Katie pushed open the door to the smoko room, watching her new colleagues for a moment. Some chatted with old mates from previous years, others stood silent, merely observing. Shuffling towards a couple she recognized, Katie exchanged brief greetings, then smiled at a new girl standing alone. "Won't be long. Maurice is never late." Moments later, the door opened.

But the guy who entered wasn't Maurice, owner and manager of Forster's Orchard.

No. The guy who entered was his son, Jared.

Jared!

Katie's hands squeezed into tight fists and she gulped. But the lump in her throat remained in place, almost choking her. At a time when she wanted to disappear, coughing was so...unacceptable.

From the safety of the group she gazed at Jared. Bronzed from a northern hemisphere summer, he looked even more gorgeous than she remembered. Health, maturity and confidence shone from his face, from his eyes when he glanced around the room and from the curve of his lips as he spoke.

This was Jared? The guy she'd felt was her equal only three years ago?

Watching, Katie knew the instant he noticed her. His lips thinned, his dark brows pulled together and his lovely brown eyes almost closed, as if shutting off their warmth, their welcome, and closing his mind to her and their past. 

The noise in the crowded room hushed.

But the noise in Katie's ears increased, filling her mind and all her senses with memories of that other summer, when this gorgeous guy had captured her heart.

Then thrown her love back in her face when he'd announced he was leaving for work experience on overseas orchards.

She'd been young then; vulnerable and sensitive and had taken the news hard. Nothing in her life had prepared her for that parting when she'd believed he returned her love. She'd considered herself a mature adult because she'd finished school and was about to start college, and had naively believed he was hers for life.

Now he looked around the room, making eye contact with each worker as he named them, ticking a list before moving on to the next.

Her name, he left till last.

"You're back, Katie." His voice held accusation, as if she was the last person he wanted here, the last person he wanted to see.

Clenching her fists to counteract the pain she was surprised when he continued speaking to her.

"You're the only one of this group I know." But his voice had softened and changed, although she was sure that hadn't been his intention.

This time it sounded so sexy her body heated with desire while their gazes met, held for long seconds. Eventually she broke the visual contact, afraid her face would betray the impression of craving him like the school-girl she'd been. Glancing away, she sucked in a deep breath and focused on control.

"Hope you'll work as well for me as you did my father."

Work for him? For him? His mother hadn't mentioned any change when they'd discussed the work contract!

When Jared began with the usual instructions for new workers, Katie turned away so she wouldn't be distracted by his face and therefore all the questions crowding her brain. Like, why had he returned? Was he here for good now? Had his tripping around the world finished? Had it been worthwhile?

Finally the commands ended and she shuffled with the others towards the door. But a hold on her arm detained her. "I didn't expect to see you here this year, Katie." The grasp tightened. "Haven't you finished your degree?"

Like the grip, the accusation hurt, its implication clear that he hadn't wanted her back; that he never wanted to see her again because their affair was totally, irrevocably, thankfully, over. As if he would never have returned if he'd known she'd be here.

Or, if he'd had a say in the decision, she would never have got the job.

"Yes, but employers want proof. And since I've only just sat the last exam, that's impossible."  Katie rocked back on her heels to stop herself rushing away from his obvious dislike. Never again had she expected to see him either, let alone work for him. But she'd believed he was still overseas and her heart would be safe.

Looking into those beautiful eyes now, she knew it wasn't.

Would never be safe, from Jared Forster.

The tractor's trailer bumped its way to the first block of peach trees, making Katie concentrate on holding on instead of watching the driver. He should be in the States or on some remote European orchard in the middle of nowhere.

So far away, he could do no more harm.

Probably, he'd brought a European girl to keep him company. Probably, that's all Katie had been to him-just a girl to help pass the time.

That first summer, every day had been exciting because she'd always wondered when he'd show up, always working hard in case he was watching. Since then, every summer had been boring, a drag; every day a chore that had to be done, just for the money.

Nothing more.

Like the last three years had been a drag because now she knew the reason she'd devoted so much effort to her studies. After always believing it was the incentive to pass, she now knew better. It had all been an attempt to cram her mind so she forgot Jared Forster.

Then she'd returned here every summer, to remember him. How stupid was that?

He steadied a ladder on the uneven ground, then indicated it was hers to climb. The specialist treatment implied he couldn't wait to get her up a tree and away from him.

Once there, she watched him doing the same for others, as if demonstrating that she was no different after all.

Which she wasn't. So she'd have to be careful. No point letting him know she still hurt from his desertion.

Act normally, that's what she'd do. Act as if they'd never been attracted to each other, never had an affair, never parted on a sour note.

Yeah, right.

Thinning out the buds of new peaches so each one remaining had room to grow, she tried to ignore him. Couldn't. His voice blew towards her, gently reminding her of his knowledge, his status, his superiority as he showed the newbies the best technique.  Not until he finally left was she able to relax and find her rhythm.

By the time Jared reappeared on a four-wheeled motor-bike and called on them to stop for smoko, Katie was more than ready for a break. The first day on this job was always more tiring than any other because she used muscles that weren't normally exercised. Sitting on the long grass with the sun on her face, she ate her banana, drank coffee from her thermos and chatted with the others.

"Is it always like this?" a new girl asked from beside Katie. "I mean, always working up high? Only I'm not good with heights."

"You'll get used to it. It doesn't take long. Even tomorrow you'll feel more relaxed and by the time we start cherry-picking you'll be fine. That's contract work, so you'll need to be okay with the heights by then so you can work fast to earn more." Katie threw away her coffee dregs. "That's a good incentive, don't you think, to overcome your fear and distract you?"

But the girl pulled a face, as if unconvinced and Katie forced a confident smile. "Don't worry, you'll soon adjust."

"Problem?" Jared asked quietly from beside her, just as she was about to climb.

"No, not really. Just that she doesn't like heights."

His eyebrows rose. "Then why is she here?"

Katie took a deep breath. "She'll be fine, Jared. Just give her time."

Nodding, he stepped away. "Thanks for telling me. If she's still worried tomorrow I'll ask Mom if there's something she can do in the shed."

Katie's heart did a little flip of excitement. Sounded like Jared had become a considerate boss.

By mid afternoon Katie's fingers were stiff, her shoulders ached and her back complained when she tried to straighten. Added to that, her nape was sore from sunburn so Jared's arrival with the trailer was a welcome sight. "Thank God you're here. I need that ride to the shed. Like, now."

"Had enough already?"

"For the first day, yes. You might have been working on orchards for three years but I haven't done this for eight months."

"Touchy, touchy. I didn't mean to criticise." His hand lifted towards her, then fell away, landing on the trailer's tail board and with a jerk, he slid each bolt back. As the board dropped, he indicated for her to climb on. "You others can stay if you want but because it's the first day, I'll let you finish now."

Katie didn't realize he still watched her until he spoke again. "You're sunburnt!" His concern sent a warm, fuzzy feeling right through her body and she paused, smiling; until his next comment. "You should've used sun block!"

The accusation snatched away her warmth, replacing it with denial, anger and embarrassment. "I did! Only it must have worn off." The rise of his eyebrows warned her not to argue with the boss. With sudden, jerky movements she gathered her belongings and joined several others on the trailer.

Disappointed with herself, disappointed with him, she looked down as they drove back to the packing shed. Even the chatter around her did nothing to raise her spirits and she'd begun walking to her push bike when Jared spoke.

"Katie."

There were so many emotions in his voice she wasn't sure what to make of them; tenderness, regret, impatience, urgency... Stopping, she wasn't sure what to do. Didn't turn, in case the look of him sent her running towards him, expecting him to open his arms and hold her.

But she mustn't imagine any such thing. If he'd been truly interested in her three years ago he'd have kept in touch but there'd not been a single contact; no text, phone-call, email, letter or Christmas card.

Now she simply stood still, waiting. Waiting to hear what he had to say and the reason for his emotions. Waiting long seconds, although they felt like minutes as the sun pounded her head and burnt her neck even more.

"Katie, the fact that you're here again tells me you've got over our affair. That's great, because it is over. I don't want any repercussions from that time so we'll continue to act normally. Like we did today, okay?"

"Yeah." Like he'd paused over her name, reading it last.

Like he'd placed her ladder first.

Like he'd checked with her about the newbie's problem instead of asking the girl directly.

Like his anger over her sunburn, suggesting concern.

Right.

So was he in denial, or was she making something out of nothing?

The questions that had been playing around in her mind all day resurfaced. Here was her opportunity, now the others had gone. "Are you managing the orchard this year? You seem to be doing everything Maurice used to do."

"That's right. He's overseeing my work, but I'm in charge of the day-to-day running. Mom's still supervising the packing shed but Dad's looking for proof that I learnt something useful in my time overseas."

"And did you?"

When he grinned she saw a flash of the old Jared in the carefree, school-boy casualness of his expression and she gulped down the regret that threatened to overwhelm her.

"I learnt more than I ever expected. More than the old man expected and so much, it'll take several years to implement all my planned changes."

"Wow!" Pride in his achievements began warming her, unintentionally influencing the tone of her voice. "It was worth going then." But had they needed to break up?

"Oh, yes, definitely worth it."

The glint in his eyes and the hint of a smile suggested there was more to his reply than he was letting on and she squinted at him. "I suppose you brought a girl with you?"

The grin widened; slowly, as if he was thinking of her and their growing relationship. "No, but a French girl is coming for the cherry picking."

Katie felt herself go cold from the inside out, her hair prickling her scalp in fear. She'd been replaced! Looking down, she swallowed, shuffled her feet, and wished she was somewhere else; anywhere else, as long as it was far away from Jared. When she looked up again, the sun had gone behind a cloud, leaving his face looking calm and contented and completely devoid of expression. Except for his eyes, that held a hint of...challenge?

Gulping, she began to walk away but his words stopped her. "If you can't cope with it we'll have to trust you get one of those jobs you've applied for."

Her head snapped up, her mouth open in shock as her body swung round to face him yet again. "Don't worry, Jared-I won't give you any trouble. You should know by now that I wouldn't, or was my character unimportant beside all the passion we shared?"

When his Adam's apple moved visibly she knew her words had stung. Stung far more than she'd intended but it was too late now to take them back.

"Good. Then we understand each other." Returning to the tractor he drove away while she watched, shocked at the change between them. How could she still love him after such an obvious display of his indifference?

But how could she work for him, knowing he no longer cared? How could she bear to see him several times every day? And how could she cope with working beside his girlfriend, once she arrived?

                                                                                                                 

                                                                                                                   

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