“I don’t know about that. Some of it, sure. But as I got older, I wasn’t that into it. But my mother, she insisted I remain a member.”
“Your mother? But why?” And then Mae pressed her lips together as though she hadn’t meant to utter that question. “Sorry. You don’t have to answer that.”
He didn’t normally open up to people about his past. He glossed over the important parts and left everything else unsaid. But for some reason, he felt like he could open up to Mae. “I was just six when my parents divorced. My father moved on, remarried and had another family. And so he wasn’t around much. My mother felt that I needed a male role model. She worried that she wasn’t enough for me. And so she enrolled me in Scouts so I could learn to whittle wood and make campfires. You know, all of the stuff that turns a boy into a strong, responsible adult.” Now, it was time to turn the tables on her. “And were you a Girl Scout?”
She shook her head. “My, um, parents, they weren’t much into me taking part in group functions.”
He arched a brow. “I thought all parents wanted their kids to interact with others.”
Mae glanced down. “They...they were overprotective.”
“Oh. I see. Well, it appears you didn’t miss out on anything by not learning how to build a fire. And think of all the calories you saved by not eating all those s’mores and roasted marshmallows.”
He was attempting to make her smile, but she was still avoiding his gaze and she definitely wasn’t smiling. There was more to her childhood than she was willing to share. Something told him she hadn’t had it easy—even if this luxury log home said otherwise.
“You better eat before it’s cold,” Mae said.
“What about you? Where’s your food?”
“Oh, I’ll eat in the kitchen.” Her gaze strayed across the plate on his lap. “I see you already ate some of the bread.”
“I guess I was hungrier than I thought. Thanks for this.”
“It’s no big deal. I’m sure your wife did things like this for you all of the time.”
“Actually, she didn’t. She came from old money and never learned to cook. By the time we met, she had her life the way she wanted it, and so for us to work, I had to fit into her life.”
Mae’s mouth gaped and then as though catching herself, she quickly forced her jaw closed.
“I see I surprised you with that admission.” He sighed. “I guess I surprised myself in a way. My mother was a lot like my late wife. She had her life and I had to fit into it—but I didn’t do a very good job. I always thought when I grew up that I would end up with someone who was the exact opposite of my mother. And I convinced myself that June was different. After all, she had money. She didn’t need mine. And she was cultured. My mother was anything but cultured.” Why was he rambling on? He never opened up about his private life with anyone. “But you don’t want to hear all of that.”
“Actually, it’s nice to know that my life isn’t the only one that isn’t picture-perfect.”
So he was right. She had skeletons in her closet. He wondered what they might be, but he didn’t venture to ask. They’d shared enough for one evening.
His steady gaze met hers. “You’ve been great. I don’t know what I’d have done without you. I won’t forget it.”
Her cheeks filled with color. “It’s not that big of a deal.”
“I promise that I’ll find a way to pay you back.” When she went to protest, he said, “I was thinking that once I’m mobile I could treat you to dinner in the village.”
This time her gaze did meet his. “I... I don’t think that would be a good idea.”
Okay. He may have been out of the dating scene for a number of years, but he was pretty sure that wasn’t how the conversation was supposed to have gone. Perhaps he hadn’t stated it properly.
“I know this place is really nice, but you can’t spend all of your time here alone. And I’ll be staying in the area until after Christmas, so I’d like to pay you back in some manner. I just thought a friendly dinner might be nice. If you change your mind before I leave tomorrow, I’ll give you my phone number.”
There, that was much clearer. Surely she wouldn’t object now. Would she?
“Thank you.” She sent him a small smile. “That’s a really nice offer, but you don’t have to feel like you owe me anything. After all, if it wasn’t for Gizmo, we wouldn’t be here.”
She did have a point, but he had a feeling she was just using that as an excuse. Did she really find him that repulsive? He wasn’t used to a woman rejecting his offer for dinner—not that he dated, but he did have business dinners and he was never without female companionship for those.
Mae was different. Very different. And that made him all the more curious about her. If only they had phone reception, he’d do an internet search on her. After all, he was a reporter. Research was a part of his daily routine. Sure, he had people to do it, but he liked to do a lot of his own research. He liked learning all sorts of new things.
There was only one problem. He didn’t know her last name. Was that just an oversight on her part? Or had she purposely withheld it?
“Well, I’ll let you eat. I need to go check on Gizmo. He’s being suspiciously quiet.” She turned to walk away.