His Hometown Girlby Karen Rock
Mass Market Paperback, Large Print, 331 pages
March 1st 2014 by Harlequin
He'd always managed to best her…
Jodi Chapman will do whatever it takes to get top care for her autistic son. If that means going home and convincing local farmers to sell their land, so be it. Even if her biggest opponent, childhood rival Daniel Gleason, is equally determined to convince farmers to buy into his co-op plan. And he's not playing fair.
Facing off against Daniel is the last thing Jodi wants. The attraction that's always fueled their competitiveness is as strong as ever and just as distracting. But with both their futures on the line, and years of distrust between them, how can they ever be on the same side?
Strawberry Kisses- Flashback #2 from HIS
HOMETOWN GIRL by Karen Rock
Jodi stepped carefully through a row of
strawberry plants, her eyes drinking in the field of scarlet fruit dangling
from mint green mounds. It felt good to be out in the fresh air, her heart
filled with the light that streamed through cotton candy clouds spinning across
a cerulean sky. How long since she’d left her father’s bedside? She mentally
counted back the three weeks since his accident. It’d been the day before her high
school graduation ceremony, when she’d mistakenly thought decorating the gym was
more important than heading straight home to help out with chores.
She sighed and stopped at a thick patch,
getting on her knees and setting her basket in the dirt. If only she’d been
there when his arm had been pinned. She
would have called 911, helped move the malfunctioning machine off of him,
talked him through a terrifying moment… anything but hanging crepe streamers
and taping up glittering signs. Her insides curdled as she remembered the
teacher hurrying across the gym floor, the look on her face spelling tragedy.
Only the news had gotten worse as the hours went on. Her father’s arm had had
to be amputated and now, without his farming income coming in, they were likely
to lose the farm. The only home she’d ever known… except, she couldn’t look at
the barn again without a shudder, picturing her father’s accident. Maybe being
forced to leave all they had, even their friends, family and neighbors at Cedar
Bay, wouldn’t be a bad thing. It might stop the nightmares that woke her every
night, the bleeding shame that flowed from her guilty wound.
A shadow blocked the bright sun, and
when she glanced up she could make out only a tall, rugged silhouette. Yet she didn’t need details to know that
shape. She could have traced it by heart. Daniel Gleason.
“Mind if I join you? This looks like a
good section.” His husky voice did something funny to her heart and she busied
her hands plucking berries from their stems. She’d rather stare at the handsome
boy-now-man, but this was her first day of work on his family’s farm. She
wasn’t going to mess up this chance to earn money for her father’s medical
bills.
“It’s a free country,” she muttered, of
two minds. Like always, she wanted him near. Though they’d been childhood
rivals for years, he’d been the only boy who made her stomach turn itself into
knots, her heart beat faster. Too often, she’d caught herself doodling his name
in the margins of notebooks when she forgot herself. Yet his family had loaned
her father the machine that’d caused the accident. It was hard not to see him
as ‘the enemy’ more than ever.
“Thank you.” His muscular thighs came
into view as he squatted across from her, his large fingers pinching off
berries and dropping them in his pail.
“Is your mom making jam this week?” she
asked when the silence between them felt as heavy as the humid summer air.
He was silent for so long she glanced up
and noticed he’d stopped working, his jaw clenched.
“Is everything alright?” It wasn’t until
she felt his bicep harden that she realized she’d touched him. When she tried
to yank back her hand, his own covered hers and held it there. Her pulse
thrummed at the sensation.
“No,” he replied, his answer so
uncharacteristically curt she could practically hear alarm bells ringing.
“Want to talk about it?” Not that they’d
ever been chummy that way. But he looked pained and something was definitely
off. Plus, she couldn’t deny it. She cared. Always had.
He rubbed a finger absently across her
knuckles, sending shivers of awareness tiptoeing down her spine. At last, he
let go of her hand and dropped a strawberry in his mouth. After swallowing it,
he shook his head. “How’s your dad?” he asked at last, changing the subject.
Disappointment filled her. So that’s why
he’d come to her isolated spot in the berry field. He was getting the news
about her father to share with his family. Not seeking her out.
“Okay. He sees someone in Burlington about
a prosthetic next week.” She popped a berry in her mouth, the tart sweetness
exploding on her tongue. It reminded her of Daniel. Teasing her one minute,
treating her so kindly the next. Overhead, sparrows swooped and dove, their
singsong emerging from a nearby tree line that tossed shadows to dance at their
feet.
“I’m glad he’s doing okay. That it
wasn’t worse.” Daniel’s hazel green eyes looked straight into hers and beyond,
as if he could see what was inside of her, how she felt, know her thoughts.
Something wet splashed down her cheek
and, with a start, she realized she was crying. Such a strange thing. She’d had
to be strong for her parents and keep herself together that she hadn’t given in
to tears. But suddenly, alone with this boy who alternately teased and
tormented her, she felt she could open up. In a flash, Daniel was beside her,
his strong arms holding her close. His heart beat steadily against her cheek
and her sobs drenched his worn t-shirt. Yet he didn’t move, only held her
closer and stroked her back, his lips moving against her part as he murmured
something she couldn’t make out, but sounded reassuring.
At last, she stopped shaking and stared
up at him in wonder. Never before had she seen such a tender expression in his
eyes. Her chest constricted when his thumbs brushed away the last of her tears
before his palms cupped the sides of her face. Did he care about her? After all
these years, it seemed impossible to imagine. But he’d never looked at her this
way before. Not as a competitor, someone to beat, but soulfully, as if she were
someone that he…
Before she could finish the thought, he
lowered his face and brushed his lips against hers, the gentle caress making
her ache. Their eyes met and held, and she melted inside at the longing she glimpsed
in his gold-flecked depths. She slipped her arms around his neck, and with a
groan he captured her mouth again, this time kissing her deeper, the
intensifying pressure igniting a fire inside that wanted to burn brighter,
hotter. He angled his face and drew in her lower lip, his tongue nibbling it
before slipping alongside hers. A jolt of pleasure sang through her veins at
the unexpected touch, and she slid her hands up his neck through the thick
brush of his hair, loving this moment with him.
His mouth left hers and travelled along
her cheeks, the delicate sensation making her shudder in delight. When he
reached her earlobe, he nipped the hypersensitive flesh and buried his hands in
her hair, arching her backward so that she lay across his strong arm, his body
bent over hers. Her breath came in fits and starts as his lips continued their
trail of fire down her neck, making her chest heave. When he kissed her
clavicle then looked up, the happiness dancing in his eyes matched the joy that
lit her from within. A part of her knew this should feel strange. They’d been
enemies for so long. Yet it felt perfect. Right.
“I’ve wanted to kiss you forever,” he
said, his voice deeper that she’d ever heard it.
She raised his handsome face to hers and
kissed him long and deep again, unable to taste his berry-flavored lips enough.
“I never knew,” she answered when she pulled back, relieved to see that he
looked as shaken as she felt.
“Now you do.” He grinned, his deep
dimples making her heart stop.
She straightened in his arms but made no
move to leave. “Will we – ah- do this again?” Her cheeks burned at the
question, but she had to know where they stood.
A cloud seemed to pass over his eyes,
dimming them. “Our folks can’t know. Not with them fighting over whose fault the
accident was.”
Her shoulders slumped. Any chance of a
romance with Daniel was over before it even began.
She made a move to slip away but he
pulled her close and rested his head on top of hers. “But that won’t stop us,
Jodi Lynn.” A fierce note entered his note. “Nothing will.”
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Karen Rock has adored romance since receiving Harlequin
Presents books from her grandmother each summer. She formed her Young Adult
writing partnership, J.K. Rock- pseudonym for the CAMP BOYFRIEND series, with
her sister-in-law and Blaze author, Joanne Rock in 2011. When Karen heard of a
call for submissions to Heartwarming, Harlequin’s latest line, she was inspired
by the possibilities of writing unforgettable, deeply romantic, tender love
stories that mothers would feel comfortable sharing with their daughters. When
she’s not writing, Karen loves scouring estate sales for vintage books, cooking
her grandmother's family recipes, hiking the ‘high peaks’, and redesigning her
gardens. She lives in the Adirondack Mountain region with her husband,
daughter, and two Cavalier King cocker spaniels who have yet to understand the
concept of “fetch” though they know a lot about love.
For more information
about Karen's upcoming books, check out her website,
Facebook page, or follow her on twitter. She’d love to hear from you!
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