Suddenly, the emotions of graduation night mixed with the pain of losing Chase, and she knew she had to face Summer-Ann once and for all. Until she did, she'd always be that pathetic, naive girl sitting on her front porch waiting for a dream to come to her, rather than making the dream come true.

She pressed the gas pedal and the speedometer rose five miles over the speed limit. Now, she was taking control.

When she arrived at Chase's office, she didn't give herself time to reconsider. She stomped up the office steps and threw open the door.

Summer-Ann looked up, her eyes wide with surprise. She sat in much the same position she had the other time Abby had been there, her feet on the desk, the phone to her ear. But rather than greet her coldly, she masked her surprise behind an affable smile.

"Candy, I'll have to call you back." She hung up the phone and gave Abby an innocent look, her sweet smile still in place. "Abby, what brings you here?"

Abby mustered up all the ire roiling through her. "You lied."

Chase pulled Helen into the small dirt lot behind his office. He was surprised to see Summer's car still parked near the building. She usually made it a habit of closing down the office for at least an hour to meet Candy Moore for lunch. Actually, he'd been counting on that fact. He wanted to be alone for a few moments, somewhere that didn't remind him of Abby.

He considered leaving, but decided against it. He did have a few supply orders that he needed to go over with Summer. Then maybe he'd go to Birch Hill Pond and do a little fishing. Or maybe he'd go to the Parched Dolphin and get drunk.

Just as he reached the top step and had his hand on the doorknob, a raised familiar voice stopped him.

"You lied." It was Abby, and even from the brief sentence, he could tell she was furious.

"What?" Summer-Ann asked, her voice puzzled.

"Don't play innocent with me. Not this time. You know exactly what you did."

"Abby, I don't know what you're talking about."

Abby laughed, the sound brittle and humorless. "Why are you still pleading ignorance? You know what you did. You planned it all out. And the plan was perfect, wasn't it? You knew I wouldn't risk hurting Willy."

Chase frowned. What had Summer done?

There was momentary silence, then Summer-Ann snickered, all innocence gone. "You were pretty predictable."

"Yes, I was," Abby said with a measure of self-derision. "And given your past trick, I should have known I couldn't trust you."

Summer snorted. "Oh please, don't tell me you're still whining about something that happened nearly fifteen years ago. I think it's time you grow up and move on." "Me! I'm not the one who has to resort to lies to get a man. It's time for you to move on. Chase doesn't want you."

"He does!"

"You told me that Willy was Chase's son. You guilted me into believing that I was hindering your little boy's chance of finding happiness."

"You are," Summer shouted. "If you weren't around, Chase would be with me. And Willy would have the father he's always wanted. I didn't lie about that."

"The worst part of this whole deceit is you convinced me to hurt a man who I knew was innocent, who I knew would never reject his own child. But I was stupid and gullible and I believed you over what I know about him. I can't blame him for never forgiving me. He shouldn't. But I just want you to know that I'm not going to sit back and let him believe it was solely my idea."

"What are you going to do?" Summer sounded agitated.

"I'm going to tell him the truth. And somehow I don't think you're going to get the perfect family you were planning on. At least not with him."

Again, there was silence.

Chase started to turn the doorknob, but before he could get the door open, he heard an enraged screech and a loud crash. His heart pounding, he shoved the door open, terrified at what he would find.

The two women stood on either side of the desk.

Summer-Ann's face was scarlet with anger. A stapler was clutched in her fist, poised to be thrown.

Abby held her ground, although her eyes were large with alarm. The telephone and one of Chase's framed awards lay on the floor near the wall behind her. Broken glass and the frayed phone cord were proof of Summer's wrath.

"Summer, put down the stapler," Chase ordered. Under different circumstances, the order would have been rather funny.

"Chase," Summer said, with relief. "Thank God you're here. This crazy woman came in here making all kinds of threats. Saying that I told her crazy things about you and Willy. She's nuts." She dropped the stapler and started around the desk to him.

Chase shook his head. "Summer, I heard the whole thing."

Summer's eyes widened, then narrowed again with anger. "She's lying."

"Summer," he said again slowly. "I heardeverything. "

"I did it for you. For us." She came to him, clasping his arm. "You know we're meant to be together."

He shook his head again. "Summer, go home."

"But Chase-"

"Summer, go home," he said more firmly. "I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"But it's only noon," she said inanely.

Chase cast a pointed look at the telephone lying amid the shards of glass. "I don't think there will be many calls this afternoon."

"Chase-"

"Go home. I will talk with you tomorrow."

Summer-Ann hesitated, then nodded. She walked shakily back to the desk and retrieved her purse.

With one final glare at Abby, she left.

Chase turned to Abby, who stood with her arms wrapped securely around herself. Her face was so pasty white that Chase feared she was going to pass out.

He put an arm around her back, steadying her as he led her to the sofa. She crumpled onto the cushion, staring straight ahead, dazed.

"Are you okay?" he asked, sitting beside her.

She nodded.

"The phone didn't hit you, did it?"

She shook her head.

"Are you going to talk to me?" he asked, his lips quirking slightly.

She turned to him, blinking. Then suddenly her dark eyes welled with tears, and she began to weep.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

Chase didn't hesitate. He pulled her against him and hugged her, desperate to touch her.

She sobbed harder, shudders quaking her body.

"Don't cry, baby. Shh, it's all right," he soothed, brushing her hair from her face, pressing comforting kisses to her damp cheek.

"Why-why are you being so kind?" she stammered. "It was unforgivable-what I said last night."

He held her tighter, rocking her like a distraught child. "Summer-Ann can be quite persuasive. She had me convinced of the same thing at one time."

Abby gaped up at him, tears still brimming in her eyes, making them gleam like smoky quartz. "She did?"

Chase nodded and relaxed his hold, although he couldn't quite bring himself to stop holding her completely. He rubbed her back. "When we broke up, it was Summer-Ann who ended things," he started carefully, needing Abby to understand the whole truth.

"Why?" Abby asked. The indignation in her voice caused him to smile.

He shrugged. "I was still wild, working part-time on a construction crew in Bar Harbor, going nowhere. Summer-Ann wanted more. She started seeing a guy from Massachusetts. He was a rich college kid spending the summer at his folks' place outside of Bar Harbor. They were pretty hot and heavy, I guess. I know she really thought they were serious. So when his break was over and he headed back to his Ivy League school, she truly believed he'd call and ask her to join him."

"But he didn't," Abby said, sympathy creasing her brow.

Chase brushed a strand of hair from her cheek, overwhelmed with tenderness and amazed she could still find compassion for someone who had just hurt her.

"After the guy left," he continued, "we started seeing each other again, every now and then. I think we both knew our relationship was over, but sometimes it's just easier to fall back on the familiar. So when she told me she was pregnant, I didn't question that I was the father. She said she was about two months along, which made the timing right. I never considered that Summer would lie about something like that."

"But she did," Abby said with sad certainty.

Chase nodded. "But to be fair to her, she did it out of fear. She didn't have anywhere else to turn."

"And she knew you'd never turn your back on your child," she murmured, guilt lacing every word and darkening her eyes.

Chase kneaded the tense muscles of her back. "Then at Thanksgiving time who should reappear but Mr. Ivy League. He showed up, seeming to be interested in picking up where they'd left off."

"And she chose him over you," she said, again indignation heavy in her voice.

Chase nodded, a broad smile curving his lips. God, he loved this woman.

She frowned, not understanding his reaction. "But you had to be devastated, thinking she was going to take your baby away from you." Chase smile faded. "It was Thanksgiving Day, when she finally told me the truth. That she was nearly five months along and the other guy was the father."

"You must have been so upset," she said, touching her fingertips to his cheek.

He captured her fingers, pressing them firmer against him. "I was so angry and so hurt. I thought I was going to be a daddy, that I was going to get the chance to be the type of father that mine wasn't. And with her admission she took that all away."

"How did you ever forgive her?" she asked softly.

Chase shrugged. "She more than paid for her lies. As you've probably guessed, Mr. Ivy League hit the road again as soon as Summer told him that he was soon going to be a father. As far as I know, he has never even seen Willy. His family paid for Summer's hospital bills and gave her a little more to help raise Willy the first year. But I don't think she's ever received any more help."

"That's not true," Abby said adamantly. "She's gotten help from you, hasn't she?"

Chase didn't answer, instead catching a piece of her hair and concentrating on its silky texture.

"You gave her this job despite the pain she caused you. And you watch Willy for her. And I bet you do a lot of other things to make sure Willy is okay," Abby said. He didn't openly agree, instead looking away from her. "In a strange way, Summer-Ann helped me too.

She made me take a look at myself and realize I didn't want to be a thug my whole life."

Abby shook her head. "You would have realized that anyway."

"You have an awful lot of faith in me."

"The past two days to the contrary. I'm so sorry."

"Like I said, Summer can be persuasive."

"Is she going to persuade you to forgive her again?"

Chase snorted with a bit of self-mocking. "Yeah, probably."

"You're too good," Abby said, although she didn't seem surprised by his answer.

"You really think so?"

Abby nodded. "Definitely."

"Good enough to have a relationship with? Not just a fling?"

Chapter 23.

Abby blinked up at Chase, unable to answer, barely able to think. "What-what do you mean?"

He moved a hand to hold the back of her neck. She fought the urge to nuzzle against his palm like a greedy cat.

"Baby, I'm crazy about you."

She blinked again. "You are?"

"You can't tell?" he said, his thumb rasping the fragile skin on the side of her neck.