Give Em Pumpkin To Talk About (Pumpkin Patch Mysteries Book 1) by Joyce Lavene, Jim Lavene

could find a cart by the barn.
    After Sheriff Morgan’s more detailed explanation about Jack’s life, she felt less nervous knowing he was out there somewhere. Maybe he really was just a Good Samaritan who felt he owed her grandparents a debt. At least she knew that the sheriff didn’t trust him blindly—that made her feel better.
    Despite everything, she liked the sheriff and thought he was trying to do a good job. With no other law enforcement in Misty River, he had a big responsibility patrolling the county and keeping up with the towns in it. She thought he was doing his best trying to catch George Burris’s killer when he’d asked her to come in.
    Knowing Jack lived in the barn made her tread carefully around it as she searched for a wagon or cart she could load pumpkins on. If she had to drag them one at a time to the car, she’d probably give up after only a few.
    The barn was still in good condition, like the house. It needed a coat of paint, but Jack had apparently kept it up too. She heard the kittens calling for their mother as she looked around outside the structure. The door was closed. For all she knew, Jack was inside sleeping. She didn’t want to disturb him.
    But the kittens kept calling. The mother cat was at her feet, rubbing her head against Sarah’s leg. With the door closed, maybe the cat couldn’t get in to be with them. Sarah stood on her tiptoes to peek in the dirty window, but she couldn’t see anything.
    “I guess you really need to get in there, don’t you?” She stroked the cat’s fur.
    The cat meowed back at her and began rubbing her head against the closed door. Sarah carefully opened it just an inch or so to let her in.
    “I thought you said you didn’t want to see my place,” Jack said from behind her.
    She jumped, and that made her angry. “Do you always have to creep up on me like that?”
    “No.” He smiled. “It’s just fun watching you jump.”
    “I’m glad you were entertained.” She slammed the barn door closed. “I was just letting the cat in to be with her babies.”
    “I thought as much.”
    She saw a small cart on the other side of the door and walked to it, hoping he’d disappear again. The cart was rusty and impossible to pull. Maybe some oil on those wheels?
    “What are you doing?”
    Sarah stared at him. He was a few inches taller than Ron Broadwell, but Ron was stockier. It was hard to tell what size Jack was under those horrible, old clothes.
    Not that she was wondering what he looked like under his clothes. She didn’t think of him that way. Her face was just hot from the sun shining on it. Really? She was too old to get embarrassed thinking about any man. And why was she comparing Ron to Jack? She needed to get back to her old life—maybe improve on her old life.
    “I’m looking for a wagon or something to pull some pumpkins to the car. I want to give some to Mr. Pope for cutting the grass.”
    “He doesn’t need anything for cutting the grass.”
    “Maybe you don’t think so. But I’m going to the barn-raising tomorrow, and I want to take something with me.”
    “You surprise me. I don’t surprise easy.” He slowly smiled at her.
    “Thanks, I guess.” She walked away from the rusted cart. “It doesn’t matter. I’ll just pick a few and put them in the car.”
    “I have a better idea. Wait right here.”
    He went into the barn. Sarah didn’t know what to expect, but she waited. Maybe he was going to offer to help her move the pumpkins. Or maybe he decided to take a nap. What did he do all day every day out here?
    She heard the sound of an engine starting inside the barn. There were double doors on the other side. She ran to see what was going on.
    Jack came out on an old tractor, pulling a large cart behind it. She remembered her grandfather driving that tractor. She didn’t remember it being so loud.
    “I didn’t know it still worked,” she shouted above the sound.
    “Of course it still works.”
    “Why didn’t you cut