MATT LEFT HAILEY sitting at the patio set and went inside to rummage through the mess that was his half-unpacked kitchen. He grabbed a couple of paper plates, two forks, the salt and pepper, and the butter.
She’d changed her shirt since her dance in her living room. He’d noticed it right away, but wisely decided not to say anything. Her opinion of him wouldn’t be improved any by the thought of him watching her. Although it had only been for a minute, because she’d been in his line of vision.
He took everything outside and set it on the table. “I have milk, lemonade and water to drink.”
“Lemonade, please. And a spoon for serving if you have one.” It only took him a minute to pour two glasses of lemonade and grab a spoon, but she had the table set by the time he returned. “Thanks. I know it’s starting to get chilly, but I can’t really invite you inside to eat because my dining room table is a folding table and it’s currently folded up in the garage. Behind a pile of boxes.”
“This is fine. And Bear’s enjoying himself.”
“If I yell at him, don’t be startled. He’s learning the boundary line and he’s mostly got it, but he needs some correction now and then.”
She picked up the spoon and served them each a steaming helping of the shepherd’s pie and the sight of the hamburger, corn and mashed potatoes made him realize he was starving. He loaded it with butter, salt and pepper, then took a bite.
“This is amazing,” he said, and he meant it.
“Thank you. It’s all in the seasoning.”
“It’s delicious. My mom makes it, but it’s a little more bland.” He pointed his fork at her. “Don’t ever tell her I said that.”
“Now that we’re going to be neighbors, I wanted to reboot our relationship, so to speak. I’m actually a nice person. You just seem to catch me at bad moments, I guess.”
“I was hoping somebody would bring me a pie. Shepherd’s pie definitely counts.”
She shrugged. “I don’t bake a lot. When you live in this town, you bake in the shadow of Rose Davis and Fran Benoit and the rest of that generation.”
“So tell me about yourself.” He sipped the lemonade, watching her over the rim of the glass. “You’re from here?”
“Born and raised.”
“So you have family here?”
She shook her head, swallowing a mouthful of food. “Not anymore. When my younger sister, Tanya, went to UMass, she met my brother-in-law and moved to his hometown when they got married. It’s near Springfield, in the western part of the state. He started a business and invited my dad to join him and, since work was scarce here, my parents moved there, too. I’d just gotten the job at the library, so I stayed.”
“That’s a good hike.”
She shrugged. “It’s a six-hour drive. I don’t make it a lot, but at least twice a year, I try to go down. It’s hard because I have to close the library, but I give the town lots of notice and I try to only go when school’s in session so they still have a library available. What about you?”
“My family’s in and around Augusta. My dad does flooring and my mom’s always been at home. My older sister, Deb, is married and has two kids. Georgia’s eight and Tommy’s six. Her husband’s an orthodontist. Deb stays home with her kids, plus she watches my younger sister Brenna’s son, Caleb, who’s five.”
“And you’re close with them?”
“Very. They’re coming over for a barbecue Saturday after next. My mom can’t stand not being able to visualize where I live.”
“And the camp you were at? That’s yours or a family camp?”
“It’s been in my family since my great-grandfather bought it. The amount of land it has, with the cabin right on the river and everything, would cost a fortune now, so I’m glad he did. I probably spend the most time there, but my dad and I try to go together a few times a year. And the family all goes at least once. Sometimes twice.”
“That must...” He watched her struggle with a grin. “...smell bad. I’m sorry.”
“The key is that if everybody smells, you don’t notice.” The effort she put into not looking horrified was admirable, but he finally laughed and let her off the hook. “I’m kidding. There’s indoor plumbing, installed shortly after my dad took my mother up there for the first time, before they got married. A shower and everything.”
Hailey laid her fork on her empty plate and leaned back in her chair. “We went camping once. Only once. Tanya and I were really young, but we had our own tent next to my parents’. It was fun until it got dark. And then it rained and I woke up and our air mattress was floating in water because my dad pitched our little tent in a big dip in the ground. That was the end of camping.”
“It’s a little different when you have a cabin, although it does get crowded when the whole family’s there. Bear!” He pointed at the dog. “Yard!”
“He seems to listen well.”