Chapter 57
They didn’t end up in Franklin. Instead they’d driven a ways east until they landed at a hotel on the outskirts of a city called Cookeville.
“All right,” Nate told McKenna the following morning when she met him in the lobby, freshly showered and more rested than she’d felt in a long time. “I’ve got good news and bad news, and then a little more good news, which may lead to bad news. But first, how’d you sleep?”
“Great,” McKenna said, lifting her damp curls so she could adjust her shoulder bag. “You?”
Nate looked relaxed this morning, wearing jeans and the teal triathlon T-shirt she remembered from the first time they met. “Not bad. I’m a little surprised because usually I don’t sleep well the first night I go anywhere.”
“Guess all that dancing you did last night with the Golly girls took it out of you.”
The left side of his mouth lifted in a cute lopsided grin. “Hope I didn’t make you too jealous.”
“Not at all. In fact—” McKenna lifted a finger, then dug into her shoulder bag to pull out the special Polaroid picture she’d been saving since last night. “I thought you might like to have this.”
She huddled close to his side so they could both admire the way she’d captured Nate’s utterly blank expression while one of the Golly girls had her arms wrapped around his neck with one heel kicked up and her head tossed back in the middle of a mouth-wide-open guffaw.
“Figured you’d want to show it to your kids someday.
The moment their mother—or possibly their aunt, hopefully you’ll be able to tell the difference by then—swept you off your feet. ”
McKenna barely had the words out of her mouth before Nate’s fingers were poking into her ribs. “Ah,” she squealed, twisting away from his tickles. “A simple thank you would have sufficed.”
He snatched the picture and shoved it into his back pants pocket. “I knew you were going to be trouble the moment I met you.”
“Says the man who forced me to run away with him.”
“Oh? Is that the version you’ll be telling our kids someday?”
McKenna squeaked out a laugh as heat flooded her cheeks. “I think you just made me blush, Nate Lambert.”
He tucked his hands in his pockets, hitting her with a tender smile as the corner of his hazel eyes crinkled behind his glasses. “Should I apologize?”
“Only if your master plan here is to flirt and make me blush inside a hotel lobby all day. You said you had good news and bad news. Let’s start with the good,” McKenna said, wrapping her damp curls into a bun on top of her head.
“Right. Good news is this town appears to have a great donut shop not too far from a charming little bookstore.”
“Hey, that is good news. What’s the bad?”
“Neither are open on Sundays.” Nate winced at his phone screen.
“Looks like most of the restaurants and shops downtown are closed today. But don’t worry.
We’re right next door to a Waffle House and Shell gas station, so I think we can still get a taste of the unique sort of charm this town has to offer. ”
McKenna laughed. “Was that the other good news you mentioned?”
“No, the other good news is the lady at the check-in desk said there’s a lot of walking trails around here.
She even mentioned one with a couple of waterfalls.
But I’m afraid the bad news might be you don’t have the best shoes for doing something like that.
” He dipped his head toward her Birkenstock sandals.
“Au contraire, Nate Lambert.” McKenna dug into her shoulder bag and pulled out a pair of size twelve orange canvas sneakers. “Saw these at Marty’s Mercantile the other day when I was wandering around town and knew we were meant to be. Packed them last night just in case.”
“If bright orange canvas sneakers don’t set the tone for an amazing day, I don’t know what does. Let’s get going.” He reached for her hand.
Hours later, Nate hadn’t let go, and McKenna was starting to hope he never would.
As they walked on a trail with trees shading them on the left and a river flowing next to them on the right, she bumped her shoulder against Nate’s. “Running away was a great idea.”
“We should keep doing it.”
“If only we could.” They stepped aside to let an older couple walking the opposite direction pass.
Only people they’d met so far on the trail.
Which suited McKenna fine. She enjoyed having Nate all to herself.
Something told her she may not get an opportunity like this again for a while.
“I just can’t stop thinking this week is going to reach a new level of chaos. ”
“I don’t know. Maybe it won’t be as bad as we think.” Nate offered her a drink from one of the water bottles they’d picked up from the gas station to share on their walk.
“You have met Georgie, right?” McKenna took a drink, then retightened the cap and handed it back to Nate.
“Let’s not worry about Georgie right now. Let’s get back to you.”
“Me?” McKenna almost laughed. Pretty soon Nate was going to know her better than she knew her own self.
They came to a wooden platform that offered a lookout over one of the waterfalls. Nate stopped along the side rails and turned to face her. “How many serious boyfriends have you had?”
Now she did laugh. “You’re kidding, right?”
He didn’t look like he was kidding.
“Zero, Nate. Absolutely zero.”
“How is that possible?”
“You’re sweet.”
“I’m serious.”
“Well, let’s see. When you hit a growth spurt in fifth grade that leaves you towering over everyone, including the teachers, it takes a while for the boys to catch up. And when they do, they’re usually not all that interested in a frizzy redhead with freckles.”
“I love your hair and your freckles.”
“You say that now. You didn’t see me back in high school. Anyway, it doesn’t matter. Never having a boyfriend was for the best.”
“What makes you say that?”
“Because after Momma J died, it wasn’t just me I had to think about. I had Bobbi too. A boyfriend would’ve just complicated things.”
“So you’ve never even dated?”
“I’ve gone out on some dates here and there. It’s just that most guys don’t tend to stick around in my town, so I’ve never let anything serious develop. What about you? How many broken hearts have you left behind?”
“Just the one beating inside my own chest. Kind of put me off on relationships for a while.”
“How long is a while?”
“Almost nine years.”
“That’s a while.”
He grimaced. “I’ve been told I tend to camp out in my sorrow a little too long. Between watching my dad walk away and then getting dumped right after college by a girl I thought I’d eventually marry, I may have gotten a little jaded when it comes to love and relationships.”
“Yeah, I kind of gathered there were some underlying issues when you compared marriage to bird poop the first time we met.”
He winced and smiled at the same time before taking a drink of water, then screwing the cap back in place and setting the bottle next to his feet. “For the record, my opinion has changed quite a bit since meeting you.”
“Is that so?” A cardinal landed on the deck railing, then fluttered back off the next instant. McKenna took a deep breath, hoping her courage didn’t flutter off just as quickly.
She propped her arms on the deck railing next to Nate’s arms, their elbows touching, and stared down at the rushing water that sped over the edge of the waterfall to a foamy pool at the bottom before turning her head to face him. “Then why haven’t you kissed me yet?”
Before her next breath, his lips were on hers. His hands cradling her face. She tasted the fresh, cool water he’d just drunk. She also tasted his power. Like whatever barricade holding him back had finally been lifted. And she was here for it. Ready to get swept away.
Because this was nothing like their kiss on the bridge. When she’d been the only participant. Or before the dance, when she hadn’t been ready.
She was ready. She clutched his shirt. This time they were both ready.
His hands slid down to her hips, his fingers tightening, as he deepened the kiss further, McKenna diving right along with him.
When his lips moved to her jaw, she made a soft sound. One she’d never heard herself make before. Maybe because she’d never been kissed like this before. Like they were still carrying on a conversation and Nate was desperate to learn more.
Or maybe like they were running out of time.
No. She didn’t want to think about that. At some point they’d have to figure out what happened next. But right now, this was all the discussion McKenna wanted. Nate’s mouth on hers. She’d worry about next sometime later.
Right now all she wanted to do was get lost in his kisses. Which she promptly did the next moment. Because as it turned out, Nate Lambert was a man who knew how to linger remarkably well.