“Lovely. I’m a little slow sometimes. I knew Sully and Aunt Helen were friends. I think they’re much more. They were FaceTiming on their phones today—Sully has himself an iPhone just so he can keep up with Helen. More than friends, I guess. How much more, I don’t even want to ponder.”

Rob just smiled. “That’s very sweet. I take it Sully’s been alone a long time. And Helen?”

“I guess she was in love a couple of times, but I barely noticed and she never talked about it. Helen has always been so independent. And such a strong feminist.”

“Can I get you something?” he asked.

“Well,” she said, looking around. The crowd was thinning. “I’ll take an ice water.”

He brought it to her. “I have an idea I want to run by you. Sunday after next, let’s go to dinner at this great little hole in the wall Portuguese restaurant in Denver. I know the chef there. He’s amazing.”

“It must be amazing if you’re willing to drive all the way to Denver for dinner,” she said. “I’ll go anywhere you want to go.”

“I like those long drives with you, even though traffic can be torture. We could stay overnight. I thought I’d ask Sid and Cody to stay at the house with the boys. The boys probably don’t really need a babysitter, but if I’m going to be that far away, I’d like a responsible adult nearby.”

“Stay overnight?” she said, swallowing.

“Cody told me about this great mountain resort not far south of Denver. I thought we could try it. I know you have an early start—we can check out early and get home early.”

“Or I could ask Bill Dodd to cover for me,” she said. “Then we don’t have to get back too early. We could at least have breakfast. If you’re interested.”

“I’d like it to be next Sunday,” he said. “But Sid and Dakota are busy. We’ll see each other between now and then. Maybe not for the night, but...”

“I didn’t think we’d ever have a whole night,” she said, knowing how challenging it was for him to make arrangements like this. “The boys will give you a lot of grief.”

“I’m partially deaf, did I mention that?” he said.

“Very convenient,” she said.

Fifteen minutes later, he walked her outside and kissed her good-night. It was not the kind of kiss they shared when the atmosphere was more private. “There’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you,” he said. “I like having a girlfriend.”

“That’s very nice,” she said. “I think I like having a boyfriend.”

“Well, I know I’m not that much of a boyfriend,” he said. “If I haven’t said so before, I really appreciate your understanding about the facts of my life—that I have so many commitments. If I were just a single guy without kids, without a demanding business, we’d be together a lot more often. Our relationship wouldn’t be so casual.”

She frowned. Where was this going? “Rob, you had the kids and the business first. I understand that you’re busy.”

He kissed her forehead. “Thank you,” he said. “That’s important. I think there will come a time when the boys won’t need me as much, when the pub won’t need me as much. A couple of years and we’ll both be more free.”

“Are you trying to remind me not to get too serious?” she asked.

“Neither of us can get serious, but we’re still having a fantastic time. Aren’t we?”

“Why don’t you just say it, get it out of the way. You want to be sure I’m not expecting to get married.”

“That’s not exactly what I meant,” he said.

“I bet it’s very close,” she said.

He took a deep breath. “Parts of our relationship are very intense and I don’t want to change that, but—”

“But you want to make sure I know the boundaries. Well, I do. Let it go before you make me feel managed.”

He laughed. “You are an amazing woman. Okay, sue me—I’m not used to a woman like you.”

“I thought your last lady friend was exactly like this. You said you hardly saw each other.”

“This is so different,” he said. “We do see each other. Not as much as I’d like, but every time we’re together, I know I won’t be able to wait a couple of months. It takes willpower to wait a couple of days.”

“Then don’t. And stop trying to make sure I don’t have expectations.”

He smiled and shook his head. “You nailed me,” he said. “I already care about you so much I don’t want to hurt or disappoint you. And I don’t want to move too fast. Does it feel like I’m moving too fast?”

“It sounds like you’re trying to make sure we have an understanding. I’m thirty-four, have no desire to play games. You are a lovely distraction but my hopes and dreams haven’t changed. I’m not a dreamy girl. But there better be one understanding—I didn’t think I’d have to be this specific. One woman at a time, Rob. That’s where I draw the line.”

“Absolutely, Leigh,” he said.

“Good. Then I think we’ll be fine.”

He put his arms around her waist. He smiled. “Kiss me. I have to get in there and start closing up.”

And that kiss held all the passion of their private moments.

“Relax,” she said. “I’m not going to trick you into marriage or trap you into a more serious commitment. Let’s just enjoy this.”

“No strings?” he asked.

“Oh, there are lots of strings! I insist we be exclusive, I insist on honesty and respect, I demand kindness. So far you seem to deliver on those things without breaking a sweat. And I’ll do the same.”

“I think you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me,” he said.

“I’m going to get home. I think I’m a little tired and maybe a little sensitive.” She gave him a quick kiss. “Good night.”

Leigh walked home, deep in thought. What is this? If I’m so wonderful, why isn’t he looking for ways we can be closer instead of looking for ways to keep us in place? Commitment phobia? Trying to make sure I’m not looking for a proposal? Even though she thought she might be falling in love with him, she was smart enough to know it was still too soon for anything like that!

There was just no mistaking a man who was feeling nervous that the woman he was dating was looking for more than he wanted to offer.

Unsurprisingly, she had a restless night. She got to the clinic early, feeling a little tired. She was glad to be the first one there ahead of staff and patients. Looking for a distraction she logged on her computer and scanned through emails. She found a message she never expected or wanted to receive. It was from JHolliday. She held her breath for a moment and then opened it.

Dear Leigh,

I don’t know what happened to the letters I wrote you over the years. The one time I called you, you hung up before I could talk. You probably threw the letters away. I just want to communicate. I made a lot of mistakes, starting with you. It was probably PTSD from the war that made me do something so stupid. It took me a few years to realize I had a lot of PTSD issues. I should never have let you get away. I thought of you every day since we broke up.

I’m single again and my mom tells me you’re still single. I’d just like to see you. Talk to you. I’m going to take some time off and come to Timberlake. That way you can’t throw away the letter, delete the email or hang up. Because I’ve never gotten you off my mind. I think I still love you.

Love,

Johnny

Timing had always been Johnny’s weak suit. He couldn’t have picked a worse day or time to pull his crap. Single again? As she recalled, whenever he was alone, he got in touch. That alone pissed her off. She had always ignored him. But Helen was in contact with Dottie Holliday and she would have made sure Dottie heard about how well Leigh was doing.

PTSD? That would explain a few things, though Johnny had not been stationed in a particularly dangerous place. He’d worked in supply on a big, well-protected base, and at the time they were Skyping and emailing, he always claimed to be incredibly bored.

The idea that this man, who wasn’t capable of a long-term commitment, thought he should come to see her was pathetic.

She answered his email.

Dear Johnny,

I’m sorry to hear you’re single again. I’m sorry to hear you discovered PTSD issues and that they caused you to make bad choices—I hope you’ve gotten help with that. But our relationship ended years ago. We went our separate ways and I’m not willing to take one step back. I wish you well. I’m in a relationship. Don’t come to Timberlake to see me. You’d be wasting your time.

Best,

Leigh

Then, for no reason she could identify, she started to cry. Leigh couldn’t remember the last time she cried. Oh, she cried when she read certain books, watched a sad movie or something, but she never cried for no reason. She was long over Johnny. If there were lingering feelings there, they bordered on anger not disappointment. In fact, she was more likely to fear those old feelings rather than be tempted by them. And yes, she was falling for Rob, but that was so irrelevant—she only wanted a man who wanted her as much as or more than she wanted him, a man ready for such feelings.

She was happy. She’d never been this happy. She had a good man in her life, rich intimacy, her only family here with her, a nice little practice, friends...

Still, she cried.

* * *

Helen returned after Memorial Day weekend. She had dinner with Sully at the Crossing just about every other night. Sometimes Leigh joined them. The June sun was staying up later each day but she still lit a candle on their porch table. The garden was beginning to offer up its bounty—the lettuces were coming in strong, the root vegetables were still small but delicious, the tomatoes were growing, but their best tomato harvest would come in July and August. Sully had a healthy asparagus bed that came in early. Rhubarb was up and Enid was making bread, cobbler and muffins for the store. They were a few weeks away from good-size zucchini and cucumbers and yellow squash, but even the early small ones were delicious. She looked forward to the end of the day when they would have a walk and talk, then she would go to the garden to harvest. Scallions, radishes, beets, leeks. Beans, eggplant and melons were yet to come.