Page 5 of Frosty the Farmhand (12 Days of Christmas)
4
HARLAN
O ne week.
It’s been one whole week and instead of keeping my distance and avoiding Reid, I’ve managed to run into him at least once a day.
In the parking lot.
The shop.
The office.
And, unsurprisingly, he’s stopped to say good morning while I walk the rows of trees.
He’s everywhere with those big blue eyes and adorable smile, a shameless flirt and me the lucky recipient.
But I can’t do anything about it.
I shouldn’t do anything about it.
After what happened in Wyoming, it shouldn’t be that hard of a concept to grasp—and it wasn’t until I saw Reid.
He may not be Winston’s son, but he is his nephew, and that’s too close a line to even think about crossing.
“Hey man,” Lake says, sidling up to me as I grab a coffee and donut from the box with the bakery logo for Petit Squared stamped on the lid. I haven’t ventured too much into town, but one bite of the glazed confection and I know I’ll be making a special trip just for these.
“Hey,” I reply, trying not to sound too gruff. Lake Sterling is Winston’s second eldest son after Beau, and while he’s the friendliest of the three, I’ve seen him the least since I started working. He has that happy-go-lucky thing going on with a smile to rival Reid’s. His brown hair and beard are both trimmed, probably for that wedding everyone’s been talking about.
I didn’t get a whole lot of details—mainly because I wasn’t looking for them—but what I was able to piece together is that Lake’s best friend was supposed to marry her high school sweetheart and instead of saying ‘I do,’ she fled the church and didn’t look back.
Lake was apparently the getaway driver.
“You ready for the weekend?” Lake asks, bringing me back to the present.
I nod. “All hands on deck.” Winston Sterling had reminded me three times this week already. Unsurprisingly, the tree farm did steady, if not frantic, business all the way through the holiday.
People come from out of town just to get their tree at the Wintervale Tree Farm. Holiday photos, engagements, and a host of other festive activities were sure to take place this weekend.
“He lives!” Jesse snarks, making a show of throwing his hands in the air as he approaches. He’s the youngest Sterling sibling, leaving their sister, Wren, as the only one I haven’t met. Jesse’s a softer version of the brother standing next to me, and already he’s doubled the number of words I’ve heard him speak since I started here.
“Hilarious,” Lake grumbles.
“What? You took off with the bride and have been holed up God knows where for more than a week,” he says with a smirk. “I was worried.”
Getaway driver and now hiding the runaway bride.
Interesting.
“No, he wasn’t,” Beau says as he walks up and pours himself a cup of coffee. “He won the bet; he just wants to gloat.”
The family resemblance between the three brothers is remarkable. They are tall, with dark hair, chiseled jaws, and strong bodies from working the land in Montana their whole lives. It’s not a hardship being here, even if the only one to catch my eye is undoubtedly the one that would ruin me.
Jesse gasps, placing a hand to his chest. “I would never.”
“I can’t believe you’d bet on the wedding,” Lake snorts. “How much did you win?”
“Two hundred bucks,” Beau says helpfully, his lips twitching as Lake’s mouth drops open.
“You guys bet two hundred dollars on Pen not getting married?”
Jesse shakes his head. “Of course not.”
“We bet two hundred dollars that the wedding wouldn’t happen and that you’d swoop in to be her knight in shining armor,” Wren adds as she wraps her arm around Lake’s waist. The dark-haired beauty appeared out of nowhere, and even though this is the first time I’ve seen her, I can already tell she’s hell on wheels. “Buy-in was fifty each.”
“You guys are the worst,” Lake grumbles as he drops a kiss on the top of his sister’s head.
“That’s why you love us,” she says before turning a calculated smile on me. “And you must be Harlan the hottie. I’m Wren. It’s nice to meet you.”
My eyes widen slightly because I’ve never gotten a greeting quite like that before. “Uh, it’s nice to meet you too.”
“Ignore her,” Beau says, his voice deep and annoyed even as his eyes dance with amusement.
“What are you doing here anyway?” Jesse asks, crossing his arms over his chest.
“That’s a good question,” Lake agrees. With a huff, she shoves off him and places one hand on her hip as she points over at me.
“Obviously to meet the talk of the town.”
“You came all this way to see if the new guy is hot?” Lake looks at me. “No offense.”
“None taken,” I say with a shrug because there’s literally nothing else I can do right now besides plan my escape to some quiet corner of the field.
“We bet on you and your best friend. I don’t think you should be surprised by this.”
“That’s a fair point,” Lake concedes. “Welcome to the Wintervale fam, Harlan. If you stick around this will only get worse.” He laughs like he’s put out by his family, but he can’t hide how much he loves all of it.
“I’ll keep it in mind,” I say noncommittally before adding a quick goodbye and hightailing it out of there before we get any deeper into sharing time.
I don’t need to like these people, and the less time I spend with them, the easier it will be to leave. Wintervale was always meant to be a temporary stop, and I just need to keep my head down until February to keep it that way.