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growing guilt over not being man enough to spare them all this pain by calling off the charade months ago. He’d come close on a couple occasions, but Morgan caught on and appealed to his sense of obligation. A responsible man didn’t propose and then renege. He worked on the relationship. A responsible man didn’t walk away from the opportunity to bring hundreds of jobs to a town in desperate need. He made choices and stood by them. He honored his father’s memory.
    Standing in the sand, eyes glued to Alice, Justin’s guilt multiplied. He wasn’t a responsible man. He embarrassed his family, and he jeopardized the plastics plant. And now he stood on a beach in North Carolina watching a beautiful woman — who wasn’t his new wife — frolic in the sea.
    The bottom corner of his BlackBerry dug into his palm, numbing the skin and sending a shot of pain up his arm. He didn’t loosen his grip. His fingers wrapped tighter around the black box, and he wondered how much pressure it would take to crush it. How long would it take for the world to stop turning without access to him? It was a melodramatic question. Surely he wasn’t as important to everyone’s success and survival as he’d allowed himself to believe. But something inside of him withered at the thought of testing the theory.
    Alice floated on her back, further out to sea, and all Justin could imagine was the scandal that would result from her drowning on his watch.
    “You’re asking for trouble, Alice,” he yelled. “Come closer to the beach.”
    She flipped into an upright position and glared at him. “
You’re
asking for trouble if you keep telling me what to do.”
    He didn’t want any trouble. His intentions were good. Keep Alice from being dragged to sea. Get Alice out of Harmony Falls so she could sober up, he could get answers and tempers could cool. Marry Morgan and complete his father’s lifelong mission of bringing industry back to town. But would Harold Parrish care about intentions? Would he go through with his promise to build the plastics plant even though Justin backed out of marrying Morgan?
    “Seriously, Justin. What are you doing? Go get the dog before it gets too hot … or I’ll do it myself.” She started to rise from the water, dripping wet. The stringy straps of her black panties rode low on her hips.
    Justin groaned. “I’m going. I’m going.” He took a few steps back. “Get back in the water.”
    She stopped knee-deep in the surf. “So now you want me to get swept away. You don’t make any sense.” Throwing her hands over her head, she turned and dove beneath a wave.
    Alice was right. He didn’t make sense — nothing made sense. His life was supposed to be straight and narrow. By winning back the congressional seat his father’s death left empty, Justin was able to effect change where it mattered most, implementing steep tax cuts and generous incentives to corporations who set up in rural Pennsylvania. The congressional service was supposed to be temporary, but Justin surpassed everyone’s expectations, and newer, loftier plans formed. The presidency? He laughed the first time Robert Parrish suggested such a thing. But these things took on a mind of their own.
    Maybe Justin needed this break from the constant pressure and planning. Maybe the stress of the wedding and the wheeling and dealing at work had finally taken its toll. He was a young guy, but even young guys suffered high cholesterol and heart attacks. While his latest physical showed a healthy body, his mind went unchecked. Had the constant pressure caused this fissure in his normally practical thinking? If so, then a few days away from it all should smooth the crack.
    Unfortunately, this wasn’t a vacation. The circumstances were far from ideal. If he stayed beyond the few hours of sleep he needed to drive home to Harmony Falls, he’d have to face his age-old feelings for Alice, while he worried about what awaited them back home. Where was the peace