Read Online Love Finds You in Frost Minnesota by Judy Baer - Free Book Online Page B

didn’t make it go away. It just made it harder to deal with when the time came—and it was inevitable that he’d have to deal with it sooner or later.
    He watched Merry interact with Zeke and felt a twinge of jealousy. She laughed easily with him and was no longer on guard. There was something special between them—if not now, there had been—and the fondness for each other hadn’t faded.
    Jack recognized it even though he’d always done everything in his power to avoid that sort of intimacy. The last thing he’d wanted was a woman to somehow get beneath the shell he’d built to protect himself and force him to share the things he’d suppressed for so long.
    They probably didn’t want him there, sitting like a lump of coal in a kitchen chair, listening to what they were saying. Maybe they had things to discuss—private things. He rose and cleared his throat. “I think I’ll go upstairs. Nice to meet you, Zeke.” He left quickly, not wanting to exchange any more small talk with Merry and her boyfriend.
    As Jack walked out of the room, Zeke lowered his voice. “He’s as icy and reserved as you said, Merry. His name is very fitting. Now how about some of those almond cookies you made for me?”
    Jack felt the color drain from his face as he mounted the stairs to his room. What did it matter what Merry or anyone else thought of him? He’d never bothered to care before. Then he realized that he truly didn’t care what Zeke What’s-His-Name thought of him. It was Merry’s opinion that had begun to matter.
    How on earth had he let that happen?
    * * * * *
    The next day, as she was closing the boutique, Hildy arrived on Merry’s doorstep with a steaming pot swathed in dishtowels.
    “What’s this?” Merry asked as she beckoned the older woman inside.
    “Chicken and dumplings. I thought you could use help with supper. I saw how many cars were parked outside today. You must be exhausted.”
    “Bless you, Hildy. I am tired. Not having to cook sounds great, but I’ll only accept if you’ll join us.”
    “You’ve got that man staying here, don’t you?”
    “Yes. I’d like to have you meet him. You lived in Frost in years past. Maybe you can help him answer some of his questions.”
    “I moved away when I was a young woman and didn’t come back until last year. I can’t imagine how I’d do him any good.”
    “No matter, you’ll do me some good.”
    “My guest, Mr. Frost, has inherited some land in this area,” Merry said as she and Hildy set the table and tossed a salad.
    “So I’ve heard,” Hildy responded enigmatically. The woman’s features were stoic.
    “Not all good things, apparently.”
    “You know how gossip travels. It’s never right by the time it gets to the likes of me. People don’t like the idea, though, of someone else owning so much of their hometown.”
    “I’m not sure he likes it either, but he’s got to get things sorted out. He can’t leave it for another generation!”
    Hildy nodded. “I guess there are a lot of things we don’t like in this life, but we get used to them.”
    At that moment, Merry heard Jack’s footsteps on the stairs. He must have smelled the delicious aromas coming from the kitchen.
    “Just in time,” she greeted him. “My neighbor Hildy brought the food.”
    Her breath, she noticed, was coming faster when Jack neared, and her heart raced. Even Zeke had never affected her quite like that. He smiled at her, and she felt a little hitch in her chest. He reached for her hand and, as if it had its own will, it took his.
    They walked together into the dining room and, introductions made, the threesome sat down at the table.
    “Hildy, would you like to say grace?” Merry requested.
    The woman bowed her head and took a deep breath. “Lord, we don’t know how You work. All we can do is trust that Your timing is right, Your love is true, and Your grace plentiful. Whatever pain is on the hearts of each of us tonight, we ask You to intervene and turn