29. Harlow
Harlow
No orgasm was worth the embarrassment I felt the next day seeing Jude at the Town Hall. No matter how earth shattering it might have been the night before. Or, at least I kept telling myself that.
I’d caught an early ride into town with Kasey and sat at Sweater Weather until it was time for work. Then I spent the rest of the day trying to dodge Jude. It was so much worse than avoiding him after our kiss.
Now I knew how his golden eyes looked when they were dark and hooded. I knew the way he groaned right before he—
It was too much for my brain to handle.
I couldn’t stop thinking about it every time I saw a glimpse of him. I just hoped that some distance would give me time to flush those feelings away.
I was glad to escape back to Sweater Weather when the workday ended. I just could hide away there with a book in a worn leather armchair, until the women of Autumn Creek started to arrive.
I didn’t know what to call our meetings anymore.
They were technically still about the Harvest Festival, but it was really more of a community event.
Dawn had even told me she would be swinging by today.
I had told her that there wasn’t much festival talk going on anymore, but she’d just patted me on the shoulder saying “I’m coming for Whitney’s chili anyway. ”
I only got a chance to read a few chapters of my book before Payton and Yuri walked through the door, greeting me with warm hugs.
Kasey rounded the wooden counter, joining us. “How’s everything going?”
“I’m all good!” I tried not to let my tormented thoughts about last night show, but her green eyes were sharp. She could see right through me.
“Hmm. You look distracted today.”
Payton let out a sigh. “I always get sidetracked when the weather gets colder. It’s just the best time of year for cozying up and reading.”
“It must be that.” I laughed, trying to keep my tone casual but could feel my temperature rising.
Kasey nudged me and quietly added, “You’re not caught up thinking about what happened at Maple Ridge, are you?”
My lips parted but I quickly shut them trying not to give anything away. Was it written all over my face? Surely not. Because a lot more had happened since the alpaca farm. And I absolutely could not tell Jude’s cousin about that.
The bell above the door chimed, and Dawn walked into Sweater Weather, catching the end of Kasey’s question.
“Maple Ridge, how did that go?” Dawn asked as she walked over to the couch.
Kasey not so subtly wiggled her eyebrows at me. But luckily my boss had saved me from having to talk about my almost kiss with the group. I stuck to the safe-for-work details instead. But I could feel my pulse thrumming in my neck.
My plan had not worked.
I could say for a fact that Jude Bramley was not out of my system. His presence had crept under my skin like a chill in the autumn air.
I couldn’t let it go any further.
“What about you, Harlow?”
I’d clearly missed some conversation.
But when I took a second too long to reply, Yuri clarified, “How are you liking fall in Autumn Creek?”
“It’s beautiful—probably the most picturesque town I’ve ever been to.”
“Wait till you see Ravensby Farm,” Payton added. “It might even convince you to stick around.”
Dawn nodded. “It really is that pretty. Just you wait.”
Stick around. In Autumn Creek. That was a whole another entanglement to think about. It wasn’t just Jude that had developed a hold on my mind. It was also the town itself.
The smart and reasonable thing to do would be to move somewhere new after my contract was done here.
A small Ottawa Valley town wasn’t the best place to find a job in marketing.
I knew I should keep climbing the rungs of the corporate ladder—at least that’s what I’d told myself I always wanted—but the idea of chasing the next best thing all the time was becoming less and less appealing.
But Autumn Creek didn’t have a guaranteed spot for me here. I couldn’t rely on that either.
But what if I could stay?
It was all too tempting to see if Autumn Creek would one day feel like home. But the idea was a little terrifying. I’d never stuck around anywhere too long. I was scared to try something different—to stay.
Despite the argument going on in my mind, I attempted a casual smile and finally replied, “Maybe it will.”
The words felt secretly vulnerable.
Kasey’s eyes widened. “Wait, really? You’d want to stay in Autumn Creek?”
Yuri grinned and added with a squeal, “Seriously! I thought you might have plans after your contract, but we’d love you to stay.”
I twisted my fingers through the ends of my hair as I spoke. “I’ll have to see. I don’t really have anything set in stone at the moment.” I shot Dawn a small smile, and her eyes wrinkled as she returned one back to me. I was sure she knew I’d only be able to stay if the council could keep me.
I thought back to myself a few months ago. I’d been good at my job, but my life had been colourless. So dull, I’d been fine with following Marcus around wherever he wanted to go. It felt good to hope for something more, even if it was out of reach.
I couldn’t control staying, all I could do was focus on the festival.
Payton reached over and squeezed my shoulder. “Well, you’re always wanted here, Harlow. Look what you’ve already done for the community.” She gestured around at the room which had slowly filled up with people as we’d been talking.
Nora was in the corner chatting with Sana and Whitney over some bowls of chili. Margot was discussing fall decor with Lorna Bramley. And Arden and Isabella were wandering through the bookshelves swapping recommendations.
It really was nice, but it wasn’t necessarily because of me. Still it did calm my nerves a little. But there were worries over throwing myself at the town’s poster boy simmering inside of me.
Jude was crucial to the foundation of Autumn Creek.
Yes, maybe I wanted to be a part of it. But I wasn’t. I needed to remember that. And there was a chance I never would be. With everything up in the air, I shouldn’t get any closer to him.
The sun set slowly outside, filling Sweater Weather with warm fall sunlight, before it dipped behind the red brick buildings of Main Street.
Conversations flowed and people drifted happily round the room.
I found myself leaning over the counter beside Kasey, still mulling over my place in Autumn Creek.
“How long have you been running Sweater Weather?” I asked, as she adjusted a few syrup jars on her counter.
“About three years now.”
“And how did you decide on this spot?”
She poured us both hot cocoa from a thermal pitcher and replied.
“When I went to university in Montreal, I worked in a great cafe. It really brought me out of my shell. And when I moved back to Autumn Creek, I worked in a few other spots near Ottawa. But I’ve always been a bit of a perfectionist.” She grinned.
“I knew if I opened a cafe, I would do a damn good job. So I started planning. I considered the city for a while—my mom lives there—but I just love this town. There’s a certain kind of magic here. So, when this spot went up for lease…”
I looked around at the beautiful space and finished her sentence for her. “I can see why you had to have it.”
She nodded. “You know, a lot happened with the farm, my uncle, and the town. I felt like if I could do something great, then I wanted to do it here.”
My brows furrowed. “Jude told me about what his father did.”
“Yeah, he’s a materialistic asshole. But Colt and Jude put everything they had together and bought it from him. And Darren only cares about the money.” She said his name bitterly.
I hadn’t realized but Lorna Bramley had wandered up to us while Kasey was speaking, and was nodding along solemnly.
“And you chipped in as well, Kasey,” Lorna said, pinching her cheek.
“The boys paid me back, it doesn’t count.”
Lorna scoffed.
“You didn’t want to work on the farm with them?” I asked.
“I love to serve cider, but making it is not my passion. And they do such a good job.”
“We still get the family benefits of drinking as much of it as we want to,” Lorna added.
“It is pretty good.” Kasey gave her grandma a side hug. “Are you bringing your mulled cider to Thanksgiving then?”
She nodded. “Your grandpa’s just picked up that whiskey I like for it!” Then Lorna turned to me. “Will you be at dinner on Sunday, dear?”
“Sunday…” I tried to think of my calendar. Surely Thanksgiving hadn’t come up that quickly. I didn’t have any plans for the long weekend—my parents were on an alpine hiking tour this month, anyway—so I should be free.
“Gran and Grandpa are going on a cruise,” Kasey cut through my thoughts. “So we’re doing Thanksgiving a week early this year.”
Lorna grinned beside her, “I’ve got to get some sun before the winter starts.”
“If you’re not busy, we’d love to have you there!”
“I’d love to.” My words got caught in my throat for a second, feeling exposed under the warm gaze of the Bramleys in front of me. “Thank you.”
As soon as the words left my mouth, Lorna wrapped her arms around me. “I look forward to seeing you there.”
Kasey grinned at me over her grandma’s shoulder. “I’ll text you the details later.”
I nodded with wide eyes. But as soon as Kasey turned, I pulled out my phone and shot off a text. The last thing I wanted to do was intrude after I’d been so bold with Jude.
Me: I just met your Grandma, I think I’m invited to your Thanksgiving dinner. Is that okay?
I didn’t want to ruin his holiday after I’d tried—and failed—to get him out of my system. My phone chimed and I gulped.
Jude: Of course, sweetheart. I’ll just warn you that there will be lots of boozy cider and terrible charades.
Jude: See you there ;)
I looked up with a heated blush across my cheeks, and Kasey shot me a wink too when she caught me staring at my screen.
Those damn Bramleys.