Free Raspberries and Vinegar (A Farm Fresh Romance Book 1) by Valerie Comer Page B

Zach glanced at the waiting room behind him and lowered his voice. “Hey, Draper. Sorry to see she got you suckered in.”
    Yvette wrinkled her nose at him.
    Draper chuckled. “Nice try, Nemesek.” His fingers massaged Yvette’s neck as he scanned the waiting room. “Who’s next?”
    Nothing remained for Zach at Hammond Pet Clinic. Jeff never went against his darling daughter, so there was no reason to think he’d have charitable thoughts for Zach now. Time to leave. He swiveled on his heel and strode toward the door. Yvette’s chuckle came to his ears just before the door swooshed shut behind him.
    Good thing he’d parked around the corner, out of sight of the clinic’s windows. He rested his forehead on the Mustang’s steering wheel for a long moment. How could he have been so stupid as to tangle his love life with his job? Why couldn’t he have seen her for what she really was before he’d gotten in so deep?
    She’d wanted him to sleep with her, but he’d meant the oath he’d sworn in high school. Some vestige of the honor he’d been brought up with gave him the courage to hold the line. Oh, he’d desired her all right, and believed she felt the same about him. Until the evening Zach remembered he’d left his cell phone at her apartment and discovered a man’s jacket and boots in her entry. Bad enough, but the bedroom door had been closed and Yvette’s breathless voice had told Zach to get lost.
    That still stung.
    Josephine’s elfish face drifted into his mind and settled beside Yvette’s. No comparison. There was nothing fake or manipulating about Jo. She was who she was. Refreshing, if a little blunt.
    But he still needed a job, and sitting in Jeff Hammond’s parking lot wasn’t getting him one.

    ***

    Jo read the email from her mother with growing dismay. Mom intended to visit, dragging Brad in her wake. Jo looked around the dingy trailer. It took no imagination to see the dilapidated, foul-smelling place through her mother’s eyes. The whole structure was smaller than the suite Jo had in Brad’s house as a teen. No way did she want Mom seeing this. Ever.
    She couldn’t possibly mean it, anyway. The only feasible reason she’d come would be to criticize. Jo had never done anything good enough for her mother and her current living conditions weren’t likely to change Mom’s opinion. As for Brad, he’d given Jo everything but the time of day. There wasn’t a chance he’d started caring now.
    Jo hit ‘reply.’ It was great to hear from you. A lie she hoped God would forgive. Things are crazy hectic here this spring and we’re not really settled in. Probably best if you wait until next year to come all the way out here, once our community house is up. Not that Mom would expect to stay at the trailer. Even Brad’s friends stayed in posh hotels when they visited California, though it was hard to imagine anyone with more room for guests. Keep in touch. Love, Jo.
    The message seemed rather terse but she couldn’t summon up the politeness to change a word of it. Send .
    Hectic was an understatement, but today she found herself with a couple of hours alone on the farm. Planting the garden was out of the question as it had rained heavily during the night. Her chicken-fried rice wouldn’t take long to fix once the girls were home.
    What to do with her bonus day? Restless, Jo prowled over to the window and peered out. The sun bored a hole through the thick cloud cover. Jo needed some fresh air, a place to sit and read her Bible. A place to pray.
    In minutes she trudged through the wet woods, wishing she had Domino at her side. The pup’s only speed was hyper-bounce, but Jo enjoyed his company. He needed someone with more energy than Rosemary. Jo couldn’t afford to buy him even if he was for sale, though. Pushing the thought of the pup and Zachary right out of her mind, she angled deeper into the trees along the creek. Jo hadn’t had a lot of opportunity to explore along the hillside