grin, sexy swagger, and two cartons of milk. He deposited the milk into the back of his truck, climbed into the driver’s seat, and pulled out of the parking lot.
“Where are you going?” I mumbled, following him despite my better judgment whispering in my ear, begging me to get my own milk and go home to my kids. But after walking in on Gwen scolding Chase for farting—using the words a fart is not a mating call—I felt my outing could be extended a smidge. It seemed unlikely that the cellphone-obsessed generation would be keeping track of the time.
A mile outside of Epperly, Kael pulled down a gravel road, and I had to put my Tahoe in four-wheel drive to follow him. It stopped at a dead end on the outskirts of a wooded area and the creek the kids used to hike along and play in when they were younger. He hopped out of his truck, holding a bag in one hand. With his other hand, he opened my door.
“My lady …” He held out his free hand.
I rolled my eyes. “Where are we going?”
“You’ll see.”
I took his hand and jumped down into the snow. He shut my door then opened the door behind the driver’s seat.
My laughter filled the crisp air around us with no place to go but across dormant fields and through the naked limbs of trees lining the creek.
“My lady …” He grinned, and I climbed into the back of the Tahoe.
“What’s in the bag?” I scooted over to make room for him.
“Treats.” He shut the door.
We sat on opposite sides in the back of my Tahoe with grins on our faces. It was odd and kind of amazing for no explainable reason.
“So …” he angled his body toward mine a bit “…do you come here often?”
I snickered. “Um … not as much as I used to when the kids were young. Of course, we’d bring the snowmobiles and drive them in that field over there.” I pointed out Kael’s window. “And in the summer the kids loved playing in the creek just beyond these trees. How about you? Do you come here often?”
Kael pinched his bottom lip, but it didn’t erase his grin. “This morning, my dad showed me this road. It’s where they pulled off for her to give birth to me. I think I knew even then … that one day I’d come back to this spot with someone special.”
I blew on my hands. “You are so full of it.”
“Sometimes.” He smirked.
“Your parents … that’s a lot of years of happily-ever-after. I’m having trouble figuring out your philosophy on life.”
“That’s good. I’d hate to be boring … or worse … predictable. Where’s the fun in that?”
“True. But I feel a little guilty that everyone else seems to know you better than I do. Tillie knew about your mom dying and probably a hundred other things I don’t know about you. Bella asked you some good questions this morning that revealed a part of you I knew nothing about. Yet … I’m the one …”
“Relentlessly screwing me every chance you get?”
“Crude.” I narrowed my eyes.
“But true. I don’t mind, Elsie. I haven’t had this much fun with a woman in … well … maybe forever.”
“You mean to tell me you haven’t had meaningless sex like this before? I find that hard to believe, Mr. I Can Sail A Boat Off The Coast Of Italy.”
“You like that?”
I rolled my eyes. “Do you care?”
“Yes. Impressing you is challenging and rather entertaining.”
“I’ve lived in Epperly my whole life. That sets the bar pretty low.”
“I disagree, but to answer your question, my ‘fun’ with you is more than sex. It’s simply you. One minute you’re feisty and stubborn as hell. The next minute you’re all Mama Bear. I blink again and you’re threatening to take me down as your competition, and then yes … there’s you letting go of all your inhibitions, and it’s pretty fucking spectacular. I think I’m getting a different version of you than your husband had. I have nothing to base that on; it’s just a feeling. It’s like watching a toddler take their first steps. I feel like you’re learning to live in the moment. And you’re excited and scared. You’re unsure of yourself. You worry about losing your footing, yet you can’t stop because you have to know where it might take you.”
I started to respond, but no words came out. We gazed at each other for a few seconds as