by Toni Blake
“I’ll leave you two to hash this out,” Edna said. “I’m due to take a couple bushels of apples up to the General Mercantile.”
“Need help getting them in the truck?” Mike asked.
“Nope—already there, but thanks.” And then she was out the door.
“Listen,” he said, watching Edna go, then stepping up to slip his arms around Rachel’s waist, “I was thinking about how you could make it up to me, about the cat.”
She flashed a tolerant grin upward. “This oughta be good.”
“I need to haul some fertilizer out to the McIntosh grove, but I was thinking that first, I could have my way with you. So what do you say, Farris? Can I interest you in a little afternoon delight?”
The man was insatiable. But that worked out okay, because when it came to Mike, so was she. Rachel bit her lip. “I really should work on Edna’s books—I’m trying to get everything computerized.”
Mike just lowered his chin and cast one of his get-serious looks, and she let out a breath. “Okay—you talked me into it.” Since her breasts were getting a little tingly and the juncture of her thighs already ached.
“It’s nice out,” he told her, so she let him lead her out into the orchard. The apple trees were in full spring bloom, their white flowers making the whole place appear to be covered in lace. She wasn’t sure she’d ever seen anything so lovely—the sight nearly took her breath away every time she saw it, and made her thankful all over again that she’d looked deep inside her heart and made the right decision. Even if it had taken fearing for Mike’s life to wake her up.
Turned out that giving up her job had, in the end, felt more liberating than painful. Rachel had finally figured out that sometimes being a strong, responsible woman meant admitting you wanted something different in your life, something new—and now her life was suddenly richer, fuller, than it had ever been. And as for her worries over her family and money…well, she still had plenty saved, but if her family ever really needed a lot, they’d be on their own. Edna was right—it wasn’t her responsibility—and she finally understood that. Heck, maybe knowing they wouldn’t have her to turn to anymore would make them start being a little more careful.
As for Mike, she’d hoped he might be more at peace about Anna by now, especially after saving another little girl. And that victory had helped—but Rachel had come to understand that Mike would never be completely at peace about his sister. All she could do was be there for him, and help him deal with the never-ending sense of loss.
“By the way,” he said as they walked deeper into the front grove, near Sugar Creek, “I saw you speeding today.”
He’d been on duty until just a little while ago. “And you didn’t pull me over?” She was truly stunned. After all, he’d given her a ticket as recently as a few months ago—and even by-the-book Chief Tolliver had been shocked that he’d hand out a citation to his own fiancée.
“Well, you don’t go as fast as you used to, so I’m trying to show some leniency.”
She smiled up at him. “Wow. Now I really know how much you love me.”
“But slow the hell down, Rachel,” he said, casting a look of warning, “or next time…”
“Yeah, yeah,” she said, pulling him under a flowering apple tree, taking his hands in hers. “I know—you speed, you pay, we don’t tolerate speeders in Destiny, and all that. Got it, Officer Romeo. Now shut up and kiss me.”
Acknowledgments
My thanks go to Renee Norris, for her early brainstorming, along with her thorough critique and helpful suggestions, as well as to Lindsey Faber, for listening so patiently to all my story concerns, and for all the wonderful ways she gets the word out about my books! Also to Manda Collins, who is always on brainstorming alert! I’d be lost without you guys!
I offer my utmost appreciation to my editor, May Chen, for her very helpful story suggestions, and for always being so fun to hang out with.
Thanks also to Lindsey Bohrer and Staff Lieutenant James Hamilton of the Ohio State Highway Patrol, for answering my questions about some specific law-enforcement procedures.
And finally, a big thank-you to all the wonderful folks at Avon Books, as well as to my agents, Meg Ruley and Christina Hogrebe, for all their ongoing support.
About the Author
TONI BLAKE’s lifelong love of writing began when she won an essay contest in the fifth grade. Soon after, she penned her first novel—nineteen notebook pages long. Since then, Toni has become a multipublished, RITA®-nominated author of contemporary romance novels that are both sexy and heartwarming. Toni lives with her husband in the Midwest and when not writing, she enjoys traveling, quilting, and scrapbooking.
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By Toni Blake
SUGAR CREEK
ONE RECKLESS SUMMER
LETTERS TO A SECRET LOVER
TEMPT ME TONIGHT
SWEPT AWAY
Coming Soon
WHISPER FALLS
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
SUGAR CREEK. Copyright © 2010 by Toni Herzog. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
First Avon Books paperback printing: June 2010
EPub Edition © April 2010 ISBN: 978-0-06-199811-9
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