Read Online Loving The Country Boy (Barrett's Mill Book 4) by Mia Ross - Free Book Online

mill was first built, and Chelsea keeps them in the lobby display for folks to leaf through. I thought you might find something helpful in them.”
    “Great idea,” he approved, shaking his head with a grin. “Why didn’t I think of that?”
    She made a show of looking at the beamed ceiling, searching for the answer. When her eyes landed back on him, they glittered in fun. “Because men have a genetic aversion to reading instructions?”
    “Got me there, magpie.”
    As she handed over the manuals, she tilted her head with a puzzled expression. “What did you call me?”
    “Magpie. You can find them in Canada, which is where I know them from. They’re pretty birds that always seem to have a lot to say.” It occurred to him that the assessment might not appeal to her, and he said, “You remind me of one, but if you don’t like it, I’ll quit.”
    “No, I like it. It’s just that I’ve never had a nickname before.”
    “Why not?”
    “I guess no one ever cared enough to give me one.”
    Her wistful look made him want to take her in his arms and remind her that whatever bad things had happened to her were safely locked in the past. He managed not to do it, but it was a near thing. As he watched her stroll back through the door, a single disturbing thought was blaring like an alarm siren in his mind.
    Man, was he in trouble.

Chapter Five
    I t was long past dark by the time Tess caught up with everything she needed to do. Chelsea hadn’t been kidding about the amount of work that had been piling up, she thought as she stood and stretched out her sore back. It didn’t help that she was unfamiliar with the software, and Paul’s pathological disorganization was a constant roadblock. Actually, she admitted with a sigh, when she first got started she had no clue what she was doing. But now she was an expert in the quirky ways of Barrett’s Mill Furniture.
    Maybe she could stay on a while longer, give Chelsea more time at home with the new baby. Tess had always been a worker bee, far from the decision-making levels of the companies she’d worked for. Despite her ongoing fear of messing up something important, she was surprised to find she relished the challenge of setting her own pace and learning as she went along. While she wouldn’t enjoy the same security—or salary—as she would at a more established business, here at the mill she’d have something much more important.
    Independence.
    The alternate life she’d stumbled into was full of opportunities to prove herself, and she couldn’t deny it held a solid appeal for her. Each time she tackled something foreign to her and succeeded, her confidence level rose a bit more. If she kept improving the way she hoped to, she might even discover a path to the self-sufficient existence she craved. With no attachments to anyone in particular, she could pretty much go anywhere she wanted. Wouldn’t it be something if she found what she’d been looking for in the hometown her father had abandoned so long ago?
    While she was straightening up the office, she heard the unmistakable creaks and squeals of the vintage machinery grinding into action. Standing with a sheaf of invoices in her hands, she held her breath, but the sounds died down as quickly as they’d sprung up. After some inventive insults and a couple more tries, the familiar thrumming noise of the drive belts settled into the rhythmic sound that told anyone with half a brain that Barrett’s Sawmill was up and running again.
    A rousing cheer went up in the rear of the old mill house, and she went back to find three very grimy men hooting and jumping around like six-year-olds who’d just won a baseball game. She smiled as they traded greasy high fives but hesitated when Heath offered her one.
    He cocked his head in a chiding gesture, and she laughed. “Oh, why not?” She noticed he was much gentler with her than he’d been with her cousins, which she appreciated. Looking around, she marveled at the