Lori Foster

Back to Buckhorn


Скачать книгу

she’d get to take Garrett to dinner.

      Zoey smiled, thinking about how nicely her first week back had gone, especially given how she’d dreaded it. She’d expected unfriendly reunions, awkward greetings and ugly stares of condemnation.

      Instead, for one reason or another, she’d seen Garrett almost every day. The town was small, so every time she turned around she ran in to him.

      Each and every time he stopped to talk with her.

      Each and every time her infatuation with him grew.

      Never mind that he was a big, sexy hunk with an easy smile and a hero’s personality. He was...well, everything else, too. Friendly, respectable, admired, liked—not just by her, but apparently everyone else, as well.

      A few times she’d seen him at his sister’s bookstore when Amber invited her for lunch. Amber didn’t close the shop during her visit, but it was a slower time for her and few people stopped in.

      Yet somehow, each time, Garrett showed up.

      Amber also took her to dinner—at Nadine’s house, with Shohn and Adam and some of the other cousins there, again, including Garrett. She loved Nadine’s pet hotel, and she really enjoyed seeing Nadine and Shohn interact.

      They all had pets, and all swore they’d be giving her plenty of business once she opened her grooming salon.

      It seemed to Zoey that Amber’s family went out of their way to make her feel welcome. It was so relaxing being with them, because she didn’t have to worry about running into someone who might still blame her for what had happened so long ago.

      She knew those people still existed in the town, just as she knew Amber’s family had never been part of the hate crowd.

      Because the invites always included Garrett, Zoey almost felt like Amber was playing matchmaker, but if so, Zoey enjoyed her efforts. It had given her a chance to see Garrett with his family, how he played with the animals, helped out in the kitchen, thanked his sister for a burger, carried Nadine a drink.

      So attentive—to everyone.

      She’d also run in to Garrett at the hardware store when she bought a grill and needed supplies to fix up the house she’d bought. He’d chatted with her, lingering, making her self-conscious over her paint-stained T-shirt and ragged jeans—not that he’d been anything but pleasant.

      The owner of the hardware store had slid many suspicious glances her way, but after Garrett came in, he spent his time bragging about Garrett’s handyman skills, claiming he’d learned from his uncle Gabe. The owner’s wife smiled at him as if he were her own son. They’d talked for maybe twenty minutes, and every minute or so someone new greeted him, including several women. But he hadn’t been drawn away. She figured that was likely why the women gave her dirty looks, and not the incident from her youth.

      So far, she’d run in to him at the grocery, at the ice-cream shop, the gas station and Amber’s bookstore. She’d even seen him during one of her many visits to the hospital. Her mother was doing better, but on top of the broken ribs her blood pressure was high and the pneumonia really left her exhausted. Zoey did her best to make her more comfortable, telling her over and over how much fun they’d have once she was well again.

      Somehow, she’d make it so.

      Garrett was there checking on an older woman who’d almost set her house on fire when she forgot her dinner in the oven. She’d inhaled a lot of smoke, but would be fine.

      Such a great guy—and tonight she’d have him all alone, with the opportunity to talk beyond polite pleasantries.

      Maybe he’d give her some tips on fixing up her old house, given the amazing job he’d done to his own.

      Thanks to a recommendation from Amber, she’d bought the furnished two-story “fixer-upper” sight unseen. And she had no regrets. The second she’d walked across the squeaky wood floors, touched the crystal doorknobs, admired the stained-glass window in the stairwell, she’d fallen madly in love.

      The aged, scarred and worn furniture still had charm. Everything—the house and the furnishings—needed a ton of work to spruce it up, and she looked forward to tackling it all. On top of pleasing her aesthetically, it also had a huge sunroom in the back that led to a fenced yard, making it practical for her animal-grooming business.

      Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.

      Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

      Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

      Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.

/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAgEAYABgAAD/4Ry0RXhpZgAATU0AKgAAAAgABwESAAMAAAABAAEAAAEaAAUA AAABAAAAYgEbAAUAAAABAAAAagEoAAMAAAABAAIAAAExAAIAAAAcAAAAcgEyAAIAAAAUAAAAjodp AAQAAAABAAAApAAAANAADqYAAAAnEAAOpgAAACcQQWRvYmUgUGhvdG9zaG9wIENTMiBXaW5kb3dz ADIwMTQ6MDY6MTggMTE6MjM6MjUAAAAAA6ABAAMAAAABAAEAAKACAAQAAAABAAAB9KADAAQAAAAB AAADFwAAAAAAAAAGAQMAAwAAAAEABgAAARoABQAAAAEAAAEeARsABQAAAAEAAAEmASgAAwAAAAEA AgAAAgEABAAAAAEAAAEuAgIABAAAAAEAABt+AAAAAAAAAEgAAAABAAAASAAAAAH/2P/gABBKRklG AAECAABIAEgAAP/tAAxBZG9iZV9DTQAB/+4ADkFkb2JlAGSAAAAAAf/bAIQADAgICAkIDAkJDBEL CgsRFQ8MDA8VGBMTFRMTGBEMDAwMDAwRDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAENCwsN Dg0QDg4QFA4ODhQUDg4ODhQRDAwMDAwREQwMDAwMDBEMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwM DAwM/8AAEQgAoABlAwEiAAIRAQMRAf/dAAQAB//EAT8AAAEFAQEBAQEBAAAAAAAAAAMAAQIEBQYH CAkKCwEAAQUBAQEBAQEAAAAAAAAAAQACAwQFBgcICQoLEAABBAEDAgQCBQcGCAUDDDMBAAIRAwQh EjEFQVFhEyJxgTIGFJGhsUIjJBVSwWIzNHKC0UMHJZJT8OHxY3M1FqKygyZEk1RkRcKjdDYX0lXi ZfKzhMPTdePzRieUpIW0lcTU5PSltcXV5fVWZnaGlqa2xtbm9jdHV2d3h5ent8fX5/cRAAICAQIE BAMEBQYHBwYFNQEAAhEDITESBEFRYXEiEwUygZEUobFCI8FS0fAzJGLhcoKSQ1MVY3M08SUGFqKy gwcmNcLSRJNUoxdkRVU2dGXi8rOEw9N14/NGlKSFtJXE1OT0pbXF1eX1VmZ2hpamtsbW5vYnN0dX Z3eHl6e3x//aAAwDAQACEQMRAD8AwQ0xoCArFeI7Ix7RXraC3khrQz/CWWWO211Vt9v6SxYDrX1u PpXue3sWuLf85hRKuqdTEY7Muyqu17d+12ySDDXPczY53p7v3l0M84oitfwcaHLHiBsEePpLZvw6 aLB9ryQ2onV1LHWSP3qfW+yV2/8Abir5AoDj9hbfdX2fkNbVp/xdb7P/AD6rxxTi5JFtRsYSQbfT LS6J92617rnbo3+5WMrot3qVvZSXixoLXvG5oJEtGw/o1Sy5KOujoYuW9JO+rhDBzL2vtbFhbq4T J08FT2Wufsa1z3c7WgkwPIL0npHQ3NbFrayXAe5jBX8e5WEzpBxjl1tAfY7IsxnkE6Vs9NzXiPob PWbZ6n76gOUd2z90rh6Xu8aX+agbFLMtbZl32Nja+x5bHgXFFwGUttFt7gNurG+f7zkOJjEBdfi6 uHfdjAb69xADT4yAq76rPtJu2/SO5WRk0uHscHfiihzbK9zddvKlEyeqfu+MHT82q0WzOyJ8FFuN aXTrzKutKI1w7hSRme608vHU92l9mt2zPeElf3Dj5pKTj8Vn3e