Taken with You(29)
“Hey, neighbor,” he said. “You should stay and eat.”
She couldn’t resist the chance to spend more time with him and his family. Not only was he very different from her, but they were very different from her family. Not in the love and how close they were, but the outdoors thing. All of their stories had taken place outside and centered around canoes, fishing, jumping off docks or riding ATVs and snowmobiles.
Her father had soft hands, didn’t fish and drove a Cadillac instead of a pickup. They went to Old Orchard Beach and walked on the boardwalk instead of going out in the woods. As far she knew, her dad had never owned a camouflage item in his entire life, and her mother had been just like him. It stood to reason their daughters wouldn’t be any different.
But she liked the Barnetts, so she nodded. “Thank you for the invitation, neighbor. I think I will.”
IT WASN’T UNTIL they’d eaten and had the Jell-O salad Brenna brought for dessert that Matt finally had a chance to be alone with Hailey. She’d gone inside to put some things away and he followed her in with a load of condiments.
She was at his sink with her back to him, and he stepped up behind her. Sliding his arms around her waist, he planted a kiss at the base of her neck.
“I hope it’s you, Matt, or this barbecue just got really awkward.”
He chuckled, but didn’t move. “I was happy to see you over here when I got home. I wasn’t sure if you’d be around.”
“I happened to be outside when they arrived and Bear made sure I went over and said hi. They probably thought I got lost in my backyard.”
“Ouch.” He kissed her neck again. “It was a funny story. I had to tell it.”
“But they like me anyway. And I like them.”
“They can be pretty rowdy at times, but I think they’re nice people. I’m a bit biased, of course.”
“They make me miss my family. And the kids are adorable. Neither my sister nor I have had any yet, much to my mother’s dismay.” She leaned back against his chest. “You can’t get enough of your niece and your nephews. How come you haven’t gotten married and had kids of your own?”
The question was asked in a light tone, but it weighed heavily on Matt’s shoulders. He didn’t want to go in to how hard it was to have a relationship with his hours and how women liked to reel him in and then try to polish him up to their liking. “I haven’t found a woman yet who likes my lucky fishing hat.”
“I shudder to meet the woman who does.”
“So now you. How come you’re not married with a bunch of little ones?”
She shrugged. “Waiting for the guy who doesn’t think Bach is what a chicken says.”
He knew there was truth under her attempt at humor, but they were in his kitchen with his family on the other side of the door. It wasn’t the time for a heart to heart conversation about their life goals and dreams even if they’d been at that point in their relationship. Or whatever it was.
“I really do need to finish my coffeemaker,” she told him. “I had a whole list of things I needed to do today and sitting on your back deck all day wasn’t on there.”
“When you get home, add it to the list and then cross it off. You’ll feel like you accomplished something.”
“You’re bad.” She turned in his arms and gave him a quick kiss. “I’m going to go now. Sit and relax with your family.”
Reluctantly, he moved out of her way. And just in time, too, because his mother came through the door a moment later. “Matthew, I haven’t even seen your house yet. You need to give me a tour.”
“I’m heading home,” Hailey told her. “It was wonderful to meet you.”
“I’m so glad you stayed to visit. You should come up to camp sometime. I think you’d enjoy it.”
Matt actually laughed out loud, and Hailey crossed her arms, glaring at him until he stopped. “I’m sorry, Hailey, but that’s funny.”
“Your mother thinks I’d enjoy it.”
“My mother hasn’t been in the woods with you.”
Hailey smiled at Connie. “Thank you for the invitation. I might take you up on it sometime just to annoy your son.”
“Honey, I’m married to his father. I totally understand.”
Hailey gave him a sweet wave and went outside, presumably to say goodbye to the rest of the family. Rather than move to the window to watch her, he turned his attention to his mom. “Time to show you my house.”
He gave her the grand tour, thankful he was good at picking up after himself. Between work and Hailey, he wouldn’t have had a lot of time for pre-maternal visit binge cleaning.
“I like Hailey,” his mom said when they’d peeked into his bedroom, and Matt frowned, wondering if she’d left some article of clothing behind. An article of clothing with her name on it, even. But it seemed to be merely a coincidence she’d mentioned his neighbor while touring his bedroom.
Once she’d assured herself her son wasn’t sleeping in squalor, his mom continued down the hall and he followed along. “She liked you, too.”
“How long before you show up on her doorstop dripping with mud and smelling like bear poop and skunk spray?”
“It was one time, Mom.”
“It was one time you ran off a very nice girl because of what Ciara did to you.” She turned and gave him a stern look. “You’re not going to find a woman who won’t complain about having that in her washing machine.”
“Well, I don’t have to bother showing up on Hailey’s doorstep like that. I already know she wouldn’t open the door.”
Her brows furrowed. “So you two aren’t an item?”
“An item?” Boy, he hated to lie to his mother, but if she got it in her head he and Hailey might have a real relationship, she’d never leave it alone. “She’s my neighbor. She hates being outside.”
Neither of those statements was a lie, which made him feel better. They didn’t answer the question, of course, but his mother was free to infer what she pleased from them.
“That’s too bad. She’s pretty and you’d have pretty babies.”
When she turned her back on him to go back downstairs, he rolled his eyes. Three grandchildren already and she was still hung up on him giving her more. And that always seemed to be the quality she prized most in his potential girlfriends. They’d make pretty babies.
He just wanted a woman who’d enjoy spending time with him doing what he loved to do. It should have been easy, especially in Maine, but he was thirty-five years old and hadn’t met her yet.
FIFTEEN
HAILEY CLOSED HER book and tossed it onto Matt’s coffee table. She’d finished it, then read the excerpts for other books at the end, and the baseball game on the television was showing no sign of ending.
Chalk up another thing they didn’t have in common, she thought. She’d never gotten into sports, and baseball seemed to be something Matt was passionate about if the cheering, cursing and other sound effects were anything to go by.
“How much longer is this on?”
“What?” He tore his attention away from the TV for a second. “Three more innings.”
“Can you translate that into minutes for me?”
“A lot. Did you finish your book?”
“Yeah.” She could run next door for another, but she was restless.
He hit mute on the remote and shifted his body toward her. “You sound bored.”
“Just a little.” When he lifted his arm, she snuggled against his side. She’d been thinking about something since the weekend, so she decided to ask him. “What would your family have done if you hadn’t come home when you did on Saturday?”
“What do you mean?”
“You weren’t supposed to work, but you got called in. What if the call had taken a lot longer? Would they have turned around and gone home?”
She felt his shrug, since his arm was around her. “I’d given them a rough estimate, so they knew I was coming. And it happens.”
“But still. It’s four hours of driving, round trip, and there was the risk they wouldn’t even see you.”
He was quiet for a moment and, since she was paying attention, she noted he started talking right after one of the guys on TV caught the ball. “They’re used to it.”
“You may as well turn the sound back on. You’re still watching it, but now you just can’t hear it.”
“I’m fine. And my family knows I might get called out at any time. It’s a huge state with a lot of rural roads that take time to drive. If there’s an emergency, you call in the guy who’s closest.”
“I don’t think I could get used to that. Forget special occasions or barbecues. How would you even plan supper? You rarely come home at the same time every day.”
Maybe it was her imagination, but his body seemed to tense up a bit. “I use the slow cooker a lot. Quick meals on the grill.”
“I guess. My mother put dinner on the table at five-thirty every single night when I was growing up.”
“And that’s what you want?”
She thought about it. “Not five-thirty exactly, but there’s something to be said for routine. Both home at five, make dinner together, then sit and eat while talking about the workday.”