Baby, Come Home

“I do have good memories,” he admitted, thinking they were mostly of her and feeling disappointed she didn’t share his opinion. “And I think this town deserves a second chance.”

“Good for you.” She straightened and picked up the tripod, then walked to another location.

Nonplussed, Kendall followed. “I understand you’re going to rebuild the covered bridge.”

She set down the tripod. “That’s right. Marcus called me last week and offered me the job. I take it you didn’t know?”

Kendall bristled. “I’ve been working on something else.”

“Does it bother you that I’m here?”

Only every cell in his body. “Of course not. I was just…surprised to see you, that’s all.”

“As surprised as I was to see an advertisement for single women to come to Sweetness in my local newspaper?”

His face warmed and his mind raced for an explanation.

Amy gave a dismissive wave. “Don’t worry. I figure that was Marcus’s idea, too. He seems to think you and I have some unfinished business.”

His tongue was like lead in his mouth.

Her berry-colored lips turned up in a little smile. “I assured him we said our goodbyes long ago.”

He nodded, like a puppet.

“And that it wouldn’t be a problem for us to work together on rebuilding this bridge.”

Kendall finally found his tongue. “Right, no problem. We’re…professionals.”

“And it’ll only be for a few weeks,” she added. “I’m thinking three months, tops.”

He swallowed hard. He already didn’t want to think about the day she’d leave. “Meanwhile, I can’t think of anyone better to redesign Evermore Bridge.”

When she looked up, her hazel-colored eyes held reproach. “Why?”

He could tell she was ready to deny any emotional attachment to the bridge…or maybe he’d projected his own association with the bridge onto her. “Because you knew every stick of that bridge.”

She nodded without acknowledging that she’d memorized the construction of the bridge during the hours they’d spent there together. “Were you planning to give the new bridge the same name— Evermore?”

“I honestly don’t know.”

She let out a little laugh that left him weak in the knees. “Do you and Marcus ever talk?”

“There’s a lot to be done around here. We’re usually working on different things.”

She lifted an eyebrow. “And you’re Head of Picture Hanging?”

At the reference to the injury he’d gotten hanging a picture for Rachel, a hot flush climbed his neck. “I was just doing a favor for a friend and lost my concentration.” Too late, he realized he’d made it sound as if Rachel had distracted him, when Amy herself was as least partly to blame.

She pursed her mouth, then leaned down to take another photograph. “Could you hold up that screen again, please?”

Kiss me again, please? Make love to me, please? He’d always teased her for saying please—as if he’d needed any encouragement to touch her or to do things that would make her happy.

He held up the screen while she took more pictures, taking the opportunity to drink in every inch of her that was so familiar, yet so changed. She’d matured into a beautiful woman with elegant taste. Her clothes were sensible, but beautifully tailored to fit her streamlined figure. He had to smile, though, at the smudge on the collar of her blouse—Amy was still a chocoholic.

His hands itched to brush her thick red hair away from her face and pull her lean body against his. It was jarring to realize that he no longer had the right to touch her, and he wondered what lucky man claimed that role these days. The fact that she wasn’t wearing a ring on her left hand didn’t necessarily mean anything. Lots of people whose jobs required them to be on construction sites didn’t risk wearing jewelry.

“Did you marry?” he asked, then held his breath while she took her time answering.

“No.”

He exhaled and waited for her to ask the same of him. When she didn’t, he volunteered, “Neither did I…nor did my brothers.”

She pulled a notebook from her pocket and jotted a few notes with a mechanical pencil. “According to the water tower, Porter’s pretty far gone over my friend Nikki.”

Kendall smiled. “She’s changed him, all right.”

The pencil point broke with a snap. Amy clicked down a new length of lead, then continued writing. “I hope she knows what she’s getting into.”

“With Porter? It’s been six months. I think she knows him pretty well by now.”

“I meant living here.”

Kendall bristled. “I know the town doesn’t look like much now, but we have plans.”

“I know. I saw the slide show on the website. Meanwhile, it’s more primitive even than when you and I grew up here.”

He tamped down a spike of anger. “Maybe Nikki is happy in Sweetness because the man she cares about is here.”

Amy’s mouth twitched down. “I hope that’s enough for her.”

Kendall felt as if he’d been kicked in the stomach. If he’d wondered about the possibility of Amy coming home to Sweetness to stay, he had his answer. And they hadn’t even broken ground on the new bridge.

Unless her mind could be changed. After all, his negotiating skills had been honed by some pretty serious head-butting between his brothers since they’d all taken on this project. Seizing on a classic mediation opener, he asked, “What can I do to make your job easier?”

She looked up from the notebook, her expression wary. “I think I have everything I need for now.” She tucked away her notes, then picked up the tripod and moved in the direction of the all-terrain vehicle she’d driven over. Kendall followed her, carrying the folding screen.

He was mesmerized by watching her move. He still couldn’t believe she was here…within arm’s reach. There were a million questions he wanted to ask her, find out everything about her life since he’d last seen her. But from the closed expression on her face and her tight body language, she wasn’t in a sharing mood. And she didn’t seem to care what he’d been doing for the past twelve years.

She stopped at the four-wheeler and lifted the seat to stow her camera equipment, then reached for the folding screen he held. “Thanks.”

Then she climbed on, started the engine and took off before he could even reach the ATV he’d driven over. He goosed the gas to keep up with her, flashing back to when they were teenagers, riding horses all over this countryside. He had always lagged behind on purpose, so he could see Amy’s wild hair fly behind her and watch her tight little behind snug against the saddle. He’d loved chasing her…and apparently things hadn’t changed—except for the catching part. He followed her back to the construction office, saddened when the ride ended, already loath to be away from her.

She was off the ATV and striding toward town before he could regroup.

“Can I buy you a cup of coffee?” he called. “Maybe we can catch up.”

She turned, still moving, her hands full of equipment. “No, thanks. If you don’t mind, I’d like to keep things between us strictly business. I’ll see you on the jobsite.” Then she turned and kept going.