Kerrigan snorted. He was right. She really did sleep hard. Always had.
She rose and made her way to the shower, quickly scrubbing clean, and taming her hair. Then she slipped into her fluffy robe—she’d ripped her sexy one to shreds after Ethan’s treachery—and went to find Trager in the kitchen.
Wearing nothing but jeans with the button undone, he looked take-your-breath-away yummy. She could hardly believe he’d stayed last night. He was whisking eggs in a bowl. When he spotted her, he grinned.
“Hey.”
“Hey.” In the shower, she’d prayed this wouldn’t be awkward.
He set the bowl down and strolled over to her. Without any warning, he scooped her up, setting her on the counter. How could he do that? Last night, he’d picked her up like she weighed no more than a sack of potatoes.
Hands on her thighs, he spread her legs and stepped in between them. Taking her face in both hands, he kissed her, long and deep.
When he pulled back, he asked, “How do you like your eggs?”
Kerrigan blinked. So… not awkward then. She couldn’t help her grin.
“Scrambled is perfect.”
“Good.” He turned and finished beating the eggs.
While she waited for breakfast to cook, she made them both coffee, got the plates out of one of the boxes on the floor, and managed to find some napkins.
“So…” Trager said, when they were seated and eating. “Tell me what happened with your job.”
The forkful of eggs she’d just shoved in her mouth turned to sawdust. Kerrigan managed to swallow. She’d have to talk about it sometime. It was just that her life had been in disarray for so long now. Ups and downs seemed to get mixed up in each other so that she couldn’t tell which was which anymore.
Trager felt like an up. But she was moving, so did that make him a down?
She sighed. “I taught Kindergarten. Funding was cut, so they decided to expand the class number and cut a teacher. I got cut. I applied everywhere I could think of, but nobody is hiring. Could always find work doing something else, I suppose. But teaching… is what I love.”
He was quiet, stirring his eggs and chewing on a piece of bacon.
“And Alaska? You have family there? Is that why you want to move back?” His voice was stilted, like he was trying to seem casual but not pulling it off.
Kerrigan peered at him. He was a mystery. From the beginning, she hadn’t been able to get a good read on him. He seemed to care too much, when he had no reason to. He was different than he seemed, than she had expected. Attentive, instead of careless. Rational, instead of fly-off-the-cuff. He surprised her at every turn.
“My dad and sister. It’s where I grew up.”
He nodded.
“What about you? Where do you call home? Joplin?”
He stared at his plate. “Sort of. It’s a good thing you asked though. Finish eating. I want to show you something.”
“What is it?”
He smirked, looking up at her through his lashes. “Finish eating.”
“Oh, fine.”
Kerrigan ate her breakfast in record time, and Trager cleaned up while she dressed.
It wasn’t until they were in his hunk-a-junk SUV that she asked him again. “So, where are we going?”
He reached across the console and grabbed her hand, lifting it to his mouth. “I want to show you my home.”
A smile spread her cheeks. “Really?”
He nodded.
“Where do you live?”
“Out of town a ways. In the mountains. That okay?”
Kerrigan snorted. “Yeah. I have no commitments now. I’m free.”
The mountains. Honestly, she missed mountain life sometimes. The crisp, clean air. The sweet tang of the evergreens. The seclusion. Where time seemed to stand still while you lived your life. It was nice.
They’d been driving for about thirty minutes when Trager pulled onto a dirt road that cut into the forest.
Rocks and ruts made it a bumpy ride. Kerrigan was knocked sideways once banging her head on the window.
Geez. No wonder his vehicle was a mess. And no wonder he liked his motorcycle.
“You okay?”
“Yeah, fine.”
“We’re almost there.”
Ten more minutes and Trager parked the truck along the road and turned off the ignition.
“Here we are.”
Kerrigan looked around. There was nothing. Just the thick foliage on either side of the road. “Where? I don’t see anything.”
“Well, we have to walk a little ways. Right through there,” he said, pointing to a spot in the trees.
A hint of trepidation pecked at Kerrigan. Nobody knew she was out here with him. What if… what if this was something else?
Trager got out and walked around to her side. She checked her phone. A quick message to Braeh, so someone at least knew where she was. But no, she had zero cell service.