Abby materialized in his mind, how she'd looked the day he'd taught her to swim. She had paddled back and forth in front of him, her head high out of the water, water splashing everywhere as she pumped her arms and kicked her feet. She'd looked so silly and so beautiful.

She'd told him a secret that she was ashamed of, that she couldn't swim. She'd trusted him not to laugh or feel bad for her. And then she had trusted him to teach her how.

Another image of her standing outside the Parched Dolphin, tears dried on her cheeks, her spine ramrod straight, admitting how much the jeers of her past still hurt. Again, she trusted him with the truth.

Suddenly, he realized that he hadn't trusted Abby at all. He hadn't even given her a chance.

He sat up.

He did owe her that chance. And he owed himself a chance too. Hewas wallowing in self-pity.

"What do you think, Chester? Wanna go find Abby?"

The dog was on his feet and halfway up the path to the cabin, before Chase could gather the beer cans and the fishing rod. It seemed Chester was a tad smarter than his owner.

Chase went directly to his house. It was almost seven, and he figured that Abby would be home from work by now. But her car wasn't in the driveway. Neither was Elbe's. He wandered into his house, tossed down a pile of mail and checked his messages. Five messages were from Abby, but they were all from almost a week ago. She sounded increasingly upset with each message. Chase punched theend messages button halfway through the fifth one. He was a shit Going to the window in the living room, he looked at her house. Still no one home.

Maybe she had to work late. He paced a bit and decided he couldn't wait around. He'd go check the lab.

He noted every car he passed to make sure it wasn't Abby heading in the opposite direction.

When he pulled into the lab parking lot, he didn't see her car, but he figured he'd go inside and see if any of her co-workers knew where she might be.

As he stepped into the entrance hall, a woman seated in a tiny, square office, only her head visible through a small window, greeted him.

"May I help you?"

"Yes, I'm looking for Dr. Abby Stepp."

"Oh, I'm so sorry," she said, with a wide smile that belied her words. "Dr. Stepp has gone back to Boston."

Chase stood there for a second. "She has?"

The woman nodded, again her smile incongruent with his perplexed reaction.

"When did she leave?"

"I'm not sure. Yesterday or the day before."

"Okay. Um, thanks." He headed back out the door, although he wasn't paying any attention to where he

was going. He was too confused as to why he had just thanked the woman for giving him the worst news of his life.

During the next week, Chase kept as busy as possible with work, which wasn't too hard given how behind he was from his vacation/pity party. At night, he often went over to Mason's to have a few drinks and, mainly, to avoid his house. It was too hard to be there. To keep looking across the street in hopes that he'd see Abby's car.

Tonight, he'd arrived at Mason's as usual and his friend already sat on the porch, two beers waiting.

"You aren't getting sick of me showing up here?" Chase asked as he walked up the steps.

"Nah. Saves me from drinking alone."

Chase smiled, but he suspected Mason was telling the truth. His friend was as depressed as Chase.

Love really did stink.

"I got a call from Mandy Blanchard today. I haven't replied to the reunion invitation, and it is this

Saturday, you know. She mentioned you haven't responded either."

Chase shook his head. "She's relentless."

"Yep. You going?"

"No."

"If I have to go, you have to go."

Chase frowned. "Why do you have to go?"

"I'm mayor," Mason stated.

"That isn't mentioned in the job requirements, is it?"

"No, but I think it's kind of assumed. You'll go?"

Chase twisted the top of one of the beers, took a drink, then nodded. "Yeah, I guess I have to deal with

everyone sooner or later."

"He's still not home?" Abby said as she entered the kitchen, carrying one of the many boxes stuffed into

her car. Ellie rushed forward to help her. "I didn't even hear you pull in. Yes, he's been home, but I haven't seen him around. I only hear Helen. He gets home late at night and leaves early in the morning."

"Well, at least he's okay," Abby said as they placed the box on the floor.

Ellie gave her a dubious look. "I guess if working yourself to death is 'okay. '"

Abby shrugged. "Better than the other scenarios I've had in my head." She didn't think Chase would do

anything stupid, but she was still concerned. His ego was pretty battered.

She went out to get more of her stuff.

Chase's house looked lonely, the yard empty, the house still.

With the help of Ellie, they had her car empty and the kitchen full within a half an hour.

"Your apartment wasn't that big," Ellie said, shaking her head at the towering pile of stuff in the corner.

"I know, and this is with all the furniture in storage. I guess I'm a packrat."

"Oh," Ellie said suddenly and went to the counter, rummaging through a pile of mail. "Here."

She handed Abby a piece of cardstock, a bit larger than a postcard. It was addressed to Abigail Stepp,

and the other side was decorated with a border of graduation caps, diplomas, ribbons and confetti.

It was her invitation to the class reunion.

"This is tonight?" she said alter reading the date and time. "At seven o'clock."

"Yes. But you have almost two hours. You can still go."

Abby shook her head. "No, I'm going to stay here and get all this junk put away."

"You have to go. What if Chase is there?"

Abby thought for a minute. She planned to find Chase and make him talk to her, but the reunion wasn't

the place. "I don't think so. He didn't seem all that interested, and alter what Summer-Ann did, I don't think he will go."

"You're probably right."

"So, want to help me with this stuff?"

Ellie eyed the pile reluctantly. "If you buy me dinner afterward."

"Deal."

Abby was surprised how quickly the two of them got the huge mountain of things put away. At 6: 30, the kitchen was nearly empty.

"So where should we go for dinner?" Abby asked, collapsing into a chair with a weary sigh.

Ellie was considering the question, and Abby suspected she was trying to think of the most expensive

place around, when there was knock at the door.

Ellie answered it, then just stood there looking at the person on the back stoop.

"May I please speak with Abby?"

Abby recognized the voice immediately. Ellie looked at her, and she nodded.

Her sister stood aside, and Summer-Ann stepped into the kitchen. She was wearing a long, emerald

green gown that clung to her lovely figure. But her features were drawn and her eyes looked puffy. "Will you please accept my apology?" she blurted out. "And will you please come to the reunion with me?"

Abby sat there for a moment, completely surprised. "Why would I do either?"

Summer-Ann came toward her, but stopped at the other side of the table. "You shouldn't, I guess," she

said sincerely. "But please consider it. I was so wrong to hurt you and Chase that way. I was wrong for a lot of things."

"And what brought on this change of heart?"

Summer-Ann looked down at the floor, and when she raised her head, her green eyes were wet with tears.

Not the pretty tears Abby had seen before, but real tears that streaked her makeup and made her eyes look swollen and bloodshot. Despite the gorgeous dress, Summer-Ann actually looked plain.

"To be honest, " she said, her voice quavering, "at first, I didn't realize the horrible thing I'd done. Well, I did, but I still thought I did it for the right reasons. Then alter you left the party at the Leavitts', I looked around at the other people there. All I saw was anger and scorn and pity. But even then, I didn't think I'd done anything wrong. I thought they would eventually see that I just did what I had to. That once Chase forgave me, and we were together, they would see that I was in the right."

"And has Chase forgiven you?" Abby asked curiously.