Farmed and Dangerous by Edith Maxwell Read Free Book Online Page A

it?”
    â€œOf course I can. I don’t really care if it’s local or not. I know several of my customers go a little, shall we say, overboard in wanting to eat only local foods. But, hey, if they want it, I’ll grow it. Whatever helps the bottom line.”
    Pete nodded.
    â€œSpeaking of that, the president of the Locavore Club came by to help me today,” Cam said.
    â€œLucinda?”
    Cam nodded. “Her new job is great for her, but she misses working on the farm.” Pete and Lucinda had had a run-in the previous June, but they’d come to a wary peace since then.
    â€œAnd how are things over at the Manor? You said you were providing dinner ingredients.”
    â€œI did. They should be eating the dinner right now.” She filled him in on Bev’s adjustment to communal living, or lack of it. “She’s still pretty mad at me about the hens and what she describes as me stealing her customers.” She took another sip of wine. “And Frank Jackson dropped by to see Bev today. She didn’t appear overly happy to see him.”
    Pete’s heavy dark eyebrows went up. “That’s very interesting. I wonder where he’s living these days.”
    â€œNo idea. Last time I talked with Ruth, she didn’t know, either.”
    Pete slid a casserole into the oven and set a timer. He picked up his own glass of wine and came around the island. A pink oxford shirt warmed his Mediterranean coloring, and he appeared more relaxed than Cam had ever seen him, the skin around his deep brown eyes not showing the tension it often did.
    â€œThirty minutes. Come sit on the couch with me.” He put his free arm around her and leaned in for a long kiss.
    When they came up for air, Cam said, “What did you say about a couch?” She slid off her stool. Her five feet eleven made her two inches taller than Pete. He didn’t seem to mind at all, and neither did she. Jake stood half a foot taller than her, and while she’d liked that aspect of their relationship—she rarely found a man she physically looked up to—the rest of her dealings with Jake had been so stormy, she couldn’t handle it.
    They made their way to the sofa, which faced a bay window. The kitchen and living room occupied a single space in the apartment Pete had moved into last summer, after his marriage had ended. A framed photograph on the wall portrayed a sunny, whitewashed Greek village on a hillside above the sea. The houses wore blue doors and shutters. An herb garden filled one of the yards. Cam could almost taste the olives and the freshly caught fish grilled with rosemary and oregano. Pete sat next to her, and Cam laid her hand on the soft fabric of his faded jeans.
    â€œGuess what?” Pete poked her gently in the ribs with his elbow.
    Cam shook her head. “Surprise me.”
    â€œI get Dasha for a week, starting tomorrow. Alicia has to go out of town.” His smile reflected sadness. “I’m at peace with being divorced—I don’t miss being married to Alicia at all. But I miss that dog something awful.”
    â€œRemind me what kind of dog it is.”
    â€œHe’s sort of a Siberian mutt. His markings and build are mostly like a husky’s. He’s smart and clean, but one of his parents must have been another breed, because his coloring isn’t typical and he’s shorter than most.”
    â€œYou should have gotten custody of him. I thought you said your ex doesn’t even like dogs.”
    He nodded. “She pulled a power trip. I told you, I didn’t want to fight her about anything. That’s why she’s in our lovely house and I’m in this little rental apartment.”
    â€œIt’s big enough for you, isn’t it?” Cam squeezed his hand. “It’s a lovely place.” The wide pine floors shone, and early-twentieth-century woodwork lined the doorways and windows. A graceful arched doorway led to a