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A City Girl’s Second Chance
City girl Tess Barrett hopes her move to Barrett’s Mill, Virginia, will give her a fresh start. As she gets to know the family she’s never met and begins work at their sawmill, everything starts falling into place. Until she meets Heath Weatherby. After narrowly escaping an oil rig explosion, Heath won’t waste his second chance at life. He’s committed to starting a family—and he wants Tess for his wife. Tess refuses to give in to her feelings for Heath, convinced they’re just too different. But when the rugged mechanic is hired to fix her family’s mill, her heart begins to recognize the charming country boy as her one true love.
“You have to be the sweetest guy I’ve ever met.
“After I just about bit your head off, too.”
“I hate to break this to you, darlin’,” he said with a laugh, “but you don’t scare me. ”
Once seated, they both spread out their lunches on the blanket to share.
“Sure beats eating in the back room with the crew.”
“Do you mean the food or the company?”
Looking over at her, he grinned. “Both.”
“Flattery will get you nowhere with me, country boy,” she warned, though the sudden blush on her cheeks said otherwise. “But you get an A for effort.”
“Just callin’ it like I see it.”
That made her laugh. “The girls around here must fall all over themselves trying to get your attention.”
“Nah. I’m just Heath, the goofball they all grew up with.”
“That’s not what I’ve heard,” she informed him.
“That was a long time ago. Now I’m looking for a wife who thinks I hung the moon, and a bunch of kids who think I’m the greatest dad ever.”
“Really?” Tess asked incredulously. “That’s all?”
“To me, that’s everything.”
MIA ROSS loves great stories. She enjoys reading about fascinating people, long-ago times and exotic places. But only for a little while, because her reality is pretty sweet. Married to her college sweetheart, she’s the proud mom of two amazing kids, whose schedules keep her hopping. Busy as she is, she can’t imagine trading her life for anyone else’s—and she has a pretty good imagination. You can visit her online at miaross.com.
Loving the
Country Boy
Mia Ross
And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
—Colossians 3:14
For Rob
To the very talented folks who help me
make my books everything they can be:
Elaine Spencer, Melissa Endlich and
the dedicated staff at Love Inspired.
As always, huge thanks to the gang at
Seekerville (seekerville.net). It’s a great place
to hang out with readers—and writers!
I’ve been blessed with a wonderful network of
supportive, encouraging family and friends.
You inspire me every day!
Contents
Tess Barrett was not a morning person.
Of course, that might have had something to do with the fact that her California-girl brain hadn’t quite adjusted to Virginia time yet. Or maybe it was the dark blue sedan she’d borrowed from her grandmother, a far cry from the jazzy red convertible she’d left in LA. Yawning, she looked around and couldn’t help admiring the lush scenery on the other side of the windshield. Ordinarily, she drove to work through bumper-to-bumper traffic jams, with the AC on full blast and palm trees waving at her as she passed by.
On this cool October morning, hers was the only car in sight on a gravel road that wasn’t even two lanes