Meeting By Chance

As Dan Evans left the Skinner house, his thoughts turned from business to a completely different subject. Libby Tyler. The young woman with whom he'd shared a table at breakfast earlier this morning.

Her face and her animated, enthusiastic manner were staying with him. He was finding her attractive, though he had a hard time admitting it. Dan hadn't been interested in a woman for anything but sex since he and Alice had divorced almost six years ago.

It had been one of the most painful times in his life. He and Alice had married young and he'd been sure it would last forever. They'd been married twelve years and had two wonderful sons, William and Mark. He wouldn't have left her for anything, but the breakup had occurred when-

The sight of Barrett's General Store interrupted his thoughts abruptly. He was thirsty, and he decided to stop in for something to drink. Parking the car, Dan walked through the front door and stopped short.

Standing at the counter, paying for a soda and a candy bar, was the young woman he'd been thinking about earlier. Libby Tyler looked around, saw him and smiled. "Hi," she said enthusiastically.

"Hello." Dan walked slowly up to the counter. The cooler with the drinks was beside it, and he reached in for a bottle of water, hoping he was doing so casually. "How are you?"

"Oh, I'll be great as soon as I get my caffeine fix!" Libby held up her bottle of soda. "I crash somewhere around midafternoon if I haven't had it."

She was happy to see Dan Evans. After sharing a table with him at breakfast yesterday, she'd been unable to get her mind off him. She had no idea why. This wasn't the kind of man she'd ever found herself interested in, Libby thought.

She typically went out with guys in their 20's who were interested in going to a club and having a good time and nothing else. She'd guess that Dan Evans was somewhere in his thirties, and he was a businessman, for God's sake! He had a serious, rather dark face, with his beard and dark hair framing it, and he wasn't a man who seemed particularly happy.

For his part, Dan found himself drawn to her dark blonde hair, the twinkling brown eyes, turned-up nose, and the too-fast way she talked. Probably all that caffeine she was drinking making her hyper. She was lively and cheerful. Almost the opposite of me, he thought to himself. Of the way I've been since Alice walked out and I only got visitation with the boys...

"You should be careful with that stuff," he told her, taking a sip of his water with a smile.

Libby grinned at him as the woman behind the counter gave her change. "Gotta stay energetic to work! I'm apartment-hunting, and without a job I can't pay the bills!"

"Guess you've had plenty to report on lately, with that murder." Dan put the water bottle on the counter and paid for it. "Thanks," he told the clerk behind the counter.

"Yeah." The smile momentarily left Libby's face. "That was awful, here in such a small town."

They walked toward the door, eying each other rather warily. When they stepped outside, Dan turned right toward his car, and Libby turned left toward the newspaper office. She turned back quickly, though, when Dan cleared his throat.

"You still staying at Millie's?" he asked.

"Yeah," Libby told him. "Until I can find a decent place for rent." She wondered why on earth he was asking that.

"Would you-" Dan stopped and cleared his throat. "Would you want to have some dinner there with me tonight? I thought we could-you know-share a table again." He realized he was on pins and needles waiting for her answer, which seemed to take about a year to come.

"Sure." Libby tried to remain casual--wondered how badly she was failing. "I'd like that."

"I'll meet you there," Dan said. "Seven o'clock?"

"That'll be fine," Libby said quickly, afraid he might change his mind. "I'll see you in the dining room."

As Dan Evans sat down in his car, he realized that he was sweating. And it wasn't a hot day.

For her part, Libby practically skipped back to the Glen Times office. She looked forward to telling Abby about this.