It was nearly eight that evening when Tyler rang Jane's doorbell. She lived only a few blocks away, though her little bungalow was considerably smaller than the two-storey, four bedroom house he'd purchased after moving back to Honoria ten months ago.
He had never expected to find himself on her doorstep.
He rang the bell again. He could hear music playing inside. Loud, pulsing rock music. No wonder she couldn't hear the bell. Maybe he should just forget about this, he thought, glancing toward his car. But she had saved his son's life. He pressed the bell again. The music abruptly stopped.
"All right," a woman's voice called. "I'm coming. Keep your pants on, okay?"
She opened the door. After only a moment's pause, she cocked her head and planted a hand on her slender hip. "Why, Tyler Hamilton. Fancy finding you here."
The last tine Tyler had last seen Jane, she had been a sophomore in high school, he'd been a senior. Despite her instant recognition, he knew he'd changed a great deal since then. With the exception of her hair color, he couldn't see that Jane had changed much at all. The years had been extremely kind to her.
He took a moment to study her. Looking as though she had just run her hand through it, her dark red haired stood in damp spikes around her face, which was flushed and beaded with perspiration. She wore a towel around her neck, a tortoise T-shirt, black shorts, baggy socks and expensive-looking athletic shoes. Several stud earrings decorated each of her ears, but he didn't see any other jewelry. If she had worn any makeup earlier, it was gone now.
The grubby look had never particularly appealed to him. But to Jane, it was most definitely appealing. He had always found himself drawn to her, even when he'd made every effort to resist the attraction.
That was something else that hadn't changed, apparently.
He lifted his gaze to her face, seeing himself reflected in her vividly green eyes. "Did I interrupt something?"
"Tae-Bo." She wiped her face with one corner of the towel. "Wanna join me for a quick punch-and-kick?"
"No, thank you," he answered politely.
She grinned. "The last time we talked, I think I asked if you wanted to duck behind the gym for a little kiss-and-grope," she mused. "And I'm pretty sure you took me up on it."
He cleared his throat, refusing to be drawn into his youthful indiscretions. He definitely remembered when he first kissed her behind the gym. And he remembered just as clearly telling her it couldn't happen again even though it had on an occasion or two. "The reason I'm here..."
She laughed...exactly the same way she'd laughed at him almost fifteen years ago. And it made him feel as awkward and self-conscious now as it had the . How could she still do that to him? "I know why you're here," she said. "And it has nothing to do with a stroll down memory lane."
"No, I wanted to..."
She moved out of the doorway. "Come in, Ty. I need a drink."
No one else had ever called him Ty. He wouldn't have let anyone else get away with it. Somehow, it had always sounded sort of natural coming from Jane. "I can't stay long," he said, glancing at his watch. "My mom's sitting the kids and—"
"Well just have a quick drink," she said over her shoulder.
He could either follow her or be left standing alone on her porch. With rather wistful glance back at his car, he stepped through the doorway and closed the door behind him.