Page 17 of Pick Yourself Up
Having seen Gray in action, she knew he was one of the good guys. One of the best, from what she could see.
But that didn’t mean she should be ogling him. He was a friend of her brothers’ and he was here to work on the gardens. She wasn’t sure if it was a permanent or temporary position. Either way, he wasn’t for her.
She just had to convince her girlie parts to settle down.
But when she caught him looking at her, those parts cheered.
So did her heart.
Gray wanted to kiss Jolie for including him for the day. Well, he really wanted to kiss Amber, but that was for a whole different reason and a whole different kind of kiss.
The woman was compelling. Gorgeous, obviously, but he already knew there was far more to her than a pretty face and hot body.
Seeing her in jeans and a sweatshirt had his blood singing. She’d been attractive in her professional but boring hotel uniform. This was better. He felt as if he was seeing the real woman behind the professional façade.
Touring the farm with her and her sister would allow him an opportunity to learn more about her without coming across as creepy. He hadn’t been this attracted to a woman in a long time. Ever?
Over the couple of months since the Chicago incident, he’d thought about Amber a lot. Hell, he’d even reached out to her brother with thoughts of her in mind.
The peace of toiling in the gardens with friends working on the same overall project had a strong appeal, but he’d be lying if he didn’t admit to himself that Amber herself had been the main pull.
Finding her here made everything better.
He wanted to get to know her. Having her sister act as a buffer would help them both. Amber was obviously nervous that he might share the details of how they’d met. He hoped spending the day together would help her see he wasn’t about to spill her secrets.
Although he wished she already had. Her brothers and Jolie would be pissed they hadn’t been there to help her through it. The Malssums were as tight a family as he’d ever known.
He could almost hear his mamma saying, A good Italian family.
The Malssums weren’t Italian at all. They were fiercely proud of their Abenaki heritage, another fact Rosina would love. Calling them Italian would be her highest compliment.
Jolie began the tour by giving them both a set of keys. “These are for all the buildings on the property. Ford keyed the deadbolts so they all use the same key. There’s another for padlocks on the sheds and one for the ATV we have working. We need Lawson to figure out what’s wrong with the others, but we’ve gotten along well with only the one so far.”
In the driveway, she pointed toward the road. “You passed the other farmhouse on your way in. None of us have been inside it yet. We’re saving it for you, Amber. You should be the first to step inside when you’re ready. Let’s focus on an overview of the farm today, and you can check it out later.”
Amber’s eyes widened, and she looked longingly up the road while Jolie turned to Gray. “You also saw the complete mess that is the garden space between the two farmhouses. From what I can tell, there were originally two vegetable gardens, two herb gardens, and several flower gardens scattered throughout. I don’t think anyone has cared for that space in decades.”
He nodded. “From first glance, I agree. It’s going to be a lot of fun figuring out what exactly to do with the space.”
Amber shot him a wide-eyed look. “Fun? Seriously? All those weeds don’t have you thinking second thoughts?”
He grinned. “Not a chance. It’s a blank canvas, full of potential and possibilities.”
The women shared a look and laughed. Before he could ask why, Amber explained. “Potential is one of Jolie’s favorite words. Looks like you’re going to fit in well around here.”
He sure hoped so.
Jolie nodded. “There’s a ton of space. You could do dozens of different things with the field. I’m hoping touring the farm and seeing what it needs will give you plenty of ideas.”
He kept his eyes off Amber at that comment. He already had plenty of ideas where she was concerned. Now he needed more about the gardens.
Jolie pointed out the large barn across the farm road from the building where they lived. “That barn’s full of the machinery and equipment needed to run the farm. If we can talk him into it, it’ll be Lawson’s domain.”
They walked into the orchard with Hemsworth roaming and Boomer trotting along at Amber’s side. The dog’s ears and eyes tracked everything in the area.
Another large barn, located further into the orchard, housed the harvesting center. It was where the apples would be separated and cleaned.
“When do the apples get picked? They look ready to me.”
