Then there was Preston.
He’d been helping Papa with repairs, yard work, and more since before Mandy had come to live with her grandparents. Preston was probably out there somewhere right now, working his magic. He usually stayed on the property until lunchtime. At that point, he left for his job at the local lumberyard.
Before Papa died last year, he took care of anything else that needed attention the rest of the day. Now, Preston came back in the late evenings to deal with any problems. Granny had called him only if it was an emergency, and Mandy intended to follow suit. She didn’t know how the poor guy fit everything in during the day without wearing himself out.
Mandy depended on Preston, and she couldn’t imagine her grandparents’ place without him. Preston was a good friend and a huge blessing in her life.
She normally stayed indoors during the morning, helping Granny bake or taking care of phone calls and managing the B&B’s website. In the afternoon and early evening, she’d handle everything her web clients needed. The place was way too quiet without Granny. Echoes of what used to be—the laughter, teasing, and joy—were gone. The house echoed like an empty shell, and it drove Mandy crazy.
By nine, she was over the quiet and the memories that kept encroaching on her attempts to focus on other things. She headed outside. Preston tended to the landscape, but surely he wouldn’t care if she watered the flowers growing in the bed along the front of the house.
The moment Mandy crossed the threshold and stepped foot on the large covered porch, she sucked in a breath of air as though she’d been deprived of it until near suffocation. Her eyes slid closed. She focused on the breeze as it played music in the trees nearby while birds sang songs to each other. The familiar sounds brought her comfort. Grounded her.
Out here, she could pretend everything was the way it used to be. Papa was in the workshop putting another coating of sealant on his newest project. Granny was inside making those strawberry scones everyone loved. And Mandy was right where she needed to be: home.
Unwilling to let that go, Mandy picked up the end of the hose, turned the water on, and began to soak the gorgeous flower beds Papa had spent years cultivating. Colorful roses the size of Mandy’s palm, Texas sage, and firewitch welcomed the spray. Marigolds, pansies, petunias, and other bright flowers joined the shrubbery, creating the beautiful sight that welcomed guests to the Hudson Bed & Breakfast.
Mandy had been watering the flowers for a while when Preston rounded the corner of the house, a pair of work gloves tucked under one arm. When he saw her, he altered his trajectory and came to stand next to her.
“I’d have taken care of that.”
Mandy nodded. “I know. But I needed something to do.” She hedged a look at the front door of the house as though something dangerous might lurk inside.
Preston’s gray eyes studied her until Mandy let her gaze return to the shower of water. Other than her grandparents, Preston knew her best. She’d never been able to hide her emotions from him—something that had irked her growing up.
He motioned to the flower boxes. “These need to be watered every morning. You’d be doing me a favor if you wanted to take it over. You can always tell me if things get too busy and you need me to go back to watering them myself.”
“I’ll see to it they’re taken care of.” Mandy looked at him out of the corner of her eye. She thought he would say something else before he hesitated and closed his mouth again.
Preston finally motioned behind him. “I’d better get back to work. I should have everything done by eleven, then I may spend a little time in the workshop if that’s okay.”
She released the trigger on the spray nozzle, stopping the flow of water, and turned to face him. “You never have to ask for permission to use the workshop, Preston. Papa loved it when you worked in there. I think—” Her voice cracked, and she swallowed. “I think you were the grandson he never had.” She ran a hand through her hair and pushed it away from her face. “Losing Granny doesn’t change that.”
“Thanks, Mandy.” He rested a warm, calloused hand on her arm. “Remember you’re not alone. I’m praying for you. My parents are, too.”
When she avoided his gaze, he leaned over to make eye contact until she nodded. “I appreciate that.”
Preston’s thumb brushed across her arm twice before he let his hand drop. With a last comforting smile, he turned and headed toward his truck in the driveway.
Mandy went back to watering flowers. She still felt his hand on her arm. How was it possible a simple touch from Preston made her heart pound in her chest like she’d just finished running a marathon? It was maddening.
Preston Yarrow had had a way of affecting her since the day she met him. She’d done her best not to let him know it, though. There’d been a time when she’d had a schoolgirl crush on him, a devastating prospect to a girl whose life and family had been ripped apart by her parents’ infidelity and inability to put their family first. Mandy had long ago decided she wouldn’t give her heart to a guy. It wasn’t worth it, not after all she’d seen.
She’d been able to push how she felt about Preston into the shadowed recesses of her mind. But every once in a while, at times like this when he reached her in ways no one else could, she wished things were different.
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Table of Contents
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
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
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Books by Melanie D. Snitker
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