She turned to go and he reached for her, keeping her close for just a few minutes more. When he couldn't say all of the things that were in his heart, he warned, "Be careful."

She nodded and walked away.

"Well, what did he have to say for himself?" Meg demanded when her friend came back inside.

She shrugged and reached for the steaming mug of coffee Meg was holding out to her. "He thanked me and told me to be careful."

Meg shook her head. "He's afraid of you, but he's willing to let you go-for now."

"What makes you say that?"

"How long have you been tossing your feminine wiles in that man's face?" Meg figured it had been close to fifteen years but waited to hear what Honey B. would say.

"Ten years, tops."

Meg laughed. "Liar. You've been stuck on him since you called for help the night we were up on the water tower."

Honey B.'s eyes narrowed. "If I hadn't, you would have lost your grip, fallen on your head, and broken it."

Meg agreed but was smiling as she took another drink of coffee. "Tell me again how his jaw clenched and his eyes got that determined look in them as he got out of his truck and ran past you and started climbing?"

Her friend's eyes got a faraway look in them and Meg knew she was reliving their shared nightmare.

"I got out of his way but followed him over to the tower," she whispered. "He kept mumbling something under his breath, but I couldn't quite hear what he was saying."

"Probably because I'd started yelling for help by then." Meg snickered.

"He almost looked like he dreaded the task," Honey B. said, "but then started climbing and then next thing I knew he had a hold of you and had swung you onto his back and was climbing back down."

"I don't remember much past him telling me I was safe and to take his hand," Meg said quietly. She didn't like to think about that night, partly because she'd been fourteen years old and embarrassed that she'd gotten dizzy when she looked down and scared the crap out of herself when she almost fell. It was the third and last time the sheriff had had to rescue her.

"Well, it all turned out OK," Honey B. said. "Although I can't help but think that if he had dropped you on your hard head, it might have been a good thing-maybe you wouldn't have spent so much time working yourself to the bone trying to forget about Jimmy, all the while waiting for him to show up and have a change of heart about this town."

"That wasn't why I spent all that time working and you know it." Meg didn't want to get angry with her friend, so she buried the resentment deep. She didn't want to talk about losing her mother or the years that just piled one right on top of the other as she eased her grief by keeping her hands busy and her neighbors homes in good working order.

To distract her friend, she asked, "So what's the plan for today?"

Honey B. sipped and then said, "I'm going to color my hair."

Meg snorted the sip of coffee she'd intended to swallow. She took the napkin her friend offered and blew her nose. "That hurt." She wiped her eyes and blew her nose a second time.

"If you weren't so busy laughing at me, you wouldn't have snorted that hot coffee." Their gazes met and Honey's lips twitched up into a smile. "Besides, what's so funny about me coloring my hair?"

"Nothing. I know it's how you advertise... well, at least that's what you say is the reason you do it so often."

"Why else would I?"

Meg paused and set her cup down. "To catch a certain sheriff's eye when you're out in front of your shop sweeping the sidewalk."

"Hmmpf. A lot you know." But her friend was already moving on to the next thought. "Maybe I should go back to my real color."

Meg laughed out loud. "I can't remember that far back."

"Honey blonde."

"Really?" Meg didn't remember.

Honey B. nodded. "It's been years. Hey, don't you have to get to the shop?"

"Yeah."

"Be careful today, Meg."

"Because?"

"We spent the night drinking and watching old movies instead of sleeping. You work with dangerous tools-"

"And you work with dangerous chemicals, so be careful yourself."

"I will if you will," Honey B. challenged.

They agreed and started cleaning up the living room. When they made their way to the kitchen, Meg said, "I just had an idea."

Honey put the last mug in the dishwasher and decided it was full enough to run it. "About Dan?"

Meg shook her head. "No, about your date tonight."

"Are you going to make me pry it from you or are you going to tell me?"

Meg laughed. She really enjoyed her friend's sense of humor-maybe because it was just a bit snarky and a lot like her own. "Instead of just showing up, I think I should go too."

Honey B. put her hands on her hips and glared. "I'm not planning on sharing-"

Meg held up both hands as if to keep her friend from jumping to the wrong conclusion. "Just hear me out. You don't know any of these guys, right?"

"Right."

"And you've only dated men from Apple Grove, from families you've known all of your life right?"

"So."

"So I'd feel better if I went too-separately and got another table on the other side of the restaurant. I could get there first and-"

"You'd go to Newark and go out to dinner all by yourself?"

"No," Meg said quietly. "I'd probably bring someone."

Honey B. crossed her arms beneath her breasts. "Who did you have in mind?"

"I'm not sure. If I can't get who I have in mind, I'll probably drag one of my sisters. Is that OK with you?"

Honey B. finally relaxed and nodded. "You're not trying to horn in on my date, then?"

Meg reached out and smacked her friend in the back of the head. "No, you idiot, I care about what happens to you. These guys are the unknown-"

"A lot like Dan is?"

Meg's stomach clenched and started a slow burn, but she hid the hurt because she knew her friend was just looking out for her welfare as much as she was looking out for Honey B.'s. She dug deep for the words to explain how she felt. "I know you're not going to believe me, but from the moment I looked up into his eyes, something happened inside of me."

Her friend waited for her to continue.

Meg stroked a hand across her stomach. "It wasn't an ache exactly, but it was a really odd feeling, kind of like butterflies. The width of his shoulders distracted me, but it was the sound of his voice reverberating inside his chest that totally had me going."

"In other words, you lusted after him and went for it."

That wasn't entirely true. "No," she insisted. "That's not all it was. I could tell that he was interested, but then he made a comment about me being in one of his classes and I knew he thought I was just a kid. When I set him straight he was still hesitant, despite the fireworks going off inside of the both of us-and then he kissed me. Well, it wasn't a real kiss-more like he brushed his lips across mine."

"Lust," her friend said again.

"No," Meg insisted. "But I did show him what a real kiss was."

"And then?"

"Then he took me home, and I showed him my great-grandfather's truck."

"The Model A in your barn?"

"Yep."

Honey B.'s expression changed. "Then what?"

"My dad came home and they talked cars."

"Does he like baseball?"

Meg laughed. "So you do understand?"

"Yeah," Honey B. told her. "I do, but I still think things got going too quickly between you two."

"That's only because you and the sheriff are moving slower than a snail's pace."

"So we agree to disagree?"

"Only on how quickly to move when you know in your heart that this is the one," Meg said quietly.

"You're still dead set on going with me?"

"No," Meg corrected her friend. "I'm going to the same restaurant as you, that's all. I'll be there if you need me."

"What if I decide that he's the one and want more?"

"Then I'll hang around in the area. You have my cell; make sure you have yours."

Honey B. laughed. "Yes, mom."

Meg's smile was bittersweet. "I've got to go if I'm going to get through my day in time to get cleaned up. I still have to find someone to go with me."

"Are you going to ask Dan?"

"Maybe." Meg wondered what his reaction would be. "I'm not sure he'd go with me."

"He might need a little push."

"I won't be going alone," she reassured her friend. "Just in case your dream man turns out to be a creep-or worse, a psycho."

"I'm so glad you have such a positive vibe about my first date."

Meg laughed, hugged her friend good-bye, and was out the door.

She'd started her day in a far better frame of mind than she would have if she'd spent the night alone and brooding over the way Dan stepped back from her. She was worth fighting for and she thought he was too... Time would tell. She had a full day ahead of her and questions she'd been avoiding from her sisters. Maybe she should try to get in touch with Dan before she got to the shop.

Before she could talk herself out of it, she dialed his number.

Chapter 9.

Dan felt sluggish and still couldn't believe he'd fallen asleep in front of the TV. His neck had a crick in it, but given the way he'd been hunched over in the wooden chair with his feet up on a second one, it was a wonder he could move at all. He made a mental note to start looking for a recliner or a sofa; that way, if he was going to spend the night in front of the TV, he'd at least get a good night's sleep.

His phone vibrated on the counter. Draining the rest of his first cup of coffee, he walked over and picked it up. Surprised-no, relieved-to see the number, he answered. "Megan, hi."

"I was wondering if I could ask a favor." She sounded hesitant, as if she expected him to refuse.

Well, probably because of the way he'd taken a giant step back from what they'd started. He was an idiot. Adrenaline or not, too many months without a woman or not, Megan Mulcahy was special-she might even be the one. Too bad if he wasn't ready to find her, but still, he couldn't just let her walk away.

"Absolutely. What's up?"

"I need you to help me help a friend."

"Sounds complicated."