She shivered at the memory and her core began to throb. Groaning, she slammed the lid on the hamper. He’d probably just tossed them in the garbage, but she’d have to remember to ask him about them later. Right now, a quick shower was what she needed to clear her head. Then she’d get to work.

She had to change the sheets on Jackson’s bed. After that, she had to run the vacuum over the floors, clean the bathrooms and do a couple of loads of laundry. By then it should be lunchtime. Emerald wondered if Jackson was avoiding her, but decided against it. This was a working farm and this was a busy time of year for him.

She’d take her free time this afternoon and do some of her own work. The past few days, she’d had some ideas floating around in her head. It was time to see if they would translate on paper into a usable design. After that, she might seek out the swimming hole that Erin had told her about. From the feel of the air, it was going to be another hot and sticky day.


Jackson walked softly through the woods, his boots not making a sound on the ground. Stopping, he crouched slowly and raised the camera to his face. Peering through the lens, he framed the shot. He took several photos in quick succession as the robin made quick work of the worm that it held tight in its beak. It had been sitting on a large, flat boulder and if he got the shot he’d wanted, it was definitely one he could sell at the gallery.

Pleased, he stood and stretched. He should be working. Lord only knew there was plenty to be done, but after he’d eaten the sandwiches he’d packed for his lunch, he’d felt restless. Part of it was that he missed Emerald. He should have just gone back to the house for lunch, but he’d felt the need to spend some time alone to think about what had happened.

He hadn’t had many serious relationships in his lifetime. Working the farm and practically rearing his younger siblings had precluded that. While other young men had been going to college and sowing their wild oats, he’d been predicting crop yields and worrying about how to find the money for new sneakers for Erin and clothes for Nathan. Their father hadn’t cared so the job had fallen to him.

Not that he’d minded. He loved his brother and sister and the farm. Nothing was too much to sacrifice for them. He’d had his share of women. Usually, though, they had been the type of women who were only looking for a good time and not a lasting relationship.

Those kinds of couplings had left him cold and unfulfilled and he hadn’t bothered with them the past year or so. A man could do just as much with his own hand as those kinds of one-night stands could. Still, he’d felt the sting of loneliness, especially after Erin and then Nathan had married and moved out.

He’d never thought about a wife and kids of his own. Well, not in a lot of years. Those dreams had been put on the backburner for someday. Now he was thirty-four and he’d all but given up hope that those things would ever happen for him.

Then Emerald had walked into his life.

She’d brought life and vibrancy back to his home. With her funky tie-dye skirts, colorful T-shirts, unusual jewelry, brilliant smile and her sense of humor, she’d charmed him completely. He’d fallen hard before he’d even realized what was happening. All he’d known was that her laughter made him laugh and her smile made his chest ache.

Reaching into his back pocket, he drew out a scrap of fabric and stared at it. The fragile purple garment was already torn beyond repair, but he hadn’t been able to bring himself to toss out her ruined panties. Instead, like a lovesick fool, he’d folded them and tucked them in his jeans pocket. It was like having a piece of her with him all day.

Boy, he had it bad!

Sighing, he shoved Emerald’s panties back into his pocket. Already it was hard to imagine the farm without her here. And that was the problem.

Resuming his walk, he kept one eye open for photo opportunities as his thoughts wandered. He knew himself well enough to know that Emerald was special. He’d never wanted a woman the way he wanted her. Last night had been incredible. His cock stirred. He’d taken her twice within the span of an hour and he could have taken her again. The only thing that had stopped him was that Emerald was tired and sore. It had been enough for him to tuck her into his arms and have her sleep with him.

He’d never spent an entire night with a woman before. Usually they’d gone back to her place and he’d left long before dawn. When he was younger, he’d made out in his truck. But never before had he taken a woman in his own bed, in his home. He’d kept his liaisons private from his home life. Now he wanted to do the opposite.

Deep down, he wanted Emerald to love the place so much that she’d never want to leave. Hell, he wanted her to love him. He rubbed his chest with his free hand. His heart ached even as his loins tightened. He was very much afraid he was already in love with her. And that could only lead to heartache. For as much as he wanted her to stay, he knew that she’d have to leave. She was a city girl with a career. She had too much talent not to use it.

A twittering sound interrupted his thoughts and he glanced to his right. He managed to get a shot of a crow sitting on the limb of a dead birch tree before the bird took flight again. When he reached the edge of the meadow, he stopped and crouched down low. Wildflowers were in bloom and several bees and butterflies were flitting from flower to flower.

Patiently he waited and managed to get about a dozen shots that had potential. He wouldn’t know until he got them developed, and that took a while as he always sent them away to get them done. No one in town knew about his sideline business, and that was fine by him. He was a private man and saw no reason for everyone to know his business. And part of him couldn’t believe the prices that some folks were willing to pay for his photos.

It had been a while since he’d taken part of a day and just indulged himself in his second passion. Yes, he loved the farm, felt the call of the rich earth in his blood, but photography had fed a part of his soul that had almost dried up before he’d discovered this hobby. It had started about a year before Erin had married and he’d taken to it like a duck to water, reading every book he could find on the subject and experimenting. It had come so easily to him, it was almost as if he’d done it before and was just remembering how. He had an eye for framing a shot. At least that’s what the gallery owner who’d contacted him had told him.

He’d needed this time to himself. Time to think. Time to just wallow in the farm and in nature without having to work. On a working farm there were really no days off, especially this time of year, but he’d needed to recharge his batteries. Last night had given him a lot to ponder.

He was realistic enough to know that Emerald wouldn’t stay forever. He could step back and put some distance between them or he could take advantage of the time that she was here. Those memories would have to last him a lifetime, because as sure as he was standing here, he knew he’d never feel the same way about any other woman as he felt about Emerald. There was something about her that made him wanted to grab her tight and yell mine.

It was probably too late to pull back from her, and there was no way he was letting her leave until he knew the threat to her was over. His hands tightened into fists and he swore as the expensive camera in his hand protested. He forced himself to relax, but it wasn’t easy.

He realized that he’d already made up his mind. There really was no choice. He’d take whatever Emerald would give him and cherish their time together. When it was over, he’d find the strength somewhere inside him to let her go.

Swiping the sweat from his brow, he decided that he needed to cool off before he went home. He was close enough to the old swimming hole to take a quick dip. Then he’d head home and maybe sweet-talk Emerald into a quick afternoon romp between the sheets.

The swimming hole was technically on Abel’s land, but they’d all used it as kids and teenagers. Jackson hadn’t been here in about a dozen years. He shook his head. Where the hell had the time gone? His life had become too much about work and survival and less about living. Somehow, having Emerald around was bringing him back to life again.

He had her to thank for that, even though it would hurt like hell when she left. But there was no going back, and truthfully, he didn’t want to. It felt good to be really alive again.

The splash of water caught his attention and he crept forward. If his sister and her husband were fooling around at the pond, he didn’t want to interrupt them. As he reached the edge of the trees, he raised the camera and peered through the telephoto lens for a better view. Nobody used this place much anymore as it was on private property. But maybe a few of the teenagers that Erin had hired were taking a break. Although at two in the afternoon, that wasn’t likely.

There was only one person. Jackson could barely make out the top of a head as it disappeared beneath the water. He waited patiently and was rewarded a few moments later when she reappeared. It was definitely a woman. She was naked from the waist up and he saw her perfectly. Recognition made his heart skip a beat.

Emerald was skinny-dipping.

Like a water nymph, she stood waist-deep in the pond and slicked her wet hair out of her face. She was wearing no makeup, her skin glistening in the afternoon heat. He swallowed and focused his lens, getting a closer shot. His fingers longed to take a photo, but he couldn’t, wouldn’t without her permission. This was one picture he’d never share with anyone, but he’d give almost anything to have one for his private collection. Something that he could hold and look at long after she was gone.