Free Love Will Find a Way by Barbara Freethy Page A

no."
    "Why?"
    "Because it has a lot more than apples in it."
    "Thanks for the warning." He caught her arm as she moved past him. "Rachel?"
    "What?" she asked, feeling his touch heat up her body.
    He looked like he wanted to say something, but Wesley's voice rang up the stairs once again, and the connection between them was broken. "Never mind. It can wait."
    Rachel wondered what he'd been about to say all the way down the stairs and into the dining room. She didn't know whether to be relieved or upset that they'd been interrupted. In some way, she felt like she needed to clear the air. But then again, clearing the air meant bringing everything back, and what was the point of that? It was better to move forward, keep putting one foot in front of the other. It was how she'd gotten through the past six months and how she'd get through the next.
    "There you are," Marge scolded as they entered the dining room. "It's about time."
    "Sorry, Grandma." Rachel motioned Dylan to a seat next to Wesley.
    "John Wood," her grandfather said, getting to his feet to reintroduce himself to Dylan. "Nice to see you again. Do you remember my daughter, Dee?" he added, putting an arm around Dee.
    "Yes, I think we met a while back," Dylan said, giving her a brief handshake. "Nice to see both of you again."
    "Nice to see you," Dee replied calmly, but her gaze when it swung back to Rachel's was more than a little curious.
    Aunt Dee was Rachel's father's baby sister. She'd always looked out for Rachel, often acting as a second mother. Since Dee's husband had run off a few years earlier, she had become even more involved in their lives and was as dedicated as Rachel was to preserving the family farm.
    "Where's Carly?" Rachel asked, ignoring her aunt's quizzical look. She couldn't explain Dylan's presence to herself, much less to anyone else.
    "Said she wasn't hungry, and she went out again. I have no idea where," Marge answered with a disturbed shake of her head. "That girl -- I don't know what's going on in her head."
    "Maybe I should try to find her," Rachel suggested.
    "You sit and eat. You have enough on your mind." Marge held out her hands, reaching one to Dylan and one to Rachel. "Let's say grace."
    Rachel gave her other hand to Wesley, who connected with Aunt Dee and John, forming a circle around the table. But this time it wasn't Gary in the circle, it was Dylan. Never in a million years would she have foreseen the circle ending up this way.
    * * *
    Dylan didn't know what he ate for dinner. He barely tasted the food, barely heard the conversation flowing around him. He was still reeling from being included in the family circle, from hearing his name mentioned in Marge's prayer of thanks. He wasn't supposed to be here, sitting at this table, talking to these people. They were part of Gary's life, not his. He was once again flooded with the impulse to flee. And he would have gotten up if they hadn't kept including him.
    Between Wesley's questions about the house building, John's questions about his business and Marge's questions about his personal life, Dylan was kept too busy talking to think up an excuse to leave. When he finally had a chance to breathe, Marge was clearing the table and offering coffee and dessert. Rachel, Wesley and Dee got up to help, leaving Dylan alone with John Wood.
    John was a tall, thin man with a narrow face and sharp, light green eyes that were alert and watchful. Those eyes had been watching Dylan all through dinner, and he suspected that the questions about his business were John's way of measuring a man. Gary had mentioned more than once that he wasn't sure he was living up to John's expectations, but he'd never said why. Dylan couldn't help wondering what kind of expectations John had of him. It didn't take long to find out.
    "You sure you're up to finishing that house?" John asked.
    "I'm more than qualified to build a house."
    "But that house? You want to build that house? Gary said you didn't." His eyes bored into