All I Have. Nicole Helm
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Let the battle begin
Mia Pruitt wishes Dell Wainwright would keep his shirt on. The Naked Farmer lures customers by stripping to his perfectly worn jeans while he and Mia sell vegetables from competing stands at the farmers’ market. It’s time for a showdown, and they’re each in it to win.
Yet when both farms end up in jeopardy, Mia and Dell suddenly find themselves on the same team. If their rivalry was hot, their attraction is steaming, but they can’t seem to agree on a plan. If they could only learn to grow together, they might reap the best harvest of all...
“What are you doing?”
What was he doing? Well, he certainly wasn’t thinking. Mia was like a salve to a wound, and since everything was all mixed up and tangled anyway... “Considering kissing you, actually.”
She pulled her head back even more, holding out her hands like double stop signs. “You can’t kiss me!”
It was such a strange response to him trying to kiss her, Dell was almost amused. Refusal he’d expected. Some kind of scathing comment, yup. A sort of weird panic complete with squeaky voice and bug eyes? It was kind of cute.
“Why not?”
I’ve been in love with farms since I can remember. The romantic side of me likes to think love is a gene, passed down from generations before. My grandfather had to quit farming long before I was born, but when I was a kid he bought back the farmhouse he’d grown up in. He’s always told me that farmhouse is his heart. The poetry of that sentiment stuck with me, and I was determined to put that heart into a book. So I wrote a story about two farmers whose farms were their hearts.
I sold that book (and a second book in the series) to Harlequin E in 2013, and in 2014 that book came out as part of the Harlequin E Contemporary Box Set Volume 2, and then on its own in September of 2014 under the title All I Have.
When Harlequin E folded, the awesome Harlequin Superromance team offered to move the entire Farmers' Market series to Superromance. Since the original two books were shorter, this came with the caveat that All I Have would need an additional 20,000 words. So, here we are!
All I Have is longer than the original version, but it’s the same story of two people whose hearts are their farms and belong to each other.
Happy reading!
Nicole Helm
All I Have
Nicole Helm
NICOLE HELM grew up with her nose in a book and a dream of becoming a writer. Luckily, after a few failed career choices, a husband and two kids, she gets to pursue that writing dream. She lives in Missouri with her husband and two sons and dreams of someday owning a barn.
To my Grandpa Beck. You once said the farm was your heart, so I gave Mia and Dell your heart.
Many thanks to the people at Harlequin, especially Alissa Davis for believing in this book from the beginning and making it even stronger, and Piya Campana for bringing it to Harlequin Superromance. I will be forever grateful for having the opportunity to work with both of you.
Contents
Dear Reader
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
EPILOGUE
“GUH.”
Mia Pruitt ran smack-dab into her sister’s back, causing the pallet full of cabbages she was carrying to drop to the ground. Green spheres bounced against the concrete with a thud and rolled in every direction.
“Damn it, Cara.” At least cabbage was one of the hardier vegetables Mia had for the early-spring market. The drop wouldn’t really damage them.
“Sorry.” But Cara didn’t move. She stood frozen directly in the path between the truck bed and Mia’s stand at the farmers’ market, cabbage strewn about her feet.
Mia looked where Cara’s gaze was transfixed and groaned. “Is he serious? It’s not even fifty degrees. Can’t he wait until July for that crap?”
“Who cares?” Cara fanned her face with her hand. “He can take his shirt off any day he wants. And if he gets cold, I will gladly step in to warm him up.”
Dell Wainwright and his stupid shirtless antics had put a serious dent in their farmers’ market profits last year. Cara didn’t care, but this wasn’t her full-time job. Mia was the one taking over the farm. Mia was the one making this stand into a living. She cared, and she was going to find a way to combat him this year.
Dell