Runaway. Drifter. Andy Pulaski made choices.
Fate can rule with a gentle hand, and one bright summer day
she deposited Andy Pulaski in Sumnerville. Needing to work to earn enough
money to get to the next stop in his journey, Andy hires on with Tom Sumner to
help the older man on his homestead. Andy may be a drifter, but he’s frequented
public libraries and educated himself. He looks at every stop he makes as an opportunity to learn. Things are looking up and Andy may stay
longer than the agreed two weeks.
Rafe Sumner isn’t too happy about his Uncle Tom hiring a scruffy
drifter. He’s been Tom’s helper all his life even if he doesn’t always see
eye-to-eye with his uncle. He doesn’t get along with his mother, either. He
knows his father’s last name wasn’t Sumner and he knows the truth is out there
somewhere. He just can’t find it.
Andy and Rafe develop a grudging respect for each other
while working for Tom. It could be that what they’re seeking is right in front
of them. All they have to do is look beyond what happens between them at night.
AN EXCERPT FROM SUMNER'S GARDEN
Rafe settled his lips over mine in
an almost chaste kiss. It registered in my stunned brain how warm and soft they
were before I fully processed what he’d done. He pulled back and smiled at me.
“I can get the tractor in pretty
far. Ground’s solid right now. We can do this.”
I blinked at him, brain fogged.
“We, um, can do what?”
The little smile morphed into a
huge grin. “I’m talking about reclaiming the pond. Do you have some other
activity in mind?”
I snapped out of the surprised
haze I’d spiraled into. “Nope.” I held up my index finger and pointed it
straight at his nose. “Don’t ever do that again, Rafe. I’m not some amusement
you can play with for the summer.”
He grabbed my hand and held on,
squeezing my finger tightly enough I couldn’t pull away. “I know you’re not so
take a chill pill.” He released my hand and walked past me. “C’mon. Let’s go
see what Tom thinks of your idea.”
Scurrying to catch up, I fell into
step with him. “Maybe we should wait until we get his garden situated. That’s
his priority right now. Let’s slow down and think this through. Make a plan.”
Rafe stopped and met my gaze. Yeah,
that man wanted to make a plan, but not the one I was talking about. His smoky
gaze traveled from my eyes to my knees and back up to my eyes. He didn’t need
to speak for me to know exactly what he was thinking. Then he switched off that
man-on-the-prowl look and grinned at me.
“Okay. You’re on to something
there. He might get pissed if he thinks we’re going to slack off the important
stuff.” He checked his watch. “If we hustle, we can get the other three raised
beds put together before supper. After supper, we can brainstorm.” He leaned in
close. “And maybe you’ll let me kiss you for real tonight.”
Privately, I might – might – give
him points for being a persistent fellow, but I’d never confess that to anyone.
I took a long step back to put some distance between us. “No. I’m not available,
Rafe. I’m asking you to respect that.”
“Tom’s watching us. Let’s go see
what he needs.”
Oh, great. Had he seen Rafe kiss
me? I didn’t want to discuss it. If cornered, it might slip out that I wasn’t
offended in the least and, truthfully, wouldn’t mind if it happened again.
What the hell was wrong with me? I
was in a safe place here. I’d work hard, sure, but this was also a place for me
to rest for the next little while. I didn’t want to screw it up with sex. Nor
did I want Rafe to discover I found him…interesting.
Tom called out to us as he turned
to walk away. “Come up on breezeway, boys.”
“Where else were we going to go,
old man?”
Jeez. Rafe’s mouth was going to
get him in hot water. The next thing Tom did might be worse than the coffee
caper.
“You boys are fixing supper while
I rest a spell.” Tom paused. “Before you do, you two bring the old chair out
here for me.”
Rafe nodded, and I followed him
inside to the living room. The room was comfortable, and decorated in warm
tones of red, brown, and cream. A fieldstone fireplace dominated the room, but
I thought it was great. Most of the furniture was in good shape but stashed in
the corner was a very old, very tattered navy blue recliner on wheels. Rafe
pointed at it.
“He puts that on the breezeway
every summer. I don’t know how old it is, but he won’t part with it. Says it’s
fine for outside.”
I stepped behind it and started to
push it while Rafe guided it around the other furniture. Tom snickered at us
when we had to turn it onto its side to maneuver it through the door.
“Boys, I got that inside all by my
lonesome last fall.”
We flipped it back up onto its
wheels. Rafe dusted off his hands. “Sure, you did, old man. What are we cooking
tonight?”
Tom dropped onto his chair with a
satisfied sigh. “Cook’s choice, boys. Rafe, you go find something in the
freezer whilst I have a word with Andy. Go on, with you.” He waved Rafe away.
I was surprised Rafe turned and
walked meekly away, and not very happy he’d left me to face Tom alone. I feared
Tom was going to tell me there was to be no hanky-panky with Rafe.
That thought should not have
bothered me and it bothered me that it did.
Tom motioned at one of the deck
chairs, so I sat and waited for him to speak. It didn’t take him long.
“Andy, I’ll get straight to it. I
saw my nephew kiss you and I saw you backed away from him. Now, you’re both all
grown up and what the two of you may or may not get up to at night in the barn
is your business. Makes no difference to me if you do or don’t. What I want to
know is do I need to tell Rafe to let you alone?”
The sincerity in Tom’s voice
touched me deeply. We were virtual strangers and yet he cared enough to offer
to advocate for me. It was a gift I didn’t feel worthy of receiving. I shook my
head.
“No, sir. I’ve handled men worse than Rafe.”
_*_*_*_*_*_*_
KC Kendricks
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