“I was thinking we could go nocturning.”
Sophie’s mind went completely blank. A stilted laugh accompanied her next words. “I’m afraid I’m not sure what that is.”
“That’s because I made it up,” Manfred said after letting out a noise Sophie could only identify as a snort. He pushed his glasses farther up his nose. “You see, you put on these night-vision goggles and go into the woods to look for creatures. Opossum, raccoons, all kinds of bugs and stuff. I’ve always wanted to go with someone and maybe make a contest out of it. You know, see how many different species each one of us finds? Like a wildlife scavenger hunt.”
“Couldn’t we do the same thing by staking out some backyards?” Raccoons and the occasional bear or moose were frequent visitors in many backyards, especially if one forgot to lock down their cans for the night. She’d be happy to skulk around and knock a few lids off for good measure.
“Could.” Manfred’s grin was back. “This is more fun. More...adventurous. Your questionnaire mentioned something about adventure, right? What do you say? I can pick you up after dark. What’s your address? You live up on Eskaleut Lane, right?”
“Um.” Harmless, she told herself. Manfred was harmless, just...odd. Small-town problems. She seemed to be attracting odd like bees to pollen. “I’m working late tonight, actually. How about we meet at the Bar & Grill about eight?”
“Excellent. I’ll make sure to clean your goggles for you. See you tonight!”
Sophie stared at the glass door for a good minute after Manfred left. Her faith in Gideon’s matchmaking abilities had officially waned. Was her personality so bad, had she answered that questionnaire so wrong, that these were the three men K-Bay had to offer her? Or maybe they’d overstated what they had to offer. Yeah. She could buy that. Guys exaggerated. About everything. Of course, there was one other possibility. “Gideon has gone and lost his mind.” Or he had it out for her. Again.
“What’s that?” Melanie asked as she returned from her coffee break and handed over a steaming latte to Sophie. “You look a little pale. What’s going on?”
“Nothing.” Except Manfred wasn’t nothing. “I have another date. Tonight.”
“Who with this time?” Melanie’s eyebrows disappeared under her bangs.
“Um.” Sophie sipped her drink and walked away, disappointment and embarrassment surging through her. “Manfred Dellison.”
“Manny the Maniac?” Melanie tripped over a seam in the linoleum and caught herself on the counter. “Are you serious?”
“He was just here,” Sophie explained with more than a little trepidation in her voice. “And do people really still call him that? It’s been years since high school.” But she did have to wonder how she’d forgotten.
“Of course. He develops poisons for a living.” Melanie shuddered. “That’s more than a little icky. I wouldn’t let him near your drink.”
“Oh, stop. Manfred’s not dangerous,” Sophie argued around a too-tight throat. “Unless you’re an insect. Why did they call him that anyway?” Even if Gideon did think she was a ditz, he wouldn’t have set her up with anyone unstable. Sophie nibbled on her lower lip. Would he?
“Something about how he walks around town at all hours of the night. Wearing these funky night-vision-goggle things. Reminds me of a stalker in one of those horror movies. Seriously, that’s who Gideon matched you with? Girlfriend guy and coffee pants weren’t enough?”
“I guess not.”
“Are you going?”
“Uh-huh.” Sophie swallowed and turned pitiful eyes on her friend. “Manfred looked so excited, so happy. I couldn’t very well say no. And besides, I can’t give Gideon the satisfaction of not seeing this through. He already thinks I’m flighty. I don’t want to give him the impression that I’m not trying or grateful for his efforts.” Despite where his efforts were leading her. She was beginning to understand how Gideon must really see her.
Melanie frowned. “I’ve never heard anyone, least of all Gideon, call you flighty. Flirty maybe.” She waggled her brows and cocked her head. “Maybe Manfred will have something to say about that. Where are you going? What are you doing?”
“Have you ever heard of nocturning?” Please, please...
“Not even a little.”
“Then, do me a favor. Keep your phone on tonight. I might be sending out an SOS.” Sophie knew one thing for sure. She’d be spending most of the night praying Manfred didn’t live up to his nickname.
CHAPTER FIVE
GIDEON’S NERVES WERE getting to him.
He didn’t mind these group dates anymore, but solitary sentry duty at the Bar & Grill while most of the couples were in full date mode was annoying.
Ty had skived off instead of joining him, as had Coop, who seemed more than content to stay home with Nora and Zoe than venture out to see how effective the latest round of matches were. Ty and Coop had better get their behinds over to the rink tomorrow night to help with broom hockey. Those men-versus-women matches were getting...nasty.
As for tonight? The majority of those meeting for drinks and dinner seemed to be having a good time and had sequestered themselves in booths. Some couples ventured elsewhere to find their own entertainment.
Watching Sophie accept a pair of science-fiction-movie-reject night-vision goggles from Manfred put a frown on Gideon’s face. He hadn’t been able to look away from her from the second she’d opened the door. Her wide-eyed expression might have brought an amused smile to his face if his envy hadn’t asserted control.
Gideon clenched his jaw, loosened his tie and grabbed hold of his beer. After her disastrous first two dates he didn’t anticipate much could go wrong for her with Manfred. Then again, Gideon didn’t expect to see her looking so nervous. Gideon abandoned his stool as Manfred escorted her out of the bar. Where were they going? He didn’t imagine Manfred, of all people, would venture too far away from the familiarity of the bar.
Had Sophie bothered to glance his way he might have considered stepping in, or at least asking where the couple was headed for the night, but he swore she was purposely avoiding looking in his direction.
Unease unwound like a garter snake in his chest. The idea of Sophie being out of his sight didn’t sit well, and his apprehension increased over the next hour.
“I’m sensing a bit of uncertainty here,” Coach said as he set a second beer in front of Gideon. “What gives? You worried about Sophie?”
Truth be told, Coach was right. He couldn’t stop thinking—or worrying—about her. Not that he was about to admit it. “Why would I be—?”
Coach held up a hand to cut off his denial. “You nearly toppled the table the other night standing up when Sophie joined you. Tell me the last time you did that and I’ll change topics right now.”
“I was being polite,” Gideon explained, unsure why the thought of people knowing he cared about Sophie unnerved him so much.
Coach scoffed. “Sure. We can call it that. But I’ve never seen your head turned so fast or so completely before. Sophie Jennings, huh?” Coach grabbed a glass and wiped it down with his towel. “You’re putting a lot of faith in the universe’s sense of humor given how you almost derailed her future business plans.”
What was it with everyone and Gideon turning down Sophie’s loan application? “I told Ty and I’ll tell you, it was a good decision. She was a risk.”
“She’s a risk, all right.” Coach grinned. “Though right now, I’d say Manfred’s a bigger one. Odd combination those two, wouldn’t you say?” Leave it to Coach to echo exactly what Ty had said the other morning at breakfast.
“Manfred needed someone kind. A test run, so to speak.” But Gideon’s attempt to justify didn’t ring true even to his own ears. Okay, maybe his motives weren’t quite so honorable when it came to finding a match for Sophie. There wasn’t enough self
-confidence in Manfred for him to hit on a tree trunk, let alone Sophie. The very idea he’d try to kiss her was enough to make Gideon want to beat his fists against the wall of the Bar & Grill.
“Manfred Dellison needs more than a test run,” Coach said. “He needs a refresher course in human interaction. He’s taking her nocturning.”
“What’s that? Like a walk in the moonlight?” Maybe Manfred had more romance in him than Gideon assumed.
“It’s Manfred’s version of a wildlife scavenger hunt.” Coach’s frown deepened. “What do you think the night-vision goggles were for?”
The beer he’d drunk churned in Gideon’s stomach. “You mean he’s taking her out on a midnight hike in the woods? I thought maybe he’d just show her the moon.”
What kind of idiot takes a woman hiking in the dark and calls it a date?
What kind of idiot fixes up a woman he’s interested in with anyone like Manfred? A man who didn’t want to admit she’d wiggled her way into his heart, that was who. Which meant Gideon had to find a way to wiggle her out again. But first he needed to make sure she was okay. “Any idea where they’re headed?”
“From what I was able to glean—” Coach arched a brow “—sounded like Windhawk Forest. Could be tricky, though. Lots of potential to go off the path around there. Hope he’s leaving a trail of bread crumbs.”
Yeah, Manfred didn’t strike him as the practical sort. Gideon grabbed his jacket and shoved his cell phone into his pocket. “Do me a favor, Coach. Call Ty and tell him I had an emergency.”
* * *
“ARE YOU SURE you’re all right?” Sophie stumbled over the strewn branches of nature gone wild as she tightened her arm around Manfred’s slim waist. His arm draped heavy around her shoulders. He didn’t look as if he weighed much, but then she was sinking ankle deep in mud, so looks were definitely deceiving. “I thought you told me you’d been on this trail hundreds of times.”
“Maybe not hundreds,” Manfred panted. Despite the slightly offensive aroma of nervousness and sweat, he hobbled on his uninjured leg rather impressively. “And maybe not this late. Man, I took a heck of a tumble, didn’t I?”
“Like a circus performer on debut night,” Sophie said and tried not to wince as her body ached with Manfred’s added weight. “Are you sure this is the right direction?”
“Uh, yeah.” He flipped a switch on his goggles that sent a narrow beam of light shining down the obscured path between thick trees. “See the mark on that trunk right there. I made that—” He lifted his arm from around her shoulders to point, but his unsteadiness caused them both to crash to the ground.
The thud knocked the wind out of her and she waited a few seconds before moving against the half-frozen ground. She sighed and stared up through the canopy of branches.
Maybe venturing into the matchmaking world hadn’t been her best idea.
Even under three layers of clothes she shivered. Her fingers were numb, as she’d lost her gloves a good half mile ago when she’d helped drag Manfred out of the shallow ravine he’d toppled into. Toppled. Sophie bit her lip to stop from laughing.
He’d somersaulted so fast and so far he could have been mistaken for a hedgehog on amphetamines.
“I’m okay,” Manfred insisted, but the strain in his voice was either embarrassment or he’d robbed himself of whatever lung capacity he possessed. “Just give me a second—”
“Sophie! Manfred!”
Sophie shot up. “Gideon?” She reached back and slapped her hand against Manfred’s jacket, jabbing at him to pay more attention. “Manfred, I think that’s Gideon.”
“Great,” Manfred groaned. “Nothing I was hoping for more than to have to be rescued from my first date by Captain Fantastic.”
The sympathy that had abandoned Sophie two minutes into nocturning resurfaced as she heard footfalls through the woods. She shifted on the ground and tried to see him in the darkness. “Your first date? Oh, Manfred, why didn’t you tell me?”
He flicked on the high beam again and forced her to turn away for fear of being blinded. “Would you have gone out with me if I had?”
“Of course.” And the fact this was his first date explained so much about his enthusiasm when it came to their outing. He’d been trying to impress her. “But, Manfred, you went a little overboard. Dinner would have been nice. Talking. Getting to know each other.”
“I thought you wanted adventure. Excitement. Isn’t that what women want?”
“Not all of us,” Sophie said. “I mean, yeah, I guess I kind of do.” She had included that in her questionnaire under “comments.” “But that doesn’t mean you have to do things you’re not comfortable with just to get a date. You’re a very nice guy, Manfred. Some girl is going to realize that and then you’ll be set for life.”
“But not you, huh?” Manfred pushed himself up and flicked off the light. She couldn’t see his face any longer, not without seeing spots exploding in front of her eyes, but she could hear the resignation in his voice. The same tone she’d used herself on more than one occasion.
A tone she’d used most recently when she’d thought about Gideon.
It didn’t seem to matter what she did or who she was with, the idea of Gideon always managed to sneak in. How was that even possible given what little he thought of her?
And now the man was hoofing toward them in person; the perfect ending to yet another painful day. She heard him continue to holler their names and she called back, directing him by snagging the goggles off Manfred’s head and turning on the light to wave it in the air.
“You and I both know, Manfred,” Sophie said as she heard Gideon’s steps along with the snapping of twigs and scattering of brush, “we aren’t a great match. Bees aside—”
“I didn’t know about the damage that pesticide would cause,” Manfred interrupted. “When I found out about the effects, I started on a workaround that would keep the pesticide effective and not harm the bees.”
“You did?” Sophie’s heart opened another crack.
“I did. And it’s almost done. We’re running some more tests to be sure, but I’m going to fix it.”
“That’s great, Manfred. I’m glad you told me.”
“Sophie, do you think—” He stopped and for a moment, Sophie wondered if the excitement had gotten the best of him and he’d passed out.
“Do I think what?” She found his hand and squeezed her frozen fingers around his.
“I realize we won’t have another date, but maybe...maybe we could be friends?”
Sophie smiled and wished he could see it in the darkness. “We’re already friends, Manfred.” And it was time to get her friend some help. No matter who it had to come from. “Gideon, we’re over here!”
It was a good thing she knew he was on his way, otherwise his appearance—all gloomy, brooding shadows—might have scared ten years off her life. The flashlight in his hand blinded her all over again.
“Sophie, are you okay?” He was at her feet in a breath and she felt his grip around her arms, hauling her up. His hands assessed her as he ran them up to her shoulders, down to her wrists. For an instant, she thought he might pull her into a hug, but as quickly as the hope appeared, it vanished. “Manfred, what were you thinking dragging her out here like this? Remember? We talked about dinner and a movie.”
“We did. I thought this would be more fun.”
“He’s hurt,” Sophie whispered and felt the instant warmth of Gideon’s touch through her clothes. Suddenly, the February freeze didn’t seem so bad. Not if Gideon was around to keep her warm in that nice wool trench coat of his. “Not seriously, I don’t think. What are you doing here?” she asked as he hefted Manfred to his feet.
“Coach overheard your plans,” Gideon said. “Did you really think this nocturning of yours was a good idea?”
“
If it’s any consolation, I don’t anymore.” Manfred chuckled and Sophie found herself smiling again. He really was a cute guy, but despite his postulations of being an avid nocturnist, he’d ventured way out of his comfort zone. “I’m sorry, Gideon, but it’s not going to work out between me and Sophie.”
“Not for lack of trying,” Sophie added to soften the blow. “If we get you back to your car, Manfred, do you think you can drive home? Or do you want to go to the emergency clinic?”
“No need to add another level of mortification to my evening, thanks,” Manfred said. “I can drive. And home sounds like a grand idea. I see a heating pad and ice packs in my future.”
“We’ll follow you to make sure you get home okay. Right, Gideon? And then you can drive me home.” Sophie made sure her voice didn’t leave any room for argument.
Gideon looped Manfred’s arm around his neck and started back down the path. “Sure thing. I’m really sorry about this, Manfred.”
“Don’t be.” Manfred laughed. “I think this might just be the greatest night of my life.”
CHAPTER SIX
“HE ACTUALLY IS a sweet man.” Sophie scooted closer to the window of Gideon’s truck to keep an eye on Manfred as he limped across his icy lawn and hopped up the three steps to his front door. He gave them a wave before disappearing into the house, the porch light flickering on with a snap and buzz that indicated the fixture was more of a bug zapper than for illumination. Poor little bugs.
“Nice guy or not, you could have been seriously hurt.” Gideon made a U-turn, tires crunching in the gravel, and headed down the three-mile stretch of road toward town. “I can see where his judgment might have been impaired, but I thought you had more sense than to go gallivanting through the forest in the dead of night.”
“Gallivanting?” Sophie’s cheeks flamed. “I didn’t want to offend him. And who goes into the woods at night wearing a tie? Honestly, Gideon, do you ever loosen up?”
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