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well.
    But she had gotten it into her head that everything between them belonged in the past, that they had no present together, no future. Her certainty of that was obvious. She'd made it all too clear that the time she was allowing them was only to prove to him what she already knew.
    It had required all his will to keep himself from yanking her into his arms and convincing her she was wrong, but he was glad now that he had resisted that urge. It would have worked on the girl he remembered—but not the woman she'd become. He couldn't sweep her off her feet, couldn't carry her along on the wave of his own emotions.
    And he was troubled by what she'd said about being swallowed by him. Was that true? She'd been so young when he realized he loved her, a fourteen-year-old from a close family with a protective older brother, and astonishingly innocent in so many ways. Had he dominated her without meaning to? His own emotions had been certain, and he had known she loved him—though, looking back now, he wondered why he'd been so sure.
    "Damn," Kelly said mildly as she opened the front door. A delivery van was just pulling up in the drive. She glanced at Mitch, who had joined her at the top of the steps. "I'll have to show them where to put this stuff."
    "No problem," he responded. "I'll take my things up and find a bedroom. You're in the master suite?"
    She nodded. "You probably know the house better than I do. The beds aren't made, but the linen closet in the upstairs hall is stocked. It'll take me a few hours to get all the equipment set up; I want to get that done today."
    He glanced at his watch and was somehow surprised to find it was still early afternoon. Then, as a delivery man came toward them with a clipboard and a harried expression, Mitch nodded an acknowledgment to Kelly and went down the steps toward his rental car. Her car was parked beside his, and he remembered that Cyrus Fortune had told him Kelly's standard employment agreement required that a company car be leased for her; since she moved from one part of the country to another with fair frequency, that made sense. She didn't have to concern herself with insurance or maintenance, yet made certain she had transportation.
    He retrieved his suitcases and went back into the house, slipping through the doorway between two men carrying big sealed cartons. A glance showed him that Kelly had decided to set up her computer system in the large back parlor, where floor-to-ceiling windows provided plenty of light and a view of both the gardens and the ocean beyond.
    Kelly was standing in the hall directing the delivery men, and as Mitch raised an eyebrow at her, she offered bemusedly, "He sent more than I asked for. I don't know what half this stuff is."
    "1 gather it's going to be a long day," he said lightly.
    A hint of relief was in her brief smile. "Afraid so."
    Mitch didn't like that look, because he knew where it came from. Despite her willingness to let him stay with her, she was wary and disturbed by his presence. But both the long months of physical therapy and his search for Kelly had taught him the value of patience, and he had ho intention of letting his own fierce emotions push her farther away from him.
    So his voice remained light. "Don't worry aboutme. I'd like to explore the house and grounds. Do you mind?"
    "No, of course not." Again, the flash of relief.
    "Okay, then. See you later."
    She nodded, and turned to speak to two men carrying in a labeled carton that looked like one section of a desk/computer work station.
    Mitch went upstairs, looking around curiously as he noted the changes his father had made in the place. There weren't many structural changes that he could see, but the house looked much better than he vaguely remembered from his childhood. The floors had apparently been refinished, paneling and wallpaper replaced, and the furniture was different. There were five bedrooms with baths on the second floor, and an attic purely for storage