Season of Dreams by Jenna Mindel Page A

to see if his chest rose and fell, but the covers were drawn up over his shoulders. The bedspread looked smooth, as if he hadn’t moved an inch since climbing into bed. His dark hair draped the pillow, framing his head, but he didn’t look peaceful in sleep.
    Eva stepped closer and placed her hand near his nose. Air went in and then came out. A stray swirl of his hairdistracted her from pulling back. Begging to be smoothed, Eva reached for it.
    He grabbed her wrist.
    She squealed. “You scared me!”
    â€œ Me scare you? What are you doing in here?” He let go and sat up. The deep tone of his skin looked even darker against the blinding-white sheets. A silver chain hung around his neck with a tiny medical alert charm dangling against the center of his chest. A little late for that now.
    She clutched the side of her neck, feeling the heat crawl up her skin. She tried to catch her breath and tried even harder to look away from the man in front of her. But failed on all counts.
    â€œI wanted—” She wanted to touch his hair? “I wanted to make sure you were still breathing. Don’t you move around when you sleep?”
    â€œHow should I know? I’m asleep.” He still looked a little dazed but also amused if the quirk of his lips was any indication.
    â€œRight.” Eva laughed, and it sounded loud and awkward. But then she was standing in a bedroom with her boss . Picking up an empty glass from the nightstand, she headed for the bathroom. “I’ll refill this for you.”
    â€œEva, I’m fine.”
    She returned with the water. Setting the glass gingerly on the table, she chanced a peek at Adam. “I’m so sorry about this.”
    He held up his hand. “We can talk about it in the morning.”
    â€œOkay.” She hurried to the armoire and pulled out a handmade quilt to drape across the foot of the bed. “In case you get cold. My cousin Steve made this with Grandma Marsh. Pretty cool, huh?”
    He smiled. “Good night, Eva.”
    She felt her face flush. “Good night, Peece.”
    Â 
    Adam woke in the morning feeling oddly refreshed if a little weak. He’d slept ten hours straight according to his watch. Wait, that ten hours had been interrupted by a midnight check from Eva that had spooked him. Like an apparition from a ghost story, he’d woken to her hand hovering near his mouth. The memory of her huge eyes had him wondering if she’d been real or a product of his dreams.
    He flung the covers back and stepped onto the chilly hardwood floor. Weak light filtered into the room. Shuffling to the window, he peeked through lace curtains. Big fat snowflakes fell, blanketing the orchard in yet another layer of white.
    Adam needed to get out there and help finish the pruning. Eva had probably started without him. He ran his hand through his hair and knew a shower was his first priority.
    When he stepped downstairs, instead of finding the kitchen empty, Eva leaned against the counter wearing a baggy sweatshirt over even baggier flannel pajama bottoms spotted with pink poodles. She sipped coffee and stared at a warm fire bobbing in the woodstove. The place smelled like vanilla and cinnamon.
    â€œHey.”
    Eva’s eyes widened and she immediately straightened. “How do you feel?”
    â€œMuch better. And thanks for washing my clothes.”
    â€œIt’s the least I could do after—”
    â€œPoisoning me?” He liked they way her cheeks turned rosy-red.
    â€œWhy didn’t you tell me you were allergic?”
    He shrugged. “I don’t know. They looked like Tylenol to me, so I just figured they were.”
    She gave him a sad expression as if she’d run oversomeone’s cat. “I feel terrible. What if you went into shock or something?”
    â€œI did, but you girls saved the day.”
    â€œBeth’s good at that. She’s quick in a crisis. Maybe it’s a teacher thing.