One of the Good Ones (Strawberry Inn Book #1)

Chapter 10

HARRISON

“I don’t get why we have to do this.” My cousin’s son was dragging his feet, not nearly as excited to lend a helping hand as I was. At sixteen, I’m not sure Hayes wanted to spend his Saturday afternoon helping a stranger move, we didn’t really volunteer for this job, but rather were volun-told.

I wasn’t complaining or dragging my feet though. Quite the opposite, I showed up at Blair’s house half an hour early ready to get this show on the road. When she first called me I wasn’t nearly on board, but then I started to put the pieces together. A friend needs help moving in. She’s new to Strawberry. It is just her and her mom. She’s the new owner of Strawberry Inn. This was my chance to see Angela again and all I had to do was help unload some furniture. Blair didn’t have to ask me twice.

I had been trying to come up with reasons to go see her since meeting her, but they all seemed a bit stalker-like. She was a busy woman and I didn’t want to get in her way, at least that is what I told myself. Between the diner and the coffee shop, I heard a lot of gossip about Angela. None of it was bad, most of the residents were thrilled she was rebuilding the inn. She was also visiting a lot of the local businesses and getting to know the owners and the patrons alike. It wasn’t just me that fell for her charm.

Hayes was still full of piss and vinegar when we got out of Blair’s car when we arrived at the inn. We decided to drive separately even though we originally met at their place. I could tell that Hayes was starting to wear Blair down, I threw my arm over her shoulder and tucked her against my body for a small hug, “You’ve got this, Blair. He’s just being a teenager boy.”

“You’re not just bullshitting me, right, Harrison? Please tell me you full six feet of asshole when you were his age too.”

“Give me some credit, I’m still full of asshole, I just control it better.”

“You’re not helping,” she playfully shoved me away as we approached the door to the cottage.

The door swung open and Angela stepped out onto the small front entrance immediately hugging Blair. Anybody seeing this welcome would think these two had been friends for years, but the truth was they had just met today. They just clicked and I was happy for my cousin. She’d been through a lot in her adult life and the people her age in this town hadn’t treated her so kindly. 

When the two of them finally pulled apart, Angela’s eyes met mine and her jaw dropped. I lifted my hand to wave at her and then tucked wen back into my jeans, attempting to not be super awkward. “Hey there, Angela.”

“Harrison…” she said just my first name, still in shock at seeing me.

“Wait, you two know each other?” Blair pointed back and forth between the two of us.

“Just a little bit,” Angela answered her, “Harrison helped me out with a small situation I had a couple of weeks ago.”

“She tried to set her place on fire and I told her that wasn’t a good idea,” I teased.

“I did NOT try to set my place on fire, it was all the paper towel’s fault.”

“So we’re blaming paper products for arson now? Come on, Angela, you need a better excuse than that.”

She laughed and shook her head, “I’ll remind you that by the time you made your way into the picture I had already put out the fire and it was just a little smokey. Maybe I didn’t need your help after all.”

“Okay then,” Blair interrupted out banter, “I guess I don’t need to introduce the two of you that much. Angela, this is my son Hayes, he is here to help as well. He is doing this entire thing under protest.”