LITMIR.BIZ

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joke?”

      “That depends. Did you like it?”

      His playful expression made her think of a big puppy whose only goal in life is to make everyone he comes across love him. At twenty-six, she’d spent many years with serious students determined to do everything in their power to make themselves successful. At the time, she’d assumed those days would be the most difficult she’d have to endure for a long time to come. But now, they paled in comparison to losing her only sibling and becoming an instant parent to a grieving child.

      Despite what he’d told her, she recognized that Josh was going out of his way to lighten her mood, and she didn’t want him to think she was standoffish. On the other hand, she didn’t want to mislead him, either. Aside from being a nice guy, he was her boss’s brother. She was keenly aware that her current employment situation was tenuous at best, and she couldn’t afford to have any misunderstandings between them.

      Stepping closer, she said in a quiet voice, “I know you’re just being friendly, but I’ve got a lot on my plate right now. I don’t have the time or the energy for anything else.”

      After a moment, he gave her a lazy grin. “Meaning me?”

      “Yes. I’m not sure what you’re after, but trust me—you’re better off looking for it somewhere else.”

      “I’m not after anything, darlin’,” he informed her in the slow, easy drawl that must make other women drool all over his scuffed work boots. “Just a smile. I’m thinking even a busy lady like you might have the time and the energy to give me one of those.”

      That he’d perfectly echoed her earlier comment impressed her to no end. Because of her looks, most men treated her like a miniature Barbie doll and never even considered the possibility that she had a brain and ideas that might be worth listening to. She could probably tell many of them the true meaning of life and they wouldn’t register a single word she said.

      Apparently, Josh Kinley was a different sort altogether. And since he’d been so great to a stressed-out woman he’d just met, she decided it was okay to offer him the smile he’d asked her for.

      “There it is,” he approved, returning it with a blinding one of his own. “Just made my whole day.”

      He took over unloading the large truck with an efficiency that suggested to her that this wasn’t the first time he’d managed such a big job. She manned the outer door, watching the two men thread through the pet store shelving, carrying furniture and boxes as if they handled this kind of assignment every day.

      When the driver returned, her section of the truck was empty, and he was much more cheerful than he’d been when he’d first arrived. He handed her a copy of her receipt and even touched the bill of his baseball hat when she tipped him. “That’s real nice of you, miss. You and your niece have a good day, now.”

      Heather could hardly believe this was the same surly man who’d pulled up half an hour ago and had been a whisker away from taking off with all her worldly possessions. When she said as much to Josh, he shrugged. “When you treat folks well, they do the same for you. Mostly, he looked hungry, so I bought him breakfast. No big deal.”

      “It was for me,” she corrected him. Fishing a couple of twenties out of her wallet, she held one out to each of them. “You two really saved me this morning. Thank you.”

      “Just tell my wife I pitched in,” Cam suggested. “We’ll call it even.”

      She agreed, and he clapped Josh on the back before heading back into the restaurant. Still holding the money, she looked up at her rescuer. “Please let me pay you.”

      “I got my smile,” he reminded her, blue eyes twinkling in fun.

      “That’s not nearly enough for the amount of work you did.”

      “Well, now, I guess that depends on the smile, doesn’t it?”

      This charming country boy was hard to resist, but she’d been schooled by men far more calculating than him. Calling up what she called her bad-news face, she replied, “I suppose so.”

      The cool gesture seemed to make no dent in his sunny disposition, and he went on as if she hadn’t just shot him down. “Now that your stuff is off the sidewalk, I figure you’re going out to the rescue center. I’m headed that way myself, so you can follow me if you want.”

      “I have a navigation system in my car,” she informed him politely.

      “Yeah, that might not work so far out of town if you lose the signal. But I’m sure a smart cookie like you can find the clinic on your own.”

      That didn’t sound promising to her, and she found herself missing the convenience of street signs that directed people to where they wanted to go. Pushing the thought aside with a mental sigh, she decided not to make a challenging day even worse by being late for her first day of work. “On second thought, it might be best if I follow you. Thanks.”

      “Anytime.”

      He flashed her another grin and headed for a double-cab green pickup sporting the logo from his shirt on the driver’s door. He climbed inside and reached down to adjust the radio before starting the engine and pulling out onto Main Street. As she watched him drive away accompanied by a honky-tonk tune, Heather wasn’t entirely certain what had just happened. Putting away her money, she got into her car and prepared to play follow-the-leader.

      Having spent so many years living in metropolitan areas, Heather had grown accustomed to traveling a certain number of blocks, turning at this light and that numbered avenue. This morning’s commute was something completely foreign to her. The small business district gave way to a string of old homes surrounded by large yards whose neighbors hadn’t bothered to put up fences to separate one plot from the next. The result was a pleasant blending of lawns and gardens, giving the town a picturesque country vibe even a devoted city girl like Heather could appreciate.

      As they drove farther from town, the homes grew sparser, and she admired the lush countryside dominated by expansive farms that had been carved out of rolling acres of bluegrass and wildflowers. When they reached the sign for Gallimore Stables, she glanced out to take in the scope of the property Josh’s family owned. Traditional white fences stretched as far as she could see, framing horses and ponies of every size and color. At the end of a gravel drive, a large white farmhouse with a wraparound porch beckoned visitors to stop and visit for a while. Erin had told her that the place had been in the Kinley family for generations, and despite some serious financial setbacks, they were all doing everything in their power to keep it that way.

      Heather hadn’t seen her childhood home since her parents had sold it to fund an early retirement traveling the world. She couldn’t imagine what it would be like to be so connected to a piece of your family’s history, being there year after year, building memories that would last beyond your own lifetime. That was what she wanted for Bailey, as much as for herself. A place to belong, where they’d always feel at home.

      Hopefully, putting aside her old dreams and coming to Oaks Crossing would prove to be the first step to a better life for both of them.

      * * *

      Heather Fitzgerald wasn’t at all what Josh had been expecting.

      With a cloud of curly blond hair and a killer pair of baby blues, the petite vet looked more like a shoe-in for prom queen than someone capable of managing sick and injured animals. Then again, he spent his days wrestling with cranky field hands, tractors and harvesters, working sunup to sundown to wring every ounce of profit out of his end of their struggling horse farm. It didn’t leave him much spare time for pondering what made folks tick.

      As so many Kinleys before him had done, when it rained too much, he stared at the sky and prayed for the sun to come out again. And when the soil got too dry, he prayed for rain, season by season, methodically rotating the crops in each field to keep the fertile acreage as productive as it could possibly be. It wasn’t an easy life, but the land was like a member of the family to him, and he loved it with everything

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