Page 34 of Break My Heart (The Haydon Falls #2)

Sawyer

‘Tell Mom I can’t make it to breakfast,’ I say to Nick as I drive back to the brewery.

‘Why can’t you make it?’

‘I need to catch up on work. Orders are due today.’

‘Have your manager do the orders. Isn’t that why you hired him? So you wouldn’t have to do everything?’

‘Nick, don’t fight me on this. Just tell Mom I can’t make it.’

‘She really wants you there. It’s not that often all of us get together.’

‘We’re together all the time. We just had dinner as a family last week.’

‘I meant with our cousins and Uncle Mitch. They’re leaving tomorrow and we can’t have dinner with them tonight with the festival going on so Mom wants us all there for breakfast.’

‘Okay, fine, I’ll be there, but I need to stop at my place first.’

‘I thought you were already there.’

‘No, I was out,’ I say, deciding not to tell him about Gina.

He’ll find out at breakfast when she doesn’t show up.

I could lie and say she was busy, but when she doesn’t show up at the festival my family will know something’s going on.

I might as well just tell them at breakfast and get it over with.

When I get to the brewery I go in the back door and hear someone walking around.

‘Hello?’ I yell, hoping someone didn’t break in. There shouldn’t be anyone here. My staff doesn’t come in until this afternoon.

‘Sawyer?’ a guy yells back. Wade appears, coming out of the office. ‘Hey, man, I thought you were going to be at the orchard all day.’

‘I’m heading there in a few minutes.’ I walk up to him. ‘What are you doing here?’

‘You told me to come in this morning.’

‘I did?’

‘Yeah. Last night. You said Tom is bringing t-shirts over this morning. I thought that meant I was supposed to be here to let him in.’

‘No, I was just letting you know we’d be getting more today in case someone asked. Sorry, I should’ve made that clear.’

‘Don’t worry about it. So you want me to leave?’

I pause to think about that. I could send him home and come back later to do the orders, or I could let Wade do them.

He’s been here for months and I haven’t been letting him do the orders or any of the paperwork.

It’s part of his job as the manager, but I keep doing it myself.

But like Nick said, I hired a manager so I wouldn’t have to do everything.

‘Any chance you could stay?’ I ask. ‘Maybe for a couple hours?’

‘Sure. I’m already here. Just tell me what you need me to do.’

I take him in the office and start up the computer .

‘I’m going to have you do the order for next week,’ I say as the order screen pops up. ‘Have you used this system before?’

‘Yeah, at my last job.’

‘Okay, so really all you have to do is a quick inventory of the storeroom and then order whatever we need. I’ve already made a list.’ I hand it to him. ‘Just double check it and add whatever’s missing.’

‘Got it, boss.’

My phone rings. I check it, see Gina’s name, and silence the call.

‘You’re not going to answer it?’ Wade asks. My phone is on the desk and Wade saw Gina’s name on the screen.

‘Not right now,’ I say, getting up.

I need to cool off before I talk to her. I’m still furious she lied to me about her ex. She said they’re not together, but then I find him with her at G’s. And he was there a few weeks ago. Both times she cancelled our plans, telling me she had to work, when she was really with her boyfriend.

Why would she do this? Why would she date me when she’s already dating someone else? Am I just her fill-in boyfriend for when the other guy isn’t around? She made me fall for her, got close to my family—and the whole time she was dating some other guy.

‘You two have a fight?’ Wade asks.

‘I don’t want to get into it.’

‘It’s probably for the best,’ he says, sitting down in front of the computer. ‘I can’t see her sticking around. You’d be better off finding someone in town.’

‘Why do you think she’s not sticking around?’

He shrugs. ‘She’s not getting any business. Every time I drive by there, the parking lot is empty.’

‘That’s just because of the festival. Everyone’s downtown this weekend. People don’t want to drive out to G’s for a beer when they could get one here.’

‘Yeah, maybe, or maybe they just like this place better.’ He looks at the laptop screen. ‘This shouldn’t take long. I’ll have the order in before noon.’

‘Thanks.’ I walk to the door. ‘If you have any questions, just give me a call.’

‘Will do. See ya, boss.’

On my way to the orchard, I try to figure out why she did it. Why would Gina get involved with me while she’s dating another guy? Was she just getting close to me to get me to tell her stuff about the brewery? To get me to trust her so I’d let my guard down?

She calls again as I’m driving. When I arrive at my parents’ house, I check my phone before going inside. Gina left me several texts.

Sawyer, I swear to you, I’m not dating Ryder, the first text reads.

It’s followed by, Would you please talk to me?

And then, He just showed up. I didn’t know he’d be here.

Her last text reads, I don’t want to lose you. Please talk to me.

If she doesn’t want to lose me, then why is she spending time with another guy?

And if she didn’t know he’d be there, why didn’t she tell him to leave?

She could’ve told him to go when I showed up, but she didn’t.

I left and he stayed. If she really didn’t want him there, why didn’t she tell him to go?

And if they’re no longer dating, why was she letting him touch her?

When I walked in, he was standing close and holding her arm.

It looked like he was about to lean down and kiss her.

‘Fuck,’ I mutter, tossing the phone on the seat. I was really falling for her. I could see us together in the future, getting a place together here in Haydon Falls. I saw us going to family dinners and spending holidays together.

What the hell was I thinking? Why did I let my mind go there?

Why did I even start dating her? I knew how competitive she was and how much she loves winning.

I should’ve known she was only pursuing me to convince me she wasn’t a threat.

Keep your enemies close. It’s why I asked her out in the first place, but then I fell for her, like a fucking idiot.

And this whole time, she’s been the one keeping her enemy close.

Picking up my phone, I text her back. I need time.

Hopefully that short message will be enough for her to stop calling and texting me.

‘You coming?’ Jason asks, knocking on my window.

He just pulled up in his truck. My brothers all have pickups.

I’m the only one with a car. Sometimes I feel like the odd one in the family.

I like fancy cars, expensive clothes, designer sunglasses, leather shoes.

My brothers don’t care about any of that.

My dad doesn’t either. They’re good just throwing on an old flannel shirt and some jeans and driving around in their pickup.

I open the door and get out. ‘I was just checking messages. Is everyone else here?’

‘Looks like it,’ he says, noticing the trucks parked in the driveway.

‘How’s your job going?’ I ask as we walk to the house. ‘You got any troublemakers this year?’

‘Always do. There’s this kid who reminds me of you, always whispering to girls, sending them notes. And he’s all worried about looking good, getting dressed up and shit, just like you used to do.’ He looks me up and down and laughs. ‘You haven’t changed.’

‘What?’ I look at my jeans and black sweater and the leather jacket that cost more than Jason would spend on his entire wardrobe. ‘This isn’t dressed up. ’

‘How much that sweater cost you?’

‘Who the hell cares? I liked it, so I bought it.’

‘It’s going to get ruined working outside all day.’

‘I’m not hauling pumpkins today. I told Dad I’d help out inside.’

That’s not the only reason I wore this sweater. I wore it because I knew Gina would like it. It’s tight and shows off my chest muscles, which she loves. When I got dressed this morning I assumed she’d be here today, but I doubt she’ll show up, knowing how angry I am.

‘There you two are,’ Mom says as Jason and I go into the kitchen. ‘I was starting to wonder if you were going to show up.’

‘Sorry we’re late,’ Jason says. ‘I was grading papers and lost track of time.’ He steals a piece of bacon from the platter and stuffs it in his mouth.

‘Jason Lucas Kanfield!’ Mom huffs, putting her hands on her hips. ‘What have I said about taking food from the serving dish?’

He shrugs. ‘Sorry.’

She picks up the platter and takes it to the dining room.

‘You know you’re in trouble when she uses your whole name,’ I say, smiling at Jason.

‘She’ll get over it.’

‘We better get to the table before she yells at both of us.’

‘They’re here,’ Brody says as Jason and I walk into the dining room. ‘Can we eat now? I’m starving.’

‘Let them at least sit down,’ Mom says with a sigh.

Jason and I take the two open seats next to Dad. Mom had to add all the leaves to the table to make it big enough to fit everyone. With my brothers, Lyndsay, my four cousins, three of their girlfriends, my uncle, and parents, there’s 15 people for breakfast.

‘Is this everyone?’ Mom asks, looking around the table.

‘Yeah, Mom, everyone’s here,’ Brody says. ‘Can we eat? ’

‘Yes, dear, go ahead.’ She sits down and we start passing the food around.

As I’m helping myself to the scrambled eggs, I notice a chair pulled off to the corner.

It was meant for Gina. I texted my mom this morning and told her Gina wouldn’t be here, not knowing then that her reason for missing breakfast was because of some other guy.

‘I like your sweater,’ my cousin, Jake, says to me. He and I are similar. We both like nice clothes and expensive things.

‘Thanks,’ I tell him. ‘I got it last summer. This is the first time I’ve worn it.’

‘He won’t tell me how much it cost,’ Jason says. ‘Which means it’s more than he can afford.’

‘I can afford it,’ I insist.

‘Jake just spent $300 on a pair sunglasses,’ Nash says, shaking his head. ‘Waste of money if you ask me.’

‘I didn’t ask you,’ Jake says, taking a muffin from the basket before passing it to Ivy, his girlfriend. ‘Just because you don’t care how you look doesn’t mean other people can’t.’

‘Boys,’ Mitch says, giving them a look to stop arguing.

‘He has to look good for the ladies,’ Austin says, chuckling. Austin’s my youngest cousin. When he’s here in town, he spends all his time with Brody. The two of them are the youngest so they grew up hanging out with each other when the families got together.

‘He shouldn’t be trying to look good for any girl but me,’ Ivy says, smiling at Jake. ‘His fiancé.’

‘Fiancé?’ I look at Jake. ‘When did that happen?’

‘Last week,’ Jake says, like I should know this.

‘He told us when he got here,’ Nick says.

‘I guess I didn’t hear you,’ I say.

‘We’ve got a lot of weddings coming up,’ Dad says. ‘Nash and Callie, Jake and Ivy. Ni— ’

‘Nikki and Dave,’ Mom rushes to say. My dad almost said Nick and Lyndsay, but Nick hasn’t proposed to her yet. He’s doing it tonight, which everyone knows except Lyndsay. My dad almost gave away the secret.

I make a note to myself to not tell my parents if I ever decide to propose to a girl, not that it’ll happen again. Kendall might’ve been my only shot at marriage. I thought Gina might be the girl I’d finally settle down with, but that’s not going to happen now. Maybe I’m just meant to be single.