I’ll move on….”
“But how did you get here? Where is the road? Becausethis is my—I mean, I don’t own it, but I rent that house back there,” she said, pointing over her shoulder where the top of a large Victorian could be seen above the trees. “And aside from cutting down some trees, I couldn’t figure out how to get to this clearing back here. I could see it from the widow’s walk, but there didn’t appear to be any access.”
“And yet, here you are,” he pointed out with a smile. “Posing as a bear.”
She brushed at her cheeks, which only moved the dirt from her hands onto them. But Colin was taking closer stock of her and starting to see things he’d missed when she first burst through the trees and threw herself to the ground. Like a very delicious female shape—lean and sexy but with curves in all the right places, and a lot of chestnut-colored hair that was escaping that ball cap to fan her face. Her lips were full and peachy; her skin like ivory with a few light freckles across her nose; those eyes were amazingly large and deep and shadowed by thick lashes. He had a sudden urge to taste that mouth, that smart, sassy mouth.
“It wasn’t easy,” she said. “I plowed through those trees and bushes to ask you how you got here with all your stuff.” She turned up a palm; it was bleeding. “See, the last owner let the trees and shrubs between her backyard and this clearing grow in, and I wanted to get back here with gardening equipment, but I couldn’t see how…”
He looked at her palm, looked her up and down and asked, “Was it really dirty coming through there?”
“Huh? Oh!” she laughed. “I’ve been gardening. I mean, farming—you can’t call what I’ve been doing gardening. I’ve gone a little nuts. See, stuff is already coming up. I’ve looked up the planting cycle online and if I hurry I can catch up. I have to get all my seeds and starters inthe ground before April, and that actually puts me a little behind. Vegetable seeds should be in the ground early March; tomatoes should be started. Except the squashes and melons—there’s time for them yet. And I’ve already had birds, deer, rabbits—”
He took a step toward her. “What are you doing about them?” he asked.
She shrugged. “I have a horn. A cow horn. It’s loud. The birds fly, the deer run. But I hate it. I don’t hate scaring off birds so much, but the doe come with their fawns and I don’t really want them to go, but if I don’t scare them off and they dig up the garden, all my work is for nothing. And the only reason to garden is to watch it grow. Deer trampling my new plants isn’t going to get me—”
“Don’t you garden to eat it or sell it?” he asked.
“Honestly, I haven’t thought that far ahead. Right now I garden to garden.”
He took a step toward her. He stuck out a hand. “Colin Riordan,” he said.
She looked down at her bleeding palm.
“Oh, damn, let me take care of that,” he said. He went to the opened hatchback of the Jeep and found a clean rag. When he got back to her, he wrapped it around her cut. Then he stuck out his hand again.
“Jillian,” she said, shaking his hand cautiously. “Are you related to Luke and Shelby?”
“You know them?”
“I stayed in one of their cabins until this place turned up and I rented it.”
“I’m Luke’s brother, also known as Uncle Colin.”
“Pleasure,” she said. “Now how did you get here?”
He turned around and she did a quick study of his back; she had another look at the big, scary gun in hiswaistband. She also couldn’t help but admire his broad, muscled shoulders, narrow waist and long legs.
“See that road?” he asked, pointing. “It’s a crappy road, bumpy and overgrown from lack of use, but the Rubicon can take it, no problem. And the road kept going up, past a vineyard, past a couple of farms, and I stayed on it. Up was my objective. Up was where the sun was.”
“How far did you have to stay on
“But how did you get here? Where is the road? Becausethis is my—I mean, I don’t own it, but I rent that house back there,” she said, pointing over her shoulder where the top of a large Victorian could be seen above the trees. “And aside from cutting down some trees, I couldn’t figure out how to get to this clearing back here. I could see it from the widow’s walk, but there didn’t appear to be any access.”
“And yet, here you are,” he pointed out with a smile. “Posing as a bear.”
She brushed at her cheeks, which only moved the dirt from her hands onto them. But Colin was taking closer stock of her and starting to see things he’d missed when she first burst through the trees and threw herself to the ground. Like a very delicious female shape—lean and sexy but with curves in all the right places, and a lot of chestnut-colored hair that was escaping that ball cap to fan her face. Her lips were full and peachy; her skin like ivory with a few light freckles across her nose; those eyes were amazingly large and deep and shadowed by thick lashes. He had a sudden urge to taste that mouth, that smart, sassy mouth.
“It wasn’t easy,” she said. “I plowed through those trees and bushes to ask you how you got here with all your stuff.” She turned up a palm; it was bleeding. “See, the last owner let the trees and shrubs between her backyard and this clearing grow in, and I wanted to get back here with gardening equipment, but I couldn’t see how…”
He looked at her palm, looked her up and down and asked, “Was it really dirty coming through there?”
“Huh? Oh!” she laughed. “I’ve been gardening. I mean, farming—you can’t call what I’ve been doing gardening. I’ve gone a little nuts. See, stuff is already coming up. I’ve looked up the planting cycle online and if I hurry I can catch up. I have to get all my seeds and starters inthe ground before April, and that actually puts me a little behind. Vegetable seeds should be in the ground early March; tomatoes should be started. Except the squashes and melons—there’s time for them yet. And I’ve already had birds, deer, rabbits—”
He took a step toward her. “What are you doing about them?” he asked.
She shrugged. “I have a horn. A cow horn. It’s loud. The birds fly, the deer run. But I hate it. I don’t hate scaring off birds so much, but the doe come with their fawns and I don’t really want them to go, but if I don’t scare them off and they dig up the garden, all my work is for nothing. And the only reason to garden is to watch it grow. Deer trampling my new plants isn’t going to get me—”
“Don’t you garden to eat it or sell it?” he asked.
“Honestly, I haven’t thought that far ahead. Right now I garden to garden.”
He took a step toward her. He stuck out a hand. “Colin Riordan,” he said.
She looked down at her bleeding palm.
“Oh, damn, let me take care of that,” he said. He went to the opened hatchback of the Jeep and found a clean rag. When he got back to her, he wrapped it around her cut. Then he stuck out his hand again.
“Jillian,” she said, shaking his hand cautiously. “Are you related to Luke and Shelby?”
“You know them?”
“I stayed in one of their cabins until this place turned up and I rented it.”
“I’m Luke’s brother, also known as Uncle Colin.”
“Pleasure,” she said. “Now how did you get here?”
He turned around and she did a quick study of his back; she had another look at the big, scary gun in hiswaistband. She also couldn’t help but admire his broad, muscled shoulders, narrow waist and long legs.
“See that road?” he asked, pointing. “It’s a crappy road, bumpy and overgrown from lack of use, but the Rubicon can take it, no problem. And the road kept going up, past a vineyard, past a couple of farms, and I stayed on it. Up was my objective. Up was where the sun was.”
“How far did you have to stay on
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