Page 2 of Hayrides with Hank
“Well, well.”
I skidded to a stop so fast I nearly gave myself whiplash.
And that’s when I saw him. The man emerging from the woods behind my truck was like something out of a fantasy—the kind of fantasy I definitely shouldn’t be having about a stranger who’d just caught me red-handed with stolen fruit.
He was huge. Not just tall, but built like he could wrestle bears for fun and win. His long-sleeved shirt stretched across shoulders that belonged in a fitness magazine, and his brown hair and full beard made him look like a lumberjack who’d stepped off the cover of a romance novel.
The chainsaw in his hands should have been terrifying. Instead, all I could think was that he held it like it weighed nothing, with the casual confidence of a man who knew exactly how to use his hands.
Focus, Maddie. You’re in trouble here.
“You’re trespassing,” he said, but his voice held no anger. If anything, he sounded…amused?
That was not the reaction I’d been expecting. I’d prepared myself for fury, threats, maybe a lecture about respecting private property. But amusement? That threw me completely off balance.
“I can explain,” I started, then realized I absolutely could not explain. What was I supposed to say?Sorry, I was feeling rebellious, and your apples looked really pretty?
“I’m listening,” he said, taking a step closer.
That’s when I caught his scent—sawdust and something woodsy that made my brain short-circuit. He smelled like the mountains. Like hard work and dangerous promises.
“I…”
My voice came out as a squeak. Professional, Maddie. Very smooth.
He tilted his head, studying me with those dark eyes, and I had the strangest feeling that he was seeing something I didn’t even know was there.
“Do I know you?” I asked, because this whole interaction felt surreal. Like we were following a script I’d never read.
His lips curved into a smile that made my knees forget how to function properly.
“Not yet,” he said. “But I’m hoping that’s about to change.”
2
HANK
Imade a deal with an angel. And that angel had me carrying a gigantic metal bear.
That was one of the things I found most fascinating about the brunette I’d first spotted at last year’s Maple Ridge Fall Festival. She was young, so at the time I told myself not to even introduce myself. But I hadn’t stopped thinking about her in the entire year that had passed.
Every lonely night, every woman I saw on TV, in person, or on social media paled in comparison to her. And spotting her again this morning in that adorable black cape, looking like something out of a fairy tale, had confirmed that she was the woman of my dreams.
“I just hang that bear there,” she said, staring at the back wall of her tent.
Unlike many of the other vendors, she had a full tent with a roof and three walls. The front was open, and she’d hung a sign that readMaddie’s Metal Treasures. And that was how I’d known her name last year. Maddie.
“You’re going to hang this on that wall?” I asked, setting the giant metal bear at my feet and pointing to the canvas back wall.
She turned and looked at me, those beautiful green eyes landing on my chest. Did she realize she was checking me out? I hoped that meant she found me attractive.
“Want to see?” she asked.
I opened my mouth to answer, but nothing came out. The truth was, I wanted to watch her do just about anything. Luckily, she wasn’t waiting for my answer as I stood there like a speechless moron.
She grabbed a folding chair and positioned it in front of the back wall, then hefted the metal bear. The piece had to weigh at least twenty pounds, and watching her struggle to balance it while climbing onto the chair made my chest tight with worry.
“Maddie, let me?—”
