Holding my hand out for the clipboard I grabbed the pen, boldly signing my name without a moment of hesitation. I wasn’t afraid of a little challenge. My move to Holiday Hollow said as much and I wasn’t going to start balking now. Especially when I had a pair of brothers in my life that were making things a lot more interesting.
Chapter5
Hunter
It had been a busy past few days with the excitement of the Fall Festival in the air approaching.
Which was why it seemed like a good time as any to get cleaned up and go grab a pint and unwind at Holiday Brews. It was the perfect place in Holiday Hollow to grab a drink and some grub. The beer was cold, the food hot, and they even had live music that played most nights of the week.
Everyone was in a stir over little Autumn Cedarwick returning, and she seemed to have already ensnared most of the town, my momma included. I swear she took one look at her and decided she was replacing me. The welcoming committee had all but swarmed the omega when she first arrived.
While it wasn’t uncommon for omegas to own businesses, and hell, rise to be some of the most influential people in the world, I was still a little surprised that she’d shown up alone.
Call it old fashioned of me, but most of us preferred some type of companionship and pack over solidarity, and I’d thought for sure, with her trying to take over the entire orchard, she’d of at least brought a friend. Although, I guess she did have Riley.
I shouldn’t have been as surprised as I was to see her there, perched on a stool at the long wooden bar talking to Lindsay as she took a sip of what appeared to be pumpkin ale.
My feet moved on their own accord, eating up the space between us until I was next to her and the words were falling easily through my mouth.
“Is this seat taken?”
She gestured to me to take the seat as she took another drink from her beer, her neck tilting up slightly.
“The usual, Halston?”
“You know it, Lindsay,” I said with a wink, giving her my usual charm as she grabbed me one of their homemade IPAs. I gave her a ten to which she tried to give me change until I just arched an eyebrow at her and she finally relented.
Finally I took a sip of my ice cold beer and turned my attention back towards Autumn. Her cheeks pinking a smidge as I’d caught her clearly looking at me through the whole exchange.
“So did you have a good time with my mom and brother?”
“I did. She was such a nice lady,” she said, the sincerity clear in her voice. “Makes me miss my momma, but everybody's been really welcoming. I mean, barring the almost arrest.”
I couldn’t help but wince slightly at her tease before I composed myself, by Hollow I was never going to live that down.
“You wound me,” I jested, not letting my smile falter.
“You’re a confident one aren’t you?” she questioned.
“There’s nothing wrong with being confident,” I countered, raising an eyebrow at her.
“True, but there’s a difference between being confident and cocky.”
“Look,” I said, setting down my beer, the facade on my face finally cracking. “I really am--”
“I'm just kidding,” she relented with an adorable laugh. “I'm not mad about it. You were just doing your job.”
I nodded, a sense of relief filling me. I didn’t know why those words meant so much to me, but I couldn’t stand the thought of her being mad at me. I wanted to continue our playful banter and that wasn’t going to happen if she forever thought I was a complete ass. I had my moments, sure, but I prided myself on being a decent alpha.
“So did you just have to get away or just enjoying a night out?” I drew out, obviously changing the subject. There was more I wanted to say, more I wanted to ask and demand she tell me, but I held my instincts back and let her take the lead.
“There's just a lot of pressure going on. I just needed a moment of reprieve,” she admitted, washing down a small sigh with another pull of her pumpkin ale.
My eyebrows dipped down with concern. “Are you managing okay on that apple farm of yours?”
She gave a shrug. “Who really knows? I'm only a week in. It's a lot of work and there’s so much left to learn, but Riley is a godsend. I just suddenly realized how big that place is and how small I am.”
I nodded. “Riley's a good one. And you know if you need help there’s plenty of people ready and willing, myself included.”