Resurrection River: Men of Mercy, Book 2 Read Free Page B

Everest.
    Reckless rage followed the trill of anticipation coursing through her veins. She flew closer. Ranger leaned against his truck, long jean clad legs crossed ankle over ankle. That gleaming head of blond hair. Her mouth watered. She could see his biceps from here.
    Power lines. Oh shit. Amy whipped beneath them at the last second, buzzing within feet of her own version of regret. Get it together. Mistakes. Distractions. Death sentence.
    Her entire body hummed with energy. Fury. And unmistakable lust. Amy gritted her teeth. Any southerner with half a cylinder firing knew the people of Mercy would shred her reputation like a John Deere tractor shredded grass.
    A widow only eight months after the funeral wasn’t allowed to date. It wouldn’t matter that her bed was as empty as her bank account.
    And had been empty way before he left.
    Her bank account was in desperate need of funds. She’d bet all her money on the farm. Literally. Ranger and his too tempting lips could sink her fast.
    If she didn’t fly, she and her daughter didn’t eat.
    Two more passes. That’s all she had to do. Two more. Keep it level. Precise. Her plane shook, metal rattled but she kept going. Grandpa Silo promised her his fifty-year-old plane could get the job done.
    She made the wide turn, slowed a split second and took a breath. Ranger was just a man. Just a man. Just a man.
    A man she’d been secretly in love with since high school.
    Calm was definitely not on her radar. She pushed down, increased speed, wanting to rip a little hair off his head as she whipped past. The ground rushed up. Her muscles contracted. She gripped the stick. Hard.
    She hit the chemical release button too early and gave Ranger a bath in herbicide.
    That would teach the man not to show up at Smith’s field. On her time clock.
    She finished this pass going ten miles an hour faster and barely yanked up in time. The treetops slapped her wheels. Then she was flying toward the clouds. Last round. Forget another hour of work.
    She couldn’t stop the flash of images in her mind. Her fight with Shane. Her dreams about Ranger. Her husband’s coffin. Her heart squeezed tight. She leveled out too close to the field but didn't care. She hit the release.
    Ranger wasn’t leaning against his truck anymore. He was waving his arms like a mad man and yelling. She didn’t have to get close to know he was cursing.
    Amy flew so low she risked taking the tops off the soybeans. She lined up. A few feet behind Ranger’s truck. Throttled the engine. The crop duster groaned, shimmied, but held together. One hundred twenty mph. She kept a careful eye to make sure her spray speeds didn’t saturate the plants. One hundred mph.
    Ranger stopped doing the angry dance and backed up to his truck. Amy let go of the chemical button. Skimmed beneath the power lines and lifted her hand to Ranger in a salute that conveyed every emotion in her body.
    And she did it with a smile.

3
    Chapter 3
    S he flipped him the bird .
    Shock rooted Ranger’s boots in the gravel as good as instant cement. Anger struck up a strong beat in his chest. Amy Carter had lost her ever-loving mind.
    His eyes stung, watered. He ran to his truck and grabbed a towel from the back seat. Scrubbing his face with the cloth made the sting worse. His arms and legs prickled.
    Ranger stripped to his boxers like fire ants invaded his pants. Then he threw his soaked clothes in the back and grabbed a fresh pair of jeans from his duffle. At least she was spraying herbicide today. That particular chemical wasn’t poisonous.
    He’d been on his way to a new undercover op. One that required some overnighters. And he’d wanted to see Amy before he left. Make sure she was okay. Even if she’d told him to stop coming around. He just couldn’t get the woman off his mind.
    The chemical bath made her opinion all too clear. She wasn’t just scared of a relationship, she was angry. And he hadn’t done a damn thing to deserve it. But he sure