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“They’re getting the hang of it pretty quickly.”
“Yeah, they’re smart dogs,” he said, leaning down to pat Wesley affectionately before walking off down the hallway. He pushed open the door, wincing at the howling wind and lashing rain, then flicked his fingers outside, indicating for the dogs to go out. They balked momentarily but rushed through quickly when he said, “toilet” in his sternest voice.
When he returned, he saw that Mikayla had put another log in the wood heater and was waiting next to it with towels to dry the dogs off. “That was quick.”
“I’d go quick too if I had to piss outside in this weather.”
Mikayla laughed. “True.” She threw one of the towels to Rafe before kneeling in front of Buttercup and vigorously rubbing her with the towel. “I think she’s finally starting to put on weight.”
Rafe paused in his rubdown of Wesley to have a good look at Buttercup. “I think you’re right. It’s about time.”
“It sure is.” She patted her shoulders, encouraging Buttercup to jump up on her, then put her arms around her. She was grinning at Rafe as the puppy put her head on her shoulder. “Aww, she’s giving me a cuddle. Honestly, if I ever find out who had these pups, I’ll thrash them.”
“I’ll be right there with you.” Rafe pointed to the dog’s blankets, laid out directly in front of the fire, clicking his fingers when Wesley seemed inclined to ignore the instruction. “I’m just glad we found them when we did, otherwise who knows where they’d be now.”
“I’ve got a fair idea, and it makes me want to cry, so let’s not think about it.” Mikayla gave Buttercup one last pat as she curled up against Wesley on the blanket. They’d found the six-month-old pups tied up to a pole at a truck stop one night when they were heading back from a patient run to Orbost. Mikayla, in her typical, impulsive way, had thrown the dogs in the back of the ambulance, ignoring Rafe’s objection. He had reasoned that someone might come back for them and Mikayla had lashed out at him, saying that she’d make them sorry if they did. The dogs had been in pitiful condition, emaciated, flea ridden and terrified. Since their rescue, they were finally starting to thrive thanks to a loving home and the support of the local vet. The intention had been for Rafe and Mikayla to take a dog each, but they became quite distressed when separated, so it had turned into a shared custody arrangement, which seemed to suit everyone just fine.
Rafe turned away as Mikayla stepped over to the mattress, pulling her jumper over her head and dropping it on the armchair. He knew what came next. She was going to do some weird maneuver that somehow magically resulted in her bra coming off but her t-shirt staying on, then she was going to sigh and stretch her arms above her head. He toed his boots off as he heard the sigh, keeping his back to her. He briefly contemplated sleeping in his jeans but that would be weird, and she would comment, so he stripped down to his boxers and t-shirt, only turning around when he was sure she was safely tucked under the blanket.
“God, I’m so excited.”
“What for?” He could feel her staring at him as he pulled the blanket up, glad that he’d kept his socks on as his feet dangled over the edge of the mattress.
“What do you mean what for? The wedding of the year, what else? Only two weeks to go.” The mattress dipped as she shifted onto her side to peer at him through the firelit gloom.
“Oh yeah, of course. You all set?”
“Yeah, I reckon so. Leah’s done an amazing job finding the dresses. Juniper is so thrilled. I’m going to look like an Ent with impeccable hair and makeup, but oh well.”
“Huh? Why?”
“Because I’ll be in three-inch heels, which’ll put me close to six feet, and the dress is some lacy blue thing that I would never normally wear. So yeah, I’ll look like a giant nymph.”
“I bet you won’t. You’ll look great.”
She reached over, placing the back of her hand on his forehead. “Hmm.”
“Hmm, what?”
“Thought you might be coming down with something. It’s not like you to give out random compliments.”
“Ha ha. Go to sleep.”
“Good idea.”
He gripped the side of the mattress to stop himself from rolling into her as she shifted to her other side, putting her back to him. He waited until he heard her breathing deepen as she drifted off to sleep before he allowed himself to relax enough to go to sleep himself.
Rafe awoke some hours later, a scent tickling at his awareness, soft and pleasant. Mikayla. He stifled a groan. He was lying on his side facing her, his legs curled up so that his thighs were almost touching hers. He straightened quickly as she moved in her sleep, turning towards him. Rafe tried desperately not to wake her as he eased onto his back, allowing his feet to dangle uncomfortably over the end of the mattress. He realized then what had woken him – the quiet. The stillness after the raging storm was almost disconcerting. He squinted into the darkness, judging it to be about an hour before dawn.
“Timezit?”
“Really early. Go back to sleep,” he whispered.
She mumbled something that ended with “cold” before shifting closer to him. He sighed with resignation and lifted his arm, putting it around her so that she could snuggle against his side. She wriggled for a moment, trying to get comfortable, before resting her head on his shoulder and twining her legs with his. He heard her blissful sigh as she dropped back to sleep.
He stared into the gloom for a long while, trying to ignore how good it felt to have her lying in his arms, her hand resting lightly on his chest. He imagined her waking, tilting her face to his, kissing him. His gut tightened. This was not good. It was weird and new and discomfiting. He would just have to get a grip on himself. He was absolutely not about to jeopardize their friendship by making a move on her. Aside from that obvious objection, she was just too good for him. Maybe that’s why he’d never thought of her in that way before. In his heart of hearts, he was just the dead druggie’s kid, the jailbird’s kid, the foreign kid. And Mikayla? Well, Mikayla was everything. Smart, loyal, kind, fun, generous, mischievous…gorgeous. Fuck. He had to shut it down. It wasn’t fair to Mikayla, and it was torture for him. He just wouldn’t let himself think about her in that way. That’s all. He would just stop it. Now. Right now. He heaved a sigh, closing his eyes and pretending that he couldn’t feel Mikayla pressing against him.
* * *
