Local Hero

There is a fee for that, isn’t there?”
    “What? Oh, yes, I’ll fill out the papers.”
    “Fine. In the meantime, I do have some snapshots and a blueprint.” He slipped them out of the briefcase and placed them on her desk. “You might want to look them over.”
    “I don’t understand.”
    “You might begin to if you look at the pictures.”
    She lifted them and stared at her fantasy house. It was big and sprawling, with porches all around and tall, wide windows. Snow mantled the evergreens beside the steps and lay stark and white on the roof.
    “There are a couple of outbuildings you can’t see. A barn, a henhouse—both unoccupied at the moment. The lot is about five acres, with woods and a stream. The real estate agent claims the fishing’s good. The roof needs some work and the gutters have to be replaced, and inside it could use some paint or paper and a little help with the plumbing. But it’s sound.” He watched her as he spoke. She didn’t look up at him, but continued to stare, mesmerized by the snapshots. “The house has been standing for a hundred and fifty years. I figure it’ll hold up a while longer.”
    “It’s lovely.” Tears pricked the back of her eyes, but she blinked them away. “Really lovely.”
    “Is that from the bank’s point of view?”
    She shook her head. He wasn’t going to make it easy. And he shouldn’t, she admitted to herself. She’d already made it difficult enough for both of them. “I didn’t know you were thinking of relocating. What about your work?”
    “I can set up my drawing board in Connecticut just as easily as I can here. It’s a reasonable commute, and I don’t exactly spend a lot of time in the office.”
    “That’s true.” She picked up a pen, but rather than writing down the necessary information only ran it through her fingers.
    “I’m told there’s a bank in town. Nothing along the lines of National Trust, but a small independent bank. Seems to me someone with experience could get a good position there.”
    “I’ve always preferred small banks.” There was a lump in her throat that had to be swallowed. “Small towns.”
    “They’ve got a couple of good schools. The elementary school is next to a farm. I’m told sometimes the cows get over the fence and into the playground.”
    “Looks like you’ve covered everything.”
    “I think so.”
    She stared down at the pictures, wondering how he could have found what she’d always wanted and how she could have been lucky enough that he would have cared. “Are you doing this for me?”
    “No.” He waited until she looked at him. “I’m doing it for us.”
    Her eyes filled again. “I don’t deserve you.”
    “I know.” Then he took both her hands and lifted her to her feet. “So you’d be pretty stupid to turn down such a good deal.”
    “I’d hate to think I was stupid.” She drew her hands away to come around the desk to him. “I need to tell you something, but I’d like you to kiss me first.”
    “Is that the way you get loans around here?” Taking her by the lapels, he dragged her against him. “I’m going to have to report you, Mrs. Wallace. Later.”
    He closed his mouth over hers and felt the give, the strength and the acceptance. With a quiet sound of pleasure, he slipped his hands up to her face and felt the slow, lovely curve of her lips as she smiled.
    “Does this mean I get the loan?”
    “We’ll talk business in a minute.” She held on just a little longer, then drew away. “Before you came in, I’d been sitting here. Actually, I’d been sitting here for the last couple of days, not getting anything done because I was thinking of you.”
    “Go on, I think I’m going to like this story.”
    “When I wasn’t thinking about you, I was thinking about myself and the last dozen years of my life. I’ve put a lot of energy into
not
thinking about it, so it wasn’t easy.”
    She kept his hand in hers but took another step away. “I realize that what happened to me and Allan was destined to happen. If I’d been smarter or stronger, I would have been able to admit a long time ago that what we had could only be temporary. Maybe if he hadn’t left the way he did . . .” She trailed off, shaking her head. “It doesn’t matter now. That’s the point I had to come to, that it just doesn’t matter. Mitch, I don’t want to live the rest of my life wondering if you and I could have made it work. I’d rather spend the rest of my