “You said there was something that needed to be said.”
Helen’s deep brown gaze, the one Beth had inherited, connected with hers. “There is, but it’s not so simple.”
Beth shook her head. “I don’t understand. What could possibly be so earthshaking that you’re afraid to say it out loud?”
Helen looked away, but not before Beth saw the truth of her own words. Her breath trapped in her chest. It was earthshaking. Whatever it was, it was big. The fear and pain she saw in her mother’s eyes in that millisecond before she turned away made Beth’s heart skip a beat.
“Okay.” Beth swallowed at the lump of worry forming in her throat. This was definitely not good. “We don’t have to talk about it right now. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have brought it up. You and Colleen have been friends forever, you’ll work it out in your own time.”
Her hands braced against the counter, Helen merely stared into the bowl of potatoes she’d been peeling.
Beth started to apologize again but the ringing of the telephone interrupted her. She sighed, walked to the back door and snagged up the receiver from the old beige rotary base hanging on the wall. She managed a pleasant hello.
“Miss Beth?”
“Yes.” She frowned. The male voice sounded like—
“Mayor Chadwick here,” he said in that aristocratic, take-charge air that was more than a few decibels too loud.
“How are you this evening, Mayor?” God, Beth hoped he wanted to speak to her mother. The man could talk for hours without saying anything at all.
“I’m fine, darlin’, and you?”
“Couldn’t be better,” Beth lied through her teeth.
“The council and I are meeting at the diner tonight to organize our part of Ms. Colleen’s celebration. Seeing as you’re in charge of the planning now, we thought you might want to join us.”
Beth tamped down the groan that welled in her chest. “What time?” She glanced at her watch. It was six now.
“Six-thirty all right with you? Josie’s got chicken-fried steak on the blue plate special tonight.” He chuckled. “The best chicken-fried steak in the whole county, you know.”
Just what she needed, a plateful of cholesterol and an earful of bull. “Sure,” Beth agreed, wincing inwardly at what lay before her. “I’ll be there.”
“I’ve already called Zach. He’s coming, too.”
Beth’s jaw fell slack. The mayor said his goodbye and hung up before she could rally a verbal response. This couldn’t be happening already. She needed a little more time to prepare. To brace herself against Zach’s vast and varied charms.
Replacing the receiver, she turned back to her mother. Maybe she could talk Helen in to going with her. Beth was desperate.
“That was the mayor. He’s asked me to meet with the council to discuss Mrs. Ashton’s birthday. Why don’t you come with me, Mom?”
Her mother hesitated in her work, then slowly turned toward Beth. When their gazes locked the bright sheen of tears in her mother’s eyes startled Beth. Helen McCormick never cried. She was too strong. The only time in her entire life that Beth had ever seen her cry was after her father’s funeral.
“Please, let me help,” Beth urged gently. “Whatever is wrong can’t possibly be that bad.”
“No matter what happens,” her mother said, her voice trembling, “you remember that I love you more than anything in this world.”
“Mother—”
