he commanded himself. He couldn’t keep doing this. He couldn’t keep going into the past and finding the good memories. He had to hold on to his anger until he could come to grips with seeing Megan again.
“I never said I was married,” she said, smoothing her hands over her full skirt. “You assumed.”
“So neither of us married.”
“I didn’t wait for you,” she said hastily, as she raised her chin higher. “Don’t think I did.”
Her words brought another revelation. After all this time, Megan still had the power to hurt him. Of course she hadn’t waited. She’d made it very clear what she thought of him and his marriage proposal. He gripped his hands so tightly, he thought he would split the skin over his knuckles. He forced himself to relax. Eventually, he wouldn’t care anymore. Time away from Landing had taught him that.
“I never thought you waited for me,” he said mildly and rested one ankle on the opposite knee. “Until you mentioned it.”
“Justin.” Megan shook her head. “You haven’t changed at all.”
“Oh, but I have, sweet Megan. I’m a different man. Much more dangerous.”
“I suppose you’re right. There are parts of you that seem the same, but other things are different.” She studied him. He liked the way her gaze lingered on his face, focusing on his mouth. It was almost like being touched by her. The steady glance, the sudden panic as she realized she was staring. The careful looking away, only to have her eyes flicker back again and again.
“What has changed?” he asked, liking the way he flustered her. She might not have waited for him, but she hadn’t forgotten what they’d been to each other.
“You used to be nicer.”
He’d expected many comparisons but not that one. He threw back his head and laughed. “Nicer? I was never nice.”
“You were to me.”
His humor fled and with it his desire to continue this conversation. “Are you surprised? After what happened?”
“You’re still angry with me.”
He wanted to deny it, but what was the point? They both knew the truth. “Yes. I am still angry. It’s been seven years, and I figure I should have forgotten it by now, but I haven’t. If nothing else, Megan, you were supposed to be my friend.”
“I was.” But her actions then belied her words. She dropped her gaze to her lap, where her fingers twisted together nervously.
“Then why didn’t you believe me?” he asked.
“I wasn’t sure. Everyone said you did it.”
“I said I didn’t.”
She looked up at him. Sadness widened her eyes, darkening the hazel color to gray. “I know. Later, when I knew you were innocent, I didn’t know where you were. I wanted to write and tell you I was sorry.”
He stood, walked over to where she was sitting and held out his hand. She stared at his outstretched palm for several seconds, then placed her gloved fingers on his and let him help her rise.
She was tall for a woman, but the top of her head only came to his chin. She smelled of some forbidden flower. With her blond hair pulled away from her face, there was nothing to hide the pure beauty of her skin, the large almond-shaped eyes, or her trembling mouth. How many nights had he lain awake picturing this face, trying to forget...desperate to remember? How many times had he begged God to let him hear the words she’d just spoken? The statement of his innocence.
“It’s too late,” he said. “It doesn’t matter now.”
She blinked. “Oh, Justin, it has to matter. As you said, whatever happened, we were friends.”
“Not anymore.” He wouldn’t forgive her, couldn’t trust her. “You don’t want to be friends with me, Megan. I’m still the town bastard.”
“I’m sorry I said that. You frightened me that day. I didn’t know what to do.”
“You could have said you’d changed your mind.”
“I was afraid you would persuade me.” She bit her lower lip. “You always had the power to persuade me.”
Did he still? The thought tempted him. No, it didn’t matter. None of this mattered. He’d come back to Landing to make his peace with the town. To prove to them, and himself, that he was more than a troublemaker. When his year was up, he would move on and find a place to put down roots. Until then, he would stay as far away from Megan Bartlett as possible. She had always been his greatest weakness. Chances are, that hadn’t changed.
“Go home, Megan,” he said. “Go back to your respectable life. I’m not here to make trouble.”
“You’ve made it already, and you know it. Did you think that you could just come back here and be sheriff? Did you think people wouldn’t notice...or remember?”
“I’m counting on them remembering.”
Her delicate eyebrows drew together. He loved her frowns. They made him want to kiss away the lines in her forehead and hold her close until her worries faded. He drew back a step, putting more distance between them. He’d been right to want to avoid her. She was more trouble than he had ever been.
“Then why are you here?” she asked.
“You wouldn’t understand.”
“I would.” She stepped closer, close enough for her to touch his arm. Even through her gloves, the brief contact seared though his shirt to his bare skin. Instantly, his body reacted to the heat as his blood flowed quicker. “Explain it to me.”
The fire of need ignited his anger. He jerked his arm loose and walked over to the desk. After picking up a single sheet of paper, he waved it at her. “This is all you have to know, Miss Bartlett. The town council of Landing has signed a contract with me. Unless I commit a criminal offense, I will be your sheriff for the next year. I don’t need your friendship, or anything else from you.”
“Fine.” She reached for her cloak and drew it over her shoulders. The heavy fabric swirled around her, brushing against his legs, taunting him like a too-brief caress. “Keep your secrets and your friendship. I’ll be sure to tell everyone you’re back in town and that you’ve only changed for the worse.”
“Why don’t you tell them the rest?” he asked, knowing he was pushing, trying to hurt her the way he’d been hurt. “Why don’t you tell them the real reason you’re so afraid?”
She picked up her reticule. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
She started toward the door, but he moved quicker and slammed his hand against the wood, preventing her from leaving. “Tell them your dirty little secret. No one knows, do they? No one knows about our times by the stream.”
“Stop it.”
She reached for the door handle and pulled, but the door
