"Look, I'm sorry, but you didn't let me finish."

This time she stopped, put her hands on her hips, and lashed out at him. "What's there to say? We spent the night tangling up the sheets on my bed and then yours. This morning, you realized you made a mistake. It's not a new version, just the end of this story."

His stomach turned upside down. "You don't know anything about me or why I'm taking a step back from us."

She was back to staring straight ahead and not acknowledging him.

Enough was enough; he gassed it, cut her off, and got out of his car. "This is my chance to start over, damn it, in a new state, a new town. I'm not going to mess this chance up because I can't keep my hands off you, Meg. I need to think. I can't do that when you are around. I made a huge mistake yesterday, speaking without thinking, that could have caused two teenagers their lives. How the hell do you think I'm going to deal with that if my fucking brain is stuck in my fucking pants?"

She crossed her arms beneath her breasts and glared at him.

He glared back. What else could he say without telling her about his ex and the fool she and his exbest friend had made him out to be?

Her lips twitched and she smiled. "Well. I can see that when you're angry your eloquent way of speaking goes by the wayside."

Relief cloaked the icy chill in his churning gut. "Sorry. When I get mad, I, uh-"

"Curse?"

She was still smiling when she walked to his car, opened the door, and got in. She waited until he did the same before saying, "I'll take that ride, but only because I don't want my family to wonder what happened to me if I don't show up at the shop on time."

He nodded and drove toward town. "Can we continue this conversation later? You aren't going to just pretend this never happened-we never happened-are you?"

She turned to look at him. "I don't know yet. I'm feeling pretty bruised right now. A few years ago, I wouldn't have been able to say that or admit to how I felt." She shrugged. "I guess I'm making progress."

"He didn't deserve you, Meg."

"And you do?"

He gripped the steering wheel tighter and shook his head. "I don't know, but I'm hoping you'll give me the chance to start over so we can find out."

"Hell," she grumbled. "I don't want to start over. I want to jump your bones right now."

He nearly swallowed his tongue. "I, uh..."

"You think on that, Dan, and while you do, I'll be thinking that maybe I wasted a good part of my life waiting for someone who doesn't love me when I could have been out kicking up my heels, enjoying life. You showed me a part of myself last night that I'd forgotten existed... the passionate part."

He knew he wouldn't like what she was going to say next and braced for it.

"I enjoyed being with you. I loved making love with you-but maybe I'd enjoy it just as much with someone else." She was staring out the window when she added, "I once thought there would only ever be one man for me. I was wrong-you blew that theory right out of the water last night."

"So you're not going to wait for me to get my head on straight?"

"I'm not sure."

"You're going to go out looking for someone else?"

"I'm not the one who's putting the brakes on here, Dan. And frankly, since you don't want to stake your claim, why should I sit around and wait? Life's too short to spend it brooding over past mistakes. I learned that lesson well." She reached out and touched his hand. "I had an excellent teacher."

He didn't know what to do or say. He was so sure that he had to start over slowly with Meg, to get to know her better before they jumped back into bed. His heart couldn't take another blow like the one his ex had delivered. That's why he'd quit his job and moved to Ohio, to get far enough away that he could think straight and get his life back on track.

But he kept his thoughts to himself; he didn't know if he was ready to trust Meg. When he pulled up behind her shop, he stopped the car and would have parked it, but she got out and waved at him. "Thanks for the lift. See you around, Dan."

His gut told him to follow her, but his head said to wait. He'd been hasty before and had ended up losing his prized baseball card, the diamond ring his ex had flushed down the toilet, and his best friend.

The thought of letting Meg go ripped his guts to shreds, but he couldn't see any other way to get back the control he'd lost when she'd come apart in his arms. As he drove back home, he wondered if he was the biggest fool in the world or the smartest man in town.

He showered and dressed quickly, ignoring the mess in the kitchen. It would still be there when he got home after practice. Driving to the school, he knew one thing: he'd reawakened the passionate woman inside of Meg-and he wasn't sharing.

Whether she liked it or not, she was his!

Halfway through the first job of the day, Meg's stomach started to complain. She needed to grab a quick bite to eat between jobs or she'd never make it until lunchtime without keeling over.

Thoughts of Dan had plagued her ever since she'd walked away from him. He'd asked for her understanding, but he hadn't explained why he needed it. He'd asked her to start over but refused to tell her why. So when he'd asked her for time, she refused to give it to him.

"He either wants me or he doesn't," she grumbled, tightening the hinges on Mrs. Green's barn door. Taking a step back, she double-checked to make sure that she'd hung it properly. She opened it and watched as it swung closed. "Mulcahy's strikes again."

Why couldn't she be as successful in her love life as she was on the job, repairing things that were broken? She'd been broken, and Dan had put her heart back together. But when she tried to give it to him, why had he stepped back so quickly?

The part of her brain that had been fuzzy since last night suddenly kicked into high gear. "Did he take this job to recover from a broken heart or broken career?" Neither thought sat well with her. Maybe instead of prowling Apple Grove or heading into Cincinnati's bright lights looking for a little action, she should wait it out and see if she couldn't convince Dan that she was the woman he needed in his life.

Hell, she already knew she wanted to get to know everything about him. Why was she so ready to throw in the towel? "Knee-jerk reaction," she mumbled, putting away her tools.

Her stomach growled again and she knew it was past time to feed it. Digging her phone out of her pocket, she hit speed dial and waited for someone to answer.

"Mulcahy's, Grace speaking."

"Hey, Sis, can you call Mr. Peters and tell him I'm running ten minutes late?"

There was a slight pause before her sister asked, "Do you need me to call Pop and have him drive on over to help you hang Mrs. Green's doors?"

"Nope," she answered. "All done."

"Well then, you're right on schedule."

"I need to take a quick break and get something to eat."

"Does this have anything to do with the fact that you were seen leaving Slater's Mill with Dan Eagan last night?"

Meg cheerfully wished her sister would develop a case of laryngitis, so she'd quit asking questions. "No."

"Hmmm," Grace said. "I hear that the two of you didn't show up again and that his car was parked at your apartment until really early this morning."

"You shouldn't listen to gossip, Sis," Meg told her. "More than half of it isn't true."

Grace laughed. "Which half: the part where you didn't go back to Slater's or the part where his car was parked at your apartment?"

"I'm hanging up now, Gracie. Gotta eat."

"Have a heart, Meg-"

Meg disconnected and shook her head. "Sisters." She didn't have time to talk if she was going to grab a hard roll and coffee-her plans to eat died as she realized she couldn't go to the Apple Grove Diner. Peggy might not be feeling neighborly toward her since Meg had left with Dan last night, but she'd get over it in a few days.

"Now what?" She brooded as she stowed her tools in the truck and drove back through town. The sign for Honey's Hair Salon was like a beacon in the dark. She knew Honey would be waiting to hear all about last night. Meg just wasn't sure how much to tell her friend. It was early yet for Honey to be open, but she pulled up out front and walked around to the back and knocked.

"Hey there, Meg." Honey B. seemed pleased to see her. "You've been on my mind since last night. Come on in." When Meg followed her inside, her friend asked, "I've got some coffee brewing. Want some?"

"I was wondering if I was going to have to beg for a cup this morning."

"Really?" Honey B. glanced over her shoulder as she added milk and sugar to Meg's cup. "I'll even add a couple of Katie McCormack's sweet rolls if you sit down and tell me what I'm dying to know."

Bolstered by the feminine company, she started to feel more like herself. Meg sighed. "I'm so hungry, I could gnaw off my right arm."

Her friend laughed. "How long have you got before your next stop?"

Meg stretched and said, "Ten minutes, but you can talk while I eat, and then maybe I'll have the strength to talk."

"OK," Honey B. said, putting her hands on her hips. "Now you're just bragging."

Meg didn't argue with her; she was too busy letting the wonders of coffee-hot, light, and sweet-work its magic on her beleaguered brain. When the plate of sweet rolls appeared before her, Meg wolfed down the first one before she realized Honey B. was talking.

"Sorry. I wasn't listening. What did you just say?"

Her friend frowned. "Pay attention, I'm only going to repeat myself once, because you're obviously famished and I'm dying to find out why."

"OK," Meg mumbled, her mouth full of gooey, sweet carbs.

"Melanie was waiting for us last night. Between Mrs. Winter, Miss Trudi, and I, we came up with a bio that I think will attract someone interesting."

Meg nodded. "You're a fabulous person," she said. "What's not to like?"

Honey B. shook her head. "I used to wonder why I couldn't catch the sheriff's eye. I've been in love with that man for so long, I'm starting to think maybe it was just a habit I'd gotten into."

"And now?"

"I'm still not sure, but I feel good about doing something instead of sitting around and waiting for him to notice me beyond the fact that my sister is his dispatcher."

"Mitch Wallace is a busy man, but even he can't help but notice someone like you, Honey B."

Meg got up and poured herself another cup of coffee and held up the pot. "You want some?"

Honey nodded. "Thanks."

When Meg handed it to her black, just the way Honey B. liked it, Honey sipped and set it back down. "All right, now start talking."

That was all the urging Meg needed as she unburdened her soul to her friend. They'd shared so many years of broken dreams, it was time they shared some happy news. "I was going to let him go and start looking for someone else, now that I've realized what I have with Jimmy isn't worth keeping."

"But?" Honey B. prompted.

"Now I'm wondering if maybe I'm not the only one who has a past and maybe I should be reasonable and try it Dan's way for a little while."

"Is that what you want?"

"No," Meg admitted. "But it's what I'm willing to do as long as I get what I want in the end."

Honey B. smiled. "And what is that?"

Meg grinned. "Dan in my bed every night."

"Is that all you want from the man?"

Meg laughed, a deep sultry sound that surprised even her. "For starters. I'm hoping that we have a few more things in common other than we like classic cars and burn each other up in bed."

Honey B. took a long, slow sip. "I'm willing to bet that you do. Otherwise, your heart wouldn't have let you anywhere near that man last night."

"You think so?" Meg wasn't so sure but was hopeful.

"I do. Now, do you want to know how we're going to leak the information about my online dating?"

Meg glanced at her wristwatch and grinned. "I've got three minutes. Spill."

"I'm going to use the Apple Grove Diner as my meeting place and make sure that the McCormack sisters know why."

"But what good will that do?"

"My sister Cindy's in on my plans and has convinced me that I just might meet someone who is more suited to me than Mitch, and you know what a hotbed of gossip the diner is."

Meg digested that thought and waited for Honey B. to continue.

"Cindy's in the perfect spot to relay information as I feed it to her, and she's told me more than once that he has the ears of a cat, so I plan to give him something really interesting to hear."

"But you will be careful, won't you?"

Her friend sighed. "I'm not stupid."

"I never said you were. I just don't want you to get hurt or your heart to get broken."

"Like yours?"

Meg rubbed her hand over her heart. "Mine's not really broken... bruised, but on the mend."

"Can you stop by later?" Honey B. asked, getting up to clear the tiny table in the back of her shop.

"I've got a busy day but sure. What time did you have in mind?"

"Right around closing time, that way you can be in on the first call to Apple Grove's dispatcher."