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"You can’t blame Summer for that"

"I don’t," James remarked tartly "I bla her So I insisted on the e her mind"

"I don’t understand what any of this has to do with Ralph," Walterfor me"

"Nonsense"

"He also see everyone know i Su we’ve been , is apparently too convenient to believe"

"It’s the truth"

"You and I know that, but there’s already speculation"

"So? People will always talk Let then organized There are worse things you could be accused of than nant before your wedding day As far as I’ for excuses"

"I refuse to subject Summer to that kind of speculation," James said stubbornly

"Have you talked this over with her?"

"Not yet…"

"You haven’t?"

"I know, I know" The defeatist attitude was back in Jaer than I should have"

After that, Summer didn’t hear much e had hurt her husband; it oals

The phone rang long before she had tiet it," she called out to James, and reached for the extension in the kitchen Her hand trembled as she lifted the receiver

"Hello," she said, her voice weak

"Hello," came the soft fe Franklin"

"Christy…Manning?" Summer said, stunned She hadn’t recovered from one shock before she was hit with another "Just a et James"

"No, please It’s you I want to talk to"

"Me?"

"Frouess James has mentioned me"

"Yes" Summer slumped down in a chair and closed her eyes "You and Jaht I understand you and Jao," Summer said, eas," she added a littleso forward I talked it over with Cody--he’s ly about it I should call you"

"So strongly about what?"

"About you…and Jaret the way I treated Jaer then Iht I was in love with hiht the world of him Then I met Cody" She hesitated "I didn’t phone to tell you all this I’m sure James filled in the details"

"Why did you call?" Suht have liked Christy Franklin

"I wanted to tell you how happy I am that James found someone to love I know it’s presumptuous of me but I wanted to ask a favor of you"

"A favor?" The woman had a lot of nerve

"Love him with all your heart, Summer James is a special, special man and he deserves a woman who’ll stand by his side and love him"

"I do," she said softly

"For quite a while I despaired of Ja married I can’t tell you how pleased I hen Mom phoned to tell me Rich and Jamie had met you Cody and I want to extend our very best wishes to you both"

"Thank you"

"I know it’s a lot to ask, but I do hope you’ll keep Cody and me in mind when you count your friends There’s a place in my heart for James He’s been a friend to our family for years He was a treain later when he married Leah Jaood friend to Jason and Charlotte, as well We’re all indebted to hihting back tears and not even sure what she was crying about The fact that Ralph Southworth had resigned as Jaer because of her? Or that James’s ex-fiancée still cared for him deeply?

Summer had just replaced the receiver when James stepped into the kitchen He stood with one hand on the door

"Who was that on the phone?" he asked

Su to read any emotion "Christy Franklin"

"Christy?" he repeated "What did she want?" He looked ive us her and Cody’s best wishes She said it was high time you were married and she can hardly wait to meet me"

"Really?"

"Really"

"And what did you tell her?"

Surinned "I said she’s to keep her cotton-pickin’ hands off hted by her possessive attitude "You aren’t going to get ," she said, and slid her arether they joined his father

"I don’t understand it," Summer muttered She sucked in her stomach in order to close her skirt "I can barely zip this up It fit fine just last week"