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On her first day off, Nell rearranged the furniture-what there was of it She watered her flowers and herbs, did the wash, and baked a loaf of brown bread

It was still shy of nine o&039;clock when she cut the first slice for her breakfast

Evan had hated her early-rising habit, and had complained that that was the reason she was dull at parties Now, in her little cottage near the sea, there was no one to criticize, no need to creep about She had her s open wide, and the whole day belonged just to her

Stillon bread and with a heel of the loaf in the pocket of her shorts, she took herself off for a long walk on the beach

The boats were out, bobbing and gliding over the water The sea was a soft, dreamy blue with frisky waves that rolled up lacy on the sand Gulls winged over it, white-breasted in their graceful dance on the air The , shrill cries, pierced the low, endless rumble of the surf

She turned in a little dance of her own Then she tugged the bread froh to watch the gulls circle and dive

Alone, she thought, lifting her face to the sky But not lonely She doubted she would ever be lonely again

At the sound of church bells she turned to look back at the village, at the pretty white steeple She glanced down at her shorts with the frayed hem, her sandy sneakers Hardly dressed for services, she decided But she could worship in her oay, and offer a prayer of thanksgiving

While the bells rang and echoed, she sat near the edge of the water Here was peace, she thought, and joy She would never, never take either for granted She would re back every day Even if it was just a heel of bread for the gulls She would tend what she planted She would re hand

She would keep her proood life that hurt no one

She would earn what she&039;d been given, and treasure it

She would take pleasure in the siht now

Rising, she began to collect shells, tucking theged off her shoes and used them She reached the far end of the beach, where rocks jutted out of the sand and began to tumble toward the sea Here there were palm-size stones worn cobble s if she could fashion an edging for her little herb bed

A ht around the stone and turning quickly Her heart continued to beat in hard jerks as she watched Zack co"

"Good lanced back, uneasy to realize how far froe proper she&039;d wandered The beach was no longer empty, but the scattered people were so walk on the beach," he coainst the handrail to study her "You&039;ve sure had one"

He&039;d watched her, froht, how quickly her face could go frouarded

"I didn&039;t realize how far I&039;d co&039;s really that far on an island this size It&039;s going to be a hot one," he said easily "Beach&039;ll be crowded before noon It&039;s nice to get a little time on it before it&039;s full of towels and bodies"

"Yes, well"

"Come on up"

"What?"

"Co for those shells and stones"

"Oh, that&039;s all right I don&039;t really need-"

"Nell-is it cops in general, eneral, or me in particular that worry you?"

"I&039;m not worried"

"Prove it" He stayed where he was, but held out a hand

She kept her eyes on his He had good eyes Smart ones, but patient too Slowly she stepped forward and lifted her hand to his

"What do you plan to do with your shells?"

"Nothing" Her pulse was galloping, but shebrilliant Just scatter them around, I suppose"

His hand held hers loosely, but even so she could tell it was hard and rough He wore no rings, no watch on his wrist

No paht No adornments

Like her, he was barefoot, and his jeans were ripped at the knee, frayed at the hem With his sun-streaked hair and tawny skin, he looked more beach bum than sheriff It ta they turned, walked along a gentle slope Below, on the far side of the rocks, was a sunny inlet where a small red boat bobbed lazily at a rickety pier

"Everything&039;s a picture," she said quietly

"Have you done any sailing?"

"Yes A little," she said quickly "Is that your boat?"

"She&039;sof water, and a sleek, dark head appeared, cruising around the rocks As Nell stared, a huge black dog leaped onto the shore and shook herself madly

"Her, too," Zack stated "Mine, that is Are you all right with dogs? Tell ive you a fair head start"

"No, I like dogs" Then she blinked, looked back at him "What do you mean, head start?"

He didn&039;t bother to answer, just grinned as the dog leaped up the slope in powerful bounds She ju water, and licked his face On two short, deep barks she bunched her iven Nell the same treatment if Zack hadn&039;t blocked her

"This is Lucy She&039;s friendly, but ot down, her entire body wagging now Then, obviously unable to control her joy and affection, she leaped on Zack again

"She&039;s two," he explained, firround with his hand "Black Lab I&039;m told they mellow out some when they&039;re older"

"She&039;s beautiful" Nell stroked Lucy&039;s head, and at the first touch the dog collapsed on the ground and rolled over, belly up

"No pride, either," Zack began, then looked surprised when Nell just hunkered down and sent Lucy into ecstasy by rubbing her belly with both hands

"You don&039;t need pride when you&039;re beautiful, do you, Lucy? Oh, there&039;s nothing like a big, beautiful dog, is there? I always-oh!"

In a delirium of pleasure, Lucy rolled, scrambled, and knocked Nell flat on her back Zack was fast, but not quite fast enough to keep her fro leaped on and licked

"Jesus, Lucy No! Hey, I&039; and lifted Nell to her feet one-handed "You okay? Did she hurt you?"

"No I&039;m fine" She&039;d had the wind knocked out of her, but that was only part of the reason for breathlessness He was brushing at her while the dog sat, head down, tail cautiously thu He was, Nell noted, frustrated and concerned But not angry

"You didn&039;t hit your head, did you? Daed your elbow a little," he added, then realized she was actually giggling "What&039;s so funny?"

"Nothing, really It&039;s just sweet the way she&039;s pretending to look ashamed She&039;s obviously terrified of you"

"Yeah, I take a bat to her twice a hether she needs it or not" He ran his hands lightly up and down Nell&039;s arms "Sure you&039;re okay?"

"Yes" It struck her then that they were now standing very close, al And that his hands were on her, and her skin was ain and took a deliberate step in retreat "No harm done"

"You&039;re sturdier than you look" There were long, lean muscles in those ars "Co at the dog "You&039;re banished"

He scooped Nell&039;s shoes up froround and walked toward a wide porch Curious, and unable to think of an excuse not to follow, Nell went through the screened door he opened and into a big, bright, messy kitchen

"It&039;s the maid&039;s decade off" Comfortable in his own clutter, he set her shoes on the floor and went to the refrigerator "Can&039;t offer you hoot some iced tea"

"That&039;s fine, thanks It&039;s a wonderful kitchen"

"We use itup takeout"

"That&039;s a sharanite-toned counters, and wonderful rough-hewn cabinets with leaded-glass fronts A generous double sink with aover it offered a view of the inlet and the sea

Plenty of storage and work space, she ination, it would be a marvelous

We? He&039;d said "we," she realized Was he ht of that, never considered the possibility Not that it mattered, of course, but

He&039;d flirted with her She may have been out of practice and short on experience, but she knehen a hts going on inside that head at one tilass "Want to share any of the what a nice room this is"

"It was a lot e of it Now that it&039;s just Ripley and et a lot of attention"

"Ripley Oh I see"

"You ondering if I washere with someone asn&039;t my sister That&039;s nice"

"It&039;s none of my business"

"I didn&039;t say it was, just said it was nice I&039;d take you through the house, but it&039;s probably in worse shape than the kitchen And you&039;ve got a tidy soul We&039;ll go this way" He took her hand again, pulled her back outside

"Where? I really should be getting back"

"It&039;s Sunday, and we&039;ve hit our day off together I&039;ve got soed her across the porch

It wrapped around the house, edged the side where there was a scrubby garden and a couple of gnarled trees Weather-worn steps led up to a second-story porch that faced the sea

He kept his hand over hers and led her up them

Air and sun washed over her, made her think how easy it would be to stretch out in the wooden chaise and let the day rock away

A telescope stood by the rail, along with a stone troth that had yet to be planted

"You&039;re right" She stepped to the rail, leaned out and breathed "I do like it"

"You look west, you can see the h"

"You don&039;t have your telescope pointed west"

At the s "I guess I don&039;t"

"What do you look at?"

"Whatever strikes lanced over as she , speculative looks, and they both knew it "It&039;d be te to stay out here all day," she said as she turned the corner and looked out on the village "Watch the cos"

"I watched you this ulls" He leaned on the rail, a , &039;You know, I&039;e today, get another look at Nell Channing,&039; then I ca coffee, and there you were So I didn&039;t have to et another look at you"

"Sheriff-"

"It&039;s my day off," he reminded her He started to lift his hand to touch her hair, but when she edged back he simply slid it into his pocket "Since it is, why don&039;t we spend a couple hours of it on the water? We can go for a sail"

"I can&039;t I have to"

"You don&039;t have to hunt up excuses Some other time"

"Yes" The knot that had foro Thanks for the drink, and the view"

"Nell-" He took her hand again, kept his fingers light when hers jerked "There&039;s a line betweenher That&039;s a line I wouldn&039;t want to cross When you get to know me a little better, you&039;ll believe that," he added

"Right now I&039; to know h I&039;ll get you a bag for your shells and stones"