Page 30 of Break My Heart (The Haydon Falls #2)

Gina

The festival is so crowded that I have to park a mile down the road.

The walk to the orchard is up a steep hill along a dirt path.

I wore boots with a heel that are more for fashion than walking.

I dressed for a date, not thinking about the long walk I’d have to the orchard.

I didn’t know there’d be so many people here.

Where I parked is the overflow parking. There’s a huge lot on the actually property that’s already filled.

‘Need a ride?’ a guy asks, pulling up next to me in a golf cart. I look over and see it’s Brody. He is really hot. I see why Aria likes him.

‘I’d love a ride,’ I tell him as I hop on the golf cart. ‘I didn’t think I’d have to park this far away.’

‘It’ll be even worse later tonight when the dance starts. Almost everyone in town comes to the dance. Right now it’s mostly tourists.’ He pulls ahead, then stops to let a car pass us. ‘Sawyer’s out back, getting more pumpkins. We already sold what we put out. The field’s just about empty.’

‘That’s great! How’s everything else selling?’

‘Better than we expected.’ He smiles. ‘Nick said we’re on track to have a record season. He had to bring a crew in to pick more apples for tomorrow and Sunday, and Mom got some ladies from church to come over to help her keep up with the baking.’

‘Your family really knows how to get customers.’

‘Only because we’ve been doing it forever. Dad did all the work to figure it out. We all learned from him.’ Brody stops again to let some families pass in front of us. ‘My lawn business really took off this year. And I’ve got a ton of new clients for snow removal this winter.’

‘That’s what Sawyer was telling me. Congratulations.’

‘Thanks. And Sawyer’s place has been so busy he’s got people waiting outside. He said people waited over an hour for a table last night.’

And my place has nobody. Those people could’ve driven to G’s and had a couple beers in less time than it took to get a table at Sawyer’s. So why didn’t they? Why is nobody going to G’s?

‘Shit, sorry,’ Brody says. ‘I wasn’t thinking.’

‘About what?’

‘What I said. That stuff about Sawyer’s place. He mentioned things have been kind of slow at G’s.’

‘They have, but they’ll pick up. I’m going to be trying some new things.’

Brody pulls up in front of the barn to let me off.

‘You have a date for tonight?’ I ask, remembering Aria’s request to get info.

‘Yeah, she’s around here somewhere. She came with a friend. I’ll see her at the dance.’ He waits for me to get off the golf cart. ‘Have a good time!’

‘Thanks! And thanks for the ride.’ I go into the barn. It’s so crowded it takes forever to make my way through.

‘Hey, Gina,’ I hear a girl say .

I turn and see Lyndsay there, Nick’s fiancé.

I got to know her when I was helping Sawyer’s family get ready for the festival.

Lyndsay, Callie, and I all helped Martha, Sawyer’s mom, make the baked goods.

It was a lot of work, but I loved it. I felt like I was with family.

Callie and Lyndsay treated me like a sister, which is something I always wanted.

‘Hey, Lyndsay.’

‘Hey.’ She gives me a quick hug. ‘Did you just get here?’

‘Yeah. I’m trying to find Sawyer. Brody said he’s outside.’

‘He is. He’s restocking the pumpkins. I can’t believe we sold out this fast.’

‘Is it always like this?’ I ask, knowing she’s a local who grew up going to the festival.

‘It’s always busy, but it seems to get busier every year. Nick’s thinking about building another barn for next year, but then we’d need to add more parking.’ She sighs. ‘We have a lot to figure out.’

‘And a wedding to plan,’ I say, smiling at her.

‘That’s almost done. Callie just needs to give us the final guest list.’

‘I wasn’t talking about Callie’s wedding.’

Lyndsay smiles. ‘Nick hasn’t proposed. He probably won’t until later this year, or maybe next year.’

‘You really think he’ll wait that long?’

‘We’ve only dated a few months, and Nick isn’t someone who rushes into things. ’

As she says it, Nick shows up behind her, wrapping his arms around her and leaning down to kiss her cheek. ‘I couldn’t find you.’

‘Right here.’ She looks up at him. ‘What do you need?’

‘Nothing. I just missed you.’

She smiles at him.

‘Hey, Gina,’ Nick says. ‘Looking for Sawyer? ’

‘Yeah. I heard he’s outside. I’m going to go find him.’

‘Martha invited the family over for breakfast tomorrow,’ Lyndsay says. ‘You’re welcome to come.’

‘Yeah, you should,’ Nick says. ‘We’ll have more than enough food.’

‘I’ll talk to Sawyer about it. See you guys later.’

They already treat me like family and I’ve only been dating Sawyer for a month. And I’m his competition. But they don’t seem to care about that. They’ve welcomed me with open arms.

Continuing through the crowd, I finally make it outside.

I’d normally just walk around the barn but it’s been walled off with stacks of hay.

The Kanfields want people to go in the barn and visit the booths.

During the festival, they let people in town set up booths to sell crafts or other items to earn money or promote their businesses.

Speaking of that, I need to find Martha and ask her if I can hand out the flyers I made. I could’ve asked Nick, but I forgot.

Looking around outside, I don’t see Sawyer by the pumpkins, just a bunch of kids begging their parents to buy them the biggest one. I gaze out at the orchard and see Tom, the print shop owner, and some other guys. One of the guys moves and I see Sawyer just in front of him.

I walk over there. Sawyer’s talking when he sees me. He smiles and waves me over. Tom and the other guys glance back at me, then say something to Sawyer and walk off.

‘You made it,’ Sawyer says as I come up to him. He’s got such a great smile, and he looks like a hot lumberjack today, dressed in jeans and a red-and-black plaid shirt with a black Kanfield Orchard t-shirt underneath. He’s also wearing a black baseball cap with the Kanfield Brewery logo on it.

‘Is that new?’ I ask, pointing to his hat.

‘Yeah, I ordered some new merchandise. We already sold out of the hats, but I’m getting another shipment tomorrow.

The t- shirts are almost gone too. I was just talking to Tom about printing some more.

I usually order them online. It’s cheaper.

But I need some fast so Tom will print them up tonight and deliver them tomorrow. ’

‘That’s great they’re selling so well,’ I say, telling myself to be happy for him and not envious. I can do just as well as Sawyer, or better than him. I just need to work harder.

He pulls me into his arms and kisses me. ‘I missed you last night.’

‘I missed you too.’ I pause. ‘My dad called.’

Sawyer pulls back and looks at me with concern. ‘Your dad called? And you’re just telling me this now?’

I’ve told Sawyer about my dad and how we don’t have a good relationship.

It’s not something I normally talk about, with anyone, but I do with Sawyer.

We tend to talk late at night, after our bars close, so maybe I’m just tired and more willing to open up.

Or maybe I trust Sawyer more than I want to admit.

‘I didn’t want to call you when you’re busy with the brewery and the festival.’

Sawyer takes my hand and brings me farther into the orchard, away from all the noise and activity. ‘You should’ve called. I’ll make time for you. You should know that by now. So what did he say?’

‘He just wanted to check in, see how I’m doing. And give me a lecture about how I should’ve kept my old job and used my inheritance to buy a house.’

‘He still isn’t okay with you opening G’s?’

‘No. He doesn’t approve. He thinks it’s a bad idea. He’s already talking like it’s failed, telling me I’ll find another job.’

‘You’re not going to close.’

‘You’re right.’ I hold my head up higher. ‘I’m not. Soon I’m going to be the one with people waiting outside the door and running out of merchandise.’

‘I know that tone,’ Sawyer says, a smile sliding up his face. ‘You sounded the same way right before you beat me at the pie-eating contest.’

‘It’s because I’ve decided I’m not going to stop competing against you just because I’m your girlfriend.’

‘You’re my girlfriend? You said I couldn’t call you that.’

‘You know what I mean,’ I say, ignoring his comment. ‘Our personal lives are separate from our businesses. I need to treat you like I would any other business owner.’

His arms go around my waist. ‘But I can call you my girlfriend?’

I smile a little. ‘As long as it’s outside of our businesses, then yeah, I guess it’s okay.’

‘Good, because I’ve already been calling you that.’

‘Wait—what? I thought we were going to keep our relationship a secret. You said you didn’t want everyone in town gossiping about us.’

‘Fuck that. I don’t give a shit. I’m tired of us having to spend all our time at each other’s places.

I want to take you out, go on a real date.

’ He glances at the people waiting in line to get on the hayrack ride.

A few of them looked at us as we walked into the orchard and some are still watching us.

‘I think people already know.’

‘Yeah, so let’s stop hiding it. Tonight we make it official. People will see us together, and by tomorrow everyone will know we’re dating.’

‘I’m okay with that.’ I smile. ‘But I’m still going to compete with you.’

‘I wouldn’t have it any other way.’ He leans down and kisses me. ‘It’s why I fell for you in the first place.’

He’ s told me that several times and I still find it hard to believe. He used to get so angry when I beat him back at camp. I never would’ve guessed that’s why he liked me. When he kissed me in the woods that day, I assumed he did it because someone dared him to, or to see how I’d react.

‘Want to go inside?’ he asks. ‘Get some cider?’

‘The cider!’ I pull away. ‘Shit, I forgot to try it.’

‘It’s not a big deal. You can try it right now.’