A Bend in the Road by Tess Oliver

Author:Tess Oliver [Oliver, Tess]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sugartree Press
Published: 2015-04-12T04:00:00+00:00

I smiled down at him. “And you’re still a smooth talker.”

“Yeah, it’s always worked for me.” A wicked smile turned up the side of his mouth. “Talked you right out of your jeans in your aunt’s barn, a day that is scorched into my brain forever. Never did get over the disappointment of your uncle coming across that yard and stopping us.”

“It’s a good thing he’s a loud sneezer, or we never would have heard him coming.”

He smiled up at me. “Want to come inside and see what I’ve done to the kitchen?”

“Sure.” I slid my leg around and he reached up to grab my waist. He brushed my body against his as he lowered me slowly to the ground. Taking the reins from my hand, he walked Queenie over to a patch of grass and she dropped her head to graze.

Ryder looked down at my bare feet. “I’m not great at keeping track of nails.” Without warning he swept me into his arms. I laughed and threw my arms around his neck.

“Remember when you got stuck in the middle of the river and you were too afraid to cross the rocks—”

“And you lifted me into your arms? Ryder Stevens, there isn’t a girl on this planet who could forget being swept up in your arms.” I looked at him and his nearness made me forget my words for a second and when I spoke they came out as a whisper. “Of course I remember.” I rested my head against his hard shoulder. He carried me up the porch steps and I pushed the screen door open with my foot.

Reluctantly, he lowered my feet to the floor. In the kitchen, the smell of cut pine mingled with fresh paint. I reached up and ran my hand over the new wood. “It’s beautiful, Ryder. You made all this cabinetry by yourself?” I looked over my shoulder to where he was leaning against the adjacent kitchen counter, watching me in a way that sent waves of heat through me.

“Yep. But this took me a hell of a lot longer than I’d expected too.” He looked around. “At the rate I’m going, and with having to stop for planting and harvesting, I figure I’ll be ninety-six by the time I get the whole house remodeled.”

“And then the kitchen and porch will be old and you’ll have to start all over again.”

He laughed. “I hadn’t thought of that.”

I tucked my hair behind my ear only to remember too late about the ugly bruise. He closed the distance between us with two heated steps. Anger flickered in his eyes as he raised his hand, his callused fingertips grazing the bruised skin lightly.

“It was an accident,” I said quickly. “I’ve left him.”

His jaw twitched beneath the dark stubble as he lowered his hand. He looked at me. “What an asshole. God, J. J., if you were mine, I’d stand in front of a moving train just to protect you.”

The truth was, even when we were just

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