Sunrise Point

sleep.”
    “Children can show you a kind of tired you just didn’t think possible. Did you mean to spend the night?”
    “Not at first. I woke up a lot. Sometime in the night I decided I just wasn’t going anywhere. I have to go now, however.”
    “Is Maxie going to be upset? Worried?”
    He shook his head. “It’s rare, but I have been known to get in at dawn. Whatever she feels about that, she doesn’t let it show.”
    “Can I get you a cup of coffee?” she asked.
    “Will she be all right without us here?”
    Nora nodded. “When she wakes up, she’ll come right into the other room. I’ll make coffee.”
    A half hour later Tom was saying goodbye at the front door. “The neighbors will all have seen my truck in front of your house all night.”
    “You’re admired around here, Tom. I don’t think my neighbors will worry that I’m getting mixed up with a bad person. And we’re just friends… .”
    His lips curved in a lazy smile. “There are friends and there are friends,” he said. Then he slipped an arm around her waist and pulled her against him. He tested her lips once, then again, then a third time and then took her mouth by storm. Her arms went around his neck to hold him close and she opened for him and God, he wanted to pass out, it felt so good.
    But he made himself stop. “Gotta go,” he said, and realized his voice was hoarse. “I have to work twice as hard today since I gave you a weekend off,” he teased.
    “If you need me to work, you know I’ll come.”
    “I need you to rest and enjoy Jed’s visit. I can’t wait to hear about what he brings this time. If he’s smart, he’ll bring Berry a pony.” Then there was a little kiss on the lips and he was gone.
     

Chapter Seventeen
    Maxie was standing in the kitchen when Tom walked in. She regarded him through narrow eyes and, lifting one brow, she asked, “Breakfast? Or have you eaten?”
    “I’m starving, but if you’re going to glare at me, I’ll fix my own.”
    “I haven’t said a word. Nor have I glared.”
    “What are you doing right now?”
    “Struggling to stay awake. I didn’t sleep well.”
    “All right, here’s what happened. The little girls were train wrecks—too much sugar, not enough naps. Nora bathed them and I did a bottle while she quieted Berry and we fell asleep along with the kids. In our clothes. I shouldn’t have to tell you that, Maxie. I’m old enough to sleep anywhere I want.”
    “Yes, you are. But I like that girl a lot and she’s had some pretty impressive struggles. I’m not going to tell you not to go near her—I want you to. At least you’re looking at the possibilities. But Tom, you be careful. Don’t hurt Nora.”
    “I would never deliberately hurt anyone.”
    “I know, I know,” she said tiredly. “It’s so hard. I want you to use caution, to take your time. I also want you to get me beyond the suspense! I’m old!”
    He grinned at her. “You’re going to have to let me pick my own girl. But no matter what, there’s no reason you can’t have Nora in your life. She loves you, Maxie.”
    “Well, life would be a lot easier if you’d just let me tell you who to fall in love with. After all, I know more about this sort of thing than you do!”
    “Fall in love? Maxie, I think you’re getting way ahead of yourself.”
    Yet those words followed him around all day Sunday as he worked and puttered around the orchard. Certainly he wasn’t falling in love—he was simply attracted. And from what he could tell, she was also attracted—and they had a nice little attraction going. He’d traveled that very road quite a few times since the age of fifteen or sixteen. Yet, he’d never been in love.
    Tom told himself that the fact that he wanted to talk to her or see her all day Sunday had nothing to do with his feelings. And that Sunday was one of the longest days he’d experienced since being back from Afghanistan, but he told himself it was only about magnetism. After all, she had a special charm.
    But he would not fall in love with her. Nora was encumbered, not just with small children but with a troubled past she was still struggling to overcome and understand. He was looking for something else entirely—a woman without entanglements. A woman ready to settle down and make him the center of her world.
    But when Monday came, when she arrived at the orchard, he felt himself light up on the inside. He was grinning like a fool before he could control himself. She was the