Come Fly with Me by Sherryl Woods

loved her and whofilled the house with laughter and good times. Then she was remembering how awful it had been when it ended so abruptly. She never wanted to feel that kind of loss and anguish again.
    â€œHey, where’d you go?” Mark asked gently, wiping away a tear she hadn’t even realized was rolling down her cheek.
    Unable to speak through the unreleased sobs that choked her, she shook her head.
    â€œI’m a good listener. Maybe it would do you good to talk about it,” he suggested.
    He waited, but for the longest time she still said nothing. “I can’t,” she finally said miserably. “Besides, it was a long time ago and it doesn’t matter anymore.”
    â€œHow can you say that, when it still makes you cry?”
    She tilted her chin stubbornly. “Because I won’t let it matter anymore.”
    He gathered her into his arms then and held her tightly, banishing the past and making her aware of only the present. Lindsay instantly felt incredibly safe and protected, as she hadn’t felt in many years, until last night when Mark had performed the simple act of taking her hand in his and holding it until hisstrength had seemed to flow into her. How could a man she barely knew have such a reassuring impact on her? How could he know her needs so well? No one had ever seemed to suspect that she needed anything more than her own inner strength before. No one had ever sensed the vulnerability she fought so intensely to hide.
    But although she was beginning to feel better, warm and cherished as though nothing could ever harm her again, Mark was still responding to her pain. There was so much compassion in his gaze. He seemed to understand her even though she hadn’t revealed a thing.
    â€œI wish it were that easy.” he said simply.
    â€œIt has to be.”
    â€œNo,” he said tenderly, shaking his head and Lindsay realized he was speaking from his own experience. “It never is. Are you sure you don’t want to talk about it?”
    â€œI wish I could,” she said and meant it. She knew intuitively that if anyone would empathize with her, Mark would, but she didn’t understand her feelings clearly enough to express them.
    â€œAll it takes is getting the first words out,” he said. “They’re always the hardest.”
    â€œNo. First you have to figure out what it is you need to say. I don’t even know where to begin.”
    â€œThis is a great place for thinking things through. Maybe you’ll figure it out while you’re here.”
    He brushed a kiss across her forehead then and gave her a comforting squeeze. “Go on to bed. You could use a good night’s sleep. We’ll talk some more tomorrow.”
    She gazed into his eyes, expecting something more. He smiled tenderly and repeated firmly, “Go on to bed.”
    Lindsay walked to her room with conflicting emotions raging inside her. She was grateful that he had let her go, that he had probed only so deeply and no further. But unwittingly he had brought to the surface feelings and fears she hadn’t experienced in years, and she knew it was going to take more than a weekend in this peaceful, serene environment to cope with them.
    As if trying to deal with her long-buried memories weren’t bad enough, he had also stirred brand-new emotions and desires. Usedto keeping most members of the opposite sex at arm’s length, she was confused and frightened by her longing to be more closely involved with this particular man. She was even more puzzled by his failure to pursue the advantage he obviously knew he had. With very little effort they both knew he could have joined her in her bed tonight, and yet he had chosen to send her on alone, to leave her with her tumultuous thoughts.
    Suddenly feeling a little lost, a little lonely, she gazed back at him. He was staring into the fire, and from the expression on his face she could tell that he had gone away