LITMIR.BIZ

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near the stove and pulled out a small frying pan. She grabbed a carton of eggs from the fridge and set them on the counter. “Want some breakfast, Jake?”

      Jake caught her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “I’m fine. Really. Can we talk? I need to get back to the farm.”

      “Of course.” She smiled, then caught the corner of her lip between her teeth. Reaching for the half-empty coffeepot, she refilled his cup. “Let’s sit.”

      Tori pulled out a chair across from his, her expensive designer perfume wreathing him, jostling more imprisoned memories clamoring to be freed.

      Feeling trapped, Jake had no choice but to oblige. The quicker they talked, the faster he could retreat to the farm.

      Claudia sat between them, folded her arms on the table and looked at Jake. “I know why you’re here.”

      “You do?”

      “Yes, and it’s not what you think.” She covered his hand. “I’d never go back on my word, especially with your family.”

      “Then what’s going on? When I stopped by the feed store, Gwen said your land had been sold.”

      “That woman needs to find better use of her time than spreading rumors and half-truths. After Dennis was diagnosed with cancer, we needed money for medical bills. Owning a business had its perks, but health insurance...well, that’s a different kind of animal. I went behind my husband’s back to see my brother, Frank. We haven’t been close for many years, but I had no other choice—Dennis was my world. I sold the land and the house to Frank with the condition I’d have first option to buy it back should he choose to sell.”

      Jake clenched his teeth and forced himself to stay calm. “You should have come to us. We could’ve worked something out.”

      Claudia cupped his cheek and shook her head. “With all you guys have been through with losing your mother, your dad’s back surgery and rebuilding the farm after the tornado nearly destroyed everything? You had enough on your plate without my problems, especially after Tuck lost his wife... No, I couldn’t burden you with this.”

      “But you’re family, too.”

      “I just couldn’t, okay? Besides, Frank came through for me. Dennis and I stayed on Holland Hill until he became too ill to keep up with the mowing and house maintenance. Moving into town allowed us to be closer to the hospital. In the year since he passed, I’ve been buried in grief and paperwork to get his life insurance checks. But before I could buy back the property, Frank passed away from a heart attack. Two months ago.”

      “I’m sorry.” Jake glanced at Tori, who kept her gaze on her untouched coffee mug and traced the rim with her finger. “So that means...”

      She looked at him, her eyes sad, yet almost...determined. “I own the property.”

      “You’ve got to be kidding.”

      “All of my father’s assets have been divided between my sister and me. I’m now the owner of the house and property Aunt Claudia mentioned.”

      Jake jumped to his feet and paced. “Claudia...”

      “When Dennis and I bought your grandparents’ property after they passed away, we promised to give your family first dibs if we chose to sell it so it would never be sold outside the family. And it hasn’t. So my promise is still intact.”

      Jake jerked a thumb toward Tori. “She’s your family. Not mine.”

      Not anymore.

      He ground his teeth together and forced breath into his lungs, then jerked his attention back to Tori. “I’d like to make an offer to buy that land.”

      She shook her head. “It’s not for sale.”

      “What are you going to do with it?”

      “I’m going to live there.”

      “You can’t be serious.”

      “I am.”

      Claudia draped her arms around the two of them. “See? There’s a silver lining in all of this. With the two of you being neighbors, I have the feeling you’re going to hit it off right away. Oh, and not only that, but Tori can help you get your Fatigues to Farming project off the ground. She works in public relations.”

      Claudia couldn’t be further from the truth. Jake needed that land to make good on a promise made years ago and to fix what he’d broken. He’d figure out another way because living down the road from Tori was something nightmares were made of.

      And to work with her? Yeah, right. Forget that.

      How was he supposed to survive being neighbors with the woman who didn’t have the guts to face him when she ended their brief marriage six years ago?

      * * *

      Fresh starts came with a price. And Tori was about to pay hers.

      If she’d taken two minutes to do some research before coming to Shelby Lake, she wouldn’t have come face-to-face with the biggest regret of her life. How could she have forgotten where Jake was from?

      The last six years had done little to detract from his good looks...or temper his anger.

      Could she blame him, though?

      What’d she expect? For him to take her in his arms and beg her not to leave again?

      In her dreams, maybe.

      Tori had no one to blame but herself. And she had to live with the consequences.

      Now to convince Jake she wasn’t a Disney villain and simply wanted a safe place to call home.

      Where was that exactly?

      Not in Pittsburgh anymore. If ever.

      Even though she’d grown up with a roof over her head and food in her belly, she’d felt more like an uninvited guest than a wanted daughter. Her father may have met all of her material needs, but she would’ve taken his love over his money any day. She dreamed of having a family and a place where she belonged. Falling in love with Jake had given her security and the sense of belonging she craved, but that had been short-lived.

      She pulled her Lexus into the dusty barnyard and idled while deciding where to look for him. A whitewashed cinder-block building with a metal roof and a large front window etched with Holland Family Farm sat in front of her. To her right, a newly built rustic barn with an evergreen-colored metal roof sat next to a silver silo and a white barn with metal siding. Hay fluttered down from the small second-story window of the rustic barn.

      She’d start there.

      Opening her door, she stepped out of her car. The humid air pasted her dress to her skin as the early afternoon sun beat down on her head. Wishing she’d thought to grab her sunglasses, Tori waved away the pesky black gnats swarming her face. She wrinkled her nose against the ripe smells of manure, freshly cut grass and warm milk, and sidestepped a suspicious-looking mud pile. Maybe she should’ve taken the time to change into something more appropriate before barreling after Jake.

      Black-and-white cows in the shaded pasture across the road eyed her as they chewed their food and swatted at flies with their tails. A trail of chickens flapped and waddled along the white fencing separating the barnyard from a large two-story house shaded by a row of pines and a sturdy oak.

      She stood in the expansive doorway, allowing her eyes a moment to adjust to the sudden decrease in lighting.

      Country music blared from an old boom box resting on one of the rungs of a ladder that led to a loft. A heavy, thick rope, darkened with age, hung from one of the sturdy barn beams and swayed in the light breeze that blew through the building. The scent of new wood heated by the summer sun filled her nose.

      “The barn’s not much of a place for high heels and sundresses.”

      Tori swiveled to seek the source of Jake’s voice. He appeared with

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