Chapter1
Buzz Off
Lawson Malssum breathed in the clean Vermont air and decided maybe he hadn’t been a complete dumbass.
Or maybe he had.
As a mechanic who loved restoring old cars, he was used to the thicker air of the cities—the good old smog and carbon monoxide smell that accompanied his love of vehicles.
Now, he’d moved to a farm where he could probably count the vehicles that passed the property during the day on one hand.
Lawson shook his head and stepped off the farmhouse porch.Apple trees grew in every direction.These were the apples that had lured Lawson’s brother Knox to the farm.In turn, Knox had enticed their sisters Jolie and Amber to give farm life a shot.
The three of them and another pair of friends had found partners and happiness here, living on the four-hundred acre property.He wondered how big that was in Boston blocks.
After arriving late the previous night, Lawson slept in this morning.Everyone else was doing whatever they did to get the apple farm up and running.He imagined the chores were endless now that spring was doing its thing.
Lawson figured Knox and Thea worked at the Worminator, and he wanted to check that out in person at some point.His brother had found a woman whose fondest dream had been a compost facility for the farm.It made Lawson smile.The two of them were perfect together.
He could also head to the pond where his sister Jolie and her partner Ford were probably letting out their ducks and working on whatever spring duties involved cleaning up a stagnant pond and preparing it for the season.
Amber and Gray would be at the other farmhouse.The No Phailed Apples Inn would open in a few weeks.Or maybe they’d be working on the gigantic garden area where Gray worked his magic on the plants to make it enticing for the inn’s guests.
Nash, Olivia, and their two kids could be anywhere.Probably at the cider cabin, which they planned to turn into a full-sized house over the season, or inventing new cider flavors to try.
All busy.All happy with partners.
Lawson didn’t want to think about that part.His luck in finding a partner sucked big time.
His encounters had been with women who thought he should push himself to be more than a simple mechanic, women who wanted his money or his body.None of them wanted him.
And he wasn’t thinking about that anymore.After Gloria had dumped him for not wanting to open his own restoration shop andbe someonelike her father, he needed a break.From women, from his life.
Then the garage where he’d worked burned to the ground.The cops figured it was kids who’d been torching local businesses as an initiation into one of the local gangs.Jackasses.
He needed a change, so he’d packed up his stuff, shoved it in his ’72 Chevy truck, and moved from Boston to Vermont.
He felt bad about leaving Ricky, but it would be months before his boss could reopen, and he’d likely need a new spot.
Lawson could be replaced.According to Gloria, mechanics were a dime a dozen.She’d wanted him to build an empire so that he wouldn’t have to get his hands dirty.
Getting his hands dirty was the very best part of his job.
Lawson mentally kicked his ass.No thinking about Gloria or Boston.He was in Vermont now, and it was time to determine his next steps.
Knox had given him a set of keys to all the buildings on the farm.The closest barn was full of vehicles waiting for Lawson, but he needed to get his head out of his ass first.
Heading to his truck, he searched the boxes he’d brought until he found his latest toy.He’d only had the chance to use it once, and there hadn’t been many spaces in Boston where it had been okay to use.
Here, he had four hundred acres to explore, and no one to bother.Grabbing the box, he headed to the space between the farmhouse and the inn.Gray was indeed working in his garden across the drive, but Lawson wouldn’t bother him.
The snow was gone, but the land wasn’t nearly as dry as it had been in Boston.Knox and his sisters had sent photos of their first winter at the farm.The amount of snow had made him laugh and remember their days of growing up with Fox after their parents had died in a car accident.
Their grandfather had taken them in and worked his ass off to ensure they had everything they’d needed, including love and emotional support.
He’d been a hell of a man and an excellent grandfather to them all.
As the second oldest, Lawson had tried to help like his older brother, Burke, did.But it had been hard for a thirteen-year-old to do more than mow lawns and fix the neighbor’s lawn mowers and snow blowers.
