Baby, Come Home. Stephanie Bond

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      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.

      Kendall watched her walk away and had to keep himself from running after her. He hadn’t been successful in convincing Amy to stay in Sweetness last time. But he had three months to do it this time.

      Starting with dinner tonight with Porter and Nikki.

      6

      Amy looked at her reflection in the mirror in her bedroom and worked her mouth back and forth. Was a skirt too dressy for dinner with Nikki downstairs in the rear great room? It seemed like a pretty casual atmosphere, but since Amy was usually in sturdy, sensible clothes on jobsites during the day, she tried to dress up after hours. The memory of standing in the shadow of Kendall’s splashy “friend” Rachel cinched her decision not only to go with the outfit as planned, but to add hoop earrings, high heels and the Topaz ring that Tony had given her for Christmas. It was always better to be overdressed than underdressed.

      She glanced at her watch—she was still twenty minutes early. Enough time to call Tony, she realized, although it wasn’t something she was looking forward to under the circumstances. Guilt stabbed at her, impelling her to pick up her cell phone and punch in his number. When the phone rolled over to his voice mail, she wondered if he was really busy, or if he was avoiding her calls. He hadn’t been overjoyed about her leaving Broadway without him and had asked a lot of questions. Had he picked up on the fact that she hadn’t been completely forthcoming about her connection to the town for which she was building a bridge?

      “Hi, sweetie, it’s me.” СКАЧАТЬ