SAMPLE SUNDAY: KINFOLK

My next up contemporary romance and my first from Champagne Books, "Kinfolk", will be out on the Fourth of July (or the first Monday in July).

Blurb:
When Katherine Vaughn flees California, she returns home to her native Arkansas, a place she barely remembers.  As she settles in at the family farm with her aunt, she finds herself growing closer to her late cousin's husband, Ben Hatfield.  Ben is a lot more than the country bumpkin she first takes him to be and when the men who threatened her follow her to Arkansas he will rely on his skills as a former Navy SEAL to protect her.


SAMPLE

“Ben! Hi. Where’s Aunt Ruby?”

“She went upstairs to change. It smells good.”

“Dinner’s almost ready.”

With her hair pinned into a knot on top of her head, she looked older

and yet more vulnerable. He watched as she set the table with Ruby’s old

blue and white Willow Ware plates and sat down at the head of the table

when Ruby joined them. Both women folded their hands and waited in

expectation of a blessing so he searched his memory. He reached back to his

Catholic childhood and lapsed faith to find the only grace he could remember

and hoped it wouldn’t offend either of the Baptist ladies.

“Bless us, O Lord, and these Thy gifts which we are about to receive

through Thy bounty, through Christ the Lord, amen.”

“Amen.”

He forked pork chop to his mouth and sighed as the sweet, succulent

taste filled his mouth. Whatever else Katy Vaughn could do, she could cook.

He savored each bite despite a nagging pain in his hip and down his left leg.

Damp weather aggravated the old injury but he tried to focus on the good

food. Eating at the scarred kitchen table, he yearned for the kind of

companionship he had seldom had. His mother probably cooked but he could

barely remember her, and Pop’s kitchen skills had been rudimentary, heavy

on beans and hamburger.

When Katherine produced an apple pie, he groaned in mock protest

but ate two pieces before pushing back his plate.

“That was the best meal I’ve had in a long time.”

38

“I’m glad you liked it.”

A cigarette would finish the meal to perfection and he had a Camel

halfway to his mouth before he remembered his manners. “Do you mind if I

smoke?”

“No.” Katherine placed an ashtray near his place at the table.

He smoked, the rich tang of the tobacco pleasant on his tongue, and

watched her clear away the dishes. She moved with such grace and easy

mobility that he envied her. Despite his increasing pain, he felt comfortable

in the warm kitchen where the aroma of the meal lingered. As she scrubbed

the dishes, she talked a little, about the rain and the farm. He listened, her

voice easy in his ears, and offered to dry the dishes, surprised at his own

chivalry.

With a quick shake of her head, she turned down his offer. “I can do

it; it’s no trouble. You look so tired.”

He was. Because of the rain, he had hurt throughout the night and

what little sleep he gained brought bad dreams. Her compassion was

welcome but he was hurting.

“I’m a little tired.” What an understatement that was. A sharp twinge

in his hip made him wince and shift position in the chair.

She put her hand on his shoulder. It felt heavy and although it was

more of a friendly gesture than an intimate one, he felt his body stir at her

touch. God, he craved such caring and he wished that he could have met her

before Jill, before he became crippled.

His knee ached and he rubbed it beneath the table. As much as he

enjoyed the comfortable cocoon the kitchen made, he needed to go home and

take something. Her hand moved from his shoulder to cup his cheek.

“You’re in pain.” Her eyes met his, more perceptive than he could

have imagined. Almost no one noticed when he hurt and he had not expected

her to. “What’s the matter?”

He would have ignored the question from anyone else but he

answered her with honesty. “My left leg—especially my knee and hip—

sometimes bother me when it’s damp. It’s an old injury from when I was in

the service.”

“It must really hurt. Would you be more comfortable in the living

room?”

Both embarrassed and pleased by her attention, he shook his head. “I

probably should go on home.”

“Won’t the rain make it hurt all the more?”

“Maybe, but once I’m home I can take some ibuprofen.”

She plucked a bottle from the collection of over-the-counter meds on

the shelf.

“Ruby has some. How many do you want?”

He didn’t want a fuss and her kindness embarrassed him. “Katy, you

don’t need to bother about me.”

39

“I’m not.”

A stubborn set in her face reminded him of her father, Joe, and he

held out his hand in surrender. “Give me four.”

She didn’t stop at administering a pain reliever but insisted that he sit

in the old rump sprung recliner in the living room. The echo of distant

thunder decided him to stay awhile. Settled into the chair he almost fell

asleep until she brought him a cup of something hot. He sniffed and sipped

tea that tasted of spice and oranges. To his surprise, he liked it.

“What is this?”

“A tea blend called Constant Comment. I thought a warm cup of tea

might help.”

“It’s good. Thank you.”

As the ibuprofen dulled the pain, the tea soothed some of the

uneasiness in his soul. He dozed in the recliner and lingered until after dark.

Although he hated to leave the warm house, the comfortable chair, and Katy,

he pulled himself out of the chair.

“You leaving, Ben?” Ruby called from across the room.

“Yeah, I am. I need to check the herd and head for home. Thank you

for the dinner, Katy.”

Lamp light fell on her face as she glanced up from the book in her

hands. He admired her small features, her fair complexion, and her dark eyes

that seemed alight from within. If he tried, he could still catch the faint

fragrance of her perfume, something sweet and full.

“I’ll get your jacket from the kitchen.”

He waited in the entry hall and she brought his denim jacket. When

she handed it to him, he held her hands a moment too long and he watched a

pink flush of pleasure cross her face. A question flickered in her eyes.

“I’m not hurting as bad now.”

“Good.”

Face to face they were close enough he could feel her breath. She

reached around his neck to straighten the collar of his jacket and he stood

still as she smoothed it down.

“I’m glad you came over, Ben.” With his collar in place, she

removed her hands, one brushing his cheek as it passed. Tenderness welled

up in him at her touch. Like a thirsty man in the desert, he sought more. He

bent and kissed her, his lips soft and gentle. Uncertain what to say afterward,

he took a step toward the door.

“Take care, Ben.”

Her voice rolled into his ears like an evening tide and drew him

toward her. He kissed her with strength, a power that seemed to weld their

lips together and even as he delighted in the sensation, he felt intense pride

that he had not forgotten how to kiss a woman after all. The second kiss was

longer and when he let go, he knew he was smiling. So was she as she

brushed her fingers across his lips without a word.