Read All I Want Is You (A Chester Farms Novella) for Free Online Page B

parents. Not yet. "It'll be nice."
    He nodded. "It will be."
    "Okay."
    "Okay," he echoed. He started away, but turned back. "Tasha?"
    Her chest was tight as she lifted her gaze and met his. "Yes?"
    He reached forward, but fisted his hand and brought it back to his side.

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter Five
     
    Patrick lifted the ham platter to his shoulders as Whitney ducked under his arms on her trip back to the kitchen. Five minutes until eating time and he was hungry enough to eat all twenty pounds of pork on the tray he carried. Then the dressing next with the turkey, rolls, mashed potatoes, green beans, cranberry sauce and whatever else might be along the twelve foot table. By the time all the food was on the table, there wouldn't be an inch of empty space. He'd dipped celery and cucumbers in ranch all morning that he shouldn't be this hungry.
    He lowered the plate on the end near Sam's chair. Sweet, maple, and pineapple scented off the top and his stomach rumbled right on cue. He rubbed his belly. "I hope we're about ready."
    Mrs. Jana came out with the bowl of mashed potatoes and grinned his way. "Almost. Can you help Tasha with the glasses?"
    Absolutely. When they got to the house that morning, she was shuffled right into the kitchen to help with food. He hadn't seen much of her since and even then, she was right with Mrs. Jana, leaning over a pot of some kind and following instructions. That hadn't exactly been how he thought this day would go since Whitney had always spent the entire morning with them on the couch watching the parade. Whitney wasn’t much for cooking if it wasn't microwaveable. Maybe Tasha liked it. There was still a whole afternoon and evening ahead and he planned to make the most of it, starting right now.
    He counted heads once again. He'd counted everyone this morning when he'd pulled plates from the china cabinet, but it never hurt to double check. Never knew when someone would pop through the backdoor when he wasn't looking. Two adults, three kids, three friends of the oldest Chester sibling, friend of Mrs. Jana and that woman's daughter and he and Tasha. There were no limits on the number of chairs that could be squeezed around a Chester dinner table.
    Only twelve still so far. That wasn't right. He looked to Mrs. Jana. "Don't we usually have close to thirty?"
    The big smile on her face softened a little. "My sister and her family aren't coming this time. She has a stomach bug, so they're all staying in Texas and doing a meal for her."
    He looked to the dinner table. There was still a meal for at least forty-five laid out. "Sorry to hear that. I've been thinking they were just running late. Hope she's doing better."
    "She is. Just a little puny. I'll get to see her at Christmas when we go down."
    "When are y'all leaving out?"
    The smile was back. "Two weeks."
    "Isn't that later than usual?"
    “We're delaying a week this year just to make sure all the stomach stuff has passed before we go down there."
    "Don't blame you." He pushed away from the chair he'd been leaning on and crossed through the doorway into the kitchen to help Tasha with the glasses. He grabbed a breath before seeing her since she was good at taking what little air he could manage. Hell, he wasn't sure he'd even recovered from Tuesday night when he'd almost kissed her.
    The way her lids had lowered halfway and her chin turned up to him haunted all over his mind. He'd wanted to take a step back. Save up a little money, at least have a week's paycheck before getting too involved. He shook his head as his heart kicked it up another notch. Can't say he didn't try. He just had to hope Whitney was right and Tasha wouldn’t care that he couldn’t take her anywhere.
    He slipped around the island as the crunch of ice sounded and another cup landed on the bar in the line already there. As much as he tried to prepare before seeing her, there just wasn’t anything he could do to tone down his reaction.
    She was