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He turns to face me, slowly, as though he’s thinking. This time when he looks at me, it’s with a hint of wariness. “Wait a sec… I get what’s going on here. My dad gave you my address… so he wanted you to visit me. You’re a therapist these days. What, does he want you to try to fix me or something?”
What can I say to that?
It’s not exactly the truth.
But the real truth—that I’m supposed to find Parker a wife—might be a harder pill to swallow.
So, I lift my chin a quarter of an inch. “Sort of.”
“Oh… oh, man. There’s more, isn’t there?”
“Maybe.”
“Ah. Okay. I get it…. You’ve got that matchmaker business.” He fidgets with the brim of his hat, pulling it low and side to side, then he turns around and starts walking again. “No thanks.”
“No thanks?”
“No thanks, I don’t want to be a lab rat you experiment on.”
“I don’t need lab rats. My company’s process is completely dialed in at this point. It really works, and your dad wants—”
“You don’t have to tell me what my dad wants. I know.”
We walk in silence for a few minutes, until a far-off yipping, howling sound pierces the air.
I catch up to him instinctively. Better to be walking right next to a broad-shouldered, six-foot-two guy when you're out in the woods like this—even if he is a guy who broke your heart, once upon a time—than lagging behind where the critters can catch you and make a meal out of you.
“I thought you said there were no wolves out here?” I hate that my voice is high-pitched and quavering, but it is.
“There aren’t. Those were coyotes.”
“And they’re… harmless?”
“For the most part.”
I don’t like that answer.
And I don't like that Parker has tried to shut down the only reason I’m here in Vermont in the first place, with two words.“No thanks.”
I’m not a girl to spot an obstacle in my path and simply turn around. I hurdle obstacles, no matter what it takes.
“Your dad thinks maybe if you find the right person to settle down with, you’ll be happier,” I say, as the path curves uphill. Tall pines loom over us. “I can help you do that. It’s sort of my specialty these days.”
Iwillconvince Parker to let me help him.
Iwillfind him a match.
I’ll find Queenie, too, and then we’re both going to leave Pines Peak in the dust.
And I’ll do my best to never,everwalk side-by-side with Parker in the dark woods again. Because I don’t think it’s healthy for me to feel like this—like he’s my safety. My protection. My friend, even.
Being out here in the woods with Parker Manning is bringing up way,waytoo many memories. The last thing I need right now is to relive one of the most painful experiences of my life.
“It’s not even that hard,” I hear myself say, as I ward off a fresh batch of kissing-Parker mind-movies. “One questionnaire, a couple interviews… we run the numbers, andvoila. You’re good to go.”
Chapter5
Parker
