Harvest Moon (Brook Haven Romance Book 1) (4 page)

Drake stepped into his
uncle’s small but obsessively neat house. Mac was unable to use his legs, but
he was very good with his arms and hands, and he kept his house immaculate. He
also had a little shop out back where he made hand-carved statues to sell at
the market. The shop was as neat as the rest of the house.

“Hey, Uncle Mac, here’s
your club.”

Mac rolled out of the
kitchen and smiled at his nephew. “Thank you. You’re a good boy.”

“Well, I owed it to you
after what my adopted children put you through today.” Drake sat down and Mac
began unwrapping his sandwich.

Mac grinned. “It was a
little touch and go there for a while. Did you talk to Brooke?”

“Yeah, she had dinner
with me. I thanked her. I’m sorry I didn’t hear the phone the first few times
you called. I must have had the sander on.”

Mac was chewing and
just waved his palm at his nephew. He swallowed and said, “You were at work. I
wouldn’t have even called, but I couldn’t stand the idea of you coming home to
find two dead little kits. I’m glad Brooke was available. She came right out.”

“She said they didn’t
know how to … go to the bathroom?”

Mac laughed. “Yes,
apparently it’s something they have to be taught—who knew? The poor little
things were swollen and just miserable. Brooke massaged their little bellies
until they finally did their business and they looked so relieved. They curled
up and went to sleep right afterwards.”

“Where are they?”

“In the kitchen,” he
said.

“The kitchen?”

“Yeah, the heating pad
was a good idea, but Brooke also wanted them underneath a light. The one in the
kitchen is the brightest I have.”

“Okay … maybe we can go
into the vet business with Sam after this.”

Mac laughed again. “No
thank you. I’ll leave the animal business to you.”

“Brooke said you did a
great job with them.”

“Not a problem,” Mac
said. “I hope I didn’t cause you any problems with your new client.”

“I think it’ll be okay …
but it’s not your fault anyhow.”

“You think? Was she
angry? Damn, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have called—”

“Yes, you should have.
I don’t think she was angry … she’s a hard one to figure out. She looks like a
porcelain doll. Everything about her is intriguing. She was so excited and
positive the first couple of times I talked to her, but today she was just … maybe
stressed out or something. I’m not sure …” Mac was grinning at him. “What?”

“You like her.”

Drake laughed. “I’m not
in fifth grade, Uncle Mac.”

Laughing too, Mac said,
“You know what I mean. You should have seen your face when you just talked
about how pretty she is. You have a little crush on the lady boss.”

Drake rolled his eyes, but
the truth was that Mac was right. In spite of the fact that he couldn’t figure
out if the lady liked him or not, she set his insides on fire.

****

For the rest of that
week and the entire week that followed, excluding Sunday when he went to the
market, Drake worked from sunup to sundown at the Harvest Moon Inn. He finished
the front porch, repaired the steps on the stairs, and started replacing some
of the fixtures throughout the house that were broken or not working. He was
exhausted when he got home at night and he still had his own chores to do
around the little farm. Hooter missed him a lot, and so did Mac.

Mac understood that it
wasn’t forever—Hooter didn’t. He’d taken to chewing things up and bringing his
“hunting trophies,” like the heads of field mice or the tails of garden snakes,
up on the front porch and leaving them there for Drake to find when he got
home. He hoped that once his schedule returned to normal, his relationship with
his dog would as well.

He was thankful that
Mac seemed to be really enjoying taking care of the kits. He’d named them Todd
and Copper from the movie
The Fox and the
Hound
. Thankfully since Drake had been so busy, Brooke had been around to
help them out with the babies and keep them healthy.

Brooke was Drake’s
childhood sweetheart. They’d long since decided the love they had for each
other was more like siblings or friends than lovers, but since she’d come home
from medical school and opened up a clinic in town, they’d remained good
friends.

His only worry about
the kits was that Mac was so attached to them now. He wasn’t sure how he’d deal
with it when Sam came home later that week and found a rescue habitat to take
them in. Mac was fond of talking about how his sister and his nephew loved
taking in strays, but Drake had begun to wonder lately if maybe Mac needed a
pet of his own to chase away some of his loneliness.

Sophie had been working
so hard herself that Drake hadn’t had much of a chance to see her. She spent a
lot of time on the decorations for the guest rooms and running back and forth
into town to pick up deliveries at the post office. The Harvest Festival was
only four weeks away now and there was still a lot to do. He felt for her, but
she seemed wound up so tightly that he found himself wishing she would just
take an afternoon off and relax. On the Friday of the second week, after Sophie
had left for town, her mother called to him from the kitchen.

“Drake, I made some
lunch. Why don’t you take a break and come have some with me?”

“You don’t have to feed
me, Mrs. Michelson.”

She smiled. “I know I
don’t have to, but I’ve got fried chicken and mashed potatoes and biscuits—all
my Southern specialties. I hate to eat alone. Join me, please.”

“Well, ma’am, when you
put it that way …” he said with a grin. He went inside and washed his hands at
the sink. The new appliances had been delivered a few days ago, and it seemed
like Mrs. Michelson had spent the morning breaking them in. The air in the
kitchen smelled almost good enough to eat, and Drake was suddenly starving. He
sat down at the table and said, “This all looks so delicious, Mrs. Michelson. Thank
you for the invitation.”

“It’s Brenda, and
you’re welcome. Dig in.”

He fixed his plate and
Brenda fixed one for herself. As they started eating, she said, “You’ve lived
in Brook Haven all of your life, Drake?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Does your family still
live in the area?”

“My parents are gone,”
he said. “My father passed away about seven years ago and my mother a couple
years after that.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Thank you. I miss them
a lot. I’m an only child, but I do have an uncle who lives on the family
property with me. He’s the only real family I have left. The good thing about
Brook Haven is that we pretty much all know each other and it’s like a big, sometimes
slightly dysfunctional family.”

She laughed. “I’m
finding that out, the family part. Every time I go into town I make another new
friend, and everyone has been so warm and welcoming. I have to tell you too,
Drake, I haven’t met anyone yet that didn’t have a kind word to say about you.”

“Well, that’s nice of
you to say.”

“I’m not just saying it.
It’s true. Your parents must have been incredible people because it seems they
did a great job with you.”

He felt his face flush
slightly at her praise. “Thank you, ma’am. They were pretty amazing people.”

“Sophie’s an only child
too. I regret that sometimes. She does have a lot of aunts, uncles, and cousins
down south because her father and I both had large families. But I still feel
like when I pass on, I’ll be leaving her all alone.”

“I’m sure that will be
far in the future,” he said. He hated talking about people passing away. Uncle
Mac tried to rope him into that conversation sometimes too, and he always
passed. To be polite, he said, “Maybe she’ll be married by then and have her
own family.”

Brenda got a faraway look
in her eyes for a second, and then she smiled and said, “Maybe … but Sophie’s
always been so independent and focused on her goals that I wonder if she’ll
ever decide to start her own family. What about you, Drake? Have you ever been
married?”

“No ma’am.”

“Do you mind if I ask
you why? I mean, you’re a handsome young man, a hard worker, polite from what
I’ve seen …” She handed him the plate of biscuits, and he took another as he
felt his face go hot again.

“Thank you. Well, when
I was nineteen, I actually thought that I was in love for a while. It turned
out that the girl and I were more cut out to be friends, and so eight years
later, we still are. I spend a lot of time keeping my little farm running and
working. It’s kind of hard to meet anyone you don’t know in Brook Haven unless
it’s a tourist in the fall. I don’t think I’d be happy doing the long-distance
relationship thing.”

She smiled. “And the
girls you already know feel like family?”

He grinned. “Exactly.”

“Maybe you and Sophie
could spend some time together outside of all of this work. She’s a really nice
girl.”

Drake suppressed a
smile. Brenda was trying to set him up with her daughter. Little did she know
he’d like nothing more—but in the two weeks he’d known her, Sophie hadn’t done
anything to indicate to him that she’d even be remotely interested. As a matter
of fact, most of the time she seemed to go out of her way to do the opposite.
At first she just acted annoyed with him all the time; lately it seemed like
she was avoiding him altogether.

“I’m not so sure that
would interest your daughter,” he said honestly.
 

“You never know …”
Brenda got a mischievous smile on her face and Drake couldn’t hold his back any
longer. She was really trying to set him up with her daughter—and he actually found
himself hoping that it worked.

After lunch, he
insisted on helping Brenda clean up. They were washing dishes together and laughing
at some of his stories about the town and the locals when Sophie returned.
Judging by the raised eyebrow she gave them both before retreating up the
stairs without saying a word, she wasn’t happy about catching him bonding with
her mother. He had to wonder again if he and Brenda were just kidding
themselves that Sophie would ever be interested in him in more than a
professional sense.

They finished cleaning
up in silence, and when they were done, Drake said, “I should get back to work.
Thank you again for lunch … and the conversation.”

“Drake, about Sophie … she
doesn’t mean anything toward you personally. She’s such a nice girl, and she
just needs to realize that life is about more than work. She’s always been way too
serious. When she was younger I thought it was a good thing because she was so
mature and focused, but I’m beginning to see it taking a toll on her, and that
worries me.”

He smiled. “Don’t
worry, I’m not taking it personally. I’m just pretty sure if I asked her out,
she’d shoot me down.”

“I don’t want to put
any pressure on you. I’m sorry if it sounded that way.”

“It didn’t. I can tell
she’s a good person. Maybe once this place is up and running, she’ll be able to
relax a little bit.”

“I hope so,” Brenda
said.
 

Sophie was standing in
front of the mirror in her bathroom looking at herself, wondering when she had
become the girl who rarely smiled, when her mother knocked on her bedroom door.
“Come on in, Mom.” She stepped back into the room as her mother opened the door
and stepped inside.

Brenda put her hands on
her hips and furrowed her brow. Sophie felt like she was back in high school
and her mother had caught her doing something she wasn’t supposed to do. “What was
that all about?”

“What was what about?”
Sophie asked her. She knew full well what her mother was talking about, but she
didn’t have a good explanation.

“You were bordering on
rude just now when you walked right past Drake and me without even saying
hello. This is all so unlike you.”

Her mother was right … it
was unlike her. She just couldn’t for the life of her figure out what was going
on with her moods lately. “I’m sorry. I was just surprised when I came in to
find you and Drake laughing like old friends. Mom, he’s supposed to be here to
work—”

“Oh, stop it. That boy
works his tail off from sunup to sundown six days a week for you. He’s entitled
to take a break and eat a good meal and even have a few laughs. It wouldn’t
hurt you to have a few yourself.”

“You seem as smitten
with him as everyone in town is,” Sophie told her.

“He’s a really nice
person, Sophie. Maybe you should take a cue from all of these people and get to
know him better. It would do you good to have a friend your own age to do
things with.”

“I don’t have time to
get to know him or ‘do things’ with anyone. The Harvest Festival is in four
weeks. That means if I plan to open that weekend, I’ll have to begin
advertising by next week at the very latest. I’m not even sure we’ll be ready
by then, and I still have a list of jobs I need Drake to do—”

“Sophie, I thought we
decided that even if you didn’t get to open up that weekend, you were going to
be okay with that.”

“No, Mom … I admitted that
it wouldn’t be the end of the world, but the truth is, it really will be. If
we’re not offering beds on the busiest tourist weekend of the season, then it’s
all been for naught.”

“If you make yourself
sick by overdoing things, my dear daughter, you’ll never be able to enjoy the
outcome. I thought we were keeping the joy in this.”

“I feel it still, Mom,
in here.” Sophie pointed at her heart. “But I’ve worked too hard and dreamt of
this for too long to lose focus now.”

“Okay, so how about
this. You agree to give me just one day between now and the Harvest Festival … just
one.”

Sophie smiled at her
relentless mother. She knew she was worried so much about her because she was
so much like her father. Brenda believed that her husband’s heart attack was
related to the pressures he put on himself. Sophie hated making her mother
worry. She had uprooted her life for her daughter, and she’d been a huge help
in getting things set up. This was one small thing she could do to show her
appreciation. Besides, she was probably right and taking just one day off
wouldn’t make or break her deadline.

“What are we going to
do with this one day?” Sophie asked.

Her mother smiled
brightly now. “Since it’s my day, you’ll do whatever I ask.”

“That sounds ominous.”

Her mother laughed and
said, “Do you trust me?”

“Of course, I trust you
more than I trust anyone.”

“Good, then just trust
me and you’ll have a great day … but you have to relax.”

“Okay, when is this ‘day’?”
she asked.

“Tomorrow,” her mother
told her. “It’s Saturday and a lighter day for you normally, right? There won’t
be any deliveries, so no wall furnishings or curtains to put up.”

“Okay,” Sophie said
again, still reluctantly. She felt her stomach clenching at the thought of
losing all of those hours, but she needed to do this for her mother.

****

When Sophie went down for breakfast the next morning, she was surprised to
find Drake, and not her mother, in the kitchen. “Good morning,” he said with
that killer smile.

“Good morning.” She took the coffee mug he offered her and poured herself a
steaming cup full. She took a long sip of it before asking, “Have you seen my
mother?”

“Yes. She told me to give you this.” He handed Sophie a note, and she
furrowed her brow as she began to unfold it. She recognized her mother’s
handwriting right away:

Darling daughter
of mine … today is my day. So, what I would like for you to do is get out and
get some fresh air and really enjoy it. Drake has an extra bike for you. Please
be nice to him. I will see you soon. Have a great ride.

Sophie looked back up into Drake’s eyes. He was smiling. He had the most
perfect face that she’d ever seen … but what the heck did her mother think she
was doing conspiring with him? It didn’t matter how handsome he was, she was
not going on a bike ride with him. “Drake … what is she up to?”

“She wants you to relax. She’s worried about you. This mountain behind us
has some of the greatest bike trails in the world—you’ll love it! There are
also some really great trails through the apple orchards just south of us, and
lake trails too.”
 
 

“Drake, I don’t have time to go on a bike ride. You and my mother both know
how much there is still to do here—”

“Your mother said you promised to take the day off.”

Suddenly he was her mother’s confidante. “I did … but to spend it with her.
If she’s not even going to be here, I don’t see the point.” She felt bad as
soon as she said that.

His pretty brown eyes looked hurt for just a second, but then he covered it
quickly and said, “I think the point—if I’m understanding your mother—is that
she worries you work too hard and you need to take some time to smell the
roses, or in this case, the apples.” He grinned and in spite of herself, Sophie
had to smile back. He was so cute. “How about this. You can look at it as research
for your place.”

“Research?” she asked suspiciously.

“Yes. Have you done an actual tour of the countryside?”

“No.”

“Well, Brook Haven is a pretty tight little town, and you should know some
of the basics of what goes on here. Besides, I’m pretty sure your guests will
ask you for things like directions and about the bike trails and places to hike.
I know them all like the back of my hand. Also, you should check out your
competition. If you look at it that way, we’re both still working.”

He had a good point. She’d looked up the other two B&Bs that were close
by online, but she’d yet to see them in person. Maybe this wouldn’t be a wasted
day after all. “Okay … but it’s been a while since I rode a bike.”

He winked at her and said, “It’s just like riding a bicycle.”

Once again, in spite of herself, she laughed. “I’ll go change.”

“Good, I’ll get the bikes ready.”

Sophie changed into a pair of yoga pants and a stretchy t-shirt that she
usually wore to work out. She put on her tennis shoes and pulled her long hair
back into a ponytail, then grabbed a sweater and went back downstairs. She
found Drake out in front of the porch with two beach cruisers. “Why do you have
two bikes?” She suddenly remembered the blonde. She didn’t want to get in the
middle of any drama.

“I bought them at a garage sale and painted and fixed them up. I thought it
would be nice to have two in case anyone ever wanted to go on a ride with me.
And look … I was right.”

She took the handlebars of the blue bike from him and watched as he got a
wicker basket and a backpack out of his truck. He slung the pack onto his arms
and strapped the basket behind the seat of his bike. “Drake?”

“Yeah?”

“You don’t have someone who is going to get upset that you’re spending the
day with me, do you?”

He grinned, and as usual her insides quivered. “Why? Is this a date?”

“No! This is not a date. I just don’t want to get involved in any drama
unwittingly …”

Still smiling, he said, “Well, my dog Hooter can get a little jealous every
now and again, but he’s not one to really start any drama.”

“Good to know,” she said. She really wanted to ask him about the blonde,
but she was afraid he’d take it that she was interested in him herself. That
wasn’t the case … for the most part. He was gorgeous, and judging by the fact
that everyone in this town seemed to love him, he was undoubtedly one of the
good guys. But Sophie didn’t have time for all of that. She slipped on the
white helmet he handed her and straddled the bike. “What if I wreck?” she asked.

He laughed. “You are kind of a Negative Nellie, you know that?”

“I am not. It’s a valid question.”

He pulled off the backpack, reached inside, and pulled out a small first-aid
kit. “I’ve got you covered,” he said.

“I’ll bet you were a Boy Scout.”

“How did you know?”

“Just something about that halo you carry around,” she said. Before he
could respond, she was already pedaling away from the house. She slowed down as
she got to the end of the driveway and let Drake take the lead. He grinned at
her as he passed and she felt her heart rate accelerate. She followed him along
the road that led from her place into town. They rode a mile or two and just
before the turnoff toward Brook Haven, Drake turned in the opposite direction
of town. They were on a dirt road, but it was well-maintained with no deep ruts
or obstructions.

After another mile or two, they came to a spot where there were tidy white
fences and green pastures stretching out along either side. “Sheep!” she
squealed, surprising herself. Drake stopped his bike and she stopped next to
him. “I’ve never seen them out in the pasture like that.” The green countryside
was dotted with their puffy white coats. A medium-sized white dog with brown
markings on his face ran in and out between them. “Is that a sheep dog?” she
asked Drake.

He nodded. “It’s a Queensland, but they make good little sheepherders.
They’re working dogs. They seem to enjoy it.” The dog came closer to the fence
and looked curiously at them. Sophie could see that he had one brown eye and
one blue. “Hey there, Kelly! How’s it going today?” Kelly sniffed up to the
fence and Drake reached down and scratched her ears.

“Kelly?”

“Yeah, that’s her name.”

“She’s a girl? How do you know?”

Smiling, he said, “I’ve known her since she was born.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, the man who owns this ranch hires me every now and then to do some
work for him around the place. He and his wife are retired from real estate out
in California. This ranch was their dream, and they both tell me they’re much
happier here than they ever were back there.”

“I’ve never been to California, but this place is definitely gorgeous.”
Sophie looked out over the pasture behind them. She couldn’t really process how
far it stretched out because from where they were, it looked like it merged
with the mountains along the horizon.

“It is a really pretty little ranch. Are you ready?”

“I’m ready.”

They rode on, eventually turning onto another trail. Drake warned her
before they rode over it. “This trail is a little bumpier than the other.”

She was so enthralled with the beauty of nature all around them that she
wasn’t worried about a few bumps. She could smell the trees and feel the
sunlight on her face. Her mother was right—as usual—this was what she needed.
Her soul was beginning to feel better already. A few minutes later, her breath
was totally stolen away. They came out of a grove of trees and were suddenly
surrounded on both sides by water. In front of them was a long bridge that
looked sturdy, but it seemed like it had been designed for another century. It
was so beautiful. “Is this part of Lake Champlain?” she asked Drake. He stopped
next to her again.

“Yeah, this is a little-known spot back here. My friends and I did a lot of
fishing off this bridge when we were kids.”

“It’s so pretty.”

“Yeah, it is. I love it out here.” They sat for a while and just took in
the scenery around them before moving forward. Drake stopped again when they
came to a ridge with a long road that would lead them down into a gorgeous
little valley. He pointed out t
he
majestic line of Adirondack Mountains far in the distance behind a beautiful
three-story inn that sat surrounded by beautiful sugar maples and a deep-green
sea of grass. There was a huge red barn out behind the house, and close to the
end of the drive, Sophie could see what looked like a small fruit stand. Between
them and the stand were rows and rows of apple trees.

“What is that place?”
she asked him.

“That will be your
biggest competition,” he said. “It’s the Mayflower Maple Inn.”

“Oh … it’s a beautiful
old house.”

“Yes, this one is owned
by Mrs. Theresa Larson. She and her husband have owned it for over fifty years.
He passed away last year and her daughter came home to help her run the place. Mrs.
Larson is close to eighty years old. She runs that little fruit stand down
there, and her daughter and the staff handle the rest.”