Harvest Moon (Brook Haven Romance Book 1) (8 page)

“You’re going to scare
them.”

Sophie rolled her eyes.
“We’re not children.”

“I’m a little scared,” her
mom said, “but I want to hear the rest.”

Mac grinned and continued.
“Well, the old man somehow managed to misplace five young wives over a period
of twenty-five years. Those five women produced sixteen offspring all
together.”

“Sixteen? He lived here
with sixteen kids?”

“Well, in the original
house,” Mac said. “He died in 1762 of natural causes, and the house and the
property went to his eldest son, who promptly evicted his fifteen siblings. The
second eldest son objected, and the story goes that there was an all-out family
brawl with only three survivors.”

“Oh my God! They killed
each other?”

He nodded. “The three
youngest children who were found hiding in the basement were the only
survivors. The other thing they found down there was an underground tunnel and
a tomb.”

“A tomb?” Sophie’s
pretty blue eyes were wide as she listened to the story. As annoyed with Mac as
Drake was, he was enjoying her expressive face as she listened.

Mac nodded again. “All
five wives, I’m afraid.”

“Oh no!” Brenda and
Sophie said in unison. “Wow, this house does have a history.”

“Well … there’s more,”
he said.

“Oh no. The three
children?”

“They grew up with a
caretaker the court appointed to live here with them. Or—I should say—the many
caretakers. They only lasted a matter of weeks or months in most cases before
they reported that the house was ‘evil’ and they couldn’t stay in it.”

“They thought it was
haunted?” Brenda asked.

“That’s what they
thought … or some reckoned that it was perhaps cursed. The three siblings were
embroiled in another battle over the wealth left behind by their father. Only
one of the siblings survived. He ultimately ended up with it all.”

“Oh my goodness. This
wasn’t his house, was it?”

“No,” Drake answered.
“This particular house was built for the mayor of Brook Haven, and no one has
had any troubles here since.” He gave his uncle another look, and Mac laughed.

“What about the
tunnels?” Sophie asked.

Mac shrugged. “The
realtor didn’t mention them?”

“There are no tunnels
down there,” Drake said. “Uncle Mac, behave.” Mac laughed again and turned his
attention back to Brenda.

“Mrs. Michelson, this
might well be the best meal I have ever had.”

Brenda smiled. “Thank
you, and that might well be the most interesting story I’ve ever heard. Is it
true?”

“Every bit,” he said.
“I can show you the old documents in the library in town.”

“I might take you up on
that,” she said.

“Be my guest,” Mac said
with a wink.

Oh my goodness, he is flirting with my
mother,
Sophie thought. She
looked over at Drake, who was shaking his head at his uncle. He turned his head
toward her when he felt her looking at him. She couldn’t help it—all thoughts
of Mac and her mother vanished. Instead, the only thing she could really see was
his dark, sexy eyes and those full soft lips. She wanted to kiss him again so
badly.

Once they’d all
finished their meal and had once again complimented Brenda, they moved into the
lodge room and Brenda brought out the cake she’d made for dessert.

“That looks great, Mom,
but there is no way I can fit anything else into my belly,” Sophie said.

“Me neither,” Drake
said.

“I’d love a piece,” Mac
told her. Sophie looked at Drake again, and they shared a knowing look and a
private smile. Drake could see that Mac was flirting too. Sophie wondered what
her mother thought. The next thing Brenda said told Sophie that she was either enjoying
it or she hadn’t really noticed.

“Why don’t you two go
walk some of your dinner off?” she said. “I can entertain Mac while you’re
gone.”

“Are you sure?” Sophie
said. “Mac, you won’t think me rude?”

“Not at all. I’d love
some time to get to know your lovely mother.” Sophie looked at her mother and
saw her face flush. She looked back at Drake, who was already on his feet.

“You want to take a
walk?”

“I’d love to,” he said.

Sophie went upstairs
and retrieved her sweater, and the two of them set off. Once they were outside,
she said, “You know, I’m not sure if this is about pushing us together or
having time alone with your uncle. Did you see what was going on in there?”

Drake shook his head.
“I saw my uncle misbehaving, that’s for sure.”

“Oh, he was just having
some harmless fun with that story … but seriously, do you see the way they’re
looking at each other?”

Drake laughed. “Yeah. I
haven’t seen Mac look at anyone like that since … well, ever.”

“I know, right? My
mother doesn’t look at men like that, at least not since my father died.”

He laughed again. “I
guess they are adults—and human, so they’re entitled to a little harmless
flirting. Speaking of flirting and things like that … should we talk about that
kiss earlier?”

As they walked along
the gravel tree-lined path, the early autumn breezed tousled Sophie’s hair.
Just a few short weeks ago when she and Brenda arrived in Vermont, the air had
been warm and everything a dark, verdant green. The season was definitely
changing and with it, it seemed that everything else was as well. She stopped
walking and looked up at the sky. It was deep blue and dotted with a thousand
specks of light. The moon was new and didn’t cast much of a glow, but the stars
were out in full force.

She loved it there—the
air, the mountain, the countryside, and the town. She looked at Drake, who was
waiting for her to respond somehow to his question, and said, “I think we
should revisit it after I get the inn up and running.”

He opened his mouth to
speak and she stopped him by saying, “Just hear me out. I loved the kiss,
Drake. I haven’t thought about anything else since. I like you a lot and I
think that I’d like to explore that—no, I
know
that I’d like to explore that. But, with that being said, I know myself. I know
that I’m going to wake up tomorrow morning, and the magic of this weekend that
you and I spent together will be dulled by the fact that I lost almost two full
days getting this place ready. I’m going to be nervous and tense and I’ll
probably snap your head off a time or two. I promise that I’ll try not to, but
I should apologize in advance just in case. I put everything I have into this place,
and I have to see it through. I can’t get distracted right now. I can’t afford
it. I’m so afraid that getting it ready in three and a half weeks is a crazy
dream …”

“My turn,” he said. She
thought about objecting, but she nodded instead. He took her hands in his and faced
her. “If you’re telling me that I have a chance with you after this place is
finished, I can promise you here and now that I’ll work from sunup to sundown
until it’s ready to go.”

She smiled. “You
already do.”

“I’ll get it ready for
you, Sophie. I’ll leave you alone in the meantime … no distractions. But if—when—I
get this place in top shape for you, I’d like for you to do something for me.”

“Besides paying you for
your hard work?”

He sighed. “Okay yeah,
besides that.”

She giggled. “Sorry.
What do you want me to do for you?”

“Go on a real date with
me. I want to dress up and take you out to a nice restaurant in the city and go
dancing, maybe take a carriage ride …” He had a light in his eyes, and she
could tell that he’d already thought about doing all of that with her. It made
her heart feel happy.

“Okay,” she said. “You
have a deal.”

“I have one more
request,” he said.

She laughed. “I knew
it.”

“I just want one more
kiss to hold me over. Three weeks is a long time.” Sophie smiled at him and
nodded. He didn’t waste any time lest she change her mind. This time he slid
one of his arms around her waist and the other hand rested softly against the
side of her face and neck. He caressed her skin with his fingers, and she
shivered. He used his thumb to tip her head back slightly, and then he slid his
hand underneath her hair and held her head in place while he put his warm mouth
on her neck. She wasn’t expecting that, but it felt so good that she tipped her
head back even more to give him better access. He held her captive against him,
but she didn’t want to escape as he planted kisses all across her sensitive
neck and up to her ear on the side closest to his mouth.

She felt his breath and
shivered again as he whispered, “These don’t count toward the kiss.” Sophie
giggled. She wasn’t going to argue with him. His head dove back down, and he
planted a kiss at the base of her neck and then slid his lips upward until he
reached her ear again. This time he didn’t speak. He just proceeded to plant
kisses all around it. Sophie was glad he was holding on to her because her
knees were beginning to feel weak.

He used that one hand
to move her head slightly again and before she knew it, their mouths collided.
He kissed her slowly and softly all around the outside of her lips. He smelled
so masculine that just the scent of him was driving her crazy. He ran his
tongue along the seam of her lips next and this time, the shiver was a full body
shudder. She let her lips part and wrapped her own hands up in his hair,
pulling him in tighter. His tongue slipped in, and slow and gentle went by the
wayside as their tongues tangled up in a sensuous dance.

That, coupled with the
feel of his taut chest and arms pressed into her and the way he continued to
caress the skin on the side of her face and neck with his rough fingers, was
overwhelming to her senses. It was absolutely without a doubt the best kiss
that she’d ever had, and she knew going three weeks without another one was
going to be as close to hell as she’d ever come.

For the next week,
Drake kept his promise and Sophie stayed so busy that the only time she really
suffered for it was late at night while she lay in bed and remembered that
kiss. She got the website up and running thanks to a good photographer and a
lot of computer work her mom did for her. Brenda’s ankle was definitely broken,
and Brooke had cast it and given her strict orders to keep off of it. She spent
her time doing things inside the house that she could do sitting down.

Meanwhile, Sophie
finished furnishing the rooms and stocking the linen closets. She made soaps
and arranged them in lovely baskets to leave in each of the rooms. She also
planted a small garden with Drake’s help, and slowly but surely she could see
it all coming together.

She was almost giddy on
Friday afternoon when she got her first reservation for the weekend of the
Harvest Festival. She ran outside where Drake was working on the shadow boxes
on the windows in the back of the house to share it with him.

“I have a reservation
for two!” she squealed. He was up on a ladder and looked down at her and
smiled.

“That’s great,” he
said. It was the first time she’d really looked at him today. His eyes were
bloodshot, and he actually had dark circles underneath his pretty eyes.

“Are you okay?”

“Me? Yeah, I’m great.
I’m happy for you.”

“Will you come down
here and talk to me?”

“I’m working, boss.”

“Drake … just for a
second, please.”

With a sigh, he sat his
bucket and brush down on the window ledge and climbed down. He pulled off his
leather gloves and said, “What’s up?”

“You look exhausted.
Have you been sleeping?”

He smiled and said,
“When I’m not thinking about you.”

“Drake, I’m serious.”

“So am I.”

She smiled in spite of
herself. “Well, that’s good to know because you’ve kept me awake a few nights
yourself. But really … why do you look so exhausted? Am I working you too
hard?”

“No, not at all. I’ve
just been kind of worried about Uncle Mac. Sam took the kits on Monday, and he
hasn’t come out of the house all week. I take him dinner every night, but he
rushes me out and I’m not even sure he’s eating. He doesn’t look good … I think
he’s depressed.”

“Oh no! The poor thing.
Mom said she called him on Wednesday. They were supposed to go to the library.
She said he didn’t answer and never called her back.”

“I don’t know what to
do. I thought about getting him a puppy or something, but I’m just afraid of
making things worse. I feel terrible.”

“It’s not your fault.”

“It kind of feels like
it is,” he said.

“Do you think he’d
appreciate a visit from Mom?”

“I know that he talked
all the way home Sunday about how much he enjoyed getting to know her … but
honestly, I just don’t know. He’s been pretty gruff with me lately. I’d hate
for him to be rude or something and hurt her feelings.”

Sophie laughed. “You’ve
seen me at my absolute rudest … it hasn’t scared my mom off yet. I’ll ask her
to go see him. It couldn’t hurt.”

Drake put his hand on
the side of her face, and she wanted to melt into it. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Thank
you for doing so much around here.”

He leaned his face in
close and said, “That’s my job … besides, I have a lot at stake.”

She smiled and tried to
breathe. It was hard with him so close. In a husky voice, she said, “You’re
entitled to a break … maybe you should take one now …”

He shifted his body so
that she was between him and the house, and then he used it to gently nudge her
back. She was trapped between him and the cold wood at her back, but her
insides were like hot liquid as he stared into her eyes. “What should I do with
my break … boss?”

She slid her arms up
around his neck and said, “Just do whatever comes natural.” He closed the space
between their faces and covered her lips with his. She could feel the raw
desire he had for her pulsing through him as his tongue explored her mouth. He
kissed as if he were starving and she was his sustenance.

She kissed him back with
the same fervor as she was truly ravenous for him. She held his head tightly
and his hands held on to her waist, and the world around them fell away for the
time the kiss lasted. When he finally pulled back, it was only because they
both needed to breathe, and he pressed his forehead into hers as they panted
and tried to calm themselves down.

“Best. Break. Ever,” he
said with a grin. Sophie still couldn’t speak, so she nodded. Drake was about
to go in for another kiss and Sophie was going to let him when they heard the
window to the left of her slide open. They jumped apart like two guilty
teenagers as Brenda stuck out her head. Her eyes went from her daughter’s face
to Drake’s, and a little smile played at her lips.

“I’m sorry to interrupt
… there’s a Mr. Randall on the phone for you, honey.”

Still breathing
raggedly, Sophie said, “You didn’t interrupt anything. Will you tell him that
I’ll be right there?”

Brenda smirked again
before she closed the window.

Drake laughed. “She’s
proud of herself, you know.”

“Proud of herself for
what?”

“Don’t tell me you
didn’t notice that she’s been trying to get us together.”

Flushing slightly,
Sophie said, “Oh no … I noticed. I was hoping that you didn’t. It’s a little
embarrassing to be twenty-seven and still have your mother fixing you up on
dates.”

She yelped a little,
startled, when he pulled her body back into his again. He put his mouth against
her ear and said, “She fixed you up on a lot more than a date.”

“Meaning?”

He held his face back
so that he could see hers and he said, “I’m willing to start with a date, and
I’m willing to wait as long as you need me to, but I’m telling you right now,
Sophie Michelson, when I look into the future, I already can’t imagine it
without you.” He kissed her softly and let her go.

She stood there in
shock and watched him climb back up the ladder. She had to admit to herself
that when she lay awake in her bed at night and thought about him, it was
always more than a simple “date” she imagined as well. She saw them running
this place together … getting married in the meadow out behind the house and
spending their honeymoon making love for hours. But that was supposed to just
be her secret little fantasy. Now that she knew he was thinking along the same
lines, getting anything done was going to be that much harder.

“Sophie … Mr. Randall …”
Brenda was calling from inside the window this time.

“I’m sorry, Mom. I’m
coming.”

****

Brenda stood holding
her crutch in one hand and a cake in the other while she tried to balance long
enough to knock on Mac’s door. She almost fell over before she grabbed the
crutch and righted herself. Sophie had asked her to come out here and see Mac
and then tried to drive her out like she was an invalid once again. Her left
foot was the broken one. She didn’t need that one to drive, which she had
reminded Sophie to convince her that she didn’t need a chauffeur. Brenda often
wondered when they had switched roles.

“Drake?” Mac called
from inside the house.

“No, Mac. It’s me,
Brenda.”

She heard the crunch of
his wheels against what she assumed was a wood floor and then the latch on the
door being opened. He pulled open the inside door and looked at her through the
screen. “Hi. What are you doing here?”

“I’m sorry to just drop
by, but you haven’t been answering your phone …”

“I’m sorry … I haven’t
charged it.” He was still just staring at her and she was beginning to wonder
if this was a mistake.

“It’s okay, but I’m
kind of having a hard time balancing myself right now. Do you think I could
come in and at least set this cake down?”

“Shoot … yeah, I’m
sorry. Come on in.” He unlatched the screen door and rolled back out of the
doorway. Brenda very carefully let herself in. There was a coffee table in the
center of the room, and it was riddled with take-out containers from
Huckleberry’s. Some of them looked as if they hadn’t been touched.

“Where should I set
this?” she asked him.

“The counter over there
is fine,” he said. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“I know … I wanted to.
How are you, Mac?”

“Did Drake send you out
here?”

“Not really. He told
Sophie you were having a hard time and she told me. I was just hoping a visit
and some cake might cheer you up.”

“Thanks Brenda, really,
but I’m fine.”

“Are you really? I
mean, forgive me, but Sophie told me the time she was over here that your house
was spotless clean. You look like you haven’t been sleeping or eating or
shaving—”

He held his palms up.
“Listen, I’m a little … under the weather, that’s all. Drake seems to think I’m
going to crack over losing a couple of kits that weren’t even mine to begin
with. Give me a break.”

“Can I sit down?”

He gave her a half
smile, like he was either annoyed or impressed with her perseverance. “Sure.”

She sat down on his
couch and said, “Hear me out, and when I’m finished, if you want me to leave, I
will. I know that we barely know each other, but I also am able to know a
kindred spirit when I see one. Since my husband died, I’ve been so incredibly
lonely. I was in a deep depression for a long time and the only reason I
finally snapped out of it was that I realized what I was doing to Sophie. I’m
still lonely. I have my beautiful daughter and I thank God for her every day, but
sometimes we need something beyond that. We need something that touches our
souls like my husband did for me.”

“I’d hardly compare
losing a spouse to two wild critters I only had for a few weeks.”

Brenda smiled. “Mac,
can I ask you how old you were when you had your accident?”

“Twenty-one,” he said.

“Drake says that you
don’t date and you’ve never been married.”

“Drake’s quite the
talking little fool, isn’t he?”

She laughed. “He means
well, trust me. That kid is so worried about you.”

Mac looked guilty for a
second. “I know. I hate worrying him. But really, this is not the same as you
losing your husband.”

“Have you ever been in
love?”

He seemed reluctant to
answer her, and just about the time she thought he wasn’t going to, he said,
“No.”

“So Drake is your only
real contact with the world until these two helpless little kits fall into your
hands. You feed them and keep them warm and safe, and because you did all of
that for them, they bonded with you and you with them. That’s love, Mac, and
it’s nothing to be ashamed of. Don’t you think that Drake is going to have a
hard time when his old dog passes away?”

“Yeah, but it’s not the
same either.”

“Why? Because you only
knew them for a short time? That doesn’t mean you didn’t love them. You poured
yourself into them, Mac. You kept them alive. That’s huge. It’s like being a
parent, and if I’d only had Sophie for the first three weeks of her life, I
would have still loved her every bit as much as I do today. What you’re feeling
is normal and not at all something to be ashamed of. I find it admirable that
you cared that much about two little creatures you could have easily just set
loose to fend for themselves. But even though the loss hurts so much, you can’t
lock yourself away here and wallow in it all alone. You need to eat, and you
need to sleep, and you need to take care of yourself.”

He sat there quietly
for a long time, and finally Brenda said, “I’m sorry … I probably took this
visit-and-cheer-you-up thing too far. I do that.”

She stood up, and Mac
surprised her by taking hold of her hand. She looked down at it, and he quickly
let her go and said, “I’m sorry … please stay.”

She sat back down and
said, “You don’t have anything to be sorry for.”

“I don’t know how much
Drake told you about me. When I had my accident, I was in college. I’d come
home that weekend and I was staying with my sister and her husband. Our
grandfather lived in this house and our parents had already passed away. I had
a girlfriend here in town, and I’d come home mostly to see her. I’d driven most
of the night to get here, and then she and I went out to the city that night. I
was going on about thirty-six hours of no sleep, and the one thing I thank God
for is that I dropped her off before I fell asleep at the wheel. I don’t
remember any of that.

“When I woke up in the
hospital, it was five months later. I was paralyzed from the waist down and I
couldn’t talk. I couldn’t feed or in any way take care of myself. I spent
almost two years in the hospital. By the time I came home, my grandfather had
died and my sister was getting old taking care of me instead of having babies.
If it wasn’t for that, I may have given up and just let her keep taking care of
me. That’s how much I cared about myself at the time. I knew she wasn’t going
to get on with her life until she knew I was going to be okay, so I pushed
myself. I got better. I got stronger. I didn’t do any of that for myself. I no
longer cared, and surviving had become a chore. When I woke up out of that coma,
my girlfriend had already moved on. I knew I’d never be able to go back to
college, and there were so many things I’d never be able to do. One of those
things was have a normal relationship with a woman and have kids. I was never
going to have a family, and that depression sunk in so deeply that I’ve really
never recovered from it.