LITMIR.BIZ

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could refuse. Just like the salary Adam had promised her. After a few months with a steady income, maybe she could try again for that loan.

      “Yeah, well, my dad talks too much.” And so do you.

      Adam gave her another soft laugh. “Your father’s proud of you. You’re fortunate.”

      Eva wasn’t in a count-your-blessings kind of mood. Adam’s easygoing charm challenged her fortified walls. Her carefully built up guard. Working for him was one thing. She didn’t want to like him, too. “Thanks. Why don’t we check out the weather report?”

      “Don’t worry, Eva. I’ll be on my way. The wind sounds like it’s dying down. Thanks for dinner. I’ll see you in a couple weeks.”

      Eva nodded as she followed him to the door. The snow had stopped.

      Calling Adam Peece an attractive man was an understatement. She didn’t look forward to showing him how to run her family orchard, but she’d do her job. It didn’t help that Beth’s teasing had planted a seed of interest. A seed Eva couldn’t let grow.

      Chapter Two

      Two weeks later, Adam drove the hour commute from his town house to Eva’s place. He couldn’t wait to get to work—an odd sensation for him. When at Peece Canning, Adam resented each day buried in boring paperwork and dull meetings, no matter how good his head for business might be.

      Hands-on work. That was what he’d always preferred. He liked control of his own results. He’d tried several positions at Peece Canning but had failed to stay interested. Inspired. The feeling that he was about to strike gold had everything to do with learning how to prune his cherry trees. It had nothing to do with a pair of milk chocolate–colored eyes framed by thick, dark lashes.

      He turned off the main road and pulled into the driveway, parking near a big red truck with a plow. Eva’s? If so, it was a mighty big vehicle for such a diminutive woman. He climbed out of his Jeep and breathed deeply. The February air seared his lungs, but he didn’t care about the cold. He felt alive for the first time in a very long while.

      Recommitting his heart to God at Christmas had been part of a series of changes he’d made in his life. Pushing thirty, it was about time he discovered his purpose. What God meant for him to do and who to be.

      God, please be with me and help me get it right. I don’t want this to be one more screwup.

      Adam stared out over the eighty acres that now belonged to him with a sense of awe. The morning sun shrouded by thin clouds cast a pink glow against the bare orchard sloping in front of him. The gray waters of Lake Leelanau shone in the distance like a flat stone dusted with snow and ice. Beyond the far hills, Lake Michigan bled into a gray sky with the sandy face of South Fox Island breaking the color of the horizon. The view was spectacular and humbled his spirit. Could he make this work?

      “Morning, Peece. You going to be warm enough?” Eva Marsh dressed head to toe in deer-colored canvas, stepped off the porch with a big basket over her arm. Was she planning an ice picnic?

      He walked toward her. He’d skied in frozen temperatures all over the world. He didn’t have to dress like a northern Michigan yokel to stay warm. “I dressed for outside work, if that’s what you mean.”

      The guy that followed Eva could have been her twin, except that he stood about a foot taller than her. Also dressed in heavy canvas coveralls, he towered over both of them.

      “This is my brother Ryan. He’s helping out today. A couple of interns at the research center can join us later in the week if you decide not to stay,” Eva said.

      He’d given Eva an expense budget, but he wasn’t ready to use it. It looked as if he’d have to prove to his pretty employee that he had every intention of staying on permanently. God willing.

      Even so, Adam extended his hand to Ryan. “Nice to meet you.”

      “This your first time pruning, Adam?” Ryan didn’t look much older than Eva.

      “Yes.” And he was going to enjoy every minute of it.

      Ryan glanced at Eva and she gave him an I-told-you-so look. Either Eva had picked up on his excitement or she’d conveyed her city-boy-can’t-do-real-work prejudice to her brother. Probably the latter.

      “We’ve got fifteen acres of dormant sweet cherry trees to do. Another five acres of young sweets need pruning come spring. My dad had the tart orchard pruned last year so that’ll be good for another couple years yet,” Eva said over her shoulder.

      Adam followed her as she strode toward a two-story barnlike garage with red clapboard siding that matched the house. With a push of a button, one of the two doors lifted with a squeak against the cold. Three ATVs were parked inside.

      His pulse kicked up a few beats. “Nice.”

      “You like to ride?” Ryan asked.

      “Anything with speed and I’m there.” Adam kept pace with Ryan into the garage.

      Ryan laughed, making clouds of white with his breath. “Me, too. My dad bought a third four-wheeler because Eva doesn’t play passenger very well.”

      Adam glanced at Eva. He could see that.

      Eva started the engine of her ATV, drove it into the driveway and stopped. A small wagon loaded with gear had been hooked onto the back. She pulled up her fleece balaclava to cover her nose and revved the engine. “Follow me, Peece.”

      “You seem to like my last name.”

      Eva’s pretty eyes widened over the rim of her fleece covering. “I can call you sir if you’d rather.”

      He wondered why she wouldn’t use his first name. “No way. Peece is fine, but it’s what my college roommates called me. If I regress, that’s on you.”

      A smile reached her eyes. “I’ll take my chances.”

      Adam enjoyed this spunky Eva who looked ready for anything. He started his engine and, with a grin, squealed the tires out of the garage. In no time, they were jostling down a pristine white path into the orchard. They passed a section of smaller trees, their bases wrapped with what looked like plastic tubes. At one point, Ryan veered off into a parallel row and sped forward, spraying a tail of snow.

      Adam grinned and followed suit. He couldn’t get lost with only one way to go, straight ahead. So he gunned it.

      He looked back to see Eva chugging behind them. Ryan tore down the next row over, so Adam bit the racing bait with a jerky jump forward as he revved the throttle. Playing chase, they sped along slipping between trees until Ryan darted in another direction. From out of nowhere, the path ended. The orchard stopped and a fence loomed ahead.

      Adam swerved left. Applying the brake too quick, he spun and tipped into a cherry tree. His shoulder hit first, then the four-wheeler pinned his leg against a surprisingly solid mass for a thin trunk. Great. He was stuck. After a few minutes of trying and failing to loosen his leg enough to leverage the ATV back onto all four wheels, he heard Eva’s approach.

      She shook her head at him as if he’d been caught stealing one of her scones without asking. “What are you, twelve?”

      So much for worrying about him. He wasn’t physically hurt, just his pride, but still, she could at least look concerned. He laughed. “Sometimes.”

      He heard her chuckle under her breath, and then she climbed up onto the high side foot bed and grabbed the handlebar. With considerable strength for her small stature and a deep grunt, she leaned back and righted his ATV.

      He rubbed his calf. “Ow, that was my leg…”

      “You’re the one tearing around.” She gave him a smarty-pants grin and then, without tossing an ounce of pity his way, she knelt and gently ran her gloved hands down the trunk of the tree he’d hit.

      “Hey, what about me?”

      She

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