Page 131 of On The Rocks

“Okay.” Kain looked up the hill. “Get a towel, would you?”

“Got it,” Bells said and disappeared.

I dug my fingers into the earth, but it was just mostly dead leaves and roots. “Okay, buddy, just relax.”

Kain reached for my hand. “I’ll get you up.”

I hauled myself up another inch, stabilizing my situation with a boot into a thick root. “You sure that tree can hold all of us?”

“She’s an old oak. We got this.”

I pushed off the root and grabbed onto Kain’s arm as he caught mine. It was slow work, but he managed to pull me up.

Bells was waiting at the top with a towel for the dog. He wouldn’t leave me, so I just laughed and took the towel. “Guess even a pretty girl isn’t enough to get him unglued from me.”

“Guess not.” Bells used one finger to pet a slice of him that wasn’t smeared with mud.

“Got a tub in that show house of yours?”

Kain grunted. “Yeah. But make sure you clean up.”

I rolled my eyes. My brother was a clean freak. “Can I borrow sweats and a shirt too?”

“First, I offer you steak, and now you want clothes, for fuck’s sake?”

He was all bark, no bite. Ignoring his bitching, I followed him down the hall to the bathroom. He opened the door, then left us to it.

The tub was big enough for both of us, thankfully. I set the dog down inside and quickly stripped down to my boxers. “Okay, okay.” I climbed in and he scrambled to climb my leg.

“Okay, Elmer. Let me get you clean first.”

“Are you decent?” Bells asked from the hallway.

“Depends on your definition.”

“Naked.”

“Not naked,” I called out.

She opened the door and got a look at me, then spun around. “Okay, close to naked.” She walked backwards and set the towels down with clothes on top. “These are old, so don’t worry about them.”

“Good to know. Me and Elmer are just gonna take a bath, aren’t we?”

“Elmer?” She laughed. “You named him already?”

“You know, like glue.”

Her laugh got bawdier. “Oh, that’s adorable. Now you officially have a dog.”

“Hell, no, I don’t. I’ll just get him all fixed up and see if we can find his owners.”

“Sure.” She snickered and left the room. “Good luck, you two.”

“I do not have a dog,” I muttered as I pulled down the handheld showerhead, crouching over him. “We’re just going to be good friends.”

Elmer swiped a huge tongue along my face and rested his block head on my arm, his eyes trusting.

“Hell,” I muttered.

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