Return to Lone Oak (Harlequin Heartwarming) Read Online Free

shouldn’t have to live surrounded by the memories of my first wife.” He reached out and took her shoulders firmly in his hands, forcing her to look at him again. “I’m sorry, Katie, but I’m selling the house. The sign’s going back in the front yard. If you don’t put it out there again, I will.”
    He waited, eyeing her resolutely. Feeling defeated and knowing she couldn’t win this battle, Katie went over to the sign and picked it up. As she focused on the handwritten phone number that had signified “home” for so long, her throat nearly closed on her. She hurried outside as the tears spilled down her cheeks.

CHAPTER TWO
    N OAH PAUSED WITH the lawn mower running and pulled off his T-shirt to wipe the sweat from his face. Humidity was for the birds. He’d spent months without modern conveniences in the blistering heat of Africa, and he’d been fine. Three weeks back in the Midwest and he found that he wanted to weep like a baby any time he was out in the sun too long. What was wrong with him? He’d grown up mowing this gargantuan piece of land. He knew, though, that he wasn’t the same as he used to be. Never would be again. While the damage from his time abroad was supposedly all psychological, he recognized a physical difference, as well. Or maybe he was just getting old. He felt old. Exhausted. Even though he was only thirty-six.
    No matter how wimpy he’d become, though, he’d much prefer taking care of this task to letting his dad do it. Apparently, his old man had been handling all the lawn care by himself. Noah couldn’t figure out what was going through the older man’s head to make him think that was okay. He was almost retirement age and he had enough money to hire a full-time gardener if he wanted to. All Noah wanted was for him to stop the hardcore stuff, like lawn mowing. He could dig in the dirt to his heart’s content. Even buying a riding mower would make more sense than pushing one over this huge lawn.
    Noah winged his wet shirt onto the grass he’d already mowed and started down a new row when his mom caught his eye, waving like a possessed woman from the back door.
    Not entirely upset at having to stop and take a break, he turned off the mower and strode toward the house.
    “Miss me already?”
    “Noah, the heat index is one hundred and four degrees. You’re a doctor, for goodness’ sake. You know it’s not good to be out working in this weather.”
    “Want a hug?” He went toward her with his arms outspread, threatening to soak her in sweat.
    She glared at him over the rims of her glasses as they walked inside.
    “Speaking of working in the heat, once I move out we need to hire a lawn-care service for you and Dad.”
    “Have fun telling him that,” she said. “He’s the original lawn warrior. And if you even hint that he can’t handle it anymore...” She shook her head sympathetically, as if he’d be a goner. “Lemonade’s on the table. Sit down and have a drink.”
    “Dad’s getting too old to mow.” He looked for the pitcher. “Is it fresh squeezed?”
    “Have you ever known me to buy that frozen garbage in a can?”
    “No, ma’am,” he said with the most sober face he could muster. To his mom, lemonade was serious business. It always had been.
    “Well, then.”
    Noah washed his hands at the sink and bent over to splash cold water on his face.
    “You should mow first thing in the morning, before it gets so hot. Not in the heat of the day after a full eight hours at work.”
    “I have a job first thing in the morning.”
    “The grass will wait till the weekend.”
    “It’ll be a foot tall by the weekend. Mom, I’m young. Doing fine. I need the exercise.” He sat at the kitchen table and poured lemonade from the old-fashioned pitcher into a tall glass. The familiarity of all this made him think, once again, how good it was to be back home.
    “You need to relax. Take some time off. Stop working so hard, Noah.”
    “Work is good for the