Home-Grown Husband. Sharon Swan
beside him, Tess’s gaze sharpened as she caught that sudden total lack of movement before Jordan slowly straightened. Her question had been natural enough, she told herself, but it seemed to have made an impact, however well concealed. Another second passed before she got a reply.
“I don’t do much of anything these days,” he told her in the same casual tone he’d used for much of the afternoon. “Exploring my options, I guess you could say.”
And what did you do up till now? She couldn’t help wondering, thinking that whatever it was, it had surely not been a run-of-the-mill job. Sharing several companionable hours doing something as simply satisfying as flower tending hadn’t changed her mind about Jordan Trask. No one would ever judge him to be ordinary…including her.
She waited a moment for him to say more. He said nothing, so she turned and started for the garage with an armload of small garden tools. He followed, carrying a shovel in one hand and a fat sack of mulch with the other. Once inside, he glanced around him. “Where do you want the sack?”
“Against the wall, on the other side of the truck.” She watched as he walked in near silence around her white pickup, asking herself if anyone could move that quietly on solid concrete unless they’d been trained in the art. For a moment, her attention was so fixed on him that she didn’t even notice the short metal rake slipping from the pile she held, not until it hit the hard floor with a clatter.
In a flash, the man she viewed dropped the sack and whipped around to face her, hazel eyes narrowed and broad shoulders braced for what might come next. He looked, she thought, like a shot had just been fired, rather than a tool clattering.
Like a shot. All at once Tess got a good inkling of what Jordan Trask had done in the past. Her gaze locked with his. “Are you ex-military, or ex-police?”
As he released a lengthy breath, she could all but see him forcing himself to relax. And then he spoke so softly that the words barely reached her.
“Neither. I’m ex Border Patrol.”
Chapter Two
Border Patrol. The words repeated in Tess’s mind. It was a long way from ordinary, even quite possibly dangerous work. She didn’t know any more than the average person, she supposed, about what was actually involved. But she knew that much.
No wonder, she told herself. No wonder he seemed a bit larger than life, as though he’d just stepped from the pages of an action novel. He’d probably seen plenty of action.
And now he had apparently chosen to give it up, let it all go, for reasons she certainly had no business asking him about. Still she couldn’t hold back one question. “How did you wind up in Harmony?”
He bent to lift the sack, then met her eyes again. “I saw an article in a travel magazine at a dentist’s office a while back. It was on bed-and-breakfasts in this area, and one of the pictures was an aerial photo of this place, with the sun shining down on it.” He paused for a beat. “I’ve got to admit it seemed a little like heaven to me.”
It must have, after the sights he’d no doubt seen hundreds of miles to the south. She could understand that, even though Tess knew the city she’d lived in for most of her life wasn’t heaven. She’d learned that the hard way when—
“So I figured I’d come and check it out,” Jordan added, breaking into memories she was far from reluctant to let go. “It didn’t take me long to decide I wanted to spend some time here.” With that, he turned away and placed the sack where she’d indicated. “What about the shovel?”
She reached down and retrieved the rake from the floor. “It goes in the storage box at the back.”
The tools were scarcely put away when thunder rumbled in the distance. “Guess I won’t have to water the new plants,” Tess said as they left the garage. The coming rain was hardly a surprise. Late-day, wind-whipped storms rolled in regularly during the summer months in Harmony, sometimes disappearing almost as quickly as they blew in.
The thick dark hair at the nape of his neck barely brushed his shirt collar as Jordan gazed up at a sky that was quickly turning murky. “I’d better be going. I should probably let the dog out to do his duty before it starts coming down. I’ll keep him on a leash until I make sure he can’t get through the fence again and create another crisis.”
Tess’s lips quirked in a small smile. “I doubt he’ll be giving Roxy any more trouble.”
“If he’s smart, he won’t.”
“Is he smart?”
“I don’t know, but I expect I’ll find out.” Jordan brushed his palms on his Levi’s. “We just met today. I adopted him at the pound this morning.”
And he didn’t look all that certain he’d done the wise thing, she had no trouble noting. It only made her smile widen. “What’s his name?”
With a slight shake of his head, Jordan said, “Beats me. The people at the pound thought he was abandoned because someone couldn’t, or didn’t want to, take care of him anymore.”
“Then you’ll have to rename him.”
He frowned, aiming a thoughtful glance at the house he’d rented, where his new pet awaited his return. “I’ve never named a dog before. What, ah, do you think I should call him?”
It was her turn to slowly shake her head. “It doesn’t matter what I think, not really. He’s yours now, Jordan. You should name him.”
Once again, his gaze met hers. “Do you suppose he could come over and visit sometime—if he behaves himself?”
Her heart picked up a heavy beat, right along with her pulse, because she knew by the abruptly probing glint in his eye what he was really asking. She didn’t even consider saying no. “You can both come over,” she said, and managed to keep her tone light.
He grinned then—an all-out grin, not just a smile—and she couldn’t stop her breath from catching at the sight, couldn’t help but wonder if he had any idea how knockout sexy it was. “We just might take you up on that invitation,” he told her, his gaze still steady on hers.
She barely held on to her composure until he looked away and started toward the fence separating their yards. “You can go around the front, you know,” she called after him.
“This is just as easy,” he threw back over his shoulder. And it was, for him. Within seconds, he effortlessly landed on the other side and turned to wave goodbye. The grin—that devilishly sexy grin—was still in place.
TESS WATCHED through a side window of her kitchen as man and dog made their way around the yard, one holding a long black leash, the other sniffing a path over bright green grass. Without a doubt, the dog needed his owner, she thought, needed to be cared for as any pet would. For some reason, though, she was beginning to believe that this particular owner just might need what the dog could provide every bit as much. It should have seemed a little ridiculous that someone who appeared so confidently self-sufficient could genuinely benefit from some unconditional canine devotion.
But it didn’t seem at all ridiculous. Not to her. Not after the time spent with her new neighbor.
Jordan Trask had come to Harmony seeking something. Of that, she was sure. Less clear, was exactly what he sought. Sheer peace, maybe. Some quiet time to decide what he’d do next after leaving a job that would have been anything but peaceful.
It might well be the case, she reflected, recalling their conversation. He’d seen a postcard-perfect photo in a magazine, and the image had come to mind at a time when he’d needed to get away. Yes, that could very well be it.
Not that it was any of her business, Tess reminded herself as the phone on a nearby wall jangled. She stepped back from the window and picked up the cream-toned receiver on the second ring. Her daughter’s voice greeted her.
“How’s