Restoration
As she pulled into the farmyard, she admired the neat order of the property. Within steps of the front porch, a male voice stopped her in her tracks.
"Can I help you?"
She turned in the direction of the voice. No way was this Mr. Tobias. He was young and not old-fashioned in any way. His brown hair looked sun-streaked and a bit shaggy. He stood tall, well over six feet; dirty blue jeans rode low on his hips and a T-shirt stretched across his chest and broad shoulders. The distance between them was covered in seconds by his long-legged strides. Her heart skipped a beat as he approached.
"I'm here for a meeting with Mr. Tobias." She shaded her eyes against the sun to peer into his eyes when he stopped beside her. They were a dark-brown color and cast a smoldering look at her.
"I don't recall any scheduled meeting." He removed his work gloves and extended his hand. "Seth Tobias."
"Alexandra Lyon with the Wetland Foundation. Please call me Alex."
Their handshake went longer than normal. Neither dropped the other's hand; their eyes met and held. She experienced a tingle through her body from the first touch of his fingers.
"The Wetland Foundation? Doesn't ring a bell."
"I'm here to meet with Mitchell Tobias." She dug out the letter from her tote.
"He's my uncle, or rather, he was my uncle. He died last week." Seth shifted his weight from foot to foot and released a deep sigh. "This meeting with him, what was the subject supposed to be?"
"I'm so sorry for your loss. We can discuss this at a more appropriate time; I'm sorry to have bothered you." Alex turned away while she wondered how her boss would react to this news.
"No, wait!" Seth's left hand shot out and grasped her elbow. "Please wait." He released her arm and ran his hand over the back of his neck. "Would you show me his letter?"
"Certainly." She held out the letter for him to take, and, after a slight delay, he accepted it.
"Thank you." Seth read his uncle's letter and handed the pages back. "I have work to finish in the fields right now. Afterward, I can meet with you as he requested. Can you stay here for a few hours?"
"A few hours?" Alex tucked the letter into her tote. At the nod of his head, she continued, "I don't have anything else to do, so sure."
His smile addled her senses. Why did he affect her on such a sensual level?
"Great! Make yourself at home. You'll find iced tea in the fridge. I'll be back as soon as I can."
"No hurry as I have nothing else on my calendar for the day or the week."
"Okay. Don't go anywhere; I'll be back." He smiled at her before he turned away and jogged toward an old pickup. Once in the truck, he drove down the drive and turned left. The dust cloud behind the truck intensified after the turn.
Alex's eyes followed him; she admired his athleticism and tried to control her reaction to him.