Unfinished Dreams Read Online Free PDF Page B

took a healthy swallow of coffee. The woman may have stolen his property, but she could make a great cup of coffee. He glanced up, watching her. Maybe she didn’t look all that ruthless.
    “Really? How can you tell?”  She leaned on the porch railing as if looking for some tangible proof. “I mean I can see they are evergreen, but why so many of them clustered together in rows?”
    Maybe a Lion’s Club Christmas tree sales sign would help? Lord, her innocence was amazing, he didn’t know if she affected him like an older brother or—he glanced at her and watched the breeze lift her short sun-streaked hair. His gaze followed the slim curve of her throat, to where her chin jutted out, making her lower lip pout to a kissable angle.
    Nope, she impressed him nothing like at sister. So, what was his impression? Gabe released a quiet sigh between his lips.
    He stood, leaving his hat behind and carried his coffee cup with him as he came up beside her on the porch. “If you’ll notice,” he cleared his throat, going into his ‘teaching’ mode. He realized at an odd moment, that he probably sounded very much like his father had when he had explained various aspects of the farm to him. “There are about ten rows, about five to eight feet apart. I’d guess they are about fifteen years old.”
    She looked up at him with such wide-eyed wonder that part of him was pleased she seemed genuinely interested, another other part of him—well, he’d just not think about it. He averted his gaze from blatant admiration in her eyes, instead choosing to scan the horizon.
    “Did you study forestry?”
    Gabe stared at the trees and thought back to the day he and his dad planted them. Game Over. “ My dad and I planted those trees. They were one of his many don’t-get-rich-quick ideas.” He gave her a thin-lipped smile, but her gaze was on the trees.
    “It must have been hard to leave this place.” There was a far off tone in her voice, almost as though she knew how he felt. But how could she know?
    For a moment, he wanted to shed all the anger and guilt slowly eating him alive. He took a deep breath. The aroma of his coffee and her soap fresh skin mingled together causing sensations he knew were completely, unbelievably wrong. It was time to leave.
    He drained his cup and handed it to her careful not to touch her fingers in the process, then walked in silence, picked up his hat and headed for the stairs. If he didn’t look back, he would be able to erase the morning from his memory, bury it deep in mending the fence at Roy Powell’s place and not think about how right it felt to be having morning coffee with this woman on what used to be his porch.
    “Mr. Russell?”  Her voice stopped him in he tracks and caused a slight lurch to his heart. He stood for a moment to gain his perspective before he turned.
    “Ma’am?” He watched her place her hand over her mouth, hiding a grin and he frowned. He thought of a morning sunrise and that baffled him.
    “No one’s ever called me ma’am, before.” She sat down on the top step and smiled openly at him. “Please call me Tess.”
    Hurrying on in a fashion Gabe felt certain was well practiced she spoke again. “So do you think you might be able to squeeze me into your schedule?”
    Gabe’s sense warred with his desire to do more than squeeze her into a work schedule. Her friendly grin widened, open and honest and it was the sexiest thing he’d ever seen, surpassing Mrs. Crane’s antics, altogether.
    Well, why shouldn’t he help her out? Surely, he could’ve used a friendly hand in his time of need and something told him, had she been around, she probably would have been there. Judging by first impressions, of course. Besides, he could work on the farm and get it fixed up, ready for when she tired of playing country girl and skedaddled on back to the city. By then, perhaps he would have found a way to get his farm back. On the other hand, there was something about this green