Her Dakota Man (Book 1 - Dakota Hearts) Read Online Free PDF Page A

didn't seem to mind. Her jeans had dirt smudges where she'd wiped her fingers clean or from Keith getting too close to her with a filthy stick while they'd made their pile. But she didn't seem as though she even knew that dirt was there. It didn’t jive with the Poppy he’d convinced himself she’d become. It was every bit the young woman he’d once known.
    Logan paused, trying to catch his breath. Poppy had always been a beautiful woman whether she was dressed to the nines or dressed casually. She wore an old sweatshirt and torn jeans as naturally as those designer clothes she’d arrived in. And today she looked simply breathtaking. Damn her. Her auburn hair was pulled up in a high ponytail and she had a sparkle in her green eyes, almost as a challenge that she was ready to do whatever she had to in order to help.
    “How long were you planning on staying?” Logan asked.
    His question seemed to take her off guard. “Ah, I'm not sure yet. We'll have to see what happens,” Poppy replied. “Are you trying to kick me out the door already?”
    “As if I could do that…” He quickly recovered. “You’re wearing half that mud pile on your jeans.”
    She looked down at herself as if to confirm it. “So I am.”
    “There's some mud and debris clogging up the pipe that drains the runoff. It's over by--”
    “I know where it is. I used to live here.” She smiled, pleased with herself. “That drain has always been a problem. Remember the year the beavers decided to dam it all up and we ended up with what looked like a lake out in that far pasture?”
    He did remember. He also remembered snakes and rodents crawling and floating since they'd been flooded out of their holes. He glanced down at her boots, impressed she'd remembered to wear something so practical for the job at hand.
    “Since you're in a helping mood, you'll need some gloves. I know how much you love spiders and snakes.”
    “Oh, you had to mention those.”
    She made a face of disgust that had him laughing despite not wanting to. “We may see a whole nest of them before we're done unclogging that drain pipe. As soon as it’s unclogged the rest of the pasture should drain and the ground should dry up.”
    “I didn't bring a pair of gloves.”
    “Kelly kept a pair in the kitchen under the sink. I'm sure those will fit you.”
    Poppy nodded. “Be right back then.”
    She walked away toward the house and God help him he turned his head to watch the gentle sway of her hips and the lightness of her step. They'd been friends. More than good friends. But there had always been something special about Poppy. Since Kelly's illness, he'd been able to forget that part of their history. Poppy turned back once, smiling at him, and that smile touched some place deep in his chest, making it hard to hang onto the reasons why he'd been so angry at Poppy in the first place. And it was harder to remember the reasons he didn't want her back in Rudolph at all.

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CHAPTER THREE

    Despite the cold March weather, sweat poured down the center of Poppy's chest, soaking the skin between her breasts beneath her jacket as she hauled away more branches that had been swept onto the ranch by the flood. Both her and Logan had worked alongside each other tirelessly for hours. They'd spoken barely a word other than to give each other direction.
    Just when she thought he might stop and take a break, giving them much needed time to reconnect, he pushed on with the next task as if she was no more than a hired hand. If she didn't know better, she'd think Logan was purposely pushing her to see just how far she'd go before quitting.
    Or maybe he was trying to tire himself out so badly he'd fall asleep at the kitchen table and avoid dinner conversation later. Either way, Poppy's back was screaming at her to rest. But she'd be damned if she'd give Logan McKinnon the satisfaction of besting her.
    “How's the kitchen stocked?” she asked when the sun started sinking low in the