Good Husband Material. Susan Mallery

at risk. But Gage had always believed in doing what was right.

      Ida Mae gave her a knowing look. “He’s still a handsome devil, too, don’t you think? Is he taller than when you left?”

      Kari wanted to roll her eyes, but figured she was getting a little old for that particular response. Fortunately, Ida Mae was on a tear and didn’t require an answer.

      “No one knew you were coming back,” the older woman said. “Of course, we knew you’d have to eventually, what with you still owning your grandma’s house and all. I can tell you, tongues wagged when you left town all those years ago. Poor Gage. You about broke his heart. Of course, you were young and you had to follow your dreams. It’s just too bad that your dreams didn’t include him.”

      Kari didn’t know what to say. Her heart had been broken, too, but she didn’t want to get into that. The past was the past. At least, that’s what she told herself, even though she didn’t actually believe it.

      Ida Mae smiled. “It’s good that you’re back.”

      Kari sighed softly. “Ida Mae, I’m not back. I’m just here for the summer.” Then she was going to shake the dust from this small town off her shoes and never look back.

      “Uh-huh.” Ida Mae didn’t look convinced.

      Fortunately the deputy arrived just then. Kari asked Ida Mae if she needed a ride home, as well.

      “No, no. My Nelson is probably waiting out front for me. I called him just before you walked out.”

      Led by the deputy, they headed out the front door and down the three steps to the sidewalk. By the time she saw that Nelson was indeed waiting for his wife, Kari had broken out into a sweat and was having trouble breathing in the heat.

      “Little Kari Asbury,” Nelson said as he approached. He grinned at her as he mopped his forehead with a handkerchief. “You’re all grown up.”

      Kari smiled.

      “Didn’t she turn out pretty?” Ida Mae said fondly. “But then, you were always a lovely girl. You should have entered the Miss Texas pageant. You could have gone far with a title like that.”

      Kari smiled weakly. “It was very nice to see you both,” she said politely, then headed toward the squad car that the deputy had pulled around.

      “Gage has had a couple of close calls,” Nelson called after her, “but no one’s gotten him down the aisle.”

      Kari waved by way of response. She wasn’t going to touch that particular topic.

      “Good to have you back,” Nelson yelled louder.

      This one Kari couldn’t resist. She turned toward the older man and shook her head. “I’m not back.”

      Nelson only waved.

      “Just perfect,” she muttered as she climbed into the car with the deputy. He’d told her his name, but she’d already forgotten it. Probably because he looked so impossibly young. She was only twenty-six, but next to this guy she felt ancient.

      She gave him her address and leaned back against the seat, breathing in the air-conditioned coolness. There were a thousand and one details to occupy her mind, yet instead of dealing with them, she found herself remembering the first time she’d met Gage. She’d been all of seventeen and he’d been twenty-three. At the time, he’d seemed so much older and more mature.

      “I know this is a crazy question,” she said, glancing at the young man next to her. “But how old are you?”

      He was blond, with blue eyes and pale cheeks. He gave her a startled glance. “Twenty-three.”

      “Oh.”

      The same age Gage had been eight years ago. That didn’t seem possible. If Gage had been as young as this guy, Kari shouldn’t have had any trouble standing up to him. Why had she found it so incredibly difficult to share her feelings while they’d been dating? Why had the thought of telling him the truth terrified her?

      There wasn’t an easy answer to the question, and before she could come up with a hard one, they arrived at her house.

      Kari thanked the deputy and stepped out into the late afternoon. In front of her stood the old house where she’d grown up. It had been built in the forties, and had a wide porch and gabled windows. Different colored versions of the same house sat all along the street, including the home next door. She glanced at it, wondering when she would have her next run-in with her neighbor. As if returning to Possum Landing for the summer wasn’t complicated enough, Gage Reynolds now lived next door.

      Kari walked inside her grandmother’s house and stood in the main parlor. Never a living room, she thought with a smile. It was a parlor, where people “set” when it wasn’t nice enough to settle on the front porch. She remembered countless hours spent listening to her grandmother’s friends talking about everything from who was pregnant to who was cheating on whom.

      She’d arrived after dark last night. She hadn’t turned on many lights after she’d come in, and somehow she’d convinced herself that the house was different. Only now, she saw it wasn’t.

      The old sofas were the same, as was the horsehair chair her grandmother had inherited from her grandmother. Kari had always hated that piece—it was both slick and uncomfortable. Now she touched the antique and felt the memories wash over her.

      Maybe it was the result of all the emotions from the robbery, maybe it was just the reality of being home. Either way, she suddenly sensed the ghosts in the house. At least they were friendly, she told herself as she moved into the old kitchen. Her grandmother had always loved her.

      Kari looked at the pecan cabinets and the stove and oven unit that had to be at least thirty years old. If she expected to get a decent price for the old place, she would have to do some serious updating. That was the reason she’d come home for the summer, after all.

      A restlessness filled her. She hurried upstairs and changed out of her clothes. After showering, she slipped on a cotton dress and padded back downstairs barefoot. She toured the house, almost as if she were waiting for something to happen.

      And then it did.

      There was a knock on the door. She didn’t have to answer it to know who had come calling. Her stomach lurched and her heart took up that thundering hoof dance again. She drew in a deep breath and reached for the handle.

      Chapter Two

      Gage stood on Kari’s front porch. She didn’t bother pretending to be surprised. Her time with him in the bank had been too rushed and too emotionally charged for her to notice much about his appearance…and how he might have changed. But now that they were in a more normal situation, she could take the time to appreciate how he’d filled out in the years she’d been away.

      He looked taller than she remembered. Or maybe he was just bigger. Regardless, he was very much a man now. Still too good-looking for her peace of mind. He appealed to her, but, then, he always had.

      “If you’re inviting me to attend another bank robbery,” she said with a smile, “I’m going to have to pass.”

      Gage grinned and held up both hands. “No more crime…not if I can prevent it.” He leaned against the door frame. “The reason I stopped by was to make sure that you were all right after all the excitement today. Plus, I knew you’d want to thank me for saving your life by inviting me to dinner.”

      She tilted her head as she considered him. “What if my husband objects?”

      He didn’t even have the grace to look the least bit worried. “You’re not married. Ida Mae keeps track of these things, and she would have told me.”

      “Figures.” She stepped back to allow him inside. Gage moved into the front room while she closed the door behind him. “What makes you think I’ve had time to go to the grocery store?” she asked.

      “If