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made a move. I was beginning to wonder about him.”
    “Mrs. R., please.” Jena didn’t want her getting any bright ideas. This wasn’t a date. It was more of a business meeting. They would decide how to make this joint custody idea of her sister’s doable. She made an effort to push away the mental images crowding her mind. Her face flushed when one of them had Chase’s lips on hers.
    Andrea stopped unpacking groceries and jumped down from the chair, startling Jena into reality. “I’ll help you pick something pretty to wear for your date.”
    Jena protested. “Andrea, it’s not a date. Uncle Chase and I are going out to dinner to discuss…” Stopping mid-sentence she swallowed her words. Jena didn’t want Andrea to know any of her plans to go back to Ohio until she had everything figured out. “Anyway, it’s not a date.”
    Mrs. R. and Andrea wore ear-to-ear grins.
    “You two are a couple of busy bodies.” Jena didn’t know if she should laugh or be insulted.
    “Come on, Aunt Jen, you have to get ready.”
    “You go on up. I’ll be right there.” Jena waited until Andrea was out of the room before continuing, “Chase and I are going to discuss the move to Ohio.”
    “I see.”
    “You don’t approve.”
    “My approval is not necessary. I’m only the housekeeper.”
    “Jasmine considered you family. Andrea adores you. I couldn’t have got through this without you. No, you’re more than the housekeeper.”
    “I won’t go to Ohio with you. I have family here, Jena.”
    “I was hoping you would come. It would be easier on Andrea, but I understand.”
    “Well, maybe that good-looking boy can talk you out of it,” Mrs. R. said turning back to the groceries.
    “He won’t,” Jena said with confidence that was becoming less familiar. In fact, since she arrived, being a lawyer seemed as unreal to her as losing her sister. Back home she reacted on instinct. Her job demanded it. She was a leader. Here, she floundered, second guessed, and let emotion get the best of her. All these were reasons she needed to get back to her life. The life where she was in charge and no one could make her feel….needy.
    “Will you sit down with me a minute, girly?”
    Jena reluctantly seated herself in a chair across from her. It wasn’t difficult to see Mrs. R. didn’t approve of her plans. Equally easy to see she saw Jena as stubborn and unreasonable. She would let her have her say and then quietly retreat.
    “I don’t usually interfere.”
    Jena hid her smile with a cough, covering her mouth.
    “Chase is a good, decent, hard-working man…and good-looking to boot. He hasn’t had much luck in finding a good woman to share his life. Women want him for the wrong reasons.”
    The pang of jealousy hit her without warning. “I bet he feels so used.”
    Ignoring her comment, Mrs. R. continued, “Fact is, he’s carried a torch for you, Jena. Don’t judge a book by its cover. There’s a lot more there than meets the eye. I would say hear him out. Give him a chance. He’s grown up a bit since you knew him last. Don’t be so stubborn from the hurt you let a good thing slip on by.”
    “Mrs. R., I…”
    “Maybe you need to take a break from all that over-analyzing you do. Let things happen. Well, anyway…” She thumped her hand on the table as she was standing. “Time to get back to work.”
    “Mrs. R., I do appreciate what you’re saying. I do. But I have nothing left to give Chase. Any man. I’m no longer girlfriend material.”
    “Hah! Girlfriend material? That young man wants to make you his wife. Stubborn pride gets you nowhere, girly, but alone. I know what I’m talking about.”
    “Thanks,” Jena said quietly as she got up from the table.
    “But, no thanks, right?” Mrs. R. grinned while pulling a bowl from the cupboard. “Stay out as long as you’d like, dear. I’m just going to stay in the guest room tonight.”
    What could she say? I’m scared? Weakness was no longer part of her