Free Loving The Country Boy (Barrett's Mill Book 4) by Mia Ross Page A

the table. Without thinking, he reached out and covered her hand with his, giving a light, reassuring squeeze.
    “I guess he thought it was his out.” Sniffling, she went on. “When I was going to be the mother of his child, he was only too happy to marry me. When that changed, so did he.”
    “I doubt that,” Heath spat, struggling to keep a grip on his temper. “I’ve met plenty of guys like him, and rich or poor they’re all the same. When the going’s easy, they’re fine. Give ’em a problem or two, and they’re gone. He didn’t deserve you, and you’re better off without him.”
    To his surprise, she settled her palm over their stacked hands and gave him the bravest smile he’d ever seen. “How is it,” she asked in a watery voice, “that someone I just met knows exactly what to say to make me feel better?”
    “Practice,” he admitted, seeking to lighten the mood with a rueful grin. “I’ll do anything to keep a lady from crying.”
    That got him a hiccupping laugh, and then she got serious again. “So now you see why I’m so worried about Chelsea. She’s much further along than I was, feeling the baby kick and move, setting up a nursery and everything. I can’t imagine how tragic it would be for them to lose their child now.”
    “You were praying with us earlier,” he pointed out gently. “The rest of your family’s doing the same, along with everyone else in town. Don’t you think that’ll help?”
    “I hope so.”
    It was obvious she didn’t share his faith in the Almighty, and he seized the opportunity to nudge her toward something that could only make her life better. “Maybe you’d feel more confident about it if you talked to God more often.”
    “You mean, like go to church?” When he nodded, she frowned. “I don’t know. Gram invited me, but it’s already been a long week and I’m really looking forward to sleeping in Sunday morning.”
    Hearing more than reluctance in her excuse, Heath instantly backed off. In his experience, people didn’t respond well to being pressured into doing something that didn’t come naturally to them. This was a very personal decision for Tess, and he’d never dream of trying to coerce her into attending a service.
    “No problem,” he said. “If you change your mind, we’ll be at the Crossroads Church at the end of Main Street.”
    “I’ll keep that in mind.”
    Her extremely polite tone warned him it was time to drop the subject. “So, any ideas for the harvest display?”
    “Does it really have to be scarecrows?” When he nodded, she grimaced but went on. “The only one I’ve ever seen up close was in
The Wizard of Oz
.”
    Her little grin told him she was exaggerating, and he chuckled. “Not many scarecrows on Rodeo Drive, huh?”
    “Not unless you count our customers. Some of those women had been nipped and tucked to within an inch of their lives. They were just so...”
    “Phony?” he suggested when she seemed at a loss for words.
    “Yeah, that’s it.” Sighing, she added, “I don’t mean to sound melodramatic about it, but sometimes I wondered if anyone I knew was who they claimed to be.”
    “That’d be a problem for someone like you. You’re too down-to-earth for all that nonsense.”
    “I don’t know about that.”
    Despite the protest, there was a hopeful glimmer in her dark eyes, as if she really wanted to believe him. Since right now he knew her extended family better than she did, he searched for a way to prove it to her. Inspiration struck, and he said, “I think you’ve got a lot more country in you than you realize.”
    “I’m not following you.”
    “Look around this place,” he continued, leaning his arms on the table. “What word comes to mind?”
    She glanced into the woods then circled back to the mill house and its steadily thrumming waterwheel. The nearly black sky was sprinkled with stars, and as she looked up, a gentle smile played over her refined features. “Peaceful.”
    In that