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stood there waiting for her answer.
    Since she wasn’t sure which one he wanted, she skipped to a safer topic. She turned to Mitch and strained to see his eyes through the dark lenses. “You’re here to look at a tree?”
    “Yes.”
    Uh-huh . Skepticism blew over her like a blustering wind. “And you just happen to be here when I’m here.”
    “Amazing isn’t it?”
    “Or calculated.” The whole thing struck her as convenient, though why Mitch would take such a sudden interest in her after all these years was a mystery.
    He lifted off the shades then and hit her with the full force of those shockingly blue eyes. “Are you suggesting something?”
    “Just wondering when you set this appointment.” She hadn’t been a stellar student, but she knew a setup when she walked right into it.
    Allan stopped shifting his gaze between Mitch and Cassidy. “He was going to come next week but called this morning to reschedule to today.”
    Bingo . “He did? Interesting.”
    Mitch winked at her. “You can’t blame a guy for trying.”
    But trying what was the question. If this was some messed up ego thing leftover from high school, she might just punch him.
    “Am I missing something here?” Allan asked as he folded his arms across his chest and settled into his famed father-on-date-night stance.
    “Something that will be resolved at dinner.” Mitch’s stare bore into her as he spoke.
    “Keep dreaming,” she mumbled.
    Mitch clapped, breaking the strange haze winding around them. He looked to Allan. “The trees?”
    The older man pointed toward the side of the house. “We’re talking about the ones around back.”
    And then the men were off. They started walking, acting like she would either disappear or go away. She chose neither.
    She had to jog a few steps, but she ended up right beside Mitch. “I want to see this.”
    He smiled but didn’t look at her. “You don’t think a guy with a business degree knows anything about trees?”
    “I’m betting there are at least three people at the nursery with more expertise on this issue than you.”
    “Probably closer to five.”
    They stopped just as they reached the edge of the house. Towering black maple trees shaded this part of the yard. Some of the yellow leaves littered the ground but the tops remained full. As a kid she’d thought they were a hundred feet tall. With the eyes of an adult she figured she’d doubled the actual number.
    Allan tapped his palm on the trunk. “Austin checked them.”
    Another name from her past. He was the carefree Thomas brother. The one who did some climbing and shared her love of conquering heights that terrified others. They’re e-mailed over the years but since losing her computer she’d lost touch with everyone.
    “He’s still in town? I always liked him.”
    Mitch scowled. “Settle down.”
    “Excuse me?”
    “He married my sister, Carrie, last month.”
    Not a surprise. Cassidy had always view them as a meant-to-be couple. But Mitch’s reaction to the mere mention of his former, and probably still, best friend’s name struck her as overkill. People in this town tended to engage in that sort of thing quite often. “I didn’t say I wanted to date the man.”
    “That’s good since I believe that job is already occupied by me.”
    Allan’s hand slid down the tree until it hung lose at his side. “Do you two have something going on?”
    Mitch nodded. “Yes.”
    She rushed to answer. “God, no.”
    He raised an eyebrow over that. “That denial was a bit overly dramatic, don’t you think?”
    Allan cleared his throat. “About the trees? We’ve been talking about an accelerated timetable.”
    “For what?” she asked, wondering about the urgency as well as the whole situation with the trees.
    “I read Austin’s report. They’re healthy and we want them,” Mitch said to Allan. “I’ll have to do some paperwork for the state to deal with the environmental concerns, but I think we can come to a deal.