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“Yup.”
What did that mean exactly? Was it supposed to mean anything? Or was it just natural curiosity to want to know what had happened to an ex? Isabel’s brain wasn’t ready to puzzle through this right now, and fortunately Blaze emerging from the pond and shaking the water off him between the horses gave her a reason not to.
“Blaze!” she squealed, tugging on Clover’s reins to get out of the splash zone.
“He’s cooling us off, aren’t you, boy?” Jackson backed Zip out of the water, dismounted, and got to his knees beside her dog. “Are you having a good time, Blaze?”
“This place is a doggy paradise,” Isabel said. “He loves scouting around and hiking.”
“Oh, really?” Jackson stood and gave Clover’s nose a rub. “You want to make hiking the next part of this date?”
“Sure,” Isabel said. “There are trails behind Pine River Cottages that Blaze and I wanted to explore, and he looks as if his legs aren’t bothering him at all.”
“Great. Let’s get Zip and Clover back to the barn then.”
Watching Jackson climb back on Zip in one swift swing of his body into the saddle nearly made Isabel groan aloud. If she wasn’t careful, she’d get carried away on this date and that was probably a stupid thing to let happen. Charlie had warned her about that specifically.
“You haven’t seen him in a while,” Charlie had said. “He’s a hot guy, but keep your wits about you. Don’t give in to anything too quickly.” While her best friend had listened to her gush about being at the birthday party with Jackson, Charlie had also been full of cautions. Isabel understood, but after horseback riding today, it was hard to see Jackson Henley as a threat.
Or a mistake.
They settled the horses in the barn, thanked Christian who they’d caught riding a tractor toward one of his fields, and climbed into Jackson’s jeep to head back to the cottages. Blaze poked his head between the seats as he had on the drive to the farm so Isabel didn’t have a clear view of Jackson which was probably for the best. She’d at least have the short distance to get her hormones under control.
Jackson hit the power button on the radio and a cello-heavy tune flooded the interior of the jeep. “This is Dawson playing.”
Isabel listened for a few more moments then recognized the song. “Dawson is that Dawson? From the band Drei?”
“Yup. Violet met him after one of Drei’s concerts. He almost got run over by an SUV when the driver had a medical emergency,” Jackson said. “Violet pushed Dawson out of the way because he had earbuds in and didn’t hear the vehicle screaming toward him.”
“That’s incredible.” And quite the happily ever after story. Isabel recalled how she’d met Scott and the lack of creativity there made her cringe. She supposed a story that involved high school sweethearts reuniting was a much sweeter narrative.
Not that she and Jackson were going to live happily ever after. That was a ridiculous notion after one date.
Technically—according to Grandpa—two dates.
Still ridiculous.
“Have you dated anyone seriously since us?” Jackson asked as they waited for pedestrians to clear out of a crosswalk.
“Sure. A few. My last relationship lasted about eight months and was with a fellow hotel manager, Scott. He was a nice guy and all, but similar to not feeling bad about selling my house, I don’t feel bad about it not working out with Scott.” She peeked around Blaze’s head as Jackson continued driving. “What about you?”
He raked his right hand through his hair then gripped the steering wheel again. “I’ve had a handful of... encounters. I wouldn’t exactly call them relationships.”
“Hard to have anything long term when you’re moving from dig site to dig site, right?”
He nodded and she wondered if this line of conversation was to subtly warn her that whatever they were doing here was also temporary. She, of course, wanted something permanent with someone eventually, but she wasn’t staying in Maplehaven either so perhaps she and Jackson were perfect for each other.
Right now.
Not forever.
“Let’s just have fun, Jackson,” she finally said as he drove past the Pine River Cottages gates. “No pressure, okay?”
He pulled to a stop in front of his cottage and Blaze disappeared to stalk the back passenger door, eager to get out of the jeep.
“Okay. I mean, Vermont is a pit stop for us both, right?” Jackson angled to face her.
“Right. Nothing says we can’t hang out and whatever while we’re both here.”
