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and frustrated, she frowned. “I don’t know what happened this afternoon. I must have been edgy for some reason.”
    “Do you think it was Frank’s program?”
    “Maybe.” She shrugged. “I don’t know. It could also be the holidays coming up. These will be the first. It’s kind of hard not to look back.” Though her eyes were averted, her pain was evident. “We used to all get together, my father and brothers and their families and me.”
    “None of your brothers can get to New York?”
    “Naw.” She made light of it, but she knew she’d miss them terribly. “It’s an expensive trip with the kids and all. I think that we’ll try to rotate visits. I’ll see my father in New York at Thanksgiving, my brother Jim and his family down south at Christmas, Ted and Doreen and the kids sometime in the spring God knows where. Exciting, huh?”
    She made it sound anything but. In total sympathy, Sam felt helpless to come up with a remedy. “You really want to go home, don’t you?”
    Looking as sad as he’d ever seen her, she nodded. “Yup.”
    “It wouldn’t be smart, Carly.”
    “I know.” She gave a rueful smile. “But that doesn’t stop me from wanting it.”
    This time it was Sam who nodded. He’d feel the same way if, for some reason, he couldn’t go home. The times he spent in Montpelier had become more and more special with the years. Beyond that, he had Ellen, not to mention Sara and another child on the way. Carly Quinn was alone.
    After several quiet moments during which they were both lost in thought, Sam shifted in his seat. “Why don’t we get going,” he suggested, gesturing for the check. “You can make me a cup of coffee at your place before I hit the road.”
    It was back in Carly’s kitchen, over a second cup, that he finally broached the topic that had been on his mind since dinner’s end. “You still don’t date, do you?” he asked, stretching back in his chair with studied nonchalance.
    Her gaze narrowed in mock reproach. “You’re not going to start in on that again, Sam Loomis, are you?”
    “You have to admit it’s been a while since I mentioned it last,” he argued good-naturedly, feeling not at all guilty. “And I’ve been patient. I’ve given you time. But you aren’t dating, are you?”
    “You sound like an older brother,” she teased.
    But he was serious. “No, Carly. Just a friend expressing his concern. When you were in protective custody, you were isolated, in a kind of limbo. It would have been impossible for you to lead a normal life then. But that’s over. The trial is over. It’s time you returned to the real world. You’re young and attractive. You’ve got so much to offer a man. And you need one.”
    In vain she fought the blush that stole to her cheeks. “I need one?” A single auburn brow ventured high beneath her bangs. “Do I look that desperate?”
    “You know what I mean,” he scolded. “You need companionship. For God’s sake, you’re afraid to go out at night! A man would be company, protection.”
    “Ahhh,” she drawled. “A knight in shining armor.”
    “You’re not taking me seriously, Carly.”
    “I am.” And she was, suddenly as sober as he. “I’ve given it lots of thought, Sam. Believe me, I have. I’m busy. There are always things to do for school—reading papers, planning classes. I want to be a good teacher. Honestly, it’s better this way for now.”
    “Better? To sit up here alone, night after night? Hell, you’d never have gone out tonight had I not come over and trundled you off!” He glowered. “Maybe I should turn you over to Greg, after all.”
    “Hmm?”
    “Greg Reilly. My assistant.”
    She grinned. “That charming fellow with the hungry eyes?”
    “You noticed?”
    “How could I help but notice. Every time I walk into your office he all but strips me naked.” She held up a hand against Sam’s scowl. “Figuratively, of course. I certainly wouldn’t have to worry about nightmares with