The thought of an "outdoor weekend" with him in a couple of weeks made her skin crawl, but she'd survived worse. The boys would be there as a buffer. And thanks to Angel, she would be able to hold her own whether kayaking or hiking. As long as there wasn't another flash flood, she would be fine.

As soon as those thoughts formed, she pushed them away. Thinking about Angel was a mistake. She could get lost in the memories for hours at a time, and right now was her primary focus.

Cole looked at her, then back at Jack. "Okay, great. You've shown me you're all about equal opportunity and all that nonsense. Now can we lose the eye candy and get on with the presentation?"

The words were delivered so casually, at first Taryn was sure she'd misunderstood what he'd said. Kenny, Jack and Sam seemed equally stunned. But when Cole flicked his finger from her to the door, she knew she'd heard exactly what he'd said.

She started to stand. Before she could do much more than get the thought formed, Sam, Jack and Kenny rose as one. Each of them leaned toward Cole.

"You didn't just say that," Kenny told him.

Cole leaned back in his chair. "Come on, guys, seriously?"

Sam smiled. But it was the smile of a wolf about to take down a rabbit. "Over her, over any woman, anywhere." He looked at Kenny and Jack. "I know you had high hopes for this campaign, but we don't work with a.s.sholes."

"d.a.m.n straight," Jack said. "Cole, you're going to apologize to Taryn and then you're leaving."

Cole sat up straight. "What? Are you kidding me? Do you know what my account is worth? We had an afternoon planned. What about playing golf with Josh Golden and Raoul Moreno?"

"Not happening," Kenny told him. "Now apologize to the lady."

Cole bristled. "I was just calling a spade a spade. A woman dressed like that, who looks like that, what could she be here for?"

"She's here because she's smart and capable and because she wears the pants around here, figuratively speaking," Jack said without missing a beat.

Cole seemed to realize he was seriously outgunned. He swallowed, then turned to Taryn. "No offense, ma'am."

"Yeah, I don't think so," she told him. "You did mean to offend because you're a misogynistic jerk." She stood. "You have five seconds to leave this building or I turn them loose on you."

Cole blinked, then scrambled to his feet and literally ran from the room. A second or two later, they heard him yelling, "Where the h.e.l.l is the exit in this place?"

And then he was gone and she was alone with her boys.

"Well, that sucks," she said. "Do you know how much time and effort we put into that presentation? Face it, gentlemen. We're not meant to have retail clients. We'll make do with our niche markets. Frankly, I can't go through this again."

Sam walked over to her and kissed her lightly on the cheek. Then he put his arms around her and squeezed. She hung on until he released her. Kenny followed. He, too, kissed her, then hugged her. Jack was last. Only he didn't let her go.

"He was a jerk," Jack told her. "You okay?"

She stared into his brown eyes. "I will be."

Because the pain in her heart had nothing to do with the jerk who had just scurried out of the building and everything to do with the dark-haired man who had stolen her heart.

She leaned against Jack and thought for the millionth time how much easier everything would have been if she'd been able to fall in love with him. But no. Her heart was nothing if not difficult.

"Thank you," she said as she stepped back. "You were all great."

"Anytime," Kenny said.

TARYN GOT HOME, changed clothes and contemplated the long hours until she could realistically go to bed. The fact that she hadn't been sleeping didn't help things. She was exhausted and yet every time she closed her eyes, all she saw was Angel.

The killer of it was, she got why he'd freaked. He'd told her about what had happened with Marie and Marcus. She knew he blamed himself for their deaths. She knew his emotions ranged from feeling that he hadn't been able to protect them when he should have to the sense that loving anyone else was a betrayal of what he'd had before.

She wanted to tell him that she knew he would always love Marie. That loving Marie was part of what she loved most about him. That she respected his past and his devotion. But he wouldn't listen and if he did, he wouldn't believe her.

Someone knocked on her door. For a second she allowed herself to hope. It fluttered like a trapped b.u.t.terfly in her chest until she opened the door and saw Kenny standing on her porch. He had a stack of DVDs in his large hand.

"Hey," he said. "Am I the first one here?"

"First one?" She groaned, realizing she was about to have an invasion. "What's going on?"

"We played basketball this morning," he said. "Angel wasn't there. Jack asked why. Ford told him the two of you weren't seeing each other anymore." Kenny's blue eyes were sympathetic. "If you dump a guy, you're all about calling him sc.u.m. You haven't said a word."

"We broke up. It's no big deal."

Kenny stepped into the house and closed the door behind him. "No. He left you? Want me to kill him?"

Kenny was taller and had more muscle, but Angel knew things. "You've seen the scar on his neck," she said.

Kenny nodded.

"You don't want to be the other guy."

Kenny put down the DVDs, then rested his hands on her shoulders. "What do you need? Are you pregnant?"

She swore and drew back. "Don't you dare propose." That had already happened once in her life and she wasn't going to repeat it. "I'm not pregnant."

"Want some revenge s.e.x?"

She held in a sigh. While it was a nice suggestion, he didn't mean it. They were family. It would be like sleeping with his sister. "You're sweet to offer."

"We could do it. You're hot."

She raised her eyebrows.

He took a step back. "Okay, yeah. Not gonna happen." His face brightened. "You could sleep with Jack. You two had s.e.x before, right?"

"I don't need help getting laid, but thank you."

There was another knock on the door. She opened it to find Sam and Jack. Sam held bags of takeout and Jack had a couple of six-packs and a bottle of tequila.

Five minutes later they were all in her living room. Jack had put in the first DVD. It was all highlights from his career. Next would be Sam's DVD and then Kenny's.

The DVD began and an announcer's voice filled the room.

"The Stallions are down by three with the clock ticking. McGarry's playing with a bad shoulder, but everyone knows if the Stallions are going to make it out of the play-offs, it's up to him. We're watching the clock. There's the snap. McGarry steps back and finds..."

"Rib?" Jack asked, pa.s.sing her an open container.

She was about to refuse when she realized she was kind of hungry. She took one and a napkin.

Sam and Kenny had each taken one of the oversize club chairs, while Jack sat next to her on the sofa. She'd already had two shots of tequila, so it was just a matter of time until the ache inside faded just a little.

She'd specifically asked her female friends not to give her one of those "he's such a b.a.s.t.a.r.d, you need to feel better" parties. Looked as though she was going to have one anyway. In a kind of twisted way. With her family. Maybe that was the way it was supposed to be.

"THEY'RE SO PRETTY," Olivia said as she opened the box from Plants for the Planet.

Angel stood behind her and glanced down. Yup, there they were. Wreaths done in tiny pink flowers. With matching ribbons. Nine of them. The girls would be- "There's nine," he said. "Who gets the ninth one?"

Even as he asked the question, a voice in his head screeched the answer. He held up both hands. "No way."

Char grinned at him. "You have to. You're our Grove Keeper."

"It's not for him," Chloe said. "It's for Taryn."

"Where is Taryn?" Sarah asked.

Angel knew fighting about the wreath would be easier. "Taryn's, ah, not coming to the meeting."

Kate frowned. "But this is our last one. We have to be in the parade."

Layla shook her head. "She's not coming. I heard my mom talking on the phone. I wasn't supposed to be listening." She bit her lower lip. "Taryn and Angel are getting a divorce."

Eight pairs of eyes stared at him accusingly.

"We're not getting a divorce," Angel muttered. "We weren't married." That wasn't making it better, he thought grimly. "I mean we were going out and now we're not."

Regan's eyes filled with tears. "What happened?"

"Sometimes relationships don't work out." He felt small and c.r.a.ppy. Worse, he knew that Taryn would know what to say way better than him. "We're still friends," he added lamely, although that was a lie. They weren't friends. They weren't anything.

He waited for Chloe to yell at him, but she only turned away. He put his hand on her shoulder. "What is it?" he asked gently.

She looked at him. Her skin was pale and her freckles stood out. Gone was the happy, outgoing girl she'd become.

"We're getting our family beads today," Chloe reminded him. "After the parade. You can't be part of a family if you don't have Taryn."

There were a lot of different ways to answer, he thought. Telling her that his relationship with Taryn was a grown-up thing and she wouldn't understand. Explaining that he'd had a family once and lost it. That he hadn't been able to keep them safe.

As he stared at Chloe, he saw the flash flood again. Her fear and how she'd reached for him. He'd saved her. He would have died to save her-to save any of them.

He hadn't had the chance to try to save Marie and Marcus because he hadn't been there. He couldn't be there every second of every day. It was an impossible task. Even if he could make it happen, Marie wouldn't have wanted that for either of them. She had wanted to live her life and have him live his. They had stayed together out of love, but she wasn't looking for a bodyguard. She'd wanted a partner. He'd been that. He'd been a father and a husband.

"We miss Taryn," Olivia said.

"Me, too," he admitted.

There were no guarantees, he thought suddenly. No promises. There was only this moment and what he had accomplished so far in his life. If he were to die right now, he would regret not telling Taryn that she mattered to him. He would regret that he didn't admit what had been so obvious all along.

"We need to get to the parade," he told the girls. "Now."

He pa.s.sed out wreaths. When Chloe handed him the ninth one, he sighed once, then stuck it on his head.

They went to the start of the parade and got in their place. The music began. Angel walked with his girls but searched the crowds on the side. Whatever had happened, Taryn wouldn't miss this. He was sure of it. She would be here and he would get his chance to talk to her.

He wondered how much he'd hurt her. Why couldn't he have figured this out sooner? That she was so important to him. That somewhere, when he hadn't been paying attention, he'd fallen in love with her, too.

He heard a loud whistle and saw Ford and Isabel. Ford gave him a thumbs-up. "Looking good, big guy."

Angel smiled. He would get Ford back tomorrow-in the gym.

He saw a lot of people he knew. Parents of his Acorns, families from town. Montana with a couple of service dogs in training. The lady from- The back of his neck tingled. He swung around, searching. Taryn was here. He couldn't see her yet, but she was here. He studied the crowd lining both sides of the street, then spotted Kenny, Jack and Sam and knew he'd found her.

"Come on, girls," he said, breaking from the rest of the groves and heading to the sidewalk. All eight Acorns scampered along with him.

As he approached, the three large football players formed a protective flank. Angel knew that together, they could do a lot of damage, but he wasn't concerned. Taryn might have three football players watching her back, but he had eight Acorns and he would bet that heart beat brawn anytime.

He stopped in front of the guys. They all stood with their arms folded across their wide chests. Their expressions were menacing. At least until Chloe smiled and gave a little wave.

"Hi, Kenny."

The tallest of the three smiled back, tentatively. "Hey, munchkin."

Taryn pushed her way through the phalanx. "It's okay," she told the guys, then looked at him. "Angel."

He hadn't seen her in nearly two weeks. She was pale and there were dark circles under her eyes. She'd always been thin, but he would guess she'd lost weight she couldn't afford to lose. Her eyes were wary; her mouth trembled at the corner.

In that moment, he saw what he'd done to her and he was ashamed. Taryn had been nothing but an unexpected gift and he'd emotionally brought her to her knees. What had he been thinking?

"I'm sorry," he told her. "Taryn, I'm sorry. I was wrong. Incredibly wrong. When I lost Marie and Marcus, I kept telling myself that if I'd been there, I could have saved them. What I didn't realize was that while that was true, it wasn't real. I could never be there every second."

A muscle tightened in her cheek. Otherwise, there were no changes and he didn't know what she was thinking. Around them the parade went on. Music blared from speakers, and friends and family called out to their FWM girls as they walked by. Except in their little corner.

"I felt guilty and lost," Angel continued. "I loved them. They were my family and then they were gone. I didn't think I could go on. But I did. I made my way here and I started to heal."

He took a chance and reached for her hand. She let him, but he continued to wonder what was going on behind those blue-violet eyes of hers.

"Then I met you." He smiled. "You're amazing. Smart and determined. Strong as..." He stopped as he remembered the Acorns listening intently. "Really strong. I was intrigued and impressed. I thought we would be good together. But I never thought I'd fall in love again. You see, I learned the wrong lesson from loving Marie and Marcus. Instead of learning that love is a gift to be treasured for as long as we have it, I learned that I hadn't kept them safe. So I could never keep anyone safe."

He heard a sniffle from behind him. Before he could turn and figure out who was upset, Kenny pushed past him and dropped to his knees.

"Munchkin, what's wrong?"

"I'm okay," Chloe said, sniffing again. "Sometimes I miss my dad. But Angel's right. I loved him and he loved me and that's like a gift."