I try not to let any insecurity creep in as he fixes his shorts before grabbing another log to set in the middle of the fire. Helping me up off the blanket, he lifts it from the ground, shakes the grass from it, and takes a seat in the chair I recently vacated. And then he pulls me onto his lap, settling me across his legs and tucking the blanket around us.
Together, we watch the flames dance, ducking and weaving around the logs. I never thought I’d be here with someone like this, let alone someone I didn’t even know until a few weeks ago. It’s surreal and enchanting, filling me with a quiet exhilaration, and I wonder if it’s okay to tell him that. Would it be too much?
“You’re so different with your family,” I observe out loud, trying a small poke.
“Mmm,” he nods with a shrug, not taking his eyes off the flames. “Well their my family.”
“Think I’ll ever know you like them? Like your family does?” I push a little further.
“Of course…” the second word drifts and fades out when it passes his lips. “Just give it some time.”
“How much time?”
Wolf drops his head back and closes his eyes and lets out a long sigh that screams exasperation. I’d actually be amused at the domestication it signals if it didn’t hurt a little bit. “They’ve put in twenty-five years, Molly.”
“Great.”
He lifts his head to finally look at me. “You know it won’t take that long just… can’t you just let things happen naturally? Don’t you think that would be better?”
I let us sit in silence a moment; the crackle of the flames almost deafening. After a few beats of mulling it over, I decide not to take away from the moment. Instead I focus on something lighter that still communicates how I’m feeling. So far, he hasn’t minded when I’ve told him little things that I like and want. “You know…” I nudge at him gently with my foot, and he swings his head my way. “I didn’t hate when you touched me today…claiming your territory.”
“Is that right?” The corner of his mouth pulls upward.
“Yeah.” I nod assuredly. “It was hot. It’s just… I wasn’t sure where it was coming from. If you were doing it for yourself or for your brothers’ benefit.”
He pulls in a breath and lets it go, making the flames in front of him waver slightly. “I wanted to make sure my brothers stayed in their lane. Especially given how we started. I don’t want them to think that because this was originally an arrangement that means you’re free game.”
I nod absently, afraid to be the one to show my cards now. “I guess it’s nice to know you don’t want to share.”
“Fuck no.” He looks at me with all seriousness, and it makes me smile.
We’re quiet for another few moments, and I’m good with it. Today I actually felt forward movement, even if it was just a little. It assures me that we’re heading toward what we said we were trying for.
But then Wolf surprises me by breaking the silence, unprompted. “Casual affection is something I’ve been trying to grasp,” he says.
I look to his face, trying to gauge in the firelight what kind of sentiment is attached to his words.
“My brothers being dipshits today gave me excuses to touch you throughout the day. Like, regularly…just because.”
I press my lips together, calmly delighting in hearing that he wants to touch me, and I don’t hesitate giving him the green light. “For the record, you can touch me anytime you want…just because.”
28
WOLF
Taking off my goggles, I admire my own handiwork. I fashioned eight new fence posts and beams for the front fence from downed trees. I didn’t do too badly either. They are pretty damn close to the width and cut that Molly’s grandfather used to build the original. And I’m especially happy that I was able to preserve a slab of one of the originals.
The sheriff’s office hasn’t turned up any new leads on the culprit, and Molly is coping via denial, writing it off as an accident. But I’m still inclined to think it’s that asshole land developer, trying to flush us out by using some kind of intimidation tactic. I know a “fuck you” when I see one, and I gotta say—I’m pissed off.
In the meantime, I talked Molly into getting security cameras installed. Just a few, as she doesn’t like the idea, saying it feels like Big Brother is watching, and for the most part, I agree. But the trail cameras throughout the park have been helpful, so I want to give them a try.
Once I line up the fence portions, I turn to retrieve my tool box from the garage. As I get closer to the house, a low ominousgrowl coming from just beyond the tree line gets my attention. When I look up, there stands Velvet. Her eyes are black and narrowed at me, and she pulls her front lip up to show a grill of white teeth.Asshole. This isn’t the first time since I moved in that she’s pulled shit like this. Sometimes when I lock up at night, I can see her from the living room slider. She never ventures into the yard, just stays by the trees, giving me the evil eye. I stare back at her now, still not one hundred percent convinced she’s not going to haul off and charge at me. At this point, I’m only pretty sure. “Mutt,” I mutter, as the front door opens.
Molly struts out on the deck in a pair of holey jeans and a flowery tank top. Her hair piled on her head completes the perfect vision of my wife walking toward me.
“Hey, what’s it like having two wolves?” I ask her.
She stops, looking confused, and then Velvet catches her eye. She smiles and gives a slow blink. “Well, let’s see… Both of them are pretty snarly,” she says.
