Page 2 of Harvesting with Hayes (Mountain Men Fall Harder #4)

CHAPTER TWO

Serena

“Who was that?” Derek asked loudly as the hottest man I’d ever seen before walked away. Damn. “Never seen him before.”

Where had he been hiding?

Oh wait, that’s right, he wasn’t hiding. He just wasn’t from around here. Figures.

“Just a guy at the festival, Derek. Maybe a potential customer?”

“Mmhmm,” Derek teased with a roll of his eyes. “Looks like he has the hots for my older sister.”

“He does not . It was friendly, nice to meet you type of conversation, nothing else. He’s running a booth here and introducing himself.”

“Which one?”

“I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t be hard to figure out, but it’s the one over there.” I nodded toward his booth, the sign reading Spicy Apple, large and eye catching, with bright red font and a delicious looking icy apple cider. I needed to sample the goods before the day ended.

“I think I should go say hi and introduce myself. Let him know my sister is off limits to out of towners.”

I snorted. “Last time I checked, your opinion didn’t matter regarding my love life.”

“Oh, it does, sis. Even Becky agrees.”

“Okay, whatever you say. Now scoot along. I’ve got jewelry to sell.”

“Don’t miss me too much.” Derek said, before sauntering away in the direction of Hayes. I loved my brother, but he was a busybody, always up in everyone’s business. Hell, if he paid half the attention he paid to me to his own problems, he’d have none.

Besides, he took the easy way out when it came to love.

He proposed to his high school sweetheart.

Never had his heart broken. Luckily, he scored a high-paying job in the city as soon as he graduated, using some of his money to help with our family’s debt, including paying off our parent’s mortgage.

Now he claimed he wanted to see me happy.

But my happiness wasn’t reliant on my love life.

All I wanted was a successful career doing what I always loved to do- make jewelry.

This was the first year I was brave enough to come here and sell my pieces, my mom insisting the fall festival we went to every year would be a good start. Locals would be supportive and plenty of people from all around came, giving me more exposure.

Fear held me back time and time again, doubting my pieces and my art. But when I began selling online to eventually selling out within a day of a new drop, I decided it was time to put myself out there.

Last thing I needed was a guy screwing me all up. Usually, guys didn’t hold my interest. So why him?

I braced myself as I watched Derek move closer to the Spicy Apple booth, but thankfully at the last minute, he turned in the opposite direction, yet not before flashing me a smirk.

Younger brothers- gotta love them.

I recognized the Spicy Apple booth from last year and even several years prior, as our family made it a yearly tradition to come here, but I didn’t recall seeing Hayes before. Maybe he took over?

Normally, I’d skip the cider and go for a warm drink, the October air chilly especially after the sun went down, but I would’ve remembered seeing him whether or not I stopped at the booth.

As the festival started and the crowds rolled in, I couldn’t stop thinking about him. I stole glances at him every chance I got and at one point, he caught my eye, held up a can of cider in a mock cheer to me, and took a sip.

The simple action set my body on fire. I imagined his Adam’s apple bobbing in his throat as he drank down the cold liquid, the muscles in his arm flexing as he chugged.

“Miss? Miss, hello. Are you okay?”

Shit. I blinked a few times, attempting to refocus my attention on the customer before me. “Yes, sorry. Are you interested in purchasing that piece?” I pointed at the dark orange jewels of the bracelet she held, one of my favorite pieces representing the fall season.

“Yes, please. May I try it on first?”

“Of course.” I busied myself with the sale and told myself enough was enough. Hayes wasn’t making me money or promoting my jewelry, and staring at him only made me lose potential customers.

I needed to focus on what I came here to do.

Sell my jewelry, expose my brand, and make money. The end.

The day passed quickly, and I did better than I expected. After closing my booth for the day, I met up with my parents for a bite to eat.

“You sold everything?” Mom’s face lit up with excitement. It warmed from the inside out.

“Just about.”

“That’s awesome, honey. We’re so proud of you.” My dad reached across the table and patted my arm gently while Mom clapped her hands and blew me a kiss.

“Yes, we are! I knew you could do it, sweetheart.” Mom squealed more. She never once said anything negative or told me to pursue something else, but instead wore my jewelry proudly, showing it off to whoever wanted to see.

“Thanks guys. Without your support and loving persistence, I wouldn’t have taken the risk. But I’m glad I did.”

“Are you spending time at the festival this evening? Your father and I were thinking about watching the bluegrass band play.”

“I planned on it. Maybe grab a caramel apple or play a carnival game or two. Derek’s around, too.”

“Yeah, he texted me earlier, raving about the spiked cider he had.”

My spine stiffened, and I sat up straighter. “Which one?”

“The Spicy Apple. Remember I told you about it before?”

I vaguely remembered him telling me, but I nodded my head, anyway. “I think so. Refresh my memory.”

“The cider is delicious. A family-owned business out of upstate Vermont. The spiked variety sneaks up on you, trust me. But they have other flavors, including alcohol free ones. You should try it if you haven’t already.”

I wrinkled my nose. “You know I’m not a big fan of cider.”

“True, but this one might change your mind. It’s that good.”

“Do you know much about the people who run it?”

“The Martins? Nice people. I heard their son was taking over this year. Haven’t gone by yet, but I’ll have to say hi.”

Ah, ha. Their son. Hayes is their son.

Now it makes sense.

“Hayes. His name is Hayes.” I blurted out.

Dad chuckled. “I take it you met him?”

“Is he cute?” Mom winked at me, and I rolled my eyes. She loved to play matchmaker, much to my dismay.

“He’s nice. That’s all that matters.” I said and quickly changed the subject.

After dinner, I separated from them and moseyed around the festival. It didn’t take long for me to land directly in front of one booth in particular.

The Spicy Apple.

And there he was, looking hotter than a scorching day at the beach, his eyes lighting up the moment they land on mine.

Suddenly, I didn’t seem to dislike cider as much.

In fact, I wanted an icy mug full of it.

Served by him.