that she was holding him back. And what made her think he wanted to be
married
? He did, but Karen was certainly putting the cart ahead of the horse.
“I know that, Karen,” was all he said.
“I mean, just tell me if you ever want me to leave. I can live anywhere. I’m going to want to live closer to school, anyway.”
“I’d never ask you to leave, Karen. It’s your house as much as it’s mine.”
“That’s not what the paperwork says.” She put her rifle back up to her shoulder. The deer was getting careless.
“Don’t worry about the fucking paperwork. As long as I’m alive you’ll always have someplace to go. Drop it.”
“Okay.” Karen shrugged, then relaxed her shoulders and took her shot. It was a clean one; the deer fell instantly and was still after a few tense moments of thrashing. She raised her voice to normal level as she strapped her gun onto her back and then dropped her long legs down onto the ladder. “My point is just that if you want to hook up with Nora, I guess I approve. Not that you care.” Her head disappeared through the trap door and Matt sat there a bit longer thinking. Did he really care that a twenty-year-old approved of any romantic prospects? This time, yes. Yes, he did. Nora was a “for keeps” kind of woman.
Matt sighed and strapped on his own gun to follow Karen down the hole and over to the copse of trees where she was assessing the deer idly fondling the hilt of her knife. “You want to dress it here or take it home?”
He looked at his watch. Nearly noon. They’d be there for another couple of hours at least, and he’d been thinking all morning about ways to show up at Nora’s without spooking her. The way she’d ran from him that day after returning from the swamps hadn’t sat well with him and he wanted to know what he’d done to scare her. Still, if she didn’t want to be bothered, he wanted to heed her wish. Only for a while, though. He didn’t want her to think he’d given up so easily. Giving up just like that would have meant he didn’t really want her in the first place, and that couldn’t be further from the truth. Matt wanted her body, yes, but the more time he spent with the artist, he also wanted her companionship. She was the wife he wanted, if she’d have him.
Circuiting her kitchen the evening he’d fried fish for her had stirred something in him, and not of the primal sort. Being in her company felt right. Good. It was the casual awareness they had of each other. The ease of conversation. She was a woman he wanted to come home to every night. A woman who had something to say he actually wanted to hear.
“Let’s just do it here,” he said finally, pulling out his own sharper knife and handing it to her. “I’ll get the rope out of the truck.”
Chapter Five
Nora’s newest painting had nearly been a disaster until she figured out how to anchor all that bland color. The green murk of the water, the faded tones of the tree trunks, and the leafless boughs of the swamp had made her canvas look like so much pea soup, even with the flower-colored houseboat prominent and its resident clearly presented. It wasn’t until she took a break to peel and cut the bag of bright red apples someone had left on her porch — probably Karen since they were in one of those plastic bags hospitals give patients to take their belongings home in — that she had an idea of what the painting was missing.
Nora painted a red velvet robe with an ermine collar onto the slumbering man, put gold buckles on his rubber boots, and propped a jewel-studded crown on top of his fisherman’s hat. She gave the tail-wagging mutt that sat at the edge of the porch a jeweled collar and a spiked tail, and instead of his mouth being open to merely bark, an anemic puff of smoke seeped out. With the peeling paint of the house and the amount of crap piled inside like some sort of floating junkyard, it was an odd juxtaposition, and that was Nora’s intention. She named
married
? He did, but Karen was certainly putting the cart ahead of the horse.
“I know that, Karen,” was all he said.
“I mean, just tell me if you ever want me to leave. I can live anywhere. I’m going to want to live closer to school, anyway.”
“I’d never ask you to leave, Karen. It’s your house as much as it’s mine.”
“That’s not what the paperwork says.” She put her rifle back up to her shoulder. The deer was getting careless.
“Don’t worry about the fucking paperwork. As long as I’m alive you’ll always have someplace to go. Drop it.”
“Okay.” Karen shrugged, then relaxed her shoulders and took her shot. It was a clean one; the deer fell instantly and was still after a few tense moments of thrashing. She raised her voice to normal level as she strapped her gun onto her back and then dropped her long legs down onto the ladder. “My point is just that if you want to hook up with Nora, I guess I approve. Not that you care.” Her head disappeared through the trap door and Matt sat there a bit longer thinking. Did he really care that a twenty-year-old approved of any romantic prospects? This time, yes. Yes, he did. Nora was a “for keeps” kind of woman.
Matt sighed and strapped on his own gun to follow Karen down the hole and over to the copse of trees where she was assessing the deer idly fondling the hilt of her knife. “You want to dress it here or take it home?”
He looked at his watch. Nearly noon. They’d be there for another couple of hours at least, and he’d been thinking all morning about ways to show up at Nora’s without spooking her. The way she’d ran from him that day after returning from the swamps hadn’t sat well with him and he wanted to know what he’d done to scare her. Still, if she didn’t want to be bothered, he wanted to heed her wish. Only for a while, though. He didn’t want her to think he’d given up so easily. Giving up just like that would have meant he didn’t really want her in the first place, and that couldn’t be further from the truth. Matt wanted her body, yes, but the more time he spent with the artist, he also wanted her companionship. She was the wife he wanted, if she’d have him.
Circuiting her kitchen the evening he’d fried fish for her had stirred something in him, and not of the primal sort. Being in her company felt right. Good. It was the casual awareness they had of each other. The ease of conversation. She was a woman he wanted to come home to every night. A woman who had something to say he actually wanted to hear.
“Let’s just do it here,” he said finally, pulling out his own sharper knife and handing it to her. “I’ll get the rope out of the truck.”
Chapter Five
Nora’s newest painting had nearly been a disaster until she figured out how to anchor all that bland color. The green murk of the water, the faded tones of the tree trunks, and the leafless boughs of the swamp had made her canvas look like so much pea soup, even with the flower-colored houseboat prominent and its resident clearly presented. It wasn’t until she took a break to peel and cut the bag of bright red apples someone had left on her porch — probably Karen since they were in one of those plastic bags hospitals give patients to take their belongings home in — that she had an idea of what the painting was missing.
Nora painted a red velvet robe with an ermine collar onto the slumbering man, put gold buckles on his rubber boots, and propped a jewel-studded crown on top of his fisherman’s hat. She gave the tail-wagging mutt that sat at the edge of the porch a jeweled collar and a spiked tail, and instead of his mouth being open to merely bark, an anemic puff of smoke seeped out. With the peeling paint of the house and the amount of crap piled inside like some sort of floating junkyard, it was an odd juxtaposition, and that was Nora’s intention. She named
Similar Books
Mystery Of The Sea Horse
Lee Falk
The Coal War
Upton Sinclair
Come To Me
LaVerne Thompson
Breaking Point
Lesley Choyce
Wolf Point
Edward Falco
Fallowblade
Cecilia Dart-Thornton
Seduce
Missy Johnson
