Page 76 of Rowdy Hearts

She made a production out of her sigh and rolled her pretty eyes, but her smile was sweet.

“Okay, fine. I’m all yours.”

She realized almost immediately what she’d said and how it sounded. I saw it in the way her eyes widened, and her lips parted. Lips still damp and puffy from our kiss.

I grinned. “Nice of you to acknowledge that. Come on. Let’s go.”

I helped her out of the truck, holding onto her hand as her feet hit the ground.

“The trail’s got a gradual incline until pretty close to the end.” I started walking, adjusting my gait so I didn’t get too far ahead of her. “Then there’s a decent uphill, but it’s not long. And I promise, it’ll be worth it.”

She didn’t look convinced, her expression skeptical as she sized up the trail ahead. But then she nodded and kept walking, though I saw her note the posted hunting signs.

“Is it safe out here?”

“At this time of day, yeah. Most hunters are here early and this part of the gamelands isn’t known for having a large deer population. Sometimes, there’re bears around, but they don’t usuallymess with people. If we’re lucky, though, maybe we’ll see Bigfoot.”

I swear her laughter made the sun shine brighter. “Now that’d be worth the climb.”

We walked in silence for the next few minutes, me watching her take everything in around her like she’d never seen so many trees in her life. But after a while, I heard her take a deep breath.

“So,” she said, “I did something today I’m not very proud of.”

Fuck, that didn’t sound good. “I hope you’re not talking about spending the night with me.”

She huffed out a laugh and smacked her hand against my abs. “I’m not but keep it up and I might be.”

Sighing, she paused for a few seconds while stupid relief flushed through me.

“Can I tell you something in confidence?”

“Absolutely.” I was dead serious. “You can trust me.”

I wanted her to trust me with everything.

“A little boy recognized me today, and I asked him to keep it a secret.”

None of that sentence made any sense, so I kept my mouth shut and just nodded.

“I don’t know why I did it. I mean, it’s not like no one knows, or even cares, who I am anymore. But I’ve gotten so used to keeping that part of my life in the past, it was almost habit. But I asked a child to keep a secret for me, and, as a mother, I can’t live with that.”

“Are you a serial killer? Did the kid witness you kill someone?”

She rolled her eyes as she glanced up at me, her lips twisted. “No, of course not.”

“I hope you know you could tell me if you had. I’d help you bury the body.”

She looked up again, so quickly she nearly stumbled over aroot in the path, looking at me like she didn’t know if I was telling the truth.

I shrugged, like it was no big deal. “Hey, I’m just saying. There’s a lot of land out here. No one would ever know.”

Shaking her head, she stared at me like I’d just turned into Bigfoot. “I’ve never met anyone like you.”

“Probably won’t. I’m one of a kind.”

Sighing, she shook her head. “I just…I don’t know what to do with you.”

“Sure you do.” I didn’t mention that she’d done a pretty good job of knowing what to do last night, but I figured that would be pushing the line. “You were about to tell me all your secrets.”

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