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parent about his poor dating habits and lack of
    responsibility and how about acting his age? In the end, Ben had seemed to take his
    daughter's words to heart, and the endless stream of women had slowed to a trickle. Taylor
    absolutely did not want Melanie to become another drop in his bucket.
    She sat down at the kitchen table and slowly banged her forehead on the tabletop. How had
    this happened? She'd known Melanie all of two days, and already she was playing protector.
    She had always been this way, ever since she could remember. She developed a "crush" on a
    woman and became her self-appointed bodyguard, making sure nobody hurt her. It had started
    at summer camp with Theresa, her camp counselor. Taylor was fourteen, Theresa was sixteen.
    Taylor had no idea what was going on. Hell, she hadn't even known what the word sexuality
    meant. All she had known was she wanted to be near Theresa all the time. She'd followed the
    older girl around like a puppy dog, always ready to help. Theresa had been flattered by the
    attention. One rainy day, the camp had organized a mud war. It was something they often did
    when the lake activities were rained out, and it was loads of fun for the kids. How often were
    you allowed to just get absolutely, irretrievably filthy? It had been noon and the war had been
    in full swing, various cabins trying to stay cleaner than their rivals, when twelve-year-old
    Danny Jenkins had thrown a fistful of mud that had caught Theresa in the side of the head.
    At her yelp of pain, Taylor hadn't even stopped to think. She'd been on Danny like a heat-
    seeking missile, slamming his face into the mud-covered ground, screaming at the top of her
    lungs. It had taken three counselors to get her off the poor kid. She often wondered where
    Theresa was now, if she remembered her from camp. Did she have any idea then or even now
    that her little shadow had been a lesbian-in-training with a serious crush on her?
    She shook her head, disgusted with herself. Why couldn't she fall for a nice, available girl who
    would fall for her in return? It didn't seem like a lot to ask. She sighed, finished her orange
    juice, and headed upstairs to shower.
    MELANIE RETURNED FROM the grocery store that evening still in awe. She'd wanted to
    stock Sam's kitchen, since there wasn't much more in it than some Saltines and an old jar of
    peanut butter, and Ben had given her directions to a place called Wegmans. Never had she
    seen such a gigantic grocery store. It was like a giant warehouse full of food and sundries. The
    seasonal aisle alone had boasted enough summer items to stock a small drug store. She'd spent
    nearly two hours in there, gaping at the enormity of it. She'd also spent way more money than
    she had originally intended.
    Waiting for her at the door of the carriage house was a small bundle. Picking it up, she
    realized she held three tapes, six episodes, of Xena: Warrior Princess, as promised. She
    smiled to herself. Now, I have something to do tonight.
    Her thoughts returned to Ben and the unexpected lunch invitation he had extended for the
    following afternoon. It had been so long since she'd gotten such attention from a man, so long
    since she'd taken the time to accept it, that she had sucked it in like life-giving fluid. He was
    charming and handsome, familiar with the corporate world, and she liked him immediately. She
    had been talking a little about the bookstore, and he mentioned a nice little place across the
    street. As long as she was planning to be there tomorrow anyway, would she be interested in
    joining him for a bite? Although her initial reaction to his invitation had been refusal—what
    would Taylor think? Sam?—as she turned it over and over in her mind, she decided to go. Why
    not? He wasn't asking for her hand in marriage. He wasn't asking for a relationship. It wasn't
    even dinner, for Christ's sake. It was lunch. That was all. And when she looked at it that way,
    the fact that he was more than ten