Apple Blossom Bride

He caught himself speculating about the reason she’d interrupted him and Tati, and ordered his brain to stop.

“Wait a minute—Masters?” She blinked. “Mick—I mean Michael Masters?”

“That’d be me.” He hadn’t heard that nickname since high school. Which meant she knew him—but he couldn’t remember anyone from those days who looked like she did.

“Oh.” Her expression altered, her eyes widened. A moment later her mask had dropped back into place and he couldn’t quite discern what had caused the change.

She drew herself erect. “I’m Ashley Adams. As you already know.”

“Nice to meet you, Ashley Adams.”

“Yes, well.” She gulped, risked a look at him then quickly looked away, toward Tati. Her voice emerged low, with a ragged edge. “I’m really sorry. I shouldn’t have butted in. It’s just that I heard her yell and it reminded me of—never mind.”

“It doesn’t—”

“Sorry,” she whispered. “I’m really very sorry.” She rubbed her left hand against her thigh, half turned as if she wanted to race away. But she didn’t.

Michael blinked. Instead model-long legs encased in cream silk pants covered the distance toward a sleek sports car at a careful pace. How on earth could she walk in those spiky shoes—with a limp, nonetheless?

“Why didn’t you ask that nice lady to come for cookies, Daddy?”

Michael turned, saw the glimmer in Tati’s eyes and sighed.

“You’re not having cookies, remember? Anyway, she didn’t exactly give me a chance,” he told her as he grasped the wagon handle and began tugging it toward home.

“Next time I’ll ask her. I don’t think that lady likes you, Daddy.”

Too bad. Because Michael was interested in that lady. And in what had made her rush to Tati’s rescue.

Most of all he wanted to know what made her stumble over his name.

Chapter Two

She was bored.

Ashley perched on the deck of Piper’s gorgeous hillside home two weeks later and stared down into the smooth clear waters of Serenity Bay without really seeing a thing.

Her ankle still ached if she walked too much, her ribs weren’t totally healed, but after two weeks of sitting around while Piper rushed off to work, she was sick of waiting for a return to normalcy—whatever that was. She’d expected to find peace here. Instead the same old sense of unease clung.

She needed to do something.

“Maybe I’ll go into town,” she told the crow perched on a deck railing.

Maybe you’ll see Mick Masters again, a little voice whispered.

She pushed it away, but the damage had already been done.

A perfect likeness of Michael filled her head. Neither the brown-black eyes, nor that flirting diamond sparkle that dared you to smile, had been dimmed by the years. His hair was exactly as she remembered—maybe a little shorter now than it had been when she’d fallen for him in her fifteenth summer, but still a bit shaggy, emphasizing his rakish charm.

He hadn’t recognized her. There was a lot to be thankful for in that. Heat scorched her cheeks remembering how she’d trailed after him when his mother had held parties for the church youth group at her house. Ashley had attended the group every week that summer just to catch a glimpse of Mick.

That summer shone golden in her mind. Her friends, the bay with its silken sand beach and Mick’s teasing grin to hope for—a thousand girls would have envied her. But they didn’t know that she was only pretending to be normal.

Ashley rose, walked inside, sweeping away the memories in a rush of busyness. But dusting Piper’s pristine living room was a wasted effort and soon she was gazing out the windows again.

“Might as well go into town and get it over with,” she told herself.

She hadn’t been back since the first day when she’d embarrassed herself. Grabbing that little girl—what was she thinking?

Simple. She’d been thinking about the past, about the day anxiety took over her life. Over the past ten years Ashley had consulted counselors, psychologists, medical personnel of all kinds, but no matter what she tried, the panic attacks continued. They’d grown worse lately.

A Bible study leader in one of the small groups she’d attended suggested that the sense of fear Ashley had asked them to pray about was a result of not trusting God, that she had to let go and let Him handle things. Like she hadn’t tried that a thousand times!

The woman meant well but she didn’t understand. How could she? Ashley couldn’t explain where the fear came from. She’d carried it around with her for so long it had become part of her. So she found a way to deal with it.

Everything in her life was deliberately planned, carefully organized and carried out, minimizing the chance for that paralyzing terror to swamp her. That she’d let her guard down with Kent and endangered herself was too scary. That’s why she’d been so ready to leave Vancouver. It didn’t feel safe anymore.

Ashley remembered the look on Mick’s face when she’d ordered him to put his daughter down. It would have been funny if it hadn’t been so pathetic. Well, she’d just have to run the other way if she saw him. She was thankful that he hadn’t seemed to recognize her. Maybe he wasn’t aware of her teenage crush, or he had forgotten how she’d hung on his every word. She hoped.

Serenity Bay looked the same as it always did after the summer cottagers had gone back to the city. Barrels of flowers still burgeoned with cascading blossoms, fairy lights hung from red-gold maples in the town square, a few balloons clung limply to the lamppost outside the ice-cream shop. The welcome banner still stretched across the main road.

The biggest difference was the abundance of empty parking spaces on either side of the narrow streets.

Ashley pulled in front of the Coffee Pot. Through the huge glass windows she could see Mrs. Masters, her round face as unlined as it had always been. A spurt of warmth bubbled up at the welcome Ashley knew she’d find inside. She pulled open the café door with a flutter of excitement.

“Ashley? Ashley Adams, is that you?” Strong arms pulled her close, enveloping her in a cloudy aroma of yeasty bread and summer’s last roses. After a minute, Mrs. Masters drew back, peered into her face. “My goodness dear, you look like a New York model. If it wasn’t for those big gray eyes of yours I’m not sure I would have recognized you.”

They chatted for a few minutes. Mrs. Masters insisted she share a cup of freshly brewed coffee and a piece of fresh apple pie which Ashley picked at.

“Is there something wrong?” her hostess asked, frowning at the mangled pie. “You used to like my apple pie.”

“No. It’s delicious. And I still do. I’m just not very hungry, I guess.”

“You really need to take care of yourself, my dear. You’re so thin. And there are dark circles under your eyes.”

“I was in an accident. I guess it’s taking longer to heal than I thought.” She smiled to ease the other woman’s concern. “I’m going a little stir crazy just sitting around at Piper’s. It was very kind of her to invite me, but I’m used to being active and Serenity Bay isn’t exactly buzzing at this time of year.”

“A museum or something—wasn’t that where you worked?”

“Actually an art gallery,” Ashley corrected. “But I’m not there anymore.”

“No, I don’t imagine you’re up to working after crashing a race car.” Her eyes twinkled. “All right, I’ll confess. I had heard about the accident. Remember, there are no secrets in a small town.” Mrs. Masters paused, tapped one finger against her bottom lip. “I wonder.”

“What are you wondering?” Ashley murmured, then questioned whether she should have asked. Mrs. Masters was a busybody—a nice one, but a busybody all the same.

“The art teacher up at the high school was in for dinner last night, bemoaning the fact that the school board can’t afford to provide the students access to galleries to see the new styles today’s artists use. She’s got some creative souls in that class who she thinks would flourish if they could just have their interest piqued. I don’t suppose you still carry around your slide collection?”

Ashley nodded. “Yes, I do. In fact, they’re in my car. I brought them specifically to show Rowena when she was here for Labor Day. We had some wonderful things come through the gallery this summer and you know how she loves to scout out unusual pieces for those landscapes she designs.”