For the Love of God Read Free

mention the tow charges you’re saving me. Thank you for stopping.”
    “Just being a Good Samaritan,” he replied, that easy smile coming again to his mouth.
    With the coolant, water, and tape from his car, he patched the hose and partially filled Mabel’s radiator. “The old gal ought to make it now,” he said as he closed the hood and made sure it was tightly latched.
    “It isn’t enough to say ‘thank you,’” Abbie insisted. “You not only fixed it but you used your tape and water and everything. Let me pay you for it.”
    He opened his mouth to refuse, then suddenly smiled. It seemed to take her breath away as her heart started thudding crazily. Love wasn’t something that happened at first sight but physical attraction could. It was often equally potent, however, and Abbie knew she was suffering from a severe case of it.
    “Were those fresh peaches I smelled in the sack on the car seat?” he asked instead.
    “Yes.” Abbie nodded while she studied the way the afternoon sun intensified the burnished gold color of his hair, antiquing it.
    “If you insist on paying me, I’ll take a couple of those peaches. Homegrown fruit has a taste all its own,” he said.
    “Okay, it’s a deal.” She laughed and walked to the passenger side to retrieve the sack through the opened car window. “Help yourself. You can have the whole sack. Grandmother Klein will just give me more next weekend.”
    “Two’s plenty.” He randomly picked two from the sack. “I’ll follow you into Eureka Springs to make sure you don’t have any more trouble with Mabel. I’ll be stopping there, and I advise that you stop at the first garage and get a new hose put on.”
    “I will.” It was a somewhat absentminded agreement, because her attention had been caught by his statement that he’d be stopping at Eureka Springs. “Eureka Springs is a quaint town. Will you be staying there awhile?”
    “Yes, I plan to,” he admitted, and she was conscious of his gaze running over her again.
    “You’ll like it,” she rushed, only half-aware that he had been going to say something else. As a rule, she didn’t socialize with summer tourists. A holiday romance was even more of a dead end than any other kind. But there was no doubt in her mind that she wanted to see this man again. “By the way, my name’s Abbie Scott. You’ve already met Mabel.”
    “Abbie? Short for Abra?” He arched an eyebrow.
    Abbie was dumbfounded. “How did you know that? Most people think my name is Abigail.”
    One muscled shoulder was lifted in an expressive shrug. “It just seemed appropriate. Abra was the favorite of Solomon in the Bible. A lucky guess.” He extended a hand to complete the introductions. “My name’s Talbot. Seth Talbot.”
    “That’s a biblical name, too.” Abbie was reluctant to admit she hadn’t known anything about her namesake. Since he seemed so knowledgeable about it, she didn’t want to reveal her ignorance.
    “Seth was the third son of Adam,” he informed her. “Not quite as well known as his older brothers, Cain and Abel.”
    “That’s true.” She smiled. Her hand tingled pleasantly in his firm clasp. He had very strong, capable hands, but they were relatively smooth, without the calluses of someone who made his living with them. It didn’t really surprise her. Despite his hard physique and craggy good looks, there was the definite impression of a man who relied on his mental prowess and innate air of command for his living.
    Then he was releasing her hand to gather up his empty jugs and roll of black tape. “If you start to have any trouble, just honk twice. I’ll be right behind you,” Seth Talbot assured her.
    “Okay.” She watched him walk along the grassy verge to his car and stow the things in the backseat.
    Oncoming traffic permitted her to observe him as he swung over the low passenger door and into the driver’s seat. Abbie waited until the road was clear to walk to the driver’s side of hercar