Detour: Destination Abiding Love by JoAnn Carter Read Free Book Online

mother today.”
    He ground his teeth and clenched his hands. Oh, this couldn’t be good. An unexpected rush of protectiveness pierced his heart. Such strong emotions took him off guard. He’d known Sierra for only three days, and yet he felt consumed by the need to defend her. “I have no idea what she said, but please don’t let her bother you.”
    Sierra shuffled a loose pebble with the toe of her shoe. “No, it’s fine...only I don’t want to be the cause of conflict between you and your parents.”
    He pushed his free hand through his hair. “Sierra…”
    “Cole,” Tom called from the store’s doorway. “Could you come here for a sec?”
    “Be right there.”
    Cole looked at Sierra’s wavy dark hair. A sudden longing, yet certain knowledge filled him. “You’re saying no to my job offer, aren’t you?”
    She nodded as she took her case back.
    “I wish you’d reconsider.”
    “I can’t,” she said softly. “Besides, I’ll be busy helping Mrs. Whitten for a while. But thanks for the offer. It meant a lot to me.”
    And just like that, she hopped in her car and was gone.
     
     
     
     

4
     
    Sierra rested her knees in the soft grass at the edge of the garden bed and bent over the freshly tilled soil. She sifted dirt through her gloved fingers until she found a clump of grass, and then tossed it into the deep wheelbarrow next to her. A bead of sweat rolled down her spine when she sat back onto her heels.
    Mrs. Whitten, who had set up a folding chair nearby, was drawing a plan of what she wanted planted where. She looked up from her project and inhaled deeply. “Don’t you just love the smell of spring? It’s as if your nose can sense hope, and”—she grinned her silly lopsided grin—”many new beginnings.”
    After spending just a week with Mrs. Whitten, Sierra knew exactly where the matchmaker’s thoughts lay. She pretended ignorance. She couldn’t go there.
    Yes, Cole was fascinating, caring, and honorable, but it wouldn’t be fair to think of him as more than a friend. He was established here and her dreams were leading her elsewhere. Music was her love. Always had been, always would be.
    Sierra rubbed the small of her back with a closed fist. “The only new beginning I’m confident of is the fact that I will be feeling muscles I didn’t know I had come tomorrow morning,” she teased with a dramatic flair.
    “A young thing like you?” Mrs. Whitten laughed, and her large hat flapped up and down. “I’m just a slave driver, aren’t I? Are you sure you still want this job?”
    Sierra dug back into the ground. “Of course. Where else could I get the scoop on Cole?” Where did that come from? Sierra felt like slapping the words back into her mouth.
    Mrs. Whitten’s eyebrow raised and a knowing smile split across her wrinkled face. She put the plans aside and leaned forward. “What would you like to know about Cole?”
    Sierra’s cheeks grew warm, and it wasn’t from the sun. “Honestly, I have no idea why I said that. Please just forget it.” She pointed over to her right. “Have you made up your mind what you’d like planted over there yet?”
    “Oh, no...” Mrs. Whitten shook her head. “You’re not changing the subject on me, young lady!”
    Sierra wouldn’t argue. There really were things that she’d like to know, but she didn’t want to give Mrs. Whitten the wrong impression. She assured herself the only reason she wanted to know more about Cole was to understand where he was coming from, and how she might be able to help him. Yes, that’s it. Definitely not for the sake of romance . Perhaps she’d eventually believe it. She sighed. “Have you known him long?”
    “For as long as he’s been breathing.”
    “I remember him from school, from a distance, anyway; he was a few years ahead of me. But I never really knew him, just of him.” It seemed as if that could change now, but... she shook her head. “His mother sure seems to have a vendetta against