He studied her face again. "I don't know. What is going on up here?"
She met his gaze. "Don't do this to me, Monroe. You know very well what is going on up here, and you didn't come up here to find a few trees. You told them you weren't trespassing. I don't believe you didn't know you needed permission from the owner, not your uncle."
He slowly nodded, his gaze holding hers. "I'm not at liberty to say, but I'm not a detective."
She watched him for a few minutes. She didn't believe he was lying, but… "All right, I'll respect that. Just tell me you aren't involved with Lester's bunch."
He looked her straight in the eye. "I hope you know better than that by now."
She lifted her chin and held his gaze. "Say it."
A slow smile curved his lips. "I'm not involved with Lester's bunch."
She relaxed back against the tree. "I didn't think you was, but…"
He leaned down and gave her a quick kiss on the lips before drawing back and looking at her. "Thank you for that much."
She looked up at him. "Bear…"
His other hand slipped around her waist, drawing her to him. She didn't resist - not then or when his lips found hers again and lingered. In fact, she returned his affection until he finally released her.
His hand still on her waist, he gazed down at her with a solemn expression. "You wondered if I was making all this up - including my feelings for you."
He still had one hand on the tree and it occurred to her that he was using it for balance. She swallowed hard. It was difficult to maintain any kind of composure with him so close. She could feel the hardness of his chest with the softness of hers. He was right, of course. Until that moment, she wasn't sure how he felt about her.
She slid her hands up his chest and tentatively circled his neck. He lowered his head and drew her closer, kissing her with a passion that left her breathless.
She lowered her hands and gently pushed away from him. "I'd better go home. It's gonna be dark drectly."
He released her and backed away. "I'll see you tomorrow morning?"
She nodded and gave him a wry smile. "I reckon so. Ma says we should be helping you get rid of them Hudsons." She mounted Ol' Ned and looked down at him.