KATIE DIDN’T EXPECT Brendan to be up at four again the next morning. She assumed he would finally balk at his rude introduction to farm life and would sleep in or, worse, split in the middle of the night. She would have deserved it, too. But there he was, standing in the kitchen, fully dressed and pouring coffee into two mugs when she came down the stairs.
“You’re still here,” she blurted.
“I am,” he said placidly.
She was surprised and had no real idea what to make of it. “How’d you sleep?” she asked simply because the silence demanded filling.
“We’re doing small talk now?” Brendan handed her one of the mugs.
“We are at this hour, yeah.”
Brendan shrugged. “Let’s say the work means I didn’t notice the springs in my back as much I could.”
Katie bristled. But before she could snap at
