Read Online Give Em Pumpkin To Talk About (Pumpkin Patch Mysteries Book 1) by Joyce Lavene, Jim Lavene - Free Book Online

waterfall beside the boulder. She managed to clear it, but getting around the massive rock was difficult.
    “Here.” He put out his hand. “Let me help you.”
    She grabbed his warm hand and got halfway across the gray rock before she lost her balance and dropped into the pool that was fed by the dual waterfalls. She came up sputtering, forgetting how cold the river was except in the heat of summer. It wasn’t deep—her feet touched the bottom. River water ran off her clothes.
    “Don’t you dare laugh,” she warned him.
    “What? You actually found the perfect spot to view the county marker. Look right here.”
    There was a three-foot stone that stuck straight out of the dark water. A county name was etched into the sides that faced each river bank as well as the name of the original surveyor and the date.
    “Wow. I can’t believe I missed that after all the times I walked up and down these banks.”
    As she said it, her cell phone fell out of her pocket into the swirling water.
    “Pick it up,” he said. “You can put it in rice and dry it out.”
    She retrieved the phone even though she was doubtful about his idea. Shoving it in her pocket, she climbed back on the rocks to get out of the river. There was no way she was going to make her appointment with Mace and his buyer if she had to go back to the hotel and change. She knew before she made the call that her real estate agent might have a heart attack if she had to put it off again.
    “Too bad about your appointment.” A smile played over his lips.
    Sarah waited for him to join her on the bank. “You did this on purpose, didn’t you? It’s your way of trying to stop the sale. I get it. You don’t want to leave.”
    “I didn’t push you in the water.”
    “Well, don’t worry. I’ll figure something out.” Her teeth were chattering even though the day was warm.
    “Sounds like you need to get out of those clothes.” Even though he didn’t smile, his blue eyes were amused at her discomfort.
    “Sure. I bet you’d like that, wouldn’t you? Maybe we should go back to the barn and both take off our clothes.”
    “I’m game if you are.”
    “It would have to be a lot colder than this.” She stormed up from the edge of the water and followed the path through the trees away from the woods. Moving quickly made her warmer. But her clothes were still full of water, and her boots squished.
    She glanced back, halfway across the field past the spring house. There was no sign of Jack. Maybe he took off his clothes and built a fire, hoping she’d return. The man had a lot of nerve for someone who looked like he never bathed and lived in a barn.
    Sarah had an idea and let herself in the house. She went upstairs to her mother’s old room, dripping along the way. Her grandparents had always kept it as it had been when she’d moved out. Sarah had slept in that room when she visited. She’d spent a lot of time looking through the old clothes in the closet. There might be something there that she could wear, at least for the meeting.
    As she went upstairs, she noticed that the house was a little dusty but not what she’d expect after sixteen years. Jack wasn’t staying in here, but he’d been knocking down cobwebs and keeping up with things. The floors were clean, and the lights hanging from the ceiling had working lightbulbs in them.
    Lucky for her, she and her mother were about the same size. Her mother was shorter but that didn’t matter to the black and white dress Sarah pulled out of the cedar chest. She even found underwear and a bra. Her mother still had packrat tendencies—she had to force herself to throw anything away. In this case, it was a good thing.
    The dress was okay, if a little short. It was better than her wet clothes. The black shoes she found pinched her toes—her mother’s feet were a size smaller. But it would do for her appointment. She dried her hair and combed it straight back away from her face.
    She looked unusual, but