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form. That, and thrashing through waist-high weeds with a puny stick, was fast taking its toll. At least it was his left shoulder, and not his right. Still, Zach didn’t know how much longer he was going to be able to bear up.
    Then again, he didn’t have much choice. Nor did the others. Each of them had injuries of some type. All were suffering varying degrees of pain, physical and emotional.
    Across from Zach, Kelly sprawled next to the little old lady. The woman stirred, and murmured fretfully, “Where’s J ames?”
    Kelly reached out to pat her age-spotted hand in a g esture of consolation. “He… he’s gone on ahead, dear.” To heaven, or purgatory, or wherever we go when w e die, she added silently.
    The elderly woman nodded, accepting Kelly’s statement at face value. “We celebrated our golden wedding anniversary in Australia,” the woman added with dreamy smile. “Fifty years together, yet it seems just yesterday we spoke our vows. We’re both pastors, you know. Done a lot of traveling and missionary work all over the world. Good deeds never go unreward ed. You remember that, miss… what did you say your name was?”
    “Kelly. Kelly Kennedy.”
    “Ah, a good Irish name if ever there was one. I’m Wynne Templeton. British to the tips of my toes, but I never did hold with all that fighting between your folks and mine. People need to learn to get along in this world. Life’s too short for all that strife and bickering.” Wynne craned her neck in the direction from which they’d come. “Something’s keeping James. It’s not like him to dally this way and make me worry. He knows how I fret over his heart condition. I do wish he’d hurry along.”
    Kelly blinked hard to clear the tears from her eyes. Her gaze, when it finally focused, centered on Zach—just in time to see him wince as he attempted to move his left arm.
    “Is it your arm or your shoulder?” she asked.
    “Shoulder,” he hissed through clenched teeth. “I think it’s just out of place, but I swear it hurts worse than if I broke it.”
    Kelly scooted over to him. “Mind if I take a look?”
    He slanted her a wary glance. “I thought you ran some sort of beauty salon. What would you know about treating injuries of this nature?”
    “My establishment is a health spa, too, and I’m a duly licensed massage therapist.” she informed him. “Besides that, my dad and my older brother are both osteopaths. I know more about bones and muscles than you might think. If it ’ s simply dislocated, I might be able to pop it back for you, and relieve a lot of your misery.”
    “Or cause me more,” Zach suggested skeptically.
    Kelly shrugged. “It’s your call. I only wanted to help.”
    Zach hesitated. “Okay.” He mustered up a roguish wink, and added, “Do you promise to be gen tl e with me, darling? I don’t do this sort of ‘massage’ thing with just anybody.”
    Kelly had long since heard all the ribald comments and jokes concerning masseurs, and become fairly inured to them, even those delivered by tall, dark, handsome men with bedroom eyes and come-hither smiles. Now she simply rolled her eyes and answered dryly, “Sure, that’s what they all say. It goes hand in hand with ‘I’ll respect you in the morning.’ ”
    Zach grinned and cocked a brow upward. “You will, won’t you? Respect me in the morning?”
    She grinned back, shaking her head in amused exasperation. “Yeah. And the check is in the mail, too. Now behave yourself and do as I tell you.”
    Behind them, the Southerner guffawed. The soldier laughed. Even Blair chuckled and said, “Guess she told you!”
    Kelly pressed on the back of his neck, urging his head forward. With lean, strong fingers, she carefully probed and prodded all along his spine, the curve of his shoulder blade, the collarbone and socket. Moving his head back, and to either side, she repeated the procedure. Even that cautious manipulation caused him to moan in pain.
    “You’re right.