Chapter 4

4

The journey to Mount Haven consisted of a four-hour flight then a two hour car ride up the mountain. Which meant traveling with two excited kids all the more hyper because their dad was going with them for the first time in a couple of years. Tahlia didn’t let that nettle dig too deep into her skin; she needed to be civil with her boss, especially as she was spending that concentrated travel time with him, too. A fact that hit her very hard as the group got settled into their first class seats.

Naturally the twins wanted to sit together. Tahlia had no problem with that except it meant she would have to sit beside their father. A scenario he didn’t seem thrilled with, either.

“I don’t think this is a good idea,” he stated flatly. Tahlia rolled her eyes as she handed him Maddy’s carry-on to place into the overhead bin. The kids were already in their seats, huddled around the iPad they shared, headphones on.

“They’ll be right in front of us. They can’t get into mischief.”

“I’m not worried about them,” he muttered, but before Tahlia could ask him what he meant, he turned to take her carry-on. She held it back from him with a stubborn glare.

“I can do it, thank you,” she said with maybe a little too much emphasis. Nelson raised his hands in surrender and stepped back to let her. The plane was quite full and there was only so much room to maneuver so she ended up with him at her back anyway. More people were traipsing up the aisle behind them and Tahlia was suddenly pressured to heave her rather heavy bag into the bin.

Now, Tahlia was strong. Between her labor as a mechanic during both undergrad and graduate school and her hard-won efforts to be healthier in her adult years had gifted her solid muscle mass. Yet, in an upsetting betrayal, those very muscles betrayed her when she tried to lift that damn bag. Yes, it was heavy; she not only had her things in there but the gifts she’d gotten the twins, but she shouldn’t have had a problem. Normally she was sure she wouldn’t have.

It was a stunning display of Murphy’s Law in action that sent her stumbling backward into her boss’ chest, just barely avoiding dropping her suitcase on someone’s head. In fact, it was Nelson who managed to catch the dang thing, as if by magic managing to grab hold of the bag as it came hurtling down.

“Oof!” he grunted at the impact of both her body and grabbing her bag. “What the hell do you have in this thing?”

“Nothing,” she responded tartly, more than a little flustered at being caged against his chest and definitely embarrassed. Stubborn to the last degree, though, Tahlia reached for her bag. “I can-”

“I’ll do it.” He lifted the suitcase away from her and over both their heads with more ease than was fair and shoved it into the bin. Tahlia huffed and turned to face him. Which was a mistake because she ended up staring at his chest and the black sweater being stretched across it.

Does he not know how to find clothes that fit?

Tahlia forced her eyes upward and pinned a scowl on her face. “I could have done that.”

“A ‘thank you’ would have sufficed, Miss Jameson,” Nelson snapped as he slid into the window seat. Left alone in the aisle, Tahlia smiled awkwardly at the impatient, judging passengers waiting to get to their seats before she dropped into the chair beside Nelson and heaved a giant sigh. Maybe she overreacted.

“I’m sorry,” she mumbled in his direction. “And thank you.” Thinking maybe she owed him a tiny explanation, she added, “I’m not very good at accepting help. There was a time, um, when I was alone and I had to do everything on my own. I guess I got used to it.”

“No kidding. Is that something you’re passing on to my kids?” he asked harshly.

At first, she was very much offended but Tahlia quickly realized it was absolutely fair of him to be concerned considering her little fit and what she’d just told him.

“No,” she said quietly. “I promise it’s not. I’m doing my best to instill self-confidence. Not…that. I’m sorry, Mr. Nelson.” Tahlia looked at the twins, who were happily oblivious, and wondered if she’d finally screwed up enough to get fired.

After what seemed like some very long seconds, he sighed. “It’s alright. I understand.”

Empathy was unexpected from a man like Matt Nelson, but Tahlia certainly didn’t expect him to show any to her .

“You do?” she asked, a tremor in her voice appearing out of nowhere.

“Yes,” he murmured. When he looked at her, melancholy had deepened the brown of his eyes into something dark and infinite. An urge to reach out to him made her fingers twitch and she had to fold her hands tightly in her lap. “You’re not alone.”

Yet again he seemed to uncannily read her like an open book and once again she found herself frozen, unable to tear her gaze from his. Nelson didn’t break away either, emotions flitting across his face that Tahlia couldn’t make out.

“…please buckle your seatbelts, we’ll be taking off in a few minutes.”

The pilot’s announcement broke whatever spell had fallen over them and Tahlia gasped, quickly turning away. She took the opportunity to busy herself with the kids, making sure they had their seatbelts on and were listening to the safety instructions.

When she sat back down, Nelson was engrossed in a book, appearing completely unfazed. Tahlia settled in, quiet and lost in her thoughts as she locked her seatbelt.

For a few minutes the acerbic Matt Nelson was…He was…well, he was understanding and gentle.

And tall , her brain unhelpfully provided.

Tahlia took a surreptitious glance at Nelson, whose profile was haloed by the morning sun. He was certainly handsome but also unbelievably confusing. How could a man be so severe one second and so kind the next? It gave her a little bit of whiplash.

Which was real? The ambitious, work-obsessed CEO or the sweet father who fell asleep watching over his kids?

And why did he make her heart race?