Page 66 of Kissing Her Rescuer

Ms. Iris, never offended, tugged him toward the long swing at the other edge of the gazebo. The spot near a small pond was perfect, the day clear and not too hot yet.

Eliza motioned to Ms. Iris to go on. She could get a good shot if her dad stopped trying so hard to be against getting his photo taken. He hated pictures. Always had.

Her dad set his arm on the back of the swing around Ms. Iris's shoulders. Eliza crept around behind them, still at a good distance, to get the shot. If her dad didn't want to smile, then she'd find another way to give Ms. Iris at least one sweet engagement picture.

She took a series of shots and then looked at the screen on the camera and adjusted her angle again.

After almost ten minutes of pictures, she approached them. “Why don't you go walk through the pecan orchard over there.”

As if she'd interrupted something important, her dad's scowl slipped back into place, worse than before. He looked at his watch. She knew what was coming.

“You have work to do. Or did you forget that this isn't your real job?”

“Hugh, she's doing this as a favor to us. You've seen her pictures. They're wonderful.”

He grunted, but after a minute of staring at Eliza, he rose and held out his hand for Ms. Iris. “Let's go take ourstrollthrough the pecan trees.”

Eliza followed them, almost ten yards back, snapping pictures. She raced ahead and almost fell when she saw the love on her dad's face as he watched Ms. Iris.

As soon as he noticed his daughter, his lips turned down. “I hope you work this hard, getting pictures for the paper.”

She looked at the back of her camera. Even on the tiny screen, she knew the pictures were exactly what Ms. Iris wanted. “I suffered a few bruised ribs to get those pictures of the fire.” She glanced up at her dad. “This is much safer.”

“Oh, leave her alone. She's doing wonderfully, considering how you're harder to work with than a toddler half the time.”

“No, he's fine. Really.” She held up her camera. “I think you'll like the shots I got.”

“I'm sure I will. And,” Ms. Iris said, her lips pressing together a moment before speaking again. “I might have told Addie about your willingness to take pictures. She was going to approach you about it for her and Cameron.”

“Let's see what I have first.” But the idea excited her. One more way for her to make a little extra money to put toward buying her childhood home.

It was a sign.Dewey walked into the bank, no longer worried that Eliza might spot his truck outside the building. Cameron and Addie had hired her to take engagement pictures. One reason he was late for the meeting. He had to wait for one of the new guys to show up early to take the other part of Cameron's shift at the station.

“I don't know how you plan on being successful in life if you're late everywhere you go.” Hugh didn't offer his hand but crossed his arms instead. “Are you sure you're ready to own a home?”

Dewey ignored the question. “Did you look at my last offer?”

“Yes, and I don't think there's anything wrong with the gutters.”

“When was the last time you crawled up there?” At Hugh's blank expression, Dewey continued. “They are broken in spots, rotten through, in others. All the runoff from the rain will rot the wood if it goes on much longer. You should’ve had them replaced years ago.”

Hugh nodded once. “Fine. I'll take three thousand off.”

Dewey held out his hand. “Deal.”

The banker approached them. It was the same man that helped Dewey open his account when he started making too much money at fifteen to keep in a coffee can. He’d always held a job. Now, he felt a new, rewarding feeling being able to purchase this house, for Carrie and Eliza. Pride.

“Mr. Mitchell, nice to see you.” His dull gray eyes turned to Hugh. “Hugh.”

“Frank.”

“I didn’t realize we’d be dealing with you this morning.”

Great. They had to use a banker that obviously didn't like Hugh. The quicker they got through the meeting, the better. “We're here because I'm buying Hugh's house. I wanted to withdraw the down payment and have an owner financing agreement notarized.”

Frank's bushy eyebrows rose. “Your relationship is getting fairly serious with Ms. Campbell, then? She was in here the other day with her daughter. Pretty little girl. I think she might have swayed me to give her two of the lollipops.”

“My daughter,” Dewey added. Eliza always worried about Carrie’s sweet tooth. Just one more thing she’d gotten from him.

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