and your sacrifice, we never would have had either of them.”
“I’m glad,” Meg said, pasting on a smile to hide her churning emotions. “I’ll see you in the morning, be it two or eight.”
Then she retreated, but slumber proved elusive. She lay awake long into the night trying not to think about Evan. When she finally fell into a fitful sleep,the star of her dreams was Evan Alton, not Wade Jackson. It was the first time and, when she woke, she knew with a sinking heart it wouldn’t be the last.
Evan insisted Meg be the one to greet the plane at the airstrip near the airport. He said he had more experience handling the twins alone and she couldn’t fault his logic. Nor could she pass up the opportunity to put as much space as she could between them. It was a welcome respite.
As she sat across from him eating her breakfast, she’d actually toyed with the idea of renewing hostilities, but she instinctively knew it wouldn’t help. And besides, her heart really wasn’t in it. Even though her life had been less complicated while they were at odds, she now understood that Evan had had his reasons for viewing her as he did. Plus she could see why he’d been so ill equipped to be a single parent. As he’d said, Jack and Cris had both forgiven him, so who was she to continue a battle declared over by the combatants?
She smiled as she pulled into the front gate of the airstrip Joy Lovell had chosen to use. The military metaphors just kept flowing once Evan had brought up the first one. The smile melted into what her rear-view mirror told her was a stunned expression. It was truly frightening how in tune they were. How much they had in common.
There was their shared love for Jack, Beth and thetwins, of course, but it went beyond that. Both of them were Christians. They both had a love of horses and the great outdoors. And having lost the love of their life decades ago, each continued to hold the precious memories of those two people sacrosanct.
Thankfully she was the only one struck with this ridiculous attraction problem. Only she was bothered that he slept only a few doors away. Meg frowned. Maybe she wasn’t so thankful after all! Why should she be the only one suffering? she demanded perversely. Why should she be the only miserable one?
“Because, numbskull, if he felt what you do, one of you might be tempted to do something about it!” she muttered as she got out of the Circle A’s big SUV. She’d driven the big vehicle, since she was fetching five adults.
Meg walked into the building. A cheerful woman greeted her and recommended she sit near the window when Meg said she was waiting for someone inbound. Moments later she watched a baby-blue plane dip down out of the fluffy clouds. The little blue dart cut through the sky, circling the field as it lined up for its approach. It landed smoothly and taxied toward the small terminal, where it pulled to a stop with directions from the ground crew.
“You can go out now that the engines have shut down, ma’am.”
Meg ground her teeth. She hadn’t noticed anyone ever call her ma’am before, but now that she thoughtabout it, it happened all the time. And she hated it. Ever since Evan had pointed out how much her hair color added to her age, she’d been much more aware of clues she’d missed. Maybe she would try to add a little subtle color. There was nothing wrong with looking one’s best.
The time for self-examination came to a sudden end as Meg pushed open the door to find that the hatch of the blue plane had swung down into a set of steps. The first one down the stairs was the pilot, Jim Lovell’s sister, Joy. Tall and blond like Jim, Joy had the same substantial build as Crystal. She wore an olive flight suit and aviator sunglasses. Jim followed, still the picture of their very own hero cop. When a killer had stalked Crystal, and later Beth, it was Jim who’d unraveled the mystery and stopped the stalker.
The newest of the Laurel Glen
“I’m glad,” Meg said, pasting on a smile to hide her churning emotions. “I’ll see you in the morning, be it two or eight.”
Then she retreated, but slumber proved elusive. She lay awake long into the night trying not to think about Evan. When she finally fell into a fitful sleep,the star of her dreams was Evan Alton, not Wade Jackson. It was the first time and, when she woke, she knew with a sinking heart it wouldn’t be the last.
Evan insisted Meg be the one to greet the plane at the airstrip near the airport. He said he had more experience handling the twins alone and she couldn’t fault his logic. Nor could she pass up the opportunity to put as much space as she could between them. It was a welcome respite.
As she sat across from him eating her breakfast, she’d actually toyed with the idea of renewing hostilities, but she instinctively knew it wouldn’t help. And besides, her heart really wasn’t in it. Even though her life had been less complicated while they were at odds, she now understood that Evan had had his reasons for viewing her as he did. Plus she could see why he’d been so ill equipped to be a single parent. As he’d said, Jack and Cris had both forgiven him, so who was she to continue a battle declared over by the combatants?
She smiled as she pulled into the front gate of the airstrip Joy Lovell had chosen to use. The military metaphors just kept flowing once Evan had brought up the first one. The smile melted into what her rear-view mirror told her was a stunned expression. It was truly frightening how in tune they were. How much they had in common.
There was their shared love for Jack, Beth and thetwins, of course, but it went beyond that. Both of them were Christians. They both had a love of horses and the great outdoors. And having lost the love of their life decades ago, each continued to hold the precious memories of those two people sacrosanct.
Thankfully she was the only one struck with this ridiculous attraction problem. Only she was bothered that he slept only a few doors away. Meg frowned. Maybe she wasn’t so thankful after all! Why should she be the only one suffering? she demanded perversely. Why should she be the only miserable one?
“Because, numbskull, if he felt what you do, one of you might be tempted to do something about it!” she muttered as she got out of the Circle A’s big SUV. She’d driven the big vehicle, since she was fetching five adults.
Meg walked into the building. A cheerful woman greeted her and recommended she sit near the window when Meg said she was waiting for someone inbound. Moments later she watched a baby-blue plane dip down out of the fluffy clouds. The little blue dart cut through the sky, circling the field as it lined up for its approach. It landed smoothly and taxied toward the small terminal, where it pulled to a stop with directions from the ground crew.
“You can go out now that the engines have shut down, ma’am.”
Meg ground her teeth. She hadn’t noticed anyone ever call her ma’am before, but now that she thoughtabout it, it happened all the time. And she hated it. Ever since Evan had pointed out how much her hair color added to her age, she’d been much more aware of clues she’d missed. Maybe she would try to add a little subtle color. There was nothing wrong with looking one’s best.
The time for self-examination came to a sudden end as Meg pushed open the door to find that the hatch of the blue plane had swung down into a set of steps. The first one down the stairs was the pilot, Jim Lovell’s sister, Joy. Tall and blond like Jim, Joy had the same substantial build as Crystal. She wore an olive flight suit and aviator sunglasses. Jim followed, still the picture of their very own hero cop. When a killer had stalked Crystal, and later Beth, it was Jim who’d unraveled the mystery and stopped the stalker.
The newest of the Laurel Glen
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