TWENTY-FOUR.

Kate stood in the kitchen, looking out into the yard. She had been answering the most astonishing thing ... fan e-mail. Amazing how things could turn around so suddenly. They loved her. Thought she was funny as well as smart. Level-headed and pretty.

But most of all, they had said she was real. She had finally found her place, her right tone, by truly just being Kate. She smiled at the sappy thought. But she knew it was true.

She'd also read Chloe's and Julia's e-mails.

Were they right? Had she let herself fall in love again with Jesse because deep down she knew that he wouldn't stay? And now that he had returned, was her footing gone?

Was it easier to live in that place where she could simply believe that "forever" wasn't real rather than having to take a chance that Jesse would stay?

The sounds of hammering brought her out of her thoughts. She looked up into the old cottonwood and could just make out Jesse and Travis repairing the damage done by the storm. A lot of damage had been repaired between the two as well.

On the front page of this morning's edition of the El Paso Tribune there was a color photo of Jesse and Bobby Mac shaking hands, and another of Travis being held on the shoulders of a group of boys. Kate had never seen Jesse look so proud.

Last night, Jesse had contacted Travis's mother and asked if the boy could stay until school started to give them some time to figure out a path for the future.

Kate was thrilled for Travis, reveled in the joy that brightened the boy's eyes-the difference she saw in him with just the first taste of his father's love and pride.

The sun started to descend in the summer sky. Kate turned away and went to her bath and ran the water, pouring in her favorite bubbles. Securing her curls on top of her head, she slid into the water and sighed as the warmth seeped into her muscles and bones. She closed her eyes, emptying her mind, easing herself deeper.

The house was quiet, and she heard when the hammering stopped, when the back door slammed, and the sound of running water in the kitchen.

Then more silence. No sound-until the bathroom door clicked open.

When she glanced across the room, she found Jesse standing there. He was beautiful, as always-strong

and well-defined.

Her pulse sped up, and she had no idea what to expect.

She felt shy beneath the bubbles.

"Where's Travis?" she asked, her voice squeaking.

"I sent him over to Derek and Suzanne's."

"What for?"

"We need to talk."

He shut the door.

Her pulse leaped and she sank a little lower in the tub until the bubbles popped against her chin. "Jesse,

what are you doing?"

"Like I said, we need to talk."

"Here? With the door closed?"

He crossed the room and her mouth went dry. She couldn't think where to put her hands. Nervously,

she crossed them over her breasts, but he raised a brow. Awkwardly, she set them on the porcelain

sides, though that felt a little Queen of Sheba-ish. She let them flutter to the bottom, but that was too

casual for sitting naked only a couple of feet away from this man who was sensuality personified.

When she started to reposition once again, he grabbed her hand gently. "Kate, stop."

"Easy for you to say. You're dressed."

His lips hitched up at one corner, then he picked up her towel. "Get out."

"What?"

"Come on, get out of the tub."

"Will you ever stop being so bossy?"

He considered. "Probably not. So dry off and get dressed."

"I am not finished with my bath." She humphed for emphasis.

He gave a long-suffering sigh, then said, "Fine." Tossing the towel aside, he started to pull off his T-shirt.

"Now what are you doing?" she demanded.

"If you won't get out, then I'll just have to get in."

"Ack!" Without thinking, she splashed around and stood, bubbles covering her.

But they didn't cover enough.

His gaze darkened. "I'm thinking we should talk in the tub after all."

"Or not! Turn around."

She didn't think he would, but after a second, he retrieved the towel, handed it to her, then turned. The

minute she got it around her, he came back and started to dry her off.

She growled. "I can do it."

"Yeah, but that wouldn't be any fun."

The look on his face was so devilishly sweet and teasing that it was hard to hold on to indignation. That

always was the way between them, him always breaking through her carefully constructed determination.

All he had to do was flash that smile at her and she melted.

But not this time.

"I'm not interested in fun. I'm not speaking to you."

"Good. That'll make things easier."

Before she knew it, he had dried her. After one appreciative glance, he started dressing her in her shorts and T-shirt. Then he pulled her out of the bathroom, through the kitchen, and out the back door to the tree house. He gestured for her to go up first.

"I'm not-"

"You're not speaking to me, remember."

She shot him a scowl, but he merely pushed her up the rungs. At the top, she climbed through the narrow

opening into the tree house and sat down Indian style. Jesse was close behind her.

"You and Travis have gotten a good start on rebuilding the sides." She looked out through the partial walls at the trees of the lush river valley.

"We have a lot more to do before we're finished. But that's not why you and I are here."

Slowly, he took her hand and pressed it to the hard planes of his chest. A shiver ran through her as she

felt his pulse, steady and strong. She also felt the second the walls of her determination cracked.

"Do you feel that?" he asked with a quiet earnestness that had nothing to do with the media darling Jesse Chapman.

"Yes, I feel it. You know I do. But you can't keep making problems disappear by getting me to feel and

forget. Eventually, they all come back."

"Fair enough. But that wasn't what I was trying to do. I wanted you to feel my heart, Katie."

"So we're back to Katie?"

"We never left. Not really." He pulled her hand away, holding it in both of his, tracing the fine bones

that fanned out into fingers.

Grudgingly, because she was scared of what he made her feel, she relented. "That was a great thing you did for Travis."

"It was easy."

"No, it wasn't. At a time when you needed proof that you were still a contender in the golf world, you

gave him the spotlight. But you gave him more than that. You gave him something he'll always remember-proving that you deserve to be called a hero."

"But do I deserve you?"