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about.”
    He steered the car to the far end of the lot, wishing he’d have kept his mouth shut. “Yeah. See you in a bit.”
    After killing the engine Braden checked the time on the dash. Ten minutes early. He rolled down the window, catching hints of mist as the rainfall ceased. Nostalgia rushed over him with the fresh breeze. From the sights and smells of the old school building, to the familiar feeling of longing that gripped hold of him all over again. Back in high school, he would pull into this very lot – thinking of her all the while. Waiting to see her. Talk with her. Steal her away from his best friend , he thought with a cringe. But that wasn’t exactly the case; really he’d imagined picking up the pieces after Terrance left – that was Terrance’s style, after all, love ‘em and leave ‘em. Until Allie came along, anyway.
    Years had passed since then, and those feelings had all but washed away. So why did they seem so tangible now? As if they were moving back in and taking root with a vengeance. Braden rolled his neck, trying to shake the once-perpetual ache that accompanied the longing he felt for her, the heavy barbs that sunk into his shoulders and chest. He wouldn’t fall victim to it again. He didn’t even know her anymore. Allie Emerson was a stranger to him now.
    The string of words had sped through his mind without a conscious thought. But they were true just the same. In his mind he was back in her place. Spinning around the kitchen and taking it all in. He shook his head. Had Allie really been prancing around that house all these years for any old pervert to see? No window treatments to speak of? What the hell was wrong with Terrance that he’d allow such a thing? Braden could picture it now: Allie walking into the kitchen in the middle of the night for a glass of water, dressed in who knows what with only heaven knows who looking in on her. And those daughters. There could be all sorts of perverts peeking in at those girls. If that was his family he’d make sure they were better protected.
    Annoyed heat burned his throat at the thought. Terrance always did take things for granted. “Spoiled SOB,” he mumbled. Seeing Terrance in those pictures, his arm around Allie, it had set his blood to boiling. What a jackass. Couldn’t even appreciate what he had. If you asked Braden, Terrance hadn’t deserved her in the first place. And here he had the nerve to up and leave her behind. A woman Braden hadn’t fully stopped thinking about after all these years. He was sure to burn in hell for his jealousy, for his sheer desire for his best friend’s woman. There was a reason he’d said no to Terrance’s dinner invitations, and it had a lot to do with the commandment that spoke of not coveting another man’s wife.
    The idea had him ducking his head in shame, and wondering what his real motives were for wanting to hire her. True, he needed help around the shop; Mrs. Carmichael’s lost sketch said it all. But Braden had to admit that he wouldn’t be willing to hire just anyone. In fact, he wouldn’t hire anybody except for Allie Emerson.
    With one last sigh, he contemplated his fate. Had he done right by inviting Allie back into his life, or had Braden just made a mistake he’d regret for years to come?

CHAPTER SIX
     
     
    “What’s with all the necklaces, Mom?”
    Allie heard Paige’s question, but was too distracted to answer. “Jillian, you’re riding the clutch too hard,” she said. “You need to ease up a little more as you accelerate.”
    “I’m trying,” Jillian said, rounding the corner toward the Jr. high. “It’s hard with heels.”
    “So one or two necklaces wouldn’t have been enough,” Paige prodded from the backseat. “You needed to wear all four?”
    “Oh,” Allie said, finally realizing what Paige was talking about. She glanced down to see the necklaces she’d finished just that morning. “I’m shipping these today. I threw them on to make sure there