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I want to go sit in a corner and unpack what she just said, as if it’s been gathered into a picnic basket and wrapped in a soft, checkered tablecloth.
I wonder what Alec would say if I told him this mean old trainer is getting soft?
Chapter 28
Alec
I start another load of laundry, and again, it’s mostly towels and rags. To add insult to injury, Jerry has had four accidents on our already precarious carpet situation.
Our? I’m thinking in terms of we, us, and our in all matters even remotely involving Oakley. And for some reason, it’s not making me want to run for the hills.
I like our situation. I like the thought of sharing a bed with her again tonight.
To stop myself from dwelling onthatthought too much right now, I figure I’d better concentrate on pet stain removal. Thankfully, in Stella’s bag of dog care items, there was a spray bottle solution that supposedly takes care of pet messes.
The cleaning company was just here, and they said they’ll try their best to salvage the carpets and are coming over tomorrow to do a deep clean. But I don’t know. If they have to strip the carpets and redo the whole thing, that’s going to be a lot of work.
Or maybe, since we have Jerry now, it might be a good idea to get hardwood floors throughout the whole main floor.
Whoa. Wait a minute. Jerry is a temporary situation. Oakley is a temporary situation.
I know this, but that doesn’t mean I like the idea. Oakley is taking up all the spaces in my head. I care for her and I want to be around her all the time.
It’s convenient that those thoughts happen to coincide with Oakley walking in the front door, pausing at the entrance.
“Can I walk on the carpet?”
The look on her face is timid. Her whole being has softened, in almost imperceptible ways. She’s got her hair down and it looks like she just barely untwisted it from the stronghold that is necessary while she’s training. It’s slightly messy as it floats down across her shoulders and I want to go and mess it up some more. I want to walk straight over to her, dip her in a kiss that’s so overwhelming that even her hair goes wild.
I come up for air from the fantasy, clearing my throat. “Yeah, sure. It hasn’t been cleaned yet. But they came and extracted more water from it, so it should be pretty dry at this point.”
She’s already cooing at Jerry before she reaches us.
“Why are you holding him like that?”
I shift him in my arms and he whimpers to get down. “Because I’ve cleaned up several accidents today and I’d rather not let him loose.”
“Stella said he was house trained,” Oakley says, reaching for him. “He didn’t have any accidents yesterday.”
“Maybe the flooding is making him think he can just go anywhere now.”
Oakley cuddles with the dog, nuzzling her nose against the top of his curly haired head. “Oh, great. Add that to our list of woes.”
“Woes? Like the fact that I no longer have a bed?” I clear my throat. “And Sebastian just called. He told me there haven’t been any cancellations. We’re still booked solid, and the damaged rooms aren’t ready yet.”
“That’s a good thing for the business, though.” She takes Jerry from me and presses him to her.
“A good thing for our bottom line. A bad thing for our living situation. You know, the one bed thing.”
The look she gives me is three partsIs it bad, though? Maybe notand one partHeaven help me, I can’t do this.
“Yeah, I know.” She lifts a shoulder, absently rubbing Jerry’s belly. “We’ll just have to take this one day at a time.”
“Do you mind staying here longer? Even after the flooding?” I ask.
“It’s—” she hesitates. “I don’t mind. Besides, Jerry’s care is easier with two people.”
As if that settles it, we change the subject to what we want for dinner, agreeing on Chinese delivery for four. Turns out a flooded house stimulates one’s appetite.
