10. Harrison #2
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Harrison practically growled, suddenly furious at the idea of anyone else sniffing around the bakery after his girl.
Aunt Alice’s brows raised slightly and then she laughed, with such a fond look on her face that he hardly felt insulted for being laughed at.
He probably deserved it anyway. He had no right to be so jealous over Mallory when he hadn’t even asked her out himself.
And he knew that he shouldn’t, given all the responsibilities he had on his shoulders right now.
But he also knew that none of that mattered, because he was definitely going to, the very next chance he got. No way was he waiting for some other guy to make a move on her first.
“Listen,” Aunt Alice said. “Change of subject, but your uncle put a few things out on the porch for you. It’s just some extra tools and things that might be a help around the new place, nothing fancy. Anything you don’t want, you can bring back or donate, okay?”
“Thanks, Aunt Alice,” Harrison said. “I’ve been meaning to take inventory over there.”
“You’re probably overwhelmed just getting into the routine,” she said, nodding.
“And that’s the other thing. Any of the boys would be more than happy to come lend a hand whenever you need.
We’ve got good farm hands again, now that Baz Radcliffe has sold off some of his properties.
So if Jacob, Shane, Ian, or even Chris Bell could be of use, just give us a ring. ”
“Chris Bell?” Harrison asked.
“He’s married to our sweet Grace,” Alice said fondly. “And they’ve got a little daughter, Izzy.”
“Wow,” Harrison said, shaking his head. “So Natalie’s brother is married to Shane’s cousin. Small world.”
“It sure is,” Alice said, her eyes twinkling.
“Well, thank you for the offer,” Harrison said. “I just might give a call sometime soon.”
“See that you do,” she said with a smile. “Now go see what your uncle set aside for you.”
She patted his arm, and he kissed the top of her head before heading down the center hall for the front porch.
“Where are you off to?” Mallory’s voice floated down the hall to him just as he was putting on his coat.
“Hey,” he said, turning to her.
“Are you trying to sneak out without us?” she teased, catching up to him.
“Nope,” he said. “My uncle put some stuff on the porch for me to take back to the farm. I figured I’d carry it out to the truck now so you and Katie don’t have to wait on me later.”
“I’ll help,” she said lightly, grabbing her coat from the hook.
“Thanks,” he said, pulling his own coat on and trying not to overthink things.
But his mind was racing as he pushed open the stout front door and stepped out onto the porch with Mallory beside him.
We’re alone out here…
The evening was clear and bright. Stars twinkled over the farmhouse lawn, and cold, crystalline air filled Harrison’s lungs, making him feel more alert as his heart pounded.
“Oh wow,” Mallory said, stepping over to the wooden crates on the side of the porch. “That’s a lot of stuff.”
Harrison looked over to see her already lifting a crate that seemed to be full of tools.
“This stuff might be kind of heavy for you,” he said.
“No way,” she told him. “I move fifty-pound bags of flour all the time.”
He frowned and grabbed two more crates, following her out to his truck. Just because she could carry this stuff didn’t mean she should. She was a tiny woman, lugging around a fifty-pound sack of flour could wind her up with an injury.
She doesn’t have anyone else to do it for her, he remembered with a pang.
He put his crates in the truck bed and then took Mallory’s from her.
“Wow, that was heavy,” she admitted, smiling.
She turned as if to head back up to the porch again, and he wrapped his hand around her arm before she could.
“Wait,” he said, his voice going low and rough.
She turned back to him, her eyes wide with surprise.
“Mallory.”
“Yes?” she replied, her voice soft and breathy.
Harrison wanted to tell her what she meant to him, wanted to ask her if she could ever imagine herself with a man like him.
“Don’t move any more fifty-pound bags of flour around,” he heard himself say instead. “Just message me and I’ll move them.”
He expected her to argue, but she was looking up at him almost like his words hadn’t even hit her.
Even in the moonlight, her eyes were as green as a forest at dawn. The world around them seemed to slip away, until all he could see was Mallory.
He could practically taste her pretty pink lips. He wanted to kiss her more than he wanted his next breath.
Mallory’s eyes slid down to his mouth and his resolve broke the moment he knew she was thinking about it too.
He bent to kiss her, sliding his hand up her arm to cup her cheek.
Her phone suddenly rang, a loud bell sound like an old-fashioned landline.
Mallory stepped back, her hand going automatically to her pocket.
Harrison moved back too, his heart still thundering.
“H-hello,” she said into the phone, her eyes still fixed on Harrison’s.
She listened, biting her lip.
“You can’t borrow a truck, or—?” she began, then stopped as the person on the other end said something Harrison couldn’t hear. She nodded her head, tears suddenly welling up in her eyes. “Okay, I understand, of course. I hope you get it fixed soon. Merry Christmas.”
She slid the phone back in her pocket, looking so upset that it would have broken Harrison’s heart if there was anything left there to break.
“What was that about?” he asked. He could tell that his voice was too loud and angry. But he didn’t like the idea of anyone upsetting her like this.
“Oh,” she said. “Well, there’s this couple out in Ginger Brook. They make candy canes, and they let me buy a sack of the broken ones every year. I use them for my peppermint mochas, which are a big seller around the holidays.”
Harrison nodded.
“Well, their truck broke down,” she went on. “So they can’t deliver.”
“No problem,” Harrison said. “We’ll go pick them up. I can come get you tomorrow right after the morning milking, if you can get away.”
“Really?” Mallory asked, looking torn. “I don’t want to take you from your farm.”
“It’s not a big deal,” he told her, though she was right, he should be getting more organized. “I can catch up with farm stuff anytime. Let’s go get broken candy canes together.”
“Thank you,” Mallory said, warmth in her gaze again as she looked up at him like he was her hero. “I guess it seems like kind of a silly thing to get upset about, but it’s just one more thing, you know?”
But Harrison did know. He knew exactly how fast those little things added up when you were already using so much willpower just to hold yourself together.
And it didn’t matter how big or small her problem was.
Harrison wanted to solve them all if he could, to make her life easy and wash all her worries away.
But of course he couldn’t say any of that, and even if he had the nerve, he didn’t really know how.
He’d never had a gift with words, at least not in person.
Talking with Mallory had been so much easier online, when he wasn’t distracted by her fiery hair, or her sparkling emerald eyes, or those soft lips that he was just dying to…
“Dad, Mallory,” Katie yelled, bursting out the front door. “Where are you guys? It’s time to count the votes.”
“Hi, Katie,” Mallory called up to her, jogging back to the porch. “We were loading up some stuff from your great-uncle.”
Katie looked between the two of them, a little furrow in her brow.
“Everyone voted?” Harrison asked her, hoping it was enough to distract her from whatever she was trying to piece together.
“Yes,” she said. “Let’s count them, Mal.”
“You don’t have to ask me twice,” Mallory said. “Hopefully, we can name a winner tonight and I’ll have my signature treat figured out.”
Katie grabbed her hand and the two of them hurried up the porch steps and into the house.
Harrison stood outside a while longer, until his heart had calmed and he had some hope of going inside without the entire extended family reading his emotions on his face.
He might be able to keep them in the dark for now, but he couldn’t pull the wool over his own eyes. Like it or not, he was definitely going to be making a fool of himself over sweet Mallory Fisher, and soon.
But if he planned it right, at least he could do it on his own terms.