A Match Made In Bliss. Diann Walker

him. Help me to forgive them. Even as she prayed those words, she wasn’t sure she was ready to let go of her anger.

      Lauren scrunched a little gel in her wet hair and lightly dried it. Afterward, she read her morning devotions and had a time of prayer. Next she placed Nocchi in a red checkered gingham dress with a matching bucket hat. Nocchi seemed to enjoy her wardrobe. She never tried to scoot out of the hat or clothes—a dog after Lauren’s own heart.

      Lauren latched the leash to Nocchi’s collar. Deciding she would make a list of what she wanted for her next job, she grabbed her laptop and headed outside to do some work.

      Silence met her when she arrived downstairs. How odd. She glanced at her watch. Maybe everyone had gone to church.

      She made her way to the kitchen, picked up a muffin and a small bottle of apple juice. A white square piece of paper on the counter caught her attention. “Lauren, after the early church service, we’re coming home to change, and then we’re going a block down the road to play tennis at a small park area. If you’re up to it, come join us. Garrett.”

      That charmed her—Garrett took his girls to church. She read the note again. Interesting. Did most bed-and-breakfasts plan events for their guests? She had never stayed in one before, so she had no clue. It certainly seemed to offer more than hotels.

      Though she appreciated their invitation, she decided to see if she could find a place to think and work a little while. Shoving through the back door, she and Nocchi followed a trail toward the woods. Maybe they’d find a fallen tree or a stump on which she could sit.

      The early-afternoon sun sailed brightly overhead warming her face, while a slight breeze moved a few scraps of clouds across the blue sky. Lauren stepped carefully through the yard, noting the green bushes thick with colorful flowers. Not one to have a green thumb, she had no clue as to the names of the flowers, but that didn’t stop her from enjoying them. Most floral names she couldn’t pronounce anyway. She walked over to a huge pot stuffed with assorted plants of all shapes and varieties. Bending over, she took a deep whiff. “Oh, Nocchi, it’s wonderful here.” The dog lifted her nose in the air as if trying to catch the scent.

      Walking farther on the path into the woods, Lauren stopped when she found a bench. “How great is this?”

      Nocchi scanned the area for a moment, then finally settled near Lauren’s feet. A lozenge of sunlight draped over the animal’s fur, resembling a bright-yellow ribbon. Lauren basked in the scene for a moment, then turned her attention to the laptop. She pulled it from the case and turned it on. Her wireless card didn’t work out in the woods, but she didn’t need it anyway for what she had to do.

      After waiting for everything to boot up, Lauren clicked open a new document in order to make a list of steps to take in her job search once she got home. She stared at the screen, her mind going through the few remaining law firms in town where she hadn’t yet sent a resumé. No doubt she would have little luck if her former boss had anything to say about it. True, she had made some huge blunders her last several cases, and true, her mind had been preoccupied with grief over her split with Jeff, but to fire her? Given her meticulous past work record, it seemed a little drastic. She felt sure the fact that one of the senior partners was Jeff’s dad entered into play.

      Oh, well, it should be easier this way. She wouldn’t have to run into Jeff, and when she stopped by, Camilla, in the office anymore.

      Maybe she’d do something else. She had enjoyed her prior job; legal work suited her, all right. Still, she couldn’t help wondering if there might be another niche for her somewhere. Her parents had worked as attorneys before their retirement. How would they feel if she tried something else? Lauren sighed. She had always figured she’d practice law, raise a family, have a nice house, picket fence, end of story. Unfortunately, her story didn’t have a happy ending.

      Still, at this point changing her career wasn’t really an option. She had bills to pay. After all, it wasn’t as though she had a husband’s income to fall back on. And things on the horizon didn’t appear all that promising—at least as far as a husband was concerned. Who was she kidding? There was nothing on the horizon. Not that she cared. Love was too painful—she’d better leave it alone. Feeling her mood take a nosedive, she decided to quit thinking about that and get to work on her list.

      One by one she typed the names of law firms in her hometown and the nearest cities that might be a good fit for her. Just for the fun of it, she decided to dream about other things she might do with her life. She enjoyed working with kids, teenagers. Maybe she’d go back to school and get a degree in counseling. She suspected she might enjoy cooking, though she’d never put that theory into practice. Her work kept her far too busy to spend time in the kitchen. Most days she tore open packaged foods and used the microwave, or she went out to eat.

      Soon she had quite a number of possibilities typed on a document. Satisfied, she saved the document into a file named “Employment Possibilities.” She turned off her computer and snapped it closed, causing Nocchi to glance up. When Lauren moved her head, a pain flared in her neck. Wincing, she wondered how long she had been in the woods. Judging by her stiff neck, it had been a while.

      “Working when you should be playing can do that to you,” Garrett’s voice called from her left.

      She turned to him, barely noticing the leap in her heart. Dressed in a polo shirt, khaki shorts, crew socks and gym shoes, he appeared the athletic type. The sweatband across his forehead and tennis racket in his hand added a professional look. “Hi,” she said, feeling strangely comforted by his presence.

      “Hi, yourself. Okay if I sit down?”

      She gestured toward the empty spot beside her.

      “Why would anyone bring a laptop to such a restful place? Seems to me you’d want to leave your work behind.”

      She turned to answer him. His handsome face, mere inches from her, caused her tongue to stick to the roof of her mouth, reminding her of her first day in court. She’d read about those feelings before in books, but she’d never really experienced them. Maybe a few things—fluttering heartbeats, a chill here and there, that kind of thing—with Jeff, but nothing similar to this. Whatever this was.

      Turning away, she fixed her gaze on the pines. “I was just making a list.”

      “What kind of a list? Like the Santa Claus kind? You know, making a list, checking it twice?”

      She dared a glance and he winked. Lifting a quick grin, she turned away again. She could feel him looking at her still. Call it woman’s intuition or the fact that she could almost feel his breath on her cheek—maybe that was wishful thinking on her part—but she felt his gaze on her face.

      Which made her remember that she didn’t like her profile. She thought her nose was weird. Still, she was proud of herself for resisting the urge to cover it with her hand.

      She suddenly remembered she hadn’t told him about her job situation. Or more appropriately, lack of one.

      “Uh-oh, did I overstep my bounds?”

      She wavered about whether she should tell him or not. “No, you’re fine,” she finally said. “The truth is I lost my job just before I came here.”

      “Oh?” His eyebrows rose slightly.

      “I was just making a list of places that might be a good fit for me. I’m not worried. I have enough money to get by until I find something else.”

      He nodded but kept silent. They stared into the forest. The wind whispered through the trees. The smell of pine mingled with the musky scent of his cologne and wafted her way. She closed her eyes and breathed in, lingering in the moment.

      A comfortable pause stretched between them. “I love this place,” he said, barely above a whisper.

      Opening her eyes, she cocked her head slightly and peeked at him. He stared at his hands, which were clasped together in his lap. “That’s why the bench is here. I love to come out here.”

      “Oh, I’m sorry.”