Private Affairs. Tori Carrington

such pride in. A place he might not have recognized if not for the tilting, rusty mailbox at the unpaved curb that bore the family name.

      The simple, one-story clapboard house had at one time been painted a brilliant white with powder-blue shutters. The flower beds had been full of color, the shrubs neatly trimmed, the grass mown. Now everything looked abandoned, as if the only owner had been his mother and no one had lived there since.

      Palmer opened the gate that hung half off its hinges and stepped slowly up the weed-choked gravel path. The shrubs had grown unevenly to nearly halfway up the front windows and a newspaper sat on the cracked concrete front steps. He picked it up, verifying that it was today’s, and then leaned forward to knock. The screen door was so grimy that he hadn’t noticed the front door was actually open until he heard his old man’s gravelly voice as clearly as if he were standing next to him.

      “What the hell do you want?” he called. “If you’re selling something, I ain’t buying.”

      More words followed but they were said quietly and apparently not meant for whatever visitor stood outside the door.

      How easy it would be just to turn away. To leave and pretend he’d never visited.

      Palmer reached for the door handle only to find it was locked.

      “I asked what in the hell you want.”

      The old man stood directly on the other side of the screen door now, staring out at him.

      Thomas DeVoe didn’t recognize him.

      And Palmer wouldn’t have recognized him if not for the fact that he knew he was at the right house.

      While his father had been tall, he seemed to have shrunk a few inches. Or maybe it was the way his shoulders curved forward as if unable to hold himself completely upright anymore. The three-day stubble on his face made it look even more haggard than it probably was, and his graying hair spoke of the fact that he was at least a month late for a visit to the barber’s. He wore a tank T-shirt that was more gray than white and his slacks would have fallen from his thin hips if not for the belt pulled tightly around them.

      Palmer lifted the paper to wave at him. “Hi, Pops.”

      Thomas squinted at him, the stench of liquor seeming to emanate from his every pore.

      “I only have one son and you’re not him,” he said, and then reached to close the door.

       No matter where you go, there you are …

      “ARE YOU ALL RIGHT?” Barnaby asked Penelope for the third time in an hour.

      Penelope slid her hand into the crook of his arm as they walked the fair paths, the scent of corn dogs and cotton candy filling the air along with the happy shrieks of children enjoying the carnival rides.

      “I’m fine,” she assured him.

      Which was a bald-faced lie. She wasn’t fine. Her mind was still on the scene in the backyard before her date had arrived. And her body still hummed as if Palmer had touched her with more than his gaze.

      She suspected the dream she’d had before encountering him hadn’t helped. But it was more than that. Putting together the Palmer of her past with the man of the present hadn’t been nearly as difficult as she’d thought it might be.

      So many people she’d attended high school with had changed dramatically. Facial features had broadened or narrowed, grown fuller or thinner, some so much so that she often didn’t recognize them. Not Palmer. She could have picked him out instantly. Even in a crowd like tonight’s, her gaze would have immediately homed in on the man who was even more attractive now than he had been then.

      Damn him.

      “Would you like an elephant ear?” Barnaby asked.

      Penelope squinted at him. “Pardon me?”

      He pointed to a nearby food booth.

      She laughed quietly in understanding, then looked down at where she absently rubbed her abdomen. She already felt as if she had a real elephant ear in her stomach and it was furiously trying to flap its way out.

      “Are you sure you’re all right?”

      Penelope faltered. “I’m sorry,” she said with genuine affection. “But I guess I’m not. I must have eaten something earlier that didn’t agree with me …”

      “The corn dog?”

      “I don’t think so. This goes to before we got here.”

      Began the instant she looked into Palmer’s eyes.

      “I really hate to ask, but do you think you can take me home?”

      He searched her face, but if there was any answer to be had there, apparently he didn’t find it. “That bad?”

      She nodded. “I really hate to ruin the night, but all I can think about is going home and lying down.”

      And flipping through the scrapbook of her memories.

      Of course, she didn’t tell him that. Would never admit that Palmer’s appearance had had such an unexpected impact on her. Not to Barnaby. Not to anyone.

      So much of what had transpired between her and Palmer had been unbearably private. There had really been no one to talk to back then. Or now.

      Should she take it into her head to mention the visit to her grandmother, she could just imagine the reaction. The frowns. The head-shaking. The questions.

      “Would you like one to go?” Barnaby asked. She smiled. “Yes, yes. That would be nice. Thank you.”

      PENELOPE STOOD ON THE FRONT PORCH, a wrapped elephant ear in her hands as she faced Barnaby.

      “Would you like me to come in?” he asked.

      She looked down. Well, that was a first. Usually Barnaby was comfortable allowing her to set the tone. She shook her head. “No. I’m afraid I wouldn’t be very good company.”

      Night had fallen, day little more than a purple smear against the western sky. She’d left the porch light on and it threw Barnaby’s handsome features into soft relief.

      “Thank you for taking me to the fair. And for this.” She lifted the sweet.

      “You’re welcome, Penelope.”

      He moved up the last step. She knew he was preparing to kiss her and she mentally scrambled for a way to avoid the awkward meeting.

      “Goodnight, Barnaby,” she said and turned. “I really must take something for this upset stomach.”

      “A soda always works wonders for me,” he said.

      She quickly unlocked the door and went inside. “Thanks. That may be exactly what I need.”

      Before he could offer to get one for her, she closed the door with a clap and then stood for long moments, listening for sounds that he was leaving. Realizing that he might be waiting to see that she was safe inside, she leaned over to switch on a lamp, and then peered through the curtains. He still stood where she’d left him.

      She gave a little wave and then closed the door curtains again.

      Finally, she heard the sound of his footfalls as he walked back to his car, and then the crank of his truck engine.

      Penelope let out a long sigh, unaware that she’d been holding her breath.

      She stepped toward the kitchen, flipping on lights as she went. It wasn’t fair, really. On paper, Barnaby Jones was the perfect man for her. Beyond being great looking and single, they’d attended the same schools, knew all the same people, and enjoyed doing the same things.

      Maybe that was the problem: they were too well matched.

      She put the elephant ear down on the counter, inwardly cursing her meddling grandmother and aunt.

      Of