Free The Protea Boys by Tea Cooper Page A

the bush and heaving it effortlessly over his shoulder. “Get back to work. The bush cutters need cleaning,” Tom shouted over his shoulder, taking his frustration out on Matt and Jim. Intent on keeping the ladder out of sight and away from Georgie until he’d repaired it and tested all the rungs, he took it around to the back of the shed.

Chapter Eleven
    Determined to stay away from temptation, Georgie adopted a new timetable. She worked outside in the mornings after the truck had left and in the office in the heat of the afternoons. If she timed it right, she’d have as little to do with Tom as possible. Being close to him was too much of a temptation and besides, the control freak made her angry, damned angry, with his overprotective attitude and patronizing comments.
    Every afternoon the rumble on the gravel announced the truck returning, the banging doors and calls signaling the end of their working day. Every afternoon Georgie counted the cars leaving before she left her office. It wasn’t as though she wanted Tom completely out of her life; she just needed some space. The Protea Boys were in great demand, and between the extra money and the extra labor, the farm was beginning to look up. She might even break even next month.
    With the final pile of invoices sorted and her desk less like a battle zone, Georgie decided to call it quits. She pushed back her chair, wandered over to the window, and stared out across the paddock to the shed. Tom’s tall, lean frame was silhouetted against the afternoon sun. If she leaned back against the window frame, she could watch him unobserved. He had a stillness about him she found intriguing, and joke as she would about his body, there was more to him than just brawn, she was certain. On the few occasions she had been close enough, she could see deep in eyes, lurking beneath the surface, a distance and a disappointment. Her curiosity was getting the better of her. He fascinated her and made her want to know about the parts of himself he hid from the rest of the world.
    As enraged as she had initially been, she had to admit Hillary had made a good decision when she employed him. As a leader, he was perfect, and she had to do very little in the way of organizing the Protea Boys—Tom just took over.
    “Don’t worry. I’ve got it all under control,” seemed to be his mantra, and most of the time, it was a refreshing relief to be able to mention that the irrigation pipe had broken or the top branches she couldn’t reach needed pruning and then discover the job had been done. It released so much more of her time, and she’d even managed to knock up some flyers promoting the business, and last week she hadn’t been able to fill all the flower orders.
    But there was a downside. Tom drove her mad with his constant intervention in everything and his belief that he had to personally supervise every detail made it virtually impossible for her to get a word in. She ran her fingers through her hair, raking the unruly mess into a tight ponytail, and knowing she was letting temptation get the better of her, she walked out of the door, across the paddock, and to the shed.
    “Afternoon, Georgina.”
    Tom’s greeting rang out, and her face burned as his gaze travelled the length of her body, making her want to smooth her shirt and shake her hair down her back.
    “Georgie,” she said with a slight smile.
    “I was wondering how long you were going to stand, admiring the view.” He laughed as the color hit her face.
    Oh, what is it about this man?
    Tom seemed to delight in catching her out; surely he hadn’t been watching her as she watched him. She sucked in a deep breath of warm afternoon air and adopted her most professional tone. “Good afternoon, Tom. Did you have a good day? Is everything running smoothly?”
    “It’s going pretty well, but I need to spend some time servicing the machines, especially the brush cutters.” Tom opened the back of the truck and leaped up onto the