A Small-Town Reunion by Terry McLaughlin

this?”
    “No.” Tess flicked away a stray bit of paper stuck to one corner of the board. “Maudie mentioned she wouldn’t mind a bigger office, and when—”
    “And when my mom just happened to mention she wanted more space, you thought you’d take the opportunity to drum up some business for yourself.”
    “No harm in planning ahead.” Tess shrugged. “And no foul if you don’t like this first plan—although I do hope you like the general look, since I think it’s a good one. If you like it enough, we can discuss an interior layout. And the materials,” she added, warming to her subject. “I’d love to work with as much rock aspossible, although I think we should use local redwood, too.”
    “Our customers are going to think we’re charging them too much.” Charlie folded her arms on Tess’s desk and rested her chin on her hands, examining the front more closely. “But it sure is nice.”
    “Of course it’s nice,” Tess said. “It’s perfect. And extremely attractive, considering the site is essentially light industrial.” She pointed to the row of angled corner windows. “This is the section that will overlook the river. You’ll notice every office space has a two-directional view. And here,” she added, turning the model again, “are the main entry and the windows facing the plant.”
    “Has Jack seen this yet?” Charlie asked.
    “No.”
    “Good. Do me a favor and don’t show him until after the wedding.” Charlie stood and made her way to the office door, sparing Dev a slit-eyed look as she passed by. “I don’t want him nagging me about this on our honeymoon.”
    “She loves it.” Tess’s face lit up with a brilliant smile after Charlie had slammed the door behind her. “I knew she would.”
    “How can you tell?”
    “She didn’t have any complaints, did she?” Tess cleared a spot on one of her display cubes and carried the model to its new home. “And she said it was nice.”
    Dev stepped beside her, leaning down to study her handiwork. “This isn’t nice. This is amazing. It’s all amazing.” He glanced at her over his shoulder. “Every once in a while I drive by that little shopping center you did—the one in Palo Alto. It still looks as beautiful as the day it was finished.”
    “Thanks.” Tess stroked a hand down his arm. “A girl can never have enough admirers in her life.”
    “You’ve picked up a couple since I saw you last.”
    “Speaking of picking up,” she said, checking her watch, “I’ve got to collect Rosie from day camp in about twenty minutes.”
    Dev shook his head. “Never pictured you as the instant family type.”
    “Never pictured it myself.” Tess brushed her short bangs from her eyes. “Life—and love—doesn’t always turn out the way we planned it.”
    “I can’t picture Charlie and Jack Maguire together, either.”
    “They may seem like opposites on the surface, but they’ve actually got a lot in common, besides the business experience. And if you saw them together, you’d see how much they love each other. It’s beautiful.” Tess stepped back to admire her creation. “As beautiful as the new Keene Concrete office is going to be.”
    Dev stared at the model on a neighboring display cube. “Guess I’ll get a chance to see them together at Geneva’s Fourth of July party.”
    “Are you staying for that?”
    “I’m staying for the summer.” He slipped his hands into his pockets and wandered across Tess’s office to look at the plans she’d framed and hung on one of the brick walls. “You knew that. I remember telling you, the first night I arrived.”
    “Yes, but—” Tess laced her fingers together at her waist. “You never stay as long as you say you’re going to.”
    No, he’d never been able to tolerate Geneva’s sternlooks or her dictatorial manner for more than a few days at a time. He’d suffered enough of her standards and rules during the years she’d been his surrogate mother; now that he was