AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“No, just get back in the truck,” he said, laughing.
“Nope, I need to work off some of those ribs and potato salad.”
She hopped out of the truck, unlocked the combination and opened the gate, waiting for him to drive through.
“Are you staying?” she called out.
Hanging his head out the window, he called back, “Can I?”
And she gave him the thumbs-up and closed and locked the gate.
Chapter 9
Sunday morning, Justin got up early to head over to the wild preserve. He leaned over to kiss Maggie goodbye. But on the forehead. She’d claimed morning breath.
“I’m so glad we’re okay,” he whispered. “Thank you for last night.”
“Text me when you get a chance. I’ll leave here around eleven thirty.”
“Okay. Love you, sweetheart.”
Smiling, she closed her eyes and nodded, not wanting to open her mouth when he was so close.
“You’re a riot. If I die today, you’ll regret not kissing me one more time.”
Frowning, she got up and climbed out of bed. “That was a terrible thing to say. I’ll brush my teeth.”
He laughed, following her into the bathroom and watching her, coming up behind her to thread his hands under her shirt. “Your boobs moving around when you brush make me crazy.”
“You’remaking me crazy,” she said, watching him in the mirror. She didn’t mean sexually either, but left it at that.
She brushed, and they kissed once more. “I’ll go down with you and let the dog out.”
“She’s already been. Peed and fed.”
“Well, I won’t be able to get back to sleep now, so I’ll go down and make coffee.”
“Made.”
“Wow, you’re so efficient.”
“I want you to think you can’t live without me.”
“Justin, I can’t live without you. That’s a given. But morning breath is not acceptable.”
They laughed and hugged once more before he left. She stood on the porch and watched him drive off, then turned to look at the water. A thick layer of fog hovered over the surface. If there were fishermen out there, she couldn’t see them. She looked at the clock; it was just eight. She’d leave in three hours, and the fog would be gone by then. It rarely hung around much after nine lately, the air cooler than usual.
She had two things on her mind that morning: hiking over to the site where the foundation had been dug and prepped for concrete to see how it had progressed. The trail that led to the road, the same trail Justin rode from the clinic to her cottage on horseback, was in the process of getting widened so the trailer could be hauled over and set into place. Steve and Kelly’s dad, who had donated the trailer, said it was ready to go as soon as the concrete truck poured the foundation and it had cured for a number of days. The trailer was going to be placed up on pilings like all the buildings in the bayou were, to protect it from flooding, which happened every summer and early fall during hurricane season, not directly on the foundation, so they didn’t have to wait a month or more for the concrete to cure.
The second thing she wanted to do before she left to meet Gus for lunch was to decorate a big pine tree that grew right alongside the dock. Justin had purchased lights that were powered by a small solar panel, and he’d installed that the weekend before.
Pulling wellingtons on, she leashed up Brulee, and they set off for the site of Cypress Cove Rescue. They were there in twenty minutes, and the change was phenomenal; the cleared trees had been planed into lumber they would use for the deck around the trailer. The leftovers were cut into firewood and neatly stacked around the new fence line.
The trail had been widened, and the fresh, sandy dirt would be covered with thirteen tons of gravel. She was so excited.
Next, they went back to the cottage and retrieved the lights for the tree. Brulee wasn’t sure what was going on, but she was all for an adventure. Dragging the ladder out from the shed, she hauled it down to the giant spruce that grew next to the dock. Setting it on level, solid ground, she felt safe climbing it, and strung lights around the entire perimeter of the tree, placing a large star on the top. It was so beautiful.
She’d also purchased a timer from Casson’s Hardware so the lights would go on automatically at sunset. Anyone out on the water after dark would see the beautiful tree, and she’d see it from the house.
