Taken with You(30)

“A lot of women feel the same way, I guess. At least the ones I’ve dated in the past.”

Something about his tone made her sit up straight so she could see his face. “I wasn’t trying to be a drag. I was just curious about how your family would have handled it if you hadn’t shown up.”

“They would have been disappointed, but they understand my work’s important. It’s not like I’m calculating taxes and can punch out at four-thirty on the dot. Maybe they would have camped out on my floor. I don’t know. But the hours are hell on relationships and eventually women get sick of waiting or being stood up.”

“I’m pretty sure there are a lot of happily married game wardens.”

“Yeah. They’re the lucky ones, I guess.”

His voice was tight, and Hailey guessed some woman had done a job on him in the past. It was tempting to pry a little, but it wasn’t really her business. And they’d established they were just hanging out and having fun. Poking at the skeletons in his past relationship closet was deeper than that.

“That guy just hit the ball into the audience. That’s a good thing, right?”

Matt laughed and pulled her close again. “The audience? As if I needed further proof you’re not a sports fan. And, no it’s not a good thing. We’re rooting for the guys with Boston on their shirts.”

“Oh. That makes sense.”

He hit the power button and tossed the remote onto the table next to her book. “So is that what you’re looking for? A guy who’ll walk through the door in his business suit every day at quarter after five?”

“It’s how I’ve always imagined my life.” Why she didn’t just say yes, that’s what she was looking for was beyond her. It sounded a little Stepford Wives when he said it.

He snorted. “That sounds boring.”

“Or stable. I guess it’s all in how you look at it.”

He ran his hand up her back until it was cupping the back of her neck. “While you’re waiting for this paragon of promptness, how about we see if I can do any better than Boston at getting to second base.”

“I could really start liking this sports thing.”



FRIDAY WAS A quiet day for Matt. He spent most of it in the woods around Whitford since he was still getting to know the trail system. Next week, school would be ending for summer break and there would be a sharp increase in the amount of out-of-town ATV riders with kids along.

He ran into a few riders, though, and checked to make sure their machines were registered. When the trails skirted homes, he stopped in and introduced himself if people were home. He wanted to have a good relationship with landowners and assure them he was out there keeping an eye on their property.

Riding through the woods, with nothing but the drone of his engine to keep him company, gave him time to think and today his thoughts kept circling around to Hailey.

He couldn’t forget her questions about his family and what they would have done if he’d been called out for a more serious issue. It was hard to explain to somebody who hadn’t lived with it, as his family had, but flexibility and learning to roll with it just became normal, the way eating at five-thirty every night had been normal for her family.

But she’d made her thoughts on that pretty clear. I don’t think I could get used to that. He knew a lot of guys whose wives and kids had learned to cope with their demanding hours, but he wasn’t sure how they’d managed that. It hadn’t been covered in warden school, that’s for sure. He seemed destined to be attracted to women who wanted reliability and routine, and that wasn’t something he could offer. Sometimes he’d work regular shifts for days on end, then suddenly end up in an operation—often a search and rescue—that meant days on the job with little or no sleep.

It wasn’t easy on the families, even when they went into it willingly, thinking it would be okay. Admitting up front she wasn’t sure she could ever get used to it was a big warning sign where Hailey was concerned.

And, since he was thinking about warning signs, he decided to take a ride up to the picnic area. He’d found signs of an illegal campfire, along with empty beer cans, up there after his ride with Hailey. The club had put up a sign specifically banning open fires and spelling out the consequences, so Matt wanted to check and see if there’d been any more problems. Fire, alcohol and the forest didn’t mix.

When he got to the top of the hill, he saw there was already a machine parked there and recognized it as Josh’s. He parked next to it and, by the time he got his gloves and helmet off, Josh had emerged from the woods.

“Good to see you,” Josh said. “Any problems today?”

“No, it’s been quiet. I’ve seen some people, but no issues. Thought I’d check out the area up here and see if fire’s still an issue.”

“Yeah, that’s why I’m up here. I found a few more beer cans, but no signs of fire. I’m hoping it was teenagers and the sign scared them.”

Matt was doubtful a sign would deter teenagers. “If it’s a problem again, I’ll put up a camera and see what we come up with.”

“Sounds like a plan. The club voted down buying one at the last meeting. One, they don’t want to spend the money. But they’re also afraid if we put one camera up, any landowners who have problems will demand cameras, too, and we’ll have to have video of the whole damn trail system.”

“It’s a possibility, but it’s getting hot and we’re a little shy on rainfall. Anybody building illegal fires in the woods is going to get nailed.”

“Understood.” Josh leaned against the cargo box on his machine. “You watch baseball?”

When he wasn’t rounding the bases with Hailey, he thought, fighting not to chuckle at the memory. “Yeah. When I get the chance.”

“We get together at Max Crawford’s house when we can to watch whatever sport’s on. Katie and I are going over Saturday afternoon to watch the Indians game. You should join us. Max’s is the closest thing we have to a sports bar in Whitford.”

“Max Crawford.” Matt mentally sifted through all the towns folk he’d run into. “I don’t think I’ve met him.”

“Yeah, Max doesn’t get out much. Good guy, though. We all bring food or a snack or whatever, then park it in front of his TV.”

A fleeting thought to ask Hailey if she minded brought Matt up short, but he shook it off. Even if they were looking for something serious, which they weren’t, they were still well short of him asking her if he could watch a ball game with the guys. “Sounds good. I’ve been watching them alone since my dad and brother-in-law don’t live close enough anymore.”

“What about Hailey?”

“She’s not really a sports fan.”

“I’ve got the opposite problem. Katie loves sports and she tends to get pretty wound up. It doesn’t even matter what sport it is.”

“I’ve already been warned to cheer for the home teams if I’m in her barber shop chair.”

Josh laughed. “I’d like to assure you you’d be safe, but to be honest, I couldn’t vouch for your haircut if you pissed her off.”

“It’s about time for a trim, so I’ll keep that in mind.” He put his helmet back on and buckled the strap. “Since you’ve already checked the area, I guess I’ll head back out.”

“I’m heading back to the lodge. We’ve got guests arriving tonight, so Rose has been baking all day, if you should feel like stopping by.”

Oh, hell yes, he thought. “I’m willing to bet between here and there, I can come up with an official reason to need to talk to the trail administrator.”

Josh grinned and pulled on his helmet. “I like the way you think.”

“You know what she’s baking?”

“No, but there are usually brownies. First one back gets the soft ones from the middle of the pan.”

Matt yanked on his gloves and fired the engine. “I have a flashing blue light.”

“Unlike you, the only power I need to abuse is sheer horsepower.”

Matt hit the throttle hard and yanked the bars, throwing the ATV into a doughnut so he was pointing back the way he came. He heard Josh’s machine as he did the same, and then they were off. He had to yield to the other guy when they came to a narrow spot in the trail, but then he took him on an inside corner.

Those brownies were as good as won.





SIXTEEN



A WEEK AFTER the barbecue, Hailey squeezed her car in next to the others filling Fran’s driveway and killed the engine. After skipping last month’s movie night to go on her ill-fated adventure trip with Tori, she hadn’t dared skip this one.

It had been tempting. She’d rather be curled up on Matt’s couch with him, watching movies and making out than stuck in a room full of women who were going to ask her about him, but the first Saturday of the month was movie night. Period.

She’d brought homemade pizza rolls, which she was a lot better at making than actual pizzas, and she carried the foil-covered baking dish up the walk to Fran’s front door. The old farmhouse-style building was set back behind the general store and gas station, with a line of trees to separate their home from their business, and it had the same white siding with cranberry trim. The rooms inside were on the small side, which meant movie nights at Fran’s were cozy and loud, but everybody got a turn hosting.