Page 1 of Country Charm

Chapter One

Hunter

“Damn Harrison, I think you’ve gone soft!” I poke fun at my brother again. It’s a hot summer day, but there is no such thing as a summer vacation for us. Farmin’ is a seven-day-a-week kind of job, and that holds true almost year-round. Whether it’s hot out and we’re making sure crops stay hydrated, or it’s chilly out and we’re making sure our livestock are healthy. The job never ends, but we like it like that.

“If I start calling you Prince Harry, do you think maybe your princess will show up, and you’ll get your happily ever after?” I laugh.

“Shut up, Hunt. One day you’re going to meet a girl and she’s going to knock you on your ass, and I’ll be the one laughing.”

“Doubt it. I could meet a girl in an instant if I was looking, but I’m not right now. Got too much shit on my plate to even think about adding something.” Harrison tilts his head and shrugs as he loads up his quad.

“What?” I push. I don’t really have time to talk. I need to get out and meet the guys out in the field, helpthem finish this week’s harvest for tomorrow, but I know my brother. That noncommittal way he reacts but is “not reacting”.

“Nothing Hunt, just would like to see you wanting something more. You work yourself to the goddamn bone. You keep our books, you do all the crop work, run all the maintenance, and even help me with my cattle. Might be nice to find yourself a girl who wants to be a part of your one-man circus. Make it more of a running show.” I immediately stiffen at his words.

“You think I can’t keep runnin’ this show on my own?” I practically growl.

“Shit, no. I know you could probably do even more if I challenged you. Doesn’t mean some help, who happens to be company, might be nice.” He shrugs again.

“See, you’re just soft.” I walk over and shove my hands in my back pockets.

“Why don’t we switch tomorrow? I’ll take care of the girls for you, and you can run my stand at the market. Maybe some pretty little thing will come up, and you can show her what she’s been missin’.”

“Nah, the girls are testy now that we’re weaning the calves. I’ll meet someone on my own accord, I don’t need your fancy produce to help me.” He finishes loading his quad and then hops on to head to the herd.

“My fancy produce could knock the pants off every girl at that market!” I laugh.

“I can’t believe you’re even trying to knock Mrs. Hewitt’s pants off!” he snaps, referring to the eternal grandma for our entire small town. My eyes widen as a horrific image replaces the firm butts in lace panties that were previously gracing my mind.

“Bro.No.” I double over and pretend to gag. “What is wrong with you!?”

He laughs as he starts the ignition on his ride. “I’ll see you later, Hunter. Radio me if you need anything.” Harrison drives off and I head back to my own quad. I finish attaching the trailer and head out to the fields.

That damn fool.Harrison has his head in the clouds lately. He keeps talking about finding himself a wife and adding to the Hill farm.

Our family was the epitome of happiness, and I think he’s ready for a piece of that himself. Having parents who are a perfect leading example of long-lasting and strong-willed love, followed by having a brother to grow up and build memories with. All that has him itching for a human herd for himself.

Thinking of our parents makes me stop in my tracks to message them, but I’m already behind. I’ll have to make a mental note to do that later. They’ve been RVing across the US since I took over the Hill Family Farm three years ago.

It wasn’t easy convincing my old man that I was ready to be on my own with this farm. When I first started really trying to take over, I was about twenty-five.

I’ve been out on these fields after school every day for as long as I can remember. On the weekends I would spend the morning helping Dad and then the afternoon I was watching and learning the books with my mom. I knew growing up that running this farm was my dream job, and that’s still true. After three years of shadowing my dad directly and taking on more and more responsibilities with time, he left it all to me.

The McGregor farm across town caught wind that my dad was leaving the farm to me at twenty-eight, and Mr. McGregorall but raced here to try and buy the farm out for himself instead. Saying I was too young to run the farm on my own, that if my dad wanted to retire, he’d give him enough money to do that, plus employ his sons. Dad had none of it. His retirement was based on Mama asking to see more than the plains in her own town, and me pushing him to let me take the reins.

That first year I took over I was in the green, and that made my pop proud. These last two years since I started using two unused fields for cattle corn, have pushed us into some good places. The first time I got to send my folks a bonus from my first harvest my dad asked if I was cooking meth in the old bunkhouse. That got him a hearty laugh from me and a swat from Mama.

I have my hand in a lot of different things, but a woman isn’t one of them. That isn’t to say I haven’t bedded my fair share, but the last three years have been about farming and the convenient lover.

Harrison isn’t like me. That boy is a serial monogamist. He couldn’t do casual if he tried; hell, he couldn’t do it if someone paid him to. If it will make him happy, then I hope he finds the right girl, but sometimes when we look too hard for something, we end up taking longer to find it.

He makes a good point though; having someone who loves the farm as much as me, helping me run it and then keeping my bed warm at night sounds like a dream.

I make it to my men in the fields and start hauling full crates onto my trailer. After it’s loaded up, I scan the crowd.

“Jake,” I call. He doesn’t hear me, so I grab the radio attached to my belt.

“Jake, come up to the ATV and bring these crates to the main barn.” I see his head come up over the crop, and he starts running toward me.

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