I smiled and let her change the subject, talking about nothing and everything as we walked Zeus. We were almost at the waterfall when he stopped in the middle of the path and squatted.
“Oh, he’s not. Is he?” she asked.
You’d better believe he was. Whatever he’d eaten last night was coming outfoulat the other end. It was the kind of smack-you-in-the-face stench that I’d be smelling for hours. I’d genuinely consider scrubbing out my nostrils with a toothbrush if it helped. Flies descended on us before Zeus had even finished taking his shit.
I heard the sound of dry heaving before I saw her. Carina had turned a sickly shade of green and was holding her stomach. She’d moved upwind from us—a good thirty feet away—but she was still struggling.
I’d noticed that she was sensitive to smell, but this was a whole new level. It made me a horrible person, but I wanted to laugh at her antics. Except she was serious.
She covered her mouth and nose with the neckline of her T-shirt and dry heaved again, wiping her eyes as tears streamed down her face.
“Hey, are you okay?” I asked when she turned away from me and dry heaved again.
Zeus finished his monster shit—the size of a dinnerplate—and I bagged it up and tied it off. I’d have to carry it around until I found a trash can, but Carina wouldn’t be able to stand that. There was one at the beginning of the trail. I could run back and toss it, but I didn’t want to leave Carina by herself.
“That’s the most disgusting thing I’ve ever smelled,” she groaned.
“It’s pretty bad. Do you think you can handle me carrying it while we go to the falls and walk back?”
“I don’t know why it’s affecting me so badly.” She shook her head and gripped her stomach again. “I’ve changed more dirty nappies than I care to remember. I can stomach vomit. But that—”
She dry heaved again, and I put the bag down, gave her Zeus’s lead, and gestured to where we’d come from.
“Dog shit is where you draw the line,” I said sympathetically. “Give me twenty minutes. I’ll run back to the start of the trail, toss the bag in the trash, and come back.”
She was torn. She wanted to tell me not to worry about it, but as soon as she got a whiff of the smell, she was holding her stomach again.
“Take Zeus. I’ll be back. He won’t do another one while I’m gone.” She huffed out a laugh, and I grinned. “Who needs a firefighter or pro-athlete to be their hero when you have me? Dog Shit Man!”
I didn’t give her a chance to respond before I picked up the bag, held it at arm’s length, pinched my nose, and jogged down the track away from her. I could hear Carina’s giggle as I turned the corner and gave up my act. I was being ridiculous, but I liked hearing her laugh. I liked making her happy the same way that I loved seeing Jacques and Travis happy. We had a connection. We were becoming friends. I was so grateful that my guys had chosen Carina and not someone I had trouble getting along with. Maybe it was selfish of me to think like that given they were the ones in a relationship with her, but our home was my safe space, and I needed it. Carina made it more welcoming with her smiles and easy grace.
My heart was pounding after the run, but I was true to my word—twenty minutes later, I was back. Thankfully there was no more shit to speak of.
She gave me her drink bottle and insisted I take a swig of it, preserving my own. It was the little things that endeared her to me. When she was satisfied I wouldn’t pass out from the exertion, she hooked her arm through mine, and, still holding Zeus on the lead, we started walking again.
Zeus stopped and squatted again, and we both groaned. “Zeus, I love you mate, but fairdinkum. If you’re gonna do a dump like that again, I’m leaving you here,” she said.
I snorted out a laugh at her Australian accent and expressions.
Carina playfully narrowed her eyes at me and said, “As for you, Dog Shit Hero Man, I’m going to tell JacquesandTrav to blow you as a thank you when we get home.”
I barked out a laugh. Yeah, I liked her. I really did.
twenty
Travis
Istretchedandyawned,finallystirring from sleep. I’d just come off my second twenty-four-hour shift, and after last night’s fires, I’d been exhausted. We’d had a few bigger ones break out—two containable forest fires started at campgrounds by campers not being careful enough and a larger house fire courtesy of fireworks being let off and going wrong. We’d gone from one emergency to another, and I’d been up all night.
I had one more twenty-four-hour shift before I got four beautifully long days at home.
I touched the bed where Carina had been curled up in my arms when I’d gone to sleep. The sheets were cold. She’d been tired lately, napping during the day, but she insisted she was fine. Still, I didn’t like that she was feeling run down. Maybe she needed iron or vitamin B. I made a mental note to grill some steaks and suggest she get a blood test.
I rubbed my eyes, shaking off the sleep, then wandered out into the living room to absolute silence. I saw Carina lounging by the pool, and when I opened the sliding door to go to her, I heard Rusty’s machines running. I had no idea where Jacques was, but his SUV was gone when I’d pulled my truck into the shed.
“Hey, darlin’. Can I get you a drink?” I asked.
Carina’s face lit up, and she put down the e-reader, uncurled herself from the lounger, and sashayed over to me. She wrapped her arms around my waist, and I hugged her closer, inhaling the floral scent that always clung to her. I met her halfway when she reached up on tip toes and kissed me sweetly.
