Loving the Country Boy

A City Girl’s Second Chance

City girl Tess Barrett hopes her move to Barrett’s Mill, Virginia, will give her a fresh start. As she gets to know the family she’s never met and begins work at their sawmill, everything starts falling into place. Until she meets Heath Weatherby. After narrowly escaping an oil rig explosion, Heath won’t waste his second chance at life. He’s committed to starting a family—and he wants Tess for his wife. Tess refuses to give in to her feelings for Heath, convinced they’re just too different. But when the rugged mechanic is hired to fix her family’s mill, her heart begins to recognize the charming country boy as her one true love.

“You have to be the sweetest guy I’ve ever met.

“After I just about bit your head off, too.”

“I hate to break this to you, darlin’,” he said with a laugh, “but you don’t scare me. ”

Once seated, they both spread out their lunches on the blanket to share.

“Sure beats eating in the back room with the crew.”

“Do you mean the food or the company?”

Looking over at her, he grinned. “Both.”

“Flattery will get you nowhere with me, country boy,” she warned, though the sudden blush on her cheeks said otherwise. “But you get an A for effort.”

“Just callin’ it like I see it.”

That made her laugh. “The girls around here must fall all over themselves trying to get your attention.”

“Nah. I’m just Heath, the goofball they all grew up with.”

“That’s not what I’ve heard,” she informed him.

“That was a long time ago. Now I’m looking for a wife who thinks I hung the moon, and a bunch of kids who think I’m the greatest dad ever.”

“Really?” Tess asked incredulously. “That’s all?”

“To me, that’s everything.”

MIA ROSS loves great stories. She enjoys reading about fascinating people, long-ago times and exotic places. But only for a little while, because her reality is pretty sweet. Married to her college sweetheart, she’s the proud mom of two amazing kids, whose schedules keep her hopping. Busy as she is, she can’t imagine trading her life for anyone else’s—and she has a pretty good imagination. You can visit her online at miaross.com.

Loving the

Country Boy

Mia Ross

www.millsandboon.co.uk

And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

—Colossians 3:14

For Rob

Acknowledgments

To the very talented folks who help me

make my books everything they can be: Elaine Spencer, Melissa Endlich and the dedicated staff at Love Inspired.

As always, huge thanks to the gang at

Seekerville (seekerville.net). It’s a great place to hang out with readers—and writers!

I’ve been blessed with a wonderful network of

supportive, encouraging family and friends. You inspire me every day!

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Introduction

About the Author

Title Page

Bible Verse

Dedication

Acknowledgments

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Epilogue

Dear Reader

Extract

Copyright

Chapter One

Tess Barrett was not a morning person.

Of course, that might have had something to do with the fact that her California-girl brain hadn’t quite adjusted to Virginia time yet. Or maybe it was the dark blue sedan she’d borrowed from her grandmother, a far cry from the jazzy red convertible she’d left in LA. Yawning, she looked around and couldn’t help admiring the lush scenery on the other side of the windshield. Ordinarily, she drove to work through bumper-to-bumper traffic jams, with the AC on full blast and palm trees waving at her as she passed by.

On this cool October morning, hers was the only car in sight on a gravel road that wasn’t even two lanes wide. Towering oak and maple trees stood alongside the lane like guards, their branches arching overhead to form a tunnel of leaves ranging in color from pale green to gold to brilliant red. When the early sunlight started peeking through the canopy, it lit the whole area in a breathtaking display that would be right at home on an artist’s easel.

Normally she wasn’t the poetic type, and her creative impression of her surroundings startled her, to say the least. She must be more tired than she realized. Or, she thought as she drove around a curve in the unfamiliar back-country road, her fuzzy brain just needed caffeine.

Fortunately, she had some of her grandmother’s secret blend of coffee mixed with cream and berries. Reaching toward the cup holder, she glanced down to grasp the handle of her stainless-steel travel mug. Just as she was lifting it free, the sound of a blaring horn jerked her eyes back to the road. Letting go of the cup, she cranked the steering wheel to the right and slammed on the brakes in a terrifying hailstorm of dust and gravel.

She swallowed hard to get her heart out of her throat and sat very still, taking stock of everything. She was unharmed, and the car was in one piece, although it sat cocked at an unnatural angle on the verge of the ditch. Framed in her driver’s window was an antique delivery truck that had quite possibly been one of the first ones put into service. Sporting as much rust as metal, one thing about it stood out as new. Someone had gone to the trouble to freshen up the logo on the driver’s door.