“Just let me go get dressed. I don’t actually want to meet them in pajamas.” She grimaces. “If you can call my sweats pajamas.”
I think there’s something cute about them, though I don’t say that. She’s swamped by the fuzzy black pants, and it captivates me more than it should.
New kink unlocked? God, I hope not. Not only do I not need more issues to go with my issues, I don’t need to be panting after Sarah. My – hell, I don’t even know what to call her. My best friend. My charge.
Lord.
I go and take a quick shower, changing out of my road clothes and getting the grime off me. I broke all my own hygiene rules yesterday in the interest of getting home as quickly as possible.
When we meet up again, she’s wearing another one of those floral dresses she seems to favor.
“We can drive over, but it’s about a six-minute walk if you don’t mind.”
“I think I’d like to walk,” she says. “Just so I can see… I mean, we rolled in the dark last night when I was mostly asleep.”
“Yeah.”
I gesture for her to follow me out of the cabin, and we’re greeted by the aggressively cheerful sunshine. The front of the cabin is clean, but minimally landscaped. There are a couple of planter boxes that Kaylee keeps up, but that’s all. It’s surrounded by tall pines, and the scent of the wood, the soil and the trees is rich and sharp, as they bake in the sunshine.
“It’s beautiful here,” she says. “And quiet.”
“Sisters is probably a pretty quiet place to live.”
“Yes. Definitely.” She kicks a stone in the path. “The town gets really busy, particularly during summer. A lot of tourists.”
“Yeah. Gold Valley is the same. There’s a historic Main Street, which is where Sammy Daniels’ jewelry shop is. I’ll drive you by later. I mean, if you want to talk to her. You can also let it sit for a few days.”
“I’m going to have to figure something out. I can’t mooch off you forever.”
Wrong. That’s the word that rises up inside of me. The truth is I know it. I would take care of her for the rest of her life and I’d do it with a smile on my face.
“You have a place with me as long as you need one,” I say.
“Well, that’s… That’s really kind of you.”
We walk down the gravel road that leads back toward my parents’ place, and she lifts her face toward the sun, the way the light catches her hair, stopping me short for a moment. I can see glimmers of the girl that she was, but she’s different, too. I’m so sorry that she’s goingthrough all of the bad things that she’s been dealing with, but I’m also proud of her. She didn’t have the family that I did. She didn’t get rescued. Everything she’s done so far, she’s done by rescuing herself, and I think that’s incredible. I think she’s incredible. I don’t say that, though; instead, I just keep pace with her.
My dad’s house is neat and clean. He’s like that. Well-ordered and generally dependable. The house is a crisp white, and he has it repainted frequently to keep it looking perfect.
It makes me smile to see it. With all of its hanging flower pots and wide, tidy porch.
The front door bursts open, and two dogs come running out, with one old dog walking slowly behind. I can hear my sisters squealing at the chaos they’ve caused, and I hear their feet stomping on the hardwood as they run away from the scene of the crime.
The pups – who are a couple years old now but still act like squirmy babies – Jimmy and Blondie are racing around Sarah like they’re trying to do a ritual, while Dougie sits down on the porch, wagging his tail and looking up at me.
Sarah is laughing, but also clearly doesn’t entirely know what to do with the dogs. “Beasts,” I snap. “Go inside.”
The dogs stop, look at me, and race back up the porch stairs and into the house. Dougie doesn’t move. I walk up the steps and bend down, scratching him behind the ears. “Hey, buddy.”
Sarah walks up the steps slowly behind me.
“You can pet him,” I say. “He’s a good boy.”
Sarah looks reluctant but bends down and gives Dougie a brief pat on the head. She seems slightly uncomfortable around dogs, which I suddenly want to change. I don’t havea pet right now because I’m gone too much, but when I settle down, I’m going to have a lot of them.
I suddenly remember being an angry teen boy, who had never had much care in my life, being dropped into this new planet where people didn’t just care for each other, but animals too.
I can remember getting assigned to the care of Kaylee’s animals, back before she and Bennett were even dating.
