Love at Last. Irene Brand

on her shoulders in a tender caress and his voice echoed her own longings. “I’d thought, after reaching the mellow years, that my youthful yearnings were gone.” His hands tightened possessively. “But yesterday I learned I’d only fooled myself. You’re as winsome and desirable as you were when you were nineteen. I made a promise to you once and I’ve never broken it. During the past twenty-four hours, other things I thought I’d forgotten have deleted all my preconceived ideas about what the future holds.”

      “I haven’t forgotten, either,” she murmured.

      Perry’s eyes darkened and Lorene thought he was going to kiss her, but he released her and stepped back quickly.

      “We’ll have to forget what happened when we were in college and make the right choices this time. Since neither of us is married, there’s no reason we can’t be friends like we used to be.”

      The flame in her heart ignited by Perry’s love had burned steadily for years, but his words almost extinguished it. She could never be satisfied with friendship. Maybe this meeting had been God-ordained. Perhaps God was trying to tell them it was time to stop pining for the past. If so, after her work was finished in Woodston, she’d go back to Pittsburgh, knowing at last that the break between them was final.

      “Let’s look over the fort and walk around my favorite running trail,” Perry said. “It winds along the river for a mile and then curves through the trees back to the starting point. I’m going with some students to a seminar in Lexington tomorrow, but we can plan to run together on Monday morning.”

      She nodded, unable to talk. Perry had shifted gears from the past to the present too rapidly for her. But she obediently followed him into the fort, where workmen were putting the finishing touches on the blockhouse.

      “I’ll bring my camera tomorrow and get a few scenes to send out right away. My office staff will take care of distributing short clips to air on national programs. I’m getting excited about the celebration, and I’ve decided I want to stay for this project. I’m glad I didn’t let my temper cause me to leave.”

      His eyes caressed her with a tender smile. “That makes two of us.”

      Lorene admitted Mr. Kincaid knew how to conduct a business meeting. At the outset, Perry stated that he and Lorene had been friends in college and were pleased to meet again after so many years. His explanation paved the way for them to be on a first-name basis. Perry introduced her to the other commission members and Lorene took particular note of two of them.

      Zeb Denney, husband of Perry’s secretary, was Woodston’s chief of police. He was a quiet, broad-shouldered, short man.

      The local historian, Reginald Peters, was in his eighties. A mop of gray hair hung untidily around his face, but his dark brown eyes were intelligent and alert. His ancestor had been one of Woodston’s founding fathers, and while it was plain that Kincaid was in charge of the celebration, Peters’s opinions also carried a lot of weight in the decision making.

      Heritage Week would begin with a parade on the fourth Saturday in September. In addition to the reenactment at the fort, a steamboat replica, River Queen, would be on hand during the week to take people for rides up and down the Ohio, featuring a dinner cruise each evening. A carnival would be in town. Craft shows had been scheduled.

      “Miss Harvey,” Kincaid asked before the meeting adjourned, “do you have any questions?”

      “As I understand, my job is to spread the news of the celebration nationwide. We can provide clips for all major television networks and numerous radio stations. But as far as I can determine, no financial arrangements have been made, leading me to the most important question—how much do you expect to spend for this publicity? Television advertising is expensive.”

      All eyes turned toward Kincaid. He cleared his throat a time or two and riffled the pages on his desk. “Perhaps you’d better come up with a proposal of what you recommend and how much it will cost.”

      “Our representative should have done that and gotten your approval before we even moved on-site, but Mr. Cranston didn’t do what he was supposed to do, so our agency, as well as Woodston, is suffering for it.”

      “Can you estimate a price?” Kincaid asked cautiously.

      Believing it was a trifle late for caution, Lorene said, “Not right now. But I’ll work this weekend and have an estimate for you on Monday. If you can’t afford us, I’ll move out and there will be no charge to Woodston. To be honest, a smaller company would probably do as much for you as I will.”

      Perry’s heart plummeted. If the commission rejected the proposal, Lorene might leave in a few days.

      He made it a point to ride down in the elevator with Lorene, and walked with her to the parking lot behind the bank. Zeb Denney and Reginald Peters sauntered along behind them, but when Perry opened the station wagon’s door for Lorene, he said quietly, “If Woodston can’t afford your services and you go away next week, will you leave your telephone number and address?”

      Her lips curved into a soft smile. “You already have my telephone number. Circumstances are a lot different now than they were when I knew you before. When I leave Woodston, if it seems best for us to separate permanently, I’ll tell you so. I’ve stopped running.” She paused, and a pensive expression dimmed her eyes. “Or at least, I think I have.”

      The board members got into their cars and drove away. Perry’s lips moved over hers, gently at first, then more insistent. After a few blissful moments she pushed on his chest to break the caress.

      “Don’t, Perry,” she murmured. “I can’t handle this.”

      “Sorry. I thought a kiss for old times’ sake wouldn’t hurt anything.”

      Her hand was still on his chest, and she moved it to monitor his heartbeat, which was as rapid as hers.

      “But you found out differently, didn’t you?” She moved away from him and slid into her vehicle. “These next two months will go much more smoothly, Perry, if we maintain a strict business relationship. But if it turns out that we can’t patch up our differences, I’ll not make a mess of things like I did before. I won’t disappear.”

      As she drove away, Perry wondered how he’d feel if he knew she was leaving for the last time. But how could he offer her more than friendship? When he’d been at his lowest ebb, mentally and spiritually, he’d promised God that he would give up everything, including Lorene, for full-time Christian service. After he made that vow, warm peace had flooded his heart, and Perry believed he’d made the right choice. Now, remembering the touch of Lorene’s lips, he wasn’t so sure.