ONE CHANGE OF clothes, a quick hair blow-dry, a brandy and a bowl of soup later, Taryn was feeling more like herself. They sat on her sofa, watching HGTV. It was the most normal channel she could think of. It was after midnight, but she wasn't the least bit sleepy. She was still too wired.

Angel sat next to her, his arm around her, her head on his shoulder. She'd stopped shaking and was starting to feel as though the shock was wearing off.

"Better?" he asked.

"Yeah. I don't know how you did your military stuff. Going through this much stress, day after day."

"You get used to it."

She raised her head and looked at him. "Seriously?"

His gray eyes crinkled slightly as he smiled. "No. You never get used to it. You just get better at faking it."

"At least I didn't throw up."

He chuckled. "I've always admired your standards."

She laughed, then the humor faded. "I've never been so scared."

He took her hand in his. "You were brave and you kept yourself in the game."

"Now you sound like the boys."

"I'm serious. You could have freaked out and you didn't." His gaze locked with hers. "To be honest, I didn't think you'd let go of the tree."

She knew what he meant. "You didn't think I'd trust you enough."

"That, too."

Funny how in that moment she hadn't thought about her father. She'd understood what was happening and had known she had one chance at escape. So she'd jumped and Angel had caught her.

She knew he would have done the same for everyone, but she liked to think he'd been a little extra worried about her. She snuggled close again. "I want to call Bailey and Regan's parents in a bit. Check on the girls."

"Good idea. I can't believe they went down the trail instead of staying in the parking lot."

"I know. Regan wanted her bracelet." She touched her chest. "Just thinking about what happened terrifies me."

"They could have been killed," he said flatly.

She felt the tension in his body and had a feeling he was thinking they all could have been killed.

"You're not going to yell at me for going after them, are you?" she asked.

He kissed her. "No. You did the right thing."

"We are so going to have a talk about following instructions and being sensible at the next grove meeting."

"No kidding. We're also going to talk about how to handle an emergency." He squeezed her shoulders.

"I have to say, this doesn't make me want to go camping with the guy. I hope he wasn't expecting to use that campsite."

Angel chuckled. "You won't be going there. It's going to take a long time to get the campground usable again. Even after the water is gone, it's going to be a mess. Plus, once an area is known for having a flash flood, people are less inclined to want to spend the night."

"I'm sure Fool's Gold has other camp areas."

"You don't sound thrilled by that fact," he teased.

"Yeah, tell me about it."

"The groves will want to camp again next year."

"Goody," she murmured.

G.o.d knows there was plenty of wilderness all around the town. Not that it would matter to her, she thought. She'd helped Angel out with the grove because he was helping her learn to be outdoorsy for a client. Next year she wouldn't have that.

The realization was unsettling. She liked hanging out with the girls. The meetings were always fun and she enjoyed the various projects. She liked the idea of the grove being together for more than a couple of months. They could come up with a really cool community service project. Not that socializing the puppies wasn't fun-but next time they could find something that was more involved with life in the town.

Only there wasn't going to be a next year for her. Not with Angel and his grove. Because there wasn't going to be a next year for the two of them.

They had both been very clear about their relationship, she thought. Neither of them was looking for more than a temporary involvement. He'd been challenged and she'd been intrigued. They weren't young and foolish-they weren't looking to fall in love.

Except she had. Sometime when she hadn't been paying attention, she'd handed over her heart. Maybe that's why it had been so easy to trust him to catch her earlier today. She'd had nothing to lose.

"You okay?" he asked.

She nodded, then drew back enough to see his expression. "I love you. I'm not saying that because of the flood. I realized the truth before you played hero." She gave him a smile. "This wasn't part of the rules or what was supposed to happen, but it did. I love you, Angel. I wanted you to know."

She watched him closely, not sure what she would see on his face. She hoped he realized how significant this was for her. She'd never been in love before-had certainly never said the words. She didn't expect him to say it back to her in the moment, but maybe he could hint.

Only Angel didn't look happy at the news. For a second something dark and uncomfortable flashed in his eyes, and then his face went completely blank. It was like staring into a statue.

He shook his head finally. "No," he said. That was it. Just no.

Her body went cold-only this was so much worse than before. It came from the inside, not the outside, and she knew that she would never feel warm again. She willed herself not to react to his rejection, not to say anything. She wouldn't beg.

Not when he got up and not when he walked out of her house without saying another word.

She sat on the sofa, HGTV playing in the background. For the second time in less than a couple of hours, Taryn gave in to tears.

CHAPTER NINETEEN.

TARYN WALKED OUT of the Fool's Gold branch of the California Department of Motor Vehicles office and had to admit, there were advantages to living in a small town. She had a temporary license to put in her new wallet until her permanent one was mailed. After she'd dealt with her credit card companies the day before, the DMV office had practically been easy. Except for her favorite Mally lip gloss and her h.e.l.lo Kitty mirror compact-okay, and her heart-she'd replaced everything she'd lost in the flash flood.

It had been two days. Two days of having people ask if she was doing okay and praising her for her bravery. She'd tried pointing out she hadn't been brave, but no one wanted to hear that, so she'd stopped trying to explain. On the bright side, recent events meant no one was surprised if she was a little quiet or seemed upset. They a.s.sumed she was still dealing with the whole flood thing. Which meant she hadn't yet had to explain about Angel.

She hadn't seen him since he'd walked out. Hadn't heard a word. Not that she'd expected to, but it seemed that her heart was foolish and hopeful. Something of a surprise, she thought as she headed to Jo's Bar, where she was meeting her friends for lunch.

She smiled at people who greeted her on the street, then walked into Jo's and saw Dellina, Consuelo and Isabel already waiting. Noelle came in right behind her.

"How are you doing?" Noelle asked as they moved toward the table. "I can't believe what you went through. It must have been terrifying."

Her three friends rose and hugged her.

"Are you okay?" they asked together.

Taryn smiled at her friends. "I'm fine. We all made it out okay. I don't want to repeat the experience, but the Acorns I've talked to are all taking it well."

They sat down.

"Larissa can't make it to lunch," Taryn told them. "Jack sent her to a seminar on sports injuries. She's not a physical therapist, but she keeps up on the latest information in the field." She grinned.

Jo came and took their drink orders, explained the specials, then went back to the bar.

Isabel nudged Consuelo. "You're glowing. You know that, right?"

Taryn looked at the pet.i.te brunette. Consuelo seemed happy and tanned. Taryn had a feeling there was more going on here than a simple two-week vacation in a tropical paradise.

"Kent and I had a really good time on our honeymoon," she said with a shy smile. "We really talked about our lives and what we want."

"A baby?" Noelle asked, her eyebrows raised.

"We talked about it but we decided we're going to adopt instead. We're interested in older children. Siblings who don't want to be split up."

Taryn blinked. "That's a lot to take on."

"I know." Consuelo grinned. "I think we can handle it. We've talked to Reese about it and he's excited."

"Big news," Isabel said. "Congratulations."

"Thanks." Consuelo looked at Taryn. "I heard you had a party while I was gone. The clothing exchange."

"We did." Taryn turned to Dellina and Isabel. "You two did a great job with it."

"Thanks," Dellina said. "It was a lot of fun. I think we should make it a semiannual event. People were really generous with the donations. We ended up with nearly a thousand dollars for the women's shelter."

Taryn was surprised. "That's great."

"It is," Noelle said. "I love what I took home. I think we could do a fall and spring party. You know-get ready for the season. I have a winter coat from last year that's still in great shape, but there's no way I want to wear it for another winter."

Isabel nodded. "One of the things I'm going to love about working on the boutique side rather than with the wedding dresses is being able to dress differently. For the designer clothes, I get to be trendy. On the bridal side, it's all about blending into the background."

Dellina grinned. "Tired of wearing your little black dress every day."

"Yeah. It's not like I got to wear something cute, either. Never outshine the bride. I dressed like I was constantly going to a funeral."

"Dress for comfort," Consuelo told her.

"Not everyone can get away with cargo pants and a tank top as work attire."

Taryn listened to their conversation. This was nice, she thought. Relaxing and a distraction from the hole in her heart. She could go entire minutes without thinking about Angel, which was a welcome break.

"I'm going to check with the shelter," Noelle was saying. "I want to find out about volunteer opportunities."

"That's a good-" Dellina stopped in midsentence and turned to Taryn. "What? What is it?"

Taryn stared at her. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Dellina shook her head. "No, it's something. Something big. What happened?" She touched Taryn's arm. "I have sisters and I know when a woman is holding back significant information." She bit her lower lip. "It's bad, isn't it? I can see it in your eyes."

Taryn wasn't sure which was more disconcerting. That she might be losing her steely exterior or that Dellina might be psychic.

Isabel stared at Taryn. "You're right." Her face softened as concern filled her eyes. "Tell us. Are you okay? Are you feeling sick or something?"

Noelle wrinkled her nose. "I'm so not in tune with what's going on," she said with a grumble. "Now you have to say or I'm going to feel like an idiot."

"Me, too," Consuelo grumbled.

Taryn thought about trying to lie her way out of the situation but wasn't sure she was capable. Not when she felt like emotional roadkill.

She cleared her throat. "It's Angel," she said quietly. "We, um, broke up."

"Why?"

"No way. You were great together."

Dellina continued to study her. "He hurt you."

Taryn shrugged. "I broke the rules. We were both clear. It was an affair, not a relationship. That's what we both wanted. Only I fell in love with him and when I told him..."

Tears filled her eyes, and her throat got tight. She had to breathe for a second before she could continue. "He left," she finished. "It's been a couple of days. I haven't seen him since."

All four of them reached for Taryn and hung on.

"Are you sleeping at all?" Noelle asked. "Can you eat? You have to keep up your strength or you'll get sick."

Isabel patted her hand sympathetically. "Want me to ask Ford to beat him up?"

Consuelo snorted. "He couldn't take Angel on his own. They know each other's fighting style too well. But Ford and me working together could smack him down." She looked at Taryn. "Want me to take care of that? I will."

Taryn brushed away a tear and tried to smile. "As strange as this is going to sound, that's about the nicest offer anyone has made to me. Thank you. I appreciate it. You're all so great."