All I Am
Everything she is. Everything he's not…Recovering from his time in Afghanistan, Wes Stone prefers the company of his dogs and himself. People, especially of the female variety, are…difficult. He appreciates that Cara Pruitt doesn’t treat him like an invalid, but hiring the party girl of New Benton to help out with his dog treat business is probably a mistake. And when her brightness and unexpected vulnerability somehow slip through his defenses, suddenly something terrifying is ignited inside him. Something thrilling. Something that could make Wes whole again…or consume him completely.
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Everything she is. Everything heâs not...
Recovering from his time in Afghanistan, Wes Stone prefers the company of his dogs and himself. People, especially of the female variety, are...difficult. He appreciates that Cara Pruitt doesnât treat him like an invalid, but hiring the party girl of New Benton to help out with his dog treat business is probably a mistake. And when her brightness and unexpected vulnerability somehow slip through his defenses, suddenly something terrifying is ignited inside him. Something thrilling. Something that could make Wes whole again...or consume him completely.
âYou could kiss me...â
Wes cleared his throat again, taking a careful step away. âI cannot kiss you.â Look at him, being all firm and decisive. Not a stumble of words.
âWhy not?â
âBecause.â His steps away werenât careful anymore because the panic was building. Talking to Cara, working with her, might not make him have all those old feelings. But the thought of kissing her did.
He couldnât do it.
âYouâre heartbroken and in love with someone else? Although, really, you could still kiss me. I hear Iâm good for that kind ofââ
âNo, Cara. No. I canât.â
She smiled.
âYou canât kiss me. So, technically speaking, I could kiss you...â
There are some books that come together fairly easily, perfectly on time, with everything happening just on schedule. And then there are books where everything seems to go wrong. Or if not wrong, hard. Hi, this is that book.
Itâs a book that started with a completely different hero. Itâs a book that was in a different line with a different word count for a while. Itâs a book that was canceled very briefly when the previous line was. Through the course of editing and line-changing, Iâve been tasked with adding ten thousand words, then twenty thousand words. Months apart. Itâs been a challenge.
But the thing is, no matter how many stumbles and roadblocks a book has set before it, itâs still about two people navigating a tricky world to love. And finding a way for Cara and Wes to overcome their pasts and find each other was one I would go back to time and time again. An opportunity to go back to the Millertown Farmersâ Market and the Pruitt sisters isnât that much of a challengeâI love this world. I love these characters.
And I hope youâll love them, too! (And if youâve read All I Have, donât worry, Dell still appears shirtless even in a book that isnât his).
Happy reading!
Nicole Helm
NICOLE HELM grew up with her nose in a book and the dream of one day becoming a writer. Luckily, after a few failed career choices, she gets to follow that dreamâwriting down-to-earth contemporary romance. From farmers to cowboys, Midwest to the West, Nicole writes stories about people finding themselves and finding love in the process. She lives in Missouri with her husband and two sons and dreams of someday owning a barn.
To everyone on Twitter who responded to âwounded-veteran-dog-treat-making-bearded-virgin heroâ with a resounding YES. Hopefully Wes lives up to the billing.
Contents
IF CARA EVER got engaged, the first thing sheâd want to do would be get naked, not sell broccoli.
Her older sister did not seem to have that inclination.
Mia handed a bag of broccoli to an elderly gentleman, then once again admired her new ring.
Cara wrinkled her nose. âUgh. Are you going to stare at that thing all day?â
âHey, an hour ago you were jumping up and down and screeching.â Mia wiggled her fingers some more, the grin never leaving her face.
âSorry. An hour is the limit for engagement-ring gazing while us poor single women sit around and feel our ovaries dry up and fall off.â
âOvaries donât fall off,â Anna chimed in, adding more curlicues to the sign she was painting for the new Pruitt Morning Sun Farms booth to hang over the table of produce offerings.
Cara scowled at her younger sister. âItâs an expression.â Being in the middle of these two was always a constant battle of reason versus...whatever she was.
âA dumb expression.â
âYouâre a dumb expression,â Cara grumbled. She didnât know why too-early Saturday morning after too-early Saturday morning, season after season, she agreed to help Mia with her farmerâs market stand. Cara didnât get anything out of it except crap from her sisters and dirt on her clothes.
Now that Mia and Dell, her new fiancé, had merged their farms, which specialized in locally grown fruits and vegetables, Mia definitely had enough help. Cara was an unneeded volunteer.
