Page 16 of Pick Your Spot

She was sure her body and heart were right. This was a trustworthy man.

So, she braved a request. “I have a favor to ask. Actually, two favors.”

The twinkle in his eyes brightened. “Pretty sure you can ask anything.”

Her body softened at the look and the words.Down girl. “Would you be comfortable with me using the laundry facilities in the mud room? I don’t have any of my own, and Jay let me use his.” Her face flushed at the request. She was a grown woman over thirty, and she didn’t have her own washing machine.

Knox nodded immediately. “Of course. Any time.”

“Thank you. I’ll let you know when I’m going to use it. It’ll likely be today or tomorrow.”

Knox’s sympathetic expression eased her embarrassment. “Your whole life changed in the space of moments, didn’t it? I don’t know if there are extra keys around. If not, we’ll get a few made up. My siblings will need some anyway.”

Her heart leaped. That sounded like good news. As long as they didn’t kick her off. “They’re coming?”

His easy grin returned. “Maybe. My youngest sister, Jolie, is trying to get time off. No one else made a commitment yet but I think I have some interest from the others.”

Relief nearly knocked her knees out from under her. She turned off the hose in case she lost control of it.

Knox rubbed his hands together. “So I have time to learn more about the farm and needed improvements. And we’ve got time to work up a plan to convince them all to move here and run this place.”

A laugh bubbled out of her. “You’re dreaming big.”

He nodded. “Those are the best kinds of dreams.”

Knox worked hard to contain himself when Thea wanted to ask him favors. He was pretty sure she could ask anything, and he’d do his best to grant it.

He’d known immediately she wasn’t going to ask anything sexual, but his imagination had gone there anyway. As had certain parts of his anatomy. Which was ridiculous. He was a mature adult on his third career, not some randy teenager with hormones running wild.

Still, he wanted to know more about what she wanted. The fact that she thought using laundry facilities required a favor was sad. “Hey, where do you live, anyway? I can’t believe I didn’t ask that yesterday. Do you have a place here on the farm?”

Fear flashed in her eyes before she shut it down. Damn it. He didn’t want her to be afraid, so he continued before she could answer. “I imagine Jay set you up somewhere on the farm so you’d be close. There’s no point in driving to the orchard daily when there’s so much space here.”

Thea gnawed at her bottom lip when she nodded. “He gave me a cabin a little further back in the orchard. Maybe I should have moved out after Jay was gone but I hoped to convince the new owners to keep me on.”

Her nerves practically vibrated the earth at their feet. “Sounds like a good deal to me. I can’t promise you forever because I’m not the only one making a decision but I can promise you that as long as we own the farm, you can keep living in your cabin.”

Relief was obvious in her face, and she blinked a few times when her eyes misted. “Thank you. You have no idea how much that means to me.”

“You’re welcome. It’s the very least I can do to thank you for helping me learn the apple and soil business.”

She smiled. “You’re a good man.”

He shrugged. “Fox would never let me hear the end of it if I didn’t try to help out others.”

There was more sparkle in her eyes this time. “Sounds like Jay. Although he’d prefer to help if no one knew it was him behind the good deed.”

Knox laughed. “I love hearing Jay’s stories. I’m starting to wonder if he and Fox were twins. They sound like almost the same person.”

Her eyes softened at that. “I wish they’d managed to fix whatever was broken between them.”

“Me too. Sounds like they missed out on decades of knowing each other.”

“It’s so sad.”

He didn’t like seeing her sad. “I confirmed with my family that we’ll keep paying you as long as we’re in charge of the farm. We’d like your help to make it better no matter what we decide. I’m also charged with getting to know more about the property and the finances.”

She made a face. “I can’t help you with the finances. Jay never shared much except to gripe about rising prices.”

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