Page 12 of Load Bearing
She talked about growing up in the wilderness of Alaska, colloquially known as the Bush, and what a big change it was to go to the lower forty-eight. She wasn’t wearing a ring, and she didn’t mention a boyfriend.
“You’ve got a partner?” Hunter finally asked, because he wasn’t in the habit of beating around the bush himself.
“A business partner.” Did Hunter imagine the emphasis onbusiness? “Jay. He’s out hunting right now.”
There was definitely something underlying her voice, and Hunter asked more harshly than he meant, “You’ve got trouble with him?”
“I’m a little miffed that he thought it was fine to take two whole weeks off when we were in a pinch like this,” Trixie admitted. “He doesn’tneedthe meat, and it’s pretty inconvenient timing for the business. He’s been offering to buy me out, but I’m afraid he’d run it into the ground the moment I left, and his offers are honestly insulting.” She looked mortified. “Don’t tell him I said that. He’s a great contractor. His work is fantastic when he does it, and he’s got a lot of amazing contacts. He’s the one who got us this job in the first place. He just doesn’t like putting in that final push that gets things done. You know?”
Hunter did know. “A starter, not a finisher,” he agreed.
“He really likes the shiny lure of a new project, and the honeymoon period when it’s just getting off the ground. Lots of people are like that.”
“You’re not,” Hunter guessed, wondering if this was their honeymoon period.
“Oh, no,” Trixie said with a laugh and a cute little blush. “I’m not as good at getting things going. I’m the long-haul gal. I don’t do the courtship and contracts. I unclog the toilets and pick up the dirty socks. I… think I’m starting to mix metaphors, sorry.”
He could imagine a life with her, even if he couldn’t imagine the pursuit. He wanted to skip straight to having breakfast across a table from her every morning, evenings unwinding together, comfortable routine and familiarity.He wanted to wake up with her in his bed already, not have to hunt her down and put her there.
Boring, his brothers called him, but he didn’t want the glory and the chase. He wasn’t invested in the win, he wanted the cooldownafterthe finish line.
Now he was the one mixing metaphors, and he’d left Trixie hanging in the conversation again. She wiped her mouth with a napkin and leaned back on the bench with a groan. “You’re going to have to roll me back to the job site and prop me up at the chop saw,” she joked. “I always mean to bring back leftovers, but the food is so good.”
“It was great,” Hunter agreed, and when the waitress brought their bill, he automatically reached for it.
“No, no,” Trixie said, and she put her hand over his. “I insist. It’s a business write-off.”
Hunter didn’t move his hand, not because of a machismo desire to pay the bill, but because she was touching him, and he didn’t want to lose that moment of casual contact. Trixie stared at him and he stared back.
“I’m not going to give up,” she said quietly.
Hunter already loved that about her. He turned his hand under hers so that he could clasp it in his own and pulled it up to his mouth for a formal kiss, savoring the feel of her skin against his lips. He’d been dying to touch her all morning, and now he didn’t want to let her go until he absolutely had to. “I’m not, either.”
He watched her face the whole time, cataloging her responses. Surprise, joy, suspicion, delight, confusion, and finally something like caution. Hunter finally let go of her and she took her hand back, completely forgetting about the bill between them.
She glanced around, as if afraid that someone might have witnessed the moment, but Hunter looked nowhereelse, not caring if anyone saw. This was between him and his mate. He was going to make her his, and now that he’d made up his mind, nothing would stop him.
10
TRIXIE
Trixie almost convinced herself that Hunter’s weirdly formal hand kiss had been some kind of hallucination. She paid the bill, chattered inanely about the weather, made determined conversation with the waitress, and marched to the truck without looking back to see if Hunter was following.
He was, of course. She was keenly aware of where he was, careful of their proximity when they did the awkward dance of opening doors for each other through the arctic entrance to the restaurant.
She fumbled the key fob to unlock the truck and found Hunter standing at the driver’s side door, politely opening it for her.
“I… ah… this is… it’s been a long time since I did this, but I should be super clear that nothing can really happen while I’m your boss.” Trixie didn’t particularly want to take the high road. She wanted to see the rest of Hunter’s shoulders without the tourist T-shirt over them, and scrape her nails down his chest. But she had to think about the big picture, and she knew better than to mix business and personal affairs. She and Jay had almost done that dance and she’d never been sorry that she took the high road, even though she regretted it at first.
Hunter gave her such a long, thoughtful look without speaking that Trixie immediately spiraled into self-doubt. Was she so rusty that she’d seen flirtation where there was only chivalry? No, she was pretty sure that no one casuallykissed handsanymore, and she could still remember the brief feeling of his mouth and the tickle of his whiskers there. She hadn’t imagined all the sizzling tension between them.
“I could quit,” Hunter proposed, and Trixie felt a rush of heat and relief. He reallywasinterested. Interested enough to shirk his obligation, and Trixie felt like she knew enough about him to understand that wasn’t a minor concession for him.
“That wouldn’t be a record,” she said as lightly as she could. “You worked a solid half day. I’ve had kids who weren’t up to the work give up after a few hours.”
Hunter frowned. “I’ll catch your thief first,” he promised, standing aside so she could get in the truck.
Damn thembothfor being honorable, Trixie thought. She swung up into the driver’s seat and Hunter shut the door behind her. She would like nothing better than to take him back to her trailer and see how good his stamina really was.
