it to Tanya to keep catching him off guard. She had a daughter? The idea of a miniature version of her did funny things to his insides. “I didn’t know that,” he said. “What does her father do?”
“He’s an actor.” She stacked the scripts on a table in an alcove beside the stage and turned to face him. “We’re not married anymore. I’m living with my parents until I can get on my feet again. Anything else you’d like to know?”
Yeah. What happened to the sweet girl I used to know? He didn’t see much of her in this polished woman with her artfully streaked hair, silk blouse, designer jeans and brittle demeanor. “How long are you staying this time?” he asked instead.
“Forever,” she said. “This is my home now. It’s where I want to raise my daughter.”
“It’s changed a little since you lived here last,” he said.
Her expression clouded. “Yes, it has,” she said. “I’d like to find the person responsible for all those condos spoiling the view.”
“That would be me,” he said, with a sense of grim satisfaction.
She stared. “You?”
“Yes, me.” He straightened. “I built most of those condos, and made a good profit doing it, too.” He might have stayed behind while she went off to the big city, but he’d made a success of himself in spite of that limitation.
Her expression darkened. “What did you want to do something stupid like that for?” she demanded. “This was a beautiful place and people like you have almost ruined it.”
“People like me? You’re one to talk, considering you couldn’t wait to get away from here ten years ago.”
They glared at each other, the only sound the creaking of a timber as the old building settled and the soft sigh of her breathing. The intensity of his anger caught Jack off guard. That night ten years ago, when she’d told him she was leaving, he’d been too stunned to say much to her. The anger had come after she was gone, but he’d believed he was long past feeling anything for her.
She was the first to look away. “This is stupid,” she said. She took a deep breath and held out her hand. “Let’s try again. Hi, Jack. It’s good to see you again. Thank you for helping with the scenery.”
Her hand in his was as soft as silk, the nails long and tapered and painted pale pink. He caught a whiff of a floral perfume, and fought the urge to pull her closer, to see if she tasted as good as his memory recalled, if her lips were as sweet as he remembered. “You’re welcome,” he said instead, releasing his hold on her and taking a step back. He had to get out of here before he said—or did—something he’d later regret. “I’d better go now.”
“Our next rehearsal is Tuesday,” she said. “I hope I’ll see you there.” As if to prove she really was a great actress, she even sounded as if she meant it, though Jack doubted she did. Whatever the two of them had in common had died a long time ago—right about the time she’d gotten on that bus and made it clear Crested Butte had nothing to offer her. The question now wasn’t so much why she’d returned, but how long she’d hang around before restlessness and her desire for fame drove her on to the next territory to conquer.
Meanwhile, he’d stay right here, building those condos she hated, living in the one place that would always be home for him.
TANYA SAGGED against the table that held the scripts and stared out at the empty theater. Only seconds before, Jack had sauntered away, taking her ability to think clearly with him. She’d been so determined to play it cool, to approach things casually as an old friend. But five minutes alone with him and she’d completely blown it.
It didn’t help that the moment he’d tucked that lock of hair behind Barbie’s ear, Tanya had felt a visceral reaction in her gut, as if the past ten years had never happened and she was still Jack’s steady girl, the female half of the Sweethearts of the Class of 1999. Some part of her personality she didn’t even know had existed had taken one look at Jack and Barbie and screeched, What is she doing with my man?
But of course he wasn’t her man, and he hadn’t been for years. Her early feelings for him had been sweet and uncomplicated first love. Later, she’d learned the real thing was much more complex and fraught with potential problems.
She relaxed a little as understanding dawned. She’d reacted to Jack not because she was still in love with him, but because he represented a simpler, more innocent time in her life to which she longed to return. After struggling to make it big in a town that didn’t give two beans about her, she’d come back to Crested Butte hoping to be a part of a close-knit community once more, and to regain the peace that had been lacking in her life too long.
The door at the back of the theater burst open and a little girl with long blond hair pounded up the aisle. “Mom!” she shouted, pelting toward Tanya’s outstretched arms. “Emma has a new dog, Joe-Joe. He’s a weenie dog and his ears are so long he almost steps on them when he walks.”
“He sounds cute.” Tanya smoothed her daughter’s hair and smiled at Angela, who was making her way up the aisle at a more sedate pace.
“I met Heather and Emma as I was leaving and offered to see that Annie made it safely to you,” Angela said. Heather Allison babysat for Tanya on Thursday evenings while Tanya was at rehearsals. On Tuesdays Tanya’s mom watched her granddaughter.
“Thanks.”
“Mom, can I look at the posters in the lobby?” Annie asked.
“All right. But don’t go anywhere else.” Tanya smiled as Annie skipped back up the aisle and burst through the door. She had Tanya’s strawberry-blond hair and blue eyes, but her father Stuart’s high cheekbones and boundless energy. The girl never walked if she could run, determined to absorb everything life had to offer at full speed.
“Was that Jack Crenshaw I saw leaving just now?” Angela asked when the two women were alone.
“Maybe.” Tanya began sorting scripts again, ignoring the pointed look from her friend.
Angela sat in the auditorium’s front row. “I heard a rumor you and he were pretty hot stuff in high school,” she persisted.
“We dated,” Tanya said evenly.
“Uh-huh. I don’t know what he was like back then, but right now he’s one very fine man. Definitely a hot property in these parts. Are you going to pick up where you left off?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. We were just kids.”
“They say first loves revisited can be very sweet.”
Tanya snorted. “Who says that?”
“Someone did, I’m sure.” Angela sat back, legs stretched before her. “So how about it? Are there any sparks still there?”
“None,” Tanya lied. If she’d felt a twinge or two of attraction, it only proved she was a normal, functioning woman.
“Do you think he’s still interested in you?” Angela asked.
“No! When I walked in on him backstage, he was practically drooling over Barbie.”
“She’s
