Four Weeks by Melissa Ford Page A

given up enough times already and look where it had gotten her. Right smack in the middle of a series of dead end jobs offering nothing but frustration and disappointment. No, she had to stay in control here and stay focused on her goal. Otherwise she'd end up with another failure to add to her long list and maybe even a broken heart if she wasn't careful.
    Sally patted her shoulder and stood. “You're a good girl, Louise. Everything is going to go the way it should. You wait and see."
    Louise smiled. Mom would like this lady. “Thanks, Sally."
    The door smacked behind her hostess. Louise swirled her tea and watched the dark liquid spin. There was no doubt about it, she was up to the challenge of making Hawk's into a great business, one that Trent would be proud to own and happy to keep.
    The other problem, that of the man himself, she wasn't up for. There had to be a way to have both: a successful summer with the stable and a way to help Trent deal with the loss of his father. She just had to keep her emotions out of it.
    Louise drank the last of her tea, set down the cup and slipped down the steps. Instead of heading toward the light brown sands of the beach the way she did most nights, she turned to the right and headed toward town. She needed to be around people, rather than isolated with her thoughts. A long walk would relax her. Maybe then she could get a good night's sleep. If things went as she hoped, tomorrow was going to be a busy day.
    * * * *
    TRENT HADN'T PLANNED on going by Hawk's, but somehow he ended up two blocks away from his newly acquired business. His manager had probably spent the day cleaning, fixing, and categorizing. No doubt she had the place shaping up. She was probably on her way to turning the ramshackle mess into a real business.
    By island standards it was early yet for the evening—not even nine o'clock. The Sunday streets were quiet. He figured he may as well go over and look at whatever she'd been up to. She had to be gone for the night. Serious business professionals needed their eight hours of sleep. Especially ones who wanted to pry into the personal lives of their bosses. Why did she find it necessary to ask about his father? Couldn't she see that he didn't want to talk about it?
    The truth lingered in the back of his mind—he did want to talk about the messed up relationship that never got fixed. He needed someone to talk too, even through opening up was the most frightening thing he'd ever faced. Deep inside, he knew she would be a gentle listener and wouldn't pity him, but would see the anguish for what it really was—pain, plain and simple.
    But could he really trust her? Believing in her, and believing that she'd stick around even after she got what she wanted from him was almost as terrifying as facing up to his past.
    He crossed the street and cut through one of the tiny backyards near the stable. A group of college kids sitting on a back porch laughed and toasted him with cans. Half-heartedly he waved back. The music from their radio drifted behind him, adding to his loneliness and isolation.
    Their laughter faded as he got closer to Hawk's. The evening was clear, so when he spotted a column of dark smoke trailing into the sky, it looked very out of place. The color was too dark and thick to be coming from a barbecue. Smoke like that could only be coming from ... a fire.
    He took off with a jump, dashed the last block to Hawk's, leapt over the fence and barreled into the barn. Once inside he paused and tried to see where the fire might be coming from. Still panting from the run, he turned left away from the office toward the hayloft.
    A cloud of smoke waited at the end of the aisle. He paused to listen when he heard a sound. To his horror he heard the noise again, a barely audible cough.
    He leapt forward and shouted into the smoke. His eyes were beginning to tear and he blinked against the moisture. “Hello! Who's there?"
    No one answered, but he heard more coughing. Someone