Beloved by Diana Palmer

heard me," he said curtly. There was
another pause. "Work with me on the committee.
You'll enjoy it."
    She would. But she was reluctant to get closer to him than
a telephone receiver. "I don't know that I would," she said finally. "You're not yourself lately."
    "I know that."   He was feeling his way.   "Can't we start
    again?"
    She hesitated. "As what?" she asked bluntly.
    "Co-workers. Friends. Whatever you like."
    That was capitulation, of a sort, at least. Perhaps he
was through trying to make her pay for John's
untimely death. Whatever his reason, her life
was empty without him, wasn't it? Surely friend ship was better than nothing at all? She refused to think about how his kisses had felt.
    “Is Jill on the committee?'' she asked suddenly, wary of
plots.
    "No!"
    That was definite enough. "All right, then," she
said heavily.
    "I'll do it."
    "Good! I'll pick you up for the
meeting tomorrow night." "No, you
won't," she returned shortly. "I'll drive myself.
    Where is it?"

230
    Beloved
    He
told her. There was nothing in his voice to betray whether or not he was irritated by her stubborn refusal to
ride with him. He was even more
irritated by Jill's interference. He'd made a bad mistake there, taking
out Tira's worst enemy. He'd been de pressed and Jill was good company, but it would
have to stop. Tira wasn't going to take kindly to having Jill
antagonize her out of sheer rivalry.
    Tira went to the meeting, finding several old friends serving on the committee. They worked for three hours on
preparations for a party, complete with an elderly local
man who had agreed to play Santa Claus for the children. Tira was to help serve and bring two cakes, having volunteered because she had no
plans for Christmas Eve other than to lay a trap for that mouse in the kitchen.
Another woman, a widow, also volunteered to help, and two of the men, including Simon.
    He stopped her by her car after the meeting. "The
boys are having a Christmas party Saturday night in Jacobsville. They'd like you to come."
    “ I don't..."
    He put a big forefinger across her soft mouth, startling
her. The intimacy was unfamiliar and
worrisome.
    "Charles can do without you for one Saturday night,
can't he?" he asked curtly.
    "I
haven't seen Charles lately. His brother, Gene, is in the hospital," she said, having forgotten
whether or not she'd mentioned it to him. " Nessa isn't coping well at all, and Charles can't leave her alone."
    " Nessa ?"
    "Gene's wife." She wanted to tell him about Nessa and Charles, but it
wasn't her secret and letting him think she and Charles were close was the only
shield she had at the moment. She couldn't let her guard down. She
still didn't quite trust him. His new
attitude toward her was puzzling and she didn't under stand why he'd changed.
    Diana Palmer                                                                           231
    "I see."
    "You don't, but it doesn't matter. I want to go
home. I'm
    cold."
    He searched her quiet face. "I
could offer an alternative," he
    said in a soft,
velvety tone.
    She looked up at him with cool disdain. "I don't do
casual affairs, Simon," she said bluntly.
"Just in case the thought had crossed your mind lately."
    He looked as if he'd been slapped. His jaw tautened.
"Don't you? Then if your affair with Charles Percy isn't casual, why
hasn't he married you?"
    "I don't want to marry again," she said in a husky
voice, avert ing her eyes. "Not ever."
    He hesitated. He knew why she felt that way, that she'd
been betrayed in the worst way. Her father-in-law
had told him every thing, but he was uncertain about
whether or not to tell her that
    he knew.
    She
glanced at him warily. "Does Jill know that you're still grieving for your wife?'' she asked, taking the
fight right into the enemy camp.
"Or is she just an occasional midnight snack?"
    His eyebrows arched. "That's a
hell of a comparison."
    "Isn't it?" She smiled sweetly.
"I'm