“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.”