Covered Bridge Charm by Dianne; Christner Read Free Book Online

sitting across the table. “You’re not that kind of guy.”
    He frowned, “How do you know?”
    “You’re too kind to hurt your family.”
Dale and Simon didn’t even speak anymore.
    His voice softening, he argued, “You’re kind. And free spirited.”
    “But you’re”—she grinned, knowing she’d rile him—“passive-aggressive and maybe a picky eater.”
    He smiled. “I may surprise everybody. You inspire me.”
    “Because I like mushrooms?”
    He made a face.
    From what she knew of Adam, a soft-spoken brooding type, she understood his struggle. Roman controlled the entire Lapp family except for Simon. All the Lapp men were hard headed. Poor Adam. It was a shame Roman resented his work at the center.
    “At thirty, a man should be able to make his own way,” she encouraged.
    His hand closed over hers, and she stilled.
    “That’s exactly what I told Dad.”
    Her heart sped from his touch and the intimate turn of the conversation. “You did?”
    He withdrew. “He doesn’t get it.”
    “Don’t let him stop you. Dreams are God given.”
    “Some are. But a person shouldn’t go with every idea that pops into her head.”
    “Her?”
    He grinned. “Yes, her head. I’ve been cleaning up your messes for a while now.”
    She argued, “Have not.”
    “What about the time you got your bike stuck up in a tree and Jimmy and I had to—”
    “I was only fifteen.”
    “Old enough to know better. Or the time you talked Sherie into the assisted living picnic under that beehive, and the nurse had me run to the store after Benadryl?”
    “That was horrible. I’m thankful someone didn’t have an allergic reaction.” She knew he often came to her rescue—just never considered his perspective: cleaning up her messes.
    He gave her a crooked grin. “I could mention a dozen more times, but I won’t because that would kill the mood.”
    “Mood?”
    His hooded eyes dared. “Remember it’s my birthday, and I can do whatever I want.”
    She nodded warily.
    “And I’m wanting to take a walk behind the barn to collect the rest of my birthday gift from you.”
    She leaned forward and arched a defiant brow. “You’ve already gotten your entire nonrefundable gift.”
    “How about returnable?”
    Biting back a smile, she shook her head.
    “A birthday gift should be given on a birthday, don’t you think?”
    “I think a guy shouldn’t go after every idea that pops into his not-so-bald, thick head.”
    Jimmy plunked his plate down beside Adam’s. “This a private party?”
    “No,” Carly replied triumphantly. But Adam’s gaze promised otherwise, and later it would haunt her as she lay awake, wondering about it.

    A glow still flickered from the bonfire the Lapps had built to stave off the autumn evening’s chill. As the last guests trickled across the lane to their vehicles, Adam stacked chairs and leaned them against the tree where he’d flirted with Carly. The moment he’d laid eyes on her standing beside Ann, he’d felt something mutinous quicken inside him. An evil insurrection which set him on a stubborn, rebellious course. Using Carly allowed him to revolt against both Simon and Dad. Neither liked her. One warned him to be rid of her, and the other coaxed him to get close and influence. Or did Simon want to use him to get even with Dale?
    Regardless of their motivations, he chose to charter his own course. Whether anybody liked it or not. It was his birthday to do as he pleased. Turning thirty was the real source of the uprising. Carly a convenient weapon to swath a path toward freedom. Except Mennonites were peacemakers, and he didn’t know how to wield a weapon. It hurt to hear her call him passive-aggressive. But she was right.
    Yet beyond an innocent flirtation, what was his choice? Drop her and run like Dad warned? Or get close to see what happened when one camped around a free spirit? What mattered most was that the course was his own. Not theirs.
    While he knew from experience that Carly