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“I didn’t…what do I—” she says, looking like she might cry.
“It’s okay, Sweets. Here, let me help you up.” I try to school my grossed-out face.
I deal with messes all day long, it’s one of the reasons I like my house and car and everything else around me to be meticulous the rest of the time, so what’s a little horse shit?
But Dakota looks like she might panic. She’s struggling to get up, too stunned by the atrocity on her hands.
I tug her up from her elbows and we’re doing good until she almost slips again and she reaches out, clutching me hard, her hands smearing shit all over my sleeves.
If Grinny could see me now.
Dakota gasps when she realizes what she’s done and lets out a whimper. Her face wrinkles up as she starts to cry.
“Oh, please don’t cry. Look—” I hold my hands up once she’s steady on her feet. “You barely even got me.” I grin and her lower lip trembles as she tries to keep from wailing.
“But your shirt is so disgusting, like my hands,” she says.
“It’s all right. Let’s get you cleaned up, okay?” I make sure she’s still on solid ground before I take a step back and motion for her to follow me.
“Okay,” she says, sniffling. “It was nice of you to call me Sweets. I liked that.” She shakes her head. “That made me feel a little better because I smell awful and I made you smell awful too.”
I laugh and she sighs before giving me a reluctant smile.
“We’ll smell good again, I promise,” I tell her.
“Dakota,” her mom calls.
“Oops, I don’t think I told her I was coming out here,” Dakota whispers.
Shit. The last thing I need is another altercation with Marlow.
When she’s within about twelve feet of us, she calls out, “Dakota, we’ve been looking everywhere for you.” She shoots a glare at me. “Leave Dr. Wyatt alone. You’re not supposed to be out here. And he’s busy.”
“She’s not bothering me at all, but she does need to wash her hands…fast.” I’m about to apologize for not checking to make sure it was okay for her to be out here when Marlow gets a good look at Dakota’s hands.
Her expression is priceless.
“Oh shit,” she says.
Dakota looks at me with her eyebrows raised and then to her mom, she says in an almost whisper, “We don’t have a swear jar here, but that’s okay, Mama. You can put it in the jar when we get home.”
Marlow shoots her a look and then follows it with a scathing glare at me too.
I stand there with my mouth gaping and shit on my sleeves as I watch them walk away.
I can’t seem to win with that woman.
CHAPTERFIVE
NOT MY DOCTOR
MARLOW
The past three weeks in Landmark have been eventful.
I expected this quaint little town to be sleepier than it actually is, but they know how to have a good time around here. It feels like I haven’t stopped going since I arrived. I’m exhausted, but coming here has been the best decision I could make after my marriage fully crashed and burned.
Dakota and I moved into an open condo at Landmark Mountain Lodge a few days after we got into town. Sofie insisted we didn’t need to go anywhere, but I never want to be a bother, and infringing on Sofie and Theo’s space after they’ve spent so much time apart just felt all kinds of wrong.
