LITMIR.BIZ

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the site he had later chosen for his home to be built. As beautiful as they were, the roses served as a constant reminder of what could happen if you gave your heart completely to someone else.

      Jake took his time watching Diamond, not knowing what was truly real and not just an overwhelming impression that would eventually wear off. “Are you ready to go inside?” he asked, deciding not to dwell on what she thought of his ranch house any longer.

      “Yes.”

      Jake tried to appear casual as he got out of the Jeep and walked around the vehicle to open Diamond’s door. He even pretended indifference when extending his hand to help her out of the Jeep. But he couldn’t mask the look in his eyes when they met hers, their gazes holding a bit longer than necessary.

      “Thanks.” Diamond finally said in a soft, shaky voice. She would have backed up, but couldn’t. She was already pressed close to the Jeep’s door.

      “Don’t mention it.” Jake took a step back to give her space. It was space he hadn’t wanted to give her. He took a long, deep breath and glanced around. Luckily for him, the yard was empty, which meant the men were inside the huge bunkhouse eating lunch. He was glad no one had witnessed his moment of standing spellbound before Diamond.

      “This way,” he called over his shoulder as he turned and began walking away. There was no way he could walk next to Diamond. It took some excellent skill of mind over body control to make it not so obvious just how much she had aroused him. That was the last thing his men needed to notice.

      As he knew it would be, the eating room of the bunkhouse was noisy. The clatter of dishes and the clamor of voices going at the same time met Jake and Diamond the moment they entered the building, unnoticed.

      “Maybe this isn’t a good time to interrupt them,” Diamond whispered to Jake, trying to keep her voice low. “They seem rather hungry.”

      Jake shrugged. “Cowboys are always hungry. It won’t take but a second to get their attention.”

      Jake walked a little ways into the room. “Afternoon, guys. We have company.”

      All the men looked up at Jake. Then they followed his gaze to Diamond, who was still standing in the doorway. Suddenly all movement at the table froze and total silence filled the room. Diamond took a deep breath as thirty-plus pairs of eyes stared at her without blinking. She hoped they weren’t upset that their lunch had been interrupted. She was sure to these men that after putting in so much time in the saddle, lunch was probably a very important part of their day. Ready to brave the storm that could erupt from the hungry men seated at the long table, she took a deep breath and walked into the room and stood next to Jake.

      “Hi,” she said to the men, who had gone speechless. “I didn’t want to interrupt anything, but I wanted to meet all of you. I know this might not be a good time but I brought you something.”

      When none of the men said anything but just continued to stare at her, she glanced quickly at Jake. His lean features that lighted into a smile gave her encouragement, so she continued. “I baked pies for all of you. Blueberry pies. Ten of them. I checked with Blaylock, and he said it would be all right for me to serve you a piece as lunch dessert.”

      The men still didn’t respond.

      Diamond gave another quick glance in Jake’s direction. He was smiling. In fact, if she didn’t know better she would think he was downright amused. She shrugged and decided to add, “I think I did a pretty good job on the pies, but I’ll let you be the final judge. Would anyone like to help me get them out of the Jeep?”

      Jake saw, before Diamond did, all thirty-plus men jump out of their seats at the same time, nearly knocking over their chairs in the process. “Hold it right there,” he commanded in a loud voice before any one of the men could get within five feet of Diamond. “Sit back down. I’ll get the pies. Blaylock, maintain order until I get back.”

      It was only after he had made the request of Blaylock did Jake remember most people’s reaction to the man upon first seeing him. Jake took in a deep breath as he watched Blaylock hesitate a second before coming forward. He knew that as usual, Blaylock was bracing himself for another person’s cruel response to seeing the scar on his face.

      Jake saw Diamond glance around to take note of the man he’d spoken to. He then watched in astonishment as she flashed the older man a pure, radiant smile. Jake’s eyes then widened when she left his side and walked over to Blaylock and gave him a huge hug like they were old friends.

      “Blaylock, I’m so glad to meet you. Thanks for walking me through the dough part of that recipe. You were right, kneading the dough that way made the cookies taste lighter. You’re going to have to share more of your cooking secrets with me while I’m here.”

      Jake knew that Blaylock was just as taken aback as he was. He looked at Jake with questioning eyes. Jake simply shrugged. Diamond hadn’t even blinked at the sight of Blaylock’s scar. It was as if she hadn’t noticed it, which Jake knew was not the case because it ran the full length of the man’s face.

      Jake shook his head. The woman was something else. That simple act of human kindness she had bestowed upon the elderly man touched him in a way he couldn’t describe. He also knew it had earned her a special place in Blaylock’s heart for life.

      “I’m glad it worked for you, Miss Diamond,” Blaylock finally found his voice to say.

      “Just Diamond. After helping me out with that new batch of cookies, I feel like we’ve moved to the rank of buddies.”

      She glanced over at the men, who were still staring openmouthed at her before letting her gaze come to rest on Jake. “The pies, Jacob. You forgot to go get the pies.”

      Silence broke among the men when one of them coughed to cover a chuckle and whispered to another. “She called the boss Jacob. Nobody calls him Jacob around here and gets away with it.”

      Jake’s gaze fell on Simon Bellamy, giving the man a hard stare. “She does,” he said before he spun around and walked out of the bunkhouse to fetch the pies.

      “Today was a very interesting day,” Diamond said as she got out of the Jeep when Jake opened the door for her.

      That’s an understatement, Jake thought. It was pretty close to midnight, and he was just returning Diamond back to the cabin. It should not have surprised him when she had served each man a piece of pie herself, even ordering him and Blaylock to sit down and be served.

      No joke, the pie had been delicious, but he doubted many of the men remembered much about the taste of it. They had sat in awe, totally dazed, that movie actress Diamond Swain was there in the same room with them, and of all things she had cooked pies for them. After making sure all the men had been served, she had sat down and eaten a piece with all of them, joking with them about the cookies she had baked and her fight with the flour.

      Jake had forced all the men back to work. But not before Diamond had thanked each and every one of them for keeping her secret about being at Whispering Pines. Jake had shaken his head at the look of adoration in their eyes, and knew that no matter what, her secret was safe. He doubted that after today, any of them would betray her trust.

      Jake couldn’t help but remember how Blaylock had invited her to stay for dinner and how quickly she had accepted, pleasing the older man immensely. Knowing that like his men he had work to do, he had left her with Blaylock. When he had returned hours later for dinner, he had found that she had made herself comfortable in his study and had curled up in a chair asleep with a book in her hand. Her sleeping form curled in the overstuffed chair next to his desk had taken his breath away. He couldn’t help but stand there in the doorway and look at her. He had heard the sound of a dog barking in the background and the whining sound of the engine from the milking machine out back in the storage house. But Diamond had slept through it all.

      “Don’t wake her, boy. Let her sleep,” Blaylock had said to him over his shoulder. He had nodded, then turned and left the room to go upstairs to take a shower. By the time he had come back downstairs an hour

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