Matt reached out to the feeble hand Kate extended and gently clasped it. “Miss Katie,” he said with a crooked smile and gallant nod.
Kate’s cheeks reddened as her eyes sparkled with amusement. “Call me Gram Katie. I seem to be everyone’s grandmother around here,” she said. “It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Gregor. You know beauty when you see it. Moon Watchersis one of my favorites.”
“I do appreciate beautiful things,” Matt said, his eyes briefly locking on Winter’s before looking back to Kate. “And please, call me Matt. I want to thank you for covering for Megan this afternoon, so she could accompany us to Bear Mountain.”
Kate’s blush deepened as she waved away his thanks. “It was my pleasure. At my age, a woman looks forward to being useful.”
“Mum’s waiting supper for ye, Gram,” Robbie said, stepping up and lacing Kate’s arm through his. He looked at Megan and asked, “Ye ready to practice being a mama, Meg? Baby Angus will likely sleep most of the evening, but Hamish is potty training and he still fights going to bed. And Nathan and Nora have a movie and they’re expecting popcorn.”
Winter couldn’t help but smile at her eagerly grinning sister. Baby Angus was Robbie’s and Catherine’s ten-week-old son, and Hamish was their two-year-old hellion. Then there were Catherine’s two older children, eleven-year-old Nathan and nine-year-old Nora. Robbie and Cat also had two foster boys living with them, but the teens had their own plans for the night. Either that or Catherine wasn’t quite ready to turn her newborn over to their care quite yet.
“I think I can handle your crew,” Megan said. “It can’t be any harder than babysitting a bunch of undergraduates counting Canada goose nests on the tundra.”
Robbie nodded with an answering smile. “Gunter and Emily might stop in for a visit. Gunter said he has a snake skin he wants to show Nora, so she can identify it for him.”
Gunter was one of Robbie’s previous foster boys, who was now married and working in Robbie’s logging business. Gunter and Emily were expecting their first child next spring.
“Robbie, have you spoken to Papa today?” Winter asked. “Or Father Daar?”
“No, why?”
Winter shrugged. “No reason. It’s just that since Papa came back from visiting Daar this morning, he’s been in a strange mood. He took Mama up the mountain for a picnic today, and he just called and said they’re spending the night.” She shrugged again, trying to dismiss her concern even as she voiced it. “He sounded…upset, I’m thinking. Maybe even angry. I just wondered if Daar said something to upset him.”
Robbie gently tapped the tip of her nose. “Daar’s always upsetting Greylen, baby girl. Your papa probably just wants your mama to himself for a while.” He took hold of Kate’s arm again. “Come on, Gram, let’s get ye home.” He looked at Megan. “Ye might as well come with me now. Cat set a place for ye at our supper table. But as soon as ye sit down, Cat and I are off to our own dinner reservations at the Crooked Antler in Greenville.” He stopped when he stepped past the patiently waiting horses and looked back at Winter. “Ye can lead old Butterball home okay?”
Winter waved him away. “Sure, assuming I can wake him up.”
Robbie looked at Matt. “When I bring Megan home, I’ll probably visit with Winter a bit. I expect that will be around eleven o’clock.”
Matt, apparently receiving Robbie’s message loud and clear, simply nodded.
Winter held in a groan. Robbie was acting like she was sixteen years old, warning Matt that he would be checking up on her! Oh, for the love of—
She was almost prepared this time, when Matt’s hands came around her waist and lifted her onto Snowball’s back. Winter gathered up her reins and turned Snowball toward Megan’s sleeping horse, but Matt quickly mounted up himself and took Butterball’s reins before she could.
She still didn’t look at him; she was too darn embarrassed. Or maybe she was just plain mad enough to curse for real. The men in her life were starting to get on her nerves, not the least of which was Matheson Gregor himself, who had to trot to catch up with her.
“I noticed there’s both a lounge and restaurant at the resort,” Matt said. “You want formal dining or comfortable eats tonight?”
She had a good mind not to go at all.
Matt reached over and took hold of Snowball’s reins. “Don’t even think of refusing, Winter,”
he said softly. “It’s going to take someone bigger than your cousin to scare me off.”
Winter smiled at him even as a shiver of awareness tightened her stomach. “How about an entire family of large men?” she asked. “I have a whole army of uncles and male cousins, and not one of them is under six feet tall.”
Matt let go of Snowball’s reins and started Goose walking again, towing Butterball in his wake.
“They wouldn’t be the first army I’ve taken on, nor likely my last.”
“What exactly is it you do for a living?” Winter asked, urging Snowball to catch up.
Matt looked over once she was beside him again. “Have dinner with me tonight and I’ll tell you,” he said, his challenging gaze reflecting the colors of the deepening autumn twilight.
Winter turned off Main Street and took the forest shortcut to TarStone, which caused the world around them to darken to almost night. “Okay,” she finally said. “I’ll meet you at the lounge at eight.”
“No,” Matt countered with soft authority from behind her. “I’ll come to your house at eight, and we’ll walk over together.”
Winter sighed and rode the rest of the way home in silence as she kept a close watch on the woods, knowing darn well that Gesader was lurking in the shadows, just like he’d been for their entire trip to Bear Mountain and back.
Just what she needed—one more overly protective male making sure she died a virgin.
Chapter Eight
M att stood on the drawbridgeof Gù Brath and listened to the rushing water below as he contemplated the large, solid oak, windowless door in front of him. Damn if his little artist didn’t live in a castle. He felt like a knight trying to court a princess; he had the wealth and social standing, all he lacked was a suit of armor.
That, and a kingdom to carry her off to.
But then, Bear Mountain might fill that requirement, though he wished it wasn’t located quite so close to Winter’s army of tall uncles and male cousins. Robbie MacBain looked more like a warrior than a husband and father of four young children, and carried himself in a way that said he was prepared to back up his not-so-subtle warning this afternoon.
But then, Matt never could resist a challenge.
And Winter MacKeage was definitely a challenge. When he’d first seen Winter in her gallery, he couldn’t believe some starry-eyed young man hadn’t already snatched her up. But having spent the afternoon with her, Matt was beginning to think that a suit of armor might really be necessary to get within kissing distance of the aloof little wood sprite.
Winter was an exciting paradox of beauty, intelligence, and prickly independence. And like her cousin MacBain, she also had a protective streak a mile wide. She was determined to protect the old hermit and was also quite protective of her sister. All in all, Matt suspected Winter could be just as formidable as her warrior cousin, albeit employing different means to back up her bluster.
With a smile of anticipation for the evening to come, Matt finally reached out and firmly pounded the iron knocker on the door. His smile went even broader when the door suddenly swung open before he could even pull his hand away.
He lifted one brow. “You’re punctual as well,” he drawled.
“You said eight.”
“But it’s been my experience that women like being late, so they don’t appear too eager.”
She simply stared at him, nonplussed. “I’m hungry,” she finally said.
Matt gave a slight bow and held out his hand to her, just to see if she would take it. “Then I guess I better feed you.” He patted his lapel with his other hand. “I brought my platinum card to pay the enormous bill you’re going to run up.”