Where Azaleas Bloom by Sherryl Woods Read Free Book Online

said. “That would be
my preference, too. The country music Travis and Sarah play on the radio station
here in town is much more my taste.”
    “Mine, too. I think I’ve lived a lot of those lyrics.”
    “Haven’t we all?” she agreed. Lately, she had a hunch her
experiences could provide lyrics for an entire CD of love-gone-wrong songs.
Maybe that should be her new calling.
    Mitch stood there awkwardly for a moment longer, then shrugged.
“I’d better get back over there. If I’m gone too long, my crew’s liable to put
up a wall where no wall was intended to be.”
    She laughed. “Something tells me you have them trained better
than that. It looks amazing from over here. I can’t wait to see how it turns
out.”
    “You’ll have to let me give you a tour one of these days.
Raylene has a hard hat she can loan you, assuming she can find the thing. Near
as I can tell she enjoys making my heart stop by coming into the addition
without it.”
    “I’d like that,” Lynn said. “We always talked about building an
addition to this place, but we never got around to it. Now it will never
happen.”
    She waved off the revealing comment as soon as it was out of
her mouth. “Spilt milk,” she muttered. “Thanks, again, for helping out with the
plumbing crisis, Mitch. You’re a lifesaver.”
    “Anytime. I told you that.”
    She watched him walk away, fascinated yet again by the way his
faded, well-worn jeans curved quite nicely over an incredibly sexy posterior. As
soon as the outrageous, totally inappropriate thought crossed her mind, she
slapped her hand over her mouth as if she’d said it aloud.
    What had gotten into her today? She was completely flipping out
over finances, she’d stolen money from her husband’s office and she was still
thinking about how appealing Mitch looked in a pair of jeans? Crazy. The last
thing she needed in her life these days was another complication. And Mitch
Franklin, sweet and sexy as he might be, would most definitely be a
complication.
    Starting tomorrow morning she was going to have to be on full
alert to make sure she kept these wayward thoughts of hers in check or working
for the man was going to be incredibly awkward. Even as she reminded herself of
that, she wondered if just maybe that was why he’d hesitated before offering her
the job. Was he as aware of her as she suddenly was of him? Or had he just
noticed that she’d developed this insane appreciation for his backside?
    Either way, she reminded herself sternly, tomorrow morning
needed to be all about business. She would keep her eyes on the computer screen
and far, far away from Mitch or any particularly intriguing part of his
anatomy.
    * * *
    When Mitch got back to Raylene’s, his crew had gone for
the day and she immediately gave him a speculative look. “You were gone a long
time. Problems making the repair?”
    He frowned, bothered by what he thought was a hint of censure
in her voice. “You don’t mind that I went over there, do you?”
    She immediately looked chagrined. “Of course not. I actually
meant to tease you. I thought maybe fixing the sink or whatever was broken was
the least of what was going on.”
    Mitch regarded her with a narrowed gaze. “Don’t you start! I
get enough meddling from Grace.”
    “So, Grace has seen you with Lynn, too?”
    “I am not having this conversation with you,” he said
flatly.
    “Not even if I tell you that we’re having roasted chicken for
dinner with mashed potatoes and gravy?” she taunted. “I made it just for
you.”
    “Bring me a plate while I work,” he said firmly. “I need to
catch up on a few things before I leave.”
    Raylene shook her head, a glint of amusement in her eyes. “You
eat at the table like a civilized person or you don’t eat. That’s what I tell
the girls and it applies to you, too.”
    “I could just leave now,” he retorted. “I’m not on the
clock.”
    “You could, but I know roasted chicken is your favorite. Would
you