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thought about it, she haddetected a slight limp when he’d first gotten out of the Jeep. She’d chalked it up to a long plane ride in one of the cramped commuter jets that routinely flew in and out of the small airport in the Falls.
    “So enough about me,” he said with a quick smile. “Why a general store in the middle of Nowhere, Minnesota?”
    It was her turn to shrug. “I grew up here. Kabby, Lake Kabetogama,” she clarified, “it’s home. Crossroads was my mom and dad’s store. When they retired in Arizona a few years ago, it seemed like taking it over was the right thing to do at the right time.”
    “Before that, what did you do?”
    “I was an ER nurse. Last place I worked was Womack, the Army Medical Center near Fort Bragg—it was the last place we were stationed.”
    He looked impressed, and she tried not to let it please her. “You miss it?”
    “Nursing? No. At least, not yet.”
    “Burn out?”
    “Some, yeah,” she admitted. “But it was more than that. After J.R. died . . . I guess I needed to come home, you know?”
    She could see in his eyes that he did know.
    “Anyway, on any given day, I end up treating anything from sunburn to sunstroke to removing fish hooks embedded in . . . well, you can imagine some of the places those things get stuck. So I still keep my fingers in the pie, so to speak.”
    “Sort of a local Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman?”
    She grinned. “Closest doctor is twenty, twenty-five minutes from the lake. Everyone knows I’m a nurse. So I’m going to turn them away?”
    “No, I don’t imagine you would. You didn’t turn me away.”
    Not that winter night. Not today. She didn’t regret what she’d done that night. She hoped she wouldn’t regret not sending him on his way today.
    The waitress had brought their salads several minutes ago, and they’d both been halfheartedly working on them when he finally posed the question about something she’d been too chicken to ask.
    “Why haven’t you asked me what took me so long to come back?”
    She looked across the table—and saw in his eyes that the small talk was over.



Chapter
5
    T y watched Jess carefully as she set her half-eaten salad aside to make room for the steak he’d convinced her she needed to order. After several long moments, she finally answered his question.
    “I didn’t figure I needed to ask.”
    That’s not what her eyes said. “You weren’t surprised when you didn’t hear from me?”
    She picked up her steak knife and fork, let them hover over her plate, then set them down again. “A little bit, maybe. Until I got to thinking about it. I mean, seriously. Things were a little intense that night. It was difficult to get a true read on anything but the danger. Besides . . . I live here. You live half a continent away. We lead very different lives. So a little time, a little distance, a lot of perspective, and you coming back didn’t look like such a good bet on paper. I chalked it up to a passing chance encounter. Hardly something to—”
    He covered her hand with his and stopped her with a softchuckle. “OK. I got it. Good points. All taken. You can stop rationalizing now.”
    And protesting. Too much, maybe, judging by the sudden flush on her cheeks. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen a woman blush. He found it endearing and pretty and sexy as hell. Reluctantly, he pulled his hand away.
    “You weren’t even a little bit disappointed?” It was a shameless fishing expedition, but he didn’t feel guilty about it. He’d thought he’d get a smile out of her. Maybe an admission.
    He got far from it when those big brown eyes met his. “Look, Ty. The fact that you came back . . . asking me to dinner . . . it’s all very nice. But nothing’s changed. We both know nothing’s going to come of it. And wow, didn’t that sound presumptive and sadly hopeful?”
    “Whoa. Wait. Presumptive? Hello . . . I’m here. I think it’s safe to presume I came back for