Read Online Harvest Moon (Brook Haven Romance Book 1) by Charlene Bright - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Charlene Bright
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smirk or point out that he’d just said that.
Instead he said, “She and I have been friends for a long time.”
Just friends … that’s good. Good, why?
Why do I care who he’s “just friends” with?
“So what are you
selling?” she asked, trying hard to change the subject before she said
something to embarrass herself further.
“Vegetables, herbs,
salves …”
“I could use some
vegetables.” He grinned. God, he was so
handsome…. She started looking through what he had and saw that most of
them were cut up into bite-sized pieces and put into plastic containers. Some
of them even looked like they had seasoning of some sort on them. “Is this a
special seasoning or something?”
“Nope, it’s just salt
and pepper.”
“So why do you cut them
up like this? Do they sell better?”
“Not really. Brook
Haven is so close to the mountains that a lot of folks we get here in town—locals—live
in cabins up on the mountain. Many of them don’t have electricity or gas to
cook with, and the ones that do just might not have a lot of money to buy food.
A lot of our work around here is seasonal. If you don’t own a business that
people need all year round, off-season times can get tough. Some of the folks
up here just survive all year off what they make during ski season. Some of
them wouldn’t make it if the community didn’t help out. The general store is
owned by a couple named the O’ Dells, and they give out things that most
markets return or throw away, like vegetables you can’t really keep very long
or they go bad, especially this time of year. My mom always cut up the ones
that could be eaten fresh and raw and packaged them this way. I just continued
what she started.”
“So you give them
away?”
“In some cases. There
are people who can afford to pay me, and the ones that can’t don’t. I plant way
too many every season for just Uncle Mac and me to eat.”
She smiled. “How do you
know the difference? I mean, do you already know who can afford to pay and who
can’t?”
“I don’t need to know.
They know. They take what they need and pay me if or when they can. Sometimes
they trade me for things.”
“That’s really
admirable, Drake.”
He looked uncomfortable.
“Nah, it’s just what you’re supposed to do for your neighbors. Everybody around
here gives back if they can.”
She didn’t respond
because he didn’t seem overly comfortable talking about it, but it warmed her
heart. She was feeling more confident with her choice of a place to start her
business and put down her roots every day.
CHAPTER NINE
Sophie spent most of
the morning with Drake at his table. Some of it she spent playing with his dog
who, she discovered, loved to fetch.
“Why is his name
Hooter?”
“When my parents gave
him to me, I named him Beau. He was just a tiny little thing and I was too
young to really know how much trouble he could get into out on a farm that sits
right at the mouth of the forest. I got busy playing with my friends at the
party and before I knew it, Beau was gone. He’d just disappeared. I was in a
panic, and my friends and I all ran off to look for him. We looked for over an
hour and when we came back to the house, the pup was curled up in my mom’s lap
on the front porch. I asked her where she found him and she said she didn’t
find him, the barn owl did. We had this owl that my mom fixed up when he was
young. He wouldn’t leave afterwards and just stayed in our barn. I guess once
we took off, Mom could hear him making all kinds of racket, ‘hooting and hollering,’
she had said. When she got to the barn, she found the pup curled up on top of
the owl’s nest. I decided to rename him Hooter after that.”
“What a cute story.
Your family loves animals, don’t they?”
“Yeah. My mother was
like Snow White. They were just attracted to her.”
Throughout the rest of
the morning, Drake introduced her to a lot of people she hadn’t met, and
between
Instead he said, “She and I have been friends for a long time.”
Just friends … that’s good. Good, why?
Why do I care who he’s “just friends” with?
“So what are you
selling?” she asked, trying hard to change the subject before she said
something to embarrass herself further.
“Vegetables, herbs,
salves …”
“I could use some
vegetables.” He grinned. God, he was so
handsome…. She started looking through what he had and saw that most of
them were cut up into bite-sized pieces and put into plastic containers. Some
of them even looked like they had seasoning of some sort on them. “Is this a
special seasoning or something?”
“Nope, it’s just salt
and pepper.”
“So why do you cut them
up like this? Do they sell better?”
“Not really. Brook
Haven is so close to the mountains that a lot of folks we get here in town—locals—live
in cabins up on the mountain. Many of them don’t have electricity or gas to
cook with, and the ones that do just might not have a lot of money to buy food.
A lot of our work around here is seasonal. If you don’t own a business that
people need all year round, off-season times can get tough. Some of the folks
up here just survive all year off what they make during ski season. Some of
them wouldn’t make it if the community didn’t help out. The general store is
owned by a couple named the O’ Dells, and they give out things that most
markets return or throw away, like vegetables you can’t really keep very long
or they go bad, especially this time of year. My mom always cut up the ones
that could be eaten fresh and raw and packaged them this way. I just continued
what she started.”
“So you give them
away?”
“In some cases. There
are people who can afford to pay me, and the ones that can’t don’t. I plant way
too many every season for just Uncle Mac and me to eat.”
She smiled. “How do you
know the difference? I mean, do you already know who can afford to pay and who
can’t?”
“I don’t need to know.
They know. They take what they need and pay me if or when they can. Sometimes
they trade me for things.”
“That’s really
admirable, Drake.”
He looked uncomfortable.
“Nah, it’s just what you’re supposed to do for your neighbors. Everybody around
here gives back if they can.”
She didn’t respond
because he didn’t seem overly comfortable talking about it, but it warmed her
heart. She was feeling more confident with her choice of a place to start her
business and put down her roots every day.
CHAPTER NINE
Sophie spent most of
the morning with Drake at his table. Some of it she spent playing with his dog
who, she discovered, loved to fetch.
“Why is his name
Hooter?”
“When my parents gave
him to me, I named him Beau. He was just a tiny little thing and I was too
young to really know how much trouble he could get into out on a farm that sits
right at the mouth of the forest. I got busy playing with my friends at the
party and before I knew it, Beau was gone. He’d just disappeared. I was in a
panic, and my friends and I all ran off to look for him. We looked for over an
hour and when we came back to the house, the pup was curled up in my mom’s lap
on the front porch. I asked her where she found him and she said she didn’t
find him, the barn owl did. We had this owl that my mom fixed up when he was
young. He wouldn’t leave afterwards and just stayed in our barn. I guess once
we took off, Mom could hear him making all kinds of racket, ‘hooting and hollering,’
she had said. When she got to the barn, she found the pup curled up on top of
the owl’s nest. I decided to rename him Hooter after that.”
“What a cute story.
Your family loves animals, don’t they?”
“Yeah. My mother was
like Snow White. They were just attracted to her.”
Throughout the rest of
the morning, Drake introduced her to a lot of people she hadn’t met, and
between
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