19. Chapter Nineteen
ANNA
“Anna, dear, would you put the kettle on? Faith is coming for a visit.”
“Of course.” Anna’s heart began to do that weird fluttering thing as she wondered if Matt would be visiting as well. She filled the electric kettle with fresh water, then prepared a tray with Elsa’s favorite tea set and some snacks. She was just finishing when the doorbell rang.
When Anna stepped into the living room, Elsa already had the door open and was welcoming Faith, who, sadly, appeared to have come alone. Anna swallowed her disappointment and chastised herself for caring one way or the other.
“Where would you like to have tea?” Anna asked.
“In the kitchen is fine, dear”
Anna set everything out. Tea, sugar, milk, nibbles. Neither woman asked her to join them, and that was a relief. Chances were that at some point, they’d try to include her in the conversation and ask personal questions she couldn’t answer.
“I’ll be in my room. Just let me know if you need anything.”
“It’s a beautiful day. Too nice to be cooped up inside. Why don’t you take a few hours for yourself and go into town?”
It was a beautiful day. The sky was blue, the sun was shining, the temperature was supposed to approach the seventy-degree mark. But where would she go? What would she do? Transportation was also an issue. She didn’t want to drive around in Mrs. Campbell’s specialized van in case she needed it.
“Thanks, but I’m good.”
“Nonsense. You haven’t had any time off since you started. And Faith is here, so you needn’t feel as if you’re abandoning me.”
“I wouldn’t feel right, taking your van. What if you need to go somewhere?”
“Anna has a point,” Faith agreed.
“Hmm,” Mrs. Campbell hummed, and then her eyes brightened. “Didn’t you say Matthew was going into town today?”
“Yes.”
Oh, no. She’d walked right into that one, hadn’t she?
“Perfect! Anna can go along.”
“Oh, I don’t think—” Anna started to say.
“I think he’d like that,” Faith said. “Here, let me just send him a quick text.”
“That’s really not necessary. I’m sure he has things to do.”
Faith’s phone pinged. She glanced at the screen and smiled. “He said he’d be happy to have company, and he’ll be here in about five minutes to pick you up.”
“Go get ready, dear,” Mrs. Campbell said. “Best not to keep the boy waiting.”
Both women looked at Anna expectantly. What was she supposed to say? No, I’m not going, and then stomp off to her room? No, there was a better way to handle this. One that didn’t involve conflict.
“Are you sure you don’t mind?”
“Not at all, not at all.” Mrs. Campbell beamed. “Go, have fun. We’ll be fine.”
Anna summoned a smile and went to her room. She didn’t bother changing. The jeans and three-quarter-length top were both comfortable and practical. She did pull on a hoodie though and redid her ponytail.
She was just finishing up when she heard the doorbell ring.
Well, he’s prompt.
“Anna, dear, Matthew is here.”
Anna stepped into the living room. Mrs. Campbell took in her appearance and was clearly disappointed that Anna hadn’t made more of an effort.
Matt checked her out too. His metallic-gray eyes appeared softer today than usual, more like pewter than silver. Unlike Mrs. Campbell, he didn’t seem displeased with her choices. He was dressed casually as well in jeans and a thermal. The difference was, he looked fantastic. The man could wrap a burlap sack around himself and make it look good.
“Hi, Anna. Ready to go?”
She nodded and turned back to Mrs. Campbell, who was grinning like the cat who ate the canary. “Do you need anything while we’re out?”
“No, no. You two just have a good time. No hurry in getting back. We’ll be fine.”
Matt shared a look with his mother. Part amusement, part let’s humor the old lady.
He held the door open for Anna—both out of the house and to get into the car. And what a car it was. A higher-end Range Rover that probably retailed for upward of two hundred thousand.
“Nice car.”
“It’s Kieran’s,” Matt said, backing out of the driveway. “Where to?”
“You can just drop me off at the square and do whatever you were going to do.”
“Why would I do that?”
“Look, we both know that this”—she waved her hand between them—“is a setup. I get it. Mrs. Campbell is a sweet old lady, and her heart’s in the right place, but you don’t need to pretend with me, okay?”
He frowned. “I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t want to be.”
“Right. So, you want me tagging along with you today?”
“I’m fine with it. Besides, I did offer to show you around, didn’t I? It’s a perfect day to do that—if you think you can suffer my company for a few hours, that is.”
Anna didn’t know what to say to that. He didn’t seem bothered by the fact that he’d been commissioned as her escort-slash-tour-guide for the day, and he had offered. Even as one part of her was telling her to politely decline, another was arguing that it might be nice to have him show her around. There was no harm in that, right?
“All right,” she said, making her decision. “What do I need to know about Pine Ridge?”
“That’s the spirit,” he said with a smile. “Are you hungry?”
“A little.”
“Then, I know just where to start.”
He drove away from town, not toward it, and took back roads she hadn’t been on before. He didn’t talk much, and she slowly began to relax. The ride was smooth and comfortable, and the windows were open enough to let in cool, fresh air.
Eventually, he pulled into the lot of a small mom-and-pop store.
“Do you trust me?” he asked.
“Is that a trick question?”
He laughed. “Wait here. I’ll be right back.”
Matt disappeared into the little shop with the stride of a man who knew exactly what he wanted. She might have used the opportunity to check him out, and, yep, he looked just as good from the back as he did from the front. Muscular thighs, lovingly wrapped in denim. A tight, perfectly shaped butt. Narrow hips. Broad shoulders.
A familiar warmth began to radiate from within—a subtle reminder that no matter what else, she was a woman who could appreciate a fine-looking man. Maybe even want him a little.
That’s okay, she told herself. You’re allowed to want something, even if you know you can’t have it.
Matt returned after only a few minutes, carrying a large brown paper bag.
“What’s that?” she asked as he placed it in the back of the Ranger.
He grinned at her. “Lunch.”
They drove a while longer until Matt pulled off onto a scenic overlook. “We’re here.”
She opened the door and stepped out, getting an eyeful of the spectacular vista below, around, and above them. A sea of trees surrounded them, the dark green of evergreens and the explosion of pinks, purples, and white blossoms of dogwoods, redbuds, and cherries.
Matt opened the back of the Rover and proceeded to spread out a blanket over the rough carpeting, then laid out hoagies, chips, and Cokes. He bowed with a flourish. “Your table is ready, my lady.”
Holding back her smile was impossible. She sat on one side of the blanket, her butt in the SUV, legs dangling over the rear bumper. Matt took up a similar position on the opposite side.
“This is amazing,” Anna said, biting into her hoagie.
“This was my very first meal in Pine Ridge,” he told her. “To me, it was the equivalent of a five-star meal.”
“Where did you come from?”
“Georgia. I was fourteen.”
“Why Pine Ridge?”
“My mom and I, we didn’t have a lot. She had me when she was real young, and her parents kicked her out because of it. We lived in group homes and trailer parks, whatever we could afford. Then, she got a job cleaning rooms at the Celtic Goddess, and things started to get a little better. The pay was decent—more than the less than minimum wage she typically got—and the people who stayed there were big tippers. Eventually, the Goddess decided to open a place up here in the mountains, and they asked if anyone wanted to relocate. My mom thought we needed a fresh start, so”—he spread his arms and smiled—“here we are.”
“Mrs. Campbell said your mom was an interior designer?”
“She is now, but she wasn’t then. That’s another story.”
“Oh. Sorry, please continue.”
“Well, she started looking for a place to live and saw the cottage for sale. It was in bad shape, but still way above our pay grade. She applied for a mortgage, never believing she would be approved, but she was.” He smiled. “That was the first time we met the Callaghans.
“They own a lot of properties in the area, including that one. Shane manages most of them. He is a lawyer, and he handles the contracts and legal aspects of the family businesses. Anyway, he saw my mom’s application and decided to take a chance on us, even though on paper, we were a bad risk.”
Matt laughed softly. “We were so excited. We were finally going to have a place of our own, you know? We drove straight through from Georgia in this shitty, old Ford. Still can’t believe the thing made the trip. Shane and Kieran showed up the next day to try to clean up the place, make it more habitable before we arrived, not knowing that we already had.” Another laugh. “I think Kieran fell in love with my mom right then and there.”
“And her? What did she think of him?”
“She wasn’t quite as into it at first,” he said with a wry smile. “I think she liked him well enough, but she was—is—a very independent woman. She doesn’t like to accept help from anyone.” He paused, took a sip of his Coke, and said, “Something tells me you’re the same way.”
He wasn’t wrong.
“So, what changed?”
“Kieran refused to give up. The Callaghans believe in these things they call croies. Soul mates, basically. The one and only woman meant for them and them alone. It’s a fate thing. He was patient and persistent, and eventually, she came around.”
Sounded like romantic fantasy to her. Or the unhealthy obsession of a man who decided he wanted a woman and refused to take no for an answer. Anna hadn’t seen much romance in her life, but men who were used to getting their way? That, she was very familiar with.
“Is that what you believe? The croie thing, I mean.”
Matt didn’t answer right away. Then, he said carefully, “I believe they exist because I’ve seen it happen to my uncles. But I don’t think everyone is that lucky.”
She bit her lip before asking him if he thought he had a perfect match somewhere, waiting for him to find her.
“So, what about you?” he asked, nudging her shoulder with his own. “What brought you to Pine Ridge?”