Applewood, 4

Will opening his home to help another also open his heart up to love?

Travis Kemp prefers his time caring for the trees on his family’s orchard over anything else, especially interacting with people. Having resigned himself to living alone, Travis is taken aback when a woman he mistakes as a trespasser becomes the best thing to happen to him.

After years spent traversing the country in search of work with her young daughter in tow, Parker has stopped believing in good luck. When a gorgeous stranger not only forgives her for coming onto his family’s land but offers her a job and a place to stay, Parker is suspicious. The more she comes to know Travis, however, the more Parker thinks she might have just had the biggest stroke of luck in her life.

Will a tentative friendship turn into more, or is Parker destined to leave while Travis is firmly rooted in place?

Excerpt:

The sun was already up past the horizon when Travis started to make his morning rounds through the orchard. Checking the trees was second nature to him at this point, so it didn’t take too long and even though there was quite a bit of land to cover and it could have easily been a multi-person job, he still liked to do it himself. Other than his dad, Travis wasn’t sure he trusted anyone to know exactly what to look for when checking for problems that would need fixing as soon as possible.

Even his brothers might miss the leaves curling in the certain way that indicated aphids had feasted on the growing apples, spots on the fruit that meant a maggot infestation had occurred, or the bark discoloration that happened with crown-rot. They’d spent most of their lives on the farm, but their journeys splintered off into other directions. Travis was the only one who stayed behind, determined to take gentle and efficient care of their birthright like it was a newborn baby.

Brushing the longer strands of his hair away from his already sweat-dampened face, Travis plunged further back into the trees, smiling when everything looked almost exactly as it had the day before. Consistency of care was key, and while others may find his daily checks tedious, he found them soothing. Most days when Travis woke up, his skin felt too tight and itchy until he’d gotten his checks done, only then did he feel grounded enough to go about the rest of his day. That same sense of rightness had started to wash over him, but as he came to the group of trees furthest from the main house, the unsettled feeling he was so familiar with descended upon him once again.

The longer Travis gazed upon the small, dark green tent that stood at the edge of the property, the more his ire stirred. It hadn’t been nearly long enough since he’d felt so instantly pissed off, having dealt with entitled assholes just the other day, but apparently Travis was due for a run in with someone from that crowd again. Stomping over to the tent, his teeth ground together and hands balled into fists. He would never actually throw a punch, but the person or persons inside might as well have kicked over a hornet’s nest for all the calm he was feeling in that moment.

“Goddamn, privileged pieces of shit,” he grumbled.

Travis was glad his mom wasn’t around to hear the blue streak he was swearing. He would surely get a dressing down for it, though even she would understand his irritability at someone coming onto their property without care for the damage they could do. At least this person was smart enough to not go butt-up against one of the trees. Damaging one of them would have really pissed Travis off and he was already of half-a mind to call the sheriff and report whoever the hell was inside that tent for trespassing.

Punching the side of the tent just a little, Travis grumbled at the person inside. “Wakey-wakey, asshole.”

A low mumbling came from inside before a mass of brown curls parted the two panels at the open front of the tent. Travis reared back slightly, wondering if he was looking at some sort of animal before two delicate hands brushed the curls away to reveal a face far too angelic to be anything other than human. Stumbling back a bit, Travis watched as the woman’s expression went from sleepy and irritated to wide-eyed and slightly wary.

“Oh my god,” she said. Her melodious voice shot right through the ice surrounding his heart and pierced it deeply. What the fuck was that? The thought came as he continued to stare at her, wondering what he’d done right to be able to look upon something so beautiful. “Who are you?”

Travis was struck dumb for a moment as he catalogued her features. The big doe eyes the color of cinnamon, smooth ivory skin that he would bet the farm was even softer than it looked, and plump lips that drew your eyes in even before you noticed the small mole just to the right side of them. She was indeed one of if not the most stunning creature he had ever laid eyes on, but soon her words started to sink in and he pushed away the instant attraction he was feeling and held fast to the feelings of righteous indignation that had been coursing through his veins.

“Who am I? The person who manages this farm.” That wasn’t strictly true as his dad did a fair amount of the work and Travis mostly focused on the trees, but this wasn’t the time to explain the hierarchy of the business. “Who the fuck are you?”

At its gruff tone, the woman leaned back slightly, looking afraid and damn if that didn’t make his heart ache just the slightest bit. Trying to remember that she was in the wrong, not him, Travis crossed his arms over his chest as he waited for an explanation. “I’m…we…we just needed someplace to camp for the night. I had no idea this was a working farm.”

Travis snorted. “If you knew anything ‘bout farming you’d have seen the signs.” He swept his arm to indicate the trees surrounding them. “Think apple trees grow in rows naturally?”

The woman shook her head. “I guess I wasn’t paying close enough attention. We’ll get out of your hair in a minute.” She disappeared into the tent. “Kit, Kit wake—”

Before she finished her sentence, the woman was darting out of the tent in a flurry, wearing nothing but a white tank top and a pair of underwear. Travis’s dick stood at attention, the sight of all of the creamy skin on display making it press against the front of his jeans like a rabid animal trying to break loose from its cage.

The woman spun around in a panic, shouting the name Kit, while Travis just stood there, unable and unwilling to peel his eyes away from her. It had been a long damn time since he’d seen that much of a woman’s body. Porn was definitely a thing for him, but the virtual women had gotten old and he’d stopped looking years ago. He was looking now and this very real woman ticked all his boxes. She was a good half foot shorter than him and her frame was small, but strong. Muscles formed by working hard at whatever it was she did for a living. The tank she wore clung to her torso, highlighting a soft stomach and small breasts. Travis had never been much of a boob man, but he liked the idea of getting a handful of hers. When the woman turned to face opposite him, his status as a bona fide ass man was confirmed when his cock leaked at the sight of her round cheeks peeking out from underneath the boy shorts she was sporting.

“Fuck,” he groaned, wiping a hand down his face. If his body’s extreme reaction to this stranger on his property was to be his new normal, Travis really did need to get out more and finally get laid.

The woman turned on him, looking worried and angry. “Don’t just stand there. Help me find my daughter.”

The word daughter rang in his ears for all of two seconds before he went into fix-it mode. “How old? What does she look like?”

“Her name is Kit, and she’s about this tall.” She held her hand up flat against the middle of her torso, drawing his attention to her breasts again. Not the damn time, Trav. He moved his gaze up to safer territory, but at the sight of her watery eyes he felt his that stabbing in his heart again, his hands nearly reaching out to hold her. The need to soothe and protect was so foreign to Travis that felt unsettled all over again. This woman was stirring up too many damn emotions in him and he was getting angry all over again. “Her hair is short and brown. Goddamn it, Parker. You literally had one job.”

Travis pinched the bridge of his nose before addressing the woman. “Parker, is it?” at her curt nod, he waved to the tent before rubbing the back of his neck. “Why don’t you…” he waved his hand around to indicate her level of undress before continuing. “Uh, get dressed, then we’ll find her?”

At his words, her eyes glanced down and took in her barely covered body. In a panic, she wrapped her arms around her chest and practically dove back into the tent. “I can’t believe you let me stand around outside half-naked.”

Travis rolled his eyes. “Can’t believe you were sleeping on my property.”

He kicked a rock toward the road where he saw an old sedan, fuming when he saw that she’d parked a little ways into the grass. The grass wasn’t necessarily important to the farm, but it was the principle of the thing. Irritated, he moved his eyes back over to the tent just in time to see Parker coming out wearing a pair of baggy jeans and a button down. She slipped her feet into a pair of sneakers and started whipping the mass of coffee colored tendrils that was her hair into a ponytail when Travis caught sight of deep purple shadows beneath her eyes.

Reaching over, he brushed his thumb just underneath to check the bruising. Despite his being upset that she was unlawfully on his property, Travis fumed at the idea of someone having hit her and couldn’t help but want to make sure she was okay. “Who did this to you?”

The wily woman shoved his hand away, looking at him like he was the most daft individual she’d ever come across. He had invaded her space, and even though she’d invaded his first by coming there, that didn’t make it okay. “No one. Haven’t you ever seen someone looking tired before?” she asked before she started walking toward the back of the orchard.

Travis had never seen someone looking that tired before, but he didn’t think she would appreciate the comment. Besides, he was also still pissed enough about her presence in the first place to try and push away his sudden need to tuck her into a comfy bed for some decent sleep. Travis also tried not to huff at her going to wrong way, but enough of his irritation must have broken loose that she spun on him angrily, a graceful finger poking him hard in the chest.

“I’m glad you find my missing kid so hilarious.” Her brown eyes looked murderous, and even though he could probably pick her up and carry her across the orchard several times and not break a sweat, Travis felt the slightest bit threatened in that moment.

He held up his hands and nodded the other way. “Not laughing. You’re headed the wrong direction.” Travis started off toward the outbuildings that were visible in the near distance. “Probably went up by one of the sheds or to the main house, don’t ya think?”

Parker tossed her hands up in the air. “Seeing as how my eight-year-old was able to slip out of the tent without me noticing, I don’t think much at all now do I?” she huffed and stuffed her hands into her pockets. “Look. What I know about apple farms could fill a thimble, so you lead the way and as soon as I find my daughter we’ll be out of your hair.”

Travis nodded, trying not to notice how the idea of her leaving made him a little sad. He also tried not to notice the worry lines bracketing her mouth, the tired slump to her shoulders, or the overall weariness about her. It was obvious that she had gone through something, and he hated that he cared about what that was even a little bit when she was clearly the one in the wrong here.