Harvested by the Charming Mountain Man: Mountain Man Pumpkin & Plaid

Everybody calls the Holloways charming.

Nobody ever means me.

My cousins can own a room before they finish saying hello. I’m the one refilling drinks in the back. What I’ve got is ten acres of apple trees my grandfather planted by hand sixty years ago, a cider press held together by stubbornness, and a festival booth that keeps the lights on through winter.

Then Piper Ashford steps out of a rental car in heels that have no business on orchard ground.

She’s a Manhattan magazine editor, here to write about “authentic fall experiences.” She calls my orchard rustic. She has her phone out before she shakes my hand.

I should be offended. Instead, I pour her a jar of cider.

One sip, and the polish slips. Her eyes close. Her shoulders drop. For a few seconds she forgets she’s working, and I catch a glimpse of the woman underneath. Tired. A little lost. So damn pretty it ruins my whole afternoon.

So I feed her. Stew. Fresh bread. Apples straight off the branch. I teach her to run the press and tell her she’s got a leaf in her hair.

She keeps coming back.

But she came here to turn my grandfather’s trees into a story for strangers. And I’ve spent my whole life being the Holloway nobody notices. When a woman like her finally sees me, how am I supposed to believe she means it?

Some things can’t be rushed. Apples. Cider. Trust.

I just have to hope she stays long enough for the real thing to ripen.

Harvested by the Charming Mountain Man is a cozy fall romance featuring the quiet Holloway nobody calls charming, a burned-out magazine editor who’s forgotten how to stop performing, and a harvest season that proves the real thing is worth waiting for. Guaranteed HEA with no cheating.