Baby, Come Home. Stephanie Bond

in night school. Their mutual interest in the science of structure had been one of the things that had drawn them together in the first place.

      They’d been an unlikely couple—she was a tomboy and had a tendency to get into scuffles with kids who teased her over her wiry red hair and Goodwill clothes. Kendall was a scholar and an athlete from an upstanding family, with a cloud of beautiful girls around him. One day between classes, he’d pulled her off the back of a boy who’d questioned her sexuality. His blue eyes had twinkled as he explained he’d been afraid for the boy’s life. She’d fallen head over heels in love with him on the spot. Kendall had been the smartest and the sexiest boy she’d ever met. He’d made her feel feminine and pretty. She’d known he was destined to go out into the world and do great things—she’d just always assumed he’d take her with him.

      But she’d never shared his adventures. After leaving Sweetness, she’d periodically entered his name into internet search engines and drank in details of “Airman Kendall Armstrong” aiding in the El Salvador earthquake recovery, then “Senior Airman Kendall Armstrong” raising temporary housing in post-tsunami Indonesia, then “Staff Sergeant Kendall Armstrong” erecting modular housing for victims of Hurricane Katrina.

      By comparison, she’d been landlocked and relegated to more mundane projects, such as shoring up aging highway infrastructure and designing parking garages.

      Amy scanned the ad again, conceding a little thrill at the thought of rebuilding an entire town. She and Nikki had stayed in touch, so she knew things were progressing…and that all the Armstrong brothers were still single. She nursed a guilty pang about not telling Nikki that she’d grown up in Sweetness, but she didn’t want her friend to inadvertently divulge information about her to the Armstrongs.

      She hadn’t counted on Nikki falling in love with Porter Armstrong. Amy shook her head as memories of the youngest brother came back to her—cute and reckless. It was hard to imagine Porter all grown up and ready to settle down. She wondered if Nikki had ever mentioned her friend Amy back in Broadway. And if she did, would Porter connect the dots? So far, Amy’s friend hadn’t confronted her. Regardless, Amy was relieved she hadn’t shared all the details of her life with the woman she’d met in yoga class scant weeks before Nikki had left to move to Sweetness.

      For the time being, anyway, it seemed as if her secrets were still safe.

      The shrill ring of the phone on her desk broke into her thoughts. Amy crossed her fingers that the call was an offer for the reservoir job, then picked up the receiver.

      “Amy Bradshaw.”

      “Amy, hi,” a deep male voice sounded over the line. “This is Marcus Armstrong.”

      Amy blinked in surprise, then found her voice. “Hello, Marcus. This is…unexpected. How are you?”

      “I’m fine, thanks. And you?”

      “Fine,” she said automatically.

      “Good. I assume you know my brothers and I are rebuilding Sweetness.”

      She hesitated, her gaze falling on the ad in front of her. “Er, yes, I’m aware of your…project. A friend of mine moved there, and we stay in touch.”

      “Dr. Salinger, yes, I know. She mentioned your name to Porter and he put two and two together as to why Kendall chose that particular town to run the ad.”

      She wasn’t sure how to respond, so she remained silent.

      Marcus cleared his voice. “Look, I’ll get right to the point. I’m calling with a proposition.”

      Wary, Amy sat forward in her chair. “I’m listening.”

      “We need a bridge designed to replace the old covered bridge over Timber Creek.”

      A picture of the splendid Evermore Bridge came to her clearly. Lovingly constructed from original stand timber—wood from old-growth forests—and painted a rustic red, the old landmark had been a faithful steward of the safety of all those who had crossed it. How many times had she and Kendall walked there, hand in hand, to stare up at the intricate ceiling trusses and dissect its construction?

      “It didn’t survive the tornado?” she asked.

      “I’m afraid not. It was blown away, like everything else. Only sections of the foundation remain, but I doubt if they’re salvageable.”

      Amy pressed her lips together. “What does this have to do with me?”

      “We need a structural engineer to design and oversee the construction. And I understand that’s your specialty.”

      Her heart skipped a beat. She chose her words carefully. “How much do you know about my life, Marcus?”

      “More than Kendall,” he said evenly.

      Feeling light-headed, she sat there, waiting for the floor to open up and swallow her.

      “What I propose,” he continued in her silence, “is that you return to Sweetness…for the time it would take to rebuild our bridge.”

      “A new covered bridge?”

      “As close to the first Evermore Bridge as possible, considering the original blueprints no longer exist. We have a grant from a preservation society to offset some of the costs and they provided blueprints from a similar bridge in Ohio.” He gave her an overview of the project budget and the amount they could offer for her services. “Not a king’s ransom, I know,” he said.

      “No, it sounds very fair,” she said, tightening her grip on the phone. Had Kendall told Marcus how much that bridge had meant to her? Rebuilding it would be a great personal achievement. “So…you’re offering me a temporary job?”

      “That’s right. The way I see it, I need a bridge, and it would give you a chance to see if things have changed around here.”

      If things had changed… He was alluding to Kendall and their old feelings for each other.

      “Whose idea was this?” she asked.

      “Mine. Kendall doesn’t know I’m making this call. As far as I know, he doesn’t even know you’re an engineer.”

      Because he didn’t care enough to find out? But even as hurt squeezed her heart, she was grateful Kendall hadn’t delved deeper into her life. She wondered again how much Marcus knew.

      “And if I say no, what then?” she asked.

      There was a hesitation on the other end of the line. “Then nothing. No matter what I think, Amy, you have a right to your privacy.”

      She exhaled. “Thank you, Marcus. You don’t know how much I appreciate that.”

      “Then you’ll think about it?”

      Amy’s mind swirled with the possible outcomes of returning to Sweetness. It had taken years for the sharp pain in her heart over Kendall to subside to a dull ache. If she returned now, there would be more at stake. Much more. And it was more than she was willing to gamble.

      “I’m sorry,” she said with as much conviction as she could muster, “but I’m going to have to pass. I have commitments here that I can’t turn my back on.”

      A regretful noise sounded on the line. “I’m disappointed, but I understand. It’s been nice talking with you. Call if you ever need anything.”

      She smiled into the phone. “Thank you. Goodbye, Marcus.”

      Amy set down the receiver and sank into her chair. That was close. She sat for a few moments, her mind traveling down the road not taken, wondering if her response would’ve been the same if Kendall had called instead.

      She closed her eyes and conjured up his handsome face, his serious deep blue eyes, his intense approach to everything.

      Including lovemaking, she remembered with a smile. He’d been her first lover and the only man who’d ever moved her. Every man in