“I almost believe you. Not that it matters. I’ve yet to meet the hypothetical child’s father yet.”
“Hypothetically, you need to come look out this window.”
Hailey threw her a dark look. “Matt Barnett is not the father of my hypothetical child, even hypothetically. I have no desire to raise a little pack of forest urchins, running around barefoot with no shirts on in the mud.”
“Forest urchins?” Paige returned the look. “Why are you being so hard on this guy?”
Hailey sighed. “Because he touched the back of my neck and I wanted to climb him like a horny monkey.”
Coffee almost sprayed from Paige’s mouth as she tried to choke down it and a startled laugh at the same time. “Seriously, Hailey?”
“Seriously. Just looking at him makes me want him. Then he put some cream on the bug bite on the back of my neck yesterday and...just that was almost enough, if you know what I mean. Oh, and that was after he carried me into the house.”
“What? Why?”
Hailey told her the entire story, leaving nothing out because this was her best friend, after all. She could trust Paige to keep her best interests at heart.
“Hailey, you need to climb that man like the horny monkey you are.”
Or not. “He looks good right now, especially with the whole sweat-glistening naked torso thing, but he’s not my type.”
“I didn’t say to marry him. A horny monkey can climb a tree, then climb back down and choose another.”
“I’m starting to regret the horny monkey thing.”
“Yeah, it’s not very sexy.”
Sarah wriggled in Hailey’s arms, making squeaking sounds. “What is she doing?”
“She’s ready for breakfast. Again.”
“Good. Then it’s my turn for coffee.” Hailey handed Sarah off to her mother. “After you feed her, you can take a nap if you want. I’ll keep an eye on her.”
“Thanks, but I’m going to head over to the lodge after. Business has picked up enough that we’re going to go through the food budget. We’re looking into the feasibility and legalities of purchasing their kitchen supplies through my suppliers.” She went to the couch and grabbed throw pillows to make herself comfortable for feeding Sarah. “And, bonus, Rosie will get to fuss over her grandbaby.”
Even though the Kowalskis weren’t Rose’s biologically, which was good considering Josh and Katie’s relationship, she considered them as good as hers, and therefore their children were her grandchildren. Johnny, Sean Kowalski’s son with his wife, Emma, was about to have his first birthday, but they lived in New Hampshire, so Rose was ecstatic to have a baby close enough to smother with love.
Hailey curled up at the other end of the couch and drank her coffee while Paige nursed Sarah, making small talk about nothing. But her mind kept bouncing back and forth between thoughts of Matt and wishing she had a baby of her own. As much as the former sounded like a delicious treat, if she was going to ever get the latter, she couldn’t afford to be sidetracked.
“I need to start going into the city on the Saturdays I have off,” she said suddenly, and Paige rolled her eyes.
“And do what? You’re just going to bump into Mr. Right by hanging out at the mall every other Saturday?”
“Or the movie theater or a bowling alley. I’m sure as hell not going to find him at the library, am I?”
The saw fired up again and Paige gave her a meaningful look. Hailey looked back at her coffee mug and ignored her. There would be no climbing of Matt Barnett.
*
IT TOOK MATT most of the day to put in the swinging door for Bear, between installing the frame itself and wiring the alarm. He’d taken a long break midmorning, then gone out for a run with the dog, which had eaten up more time than he’d anticipated. Bear still wanted to investigate his new surroundings more than exercise.
Once the construction was wrapped up, he’d put away his tools and had a very late lunch in the form of a small microwave pizza. He was going to need to make a run to a real grocery store soon and stock up on essentials. Thankfully, there was a chest freezer in the garage. It worked and barbecue season was coming, so he’d fill it with meat.
Now he was out in the grass, doing one of the more unpleasant chores that came with owning a dog. Especially a large dog who ate a lot. With a spade in one hand and a rake in the other, he moved through his yard.
Movement caught his eye and he turned to face his neighbor’s house.
Hailey was perfectly framed in her big bay window and, with the sun behind clouds and the lights on in her living room, he had no trouble seeing her. She had one of those telescoping dusters and was cleaning her ceiling fan blades. Or that’s what she was supposed to be doing, anyway.