Feels Like Home: A Southerland Family Contemporary Romance Book 1 (26 page)

“
He tried to protect me.” A
fresh flood of tears rolled down her face.

For a moment, Jude was grateful Dwayne was
dead. It saved him the moral turmoil of having to kill the bastard
himself.

“
Of course he did. He loves
you. I love you.” He tried to pull her in tighter but she put her
hands on his chest, keeping him at arm’s length.

“
I’m sorry, Jude. I’m so
sorry for everything. I’m sorry I dragged you into this
mess.”

He didn’t think it was possible to feel
anything, but grateful, but her penitent expression made him
angry.

“
Damn it, Autumn. Enough.
God, I’ve never been so scared in my life. You can say you’re sorry
for sneaking out of my bed, but that’s it. I don’t want to hear
about your past or your job or our families. I don’t want to hear
any more about how we don’t fit together. We do. We fit.” He
gentled his hands, fighting the urge to give her a little shake.
“And I want to help you. I want to make things easier for you. Not
because I don’t think you can do it yourself.”

“
Okay.” She nodded, tears
making streaks in the soot covering her face.

“
I know you can. You’re one
of the most capable people I know. I want to help you because I
love you. You’re family to me and that’s what family does. What?”
he asked his brain finally catching up.

“
I said okay. Okay to
everything. You’re family to me, too. I love you.”

“
Wait for us,” Autumn
called, the wind catching her words.

Max had almost completely recovered from his
ordeal in the trailer, but he still had trouble with his balance
sometimes. She put a steadying hand on his big furry back while he
navigated the stone steps to the top. Jude reached for her hand,
making space for both of them on the peak of Sharp Top.

Wrapping his arms around her from behind, he
nestled her against him. Max leaned his strong warm body against
her leg. They stood, looking out over the valley below covered in a
patchwork of deep reds, oranges, and golds. The air was cold and
crisp. It wouldn’t be long before the trees went bare for the
winter.

Autumn snuggled back in Jude’s arms, warm
from the heat of his body and the love that threatened to overwhelm
her.

“
I love you,” she said,
tipping her head up to plant a kiss on his jaw.

He smiled down at her, brushing his lips over
hers in a kiss so tender it stole her breath. “I love you
more.”

It reminded her of
the
Guess How Much I Love You
book with the rabbits Abby loved.

“
You see these mountains
around us,” she said, motioning to the Blue Ridge.

“
Yes, darling,” he said
with a laugh. “I see them.”

“
About three hundred
million years ago these mountains were part of the ancient
Appalachian range.” She felt him nod behind her. “They were part of
the highest mountain range on the planet, higher than the
Himalayas. These mountains were so tall weather couldn’t get past.
Birds couldn’t fly over them.” Turning in his arms to face him, she
reached up to cup his face, meeting his hazel eyes with her blue
ones. “I love you more than that,” she said before catching his
mouth with hers.

Six months later…

Bailey watched her brother raise his glass to
toast his fiancée and smiled. She was happy for them. Autumn
brought out the best in Jude and it seemed, at least from the
outside, like they had the kind of love that would last. The kind
of love that had sustained her parent’s marriage for almost forty
years.

She wasn’t jealous, not exactly, but she was
tired of being alone.

She looked across her parents’ yard, past the
riot of azaleas to the tables filled with food for the engagement
party. Trace Campbell stood to the side by himself, smiling at the
guests as they filled plates with the baby greens and asparagus
spears he’d picked that morning and deviled eggs she’d made from
eggs laid by his hens. A lock of brown hair fell over eyes that
shifted from blue to storm cloud gray. Stubble covered his jaw even
though he’d been clean shaven when she picked him up that morning
to make the two hour drive from Mountain Lake to Bedford.

When her normal helper got sick, Trace
offered to help her set up and keep things filled and fresh during
the party. He was always willing to help out as long as it was
behind the scenes. He grew most of the produce she used in her
restaurant on his organic farm and the quality of his fruits and
vegetables were a large part of her restaurant’s success.

He never hesitated to plant a new variety of
peppers or beans if she wanted to try it. But it didn’t matter how
many hints she dropped – subtle and obvious – he never got the idea
that she was interested in more than his produce. They’d worked
together for years, since she opened Seasons, and had been friends
for almost as long.

She knew he had a live-in girlfriend years
ago, but he hadn’t dated anyone in the time she’d known him. It
certainly wasn’t because he didn’t have plenty of opportunities.
More than half of the college interns who came to work on his farm
were pretty, fresh-faced, young women. Most of them looked eager to
be more than friends with the handsome farmer.

A few of them had even sat at her counter
drinking coffee and asking her advice on how to get close to him.
As far as she knew, none of them succeeded.

Of course, it wasn’t like she was some kind
of dating pro herself. Running Seasons took all of her energy,
there wasn’t much left for a personal life. But if she was being
honest with herself, the real reason was that she already had her
heart set on someone.

She took a sip of her champagne and smiled to
herself. She wanted to be more than friends and she was tired of
waiting. She was about to take matters into her own hands and the
farmer wouldn’t know what hit him.

The End

Dear Reader,

I hope you enjoyed
Feels Like Home: Book 1 in the Southern Heart
Series
. I’d love to hear from you
at
[email protected]
and you can find me on
Facebook
.Sign up for juicy bits
and find out about new releases at
www.evelynadamseroticromance.com
If you have a moment please consider leaving a
review. Honest reviews from readers help authors and make it easier
for people to find books they will enjoy.

Loving Bailey: Book 2 in
the Southern Heart Series
is available
now. Read on for a sample of Trace and Bailey’s
story
.
It was one
of my favorite books to write, but really by the time I’m finished,
I love all the couples I write about. I hope you do,
too!

Book 3 is Summer and
Travis’s story. I don’t think I’ve ever wanted two characters to
find their Happily Ever After more than this couple. It will be out
at the end of Summer 2014. In the meantime, I’m working on a
novella of Jude and Autumn’s wedding with a little surprise. It
will go on sale for $.99 but I will be happy to send it to you for
free if you sign up for my
mailing list
.

I don’t do newsletters so I won’t crowd
your inbox. I only send announcements when I release a new book. No
spam and you’ll know right away about the next Southerland book. If
you love the family as much as I do, you don’t want to miss a
single story.

Many Blessings!

Evelyn

More Books by Evelyn
Adams

The Southern Heart
Series

Feel Like Home (Jude and
Autumn)

Loving Bailey (Bailey and
Trace)

Coming Soon: Jude and Autumn’s Wedding
Novella

Travis and Summer’s Story

Studio 1247 Erotic Romance
Series

Love Unbound

Bound to Please

Bound with Pleasure

The Forbidden Fruit Erotic
Romance Series

Love Unlocked

Love Uncovered

Love Unwrapped

Love Unlocked, Uncovered and Unwrapped
Box Set

For the Billionaires
Pleasure

Wired

Coming Soon: Wrapped

Bailey Southerland’s big
chef’s knife paused mid-stroke as she looked from the lemons on her
cutting board to the man pounding on the
glass door of her restaurant. She didn’t recognize him and
his artfully faded leather bomber jacket and chambray shirt
screamed J Crew. Too polished for a local. Besides, a local would
know she didn’t open for – she glanced at the clock on the wall
behind her – another hour and a half.

Sorry
, she mouthed, tapping her wrist where a watch would be if
she bothered to wear one.

The handsome stranger cast
his eyes heavenward and clapped a hand over his heart before
turning his clear blue eyes on her and mouthing,
please
. The intensity of
his gaze and the curve of his smooth full lips made her heart beat
a little faster.

It couldn’t hurt to find out what he
wanted. She wiped her hands on the bar towel tucked in her apron
and crossed the dining room to flip the lock on the front
door.

“Can I help you with something,” she
asked. Now that she was closer she could see that his sandy brown
hair could use a trim and he needed a shave. Neither detracted from
how attractive he was. If anything, his slightly scruffy jaw line
counterbalanced his catalogue model clothes.

“God, I hope so.” He started to walk
through the door but stopped when she didn’t step to the side.
“Please, I need coffee and I can’t bring myself to drive down the
mountain.”

“Just coffee?” she said, moving out of
his way so he could come inside.

“And maybe something for breakfast?” he
asked, looking sheepish and adorable.

“Aren’t you staying at the lodge?” He
didn’t look like a geologist or conservationist, that left Treetop
Adventures or Mountain Lake Lodge. His buttery leather loafers bore
no resemblance to the hiking boots he’d need to do the obstacle
course up in the trees. “Why didn’t you eat there?”

“They put the continental breakfast
away at ten. Who gets up that early to eat breakfast?” He winked at
her. Bailey was on her second cup of Earl Grey before eight, but
she couldn’t help but grin back. Something about the handsome
stranger charmed her.

“Sit down.” She motioned to one of the
bar stools. “We don’t serve breakfast, but I’ll see what I can
do.”

She scooped some beans into the grinder
and pushed the button. The rich aroma of French roast coffee filled
the air.

“Oh my God,” he groaned. “You’re an
angel.”

“Hardly.” She started the coffee
brewing and ducked back into the kitchen to find something to fix
him for breakfast.

“Who was at the door?” asked Jen,
Bailey’s best friend and pastry chef.

“Some guy who’s staying at the resort.”
She glanced at her reflection in the chrome towel dispenser beside
the hand wash sink and straightened her white cap, tucking a few
stray curls behind her ear.

“Just some guy, huh,” Jen said,
watching her from the bread dough she was kneading.

“Do we have anything to serve for
breakfast?”
“There is some day old bread for French toast.”

“That’ll work.” She grabbed the loaf
and sliced off two thick pieces.

“What does the some guy look
like?”

“Cute enough, I guess.” Bailey pulled
the milk and eggs out of the reach-in and grabbed a bowl to make
the custard for the French toast.

“I want to see. I want to see,”
squealed Jen.

“Shh, he’ll hear you.”

“Oooh, you’re worried about what he’ll
think. Now I’ve got to see.” Jen dusted the flour off her hands and
scooted out the door before Bailey could figure out a way to stop
her.

She snagged a whisk off of the hanging
rack and started to beat the milk into the eggs. When the mixture
turned pale and frothy, she dunked the slices of bread and then
laid them out on the hot grill. By the time the toast was ready to
flip, Jen was back, fanning herself with her hand.

“
My, my, my,” she said.
“His clothes are a little pretty, but I’m not going to hold that
against him. I’d be more than happy to hold something else against
him. Like me,” she said, waggling her eyebrows.

“
Shut up,” Bailey said
with a laugh.

They both knew Jen was kidding. She
had two kids, a mortgage and she and her husband shared a passion
to rival newlyweds. Bailey envied them. She wanted that. Someone
she could love who would love her back. A partner to build a life
with the way she’d built her business. She picked up the carton of
strawberries sitting on the counter. She thought she’d found the
right person, but despite her best attempts, it didn’t look like
that was ever going to work out.

Unlike store bought berries that were
shipped from halfway around the world, these were red the whole way
through and when she sliced them the scent of fresh strawberry
filled the room. She popped a berry in her mouth and closed her
eyes as the sweet tart taste flooded her mouth. Trace Campbell
might not be able to take a hint, at least not where she was
concerned, but he knew how to grow some truly delicious
strawberries.