Free The Chocolate Garden (Dare River Book 2) by Ava Miles

“Annabelle’s a pistol. She reminded me of Rye when she stomped her foot like that.”
    Her brother had always had fight in him, and even Mama hadn’t been able to squelch it. Cultivating Annabelle’s spirit while encouraging respect was like walking a parental tightrope.
    “Rye laughs when she does it. I’ve told him that he’ll get his when he and Tory have kids.”
    John Parker’s chuckle raised the hair on her newly exposed nape. “They’ll have strong kids. No doubt about that.”
    “Thank you for taking Rory bike riding, John Parker. I know Rye put you up to all this.” Best put it out in the open.
    They walked side by side through the gardens she’d created for Rye as they headed toward the house. It gave her pleasure to see the roses blooming in a wild array of pinks, whites, and yellows. Of course, she needed to deadhead the spent blooms, but she could do that after the kids went to sleep…when she was also planning to look at all the other paperwork Daddy wanted her to review for her business. Sometimes there just wasn’t enough time in the day.
    “Honey,” he said, and just that one word—and the way he said it—made the fading sun feel hotter on her neck. “Rye didn’t put me up to anything, but he did ask me to make sure you knew you had someone to count on. If you need anything, you just call, all right? Besides, you know I love the kids.”
    And it was true. He always paid attention to them, and not in that begrudging way that many adults treated kids. “Thank you, then.”
    John Parker trailed a finger over a lush pink hydrangea with lime green leaves as they walked by it. “Have you given any thought to coming over to see what kind of a garden you could design for me?”
    She’d even dreamed about it, her hands in the hot, loamy soil, his eyes on her as she laid another seedling in the earth.
    “Yes, Daddy and I have been furiously setting things up for my business. I even ordered my new business cards this morning. But I have to ask, are you really sure you want me to do it, John Parker? You could hire the best designer in Nashville. I don’t want you to do this because of…well, Rye.”
    He put his hands on her shoulders, making her jump at his touch.
    “Look around you, Tammy. You created this, and it’s magical.” He massaged her tense shoulders. “How could I want anyone else?”
    His words comforted her. “Okay, then. Do you have a budget for this?” she asked.
    “Nope. I want you to go all out, honey, just like you did with Rye’s place. Why don’t you come over Wednesday to take a look at the property? Bring the kids with you.”
    All out? Her other inquiries had been for smaller jobs, and her inner gardener wanted to dance at the thought of having free reign. “That sounds lovely, but I’ll have to see if Alice can watch the kids.”
    “They won’t bother me on our tour.”
    All she remembered from her one visit to his house were its homey atmosphere and the lovely acres of emerald grass out back. “No, I don’t want them underfoot when I have my first consultation with you. I want to give you my full attention.”
    And boy, she knew drinking in his handsome face would hardly be a chore. She eased away from his touch even though it was the last thing she wanted to do. That was twice he’d touched her today, and it had felt…way too exciting.
    “You didn’t tell me your company’s name.”
    Her smile seemed to rise in her heart before fanning out across her face. “Visionary Gardening.”
    “My, how I like the sound of that.”
    His words sent a shiver down her body. Before walking again, she deadheaded a few more spent flowers to do something with her hands and because she loved to feel them between her fingers. Who would have guessed that snapping off a dead bloom would generate a fresh one? She loved that notion.
    They walked to the house, and it was pleasant to have him stroll alongside her without pressing her for conversation. Funny how that said