Thank you for coming after me last night and for letting me stay. I’m going to camp to get my head on straight. I hope. Matt. P.S.—I made you a pot of coffee. It was the least I could do.
She wasn’t sure what the hell that was supposed to mean, but she didn’t like it. He was running. Whether from her or from what had happened, she didn’t know. But this smacked of a man who didn’t want to stand up and face feelings that had gotten messy when he wasn’t looking.
Since he was right about it being the least he could do, she poured a cup of the coffee he’d brewed and added some milk and sugar. She wouldn’t chase after him. If he wanted to run, he was free to go.
But as the caffeine kicked in, so did her annoyance. He was free to go, but that didn’t mean she was going to give him a pass or make it easy. She topped off her mug and took it outside. Sitting on her front step, she could see everything that went on next door.
Bear spotted her and ran over to say good morning. She gave him a good scratch and his tail thumped in happiness. “He went and picked you up early, huh? Guess he must have missed you.”
Matt walked out and tossed a duffel bag into the backseat of his truck, then went back into the house. A couple minutes later, he reappeared carrying a bag of Bear’s food and a cooler. Those went in the bed of the truck, and he used bungee cords to secure the cooler.
Bear seemed to know they were going to the cabin. He was almost quivering with excitement and he stared at Hailey, his tongue hanging out, as though he was willing her to be excited, too. “Sorry, buddy. I’m not invited.”
Matt looked over at her house, no doubt looking for his dog, and his gaze zeroed in on her. She just looked back, not giving him anything to go on if he was trying to gauge her emotional temperature. Obviously when he wrote the note, he’d intended to get out of town before she woke up.
Since she wasn’t doing anything interesting, Bear left her and went running back to Matt. Then he ran to the truck door and did a couple of tight circles. Obviously the Lab loved going out in the woods and he was ready to hit the road.
And so was Matt, judging by the fact he wasn’t carrying anything else and had his keys in his hand. She saw his hesitation, but in the end he walked slowly across the yards to talk to her.
“Heading to camp, huh?”
He nodded slowly, his mouth set in a grim line. “I need to think. Get my feet back under me.”
“Good luck with that.”
“I figured after you did all the driving last night and getting in so late, I’d let you sleep in, so I tried not to wake you.”
She smiled then, but it wasn’t a happy smile. “That’s what you’re going with? Rather than, I don’t know...emotional chickenshit?”
“I’m afraid if I don’t go off by myself and figure out what’s going on in my head, I might say or do something even more stupid than I already have and make things worse.”
It was an admission, she supposed. An admission he’d done and said stupid things and that he didn’t want it to happen again. It wasn’t an apology and it said nothing about his feelings for her, but it eased the pain in her heart a little knowing he wasn’t leaving just to avoid a really awkward morning after scenario.
But she didn’t think running away was ever a good solution to a problem. “I wish you’d stay, Matt. We need to have a conversation.”
“I’m sorry. I’m not ready for that yet. I don’t know what to say.”
She stood and opened her door. “Have a nice time.”
He didn’t call after her, but she wouldn’t have turned back if he did. If he didn’t want to talk, she wasn’t going to waste her time. She was going to take a shower, throw her sheets in the washer, and then get ready for work.
Saturdays weren’t often very busy, but she knew today would be unusually so as people came in hoping for details about the accident. She would simply smile and assure them their game warden was unhurt and his partner would recover. Nobody, not even Fran, would guess her heart was breaking.
TWENTY-ONE
MATT WASN’T SURPRISED to hear the crunch of tires coming up the narrow dirt road to the cabin. It was his dad, by the sound of the engine. Again, not a surprise. His mom had been shaken up by Pete’s accident and had called him several times, so they knew he’d been at camp almost two days now.
He stayed in his chair and waited, though Bear couldn’t stand the anticipation and ran off to meet their company. A few minutes later, a chair thumped down next to his and his old man sank into it with a groan. He popped the top on two beers, setting one in his cup holder and handing the other to Matt.
“Catching anything?”
Matt lifted a shoulder. “I’m not sure I even put a worm on the hook, to be honest.”
“Did that once, when your mom and I were going through a rough patch. Couldn’t even stand the sight of each other. I came up here and probably sat here for five or six hours without ever baiting the hook.”
“I’m only at two hours today. Got a ways to go yet. Caught a few yesterday, though, so I must have used bait.”