Guilty Pleasure by Michelle Freeman, Gayle Roberts Page A

the
towels on the rack; they’re washable.” She smiled at Jason, hoping for an
answering smile, wanting to see if it really did light up his face and reach
all the way to his eyes. She was rewarded with another grin and found she was
right. Jason ducked into the shower, and Ann returned to the kitchen.
    Ann busied
herself at the counter, stirring another spoonful of mayonnaise into the potato
salad. Her mind was on Jason, lost in thought.
    She
wondered what exactly drew him to her. Was it just that he was young—really
good looking—and she was lonely? That didn’t sound very appealing. It made her
sound old… and desperate. It had been a long time since she’d had anyone
interested in her. There had been no one… well, no one serious… since her
husband David had left her, over a year ago.
    Jason was
handsome, no doubt. But there was something else, something in the way he
looked at her, something in his eyes that made her heart beat faster, her hands
tremble and her knees go weak. Or, you’re just making all that up because
he’s young and cute and he’ll be gone by the end of tomorrow.
    “Need any
help?” Jason’s words were soft, but Ann jumped nonetheless. The spoon flew from
her hand, landing between them on the hardwood floor.
    “I’m sorry,”
Jason said, bending down to retrieve the spoon. “No five-second rule for spoons
full of potato salad.” He put it in the sink. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”
    He’d put
his t-shirt on, and Ann breathed a small sigh of relief. It was enough to have
him here, so close she could smell the sun on his skin, sheep on his clothes,
and beneath all that, the unmistakable scent of the man himself. She realized
it really had been a long time, if just the smell of a man who’d been working
in the sun all day with sheep made her knees weak.
    “It’s
okay,” Ann said, smiling back. “I wasn’t paying attention. No harm done.” She grabbed
another spoon from the crock on the counter, sticking it in the potato salad.
    “The lunch
looks great. You’ve gone to a lot of trouble. We…I appreciate it.” Ann glanced
over at him, meeting his eyes just so she could feel that tremble in her
stomach again.
    “Thanks,
it’s my pleasure. The neighbors help, so it’s not that much trouble to add a
few things.” Ann was reluctant to leave the kitchen, but she was running out of
things to do to keep her there, with Jason. There was only so much they could
say about potato salad. “Ben tells me he’s almost done, that you’re taking over
the whole operation pretty soon.”
    Jason took
another step closer and leaned against the counter, all long legs and blonde
hair. She turned back to the potato salad, giving it another stir, if for no
other reason than to keep from staring at him. If they stayed here much longer,
she’d be serving mashed potato salad. She forced herself to stop stirring and
looked at Jason as he talked.
    “That’s the
plan. He’s riding along just to say good-bye to those that he’s worked with for
a long time, like you. I haven’t seen him put clippers to a sheep in weeks.”
Jason laughed, before growing serious. “He deserves a rest though. He’s been
doing this since I was a little kid, long before you ever started raising
sheep, I would imagine.”
    “So you’ll
be on your own then starting next season?” Ann was desperately casting about
for any topic to keep the conversation going.
    “Yes,
ma’am. I’m pretty much on my own now. But I’ll be back here next year to shear
your flock. If you’re interested, that is.”
    Ann nodded.
And then her heart sank. It would be a whole year before she saw Jason again,
after he finished up tomorrow. She frowned, lost in that thought.
    “You’re not
bound by a contract to hire me, so there’s no worries there.” Jason’s voice
held what sounded like disappointment.
    She met his
gaze, kicking herself. Everyone told her all the time her thoughts were written
on her face.
    “Oh…