The Baby Chronicles. Lissa Manley

      Score tied.

      Aiden stepped outside and took a deep breath, filling his lungs with the warm summer air, liking the sound of the cars and buses zooming along. Though the offices of the Beacon were located in a building in the center of downtown Portland and lots of people and traffic hurried by, the sounds of a normal city, one not torn apart by bombs and war, calmed him. Thank God he was home. Even though he doubted he’d ever be safe from his devastating memories and scorching guilt, at least he was back in familiar territory, a place he could burrow into and fashion a new life.

      Yeah, everything would be perfect if he didn’t have to work with Colleen. But he did, and he wasn’t going to let that fact bother him enough to ruin this job and his chance to obliterate the terrible memories burned in his mind.

      Unbidden, images arose in his brain, images he was helpless to stop. Dying children. Grief-stricken parents. Hell on earth…

      I did nothing.

      He stopped, suddenly breathing heavily, sweat breaking out on his upper lip. Guilt roiled in his soul like boiling water, burning him little by little from the inside out.

      He closed his eyes, and by sheer dint of will he forced the agonizing pictures away, the truth of the current situation with Colleen thudding down instead.

      Take back the stupid deal.

      Nodding, he did an about-face and headed back toward the offices of the Beacon, his memories putting his problem into instant perspective. Making any kind of deal with Colleen was idiotic. If she didn’t want to work with him, fine. In fact, better. Easier. Less demanding. Less challenging.

      He found Colleen sitting alone once again at a cluttered table in the lunchroom, staring off into space, a faraway, vulnerable expression on her face that unexpectedly landed like a kick in the gut. Fool. Why the hell should he care that she seemed sad? He ignored the unsettling sensation and cleared his throat. “Colleen.”

      Her gaze snapped to him. “Aiden.” Surprise lit her cornflower-blue eyes. “Back so soon?”

      “Yeah.” He made a face when the scent of stinky, stale coffee grounds and burnt microwave popcorn assaulted his nose. But he’d take that smell any day over the stench of blood and death he’d never quite been able to banish.

      He shook it off along with his bad memories and forced himself back on track, back to the present. “I’m calling off our deal.”

      She stood and stared at him, then pushed her hair back behind one ear and narrowed her eyes. “Why?”

      “It’s pretty simple, really,” he said, irritated that he’d even considered making any kind of deal with Colleen, that he’d let her push him around. “All I want to do is take pictures of babies.”

      “Okay,” she said, drawing the word out. “But what does this have to do with your…deal?”

      He snorted. “I’m not going to make some dumb deal with you to make sure you find a way to work with me. That’s your choice, not mine, and frankly, I don’t give a damn what choice you make.”

      She widened her eyes, clearly taken aback by his harshness, then moved over and opened the refrigerator and pulled out a can of diet pop. “I don’t know whether I should be jumping for joy or feel insulted.”

      He shrugged. “I’m not trying to be insulting, just realistic. I told myself that you needed to find a way to work with me to do this job.” He let out a derisive laugh. “That’s a load of bull, and I’m not going to beg you to do your job. I’m sure Joe can find someone else to work with me.”

      “Actually, I’ve already asked him to find someone and I’m it.” She pulled her lips into a triumphant smile. “So I guess my friend and her baby are in.”

      He ground his back teeth together. It rubbed him the wrong way to have to redesign his layout to include another baby, but it wasn’t worth fighting with Colleen about. The less contact he had with her, the better. He nodded. “Yeah, your friend and her baby are in.”

      Her face relaxed. “Good,” she said, walking toward him. She laid her free hand on his forearm for a moment. “You won’t regret it, I promise.” She moved by, her scent briefly masking the coffee and popcorn smell. “I’m going to call Maggie right now. I bet she’ll be thrilled.”

      Colleen left the lunchroom and Aiden felt the warm place her touch had branded on his arm. Her light scent lingered in the air, intoxicating and evocative, fueling memories of her in his arms, her blue eyes staring into his soul, making him feel happy and content and loved.