Harvest Moon (Brook Haven Romance Book 1) Read Online Free PDF

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