Love at Last. Irene Brand

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ

      Lorene hesitated. If she spent a lot of time with Perry, it would be more difficult for her when she left Woodston. She well remembered when she couldn’t get enough of his company and wanted to be with him all the time, but wasn’t she mature enough now to control her emotions? After all, she thought, I’m middle-aged! I certainly won’t be carried away like I was before.

      “I’ll study the file Alma gave me this morning and check out the town after lunch. It would be a big help if you came along.”

      Perry had noticed her hesitation and understood her reluctance, for he felt the same way. If he saw her frequently—and how could they avoid it when they’d be associated so closely?—they might be tempted to revisit painful emotional paths. But in the long hours of the night, when he’d reviewed the past and contemplated the future, he’d made up his mind that he couldn’t ask anything from Lorene except friendship.

      “I’ll pick you up around two o’clock.”

      Lorene laid the phone aside wondering how she could concentrate on her work responsibilities if she saw Perry every day. But she hadn’t become successful in the business world without exerting personal discipline, so she picked up the file folder and forced herself to read and study every plan the commission had in mind for Heritage Week—the culmination of Woodston’s celebration the last week in September.

      Lorene had learned quite a lot about Woodston from her reading, but as Perry drove through the business district, he gave a running commentary of the town’s history.

      “Woodston was founded two hundred years ago this month when western Kentucky was still a frontier. At first there wasn’t anything except a fort and a few outlying farmsteads, but after steamboats revolutionized river transportation, the town became an important shipping center. The Native Americans, the Shawnees, in particular, moved westward and Woodston started to grow. After the Civil War, the economy plummeted for years, but during World War II the town took on new life.”

      Lorene held a small tape recorder in her palm and she pushed the off button. “You like it here, don’t you?”

      “Very much. My childhood was spent in small towns—we moved several times as a boy. Father was a preacher in Iowa, so big-city life isn’t for me. I love working with the young people at college.” He didn’t add that association with the students eased his pain over the children he’d never had.

      He drove out of town to Frontier Park, where a replica of a log fort was under construction. “The park is located on the site of the original fort,” he explained. “During Heritage Week several people will come down the river on flatboats for the opening ceremonies to reenact life in the early 1800s. They’ll live in the fort, wear period clothing and cook as the settlers did. Artisans will give daily demonstrations on making pioneer crafts.”

      “Sounds like fun.”

      “We want you to make all of this attractive to out-of-state groups, as well as snag the attention of schoolchildren in Kentucky and the adjoining states.”

      “I’ll make phone and computer contacts tomorrow and persuade some of our bus-company clients to arrange tours,” Lorene answered, excitement stirring as it always did when she started a new project.

      “The park covers thirty acres,” Perry said. He pointed to a shaft on a high point above the river. “Except for that monument, very little has been done to develop the area. The fort will be permanent, available as a tourist attraction after the celebration is over.”

      “Is that path along the river suitable for running? I like to jog every day if possible, and I haven’t seen any other likely place.”

      Perry’s eyes lit up. “You’re a runner? So am I.”

      “I noticed you’re in good shape,” Lorene said, willing her eyes not to sweep hungrily over his muscular physique.

      “I spend a lot of time in the office, and if I’m not careful, I put on too much weight. I don’t have opportunity for any other exercise, but I make time for running.”

      “Then it’s safe for me to come out here alone.”

      “Yes. Many people use the park. But I run here several times a week. You can come when I do.”

      She lowered her eyes. “Don’t tempt me, Perry.”

      “Why should it be a temptation?” He tilted her chin slightly, but hurriedly removed his hand as if the physical contact disturbed him. “We can’t ignore what happened between us. Why can’t we put it behind us and be friends? I’m happy you’ve entered my life again, and I want to see as much of you as possible.”

      “That could be risky.”

      “I’m determined that nothing will happen to cause any problem. And I know you feel the same way.”

      He sounded so cheerful about their casual acquaintance that Lorene couldn’t help asking in a husky whisper, “Is it all over for you, Perry? Don’t you feel anything at all?”

      He placed his hands on her shoulders in a tender caress and his voice echoed her own longings. “I’d thought, after reaching the mellow years, that my youthful yearnings were gone.” His hands tightened possessively. “But yesterday I learned I’d only fooled myself. You’re as winsome and desirable as you were when you were nineteen. I made a promise to you once and I’ve never broken it. During the past twenty-four hours, other things I thought I’d forgotten have deleted all my preconceived ideas about what the future holds.”

      “I haven’t forgotten, either,” she murmured.

      Perry’s eyes darkened and Lorene thought he was going to kiss her, but he released her and stepped back quickly.

      “We’ll have to forget what happened when we were in college and make the right choices this time. Since neither of us is married, there’s no reason we can’t be friends like we used to be.”

      The flame in her heart ignited by Perry’s love had burned steadily for years, but his words almost extinguished it. She could never be satisfied with friendship. Maybe this meeting had been God-ordained. Perhaps God was trying to tell them it was time to stop pining for the past. If so, after her work was finished in Woodston, she’d go back to Pittsburgh, knowing at last that the break between them was final.

      “Let’s look over the fort and walk around my favorite running trail,” Perry said. “It winds along the river for a mile and then curves through the trees back to the starting point. I’m going with some students to a seminar in Lexington tomorrow, but we can plan to run together on Monday morning.”

      She nodded, unable to talk. Perry had shifted gears from the past to the present too rapidly for her. But she obediently followed him into the fort, where workmen were putting the finishing touches on the blockhouse.

      “I’ll bring my camera tomorrow and get a few scenes to send out right away. My office staff will take care of distributing short clips to air on national programs. I’m getting excited about the celebration, and I’ve decided I want to stay for this project. I’m glad I didn’t let my temper cause me to leave.”

      His eyes caressed her with a tender smile. “That makes two of us.”

      Lorene admitted Mr. Kincaid knew how to conduct a business meeting. СКАЧАТЬ