Free Broken Promises by Patricia Watters

Neuville's notice?" he said.
    Tess hopped out of the Jeep. "Oh yes."
    Curt set the chain saw on the ground. "Swenson came by earlier... claims he's working the north end of de Neuville's place near the ridge. It wouldn't surprise me if real trouble started soon. Swenson doesn't take lightly to being put down in front of the men, especially by a woman, nothing personal intended."
    "I know," Tess said, "but we'll handle things as they come."  
    Curt grabbed the chain saw and walked back to where he'd been limbing, and Tess leaned against a tree, folded her arms, and watched Harv Dempsey on the skidder, pushing logs. He took too many passes to position the big machine, and when she heard him grind the gears, she walked toward him and motioned for him to stop. She also realized he wasn't wearing his safety belt again. "Dempsey, you've been told several times that wearing a safety belt is required in this operation," she said.
    "It's too much hassle when I have to keep getting on and off," Dempsey replied.
    "That may be," Tess said, "but we can't chance the liability. Thanks for trying, and don't feel bad about it, but I'm putting you back on cutting and limbing. Your saw's in my Jeep." She motioned to Curt, and when he walked over to where she stood, she said, "I interviewed a skidder driver over the phone earlier and he'll be here in the morning. Meanwhile, you keep the men working and I'll handle the skidder myself."
    "You?"
      "Don't look so surprised," Tess said, then headed toward the skidder. It had been years since she'd operated the big machine, and looking at it now, she felt a renewed sense of excitement. Hinged in the middle with the back wheels turning independently from the front, whenever she operated it she felt like she was riding a giant double-jointed bug. She climbed the steps to the enclosed cab, swung up onto the seat and fastened her safety belt. Adjusting her hard hat and smiling, she turned the key and pressed the starter button. Before the big machine moved out, Curt motioned to her."Hey, TJ," he yelled over the sound of the engine.
    Tess peered down from her lofty perch. "Yes?"
    "I forgot to tell you. When Swenson was here earlier, he made some threats. Want me to sort of keep an eye on him for you?"
    Tess looked at Curt with apprehension. "What kind of threats?"
    "Nothing specific," Curt replied, "just said you'd be hearing from him."
    "Well, maybe you'd better go back to camp and watch things there for the afternoon," she said. "I'll move the logs to the landing and meet you there later."
    Trying to shove thoughts of Jed Swenson from her mind, Tess put the skidder in gear, took the wheel, and pulled on the throttle. For now, she intended to ride this giant bug.
    ***
    Zak pulled his truck into the clearing and found Tess standing beside the skidder, mopping dust from her face and neck with a towel. She made no move as he walked toward her, even when he reached out to wipe a smudge from her face and pick forest debris from her hair. "You look like the Tess I remember," he said.
    Tess laughed. "I guess it's my lot in life to look like a woodland nymph." Her face flushed, and Zak knew she was thinking what he was thinking. "How did it go with your father?" he asked, while trying to shove aside the image of Tess in the grotto as his little woodland nymph , as he'd called her when they were naked there. Memories that were hard to repress when she was in his presence.
    "Amazingly well, after the storm passed," Tess replied. Then her face sobered, and she said, "Why didn't you say anything about your father buying the tract between Timber West and the ridge?"
    Zak shrugged. "I thought you knew."
    "I didn't, and neither does my father yet... or about your father raising the royalty on our road. My father will go ballistic. Raising the royalty might just be enough to make Timber West fold, which would make your father happy, so he could buy this land too."
    "I admit, he'd like to buy out Timber West, if only to