Jake watched her hand go to her ear and wondered what she was doing. When she tipped her head toward him, he realized she wore a hearing aid.
Well, no wonder she’s such a timid thing. She’d already found a soft spot in his heart. Discovering her disability made him treat her even more considerately.
He spoke louder and looked her in the face. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t see you back there. Are you hurt?”
Anna finally found her voice. “No, Mr. Chandler. I’m fine.”
“I thought you were going to call me Jake,” he teased, still holding her arm, ignoring the electrical sensations coursing from his fingers up to his head. He savored the feel of her soft skin against his work-roughened hand. “I really am very sorry. May I drive you somewhere or call someone?”
“No. That isn’t necessary.” With her woozy spell behind her, Anna drew herself up to her full height, straightened her beige outfit, and took a step away from Jake. Away from her silly daydreams. It was impossible to focus her thoughts with him standing so close. “I’m sorry to have startled you.”
She hurried to her car, unlocked the door, and opened it.
Jake took a few steps in her direction, unsure if she was stable enough to drive. He grinned at her, speaking loudly. “Will you at least tell me your name?”
Anna raised her gaze. Her genuine, warm smile showed off even, white teeth and accented her high cheekbones.
Jake caught his breath. She was truly beautiful when she smiled.
“Maybe next time we collide, Jake.” The deep throaty sound of her laughter caught Jake completely by surprise. Before he could react, she got in her car and left.
On his drive home, Jake’s heart continued to pound. He wasn’t sure if it was from the fact his little mouse, as he’d taken to calling her in his head, scared five years off his life with their near-accident or because he was shocked to find himself so attracted to her.
He could still smell her fresh, tropical scent and picture the freckles that skipped across her nose.
In a rush to leave work, he’d thrown the pickup into a reverse without looking behind him. Terror seized him when he glanced in the rear-view mirror to see her behind the truck. He lectured himself about staying more focused and alert, calling himself ten kinds of a fool.
Instead of paying attention to his driving, at the time he’d been wondering what the library mouse had been up to that day. He’d gone in twice that week hoping to see her, but she hadn’t been around.
She was fun to tease and it didn’t take much to make her blush.
Dang it all, but she’d found a way to grab his interest by acting so uninterested in him. He cornered her long enough while she shelved books to have a few conversations the last few weeks.
Once he got her talking, Jake discovered an intelligent, well-spoken woman. Her quick wit and sense of humor surprised him most. He also enjoyed hearing her deep, throaty voice. Not just the cadence of it, but the words she used. She knew more fancy and old-fashioned ways of saying something that made everything sound better, nicer.
As he left work, he hoped to run into her. Much to his dismay, he spent an excessive amount of time thinking about a girl who held no interest for him. She simply wasn’t his type.
He liked a pretty girl on his arm and the library mouse was about the worst dressed female he’d ever seen. Nevertheless, the more he got to know her, the more she fascinated him. He had an idea there was more to the girl than first met the eye.
The fact that she wouldn’t even tell him her name furthered the sense of intrigue and made him even more determined to get to know her better.
When Jake set his mind to something, it might as well be a done deal.
Anna slipped on a soft T-shirt and faded jeans, glad for the comfort of the worn clothes after spending all day in the work clothes she hated.
During college, she worked part-time as a copy editor for a daily newspaper in Portland. When she graduated, she continued working evenings as a copy editor while adding a full-time job as a fact checker for a magazine during the day.
Used to the physical demands of growing up on a farm, she quickly put on weight with two jobs spent sitting in front of a computer. Her activity was very limited, living in a small apartment with three other girls. She had no social life and never went anywhere, just worked and read, lived frugally, and saved her money. Through the two jobs, she acquired a wardrobe of nice neutral suits and business attire.
After moving back home and meeting the physical requirements of active farming the past several months, Anna lost not only the extra weight, but also gained muscle in the bargain.
Aware that her current wardrobe appeared baggy and unattractive, she wasn’t quite ready to give up the way they hid her new figure.
Yet, the more encounters she had with Jake, the more she considered the need to change her appearance. Perhaps she’d get inspired to do something soon.
Anna went outside to help her dad, contemplating Jake and her clothing options.
They were busy making repairs to the hay stacker when Sam wheeled out to the shop in the wheelchair they dubbed the farm buggy. He could go just about anywhere in it except up stairs. Lisa walked along with him, her hand on his shoulder as he pushed the chair.
Anna hid a smile as she watched them approach. Lisa was small and delicate with a heart-shaped face framed by her pixie-cut mahogany hair. Her sweet appearance could be misleading. The woman was stubborn, strong, loyal and opinionated – a perfect match for Sam.
“What do you two crazy kids have planned this evening?” Ken asked as they entered the shop. He tinkered on the stacker while Anna handed him tools.
“Not much.” Sam rolled beside them, studying his dad’s repair work. He’d done all the work he could reach from the farm buggy, servicing the equipment and getting it ready for their first cutting of hay. No matter he far he stretched in his chair, though, there were some things he couldn’t reach, leaving those jobs to Ken and Anna.
She knew it frustrated Sam to see them doing something he could do better and faster than his dad and sister. Seemingly aware of his thoughts, Lisa squeezed his shoulder then whispered in his ear. Anna had no doubt Lisa reminded him that he couldn’t be in control of everything and his dad was one the one who taught him about farming. It was a conversation they’d all had with Sam more than once.
Slowly nodding his head, Sam smiled up at Lisa as she straightened then looked to Anna. “We thought we’d go to the drive-in. Would you like to come, Anna? It’s a comedy.”
Anna looked at them both and smiled. The last thing they needed was a third wheel, which is exactly what she would be. At the drive-in, Sam didn’t have to feel self-conscious about his wheelchair. He could pretend he and Lisa were there like they’d been so many times before the accident.
“I think I’ll pass, but you two have a good time.” Anna grinned at her brother.
“Just behave yourself, Tuff,” Ken said, calling Sam by his nickname and giving him a wink.
“Right, Dad. See you later.” Sam looked annoyed as he turned away.
Anna knew each time their dad used the nickname it irritated her brother. Ken had called him Tuff since he was three and pushed down a little boy at church, declaring himself “tough.” The name stuck and the family had used it since, much to Sam’s embarrassment.
Anna’s heart squeezed as she watched Sam get into his car and drive off with his girl. It was such a wonderful thing for him to be able to do something so simple, something they all took for granted a year ago. Now that he was able to be more mobile and independent, Sam seemed much more like himself. With the new therapist, she felt encouraged Sam would walk again.
Quickly brushing away a tear, Anna turned her attention back to her dad. He stared outside, his gaze following Sam’s car as it drove down their lane.
“It’s a grand thing, isn’t it, Sugar?” Ken cleared his throat and blew his nose on a bandana he pulled from his back pocket. “Tuff will be walking a
gain before we know it.”
After working in silence for a while, Ken and Anna struck up a conversation about when they would start cutting hay. They talked about moving their herd of Angus cattle into a new pasture then discussed the fallow acreage in the northeast corner of the place. Anna and Sam thought they should try raising something experimental on the ground, but Ken hesitated to commit to planting anything.
“You know, Sugar, we’ve talked about trying a lot of different things in that corner. I really think we should get the soil tested and see what will grow best there before we make any decisions.” Ken started putting tools away.
“I know one of the county extension agents. If you like, I could speak with him about testing the soil.” Anna hoped her father wouldn’t notice her underlying interest in seeing Jake again.
“Really? What’s his name?” Ken glanced her direction.
“Jake Chandler. I’ve heard he’s very good. He comes into the library to do research and such.” Anna swirled the toe of her boot around on the shop floor, avoiding eye contact with her dad.
“Isn’t that a coincidence?” Her dad leveled a knowing gaze her direction. “Isn’t he the fellow that knocked the books out of your hand twice and nearly ran you over in the parking lot a while back?”
“Yes.” Anna looked everywhere but at her dad.
Ken chuckled. “It just so happens I stopped by the extension office the other day and filled out an application to have someone test that corner.” Ken wiped his hands on a greasy rag, mindful of the excited interest his comment generated in Anna.
Despite what his wife and daughter thought, he paid attention to what happened in Anna’s world. He knew she had a crush on Jake Chandler and decided to check out the boy himself. Arranging for a test of the soil in the corner of his land provided a legitimate excuse to meet the young man. From what he’d seen, Jake seemed like an upright guy.
Ken laughed to himself. He knew every inch of soil on the place and could have told Sam and Anna exactly what would grow best in that corner, but he enjoyed watching them work together on ideas.
It also gave him an opportunity to play matchmaker for his daughter.
Anna stared at her dad as if he’d lost his mind, but helped him put the last of the tools away. Together they strolled back to the house.
“Did you remember to ask Mrs. Baxter for time off next week?” Ken asked Anna as they entered the kitchen.
“Yes. I have Tuesday through the rest of the week off. Will that give us enough time to get the haying finished?” Anna washed her hands and then poured glasses of cool lemonade.
“I think so.” Ken washed his hands and accepted the glass from Anna. “We’ll just pray the weather cooperates and we can get it into the stackyard before we get any rain or windstorms.”
Chapter Three
Out in the fields since five that morning, Anna operated the hay baler while her dad stacked hay. She had two more windrows to go, then she’d be finished with this field and would take a much-needed break before moving on to the next one. When she reached the end of the row, Anna turned the tractor around, surprised to see a dark blue pickup drive down their lane.
Curious about who would visit the farm in the middle of the day, she assumed it was probably a salesman or someone completely lost.
As she baled, she kept an eye on the pickup when it pulled up at the house. The driver would discover no one home since her mom was at work and Sam was at a therapy session in Portland. She hoped the visitor would notice her dad stacking hay in the shed behind the barn.
Anna turned her attention back to the task of baling and finished the field in short order. She climbed out of the tractor cab and fed loose hay from the corner of the field into the baler. An unexpected tap on her shoulder made her jump.
Startled, she spun around and stared into the face of Jake Chandler.
She’d seen him several times in the last few weeks, but never out in the open under a bright blue summer sky. In fact, the sky matched the color of his eyes and provided the perfect background to his incredibly handsome features.
From the top of his hat-covered head to the toes of his dusty boots, Anna drank in the sight of him. The breadth of his shoulders made her fingers itch to run across the well-formed muscles she envisioned hiding beneath his shirt. Flustered, she tipped her head back and marveled at his towering height.
It wasn’t often Anna had to look up to see someone’s face. When it was a face as good looking as Jake’s, she didn’t mind in the least.
Jake pointed toward the house and said something she couldn’t hear. She tried to read his lips, but with his head turned away, she couldn’t make out a word.
Frustrated, Anna jerked off her ball cap and leaned toward him, trying to hear, but it was impossible. She never wore her hearing aid out on the equipment because it was just too loud. Holding a gloved hand in front of her with a sign to wait, she stepped up on the tractor and turned off the ignition.
The noise level died as the tractor and baler shut down. Anna jumped off the tractor, covering the ground back to Jake in a few long steps. As she approached him, she removed her gloves.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t hear what you said. Would you please repeat it?” She focused on not letting Jake’s presence intimidate her. Their farm was the one place in the world where she felt confident. Bolstered by that fact, she refused to turn into a sniveling ninny in front of the man. When Jake failed to respond, Anna smiled. “May I help you with something?”
Jake had a hard time remembering why he drove out to the Zimmerman place and had no recollection of what he’d just said.
When he saw someone standing at the baler, he parked his pickup and walked around the tractor, admiring the view of rolling hills and well-tended fields. Assuming he’d found a son or young hired hand, he spoke as he walked up to the person running the baler. The beauty of the farmland diverted his gaze and he failed to pay attention to the person feeding hay into the baler.
After tapping the kid on the shoulder, he continued talking, looking back toward the house and explaining he didn’t find anyone at home. He turned to look the person in the face and felt like someone had knocked the air right out of his lungs.
His mouth went dry as a lovely young woman, not a teenage boy, looked at him. She removed a ball cap and a thick braid fell out, swinging down her back in a golden-brown rope. After signaling him to wait, she climbed into the tractor and shut it off.
She jumped down and took a couple of long-legged strides toward him in snug jeans and worn purple cowboy boots. A cotton tank top did little to conceal her womanly curves. Toned arms, tan and strong, hinted that she spent a good deal of time working outside at heavy labor. When she removed her gloves and asked Jake to repeat his question, her smooth, sultry voice seemed oddly familiar.
He would have responded, but inexplicably lost the ability to speak. It was beyond him to understand how he’d missed the fact the person running the baler was all woman, and not a gangly boy. He really needed to focus on his surroundings instead of letting his thoughts trip around the mousy librarian he’d recently met and couldn’t seem to forget.
Jake recovered the ability to speak. “Have we met before?” A feeling that he knew the girl niggled at him, but he couldn’t place why.
The freckles on her nose reminded him of the timid librarian he bumped into with startling frequency. However, this vibrantly alive girl looked anything but shy and mousy as she gave him a thorough once-over from behind her sunglasses. Her intent perusal made his shirt collar tighten and his temperature spike. The warm, throaty sound of her laughter captured his interest and left him at her mercy.
“You might say that.”
Jake continued staring at her. Undeniable tension crackled between them.
Finally, she broke the silence. “Is there some way I may provide assistance to you?”
“I’m looking for the Zimmerman farm,” Jake said, remembering his reason for being there in the first place.
“You’ve found it. What can we do for you?”
“Are you Mrs. Zimmerman?” The woman’s relationship status didn’t matter in regard to his business purposes. However, it mattered a great deal concerning the future state of his heart.
Again, she laughed with a deep, throaty sound that drew his attention to her alluring lips. “No. That would be my mom and she’s at work. My dad is down at the stackyard, though. Would you like to speak with him?”
“That would be great.” Jake tried to conceal his excitement. The beautiful woman was a daughter and not a wife. He’d yet to meet a girl that he couldn’t sweet talk into at least one date. He hoped Miss Zimmerman wouldn’t be the exception.
“If you give me a ride, I’ll show you where you can find Dad.” Pride filled Anna. She hadn’t stumbled over her tongue, hid her head, slouched, or acted in general anything like she normally did in front of Jake. No wonder he didn’t recognize her.
Jake rushed around his pickup and held open the door for her. He still had the nagging sense that he should know this girl from somewhere. Abruptly shoving it aside, he slid behind the wheel, started the engine, and headed back toward the house.
“Are you sure we’ve met before?” Jake mentally ran through his list of acquaintances. “I don’t think I could forget meeting you.”
Anna turned to Jake, wavering between being insulted or complimented by his confusion. She offered him a sassy smile, deciding to go with humored.
“You nearly bowled me over outside the library a month ago. Not long after that, you knocked a stack of books out of my hands at the collection box and me to the ground. I’ve endured your merciless teasing. Oh, don’t forget your attempt to run over me in the parking lot followed by a tongue-lashing for your inability to pay attention while you’re driving.”
Heart of Love Page 3
