“I feel like I should walk you home.”
She laughed and shook her head. “I think I can make it next door without getting lost.”
“That’s not what I meant. It’s the gentlemanly thing to do, you know.”
“It’s dumb for you to put on your shoes and get Bear all excited to go for a walk when you could hit my house with a rock.” She walked over and looped her arms around his neck.
Kissing her made him rethink her going home, but she was right. A four-thirty date followed by an evening of great sex made for a long day and his alarm would go off early. “I’m going to watch until I’m sure you’re inside. Just so you know.”
She smiled and then put her sneakers on without bothering to tie them. Then she kissed him again, rubbed Bear’s head and went out the back door. He followed her as far as the deck, then watched her walk across their yards.
He laughed when she flashed her outside light twice, then waited for Bear to do his business.
It would have been nice to have her in his bed when he slid between the sheets, but at least he knew where they stood. Nothing too serious, but the potential for a whole lot of fun. It didn’t sound like a bad deal, even if it meant sleeping alone.
THIRTEEN
MATT LEANED AGAINST the Kowalskis’ barn, arms folded across his chest, and watched Hailey put her helmet on for what had to be the seventh or eighth time. At the rate they were going, he’d be too old to drive a quad by the time she was ready to hit the trail.
“You know what the worst part is?” Andy Miller asked. He was also holding up the barn wall, watching the show. “About the time she gets that helmet just right, she’s going to have to pee again.”
Matt sighed. “I wouldn’t bet against it.”
Apparently, her hair was the problem. She started with it in a high ponytail, but that made a lump that was uncomfortable under her helmet. She tried a lower ponytail, but that had the same problem. She took the elastic out, but her hair plastered around her face when she put the helmet on and she didn’t like that. Then came gathering her hair at the base of her neck with the elastic, but when she pulled on the helmet, it pulled her hair at the crown.
Finally, Rose had come outside, sat her down on the porch and done some kind of fancy braid that held all of her hair while remaining flat. Now it seemed like they might be on the right track. When she had it settled on her head and gave him a thumbs up, he walked over to her and did the buckle under her chin.
“You finally ready?”
She nodded, then held up a finger. “I’m going to go pee one more time.”
“Do not take that helmet off,” he called after her.
Andy was shaking his head. “What do you think the chances are that girl knows how to pee over a log?”
“My plan is to give her enough water to keep her hydrated, but not enough to make her have to go.” He was mostly kidding. “Thanks again for letting me borrow your machine. I have a sneaking suspicion we won’t have it very long.”
“It’s not a problem. Rosie doesn’t ride with me very often, but I like having the option. Half the time I go out, I take one of the boys’ machines because they have the tool racks and cargo boxes on them, anyway.”
“You guys have done one hell of a job here.”
Andy beamed. “I think it was Mitch who first suggested trying to get the four-wheeler traffic to the lodge so they could be open year round instead of just during the snow. All of the kids were behind it, but once Josh wrapped his head around it, he was all in.”
Matt saw Hailey come out of the house, thankfully with her helmet still on. “I guess she might be ready. Finally.”
Once she was settled on the seat behind him, Matt waved to Andy and then headed toward the trail. He kept it slow enough so Hailey wouldn’t get bounced around too much, but he wanted to go fast enough to make it fun, too.
He heard her laugh a couple of times, which he took as a good sign. Then, in a particularly rocky section, she dug her fingernails into his back so hard he was pretty sure there would be holes in his shirt. If not blood.
“Use your handholds,” he yelled. Not that he was mad, but with the engine sound and both of them in helmets, it was the only way to be heard.
“Sorry!”
The first time he stopped was in a clearing next to a brook and he had her keep her helmet on. He just wanted her to relax her muscles a little because the trail he was going to take was a little more rugged and it took some effort to not get bounced off the back of a quad.