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

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.  

 
 

CHAPTER FIVE
    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