Taken with You(22)

She’d never been so self-conscious about her ass in all her life. It was right there, just waiting for Matt to give it a boost, and she had no doubt he was checking it out.

“Need that boost now?”

“No.” She stretched her leg out and up, trying to catch her heel on the rock. What she was going to do then, she had no idea, but she hoped she’d figure it out.

“How about now?”

She had no choice. “Fine.”

To her surprise, he didn’t take advantage of the opportunity to grab her butt. Instead, he put his hands at her waist and lifted. A panicked scramble that almost included an accidental kick to his head later, Hailey was on top of the boulder. After an embarrassingly few seconds, Matt joined her without even breaking a sweat.

Hailey handed him his backpack, but her attention was on the view in front of her. In the dim, early light, she could make out a marshy pond surrounded by tall grasses and scrubby trees.

“Move over a sec.”

She shifted to the edge of the rock and watched Matt pull a thick fleece blanket from his bag. He spread it over the rock, then patted it. Once she was comfortable, he pulled out a Thermos and poured coffee into the steel cup.

She took a sip and almost moaned. There were gallons of coffee in her near future. Just as soon as she was someplace with a bathroom.

“Look,” Matt whispered, pointing off into the distance.

She tried to focus on where his finger was pointing and, when she saw them, she let out a hushed gasp. A moose wandered to the edge of the water and lowered her head to drink. Behind her, two lanky calves wandered, plucking at the brush.

“Are they twins?” She kept her voice low so she wouldn’t spook them.

“Yeah. There are a lot of twins this year. That means food is plentiful and the overall health of the herd is good.”

Hailey watched the mother and her babies, awed by how strangely beautiful they were. They were goofy looking animals, but here in the early morning light, they looked almost majestic.

She’d seen moose before, of course. Their part of the state boasted a dense moose population and attracted tourists hoping to catch a glimpse of one. She’d dodged a few over the course of her driving years, and sometimes one would stand in a clearing, causing cars to line the sides of the roads so families could take pictures.

But she’d never been moved by them before. Here in their world, they felt safe and secure, and looked totally at ease. They didn’t rush, but lingered for a long time, foraging and drinking.

Without thinking, she slid her hand into Matt’s and squeezed. “I never thought I’d say this, but they’re beautiful.”

“They are.” He squeezed back. “It’s already getting warm, so they’ll head back into the woods soon. And the bugs will be looking for breakfast.”

“Just a few more minutes,” she whispered.

Maybe walking through the woods to a remote marsh would have landed somewhere in the bottom two percent of dates she’d like to go on, but she wasn’t ready for it to be over yet.



MATT SIPPED THE coffee Hailey had handed back to him, watching the cow and her twins forage. He’d been out here a few times over the last couple of weeks and he was thankful mama moose hadn’t chosen today to change their routine.

He’d banked on Hailey not laughing at him outright when he brought her to the rock or, even worse, storming back to the truck, but he was pleasantly surprised by her willingness to sit quietly and watch the small family roam. Sitting on the fleece-covered rock and holding her hand was one of the best mornings he’d had in a long time.

“I think they’re leaving,” she whispered.

“They’re going to go back into the woods a bit, though they won’t actually go too far, I don’t imagine. This is a sweet spot.” He offered her more coffee and, when she shook her head, he screwed the cup back on the Thermos and tucked it in the bag.

“I’ll get down first,” he told her. Not that he thought she’d jump, but he didn’t want to take any chances with her.

Once he was back on the ground, she turned and sat with her legs dangling over the edge. She looked down at the ground and then back at him. “This might hurt.”

“I’m not going to let you fall.”

Reaching up as high as he could, he urged her to move forward until he caught her around the waist. With her hands on his shoulders, he had to take a step back to brace himself, but he could take her weight.

He lowered her slowly, so her body slid down his until they were eye to eye. “I told you I wouldn’t let you fall.”

When some of the strain lifted, he knew her feet were on the ground, but she stayed on her tiptoes with her hands still on his shoulders. “If I thought you would, I’d still be sitting up there, trying to figure out how to get down.”

His fingers tightened on her waist, and he could tell by the way she looked into his eyes that she knew he was going to kiss her. He paused, his mouth not an inch from her lips, to see if she’d pull back.

She didn’t, so he closed the space between them. Her lips were soft and he kissed her tentatively, testing her reaction. When her hands slid from his shoulders to the back of his neck, holding him to her, he deepened the kiss. Their breath mingled as he caught her bottom lip between his teeth for a second, and then he slid his tongue over hers.

He sucked in a breath when she turned the tables, nipping at his lip while her fingernails bit into his neck. He wanted to back her against the boulder, her legs wrapped around his waist, or lay her down on the mossy forest floor, but he restrained himself. He savored the feel of her mouth against his and her hands on his body.

Before his self-control totally left him, he broke off the kiss. His hands slid up her back and he smiled at her slightly dazed expression. He probably looked about the same because it had been some kiss.

“This is the best date I’ve ever been on at four-thirty in the morning,” she said, the corners of her mouth quirking upward.

“Me, too.” He pulled the blanket off the rock and shoved it back into the backpack. After slinging it over his arm, he took her hand and they walked slowly back to the truck.

Once they were in, he started the engine, but the last thing he wanted to do was take her home. “Want to go get some breakfast?”

“When you say get instead of have, do you mean somewhere other than your kitchen?”

“We may not get dibs on the first pot, but the diner does a good breakfast.”

“Oh.” She hesitated, avoiding eye contact as if she had something to say he wouldn’t like hearing.

He put the truck in gear. “Hey, if you don’t want to go to breakfast in public with Jeremiah Johnson, just say so.”

“I’m sorry about that.” Her grin disarmed him. “You have to admit you were looking pretty rough that day.”

“I’d been working my way through the storage shed that everybody in the family throws stuff into, but never takes back out. It was pretty gross, I admit. Now, you admit why you don’t want to have breakfast with me.”

“You’ve only lived here a couple of weeks, so you might not get how the town works yet. If you and I go to the diner for breakfast together, we’ll instantly be a couple.”

Even though he tried to keep the defensiveness stamped down, her words hit a nerve. “So you don’t want people to know we were on a date?”

“That’s not what I’m saying.” She gave him a look that clearly broadcast her opinion he was being an idiot. “You’re going out of your way to be offended by things I’m not actually saying. Stop it.”

Maybe she was right. It took a few tight turns to get the truck facing the right direction and he drove slowly back to the main road. “Okay. Assuming I’m okay with the good people of Whitford jumping to conclusions, would you like to have breakfast at the diner with me?”

“I’d love to have breakfast with you.”



OF COURSE THE Trailside Diner had to be busy when Hailey and Matt walked in. It was probably her imagination, but it sure seemed like everybody paused for a fraction of a second, noting the fact they’d come in together early in the morning.

She’d be getting a few phone calls later in the day, and it wouldn’t surprise her at all if Tori ended up at the library.

“There’s a booth over there,” Matt said, pointing toward the back corner. His hand rested at the small of her back and she saw that people were noticing the gesture.

But if he didn’t care, neither would she. She went to the booth and slid onto one bench while he sat across from her. Liz acted the professional when she brought menus and the coffeepot, but she managed to give Hailey a what is going on look when Matt wasn’t looking. Hailey ignored it.

She went for a couple of scrambled eggs and toast, but she wasn’t surprised when Matt ordered the steak and eggs. They fixed their coffees, then chatted about the moose for a while. He was not only knowledgeable about them, but she could hear affection in his voice, which made her smile.

Forcing herself to remain oblivious to the sideways glances and whispers happening around her, she focused only on Matt. And Matt’s mouth. The memory of the kiss in the woods was almost as sweet as the kiss itself, and she savored it. His mouth had been gentle at first, but it wasn’t long before he was taking her breath away.