By four in the afternoon, I was ready to rip my clothes off and demand Ranger touch me—anywhere—I didn’t care where. Either that, or I’d combust.
The man played cat and mouse with me since I’d arrived. First by insisting we eat. When we finished, he invited me next door, to see the progress his brother and Onyx were making on Blanca’s camp. After that, he suggested we take a drive over to the boarded-up Canada Lake Hotel so he could see how much of an investment I thought it would take to turn it into a “destination resort.”
I might’ve thought he’d lost interest in me if it weren’t for the way he brushed his body against mine whenever he walked past me. Or how he leaned in every so often and whispered, “Anything I can do for you, Maisie Ann?”
When he drove up to his camp and came around to open my door, I was ready for him. He held out his hand, but rather than taking it, I put mine on his shoulder and slid my way down his body until my feet hit the ground.
“I told my grandmother I’d be home in time to help her get dinner ready,” I said, wriggling away from him when Ranger put his hands on my waist. “Have a good night, and thanks for today. It was…fun.”
Evidently, I’d stunned him since when I looked over my shoulder, he was still standing in the same place, eyes wide, mouth open.
“Hold up,” I heard him holler when I got to my car and opened the door. He jogged over to me. “I thought we were going to hang out longer.”
I looked at my watch. “I’d say four hours is the longest lunch I’ve ever taken.”
“What about after dinner? We could—”
“Sounds good. Why don’t you come over around seven?” I slid into the driver’s seat much in the same way I’d slid down his body. “See ya later, Ranger,” I said with a wink, pulling my door closed.
As I drove off, I glanced in the rearview mirror. “Mission accomplished,” I muttered to myself when I saw him standing where I’d left him, hands on his hips, eyes wide, and mouth open.
“Hello, sweetheart. How was your afternoon?” my grandmother asked when I came inside and took off my coat.
“Okay.”
She raised a brow. “Just okay?”
“Not quite what I expected. So, what’s for dinner?”
She motioned with her head in the direction of the slow cooker. “Chicken and dumplings.”
I bit my bottom lip. “Anything I can help with? How about we have a salad with it?”
Her facial expression was almost as stunned as Ranger’s.
“What?”
“A salad?”
Granted, it wasn’t like me to suggest having one. Fortunately, my metabolism allowed me to eat pretty much whatever I wanted without worrying about gaining weight. On the other hand, I wasn’t getting any younger. Maybe it was time for me to consider eating more vegetables or at least increasing my fiber intake.
“It’ll be good for us,” I mumbled, reaching into the crisper.
“Come sit with me,” she said when I set the produce on the counter. “You seem out of sorts. Tell me what happened today.”
“Nothing.” And wasn’t that the God’s honest truth? While I hadn’t expected we’d spend the afternoon messing up his sheets, I had certainly been looking forward to a kiss hello. At least. I blinked away the tears threatening to fill my eyes, making me feel like a fourteen-year-old all over again.
She put her hand on mine and squeezed my fingers. “Maisie?”
“I’ve had a crush on him for as long as I can remember.”
“It seems the feeling is mutual.”
“I thought so and then today…I don’t know. It was different.”
“Well, I can see how you might feel insecure. I mean, in the last forty-eight hours, Ranger has been to our house for dinner and spent the majority of that time in enraptured conversation with you. Then, last night, the two of you went out for dinner, after which you practically floated your way into the house and up the stairs, and finally, you spent this afternoon together. So, yes, I get it.”
“He’s just so…so…”
“Handsome,” said my grandmother. “My word, the man could be a model.” She fanned her face, stood, and got a glass of water.
Handsome wasn’t the word I was going to use, but he certainly was. And so charming. Last night at dinner, I noticed he’d shaved the beard he sported the night before, making him look younger than me. Then today, the scruff had grown back, so he appeared more rugged.
His features with or without facial hair were as perfect as if they’d been sculpted, and in the years since I’d first been dumbstruck by his toned physique, his shoulders had broadened and his arms looked like they were twice the size. Imagining him naked made my heart pound and my palms sweat.
What about me, though? I hadn’t worked out a day in my life. I was always active—that was what drove my metabolism—but I had zero muscle definition. Maybe I should consider joining a gym. The closest one was in Johnstown, though, and that was forty-five minutes from here. I made a mental note to add workout facilities to the list of amenities that would be necessary to make the Canada Lake Hotel destination-worthy. Along with a world-class spa, of course.
“I invited him over after dinner.”
My grandmother smiled. “Let me guess. He accepted?”
I nodded. “I hope that’s okay.”
“This is your home, Maisie. You don’t have to ask permission to invite your friends over. Besides, your granddad and I will be at Walt and Ida’s for bridge tonight.”
“I forgot.” Great, now Ranger would think I invited him over so we could be alone. Maybe I should text and tell him something came up. Except he could see our camp from his place. He’d probably see my grandparents leave.
“Here. Drink this.” My grandmother set a glass of sherry in front of me. “In fact, have two.”
5
RANGER
“Where did Maisie run off to?” asked Jimmy when I joined him out on the porch.
“Said she promised to help Mary get dinner ready.”
“But?”
“I think I screwed up.” I told him how flirty we’d been and that I’d pulled back a little this afternoon. “It might’ve backfired.”
Jimmy looked out at the lake and sighed. “Just be you, Range. You be you, and let Maisie be herself, and everything will go fine. When you start second-guessing each other is when the problems start.”
“I was afraid I came off as overeager at dinner—especially afterwards.”
“Did Maisie complain?”
“Nah. In fact, she said playing hard to get was a turnoff.”
“And yet that’s what you did.”
“I didn’t think she was gonna go home. I thought we’d have dinner together and, you know, hang out.”
“When do you think you’ll see her again?”
“Tonight. She invited me over after dinner.”
“So you got your second chance. Don’t fuck it up again.”
I looked out at the lake like he had. “I really like her, man.”