“Only for the moment,” he reminded her with that trace of stubbornness that proved he still hadn’t accepted that her no meant an emphatic no.

She lifted her chin and leveled a look straight into his eyes. “No, Harlan. Not just for the moment. I meant what I said back at my house. There is no future for us, not unless you mean it to be no more than friendship.”

“I won’t settle for that,” he said with surprisingly little rancor. She knew why when he added, “And in time, neither will you.”

14

Jenny’s presence was the only thing that gave Harlan any peace of mind at all in the days after Janet had fled from White Pines. The fact that she continued to turn up every morning reassured him that there was hope. It enabled him to be patient.

Not that the teenager had suddenly turned into a saint or even a staunch advocate of his relationship with her mother, but she was showing signs of weakening. Her belligerence was sported more for effect than any real attitude on her part. He decided one afternoon to call her on it.

She’d thrown a fit not an hour before over some inconsequential task he’d asked her to do. She’d saddled Misty after that and taken off. He guessed he’d find her at the creek.

Sure enough, she was sitting on the grassy bank, her bare feet dangling in the cool water.

“If you wanted to come down here, all you had to do was ask,” he said, dropping to the ground beside her.

She regarded him with disbelief. “You’d have let me come?”

“You know I would. You also know I would have come along. You just figured you ought to raise a ruckus so I wouldn’t get too used to the more mellow Jenny, isn’t that right?”

She slanted a look at him. “You think you’re pretty smart, don’t you?”

“I know I am. The question is, are you ready to admit it?”

She sighed heavily. “If you’re so smart, how come Mom’s dropping me off at the end of the lane again? It’s her idea this time,” she added, so there would be no mistake.

“Because she’s sorting through some things.”

“She’s behaving like a ninny, you mean.”

He grinned. “Is that what I mean?”

“Seems that way to me.” She met his gaze evenly. “Are you in love with her?”

“Don’t you think that’s between her and me?”

“Not if I have to live with her while you two are figuring things out. I think I deserve to know what’s going on.” She shot him a sly look. “I could help you, you know. Mom listens to me.”

Harlan hid a smile. “Is that so? What would your intercession on my behalf cost me?”