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idea. He was when I caught him that day in his office. Whether he continued to do so is his own business now. He says he’s in love.” Arden slapped the cup down on the table. “Father wants us to reconcile.”
    Elaine’s lips curled in distaste. “Your father is a heartless idiot. If he loves Michael so much maybe he should marry him. But if you were thinking of perhaps taking that snake back, let me tell you, young lady, I will write you out of my will. I can call my estate attorney right now.”
    “I’m not going to take him back, not that I want your money. I want you to live a very long time indeed.”
    Elaine sniffed delicately. “No one lives forever, my child. That’s why you can’t take a day for granted. Now back to the important topic at hand. What do you intend to do about Shane Anderson?”
    Arden had assumed that subject was over with. “Nothing…I mean…it’s all in the past. There’s nothing… to do .”
    Elaine Graham leaned forward, her gaze trained on her only grandchild. “The past, my dear, has a way of rising from the grave. My query is what do you intend to do about that if it happens?”
    Arden didn’t have an answer, and she feared she never would.

Chapter Five
    ‡
    A ll Shane wanted to do was kick back and relax, maybe have a beer and read. He’d spent the better part of the afternoon in the office trying to get through a pile of paperwork but had made little progress. He’d spent too much time thinking about Arden.
    As he drove down the pitch black lane to his log home on the outskirts of the Anderson ranch, he hit the remote clipped to his car’s visor and a flood of lights came on as his garage door slowly creeped up, illuminating the house and the grounds. It was then that he saw the car parked in front of his house, the engine running but the lights off. Tensing, he pulled his car into the garage but didn’t lower the door, his hand automatically reaching for the handgun he kept in the glove compartment. He kept his eye on the vehicle as he palmed the cold metal but then chuckled as Arden stepped from the car.
    As nasty as they’d been to each other the night before, he was sure she wasn’t here to rob or kill him. But that begged the question as to why was she here?
    He swung out of the driver’s seat and stood next to the SUV waiting for her to join him. She was wearing her hair down tonight and he had to quell the urge to reach for one of her curls and tug at it.
    “I’ve been waiting for you, Shane.”
    She stopped right in front of him looking more beautiful than she had any right to. He’d spent the last fifteen years comparing every woman he’d ever met to her and none of them measured up. Arden wasn’t beautiful in the classic sense; her chin was too short and her nose had a slight bump on it that he thought was cute, but she had that something that glowed from within. Shane didn’t know what it was exactly, perhaps intelligence, humor, or simply a zest for life, but she had it in bucketloads and it meant that he’d never been able to forget her.
    “I hope you didn’t wait long.” Shane jerked his head toward the door to the house. “Would you like to come in and tell me why you’re here?”
    It was a bad idea but he couldn’t turn her away after she’d waited for him. They should stay far away from each other and they would. Tomorrow. He couldn’t ignore the nagging ache inside that constantly chanted her name in his head and made him remember the good times they’d shared.
    Following him into the house, she stood uncertainly in his kitchen before placing her handbag on the table and unbuttoning her coat. “I wasn’t sure you’d let me in.”
    Shane grabbed two bottles from the refrigerator as she draped her coat over a chair. He opened the beers and offered one to her, watching her hesitate and then accept it with a small smile. “You thought I’d leave you out in the cold. That’s not very chivalrous, Arden. I’m an asshole but not a