She laughed under her breath, feeling strangely pleased about that. "Do you still readpoetry ?"

He nodded. "Yeah. I never stopped. I guess it's in my blood."

"Do you know, you're the only poet I've ever met."

"I'm no poet. I read, but I can't write a verse. I've tried."

"You're still a poet, Noah Taylor Calhoun." Her voice softened. "I still think aboutit a lot. It was the first time anyone ever read poetry to me before. In fact, it'sthe only time."

Her comment made both of them drift back and remember as they slowly circled backto the house, following a new path that passed near the dock. As the sun dropped alittle lower and the sky turned orange, he asked:

"So, how long are you staying?"

"I don't know. Not long. Maybe until tomorrow or the next day."

"Is your fiancé here on business?"

She shook her head. "No, he's still in Raleigh."

Noah raised his eyebrows. "Does he know you're here?" Sheshook her head again and answered slowly.

"No. I told him I was looking for antiques. He wouldn't understand my coming here."

Noah was a little surprised by her answer. It was one thing to come and visit, but itwas an entirely different matter to hide the truth from her fiancé.

"You didn't have to come here to tell me you were engaged. You could have writtenme instead, or even called."

"I know. But for some reason, I had to do it in person."

"Why?"

She hesitated. "I don't know . . . ," she said, trailing off, and the way she said itmade him believe her. The gravel crunched beneath their feet as they walked insilence for a few steps.

Then he asked: "Allie, do you love him?"

She answered automatically. "Yes, I love him."

The words hurt. But again, he thought he heard something in her tone, as if she weresaying it to convince herself. He stopped and gently took her shoulders in his hands,making her face him. The fading sunlight reflected in her eyes as he spoke. "If you'rehappy, Allie, and you love him, I won't try to stop you from going back to him. But ifthere's a part of you that isn't sure, then don't do it. This isn'tthe kind of thing you go into halfway. "Her

answer came almost too quickly.

"I'm making the right decision, Noah.”

He stared for a second, wondering if he believed her. Then he nodded and the twobegan to walk again. After a moment he said:

"I'm not making this easy for you, am I?"

She smiled a little. "It's okay. I really can't blame you."

"I'm sorry anyway."

"Don't be. There's no reason to be sorry. I'm the one who should be apologizing.

Maybe I should have written."

He shook his head. "To be honest, I'm still glad you came. Despite everything. It'sgood to see you again."

"Thank you, Noah."

"Do you think it would be possible to start over ?"

She looked at him curiously. "You were the best friend I ever had, Allie. I'd still like tobe friends, even if you are engaged, and even if it is just for a couple of days. Howabout we just kind of get to know each other again?"

She thought about it, thought about staying or leaving, and decided that since heknew about her engagement, it would probably be all right. Or at least not wrong.

She smiled slightly and nodded.

"I'd like that."

"Good. How about dinner? I know a place that serves the best crab in town." "Soundsgreat. Where?"

"My house. I've had the traps out all week, and I saw that I had some good ones cageda couple days ago. Do you mind?"

"No, that sounds fine."

He smiled and pointed over his shoulder with his thumb. "Great. They're at the dock.

I'll just be a couple of minutes."

Allie watched him walk away and noticed the tension she'd felt when telling himabout her engagement was beginning to fade. Closing her eyes, she ran her handsthrough her hair and let the light breeze fan her cheek. She took a deep breath andheld it for a moment,feeling the muscles in her shoulders further relax as she exhaled.

Finally, opening her eyes, she stared at the beauty that surrounded her.

She always loved evenings like this, evenings where the faint aroma of autumn leavesrode on the backs of soft southern winds. She loved the trees and the sounds theymade. Listening to them helped her relax even more. After a moment, she turnedtoward Noah and looked at him almost as a stranger might.

God, he looked good. Even after all this time. She watched him as he reached for arope that hung in the water. He began to pull it, and despite the darkening sky, shesaw the muscles in his arm flex as he lifted the cage from the water. He let it hangover the river for a moment and shook it, letting most of the water escape. Aftersetting the trap on the dock, he opened it and began to remove the crabs one by one,placing them into a bucket.

She started walking toward him then, listening to the crickets chirp, andremembered a lesson from childhood. She counted the number of chirps in aminute and added twenty‐nine. Sixty‐seven degrees, she thought as she smiled toherself. She didn't know if it was accurate, but it felt about right.

As she walked, she looked around and realized she had forgotten how fresh andbeautiful everything seemed here. Over her shoulder, she saw the house in thedistance. He had left a couple of lights on, and it seemed to be the only house around.

At least the only one with electricity. Out here, outside the town limits, nothing wascertain. Thousands of country homes still lacked the luxury of indoor lighting.

She stepped on the dock and it creaked under her foot. The sound reminded her of arusty squeeze‐box, and Noah glanced up and winked, then went back to checking thecrabs, making sure they were the right size. She walked to the rocker that sat on thedock and touched it, running her hand along the back. She could picture him sittingin it, fishing, thinking, reading. It was old and weather‐beaten, rough feeling. Shewondered how much time he spent here alone, and she wondered about his thoughtsat times like those.

"It was my daddy's chair," he said, not looking up, and she nodded. She saw bats inthe sky, and frogs had joined the crickets in their evening harmony.

She walked to the other side of the dock, feeling a sense of closure. A compulsion haddriven her here, and for the first time in three weeks the feeling was gone. She'dsomehow needed Noah to know about her engagement, to understand, to accept it‐