Page 16 of You're My Person - For Always

The door opened, and Lori stepped out of the kitchen. After searching the room, she pointed at Kenna. "Take a break."

"But—"

"Go." Lori shook her head and shooed her with her hands.

Exhaling swiftly, she set down the box. Kingsley walked over to her and held out his hand. She wasn't going to give him more to gloat about, so she kept her hands to herself as she walked out the front door.

"Can you tell me what we're doing?" she asked.

He pointed downhill to the garage where a UTV sat in front of the building. "I need to check something out on the other side of the mountain and want company."

"Ask one of your biker buddies," she said.

"It's not their company I want." He walked to the side-by-side. "Hop in and buckle up, brat."

She eyed the seat. There wasn't much room for both of them. She'd need to touch him to fit inside.

He folded himself behind the steering wheel and patted the seat. "Come on. Time's a wastin'."

"You sound old, saying that." She slid into the seat.

He reached around her, grabbed the seatbelt, and locked her in, meeting her gaze. "Compared to you, I am."

The vehicle roared to life, and Kingsley shot forward, going in a wide circle before heading straight toward the trees. She grabbed the seat, afraid he'd run them into the trunk of one of the big pines.

He swerved, going over a bump, sending the UTV bouncing. "Hang on. It'll get smoother."

She couldn't answer. Her teeth knocked together. Afraid they'd tip out of the vehicle, she braced herself.

He slowed and drove around a tree. Her body stopped bouncing and she pulled her fingernails out of the seat cushion.

"How far are we going?" she yelled over the loud engine.

"Half an hour or so."

She frowned. That was longer than a fifteen-minute break. Rebecca was going to be pissed. The dinner crowd from the campground was due soon.

He drove the vehicle higher onto the mountain. The trees thinned, and rock cropping lined the dirt trail. There were definitely two tire tracks in the ground, but wild grass and flowers had grown in their path.

A hawk swooped down and landed on a tree in front of them. She looked up as they passed. Every day, there were wild animals in Gem Haven. If it wasn't deer and elk coming close to nibble on vegetation, it was a moose that drank out of the trough at the campground.

The UTV tilted, and they headed downhill. She glanced over her shoulder. It looked as if they'd reached the top and planned to go down the other side of the mountain.

Kingsley palmed her thigh, squeezing her leg. She jumped, more ticklish than startled. Before she could question why he touched her, he slowed to a stop and shut off the side-by-side.

He unclicked her seatbelt. "Jump out."

He left her unbalanced.Do this. Don't do this. Come here. Go there.She had no time to prepare herself for spending time with him.

She stepped over a small bush, trying to get her bearings on how to get to where Kingsley stood, peering down the mountain.Saplings dotted the land. She wouldn't want to step on a baby tree.

She worked her way to his side, followed his line of vision, and spotted what had grabbed his attention. A quaint cabin sat in a grove below them, much like the cabins lined up behind the clubhouse. There were raised flowerbeds in seven neat rows. Laundry hung from a clothesline at the side of the cabin.

She glanced at Kingsley, wondering why he'd bring her here. He wasn't happy. There was a defined frown etched into his face.

"I need to talk to the woman who lives in the cabin." He picked up her hand. "I want you to stay beside me."

"Woman?"

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