Page 9 of Keep My Heart (The Haydon Falls #1)

Nick

‘Sawyer did a great job with the place,’ Lyndsay says as she looks around the brewery.

‘Yeah, it looks a lot better than it did,’ I say, walking up to her. ‘You should’ve seen it a few months ago. The fire nearly destroyed the place. I’m surprised the city didn’t try to condemn it.’

‘Why isn’t anyone here?’

‘It’s closed tonight. It was open last night but only until ten. Sawyer’s doing limited hours this week. He wants time to work out any issues before the official opening.’

Lyndsay walks over to the bar, running her hand over the reclaimed wood taken from an old shed that was original to the orchard. My dad tore the shed down last year, but some of the wood made it into Sawyer’s brewery.

‘Even though it’s changed, I’ll always think of this place as Meyer’s Hardware,’ Lyndsay says, sitting on one of the barstools.

The seats were made using more of the reclaimed wood from the shed and then Sawyer added metal legs.

It was my idea to make the barstools instead of buying them and Sawyer agreed.

They turned out better than either of us imagined.

‘I was really sad to hear it burned down.’

‘I was too. I think everyone in town had a hard time accepting it was gone.’ I take a seat beside her.

‘Meyer’s Hardware had been here forever.

My dad loved the place. He likes Hal’s Hardware too, but Meyer’s was his favorite because it had been here longer.

Dad’s one of those guys who just can’t bring himself to go into one of those big box hardware stores.

He likes the small town store where he knows the owner.

’ I pause as I think back to all the times I came here with my dad when it was a hardware store.

I miss those times. I like my life in New York, but I miss my family, and if I’m being honest, I miss this town.

There just isn’t anything here for me. The town’s not big enough to need another lawyer, and after growing up here, I felt it was time to move on.

‘How’s he doing?’ Lyndsay asks, turning to me. ‘My mom said Mr. Meyer had a fall and might end up in a nursing home.’

I nod. ‘He’s already there. He’s been there a few weeks. My dad went to see him yesterday. He said he’s doing okay, but he misses being at home.’

‘Did he sell his house?’

‘Not yet. Matt’s got the listing, but he said the place needs a lot of work before he puts it on the market. My cousin, Nash, is thinking of coming up here for a few weeks to fix the place up. He does construction, lots of old home renovations.’

‘Doesn’t he live in Chicago?’

I smile. ‘You remembered that?’

‘I remember a lot of stuff you told me,’ she says, picking up a beer menu.

During her tutoring sessions, Lyndsay and I talked about more than just math.

She was easy to talk to and asked a lot of questions, so what should’ve been an hour session would often end up being two, or sometimes three.

We’d talk about most anything; movies, music, our families.

The only topic we avoided was Chris and her relationship with him.

It’s like she sensed I didn’t want to hear about him, or maybe she just didn’t want to talk about him with me, knowing I didn’t like him.

‘Why would your cousin come all the way here to work?’ she asks, looking over the menu.

‘He likes being away from the city. He met Callie, his fiancé, in a small town south of Chicago, and kind of misses it. Sounds like they both do. Coming here for a few weeks would get him out of Chicago and he’d get paid for fixing up the house. It’s a win-win.’

‘Won’t he miss his fiancé?’

‘She might come with him. Nothing’s definite yet. Mr. Meyer doesn’t want to start the work until he’s sure he’s not going home.’

Lyndsay looks back at the area that used to be filled with shelves of tools and is now high-top tables and barstools. ‘I always loved coming here as a kid. Remember the bubble gum machine? Mr. Meyer would always give us coins to put in it so we wouldn’t have to pay.’

‘That’s right,’ I say, smiling. ‘He was a good man, or is a good man. I shouldn’t be talking like he’s gone, although at 85 he may not .

.?.’ I decide not to finish that thought, not wanting to bring the mood down.

‘He was thrilled when he found out Sawyer was buying the place. After the fire, everyone just assumed the building would be torn down.’

‘Who restored it? Did Sawyer have to hire someone? There’s no way he did all this himself.’

‘He hired our cousin, Jake. Bryce helped too, but he was only here for part of it. Same with Nash.’ I smile.

‘We like to keep things in the family. They did it to help us out, but also to showcase what they can do. They’d never restored a place with that much damage.

They took a lot of before and after photos and put them up on their website. ’

‘Jake and Bryce are Nash’s brothers, right?’

‘Yeah. You’ve got a good memory.’

‘And there’s another one.’ She pauses to think. ‘Austin?’

‘Yeah. He’s the youngest. I’m surprised you remembered their names after all this time.’

‘It’s because they reminded me of you and your brothers. Four boys close in age. Do they all do construction?’

‘Yeah, Wheeler Construction. Their dad started the business and Nash and his brothers took it over, or they will when my uncle retires.’ I pause, thinking how similar their situation is to my brothers and me.

The four of us could’ve taken over the orchard, but none of us wanted it, and Dad never pressured us into taking it.

He didn’t want us doing something we didn’t want to do out of obligation.

‘You okay?’ Lyndsay asks, putting her hand on my arm. ‘You got quiet.’

‘I was just thinking about something.’ I smile at her. ‘Ready to get out of here?’

‘Sure.’ She hops off the barstool and looks down at her clothes. ‘I should’ve changed. I wore this on the plane because it’s comfortable for the long flight.’ She laughs. ‘I look terrible for our pretend date.’

‘You look beautiful,’ I blurt out, then quickly say, ‘I mean, what you’re wearing is fine. But if you don’t mind, I’d like to change into jeans.’

‘Go ahead.’

‘I’ll just be a minute. You want anything to drink? I know the owner. I can get you whatever you want.’

She smiles. ‘No, but thank you.’

I take off and go up the stairs to Sawyer’s apartment.

Tossing my suitcase on the couch, I quickly open it and take out a pair of jeans.

I’d like to change out of my t-shirt but the button-up shirt I brought is wrinkled from being in the suitcase.

I didn’t bring many clothes, knowing I wouldn’t be here long and figuring I’d end up helping out at the orchard.

I brought work clothes and a nice shirt for the party. I definitely didn’t pack for a date.

I’m going on a date with Lyndsay Davis, the girl I pined over all through high school.

My teenage self can’t believe this is happening.

My adult self is struggling to believe it too.

She seemed way out of my league back then, and still does.

She’s so incredibly beautiful, but still so easy to talk to.

I feel like I can open up to her, which is not something I usually do, especially with women.

Grabbing my leather shaving bag, I go into the bathroom and set it on the counter.

I open it up and take out my cologne. I spray some on and check myself in the mirror.

This isn’t a real date, but I still want to look good for her.

I brush my teeth and rinse with mouthwash, then wonder why I’m doing it.

It’s not like I plan to kiss her. Then again, a date usually ends in a kiss, and if she really wants to know what it’s like to get out there again, I shouldn’t hold back.

I should treat her like I would if we were really on a date.

I can’t believe I suggested this. I threw it out there, half joking, never thinking she’d actually agree to it.

I have no idea how tonight’s going to turn out.

Will we just forget the date and hang out as friends?

I could see that happening, although I definitely feel some chemistry between us, the kind I didn’t feel back in high school.

Back then, she was so committed to Chris, she wouldn’t even look at another guy.

‘Hey,’ I hear someone say as I go down the stairs. ‘What are you doing here?’

As I walk into the brewery, I see Sawyer giving Lyndsay a hug.

‘I’m home for a few days,’ she says. ‘It’s good seeing you again. ’

‘You too,’ he says, looking her up and down. He better not be checking her out. She’s newly divorced. She’s not ready to date, other than fake date, and that’s only with me.

‘I thought you had a date,’ I say, coming up next to Sawyer.

‘Didn’t go well,’ he says. ‘So she came here with you?’ he asks, pointing to Lyndsay.

‘No,’ I say, pretending to be surprised to see her. ‘She must’ve broken in when I was upstairs. You should call the cops.’

‘Wait—what?’ Lyndsay grabs Sawyer’s arm. ‘He’s lying. I didn’t break in. I—’

‘Relax,’ Sawyer says with a laugh. ‘He’s just messing with you. He does that whenever he’s—’

‘With old friends,’ I say, stopping him before he tells her the truth, which is that I tend to joke around with women I really like. I don’t know why I do it. Maybe it’s to calm my nerves, although I don’t feel nervous around Lyndsay, so maybe it’s something else.

‘Right.’ Sawyer smiles at me. ‘Old friends.’

He better not say any more. He knows how much I wanted to date Lyndsay back in high school, and he knows I’ll kick the shit out of him if he tells her that.

I may play the role of sophisticated lawyer when I’m in New York, but when I come home, the rough-around-the-edges country boy comes out and I can throw a punch when needed, like if my stupid brother rats me out about my secret crush.

‘So what are you guys doing here?’ Sawyer asks.

‘We just stopped by to drop off my suitcase,’ I tell him. ‘We’re going to go find a place to get a drink.’