Coming Up Roses Read Free Page B

and smudged white apron, she was just about the prettiest little gal Zach had ever clapped eyes on. Her sable hair was as shiny as hot fudge before it lost its gloss. Even narrowed in anger, her eyes were the biggest thing about her face and the softest brown he had ever seen.
    A man of lofty stature with considerable bulk, Zach had always fancied taller women with more substantial builds, but Kathryn Blakely was proof that small didn't necessarily equate to less. Though delicate of frame, she was well proportioned and pleasantly rounded in all the right places.
    Nosy barked and executed some more fancy footwork to avoid another swing of the broom. Set off-balance, Kathryn Blakely did a sidestep and was brought to a reeling stop by the rose branch that was still tangled in her hair. Zach winced and decided he'd better bring this to a stop before the fool woman hurt herself.
    The instant Zach shifted in the saddle to dismount, Nosy spotted him and promptly ceased his mischief. With a whine of greeting, the dog dropped to his haunches, tongue lolling, his expression angelic.
    Kathryn Blakely, still anchored, twisted to look up, her large brown eyes filled with surprise. A blush of what Zach guessed to be embarrassment dotted the flawless ivory of her cheeks. The little girl threw a frightened glance over her shoulder, gasped, and then skedaddled toward the barn like a pebble launched from a bean flip.
    Kathryn Blakely gazed after her fleeing daughter with unmistakable longing in her expression, but held her ground. Not, Zach was sure, because courage bolstered her but because the rose branch would snatch her bald-headed if she did otherwise.
    The combined reactions of mother and child, not to mention Nosy's, made Zach feel none too welcome. "It looks like my dog has stirred up a peck of trouble." He finished dismounting and looped Dander's reins around the saddle horn. "I'm so sorry about this. He got out of his pen when I wasn't lookin' and took off."
    All things considered, Zach thought his opening was as good as any and neighborly. Kathryn Blakely didn't seem to share the sentiment. Still bent sideways, she held the broom as if she intended to thump him a good one if he got too close.
    Zach shuffled his boots and then remembered his manners enough to take off his hat. He no sooner did than he recalled the stir his hair was probably in and clapped the hat back on, backward and cockeyed. He gave it a jerk to put it right and cleared his throat, which made Kathryn Blakely start.
     
    Zach couldn't figure out what her problem was. He knew he wasn't very pretty to look at, but he had never scared anybody speechless. For the second time in less than ten minutes, he found himself trying to look at things from someone else's perspective, first from Nosy's, and now from Kathryn Blakely's. And damned if it hadn't been easier to think like a dog.
    He guessed she must be uneasy because her farm was isolated and he was a stranger. A large stranger, by her measuring stick. She wasn't much bigger than a minute, and he stood a head taller and a good measure broader than most men.
    "I'm Zachariah McGovern, your new neighbor," he tried.
    She brought the broom up a tad higher. So much for polite introductions. Zach glanced around, not quite sure why. A mutual acquaintance wasn't likely to appear out of thin air to introduce them properly.
    He jabbed a thumb toward his place. "That's my spread over yonder."
    She didn't look in the direction he pointed.
    "I've been meaning to mosey over before this, but the work has kept me too busy." He eyed her tangled hair. "If you'll set that broom down, I'll get you loose from there." Her knuckles whitened as she tightened her grip.
    Zach decided that he'd live through it if she tried to lop his head off. Slowly so as not to frighten her, he moved in. "You're in a fine fix. Let me see what I can do to get you untangled, hm?"
    She jerked when he settled his hands on her hair. The splay of his long fingers