A Reason to Stay (Oak Hollow) by June Stevens, DJ Westerfield Page A

and let her mind go back over her reasons for leaving, just as she had hundreds of times in the two months since her grandmother’s death.
    For what seemed like the hundredth time, Ellie played her reasons for moving over in her mind again. She was 29, single, and living in a tiny little one-horse town with a dead end job. With her grandmother gone she wasn’t tied down anymore, and she had enough money to live anywhere in the world she wanted. She owed it to herself to get out in the world. Those were the reasons she gave for moving. No one seemed to notice she was only repeating what her friends told her.
    The truth was, Ellie loved Oak Hollow. She had never felt tied down. She had moved here to live with Grammy shortly after her fourteenth birthday, and it was the only stable home she had ever known. She liked small town life, knowing everyone. Her job, though it didn't have much room for advancement, was fun. As for the being single part, well, she did have to agree there were more eligible men in Chicago. But eligible men were not the reason she was leaving everything she knew and loved. Her reason went much deeper than that.
    "Ready to go?"
    Ellie jumped at the deep voice. She whirled and stared at the man lounging lazily in the doorway. He stood well over six feet, but the way his body was leaning against the wall, with his long, faded blue jean clad legs sticking out in front of him, it was hard to tell just how tall he was. It wasn’t hard to tell though, that this man was well built. His thin black t-shirt seemed stretched to its limits as it hugged his broad shoulders and showed every contour of his muscular upper arms. The shirt was looser where it tucked into his low-slung jeans, but still clung just enough to hint at the rock hard abs beneath.
    "Sheesh, Jake! Don’t you know better than sneaking up on someone like that?"
    "Sneak? Who’s sneaking?" Jake’s eyes flashed mischievously as he grinned and laughed, "I just left the room five minutes ago; I didn’t realize it took so little time to forget me."
    Ellie couldn’t help but laugh. Jake McAllister was a lot of things, but easy to forget was definitely not on the list.
    Ellie rolled her eyes. "No, Jake, you’re not forgettable. You are annoying, aggravating, and…"
    "Tsk, tsk, is that the way to way to talk about your best friend in the whole wide world? I mean really, Peaches, who else would have taken off work to help you pack up all your worldly belongings and move to the big bad city?" He peeled himself away from the wall and walked towards her. "And who else would be able to see through that tough face you’ve been putting on and know how hard all this has been on you. Come here."
    She didn’t resist when he pulled her into is arms; instead she sank into his hard chest, letting his warmth comfort her. If only he really did know how hard leaving Oak Hollow was on her, but he didn’t. If he did, chances were pretty good he wouldn’t be holding her in his arms like this right now. But he was, and right now that was all she could let matter.
    After tomorrow, moments like this would be few and far between, if they ever existed again at all. At that thought, the tears that had been so near the surface the past weeks began rolling down her cheeks once again.
    Jake must have felt the tremors that accompanied her silent tears because he tightened his hold on her, gathering her close and tight to him, his chin resting on the top of her head. He gently rocked both of them side to side, murmuring soft words of comfort into her hair, telling her he understood how much she missed Grammy.
    Grammy had been sick for a very long time, and though she missed her so much it was sometimes hard to breathe, Ellie had come to terms with the fact that Grammy was in a far better place now. Her tears for Grammy had all been shed within the first two weeks after her death. No, that was definitely not why she was crying.
    Jake thought she was still upset over Grammy’s