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She put both palms on the table and took a breath. “I have way bigger news than that, though.” She had his attention. “They’re opening hunting season.”
Obvious relief coursed through him.
“Starting tomorrow. They’re going to block off a small section of the forest, but it really is small, less than a square kilometer.”
He raised his eyebrow. “A square kilometer is pretty big.”
“Not when a forest is five thousand square kilometers.” His expression said that he conceded. “Anyway, it’s actually about half of a square kilometer, but I wasn’t trying to be all exact.”
He chuckled. “You weren’t trying to be all scientific?”
She narrowed her eyes. Apparently they were still going to argue a bit, even if they were on an official date. “So this new team will observe throughout the winter. Martin has been hired on to help them.”
“What about you? Don’t you want to be part of it?”
She shook her head quickly. “They said I could keep working on the project, but I didn’t want to.”
He leaned back in his chair. “You want to get home to Nebraska?”
“Actually ... there’s a position opening up at the hatchery in Rapid.”
Joy spread across his face. She was delighted to see it. “Right,” he said slowly. “Because you’re the fish expert.”
She nodded. “Because I’m the fish expert. I have loved working in Nebraska, but honestly, even if none of this toad stuff had happened, if I had seen that job opening, I would have considered applying for it. South Dakota is my home. My mom is getting older. I want to be closer so I can be there for her if she needs me ... I’ll still be quite a ways from my family, but it’s a short drive to go visit.”
He chuckled. “It’s only a short drive in South Dakota logic.”
She nodded. “That’s my favorite kind of logic.”
“So, when will you know if you get the job?”
“Officially, I don’t know, but unofficially, I’ve already been told that I’m a shoo-in. So ... we could even go on a real date soon.”
He smiled and leaned forward again and took one of her hands into his. His skin was rough, and his hand was warm, and she didn’t want to let go of it for a very long time. “I would like that,” he said softly. “I’m not really very good at all this dating stuff. I’m not sure how to wine and dine you till you fall helplessly in love with me.”
Her cheeks grew warm. “You’re doing a fine job so far. Maybe we can just go wander around the woods together.”
He laughed, but she could see hope in his eyes. “Okay great. I would rather see the sights with you in real life than have to send you pictures through Snapchat.” Their eyes locked, and the moment grew profound. There was really something here. Though she had really liked Wolfgang, she had not seen this coming.
The waitress interrupted the moment to take their orders, and by the time they had finished asking for their food, the intensity had passed.
Tucker straightened his placemat. “So when did you have the sourdough pancakes?”
“I came here with Martin.”
“You came here with Martin?” he said, feigning jealousy.
She laughed. “I was just scouting the place out for you.”
“That was nice of you.” He looked around conspiratorially and then leaned closer to her. “Hey, can I ask you a serious question?”
“Of course.” Her heart thumped in her chest. What was he going to say? This sounded big.
“Will you please never, ever, ever, under any circumstances, tell Holden that I was on a dating app?”
She laughed. “I tried to talk him into it a while ago.”
“He didn’t go for it, did he?” Tucker cried.
