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six
. . .
Jen
The Marriage Bed
My heart isin my throat as Abel guides the truck onto a narrow, meandering driveway.
The forest is thick here. Sunset isn’t for another half hour or so, but it already feels like twilight beneath the gnarled trunks of the giant oaks that crowd the lot. The air pulses with humidity and the sound of crickets.
The girls are on my lap. They raise their noses and sniff furiously at the open window as we move further into the trees. Bald Head is remote to begin with, but this verdant, untouched corner of the island feels like it’s from a different time. I almost expect a pirate crew to emerge from the trees, bottles of rum in hand.
Speaking of booze, I could really use some. Especially when Abel turns the wheel and the muscles in his forearm ripple against his deeply tanned skin.
Luckily, a much-needed distraction in the form of a beautiful house comes into view. My breath catches as I take in the details. It’s not huge, two stories and maybe two thousand square feet, but it is exquisitely designed, from the cedar roofand steel doors to the gas lamps that flicker in the fading light.
The house is painted a dark shade of green. Gives it a timeless, low-country cabin vibe, almost like it’s been here as long as the oaks and the marsh beyond that I can just glimpse through the trees. There are deep porches, open windows, and a pair of chimneys that rise into branches draped with Spanish moss.
“Abel,” I breathe. “It’s gorgeous.”
He parks in the detached garage. “How have you not been here yet?”
“You haven’t invited me.”
“How rude.”
“It’s incredible. Soyou. I bet the architect was thrilled when he got the job.”
“He actually hated me.” Abel shuts off the engine and reaches for the overflowing tote bag at my feet. “Don’t blame him. I was a pain in the ass, but I had to get the details right.”
The dogs attempt to climb into Abel’s lap. I smile. “Your attention to detail is second to none.”
“I like what I like. Do the dogs need a leash?”
“They’ll stay close. Just keep an eye out. Being from the big city, we don’t have much experience with gators.”
Abel chuckles. “If Wilmington qualifies as the big city, we’re really in the sticks.”
I climb out of the truck and set the girls on the ground. They immediately scurry into the yard. Tai squats to pee, while Cher digs at a tree root. They wag their tails so hard they trip on each other as they scramble up the house’s wide front steps.
Safe to say they already like it here.
I do too. When I try to open the truck’s tailgate to get my luggage, Abel quickly shoos me away and grabs my suitcases. Both of them. They’re huge and heavy, stuffed to the gills, butyou wouldn’t know it by the way Abel carries them to the house and up the stairs without missing a beat.
He’s also got my tote bag slung on one shoulder and a bag of dog food tucked underneath his arm.
His endurance is . . . alarming.
I don’t mind living alone. The freedom is nice. I’ve set up my house exactly how I want it. Come and go as I please. But being here—being looked after by this beast of a man—I already feelsafein a way I haven’t in a long time.
Safe, and turned on. Which is just great. I need another bout of unrequited longing like I need a hole in my head.
Abel sets down the luggage and opens the front door. The girls waste no time making themselves at home, climbing over each other to be the first to enter the house.
Abel laughs. “Y’all are gonna be here for a minute. No need to rush.”
Climbing up the steps, a sense of foreboding comes over me.
