Page 34 of Home Team Advantage
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.
