“A friend of yours?” Miles asked, looking up at the house.
“An old friend, yes.” She killed the engine of the truck. “I’ll let you out up here. I hope you enjoyed the visit.”
Miles turned to Kyla, and seemed to be studying her for a moment. “I enjoyed the visit and the company. All week, in fact. One more night and I’ll be checking out.”
“You’re leaving tomorrow?” she asked.
“Yeah, tomorrow morning. I have a business to get back to. I’m meeting my business partner in Nicholasville for a meeting on the way back.”
Her heart pounded in her chest. She had this evening with Miles, and that was it.
“Well—” he looked at his watch “—I think it’s time for a lemonade break. We timed it just right—won’t Mrs. Rita be setting refreshments out right about now?”
Kyla didn’t even examine the clock in the truck. She just nodded.
“Looks like your friend is getting impatient,” Miles said.
Kyla peeked around him to see Don slowly coming down the steps, holding his hand up to shield the sun. Miles opened the truck door and stepped out.
She finally climbed out and rounded the back end of the truck in time to see Miles reach out his hand and introduce himself. Don removed his shades, and recognition covered his face. She giggled inside—finally, someone more important than Don.
“Hey, what’s up baby?” Don leaned over to give Kyla a kiss on the cheek.
She leaned back, staring at him as if he was crazy. He hadn’t been in the habit of kissing her whenever he saw her. The screen door made a sound, and she looked up to see Miles looking back over his shoulder at them.
She took a step back. “What do you want, Don?”
He backed off. When he stared down at Kyla, she could see the jealousy in his face. But she wasn’t sure why. It wasn’t like they were dating.
Don crossed his arms. “I thought I’d come by to see if you still wanted to catch a movie or something tonight.” Then he tilted his head toward the door. “But I see they’ve got you entertaining the celebrity guest.”
“Can we talk out by your car? You forget this is a place of business.” She walked out to the parking lot and Don followed her.
“Don, you haven’t called me and I haven’t agreed to date you. But you show up asking if I want to go out tonight? No, I don’t. And you should have called first.”
He shrugged. “Hey, I didn’t have your number so I decided to try to catch you early. But if you—”
Kyla didn’t hear another word he said. The screen door opened again and Miles, along with one of the other guests, stepped out onto the front porch. He sat in one of the big rockers on the porch and drank his lemonade while staring out at them.
“Don, I’m sorry but I’m just not interested in dating right now. I’m working on my PhD, you know.”
He bit the inside of his cheek and nodded before glancing back up to the porch. “Yeah, I remember.” He shook his head, dug in his pocket and found his car keys, staring down at them. “You know what your problem is?” he said, lowering his shades and looking over them.
She crossed her arms. “What’s my problem, Don?”
“You don’t know how to loosen up. Just because you’re getting your PhD doesn’t mean everything has to be so serious all the damn time. Give yourself permission to be spontaneous.”
“By going to a movie with you?” she asked, thinking how ridiculous that sounded.
“Yes. Why should I have to call you days in advance to catch a movie? You want to control everything. Let your guard down a little, and let a man be a man.”
She blinked several times, unable to believe the words coming out of his mouth. “A man makes plans for a date, he doesn’t just swing by when he doesn’t have anything better to do.”
He sucked his teeth and shook his head, as if she didn’t get it, when he was actually the one who didn’t get it. “And for your information, I do spontaneous things all the time. I just won’t be doing anything spontaneous tonight with you.”
He walked around her and opened his car door. “Well, if you change your mind, you know where to find me.” He climbed in the car, started the engine and pulled away.
Kyla couldn’t believe he still wanted to take her out after what she’d just said to him. If Miles wasn’t sitting on the porch, she’d have told him off. However, she didn’t want Miles to overhear her conversation. She walked up the steps and noticed Miles was alone on the porch now.
“Got a hot date tonight?” he asked.
“No, I don’t,” she replied in as pleasant a tone as she could muster up, and reached for the doorknob.
He set his glass on the side table and motioned toward the parking lot. “Was that your boyfriend?”
She shook her head. “No.”
“Don’t go in. Why don’t you sit out here and enjoy the breeze with me for a minutes. Take your mind off things.”
She took a deep breath and relaxed her tensed up shoulders. Could Miles have heard her conversation?
“Come on, five minutes. Keep me company.” He pointed to the other rocker on the porch.
Kyla decided to give him a few minutes. She walked away from the door and eased down into the rocker taking another deep breath.
“See there, don’t you feel better already?”
She glanced over at the big smile on his face. “I guess it’s a nice way to wind down before I go in and hit the books.” She sit back and closed her eyes. “You’ve got five minutes.”
Chapter 12
Kyla cut and pasted information from one paragraph to another. No matter what she typed, nothing sounded right. She typed and erased, over and over again, until she gave up and turned off her computer. It was no use—she couldn’t get Miles off her brain. The look he’d given her when he asked if Don was her boyfriend totally surprised her. He looked a little curious, hopeful and jealous, all rolled into one expression. She shook her head, thinking that couldn’t be the case.
She sat back and ran her fingers across her lips, thinking about Miles’s kiss again. He’d told her he had feelings for her, and she had feelings for him, but she was too afraid to show them.
She closed her books and decided no more studying for the night. The house was quiet again. The only noise she heard was a faint sound from the television in Rollin and Tayler’s room. She slid into her flip-flops and decided to step out for a little air. If she could just get Miles out of her head, maybe she could get something written.
Most nights, Kyla enjoyed sitting out back in the garden gazing into the starlit sky. However, tonight she couldn’t see a single star. She could smell rain moving in, but according to the weather man it wouldn’t arrive until after midnight. Since she had the time, she decided to stroll down to the gazebo to stretch her legs.
Path lighting led the way to the gazebo, which was bathed by a faint accent light. At night, the gazebo was beautiful. On several occasions they’d hosted beautiful outdoor weddings. A waterproof storage container that was closed and locked held most of her paperwork, keeping it safe from the elements. Small starter pots full of soil were sitting out, waiting to be useful. She grabbed one of the pots and then reached to see what seeds she had around.
“Kind of late to be playing in the dirt, isn’t it?”
Kyla jumped and her hand flew to her chest, sending the pot to the floor. She spun around and saw Miles standing in the shadows at the entrance of the gazebo.
“I’m sorry, I thought you heard me coming,” he said as he walked over to pick up the pot and set it back on the table.
She took a few deep breaths, then rested her forehead in her palm. “No, I didn’t hear anything.” She looked up at him. “You scared me to death. I didn’t see anybody out here.”
“I was still sitting on the porch when I saw somebody walking down th
e path. I figured it was you. I thought you were studying.”
She fumbled with the pot, trying to remember what she was about to plant. “I was working on my dissertation and kind of got stuck. I come out here sometimes when I can’t think, to sort of clear my head.”
He strolled around the table, nodding. “Yeah, I can see how this would relax you.”
She drummed her fingernails against the table. Her stomach quivered, and she could feel Miles watching her. Then she remembered what she’d been doing and found the seed packets on a shelf under the table.
She took in all of his masculinity hovering over her, but she wasn’t ready to give up her teacher role just yet. “I know it’s late, but do you want to plant some of these non-GMO cilantro seeds with me?”
He laughed and reached for a pot. “I’ll have you know that food from GM seeds, like the ones we produce, have the same nutritional characteristics as food from seeds produced through conventional breeding, including organic crops.” He reached for the package of seeds she’d left on the table.
“My, my, somebody certainly has brainwashed you. You do know there aren’t a lot of people who believe that, don’t you?”
“What I do know is that there are a lot of people who live by that fact. It’s been proven. You should attend the Global Summit on Food and Beverages we talked about.”
She shrugged. “Maybe one day.” She finished planting her cilantro and set the pot aside. From under the counter, she pulled out a package of baby wipes and set them in front of her.
Miles finished his pot and pushed it out in front of him. “Does this pass your inspection?”
Kyla picked up the pot and examined it. She turned down her lips. “Not bad, Mr. Parker, not bad at all.”
Miles walked around the table until he was standing next to Kyla. She’d opened a package of baby wipes and was pulling one out. He leaned in close to her, and her whole body tensed up in anticipation of another kiss, but he plucked a wipe from the package, instead. She dropped her head and stood there, slightly embarrassed, as she wiped her hands. The sounds of crickets and an old truck going down the road in the distance filled the silence between them.
“I’ve been wanting to do this all week,” Miles said, as he dropped his wipe on the table before he placed both hands behind Kyla’s head. Her eyes widened, and she gripped the table with one hand to steady her weakening knees. He held her ponytail with one hand, and slid the holder down with his other hand. Her hair cascaded along her shoulders and down her back. “Damn!”
She gave her head a little shake, releasing her hair from the confines of the ponytail, giving her a free feeling.
Miles ran his hand through her hair, fluffing it out. “Why don’t you ever wear it down?”
His touch made her scalp tingle and sent a warm shiver through her body. She swallowed hard. “It’s more practical at work to keep it up.” Since he wasn’t going to kiss her again, she had a mind to reach out and kiss him. He massaged the back of her scalp, pulling her hair down and her chin up until she was looking up into his eyes.
He licked his lips, and she could see the desire in his eyes. He wanted her, and he wanted her bad. Her heartbeat raced, and she fantasized about him pulling her into his chest and wrapping his arms around her. This time when he kissed her, she’d plant one on him that he wasn’t likely to forget for the rest of his life.
Instead of kissing her, Miles removed his hand and took a step back. He closed his eyes and ran a hand over his mouth. A nanosecond later, he looked deep into her eyes. “I think I’d better call it a night. Standing out here with you makes me want to forget all about my vow. I want to kiss you again. The only problem is, once I start I know I’m not gonna want to stop.”
She took a step back, as well, realizing that her fantasy wasn’t going to come true tonight. She reached for the wipes and tossed them into the garbage can nearby. “You know, I think your vow is a good thing. It takes a strong man to commit to something so...what’s the word?”
“Crazy,” he said, shaking his head.
She crossed her arms. “It’s not really that hard, is it?” She practically lived in a state of celibacy; there’d been no man in her life for a while now.
“It hasn’t been...until now,” he admitted with a pained expression on his face.
A shiver of pleasure ran through her body. She had to turn her gaze away from him as she tried not to blush. Could she really do that to a man? “Well, to help you out, I think I need to get back to studying.”
He chuckled. “Yeah, okay. Were you able to clear your head?” he asked.
How could she have cleared her head when he had her so confused right now? They wanted each other, but they couldn’t have each other because of his vow, yet he kept getting close to her. She didn’t know what to think. “Actually, no, I’m more confused now than when I came out here.”
“I’m sorry. That’s my fault. I can’t hide how I feel about you. When I see you, I want to touch you, hold you and kiss you. Tomorrow is going to be a hard day for me.”
She looked down and nodded. “Your shadowing comes to an end.”
He reached out for her hand. “Come on. Let’s head back up to the house. I think I need a cold shower.”
She took his hand, and blushed with happiness as they walked out of the gazebo and back up the path.
* * *
Saturday morning, when Kevin drove the truck around to the front of the B and B to pick up the mornings guests, Kyla held her breath. Today was Miles’s last day with her and she was already starting to miss him. The guests made their way down the front steps as Kevin stopped the truck. Kyla jumped out to pull the step down from the back of the truck. She introduced herself to a few new guests who’d checked in yesterday as everybody climbed onboard. She didn’t see Miles.
Kevin stepped out of the truck and glanced over at her. He’d grown accustomed to talking with Miles every morning, as well. It wasn’t too often they had a guest who practically worked the farm all week with them. Kyla shrugged as they glanced from each other to the front porch.
She was just about to walk up to the house when the screen door opened and Miles walked out. She let out a deep breath and turned around, biting down on the inside of her cheek to suppress a smile, but one look at Kevin’s smiling face as he opened the driver’s door, and she let the smile take over her face. She kept her back to Miles until she regained control of her emotions.
“I almost missed you, didn’t I?” Miles said with a big grin on his face as he walked up behind her.
Kyla spun around and looked at her watch. “We were going to give you another few minutes. Can’t have you holding up the morning, you know.”
He climbed up on the back of the truck. “I wouldn’t want to do that.” He greeted all the guests as he found a place at the front of the truck.
Kyla grabbed her usual seat, which happened to be next to Miles this morning. She gave Kevin the okay to proceed. After her usual greeting and instructions, she tried to make small talk with a few of the guests in order to keep her eyes off Miles.
He seemed to be doing the same thing, talking to the man next to him. Occasionally she would glance his way to find him staring at her. When he leaned over and touched her leg to get her attention, she almost jumped off her seat.
“Since I’m not staying for dinner, are you going to put my collections in the U-pick store this morning?” he asked.
She nodded. “We can, unless you want to take them with you, which is what guests usually do.”
He shook his head. “I’m not going straight home, and besides, there’s no way I could cook vegetables anywhere near as good as Mrs. Rita.” He leaned in even closer and motioned her forward. “Unless you want to come to my place and cook them for me,” he said in her ear.
Kyla’s eyes popped, but she tried to hide her surprise by turning her head and ad
justing her ponytail. Was he just playing with her? Or had he really just invited her to his home? She shook her head. “Trust me, I don’t hold a candle to Aunt Rita. You’d be sorely disappointed.”
He straightened up and grinned. “You couldn’t disappoint me even if you tried.”
Kyla turned her head and blushed. This man had managed to charm even her. How had she fallen under his spell so easily? For the first time ever, she dreaded the first chore of the morning, knowing it would be Miles’s last.
The truck came to a stop, and Kyla prepared to make this a memorable morning, if nothing else.
* * *
Miles spent more time assisting guests and talking with Kevin than picking vegetables this morning. Once he had the chance, he stood there and marveled at the land, hoping his purchase in Nicholasville would be as beautiful as the land he stood on. Glenda had assured him the property was in good condition, but the farmer couldn’t afford to keep it up. He hated to see so many farmers going into debt, then losing their farms anyway. He really wanted to be the solution to someone’s problem rather than the problem.
“You’re finished for the morning?”
Miles turned around to see the woman who ran through his dreams each night. “Just taking a break and enjoying the view,” he told Kyla.
She looked out across the fields, but he couldn’t take his eyes off her.
“Absolutely beautiful,” he said, referring to her more than the land.
Kyla turned to him. “It is. Now do you see why I enjoy coming out here every morning? It doesn’t matter what mood you’re in.” She swept her hand in front of her. “This view will lift your spirits. You can even catch a rainbow, after a good rain.”
He stared out at the fields of growing produce, sure he’d feel differently about the view if he had to work it every day. For a moment, Kyla stood alongside him with her hands behind her back, looking across the land, as well.
“I wish you could come back with me,” he finally said, breaking the silence but keeping his eyes straight ahead.
Something About You Page 10