Free Unfinished Dreams by Amanda McIntyre

couldn’t deny the fact she’d felt something tug at her as she danced with him. Serious warmth had transcended the crowded dance floor. A connection something inside of her wanted to make with him, though on what level she was not yet sure.
    There was no dispute he was attractive. A woman would be blind not to see that. Still, there was something about him. He kept his distance and that intimidated her. If there was one thing Tess learned from her experience with Richard, it was honesty and openness was essential in a relationship.
    Gabe Russell held something back and she could see it behind the confident façade of those passionate eyes.
    Pulling a tiny wooden box in front of her, she started flipping quickly through the time worn recipes. She searched through every cabinet looking with desperation for each ingredient. Soon her once tidy kitchen was a disarray of mixing bowls, spices, sugar and utensils, but the aroma of warm chocolate and cookie dough wafted throughout the house. Six dozen of the warm, chewy cookies should appease any man. She smiled as she dipped her finger across the wooden spoon and licked the sweet batter.
    She had heard him return, his pickup rumbling up the drive. As much as she’d liked to help unload the supplies, she found herself up to her elbows in creating a sampling of home-cooked splendor. She hoped it would convince him she wanted to be friends as well as business partners if he was going to help on the farm.
    Tess flipped back the curtain, seeing heavy, dark storm clouds rolling in over the fields. Something inside her made her feel safe, secure, and content to be experiencing her first thunderstorm in her own house. Was it the influence of the country, or could it be Gabe Russell was the type of man who would appreciate a home-cooked meal?
    With a shake of her head for allowing her hormones to race out of control, she focused on the roast simmering gently on the stove. As a young girl, she’d written down the beef recipe as she watched her grandmother cook. Breathing deep of the delicious scent of beef and onion, she smiled. The few times she’d tried cooking for Richard were met with a dissertation of great detail, noting the fat and cholesterol content of everything she served him. He further humiliated her by telling her how bad it was for him and accused her of trying to kill him, after which, he would storm out of the door claiming to be having supper with his friends.
    Tess would end up tossing the entire meal in the garbage, or taking it to work the next day. Jack ate it and she hoped Gabe would.
    She measured two cups of flour, dumping into the huge crockery bowl, and then checked her recipe again for dumplings.
    “Tess? Lord woman—” Gabe stood at the backdoor with his hand wrapped around the doorknob, “what are you doing?”
    She took note of her disheveled surroundings, realizing maybe she’d been wrong and Gabe was every bit as much of a neat freak as Richard.
    With flour strewn across her cabinets, on the floor, and herself, and dozens of chocolate chip cookies cooling on the table, there wasn’t much she could offer up in defense of the mess.
    He inhaled the aroma, eyed the cookies on the table, and then turned to her. “I haven’t smelled anything this good in this house in years. I don’t suppose you baked those just for me?” He gave her a teasing smile, but the appreciation shone in his eyes.
    She wanted to tell him yes, he was exactly right, but her tongue seemed solidly glued to the roof of her mouth. Her brain was stuck in neutral as she stared openly at the man. She knew what he wore was ordinary for physical labor, but on Gabe, even the ordinary was breathtaking.
    The cotton t-shirt he wore fit snug across his sculpted chest and he still donned his suede work gloves. Combined with the Stetson and the denim jeans that conformed to every part of him her knees threatened to give way. She reached out carefully clutching the countertop and tried not to