"I'M SO GLAD YOU could make it!" Pru gave Mae a careful hug.The older woman squeezed her hard. "I wouldn't have missed this for the world. I'm sorry my surgery and recovery kept me out of the loop for so long and brought you trouble."They both looked across the room to where Ari and Flynn stood in animated conversation with his sister and brother-in-law beneath a hand-lettered banner that declared Happy Gotcha Day, Ari!"It all worked out in the end. As of this afternoon, we're completely legit. Judge Moseley signed off on the adoption." She and Flynn were officially parents to a precocious fourteen-year-old girl, and life would never be the same again."That's wonderful! Your mother would be so pleased."Pru felt an ache amid all the happy of having the adoption complete and the house full to the rafters with family. "I wish she could be here to see this. To know Flynn and how happy he makes me. And to see our family expand again. You know how much she loved that.""I do. As m

When Jayson's number flashed up on the screen of her cell phone, Athena almost smiled. Not even twenty-four hours in Tennessee. He hadn't wasted time getting to the groveling, and she appreciated that. Not that it would be anywhere near enough to make her accept whatever bullshit explanation he intended to offer for his cheating, but abject supplication would go a long way toward mollifying her temper in the absence of actual bloodshed. Which she owed Moses a thank you for preventing."What do you want?""Don't hang up. Please. We have things to discuss."She gritted her teeth at the sound of his voice, her empty fingers clenching for the knife that wasn't there. "I don't think I'm much in the mood for discussion.""I'm sorry for how things went down.""You're sorry you got caught, you mean."He heaved a sigh, and she could just imagine him pinching the bridge of that blade-straight nose. "Athena, I'm trying to apologize.""There is no 'I'm sorry' big enough to make up for what

Logan jolted awake to "Carry On Wayward Son." The book he'd been reading fell to the floor with a thud, and his border collies rose from their spots on the rug at his feet to give a pair of short, sharp barks, as if to say "We're ready, Dad."Scrubbing a hand over his face, he grabbed for the phone skittering across the table and thumbed the screen to accept the call. "Hello?""Logan."The sound of Athena's voice on the other end of the line had him straightening in the chair. "Hey." He wasn't about to tell her he'd been sleeping at - he checked his watch - nine-thirty. She'd probably saved him from a kink in his back."I nnneed a faaaavor." Her words were slurred, and he could hear the faint sound of voices and indistinct music in the background. Was she drunk dialing him?"Yeah? What's that?""Need a ride."He bit back the myriad of questions he wanted to ask and zeroed in on the most important. "Where are you?""The Right Attitude."He went brows up. That place was pretty r

Spring planting was finally finished.Thank Christ.Filthy, tired, and starving, Logan came in from the fields, thrilled to be done before dark. He'd earned a beer. And a shower. Maybe a beer in the shower. Yeah. That'd be a fitting reward for his accomplishment. Maybe he'd haul his ass into town to the tavern for a meal he didn't have to wrangle himself. He checked his watch. It was early yet. Maybe he could convince Athena to join him. He hadn't seen her since she'd stopped by the farm a few days ago, but they'd been texting and had had a few more of those late-night conversations they'd managed in the wake of the wedding. Well, late for him. His farmer's hours and her chef's hours didn't have a ton of overlap. She still hadn't shared any details about the whole exploding career thing. He'd considered hitting up Google to see if it was a newsworthy kind of explosion. But if it was, he didn't want to be one more yahoo invading her privacy. And he could admit to himself, he wanted

The sight of Athena's little sedan rolling down his gravel drive had Logan straightening from the tractor with a smile. She hadn't called or texted since their dinner, which he'd wondered about. But he understood she needed space to process stuff. She'd opened up more to him that night than she'd probably been comfortable with. So he'd been waiting her out, waiting until she was ready to come to him - and he hadn't expected it to be this soon. He hoped that meant she was getting more comfortable with him and the farm and not that there was more bad news. Either way, he had a proposal he hoped would intrigue her and help mitigate all the career crap she'd been dealing with. Perhaps more than any of it, he hoped he could get his mouth on her again. He'd been thinking about that kiss, about the way she'd gone so soft and pliant in his arms, and how she'd tasted like everything that had been missing in his life. Part of him regretted stopping because he well remembered how combustible th