“Do you think it is wise for us to do this?”

“Probably not,” Perry admitted, “but I have to know why you deserted me.”

“That period of our life is over, and it isn’t wise to rake up painful memories….” Her lips trembled as she pressed a hand against them. “But I do want to spend time with you, Perry.”

An eager light flickered in Perry’s black eyes, filling Lorene with conflicting emotions. Apprehension swept over her. If Perry wanted to resume their previous relationship, did she have the willpower to resist him? Did she want to?

IRENE BRAND

Writing has been a lifelong interest of this author, who says that she started her first novel when she was eleven years old and hasn’t finished it yet. However, since 1984, she’s published twenty-four contemporary and historical novels and three nonfiction titles with publishers such as Zondervan, Thomas Nelson, Barbour and Kregel. She started writing professionally in 1977 after she completed her master’s degree in history at Marshall University. Irene taught in secondary public schools for twenty-three years, but retired in 1989 to devote herself to writing.

Consistent involvement in the activities of her local church has been a source of inspiration for Irene’s work. Traveling with her husband, Rod, to forty-nine of the United States—Hawaii excepted—and to thirty-two foreign countries has also inspired her writing. Irene is grateful to the many readers who have written to say that her inspiring stories and compelling portrayals of characters with strong faith have made a positive impression on their lives. You can write to her at P.O. Box 2770, Southside, WV 25187 or visit her Web site at http://www.irenebrand.com.

Love at Last
Irene Brand

www.millsandboon.co.uk

“I, even I, am He

who blots out your transgressions, for My own

sake, and remembers your sins no more.”

—Isaiah 43:25

Thanks to my friend Jason Duncan

for sharing his football expertise with me.

Dear Reader,

This morning as I read the Bible, I came across a verse that emphasized an important principle referred to in this book.

“If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.” (Isaiah 7:9b)

The hero and heroine, Perry and Lorene, experienced many years of loneliness and heartache because they didn’t stand firm in their conviction that premarital sex was inappropriate for Christians. “Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do, and doesn’t do it, sins.” (James 4:17) My characters went through months of frustration and doubting before they finally realized that God loves and forgives, regardless of the sin.

All of us have difficult choices to make, but the Bible provides guidance for those who want to live righteous lives and stand firm in decisions that would compromise our Christian principles. It’s my prayer that those of you who read this book will be encouraged to take a stand whenever you’re confronted with a decision between right and wrong. “Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything to stand.” (Ephesians 6:13)

If we stand for nothing, we’ll fall for anything.

I can be contacted at P.O. Box 2770, Southside, West Virginia 25187.

Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Epilogue

Chapter One

As Lorene Harvey walked across the campus of Woodston College, she was tempted to turn tail and run. The redbrick buildings, the shaded avenues and the memorial fountain, cascading colorful rainbows in the sweltering summer heat, brought unwelcome thoughts—memories of two years of her life she’d tried in vain to forget.

She hadn’t wanted to come to this Kentucky town in the first place, and the sudden surge of best-forgotten incidents confirmed her opinion that coming to Woodston had been a mistake. Would she ever put the past behind her? Why couldn’t she blot out recollections of twenty years ago when she’d made the biggest error of her life? A mistake that had spawned an empty vacuum where her heart ought to be.

But Lorene hadn’t established a successful media-relations business by surrendering to her mistakes. She paused before the splashing fountain, determined to suppress her regrets of days gone by. After a few minutes she took a deep breath, forced a pleasant smile and walked into the administration building.

Following the signs to room 202, she tapped lightly on the open door and entered. The receptionist, who looked to be in her sixties, smiled and said pleasantly, “May I help you?”

“I want to see the vice chair of Woodston’s bicentennial commission. I understand this is his office.”

The secretary’s eyes expressed caution. “He might not have time to see you. May I have your name?”

Lorene’s smile remained, but her jaw tightened and her gray-green eyes flashed like summer lightning, and in a harsh, uncompromising voice that didn’t sound like her usual velvet tones, she said, “I’m Lorene Harvey of Tri-State Public Relations Agency in Pittsburgh. I’ve been in Woodston for two hours trying to find someone to talk to me about the historical celebration our firm is supposed to promote. Mr. Kincaid, chairman of the commission, isn’t available, and I was sent here.”

Lorene was aware that a door had opened behind her, but without turning she said, “If everybody in this town is too busy to talk to me, our firm is too busy to represent Woodston.” Turning toward the door, she added, “We’ll return the retainer Mr. Kincaid sent us.”

“I—I’m sorry,” the receptionist stammered. Her face flushed, and her eyes darted to a point over Lorene’s shoulder.

“I’ll talk to you, Lorene.”

The voice jolted Lorene out of her anger, and she whirled to stare at the man standing in the doorway of the adjoining office. She took a sharp breath and her pulse raced.

As if Lorene’s surprise appearance hadn’t dealt his vulnerability a near-fatal blow, Perry Saunders continued, “You’ll have to forgive Alma—she’s overprotective of me. Come in.” He motioned toward his office.

Lorene’s yearning eyes swept his beautifully proportioned body from the neatly shod feet to his extraordinary eyes, as dark as black onyx, to the thick silvery-gray hair that fell loosely over his forehead before it tapered neatly to the collar of his dark business suit. Stunned by this unexpected encounter, she was powerless to do anything except nod and move toward him. Tense fingers tightened on the handle of her briefcase as she walked on trembling legs into a comfortable room with high ceilings, long, heavily draped windows and modern oak office furnishings.

Perry closed the door and, thinking her legs might not support her much longer, Lorene dropped quickly to a couch at the left of the desk. She looked upward and slowly studied each feature of the face that, except in her dreams, she hadn’t seen for twenty years. Perry had a long, lean face, high cheekbones and a straight, prominent nose. Except for the gray hair, she couldn’t see that he’d aged at all. The last time she’d seen Perry, his hair had been jet-black.

“I’ve always wondered what you’d look like with gray hair,” she said evenly, proud of herself that the emotional shock of seeing him wasn’t evident in her voice.

Perry’s neat gray mustache framed a sensitive, well-shaped mouth that widened into a smile. Sitting beside Lorene, he took her hand, and his eyes hungrily scanned each of her features. Thick dark hair fell gracefully over shapely shoulders, and her eyes of gray and green shades glowed with wonder and surprise at meeting him again. Lorene was tall and well proportioned with a slender waist, no heavier than she’d been when she was twenty. She looked just as he remembered—generously curved lips, delicate bone structure, dainty nose and long black eyelashes that splayed over rosy skin. She wore black dress pants, a red blazer and black pumps rather than the jeans and sweatshirts she’d preferred when he’d known her.

The most profound difference was in her character. In her teens, Lorene had been insecure, possessing low self-esteem, mostly because she had a domineering father who wouldn’t give her the freedom to think for herself. It was apparent that the years had brought an inner strength that hadn’t lessened her determination or marred her delicate beauty.

Lorene squirmed under his intense scrutiny, and he said lightly, “No gray in your hair, I see.”

“Thanks to my beautician,” she admitted with a slight smile. Then surprise and disbelief overspread her face, and she cried out, “You’re teaching in a Christian college! What happened to your engineering studies?”

“I finished my engineering degree, but I later went to seminary, received my doctorate in Bible studies ten years ago and came to teach in Woodston.”

She wanted to ask why he’d changed his profession. Instead she said, “I’m sorry I lost my temper with your secretary, but I still intend to return the retainer the commission sent and be on my way.”

Perry tightened his grip on her hand and said quickly, “When I’ve wondered for years where you were, do you think I’ll let you walk out of my life again? Tell me what disturbed you this afternoon. Most people consider Woodston a friendly town.”

“At Mr. Kincaid’s bank I was passed from one employee to another until a secretary told me he wasn’t available this afternoon and sent me here. She said that the vice chair of the commission was at this office. She didn’t mention your name, and by that time I was too annoyed to ask.”

“If you’d known I was the one you were to see, would you have come?”

The question was as sharp as a knife wound in her heart. She lowered her head. When she didn’t know the answer herself, how could she respond? She was suddenly overcome with an uncontrollable urge to leave this town. She’d run away from Perry once before, and she had even more reason to leave him now. Standing, she pulled her hand from his.

“No, Perry, I wouldn’t have. I’ll refund the deposit to the bicentennial commission and leave. You’ll be able to find another public relations firm closer to Woodston. I don’t know why we were contacted in the first place.”

With an indulgent smile, Perry said, “Mr. Kincaid has political ambitions, and he thought if he hired a nationally known PR firm, he might gain out-of-state recognition.”

Inching toward the door, Lorene said, “I’ll recommend a good company in Louisville that can provide as much publicity as my firm can.”

She had her hand on the doorknob, but Perry moved in front of the door and barred her exit.

“Lorene,” Perry said as he softly cupped her chin with his warm hand and lifted her face so that their eyes met and gazes held. “I’m not concerned with Woodston receiving national recognition.” There was a look of unflinching determination on his face. “But I do care about us. You walked out on me once, and I’ve never forgotten the emptiness that caused in my life.” His voice became pleading in its intensity. “It’s okay if you don’t want to represent Woodston, but stay a few days for me. I think you owe me that much.”

She closed her eyes against the entreaty in his voice, her heart aching with pain. Did he think he was the only one who’d been hurt? And he had no idea how much she did owe him! Would she ever tell him? Lorene’s heart and emotions demanded that she stay in Woodston, but her intellect shouted that she should put the past behind her as quickly as she could. She’d built a life without Perry Saunders. Besides, if he knew the secret she harbored, he wouldn’t want her to stay.

His hand slid over her cheek in a wistful gesture and Lorene opened her eyes. The moment of decision was crucial. A familiar smile hovered in Perry’s dark eyes, and in spite of the warning that hammered in her brain, Lorene nodded tensely. “Well, I’m not staying a few days, but we can talk for a few hours.”

Perry’s heart warmed when she yielded to his pleading, though he was instantly sorry he’d asked her to stay. His life wasn’t his own anymore. When he’d committed to full-time Christian service, Perry had repudiated his love for Lorene. Would being with her again distract him from his chosen profession? He didn’t know, but he was happy that his prayers had been answered. Humorously, he thought that God might have gotten tired of his entreaties. Not a day had passed since she’d left him that Perry hadn’t asked God to take care of Lorene and allow him to see her again.

Lorene moved toward the chair in front of his desk, but he said, “Let’s sit on the couch where it’s more comfortable. I’ll have Alma bring us something to drink. Coffee?”

She wasn’t keen about sitting beside him, but she moved to the maroon leather couch and answered, “That will be fine. I take it black.”

“Yes, I remember.”

He turned on the intercom, gave the order and joined her at a discreet distance on the couch. Now that she’d gotten over her initial surprise at seeing Perry, Lorene had her emotions under control, and she was eager to find out what he’d been doing, too.

When Alma entered with a tray and placed it on the low table in front of them, Lorene smiled at her and said, “I’m not usually so short-tempered, and I apologize for my rudeness. I know it isn’t ethical to break the verbal contract our company made with Woodston, so I’ll not back out of our agreement. But since I’ve gotten off on the wrong foot already, I’ll send another representative to work with the commission.”

A pleasant smile lighted Alma’s face, transforming her rather plain features. “Professor Saunders is chairman of his department, and many salesmen and others drop in to chat when he’s busy. I try to steer people away when I can, but I do get carried away sometimes. I had no idea who you were. Mr. Cranston was the initial contact from your agency.”

Lorene sipped gratefully on the hot beverage Alma had poured. “Kenneth Cranston accepted another job quite suddenly and didn’t give me any advance notice. My other employees are busy elsewhere, so it was up to me. But I shouldn’t have let my anger at Cranston govern my attitude toward Woodston. Forgive me?”

“Certainly,” Alma said as she left the office, closing the door behind her, but not before her eyes shifted appraisingly from Perry to Lorene.

“Alma had been the secretary to my predecessor, and she has a tendency to mother me. I have a standing invitation to her house for dinner every Sunday, or any other time I want a home-cooked meal.”

Concluding from his comments that he lived alone, Lorene glanced at his left hand. No ring on the third finger. Her heart fluttered slightly at the implication and her fingers tightened on the coffee cup. “You aren’t married?”

“No.”

She met his eyes briefly, but lowered her gaze when he continued, “You don’t have a ring, either. Why?”

“That’s a question I’ve often asked myself,” Lorene admitted, “but I’ve never come up with a satisfactory answer.” Her eyes clouded with memories of the past, and Perry moved toward her.

“Mr. Kincaid wants to see you,” Alma said over the intercom, breaking the tension between them. The door opened immediately and a thin beanpole of a man barged into the office.

“Are you Miss Harvey?” he said, coming toward Lorene with outstretched hand.

Perry cupped Lorene’s elbow and helped her to stand.

“Lorene Harvey, meet Gaston Kincaid, chairman of Woodston’s bicentennial commission.”

“I’m sorry I wasn’t on hand to meet you,” Kincaid said, pumping her hand. “I contacted the bank by phone and learned you were in town. I’d received the e-mail message that you were replacing Cranston, but I didn’t know when to expect you. I trust Professor Saunders has taken care of you.”

Perry flushed slightly, but Lorene answered smoothly, “I’ve only been here a short time, and we haven’t gotten around to discussing the PR agenda.”

“I have an engagement tonight,” Kincaid said, “but I’ll notify the commission members that we’ll meet tomorrow evening. Perry can give you a file outlining our plans, or do you have what we sent Cranston?”

“Unfortunately, Kenneth deleted his records from our computer system before he left. But I can read through the file tonight and look around town tomorrow. Perhaps you and I should have a private conference before the meeting?”

“I’m a very busy man, so I can’t give you much of my time,” Kincaid said, “but Perry can help you. Will you take Miss Harvey out for dinner tonight?”

“It will be a pleasure. Since the fall quarter has started, my schedule is flexible. I’ll give Miss Harvey all the help I possibly can.”

“Good! Good!” Kincaid said, and hustled out of the office with an abrupt wave of his hand. Shaking his head, Perry moved to close the door.

“Kincaid is one of the college trustees, and he twisted my arm to serve on the celebration commission.” With a slight grimace, he added, “His first priority is promoting himself and his business, and then he turns the rest of his attention to steering the course of this college. He has his good points, but he can be overbearing.”

He sat beside her again. “Now, where were we?”

The phone rang, and with a look of annoyance Perry picked up the receiver on his desk and answered. He concluded that call, started back to the couch and the phone rang again. Perry’s handsome features faded into a frown when he took the second call. What was the matter with Alma? She usually held all calls when he was in a conference. Was she deliberately interrupting his conversation with Lorene? It must have been obvious to her that they knew each other. He didn’t need Alma’s interference in his attempt to prevent Lorene’s immediate departure from Woodston.

“We’ll never manage any privacy here,” Perry said when he finished that conversation, “so we’ll talk this evening over dinner. I prefer a restaurant out of town. If we stay in Woodston, we’ll meet too many people who know me and want to visit.”

Lorene knew it wasn’t prudent to have dinner with Perry, but she’d seldom displayed any caution in her relationship with him.

She looked at her watch. “I’ll enjoy having dinner with you. After all,” she added with a grin, “Mr. Kincaid practically ordered you to entertain me. It may take quite a while to go over Woodston’s plans, but I can work late tonight.”

“Where are you staying?”

“At Riverview Ridge, the B and B on the outskirts of town. My travel agency gave it a four-star rating. The apartment I’m renting is in the back wing, facing the river.”

“You made a good choice. I’ll pick you up at six-thirty.”

Already having second thoughts, Lorene panicked at the thought of spending an evening alone with Perry. “Do you think it’s wise for us to do this?”

“Probably not,” he admitted honestly, “but I have to know why you deserted me. It’s weighed on my mind for years.”

“That period of our life is over, so maybe we shouldn’t rake up painful memories that won’t do either of us any good, but…” Her lips trembled and she pressed a hand against them. “But I do want to spend some time with you, Perry. I’ll be ready.” She gave him her cell phone number. “Let me know if you change your mind.”

“I won’t change my mind.”

An eager light flickered in Perry’s black eyes, filling Lorene with conflicting emotions. Apprehension swept over her, and she knew she should cancel this dinner. If Perry wanted to resume their previous relationship, did she have the willpower to resist him? Or did she even want to resist?

Chapter Two

Traveling toward Riverview Ridge, Lorene knew that she should find someone else to take this assignment. She pulled to the curb of a tree-shaded street and telephoned her office. After talking with several members of her staff, she conceded that it was impossible for anyone else from the agency to come to Woodston for several weeks. She had two choices—back out on the firm’s commitment to Woodston or stay and handle the promotion herself. Accepting the inevitable, she drove on.

If she had to stay in Woodston for two months, Lorene was pleased that she’d have a comfortable place to live. When she’d checked in at the B and B earlier in the day, she’d been delighted with her choice. The white frame 1850s story-and-a-half cottage had enormous ivy-covered redbrick chimneys. The house was T-shaped, with dormer windows set in the front and rear sections of the main structure’s roof. A small front porch was in Queen Anne style, and a long screened-in back porch extended the full length of the stem part of the building. Green shutters graced the long, narrow windows on the first floor.

The entrance to the two-room apartment was through a private door on the back porch and up narrow, steep steps. According to the proprietor, Dottie Montgomery, this had once been the care-taker’s quarters, but she’d had it renovated into an apartment. The Montgomerys also had three single rooms in the main part of the house for rent. But Lorene needed space to accommodate her computer and other office equipment she’d brought with her.

Dottie Montgomery, a buxom, hospitable blonde in her mid-sixties, met Lorene on the porch with a glass of lemonade in her hand. Pointing to a round table circled by three chairs, the landlady set the lemonade on the table and said, “Sit down and rest a spell. I’ll have my husband carry up your things. Climbing those steps can get tiresome when you’re loaded down with suitcases.”

But Dottie seemed to be talkative, and right now Lorene was in no mood for visiting. What she really wanted to do was to go somewhere, scream at the top of her voice and release the pent-up frustration that had been burgeoning through the deepest recesses of her being since she’d encountered Perry two hours ago. In her present frame of mind, she worried that she couldn’t be polite to Dottie, so she said, “Thank you, but I’ll need to settle in to my apartment and get ready to start working tomorrow.” She took a deep swig of the lemonade. “That really is delicious. Thank you.”

“You gonna eat dinner here? I serve breakfast and dinner.”

“Not tonight. Perry Saunders, cochair of the bicentennial commission, is taking me out for dinner so we can discuss plans for the celebration. And I’ll prepare my own breakfast, too. My working hours will be irregular, so I’ll notify you on a day-to-day basis when I want to eat dinner with you. Will that be satisfactory?”

“Whatever makes our visitors happy suits us,” Dottie said. “My husband, John, and I are here to make your stay comfortable, so let us know if there’s anything we can do to help you. We’re both involved in the bicentennial celebration, so we’ll be seeing you often.”

Taking another swallow of the lemonade, Lorene said, “I’ll bring my luggage into the porch, and you can send it up when it’s convenient.”

Lorene retrieved three suitcases and two garment bags from her late-model station wagon and put them on the porch. She brought in a small file cabinet. Then she carried her laptop and cosmetic case with her as she went upstairs to the homelike apartment.

The combination living room and kitchenette had a fireplace with a beautiful, hand-carved mantel. The interior woodwork of the house was all original. White crocheted doilies dressed up the ancient tables, plump pillows were piled on the couch and a handmade quilt covered the bed. A gable window looked out over a pleasant expanse of field that led down to the Ohio River a quarter of a mile away.

Riverview Ridge was a quaint building, and Lorene had promptly decided that spending some time here would be almost like a vacation. But now that she’d met Perry, she couldn’t even be excited about this apartment, which was casually furnished in antiques that would have sold for a small fortune in Pittsburgh.

Lorene laid her things in the small, low-ceilinged bedroom, kicked off her shoes and lounged on the soft sofa, a concession to modern comfort among the ancient pieces of furniture. She laid an arm over her closed eyes as her tortured mind recalled the past.

She’d met Perry Saunders when they were both college sophomores. They had several classes together and became good friends. Their friendship slowly developed into a beautiful romance. Although they were very much in love, they couldn’t afford to get married, for Lorene’s parents threatened to cut off her tuition money if she married Perry. Both of them were Christians and opposed to sex before marriage, but in a weak moment they succumbed to the intense magnetism building between them and made love once.

Afterward, they agreed it wouldn’t happen again, and both of them welcomed the summer break, thinking it might dull the flame that smoldered in their hearts. As part of his engineering studies, Perry would be on field assignment in Mexico for three months. That time of separation would give them time to put their love in perspective with their goals for the future.

But unforeseen circumstances ruined their plans. Her family moved to another town that summer and after being ill for almost a year, Lorene continued her education at another school. She’d had no news of Perry until she saw him today. It had taken years to numb the pain of losing him, and just seeing him for an hour had flooded her mind with pleasant memories and past disappointments.

After Lorene left his office, Perry lowered his head to his hands. God, thank You for answering my prayers and bringing her back into my life, but now that she’s here, I don’t know what to do with her. Should we take up where we left off? I believe You meant us for each other, but just like Abraham and Sarah in the Bible, we didn’t wait for Your timing. We took matters into our own hands, and that never works out. God, I need Your direction now more than I’ve ever needed it.

He remembered the time he’d given Lorene a promise ring, held her in his arms and whispered, “I love you with all my heart, and I want to marry you as soon as I possibly can. God made us for each other, and I’ll never marry any woman except you.”

His love had deepened and intensified every day they’d been together. When she’d left him and eventually disappeared from his life, Perry was so distressed that at one point he’d contemplated suicide. He had telephoned her home repeatedly but she didn’t return his calls. He wrote letters, which she didn’t answer, and when he went to her home, he learned the family had moved. He finally gave up, believing that she no longer wanted him.

When despair had almost conquered him, when he was at the lowest ebb, he’d experienced God’s call to full-time Christian service. He’d believed that God was giving him a new life to replace the one he’d envisioned with Lorene, by leading him into the field of Christian education.

Perry considered his promise to Lorene as binding as if he’d made it before a minister, so he’d lived a celibate life, denying himself the pleasure of wife and family. It was years before he could attend a wedding without experiencing a pain in his heart that gnawed at his innards until he was physically sick.

Today, when he’d heard Lorene’s voice in the office, he’d known immediately who it was, and when he’d seen her, he’d been as physically aware of her as if they’d separated only yesterday.

Considering the tingle of excitement that had surged through him when she’d delayed her departure from Woodston long enough to have dinner with him, Perry wondered if he’d done the right thing in encouraging her to stay. When she’d abandoned him twenty years ago without any explanation, it was obvious she hadn’t loved him. If she stayed at Woodston until after the big celebration, he’d be seeing her often. Would his love for her surface again? Grimly he determined that wouldn’t happen. He couldn’t risk being rejected a second time.

Lorene stirred when she heard a knock at the door. She padded across the hardwood floor in her stocking feet and opened the door for the landlord to carry in her luggage.

“Hope you’ll be comfortable here, Lorene,” John Montgomery said. “If I can be any help, let me know.”

“This is a beautiful home. Has it been in your family long?”

His laugh was slow and hearty. “No. Dottie and I bought the property several years ago. The place had been vacant for a long time, and it took us three years to fix it up. It’s a good project to bring in a little money and keep us out of devilment in our retirement years.”

“It’s a nice location—should be quiet at night.”

“Sure is.” He tipped the brim of his cap, a gesture that she’d seen several times already in Woodston, perhaps a custom left over from the Old South. “Make yourself at home.”

She closed the door after John’s departure, went into the bedroom and spread out on the canopied bed that would have been at home in Gone with the Wind. At six o’clock Lorene forced herself to get up and check out her wardrobe. Leaving most of her luggage where John had placed it, she opened a garment bag and chose a white button-front, long-sleeved, lined crochet sweater and a long patterned skirt that swirled gracefully around her ankles when she walked. She eased her feet into white sandals and crossed the hall to the bathroom.

Wedged in behind the staircase, the bathroom contained a shower stall and the other necessities. Lorene brushed her hair and repaired her makeup, giving special attention to her eyes, hoping to camouflage the raw hurt and deep longing that hadn’t been there when she’d stood before the mirror earlier in the day. She didn’t believe the makeup did any good, for the eyes staring back at her still had a bleak and wary expression.

From her jewelry box she took the silver ring set with a small garnet that Perry had given her when he’d promised to love her forever. Promise rings had been popular on campus between engaged couples, and Perry had saved for weeks before he’d accumulated enough money to buy the ring.

Lorene slipped the ring on her finger, but quickly took it off and dropped it back in the box. She fastened diamond solitaires in her ears and clamped the jewelry box tight.

Since Perry might not know how to access her apartment, she went to the porch to wait for him. But he must have been familiar with Riverview Ridge, because he drove in and parked beside her station wagon before she had time to sit down. He came toward her, dressed in a red sport shirt and black trousers, looking like the young man she remembered. Until she’d encountered him today, Lorene had never seen Perry in a suit and tie.

“Ready?” he asked.

“Yes. I thought you might not know how to find me, so I came downstairs to wait,” she explained, not wanting him to think she’d been so eager for this dinner date.

“Dottie only has one apartment, so I knew where you were. We don’t have many sleeping accommodations in town, and sometimes I have to recommend a lodging place to college visitors. I’ve made it my business to know what’s available.”

“Then you know what an interesting apartment it is.”

“Interesting, and comfortable, I believe.”

Perry drove a new blue sedan. Remembering the days when he’d used a bicycle for transportation around campus, Lorene was pleased that the years had brought him prosperity.

“What kind of food do you prefer tonight?” he asked as they left Woodston’s city limits. “I’m going across the river to Indiana, where there’s a choice of fine eating places.” His lips curved in an infectious smile. “Always before when we ate out, I couldn’t afford anything except pizza and burgers. I’d like to buy something better for you tonight.”

Was this going to be a night of recalling what they’d once shared? Lorene wondered.

“I still like pizza and burgers,” Lorene assured him, grinning. “But you choose. I enjoy most foods.”

“Then we’ll go to a family restaurant with a wide selection of entrées. Now, tell me about yourself. What have you been up to since we were together? You’re apparently doing all right, since you have your own business.”

“I finished college in New Jersey, and I worked in several PR agencies around the country for a few years. I couldn’t find any town that suited me until I settled in Pittsburgh eight years ago. I went into partnership with an elderly man, and when he retired, I was able to buy the business at a reasonable price.”

“Are your parents well?”

“Yes. They live in Philadelphia, and I don’t see them often. That’s another reason I was disgruntled over having to come to Woodston. Our whole family gets together once a year when we vacation at the same place, and we had reservations in Atlantic City for the next two weeks. I had to cancel.”

“I’m sorry about that. You could have delayed coming to Woodston.”

Lorene shook her head. “That’s business for you. When you’re the boss, you have to be the troubleshooter, too. And it looks like I’ll have to stay in Woodston. I made several phone calls and no one else will be available for a few weeks. I don’t like to be away from the business for such a long period, but I have a reliable office manager.”

Her words both delighted and disturbed Perry. How much togetherness could they experience without being swept headlong into their previous relationship? He struggled with an overwhelming desire to pull her close to him, and he didn’t believe Lorene was insensitive to his presence, either. Her body was tense and her well-formed hands were clenched in her lap. He sensed she was fighting to maintain her composure, but her face was unyielding, as if she had no intention of allowing herself to surrender to the past.

Earlier today, he knew her determination had crumbled in her surprise at seeing him. For a moment she’d been lost in her emotions and her heart had bonded with his as eagerly as it had in their youth. He believed if he’d taken her in his arms then, she wouldn’t have resisted. But she was in control now. With an inward sigh he realized that was just as well. Her willpower would encourage him to stifle yearnings he couldn’t indulge.

“I’m sorry you have to stay when you don’t want to.”

She waved an expressive hand, and her body seemed to relax as they talked of impersonal matters.

“It’s all in a day’s work,” she said, “but I feel as if I’m coming to Woodston in the dark. I picked up that file from Alma as I left your office, but I haven’t looked at it yet. I’ll try to study through it tomorrow.”

The restaurant was located one block from a busy highway. Perry asked for a corner booth, so they were fairly well isolated. Soft music filtered through the room as they ate, muting their conversation from those around them. They spent almost two hours in the restaurant discussing their respective jobs, talking as friends. Lorene didn’t want to open old wounds. Still, she couldn’t help wonder if Perry no longer cared for her.

When they’d finished their dessert, Lorene said, “Since I’ll have to take on the bicentennial project, are we going to admit that we used to know each other?”

Perry lifted his eyebrows in surprise. “Why not? It must have been obvious to Alma that we aren’t strangers.”

Lorene’s fingers traced the pattern of the place mat. Without meeting his gaze, she said, “I need to know what to keep secret and what to say. I don’t want to be an embarrassment to you.”

“Why not say we were college friends and let it go at that?”

“That’s fine with me,” she said with a sinking heart, knowing that she’d long ago forfeited the right to be more than friends. “Seeing you was more than I bargained for when I came to Woodston.”

“Maybe our meeting again is God’s plan for us. Have you considered that?”

“Until I’ve atoned for my past sins, I can’t expect God to be concerned over my welfare.”

Unspoken pain turned Perry’s eyes into inky, unfathomable orbs as he placed his hand over hers. “We don’t have to make restitution for our sins to have God love us. He loved us enough to send Jesus to make atonement for us. God knows our hearts, and He forgave us for making a wrong choice.” He paused, adding reminiscently, with some bitterness, “But it took a long time to forgive myself.”

“Does that mean you’re sorry for—” she hesitated a few seconds “—the months we dated?”

“We might be better off not to discuss what happened years ago, but since you’ve brought it up—you know as well as I do that I enjoyed all of our time together.”

Remembering the outcome of their engagement revived a pain in Lorene’s heart she found hard to bear. Her fingers stirred in his grasp and he released her hand.

“I’ll mention to Mr. Kincaid and Alma that we knew each other in college. We had a lot of good times together, and I don’t see why we can’t be friends. We can’t avoid each other while you’re here.”

Perry’s offer of friendship was rather like offering a starving person a teaspoon of chicken broth. But after she’d deserted him once, without an explanation, she’d relinquished the right to expect anything more.

When they returned to the car, Perry inserted his key in the ignition and started the engine. Memories of the past flashed through his mind, and he sat silently for a couple of minutes before he turned to Lorene.

“I shouldn’t ask this, but I have to know. Why did you just drop me without an explanation? Why didn’t you answer my letters or return my telephone calls?”

A startled gasp escaped her lips and she faced him quickly. She latched on to his second question, and he didn’t seem to notice that she avoided the first one. “What telephone calls? What letters? When did you write to me?”

“I sent a dozen or so letters that summer I was in Mexico. Days would go by when we didn’t have any communication with the outside world, but I mailed you a letter when I could. We went to a town every two or three weeks, and I always telephoned, but I couldn’t contact you. Your parents told me you didn’t want to talk to me, but I kept calling, hoping you’d answer the phone.”

Anger burned so fiercely in Lorene’s heart that her voice sounded harsh and raspy. “I had no idea you’d tried to get in touch with me. That’s why I allowed my father to convince me that you were glad to get rid of me.”

“I should have known,” Perry muttered. Her words cut like a flesh wound. “Your father never did approve of our relationship, but I can’t understand why you wouldn’t have expected me to write and why you didn’t contact me.”

“Our mail was delivered to a post-office box, and Dad always picked it up, so it was easy for them to intercept my messages. Perry, I’m so sorry. Leaving you was the worst mistake I’ve ever made, but I didn’t have your address in Mexico, and I didn’t want to take a chance on your parents mistakenly opening my mail. When I didn’t hear from you, I thought what we’d done had turned you against me—that you didn’t love me any longer.”

“I gave you no reason to think that,” he said sharply.

She steeled herself against the deep emotion in his voice. “I just can’t believe my parents treated me that way.”

“You don’t believe me?”

“Of course I believe you. But they’d have saved me a lot of heartache if they’d stayed out of our private affairs.”

“I finished the job training in time to start my senior year at college. I came to your home, intending to force my way in to see you, only to learn your family had moved. If your neighbors knew where you’d gone, they wouldn’t tell me.”

Lorene unconsciously twisted her slender hands together and leaned her head against the window. She held back tears of rage and disappointment. She remembered vividly the despair of the months following her separation from Perry. Though her parents told her persistently that he’d deceived her, only pretending to love her until he’d violated her purity, Lorene continued to believe they were wrong. She pored over each day’s mail, looking for a letter. Finally the day came when she no longer wanted to see Perry and lived in dread that he would come back to her. But she’d never forgotten how much she loved him, and her parents had never completely convinced Lorene that he hadn’t loved her.

He tenderly caressed her cheek with a knuckle and stroked the long hair on her shoulder.

“I’m sorry I’ve distressed you. It’s my fault. I should have known you wouldn’t walk out on me. It’s all right. Don’t let it ruin your evening.”

Chapter Three

Reluctant to part with Lorene for the night, Perry drove westward along the Ohio River. He stopped the car at a small park, took Lorene’s hand and they strolled to a shaded wooden bench facing the river and the setting sun.

They sat, bodies touching, and Perry put his arm over her shoulder. She didn’t push him away, and his arm tightened slightly into an impersonal hug. His touch radiated an affection that drew her like a magnet, and it eased the pain in her heart, but she refrained from turning to him to experience again the comfort of his strong embrace.

A cool breeze wafted from the river. Dark clouds hovered in the west, creating a sunset of vivid purple, red and yellow hues. They didn’t speak for a long while, content to bask in closeness, overcome with memories. Words couldn’t have expressed the comfort, the completeness, the rightness of the moment.

Sighing deeply, Perry brushed windblown strands of hair from Lorene’s forehead. His fingers wended their way down the right side of her face as skillfully as a musician would tinkle the keys of a piano. He cupped her chin and slowly turned her face toward his.

“Do you remember the day we met?” he asked, his mouth curved with gentleness.

A hint of moisture lurked in Lorene’s eyes and her intimate smile set his pulse racing. “You always could read my mind. I’ve been thinking about our first meeting all evening.”

“I can still see you,” he reminisced, “running out of the engineering building, with your book bag hanging open, scattering papers all over the steps.”

“I was crying so hard I couldn’t see, missed the last step and tumbled into your arms. You picked up my things, helped me to my car and invited me to join you for a sandwich. If I hadn’t met you that day, I’d have dropped out of college. I’d just come from my adviser, who’d told me I wasn’t going to make it in engineering school.”

Perry pulled her into a closer embrace while she wrestled with that terrible blow to her ego. “I didn’t know how I could possibly tell Dad. Since he didn’t have a son, he’d insisted that I was the one to follow in his steps as an engineer. With your help, I did pass that semester, but by then I knew the adviser was right. Engineering wasn’t for me.”

“But you did great when you enrolled in a media-related curriculum. See where you are today!”

“I couldn’t have done it without your help. You went home with me for moral support when I finally got the courage to tell my parents I’d changed my course of study. Just by being there, you kept Dad from bullying me into doing what he wanted.”

“Your father blamed me for your change of plans, but I didn’t mind. I’m happy I was there to help you. What are friends for, anyway?”

In the silence that followed, Lorene thought it might have been better if they’d continued as friends. But she couldn’t be sorry for those weeks after she and Perry had known it was love rather than friendship that had created the infinite bond between them. His expression grew serious, his eyes wistful, and she wondered if he, too, remembered that evening when one intense kiss had suddenly changed their friendship to love.

It was the night before Easter break, and Perry had walked with her to the apartment. Her roommate had already left for the holidays, and Perry came inside with her. They’d often studied together in the apartment, but while she heated milk for hot chocolate, Perry roamed restlessly around the room picking up items and looking at them as if he hadn’t seen them before.

He leaned against the table where they’d worked, and their eyes met across the snack bar when she poured the steaming cups of chocolate. An undeniable magnetism flared between them, and as Perry’s eyes searched her face and captured her eyes, for the first time she was conscious of Perry as a man. An electric spark couldn’t have startled her more.

Their gazes held as he slowly circled the divider and reached hungry arms for her. His eagerness excited her and she cuddled into the circle of his arms. His mouth caressed hers, gentle as a raindrop, before she sensed the strength of his lips. When Perry released her, his black eyes brightened with pleasure.

“How long has this been here and we’ve overlooked it? How many weeks have we wasted being friends?”

Lorene had rested her head on his shoulder, knowing that they’d just taken a giant leap in their relationship. Even as she’d welcomed the change, she’d slowly mourned the days when they’d been best friends. If she recalled correctly, they never did drink the chocolate.

Pushing memories aside, Lorene wondered if they were embarking now on a third phase of their relationship. Was it possible to go from friends to lovers and back to friends again? After they’d experienced a satisfying, comfortable love, could they ever be content with anything less?

They returned to Riverview Ridge in silence, reliving the emotional toll the years of separation had brought. She invited him to come in, but he refused. He shook hands with her at the door, promising to contact her the next day. Lorene entered the apartment feeling strangely bereft. She consoled herself with the fact that he’d loved her once with all the vigor of youth. She was almost forty, and Perry was two years older, so was it reasonable to expect him to feel the same as he once had?

Still, when she lay down for the night, unbidden memories entered her mind as she recalled the contentment of being held against his strong body. That’s all over, she told herself as she fluffed the pillows and tried to go to sleep. It’s all over! You came here on business, and you’ll have less to regret if you don’t expect too much. Concentrate on your assigned duties, then cut your ties with Woodston and Perry Saunders.

Perry wasn’t as indifferent to Lorene’s physical allure as he seemed. He’d settled for a warm handshake when he’d wanted to gather her in his arms and bury his face in the soft curve of her shoulder. For more than a year they’d been inseparable, except on the few occasions when they’d gone to visit their parents. After twenty years it was inconceivable that he still remembered so much about Lorene.

Why hadn’t she married? His tumultuous thoughts kept him awake most of the night.

In spite of her lack of sleep, Lorene awakened at six o’clock as usual. She pulled back the curtain beside her bed and peered out. Fog hovered over the river valley, and she decided to skip her usual morning run. She’d scout the area today to find a place where she could continue her daily exercise. Dottie could tell her if there was a trail from the house to the river.

The kitchen in the apartment was very small, but it was adequate for her needs. Breakfast was probably the only meal she’d eat here, but she’d have to buy a few groceries today. Dottie had provided an electric pot for heating water, tea bags, packages of decaffeinated coffee and sugar packets. While the water heated, Lorene unwrapped the two bran muffins she’d bought the day before and placed them in the small microwave.

While she ate, she flipped on the portable television conveniently placed on the kitchen counter. The news didn’t pique her interest, and she hurried with her breakfast.

After showering, she dressed in shorts and a knit shirt and set up her laptop on a small desk in the bedroom. She checked the e-mail and answered a few messages that needed immediate attention. She picked up the file she’d gotten from Alma yesterday, but she was too restless to study it. The thought she’d been trying to stifle since she’d awakened finally thrust itself to the forefront of her mind.

Had she and Perry been given a second chance?

There was no use trying to follow her usual routine as if nothing had happened. As if the foundation of the secure life she’d spent years building hadn’t trembled yesterday when Perry had suddenly reentered her life. It had taken years for her to get over Perry. Not that she’d ever forgotten him and the love they’d shared, but she had reached the place when she didn’t think about him first thing when she opened her eyes in the morning. Sometimes several days could pass and she didn’t wonder where he was, and dreams about him had become less and less frequent.

What would their lives be like today if she hadn’t left Perry, or if she’d gone back to him and they’d married? Considering the wonderful man Perry had become, she believed he would have been a fine husband. If they’d gotten married, they could have had children now—children who would be starting college.

Lorene jumped when the phone rang. She leaned over and picked up the phone from the nightstand. Probably her parents checking on her, she thought, but it was Perry.

“Am I calling too early?” he asked.

“I’ve been up a long time. Remember, I’m a working woman—no sleeping in for me.”

“Mr. Kincaid has scheduled the meeting for seven o’clock in the commission’s office at the bank.”

“How many people are on the commission?”

“A dozen or so—usually only five or six show up for the meetings.”

“It’s way too late for me to take on this promotion deal. We should have been working with the commission for at least a year.”

Perry’s laugh was deep and warm. Lorene envisioned his eyes crinkling from mirth and his lips curving with humor. She groaned inwardly, remembering the laughter they’d once shared together.

“Remember you’re in small-town America now. Somebody comes up with a new idea every time we meet, and it was only two months ago that Mr. Kincaid decided to obtain professional promotion to put Woodston on the map. You can expect new ideas right up to the day of the celebration.”

She feigned a groan. “I’ll do the best I can, but I hope no one expects miracles.”

“What are your plans for today? I have some free time this afternoon if you want me to show you around town.”

Lorene hesitated. If she spent a lot of time with Perry, it would be more difficult for her when she left Woodston. She well remembered when she couldn’t get enough of his company and wanted to be with him all the time, but wasn’t she mature enough now to control her emotions? After all, she thought, I’m middle-aged! I certainly won’t be carried away like I was before.

“I’ll study the file Alma gave me this morning and check out the town after lunch. It would be a big help if you came along.”

Perry had noticed her hesitation and understood her reluctance, for he felt the same way. If he saw her frequently—and how could they avoid it when they’d be associated so closely?—they might be tempted to revisit painful emotional paths. But in the long hours of the night, when he’d reviewed the past and contemplated the future, he’d made up his mind that he couldn’t ask anything from Lorene except friendship.

“I’ll pick you up around two o’clock.”

Lorene laid the phone aside wondering how she could concentrate on her work responsibilities if she saw Perry every day. But she hadn’t become successful in the business world without exerting personal discipline, so she picked up the file folder and forced herself to read and study every plan the commission had in mind for Heritage Week—the culmination of Woodston’s celebration the last week in September.

Lorene had learned quite a lot about Woodston from her reading, but as Perry drove through the business district, he gave a running commentary of the town’s history.

“Woodston was founded two hundred years ago this month when western Kentucky was still a frontier. At first there wasn’t anything except a fort and a few outlying farmsteads, but after steamboats revolutionized river transportation, the town became an important shipping center. The Native Americans, the Shawnees, in particular, moved westward and Woodston started to grow. After the Civil War, the economy plummeted for years, but during World War II the town took on new life.”

Lorene held a small tape recorder in her palm and she pushed the off button. “You like it here, don’t you?”

“Very much. My childhood was spent in small towns—we moved several times as a boy. Father was a preacher in Iowa, so big-city life isn’t for me. I love working with the young people at college.” He didn’t add that association with the students eased his pain over the children he’d never had.

He drove out of town to Frontier Park, where a replica of a log fort was under construction. “The park is located on the site of the original fort,” he explained. “During Heritage Week several people will come down the river on flatboats for the opening ceremonies to reenact life in the early 1800s. They’ll live in the fort, wear period clothing and cook as the settlers did. Artisans will give daily demonstrations on making pioneer crafts.”

“Sounds like fun.”

“We want you to make all of this attractive to out-of-state groups, as well as snag the attention of schoolchildren in Kentucky and the adjoining states.”

“I’ll make phone and computer contacts tomorrow and persuade some of our bus-company clients to arrange tours,” Lorene answered, excitement stirring as it always did when she started a new project.

“The park covers thirty acres,” Perry said. He pointed to a shaft on a high point above the river. “Except for that monument, very little has been done to develop the area. The fort will be permanent, available as a tourist attraction after the celebration is over.”

“Is that path along the river suitable for running? I like to jog every day if possible, and I haven’t seen any other likely place.”

Perry’s eyes lit up. “You’re a runner? So am I.”

“I noticed you’re in good shape,” Lorene said, willing her eyes not to sweep hungrily over his muscular physique.

“I spend a lot of time in the office, and if I’m not careful, I put on too much weight. I don’t have opportunity for any other exercise, but I make time for running.”

“Then it’s safe for me to come out here alone.”

“Yes. Many people use the park. But I run here several times a week. You can come when I do.”

She lowered her eyes. “Don’t tempt me, Perry.”

“Why should it be a temptation?” He tilted her chin slightly, but hurriedly removed his hand as if the physical contact disturbed him. “We can’t ignore what happened between us. Why can’t we put it behind us and be friends? I’m happy you’ve entered my life again, and I want to see as much of you as possible.”

“That could be risky.”

“I’m determined that nothing will happen to cause any problem. And I know you feel the same way.”

He sounded so cheerful about their casual acquaintance that Lorene couldn’t help asking in a husky whisper, “Is it all over for you, Perry? Don’t you feel anything at all?”

He placed his hands on her shoulders in a tender caress and his voice echoed her own longings. “I’d thought, after reaching the mellow years, that my youthful yearnings were gone.” His hands tightened possessively. “But yesterday I learned I’d only fooled myself. You’re as winsome and desirable as you were when you were nineteen. I made a promise to you once and I’ve never broken it. During the past twenty-four hours, other things I thought I’d forgotten have deleted all my preconceived ideas about what the future holds.”

“I haven’t forgotten, either,” she murmured.

Perry’s eyes darkened and Lorene thought he was going to kiss her, but he released her and stepped back quickly.

“We’ll have to forget what happened when we were in college and make the right choices this time. Since neither of us is married, there’s no reason we can’t be friends like we used to be.”

The flame in her heart ignited by Perry’s love had burned steadily for years, but his words almost extinguished it. She could never be satisfied with friendship. Maybe this meeting had been God-ordained. Perhaps God was trying to tell them it was time to stop pining for the past. If so, after her work was finished in Woodston, she’d go back to Pittsburgh, knowing at last that the break between them was final.

“Let’s look over the fort and walk around my favorite running trail,” Perry said. “It winds along the river for a mile and then curves through the trees back to the starting point. I’m going with some students to a seminar in Lexington tomorrow, but we can plan to run together on Monday morning.”

She nodded, unable to talk. Perry had shifted gears from the past to the present too rapidly for her. But she obediently followed him into the fort, where workmen were putting the finishing touches on the blockhouse.

“I’ll bring my camera tomorrow and get a few scenes to send out right away. My office staff will take care of distributing short clips to air on national programs. I’m getting excited about the celebration, and I’ve decided I want to stay for this project. I’m glad I didn’t let my temper cause me to leave.”

His eyes caressed her with a tender smile. “That makes two of us.”

Lorene admitted Mr. Kincaid knew how to conduct a business meeting. At the outset, Perry stated that he and Lorene had been friends in college and were pleased to meet again after so many years. His explanation paved the way for them to be on a first-name basis. Perry introduced her to the other commission members and Lorene took particular note of two of them.

Zeb Denney, husband of Perry’s secretary, was Woodston’s chief of police. He was a quiet, broad-shouldered, short man.

The local historian, Reginald Peters, was in his eighties. A mop of gray hair hung untidily around his face, but his dark brown eyes were intelligent and alert. His ancestor had been one of Woodston’s founding fathers, and while it was plain that Kincaid was in charge of the celebration, Peters’s opinions also carried a lot of weight in the decision making.

Heritage Week would begin with a parade on the fourth Saturday in September. In addition to the reenactment at the fort, a steamboat replica, River Queen, would be on hand during the week to take people for rides up and down the Ohio, featuring a dinner cruise each evening. A carnival would be in town. Craft shows had been scheduled.

“Miss Harvey,” Kincaid asked before the meeting adjourned, “do you have any questions?”

“As I understand, my job is to spread the news of the celebration nationwide. We can provide clips for all major television networks and numerous radio stations. But as far as I can determine, no financial arrangements have been made, leading me to the most important question—how much do you expect to spend for this publicity? Television advertising is expensive.”

All eyes turned toward Kincaid. He cleared his throat a time or two and riffled the pages on his desk. “Perhaps you’d better come up with a proposal of what you recommend and how much it will cost.”

“Our representative should have done that and gotten your approval before we even moved on-site, but Mr. Cranston didn’t do what he was supposed to do, so our agency, as well as Woodston, is suffering for it.”

“Can you estimate a price?” Kincaid asked cautiously.

Believing it was a trifle late for caution, Lorene said, “Not right now. But I’ll work this weekend and have an estimate for you on Monday. If you can’t afford us, I’ll move out and there will be no charge to Woodston. To be honest, a smaller company would probably do as much for you as I will.”

Perry’s heart plummeted. If the commission rejected the proposal, Lorene might leave in a few days.

He made it a point to ride down in the elevator with Lorene, and walked with her to the parking lot behind the bank. Zeb Denney and Reginald Peters sauntered along behind them, but when Perry opened the station wagon’s door for Lorene, he said quietly, “If Woodston can’t afford your services and you go away next week, will you leave your telephone number and address?”

Her lips curved into a soft smile. “You already have my telephone number. Circumstances are a lot different now than they were when I knew you before. When I leave Woodston, if it seems best for us to separate permanently, I’ll tell you so. I’ve stopped running.” She paused, and a pensive expression dimmed her eyes. “Or at least, I think I have.”

The board members got into their cars and drove away. Perry’s lips moved over hers, gently at first, then more insistent. After a few blissful moments she pushed on his chest to break the caress.

“Don’t, Perry,” she murmured. “I can’t handle this.”

“Sorry. I thought a kiss for old times’ sake wouldn’t hurt anything.”

Her hand was still on his chest, and she moved it to monitor his heartbeat, which was as rapid as hers.

“But you found out differently, didn’t you?” She moved away from him and slid into her vehicle. “These next two months will go much more smoothly, Perry, if we maintain a strict business relationship. But if it turns out that we can’t patch up our differences, I’ll not make a mess of things like I did before. I won’t disappear.”

As she drove away, Perry wondered how he’d feel if he knew she was leaving for the last time. But how could he offer her more than friendship? When he’d been at his lowest ebb, mentally and spiritually, he’d promised God that he would give up everything, including Lorene, for full-time Christian service. After he made that vow, warm peace had flooded his heart, and Perry believed he’d made the right choice. Now, remembering the touch of Lorene’s lips, he wasn’t so sure.

Chapter Four

Lorene spent Saturday morning walking along Woodston’s streets to get a feel for the history of the town. The population was near five thousand, excluding college students, and except for a few small industries, most of the residents had jobs in Louisville and Evansville and commuted to work. Woodston College was the town’s major employer.

Obviously, the glory days of the town had been the steamboat era. Lorene checked out renovated warehouses along Front Street, now housing numerous restaurants where any kind of food from sodas, ice cream, shakes, French fries, burgers and spaghetti to expensive steak cuts and shrimp was served. Small shops offered collectibles, crafts and souvenirs for sale.

The current Woodston business district was located on a high knoll safe from all except the most extreme floods. Front Street stores, however, had uneven floors and dark lines on buildings marking high-water stages when the Ohio River had flooded the town many times.

Lorene bought a burger and iced tea from a street vendor and sat on a concrete bench, looking out over the river, to enjoy her lunch. Several pleasure boats floated lazily back and forth, but they moved out of the way for a large towboat that moved upstream. There was something about the laid-back atmosphere of a small town that gave one a sense of security and well-being. Lorene could understand why Perry was satisfied here.

She spent an hour or more walking around the campus of Woodston Christian College, which was the focal point of the business district. The college had been founded before the Civil War, and the original building, Old Main, now housed the administrative staff, where Perry’s office was located. Perry was gone for the day, and the campus seemed empty without him.

Many of the businesses along Main Street, in buildings that dated to the antebellum South, catered to the students. Woodston Banking and Trust, Mr. Kincaid’s bank, was located in a three-story modern brick building, and Lorene went in to open a checking account for personal use during the time she was in Woodston.

In midafternoon she returned to Riverview Ridge, where Dottie and John were working in the yard. Dottie waved her hand, and Lorene walked to the flower bed where Dottie was pulling weeds.

“We’re trying to get the place in shape before Heritage Week,” she said. “I’m booked up that week, so I’ll be busy.”

“I’m surprised I was able to get accommodations then,” Lorene said.

“I’d just had a cancellation about an hour before you drove in,” she said, “or I couldn’t have taken you. Want to eat dinner with us this evening?”

“Yes, if it’s not too late to make reservations. I’ve been looking over Woodston today for some ideas on planning the publicity. It’s an interesting town.”

“We think so, but we’ve only been here a few years. After John retired, we wanted a quieter place than Louisville, but still on the river. We heard that this property was for sale and decided it would be a good investment—a place for us to have a little income and give us a reason for getting out of bed in the morning.”

“What time is dinner?”

“Six-thirty.”

“I’ll see you then. I’ve been grocery shopping, so I’d better put my cold things in the fridge, unpack the rest of my belongings and settle in for the long haul.”

A carved mantel of oak, embellished with designs of oak leaves and pineapples, was centered in one wall of Riverview Ridge’s dining room, with two original cupboards on each side. The cupboards were filled with antique dishes. A floral-patterned paper covered the walls above the wooden chair rail. The wide panels of the oak floor were highly polished, but numerous scars indicated the rough wear the wood had seen for over a century.

Several small tables were placed around the large room, providing seating capacity for twenty. Lorene joined a middle-aged couple from Illinois, who were traveling through Kentucky on a nostalgia journey retracing the places they’d visited during their honeymoon twenty-five years earlier. They showed Lorene pictures of their children and grandchildren. The meal was served family-style with a choice of country-fried chicken or baked fish, a variety of vegetables and salads and, for dessert, a fruit plate or rhubarb-raisin pie. The cuisine was evidently an attractive feature of Riverview Ridge.

Lorene and her companions spent over an hour at the table, and it was an enjoyable interlude, but when she excused herself and went to the apartment, Lorene stood for a long time staring out the window. Her eyes didn’t focus on the pastoral setting, for she was in a wistful mood. While she’d been exerting all of her time and energy in building a successful business, Lorene hadn’t often allowed herself to dwell on the things she was missing in life. Indeed, considering the unhappy marriages of her parents and her younger sister, Rose, she’d long ago concluded that she’d made the right decision to remain single. If marriage didn’t offer any more love, understanding and companionship than her family’s marriages demonstrated, she wasn’t interested.

But visiting with the contented couple this evening had opened her eyes to the happiness and contentment possible in a marriage. The couple’s life hadn’t been without difficulties, but through sickness, disappointment and death, their love had expanded until it was warmer and stronger than it had been on their wedding day. The tender glances exchanged by husband and wife as they remembered their honeymoon had been Lorene’s undoing. She was convinced that she and Perry could have had a similar marriage. Why hadn’t she been strong enough to defy her parents and go back to Perry before it was too late?

Lorene leaned her head against the windowpane, but she didn’t cry. Her anguish was too deep for tears. If the decision had been hers, after she’d gotten over her anger at Perry’s rejection she would have found him again. But once she returned home and her parents learned about her affair with Perry, they took matters out of her hands. Her father had been transferred to another state, and she’d gone with her parents to enter another university. If she had it to do over, Lorene believed she would have defied them, but she hadn’t been very assertive then, so she’d let Perry drift out of her life.

For months after their separation, Lorene had been angry at God for causing the rift between her and Perry, but when she got away from her parents she started going to church again. But one day she’d heard a sermon on the unpardonable sin that had puzzled and agitated her. She’d wondered since that time if she’d committed sins that couldn’t be forgiven, but she was hesitant to bare her personal life to anyone. Who would have thought that an unexpected pregnancy could have caused so much heartache?

In spite of her doubts that God would forgive her, Lorene had continued to pray, and she believed God heard her at times, but other days there seemed to be a large gulf between her and Heaven that mere words couldn’t bridge. Her spirits plummeted during those periods, and she feared her past would always stand in the way of complete communion with God. Perry knew most of her shortcomings. Perhaps she could talk with him about her spiritual doubts and questions. But on second thought, she decided Perry was the last person she should confide in.

Lorene was jolted out of her melancholy when Dottie called up the back stairs. “You’re wanted on the phone.”

Perry had her mobile phone number, so he wouldn’t have called Riverview Ridge.

Lorene went to the head of the stairs. “Do you know who it is?”

“Alma Denney.”

Lorene didn’t hand out her cell phone number recklessly, but it would be all right for Perry’s secretary to have it. And Dottie, too, should know if someone else tried to reach her through the B and B. “Please give her my cell phone number and ask her to call me up here? Got a pencil to write it down?”

“Nope, but I’ve got a good memory.”

Grinning, Lorene called off the telephone digits.

The interruption was welcome to Lorene. If she’d spent many more minutes thinking about what she’d missed with Perry, she would soon have indulged in a pity party, with herself as the only guest.

“Hello, Alma,” Lorene said when her phone rang soon afterward. “What can I do for you?”

In the soft drawl that Lorene was beginning to recognize as the native dialect, Alma answered, “I called to invite you to church at the college chapel tomorrow morning. There won’t be a large crowd, because many of the students go home on weekends, but our chaplain always has a good message. And we want you to have lunch at our house afterward. Perry usually has the noon meal with us on Sunday.”

The invitation surprised Lorene, for she’d thought Alma resented her unexplained connection with Perry, and she hesitated. Was the woman seeking an opportunity to pry into her past? She had intended to go to church tomorrow, knowing that she could get some good ideas for publicity as she watched Woodston residents worship. And she wanted to see Perry as much as she could while she was in Woodston. She must store up some new memories to cherish when she went back to Pittsburgh. The town had seemed empty today because he hadn’t been here.

“Thank you. I’ll be happy to come, although I can’t stay late. I have to hand Mr. Kincaid a financial proposal Monday morning, and it isn’t ready yet.”

“Feel free to leave when you must,” Alma assured her.

Alma waited for Lorene at the chapel door on Sunday morning, and they entered the small sanctuary to the sound of organ music. Zeb, Alma’s husband, nodded a welcome to Lorene as she and Alma slid into a pew brightened by light through a stained-glass memorial window.

Lorene focused her thoughts on the minister’s message, “The Unconditional Love of God,” based on the Scripture passage from Jeremiah 31. “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving kindness.”

“God’s love is not fickle like the devotion of humans,” the minister stressed at the outset of his sermon, “which is often motivated by the actions of those we love.

“His love is unconditional. He loves us if we’re good. He loves us if we’re bad. God doesn’t treat His children as some earthly father might, saying to His child, ‘If you’ll be good, I’ll love you.’ There is absolutely nothing we can do that can make God love us more or less than He does right now. Even when our actions grieve the heart of God, His love remains steadfast.”

If these words were true, God had forgiven the sins of her youth. Had she worried needlessly about the one thing she’d done that she thought God, and Perry, could never forgive? Maybe it was God’s plan for Kenneth Cranston to leave her employ so she’d be forced to come to Woodston and set things right with Perry. She blinked and picked up the thread of the message.

“Many people live in fear that the revelation of some skeleton in the closet will ruin their reputation. That isn’t necessary for those who’ve trusted Christ. Mistakes and sorrows are common to everyone, including Christians, but the Scriptures promise that God’s forgiving love remains steadfast.”

Lorene’s face flushed, and she felt faint when the minister summed up his sermon. “Turn your attention to the Biblical account of Jesus’s confrontation with a woman who had committed adultery, an unforgivable sin in ancient times, one punishable by death. Jesus dealt first with the woman’s accusers, reminding them of their own shortcomings. They dropped the charges. He knew the woman was guilty of the sin, but He spoke kindly to her. ‘I don’t condemn you. Go now and leave your life of sin.’ That incident confirms Jesus’s unconditional love.”

Lorene squirmed uncomfortably, thankful when the minister closed his sermon and gave the benediction.

She hadn’t seen Perry, but when he joined her and the Denneys in the foyer, she assumed he’d been sitting behind them.

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