Anna was oblivious to Jake’s interest, but was enjoying the fact that instead of treating her like a stupid girl, he was answering her questions and explaining the soil testing process. She loved learning and knew she needed to glean every bit of information she could that would help on the farm.
All her growing up years, she dreamed of nothing more than leaving the farm and skillfully avoided becoming too involved with the day to day operations. Now, she was wishing she’d paid a bit more attention. She felt like she was taking a crash course in Farming 101 taught by hands-on experience. Today, that didn’t seem like such a bad thing since Jake was the one doing the teaching.
As Jake finished packing up his equipment and the samples, Anna couldn’t help but watch his muscles swell beneath his shirt. He was just about everything any red-blooded girl could dream of. How one man could possess so many attractive attributes was beyond her ability to comprehend, but Jake seemed to have received more than his fair share. Charm, height, good looks, strength. He appeared to have the whole package, and boy was it nicely packaged. She bit her lip to keep a sigh from escaping and decided she needed to get back to the business of farming instead of dreaming about something she could never have.
“Ready to go?” she asked, getting back on the four-wheeler and starting it up. Jake climbed on behind her, trying to hold himself steady without sitting too close. The first bump they hit, he gave up and wound his hands around her waist. He was finding it more difficult with every passing second not to lean closer and plant a kiss on the slender column of her neck.
The ride back to his truck was as fast and furious as the ride out to the corner section. Before he quite knew what was happening, Anna had him at his pickup, toolbox in his hand and was saying goodbye.
“Did you get what you needed?” her dad asked as he quickly walked up to them.
“I sure did,” Jake said, setting the toolbox back in his truck. “Thank you Mr. Zimmerman. As soon as I have the results, I’ll be in touch.”
“Well, look at that, Sugar,” Ken said, looking at his watch. “How did it get to be lunch time already? Jake, would you like to join us for lunch? My wife left us something in the slow cooker and this girl of mine can have it on the table in a jiffy.”
“If you are sure it isn’t an imposition,” Jake said, knowing he should leave, but deciding he’d like nothing better than to stay.
“No imposition at all,” Ken said, with a huge grin. “Sugar, why don’t you two go on up to the house and I’ll be in shortly.”
Anna glared at her dad, but remembered she had on her sunglasses. She hoped he would get the hint and back off. She didn’t know what he was up to, but she was pretty sure she didn’t like it. Not one bit.
She walked toward Jake’s truck and he hurried around to open her door for her. He had nice manners. Anna had to give him that.
They were soon at the house and Anna led the way to the back door at the kitchen. She stopped long enough to lay her hat, gloves and sunglasses on a bench before tugging off her boots. Hay leaves and scads of dirt clung to her socks.
Jake glanced down as Anna removed her dirt encrusted socks and brushed the debris from her jeans. He was surprised to see her toenails painted a pretty shade of pink. Grinning, he looked back at Anna and was pleased by the shade of red that blushed her cheeks.
Removing his hat, Jake started to take off his boots, but Anna stopped him. “You’re fine, Jake. No need to take off your boots, unless you want to. Mine are filthy.”
Jake left his boots on, but gave them a good swipe on the door mat before following Anna inside to the sunny kitchen where the smells of something delicious filled the air.
Seated at the table was her brother Sam, thumbing through a farm magazine and looking tired from his therapy session.
"Hi Sam," Anna said cheerfully, glad to have someone to keep Jake occupied while she cleaned up a bit. "This is Jake Chandler from the county extension office. Dad had him come out to get some soil samples from the northeast corner."
If Jake was surprised to see Sam in a wheelchair, he didn't show it. Instead he walked over, hand extended, with a warm smile. "Nice to meet you, Sam."
Sam shook his hand and started asking him about his work. Anna took the opportunity to escape. Hurrying into her bedroom, Anna wondered what had gotten into her dad. She had no idea what he was thinking inviting Jake to join them for lunch. If he had any idea how infatuated Anna was with Jake, he would know that inviting him into their home when she looked and smelled like a farm hand was just about the worst idea he’d ever had.
She didn't have time to go into panic mode, though, because there were three men waiting on her to get lunch on the table. Yanking off her dirty clothes, she washed her face and arms, tugged on a clean T-shirt and jeans, and put in her hearing aid. Adding a bit of mascara, and a splash of perfume, she hustled back to the kitchen where she could hear Sam and Jake laughing. It looked like Sam had pointed Jake in the direction of the bathroom because his hands were no longer dusty and the hat ring in his hair had disappeared.
"Anna, why didn't you tell us about Jake running into you at the library?" Sam inquired, innocently. "He's got some great stories to tell. It turns out his cousin Clay was one of my favorite instructors when I took classes at the community college."
"That’s great," Anna said with a smile before turning her attention to lunch. Jake offered to help, but she assured him she was fine. The last thing she needed was having him elbow to elbow with her while she put lunch together. The fact that his presence turned her into a certified klutz would only spell disaster for the meal.
Her mom put a pork loin in the slow cooker before she left this morning. The night before, knowing it would be a rushed meal, Sue boiled eggs and potatoes for a salad and sliced a watermelon into bite-sized chunks while Anna whipped up a chocolate sheet cake. Anna was especially glad now, with a guest for lunch, that they had something pre-planned.
Putting hoagie rolls in the oven to warm, Anna quickly shredded the pork by pulling it apart with two forks. Adding a good dose of barbecue sauce to the meat, she mixed it in then layered it on the warm bread. Placing the sandwiches on a platter, she stirred together the potato salad, got out the bowl of melon and retrieved a pitcher of sweet tea from the fridge.
Ken came in the door as Anna took plates out of the cupboard to set the table. "I'm just in time," he said with a grin, excusing himself to wash up.
Anna handed the plates to Sam, who wheeled around the table then gathered up silverware and placed it out as well. Jake helped Anna carry the food to the table and she retrieved glasses for the tea.
When Ken came back into the room, they all sat down and the three Zimmerman's bowed their heads for grace. Looking around, Jake bowed his head as well. After Ken asked the blessing, he and Sam kept Jake engaged in a lively conversation about irrigation systems, water rights, soil testing and farming in general.
Anna discovered Jake's parents owned a small acreage on the other side of town where he kept his horses, he was an only child and he shared a house in Tenacity with four other guys. She could only imagine the conversations that took place there.
By the time she sliced cake and served it with ice cream, she learned a lot about Jake, including the fact that he was very polite and behaved like a gentleman. To her relief, he and Sam seemed to have really hit it off. Although they had all attended the same high school, being in different grades they hadn’t known each other.
"Well, I appreciate your hospitality and the fine meal," Jake said, heading for the door. "But I'm sure I'm keeping you from your work and should be getting back to town as well. Thank you again."
"Anytime, Jake," Ken said, shaking his hand. "We'll look forward to seeing you again. Sugar, walk Jake out to his truck, just to make sure the dog leaves him alone."
Their dog, Patch, would no more bother Jake than she could fly over the barn. Anna raised an eyebrow at her dad, but followed Jake out the door.
They walked
in silence to Jake’s pickup. Before he opened the door, he turned to Anna and grinned. “So, Anna Zimmerman, now that I know your name I bet we could even be friends.”
“Quite possibly, Mr. Chandler,” Anna said with a shy smile, her hands shoved into the front pockets of her jeans to keep from fidgeting. “Thank you for coming out today.”
“My pleasure. Thank you for the delicious lunch. A pretty girl who can cook, bale hay, ask intelligent questions and drive a four-wheeler. You don’t see that every day,” Jake teased, getting in his truck and starting the ignition.
Anna blushed and turned back toward the door.
“Anna,” Jake called. “Anna?”
Hearing him the second time, she turned around. “Yes?” He was leaning across his pickup cab with the passenger window down.
“I’ll see you later, Sugar.” With that Jake gave her a wicked grin, put his pickup in gear and was gone.
Walking back in the kitchen, Sam and Ken had already cleared the table and were working on the dishes.
“Geez, Dad, what are you trying to do to me?” Anna asked as she helped load the dishwasher.
“Why, Sugar, I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Ken said, feigning an innocence he was far from feeling. He liked this Jake Chandler and it was obvious that Jake had more than a passing interest in his baby girl. If love needed a little nudge, Ken was more than happy to oblige. “You seemed to enjoy his company well enough.”
“Daddy,” Anna said, exasperated. “The last person I would want to see me like this is Jake Chandler. The absolute last.”
“He didn’t seem to be too bothered by your farm-hand appearance,” Sam added with a chuckle.
“Oh, you two!” Anna said, throwing the dish towel at her brother.
<><><>
Jake couldn’t believe his little library mouse was a hottie farm girl. How could that be? It was like a night and day difference between the shy but spunky girl he was coming to know from the library and this long-legged, take-charge woman with dirty socks and cute pink toes. And it didn’t hurt that she made one of the best chocolate cakes he’d ever tasted. With a raging sweet tooth, Jake wondered what else was in her baking repertoire.
Anna. Anna Zimmerman. Her name fit her. She just seemed like an Anna. Or a Sugar. She was definitely sweet and tempting. He laughed at the irony of her nickname being one of the things he enjoyed the most. He could definitely get addicted to her particular brand of sugar.
Jake had been trying for weeks to keep those violet eyes from haunting him in his dreams and now he knew there was much more than just beautiful eyes to this girl. He wondered, again, why she hid herself behind the clunky glasses and baggy clothes. Especially when she filled out her jeans and tank top so amazingly well.
Now that he knew her name, maybe she’d give him a chance to get to know her.
Pulling into the parking lot behind the library, Jake decided he didn’t want to examine the reasons why he seemed completely enthralled with a girl that was so not his type. Instead, he kept picturing Anna as she looked when she’d jumped off the tractor and strode toward him with a smile this morning.
CHAPTER FOUR
It was a week later before Jake ran into Anna again. It wasn’t for a lack of effort on his part, but every time he went into the library she seemed to be in the basement, helping a patron, on a break or running an errand.
He was impatiently waiting in the parking lot after work, hoping to catch her as she left. Finally, she hurried out the back door, sunglasses in place, hair in a long braid, wearing a simple navy dress nipped in at the waist with a wide belt that fit her surprisingly well and looked nice with a pair of ballerina flats.
When he closed his eyes, he could see her in a lavender tank top with dusty jeans and purple boots. There was something about her that was wild and untamed out on the farm. Something that had drawn him in, kept his thoughts lingering on the lovely farm girl.
Since he’d first bumped into Anna six weeks ago, he’d been on exactly three dates. And all three of them were disastrous. The girls seemed boring or clingy and he couldn’t get away fast enough. The entire time he was with them, he kept picturing a cute freckled nose and haunting violet eyes. Loathe to admit it, Jake was starting to think he might have more than a passing interest in a girl completely and totally not his type.
Stepping away from the side of his pickup, he hurried toward Anna, watching as she unlocked the door on a tiny car that had definitely seen better days.
“Anna,” he said loudly as he walked up, not wanting to startle her. “Hey, how’s it going?”
Anna had been anticipating and dreading the next opportunity to see Jake. Well, here it was. She took a deep breath and tried to calm her nerves. Would the day ever come when his very presence didn’t completely numb her senses and befuddle her thinking?
“Hi,” she said, turning to look at him. He looked as he always did: clean cut, polished, put-together and devastatingly handsome. He was wearing a light blue cotton shirt the exact color of his eyes that not only accented his good looks but turned her knees to mush.
“I haven’t seen you around for a while? How have you been?” Jake asked, leaning against her car and pushing his straw cowboy hat up with his index finger.
Anna watched him adjust his hat and swallowed. She was supposed to answer him. He asked her a question. What was it? How could she think with him standing so close, smelling so good?
“Oh, I’m fine,” she finally managed to say. Trying to keep the conversation from lagging, she grasped for a topic. “How is your week going? It’s been pretty warm for late May, hasn’t it?” Weather was always a safe and boring topic.
“Yep, it has been warm, especially out in the field. Dave and I have about decided we need to stick to office duty for a while, unfortunately, summer is one of our busiest seasons,” Jake said, shifting from one foot to the other. He had purposely waited for Anna because he wanted her to have dinner with him. Deciding it wasn’t going to get any easier the longer he waited, he finally blurted the question.
“Do you have plans this evening? I mean, like, right now?” Jake asked, thinking he couldn’t sound any more immature or stupid.
“Well, I was just heading home. Why?”Anna asked, unsure where the conversation was headed.
“Some of us are getting together for dinner and I wondered if you’d like to come along. You know, just as friends. It’s nothing fancy,” Jake said, hoping like everything she’d agree.
“I guess I could come,” Anna said, surprised by her response. She would probably have an anxiety attack before she ever got there, but she really did want to go. “Just let me call home and tell them not to wait on me.”
Anna dug out her cell phone and quickly called her mom, then turned to Jake. “So, where should I meet you?”
“Well, why don’t you just ride with me and then I can bring you back to get your car when you are ready to leave. Would that be okay?” Jake asked, leaning closer to Anna but afraid to touch her. Every time he did, it sent tingles racing up his arms and gave him an unsettled feeling.
“I guess that would be fine,” she said, turning toward his pickup and walking with him across the parking lot.
Jake held the door open for her before trotting around to the driver’s side and climbing in. He started the truck and drove through town, headed out for the highway.
“So, where are we going?” Anna asked, aware that they had already passed every eatery available on this side of town.
Jake responded but was looking the other way and Anna couldn’t hear what he said. In the past, she would pretend to understand if someone spoke and she didn’t hear what was said. She recently decided she had to stop that and speak up.
Anna reached over and lightly touched Jake’s arm, causing him to turn and look at her. She smiled at him in a way that made his heart skip a beat. “I’m sorry. I didn’t hear what you said. If you don’t talk facing me or at least in my general direction, I can’t hear you.�
�
“Oh, sorry Anna. I didn’t realize,” Jake said, looking directly at her as they sat at a stoplight. “I said my cousin Clay and his wife Callan are hosting a barbecue tonight and it should be a lot of fun.”
Anna took a minute to digest the fact that he was taking her to a family dinner. “So is your cousin close to your age?” she asked.
Jake laughed. “No, Clay is almost old enough to be my dad, but he’s been a pretty important person to me my whole life, more like a big brother. He and his wife Callan are both awesome. And they adopted two girls, Audrey and Emma. Those two are something else altogether.”
“Where are the girls from?” Anna inquired, wondering what kind of adoption it had been.
“Here in town,” Jake explained. “Callan’s niece is close to her age. She and her husband basically abandoned their two daughters and signed over parental rights to Clay and Callan. Callan isn’t able to have kids, so it was a blessing for everyone. Audrey is around 13, I think, and Emma must be 10 or so. You’ll also meet my mom and dad, Maggie and Tom, and Clay’s folks, Bobbi and Steve. Bobbi and my mom are sisters. Callan’s brother Josh and his family might be there, too. I worked for them the summer I graduated from college.”
The anxiety attack Anna had predicted was about to settle in with full force. She didn’t know what had possessed her to agree to dinner with Jake in the first place and now she was going to be at the home of people she’d never met before with a bunch of strangers. Goodness gracious, she was fairly certainly she’d taken leave of all her sense. But then, Jake seemed to have that affect on her.
Sensing her anxiety, and knowing how shy Anna could be, Jake decided keeping her chatting would help. “So, Anna, tell me about your family. Is there just you and Sam?”
Not His Type Page 4