Hometown Love (Love on the North Shore #2)(63)
“We’re good, then.” She intended a cheerful tone, but failed, judging by the unconvinced expression on Mack’s face. “Really, Mack. Everything is fine.” She wrapped her arms around him and took possession of his mouth.
Mack’s hands traveled down her back and settled on her butt. Then he pulled her against him. “I wish we were alone right now,” he said, his voice low and husky.
The combination of his words and hard body against hers chased away the memory of him and Bethany. “Me, too.” She kissed him again.
“Pancakes are done!” Bethany’s voice rang out and the heat pulsing through Jessie’s body changed to pure ice.
While Grace and Mack worked on eliminating the stack of pancakes, Bethany shot dirty looks in her direction. Rather than retaliate, Jessie ignored her and chose to listen to Grace’s constant chatter. Between the forkfuls of food, the little girl jumped from one topic to the next, one minute talking about her birthday party, and the next, about the upcoming trip. When she wasn’t talking or eating, she slipped pieces of her breakfast to Socks. The dog hadn’t left his spot beside her chair since they all sat down. Mack either hadn’t noticed or didn’t care because he didn’t tell her to stop, but Jessie feared if the dog ate much more he’d get sick.
“Can I wear my new boots for the hike?” Part of her birthday present from her aunt had been a pair of black suede boots.
“Those aren’t the type of boots you wear hiking,” Mack answered. “Besides, that might not be a great activity for today with your mom here.”
“You promised, and Mommy can come, too.”
For the moment, Bethany stopped casting the evil eye at her and looked over at Grace. “I thought maybe you, me, and your dad could go to the zoo or maybe the aquarium.”
“Daddy and Jessie promised to take me on my first hike today. I want to do that.” The same stubborn tone Jessie often heard in Mack’s voice resonated in Grace’s now.
Bethany’s lips pressed together. “You can do that some other time. Don’t you want to spend time with just me and your dad?”
Grace’s perfectly done braids swung back and forth. “No. Jessie promised she’d help me get pretty leaves and rocks for my fairy village.”
“Since she promised, I guess we better all take that hike today.” Bethany’s mouth twisted in an ugly scowl. “We don’t want the village not to have enough leaves and rocks.”
“Bethany, you hate hiking. You’ll be miserable.”
“It’s what Grace wants to do.” She rubbed her daughter’s arm. “I’ll survive for one day.”
She might survive, but Jessie doubted she would. Spending the entire day in the woman’s company yesterday had been bad enough. Yet she couldn’t leave Bethany alone with Mack either, so that left her no other option than to suck it up for another day.
***
He watched Grace show another leaf first to Jessie and then to her mom before she added it to her collection bag. Then Grace said something to the two women and proceeded forward on the trail. As far as trails went, the one he’d picked was simple. Knowing how much Bethany hated anything to do with nature, and considering that this was his daughter’s first hike, he’d picked the easiest one he knew.
When Grace paused again, his ex-wife threw an exasperated look in his direction but didn’t speak.
“I think you have enough for now,” he said as he stopped near the little group. “If we’re going to finish the whole trail today, we need to keep moving.” What he meant but didn’t say was, if they were going to finish and get Bethany to the garage before it closed, they needed to keep moving. No way in hell did he want her spending another night with him. One night had been bad enough. When she’d asked to stay, he’d figured it would be no big deal. He had an extra room and they did maintain a cordial relationship despite their divorce. He’d never imagined she’d kiss him.
What the hell had she been thinking? Not once since their divorce had she tried such a stunt. Of course Jessie had picked that moment to walk in. He wasn’t lucky enough to have her walk in five minutes later.
They started moving again, but didn’t make it far when Jessie paused and picked up a bird’s nest that had fallen from a tree branch. She showed Grace, who added it to her bag.
“That’s going to be one crowded village,” he said, coming up next to them.
“Jessie promised to help me make it bigger.” Grace looked at him and smiled.
Of course she had. She treated Grace like a daughter, and that was just one of the many reasons he loved her. Damn, he hoped Bethany’s little stunt that morning hadn’t hurt their relationship. She’d accepted his explanation and said things were good, but she’d remained quieter than usual today.
If he’d walked in on her with an ex who was only half-dressed, the shit would’ve hit the fan. In fact, he might not have even stuck around long enough to hear an explanation. Thank God Jessie had a more understanding nature. But even though she did, he needed to make sure something like that never happened again—which brought him back to getting their hike done and Bethany on her way.
“Let’s keep moving. No more breaks until we’re back at the car.”
For the most part, Grace did a fantastic job on her first hike. The only reason he carried her on his shoulders the last quarter mile was because she’d slowed down quite a bit. After walking for about three and half miles, he understood her slower pace and would’ve let her finish on her own if he hadn’t been in a rush. The garage closed at four and his watch already read two o’clock.