Taken With You by Shannon Stacey Page B

his hand.
    “We have company,” Josh announced, and they both turned. “This is Matt Barnett. We’ve gotten a lot of support from the warden service but, most importantly, we’ve got somebody covering this area now. Matt, this is Rose Davis, who’ll tell you she’s the housekeeper, but she’s mostly responsible for raising us. And this is Andy Miller, our trail administrator.”
    Matt shook hands with Andy, then leaned in to kiss Rose’s cheek. “I’ve heard a lot about you, ma’am.”
    “I’ve heard a lot about you, too,” she said, and her look made it clear what she’d heard had nothing to do with his new role in town. “And it’s Rose or Rosie, not ma’am. I hope you’re hungry, because I made lunch.”
    “I deliberately skipped breakfast this morning.”
    Her smile was broad and warm. “Oh, you are a charmer. I’m going to like you. Sit.”
    The problem with the best meat loaf sandwiches he’d ever eaten in his life was that he ate two of them, along with a second helping of macaroni salad, which made him want a nap.
    Josh groaned, his hand to his stomach. “I told you we should ride first and then eat, Rosie. Now I don’t want to move.”
    “Nobody made you eat seconds.”
    “There’s not a man born who could have resisted, Rose,” Matt said, rubbing his own belly.
    She gave him a smile that made him feel like a chosen child. “I can see why certain women in this town want to see you sweep Hailey off her feet.”
    Luckily, he’d been prepared for this and he smiled. “Hailey seems to like her feet firmly on the ground.”
    Her eyes narrowed a little, as if he’d issued a challenge. “She’s been waiting for the right man to come along.”
    “Speaking of waiting,” he turned to face Josh. “I stopped at the general store to grab some snacks for today’s ride and, when I mentioned I was on my way here, the woman—Fran, right?—offered me five dollars off my next purchase of twenty dollars or more if I could get a wedding date out of you.”
    They all laughed, while Josh shook his head. “That’s up to Katie and she can’t decide if she wants a summer wedding or a winter wedding. She wants to get married here and then she wants to go to some tropical island and get married on a cruise ship. As soon as she figures out what she wants, I’ll have her call you. Wouldn’t want you to miss out on five bucks.”
    “You boys want dessert?” Rose asked, standing to clear plates.
    Matt stood, too, and picked up his plate. “If I eat another bite, I’m going to have to rent a room from you and lay down for a while. Maybe until tomorrow.”
    “It’s homemade banana cream pie.”
    He looked at Josh, and then Andy. “How important is it we hit the trails today ?”
    “Trust me, son, I know how you feel,” Andy said. “We’ll go do a run now, then have some pie when we get back. How about that?”
    “It’ll be too close to supper,” Rose protested, taking Matt’s plate from him.
    “I’m so full, a slice of banana cream pie will be supper,” he told her.
    “You stop by here any time you need a good meal.” She patted his face as though he were a boy.
    “Thank you, Rose. Between you and Hailey, I certainly won’t go hungry.”
    She turned a laser-sharp gaze on him. “Hailey’s feeding you?”
    He had to get better at this small-town thing. “She made me a shepherd’s pie, to welcome me to the neighborhood. It was a huge pan and I’ve been enjoying the leftovers.”
    “Hmm.” She searched his face, as if looking for any sign a welcome to the neighborhood dish was a euphemism for something a lot more gossip-worthy. “She makes the best shepherd’s pie in town. Refuses to give me the recipe.”
    “I told her it was better than my mother’s and she told me it was the seasonings.”
    “Well, that could mean almost anything. And never, ever admit out loud a woman’s cooking is better than your mama’s.”
    “Yes, ma’am. Rose.”
    “Let’s get out of here