My clunker finally died just as I pulled into the long, poplar-lined drive at my grandmother's farm. First my boyfriend and now my car. How many more things could one woman manage to lose in a day?

Thick, ominous smoke poured from beneath the hood. Coughing, I opened the hood and gazed down at the mysteries of the engine with the same helpless feeling I had that afternoon when I went to Robert's office and found him snuggled up with his receptionist. He hadn't even apologized, just said he was glad it was out in the open now, that he was in love with Stacy and they were going to get married. He'd only been waiting for the right time to tell me, he said.

Watching my car sputter and hiss now, I had the same reaction I'd had then -- I just wanted to fold myself into my grandmother's arms and weep. The need had been so strong I hadn't even taken time to call, had just shoved some clothes in a suitcase and started out on the four-hour trip to the farm. I sighed. Apparently I should have been more concerned with having my car serviced than in jaunting off across the state.

"Need a hand?"

At the deep voice, I whirled around, bumping my head against the hood. My misery deepened when I recognized Nate Tanner, the son of Grandma Lucy's closest neighbors

"Jennie!" he exclaimed, shock widening those dark blue eyes. "What are you doing here? Did Lucy know you were coming?"

"I thought I'd surprise her," I said stiffly.

He frowned. "She would have been surprised, all right. If she were here, anyway."

It took a few seconds for his words to sink through. "What do you mean? She's always here."

"Not this time. She decided to take a trip upstate to visit your aunt Caroline. I'm keeping an eye on the place for her until Sunday."

Just like that, the image that had kept me going all day crumbled into dust. I had pictured Grandma Lucy pulling me into her arms, patting my hair with gentle, rose-scented hands, brewing us some of her famous herb tea and then settling in to listen sympathetically while I poured out my hurt and betrayal.

Now I was left with a dead car, a cold, empty house, and a broken heart to deal with on my own.

I must have looked as devastated as I felt because Nate stepped forward. "Come on," he said, a sympathetic note in his voice. "I'll take your suitcase up to the house and let you in with the key Lucy left me, then I'll come back and take a look at your car."

"You don't need to," I mumbled. Was he actually being kind? The same Nate Tanner who put a snake in my shoe while I was wading in the creek the summer I turned eight? Who offered to take me snipe hunting the next summer and then deserted me out in the middle of a dark cornfield without a flashlight?

Ignoring my protests, he grabbed my case and started up the gravel driveway, leaving me no choice but to follow him. I had to run to keep up with his long-legged stride and I realized it had been years since I'd seen him. He was no longer that pesky boy I'd secretly had a crush on. He was a man now, with thick muscles and a farmer's tan. Those teasing blue eyes were just as I remembered, though, and for some reason, I found the realization strangely comforting.

"So how have you been, Jen? Still a nurse at that clinic?" he asked as we passed the old red barn, with the second-floor hay loft he talked me into jumping out of when I was ten. To this day, my ankle throbbed when it rained.

"I'm fine," I lied. "And yes, I work at the clinic."

"Lu tells me you're still dating that doctor. It's been, what, two years now, right? Any wedding bells in the future?"

"No," I said, a little too sharply. He sent me a quick look but didn't comment, just opened Grandma Lucy's door and set my suitcase inside.

"Here you go. It's great to see you again, Jen," he said, then turned and walked with that long-legged stride down the driveway.

I barely had time to unpack my suitcase and start the water for my solitary tea when the phone rang. "Nathaniel called and told me you were there," Grandma Lucy said when I answered it. "What's the matter, honey?"

At her concern, my emotions bubbled over. I told her everything and then waited expectantly for the sympathy I had needed all day. To my surprise, she didn't give it. "I never liked that fellow," she said instead, in that brisk, no-nonsense voice of hers. "Seems to me, it shouldn't take two years for him to make up his mind to put a ring on your finger."

I'd often thought the same thing but it seemed disloyal to say it. "Robert just wanted to be sure we were right for each other. He's a very careful person," I said, although the explanation sounded lame.

"You would have been much better off with somebody decent and hardworking. Somebody, say, like Nathaniel."

"Nate?" I nearly fell off the chair laughing.

"I'm serious," she said. "He's a good, thoughtful boy. Why, if I were forty years younger, I'd snap him up myself."

"Thanks for the advice, Grandma, but I'm swearing off men for a long time."

"Is that your heart smarting or your pride?"

I thought about her question long after we said good-bye. Maybe she was right. Maybe it was my pride hurting. I thought I had loved Robert but maybe I just loved the sophistication and excitement of marrying a handsome, successful doctor. I was more upset at wasting so much time and energy on our relationship than heartbroken over losing him, I admitted to myself.

I felt much better in the morning. It was hard to stay depressed when I woke up wrapped in sheets that smelled like sunshine and a spring breeze, bringing back a treasure chest full of memories of my childhood. Even with Nate's teasing, I had always loved the summers I spent here chasing lightning bugs, helping Grandma Lucy put up fruits and vegetables from the garden, swinging on the old rope swing over the creek.

The swing! That's what I needed. The swing my dad had hung in the huge old willow tree when he was a kid had always been my favorite place on the farm, ideal for jumping off into the water during hot, lazy afternoons or just for sitting when I needed a quiet place to listen to the water's song and think. I dressed quickly, made some toast and followed the path around the pasture, enjoying the warmth of the sun, the music of the birds, the baaing of grandma's small flock of sheep.

I was nearly to the creek when I stopped, my mouth open, my toast forgotten. It was gone. Not just the swing, but the whole tree. I stared at the bare spot along the bank, my good mood evaporating like the morning dew on the grass. Without the tree, the bank looked just like my life felt suddenly -- barren, desolate. Lonely.

"Morning."

I jerked around at Nate's voice. He was carrying a tool box and looked solid and cheerful, which only made me more angry. "What happened to the willow tree?"

He shrugged. "I cut it down this winter."

"Cut it down?" I glared at him. I should have known he was the one behind this. "How could you?"

"I had to, Jen. It wasn't a very strong tree, probably because it was right here on the creek where the water was easy to reach so it never had to put its roots down very deep. It started to lean after we had a big wind one night in January and I didn't want anybody to get hurt when it finally fell, so I cut it down."

That's how my relationship with Robert had been, I suddenly realized. Shallow roots, superficial, not strong enough to survive any kind of storm. I was so caught up in the revelation that I almost missed the rest of Nate's words.

"I saved the swing, though," he said. "I remembered how much you liked it so I moved it to another tree."

If I hadn't been so angry at first, I would have seen it. It hung from a big oak tree a few hundred feet down the creek. I walked to it and skimmed a hand along the smooth wooden seat. This was a better spot anyway, I realized, with more shade and a beautiful view of the countryside.

"Might as well give it a test drive," Nate said.

I sat on the swing, clutched the ropes and thrust off with my feet. My heart seemed to lift and soar as the swing took me higher and higher. After a few dizzying moments, I used my feet to slow the swing's movement. "This is wonderful. Thank you for saving it," I said to Nate, who stood watching me with one shoulder propped against the broad tree trunk.

"You're welcome. Oh, I almost forgot to tell you." He straightened from the tree. "Your car's all fixed."

"What?" I stared at him.

"Only needed a new radiator hose. I went into town last night to pick one up for you and then put it in this morning."

First he'd rescued the swing for me, then he'd gone to all that trouble to fix my car. A soft warmth flooded through me, filling all the cold places left by Robert's betrayal. Maybe I had been wrong about Nate all these years.

"So I guess that means you'll be heading back to the city now."

Was that disappointment I heard in his voice? I dug my fingers into the ropes of the swing and gazed out at the peaceful country scene, suddenly reluctant to leave. "I still have some vacation coming so maybe I'll stick around for a while. At least until Grandma Lucy gets back."

"Good. I'm glad." His blue eyes lit up as he gave me a smile every bit as dizzying as the swing had been. My heart suddenly pounded just as it had when I stood on the edge of the hay loft years ago, ready to jump. "Maybe while you're here we could do a little snipe-hunting, for old times' sake," he added. "It's a good year for them."

I laughed and shook my head at his familiar, wonderful, teasing grin. "This time I get to hold the flashlight."

"Deal." He held his strong hand out to me and I let him help me from the swing, back onto solid ground.