Her Small-Town Romance. Jill Kemerer

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СКАЧАТЬ Bryan craned his neck, hoping he’d missed something. “Are you sure this is the one?”

      The sparkles in Jade’s eyes disappeared as she put her chin on her fist. “I don’t know. Mimi always said it was a tall tree close to the gazebo with the lake shimmering behind them.”

      This one must be it, but he didn’t see the markings. “It would have been a long time ago.”

      “Maybe we’re not looking high enough.” Jade peered up.

      “That’s not how it works. Trees grow upward from the tips of the branches, and the trunks thicken as they age. The carving won’t be higher.”

      “Oh.” Jade’s lower lip pushed out. “I guess this isn’t it.”

      A thin layer of moss on the bark caught Bryan’s eye. He brushed it away with his hand. “Check this out.”

      Jade flew to his side. “Oh!” She covered her mouth, and her shining eyes met his. Whoa. Her delight was doing something to his pulse. He backed up two steps.

      “That’s it,” her voice cracked. “It’s really there. You found it. Thank you.”

      His chest expanded. How did she do that? Make him feel eight feet tall over something so minor?

      Jade traced the faded heart, the letters, and sighed. “Dreams do come true.”

      A romantic. Bryan curled his fingertips inward until the skin pinched. What dream did Jade want to come true?

      The store, of course.

      Maybe more. Maybe she wanted a guy to carve their initials in a tree.

      Too bad he wasn’t a make-it-permanent, let-the-whole-world-see kind of guy anymore.

      “I’m glad you found it,” he said, not meeting her eyes.

      So he was attracted to her. Big deal. He’d been attracted to several women since Abby left, but he’d reminded himself what was at stake. Technically, God forgave him for signing the divorce papers, but how could Bryan knowingly put himself in that situation again?

      He wouldn’t. He’d had his mistakes flaunted all around town when Abby’s ex arrived and made house calls to their apartment for a full week while Bryan went off to work in obliviousness.

      Everyone in Lake Endwell knew she cheated on him.

      Everyone knew she left Bryan for another man.

      And the town busybodies talked about it for months.

      Jade was taking pictures of the carvings with her phone.

      She was all alone in town, afraid of the very things he considered amazing. This afternoon proved she couldn’t handle his class, but he couldn’t just leave her to wade through her problems alone.

      An idea formed. One that made him queasy.

      He wanted her to see Lake Endwell through his eyes.

      Lord, don’t ask me to do that. It’s too big a risk.

      “Bryan?” Jade asked, a gentle smile on her lips. “Thanks for taking me here.”

      Uh-oh.

      It might be okay. He was older, wiser, and hopefully, he’d be moving soon. He wouldn’t be around to see who snatched Jade up and carved her initials in this beech tree.

      “Sure.” He rubbed the back of his neck, uncertain how to broach the subject. “Um, I don’t think you’re ready for my class.”

      The light in her eyes snuffed out.

      “But,” he continued, “I want to help. Why don’t we keep meeting on Sunday afternoons? We can work through the rest of those therapy steps.”

      * * *

      “What?” Jade scrunched her nose. Seagulls noisily landed a few yards away.

      “Well, you’re new here, and I don’t want to worry about you passing out at a picnic.” His smile teased, but she couldn’t muster any enthusiasm. Why would he offer that? Either he felt sorry for her or it was his way of letting her know he was interested. She’d rather have him feel sorry for her. Less complicated that way.

      “What would you get out of it?” she asked. “I’m not your responsibility.”

      “I don’t need to get anything out of it.”

      “No.” She shook her head. “I’ll be fine. I can work through those steps on my own. You’ve already done so much.”

      His frown and the way he crossed his arms over his chest assured her she’d offended him, although she wasn’t sure how.

      “I’ve barely done a thing.”

      “Yes, you have. I’ve been in Evergreen Park twice in two days, which is twice more than I expected in such a short amount of time. And you found this.” She flourished her hand to the tree.

      “Are you really going to work through the steps on your own?” He narrowed his eyes.

      “I can’t ask you to give up all your free time.”

      “A few hours a week?” He scoffed. “It wouldn’t be much. What’s the real issue?”

      She couldn’t take him up on the offer, although it appealed to her. Her own personal outdoor expert—and a gorgeous one at that—patiently helping her get used to the woods? Who wouldn’t want it? But she’d owe him, and owing meant strings, strings she was unwilling to tie if it meant he’d cut them later.

      “I don’t know. I have a lot on my plate with opening the store and everything.”

      Bryan seemed to see right through her. “If I told you something, would you keep it confidential?”

      She nodded, hoping it wasn’t going to make her life more difficult.

      “I applied for a position in Ontario. It’s a corporate retreat, and I’d be one of their outdoor instructors. But to get an interview, I need to prove I’m experienced. The human resources director wants to see logs of my classes. Hours taught, number of students. That sort of thing.”

      He was moving? Jade tried to pay attention as the information raced through her brain. She should be thrilled, but disappointment overrode her previous thoughts. His offer wasn’t out of pity or attraction. “So you basically need to write down our hours and what we do?”

      “Yeah. Their hiring process starts in June. It would give us five to seven weeks. I think we could make a lot of headway in getting over your fear.”

      All her reasons for declining fled. All but one. He might be moving, but the attraction she felt was very real. Could she keep it under control for a month or two?

      “I don’t know.” She shrugged, wanting to say yes, knowing she should say no.

      “It СКАЧАТЬ