Page 35 of Wandering Closer

“Can she stay with me today?”

His boot slides out to nudge her lightly, “You good with that, Shadow?”

Shadow lets out a small bark, then moves to sit in front of the back door. We both chuckle, taking that as a yes. All three of us enjoy the quiet of the morning while Thoren’s hand behind me plays lightly with a strand of hair, sending chills throughout my body. The slightest touches from him send heat to my core, and the smug look on his face tells me he is well aware of it.

“I have to head to work,” he finally says. “You ladies have a good day. And call DeWitt, I promise you’ll be glad you did. You’ve got this.” He squeezes my shoulder before getting up and giving Shadow some head scratches. I watch him walking back through the woods to his house again. Like I said, I never stood a chance.

Shadow and I head inside when my coffee is empty and I trade out her bandana that has pine cones on it out for the new one I bought her. I show her the little basket in the living room corner that I put all her new toys in. While she takes her time dragging out every toy and examining them, I finish taping off the rest of the house and paint the first layer.

It goes fairly quickly since the cabin is such a small space, and before I know it, it’s lunch time. I make a sandwich for myself, giving Shadow some lunch meat and a piece of cheese. After we have eaten and cleaned up, I slide out my phone with shaky hands. It’s now or never. I sit on the couch with Shadow next to me for moral support and make the call to Kinsley DeWitt.

I spent thirty minutes on the phone with her, delighted to find Thoren was correct. She is exactly the person I need in my corner for this, and she was so kind. I told her the condensed basics of the scenario with Tyler and she got to work. We decided on meeting Wednesday afternoon of next week where she would have a list of all our options moving forward. She said I could email the details if it was easier on me, or go over it all in depth next Wednesday. I decided on emailing, and that alone took the burden of saying what happened out loud again.

I couldn’t believe how easy it was talking to her. She reminded me of Michele in the way her feminine rage came out over him lying and me losing my job because of it. Getting to work with her is the best case scenario.

With that problem behind me, I finished writing out my grocery list and planned out a dinner to make for Thoren and I this evening. Shadow whined at the door as I put my shoes on, so I let her pile into Marge with me for the drive into town. I made sure to leave the windows down and park in a shady spot while I flew through the grocery store faster than ever before.

Once we got back home, I put the groceries away, enjoying the breeze wafting through all the open windows due to the paint drying. The day is too nice not to take advantage of, so Shadow and I ran back to Thoren’s for her leash and harness. It felt really good after my lazy day yesterday, so when we got back home, I decided to do a pilates workout on the back deck. My stressful day was turning out to be anything but. With another hour before I needed to start dinner, I painted a second layer on my walls. The cabin was looking less and less dingy and more like my own every day.

Needing to wash the sweat and paint from my skin, I hopped in the shower, trying to ignore the fact another tile was falling off. I kept the bathroom door open since I painted the bathroom walls today, too, and I didn’t know if the steam would ruinanything. Shadow scared the crap out of me twice by sticking her snout through the curtain to check on me, but I liked her company anyway.

With a fresh set of running shorts and a tank top on, I meander into the kitchen to start on dinner. I sent Thoren a text asking if he could pick Shadow up on his way home. That way, he can decide if he would like to stay for dinner, and if not, he can take some home. I decided on homemade pizza, one of my comfort foods. I top one with pepperoni and the other with sausage and peppers.

By the time Thoren is knocking on my door, I have one on the cooling rack and one in the oven. I surprisingly beat Shadow to the door, but she’s busy playing with her new purple dragon. I open the door wide, inviting him in.

“Hey Lily, how was your- oh my god, what is that incredible smell?”

A small chuckle escapes me, “I made pizza. Would you like some? You can eat here or take it home if you don’t want to stay.”

His imposing body steps into my space, forcing my body against the wall. I crane my neck to look up into his hazel eyes. One of his hands settles on my hip, the other on the wall above my head, sending heat to my core.

“I want to stay,” he says with a gruff tone that rocks straight through my body to my suddenly wet panties.

“Okay,” my voice comes out barely more than a whisper.

I try to blink out of my lustful haze and move past him, trying not to rub on him like a cat in heat. In close proximity, the heady amber scent is stronger than the juniper. Thankfully, my oven timer pulls me back to focus and I step around him to remove the second pizza.

“The walls look nice. Can’t even smell the paint over the pizza,” he comments while washing his hands in the kitchen sink.

“Thank you, I did them today. They should be almost dry, but still be careful of where you touch.”

I cut the pizzas into the best slices that I can manage and pull out two plates, pointing to the fridge where I have beer, water, and wine. It’s not lost on me how domestic this is, how easily we float around each other in the kitchen again. “How was work today?”

He scrubs a hand down his face, breathing in a heavy sigh. “Long. Jake gave his notice, so I’ll help cover shifts until we find a replacement. Did you have time to call the lawyer today?”

I can’t keep the relief out of my voice. “I did, and you were right. She’s incredible. She said she can meet next Wednesday afternoon. River has a home game on Thursday. Is that something you can make work?”

His face lights up as his shoulders relax. I know he thought I was going to chicken out on calling the lawyer. I feel bad that he has even more responsibility on his shoulders at work now and I’m asking him to take time off with little notice. He doesn’t seem to feel nearly as bad though.

“That’s perfect, I’ll call Riv tonight and let him know. I already gave my boss a heads up that I might need a few days off soon. I haven’t taken a vacation day in a long time, plus I have SAR training again this weekend, so I am due for some days off.”

We take a few bites of our pizza while Shadow begs beneath us. Another green flag to add to Thoren’s ever growing list is that he can sit in the silence with me. Tyler always had something to say, which inevitably led to talking badly of others or complaining about things constantly. I know Thoren had a long day; it’s written all over his tired face. Still, he’s sitting here enjoying dinner with me and not one negative thing has left his mouth.

When our plates are about empty, my brain goes into planning mode. “Will you be staying with River when we go? Ifnot, I can get you a hotel room with me. It’s the least I can do. We can take Marge and I’ll pay for gas and all our food. Is there anywhere out there that you would like to go that we might have time for?”

His shoulders shake as he looks at his plate, shaking his head. “You can’t stop, can you?”

“Stop what?”

---