Finally Home Read Online Free

charming--and that mesmerizing smile wasn’t helping either! Once again, she had to brush away her attraction to him. She couldn’t let herself fall for someone who wanted to sell the ranch! After she opened her heart to him about loving it, he wanted to snatch it away, along with her happiness! How could she still be so enamored with him? She unwittingly stared at him, trying to figure him out.
    “ You sure fade away on me a lot,” Noah’s gruff voice penetrated Amanda’s thoughts. He walked toward her, the wood floor creaking beneath his boots.
    When she felt his warm hand on her cheek, she jumped. “What are you doing?”
    He watched her back away from him. “Seeing if you’re still alive. You were standing there like a zombie.”
    “ I have work to finish tonight, Noah. I think our conversation is over,” she began clearing three days worth of newspaper from her couch.
    Circling his arms around her waist, he pulled her back from the couch. “You seemed very happy to see me earlier today. Just like the girl I used to know. So why are you being so cold and distant all of the sudden?”
    She managed to scrape up enough strength to pull free from his intoxicating embrace. “Noah, I’m not that girl anymore, as you can see.”
    His hazel eyes roamed over her, dark with admiration. “Yes, I can.”
    She blushed brightly. “What I meant was--I, oh never mind!”
    He sighed. “Before I go, I have to know that you’re not upset with me.”
    “ Sorry, I’ll be upset with you until you drop this crazy idea of selling Moonlight Ranch,” she strolled toward the kitchen and hoped Noah would get the hint and leave. She was finding it increasingly hard to hold back her feelings.
    Unfortunately, he didn’t get the hint. He was promptly in the kitchen doorway, his tall frame blocking any chance for Amanda to escape. “My father is not in good health.”
    She turned on her computer and looked him straight in the eye. “What are you saying? What’s wrong with him?”
    “ I don’t want to go into it, Amanda. But he’s not getting any better. And that’s why convincing him to sell the ranch is the best thing. All the work he’s doing is taking the life away from him.”
    “ Selling the ranch would be taking the life away from him, Noah. Can’t you understand that?”
    The vulnerable glimmer in his eyes turned into a hard glare. “I know my father better than anyone. So don’t tell me I don’t understand him, Amanda.”
    She sighed, and flopped into a chair behind the table. “We’re never going to agree on what’s best, Noah. And I’ve got some business to wrap up before calling it a night. Tell Maria that I said thanks for dinner.”
    He cocked his head to one side and squinted at her. “Are you dismissing me, Miss Brookfield?”
    “ Look, I have work to do,” her voice held an edge of impatience. “And I don’t want to be up all night.”
    Noah approached the table and leaned over the laptop computer. Amanda started typing furiously, pretending to ignore him. “No kiss goodnight?”
    Her eyes widened in shock. “W-what are you talking about?”
    He smiled slyly and cupped her face in his hands. Moving quickly, before she resisted, he brushed her parted lips with his own. It was a quick kiss, very innocent.
    But as Noah pulled away, Amanda found it hard to breathe. She licked her tingling lips and avoided looking at him. “Charming me will not change how I feel about selling the ranch,” she blurted out.
    “ I’m really glad that you’re here, Amanda. That’s why I kissed you,” he slowly moved toward the doorway.
    She didn’t respond. Her mind was spinning with the confusion Noah was causing. What was he doing? Playing games with her? Or trying to resume the friendship they had as kids? Or could he actually be romancing her?
    Noah took her blank stare to mean she was upset with him again. “Well, I guess I’ll see you around,” he snapped his fingers, as a thought popped into his head.