Harvest Moon (Brook Haven Romance Book 1) by Charlene Bright Read Free Book Online Page B

“What’s wrong?”
    She shook her head. “I
just feel so bad. I treated you so poorly and here you were saving baby animals—”
    He laughed. “I’m no saint,
trust me. I should have at least called you.”
    “And I should have
listened when you tried to tell me what happened. I’m really sorry.”
    “It’s forgotten,” he
said. “And you weren’t that bad. Eat your fruit.” She smiled and started eating
again. “So your mom tells me that you’ve been planning this B&B since you
were little. What was it that fascinated you so much about it?”
    “Honestly, I’m not
sure. I think it was just that weekend we spent at the one in New Hampshire—everyone
there seemed so happy. I’ve always been really kind of domestic. I love to cook
and bake, and I make my own soaps and grow my own spices and herbs …”
    “Really? I do too.”
    “You cook and bake and
make soap?”
    He laughed. “Um … kind
of, not really, and no way. I meant me ‘too’ about the growing herbs part. I
use mine to make salves and things.”
    “Really? How did you
learn to do that?”
    “My mom. She was really
good at that stuff. When she passed away, she left me her journals with her
recipes.”
    “What happened to your
parents, if you don’t mind me asking?”
    “Dad passed away of a
heart attack at sixty-two. Two years later, Mom followed. I honestly think her
heart was broken. She loved him so much.”
    “That’s sad and
beautiful at the same time.”
    He smiled and suddenly
had that urge to kiss her again. “So, a bed and breakfast because you’re
domestic … a lot of women just turn that into marriage and children.”
    “If you haven’t
noticed, I’m not a lot of women.”
    He tried not to let her
see the overwhelming desire he was feeling as he looked at her and said, “I
have noticed that, yes. So do you not ever want to have a family of your own?”
    “I would never say
never, but given that option right this minute, I’d say no. It might sound
silly to someone on the outside, but I’ve dreamt about and planned this
business for so long that I just have to make it a reality first. You see how
it worries my mother to death that I don’t want to take a day off. Just imagine
me with a husband and a couple of kids who need my attention.”
    Drake had been trying
not to imagine that very thing since practically the day he met her. He was
overwhelmed by the incredible attraction he felt. At the same time, he was
pretty sure that he wouldn’t be the man she’d choose if she ever did decide to
settle down. One good thing about being complacent with his life, it was fairly
easy for him to convince himself to just be happy with the fact that he got to
see her every day. And after today, becoming friends with her seemed like a
real possibility. Never being one who needed to hurry things, he decided to
keep that desire to kiss her in check and just see where this new friendship of
theirs went.

 

CHAPTER SEVEN
    “You sure have been
smiling a lot this evening.” Sophie and her mom were making dinner together,
and she had just been thinking about something Drake had said earlier that made
her smile.
    “Are you complaining? I
thought that was your whole big ploy when you set me up this morning.”
    “Set you up? Whatever
do you mean? I told you that I remembered I’d made a hair appointment—”
    Sophie laughed. “You’re
a terrible liar.”
    “Did you have fun?”
    Sophie smiled again in
spite of herself. She did have fun—much more than she’d had in a long time.
“Admit you set me up.”
    Brenda laughed. “Fine,
I set you up. I thought you’d have more fun with Drake than with me. Now, your
turn, admit you had fun.”
    “I had fun. It was a
lot of fun and I definitely needed it, so thank you for your sneaky ways.”
    “You’re welcome. So
tell me about it.”
    Sophie breaded the fish
and told her mother about the green mountains and the apple orchards. As she
talked, she could almost see it and smell