So I pry open the jaws, avoid the teeth, and use my tweezers to extract the offending leaf. As soon as my hand is clear, the large white cat snaps his mouth shut and glares at me.
“Oh, Frosty, be nice.” The owner pushes the cat into the carrier. “Thank you so much.”
“You’re welcome. If you’ll leave me your name and number, I’ll have Marilyn contact you about billing. She handles all that.”
“Sure thing.” She scribbles it out onto a sheet of paper. “You’re a dear for staying. But I guess you understand how important our pets are.”
“Yes.” I lock the door behind her and grab my things.
If I hurry, I might catch Parker in the mess hall. And maybe since others are there, he’ll kiss me.
They say pregnant women have weird cravings. I’m craving kisses. His kisses.
His truck is still at the main house, so I hurry around to the mess hall.
When I walk inside, Parker grins and heads right for me.
“Hi. I made it.”
More words are not possible because his lips are on mine, and everything else in the world ceases to exist momentarily.
Is he telepathic? How did he know?
He breaks the kiss and trails a finger down my cheek. “The food is still hot, so I’ll keep the plate I made for you until later when you’re hungry again.” Arm around my shoulders, he leads me to the food. “And there’s chocolate cake for dessert.”
“Perfect.” If at the end of every long day, I can come home to Parker and his kisses, I’ll be happy. And if Paisley told him about the kissing part, I’m not even going to be upset.
Once I have food, we sit at the table, and I kiss his cheek.
“Who were you saving tonight?” He sits so that I have his full attention.
“Frosty the cat. Had a leaf stuck in the back of his mouth and kept choking on it.”
“Eating stuff he’s not supposed to causes trouble.” Parker rubs my back. “But luckily you were there to help him out.”
He talks about my job like it’s important and matters to people. Mom was wrong about it not attracting the right kind of guys. I can’t think of any guy better than Parker, and I feel a pang of guilt for marrying him because I need him.
* * *
Saturday afternoon,I race back to the cabin, hoping I can shower and be dressed by the time Parker is done at the barn. We still haven’t gotten into a regular routine of how to shower without it being a little awkward. The one time I had to run from the bathroom to the bedroom in a towel, he left the cabin for an hour.
But his truck is already here. The shower is running, so I carry my new dress into the closet, then stretch out on the bed. A short nap will help me survive the evening.
He’s singing Blake Shelton’s song “No Body”, and I close my eyes.
I wake up with a start and check the time. How did I sleep an hour?
“I’m so sorry. I’ll start getting ready.” Blinking, I wipe my face, trying to shake the sleepies.
“You’re good. No hurry. We planned to leave in about an hour, and if you need more time, I’ll let them know.” Parker sets a gift bag on the bed. “I bought you something.”
“An hour should be plenty of time.” I pull tissue out of the top of the bag. “What’s the occasion?”
“I don’t know. We’ve been married a week.” He gives a half shrug and shoves his hands in his pockets. “We’re still getting used to sharing the cabin, and I thought this might help.”
I pull out a fluffy blue robe. “It’s so soft.”
“I went to that shop near the donut place. The lady who runs it sells all kinds of lady-type things.”
