Page 63 of Hound Dog
Her flannel pajama pants were about two sizes too big and hung with extra folds of fabric around her hips and thighs. Her hair was tied into a messy knot on her head. And she had some sort of heavy cream slathered beneath each eye.
Huh.That’s… surprising.Late night booty calls usually dress up in something sexy.
Which meant, this was definitely not a ploy to get me over here.
And she was probably still very much taken by Ben.
Dammit.
“Hey,” I whispered.
“Shhhh,” she warned, putting a finger to her mouth. “This way.”
She led me to the guest cottage and set Freckles down before opening the floor-to-ceiling sliding doors at the back of the cottage.
They opened onto a spectacular deck that overlooked the lake.
“Wow,” I gushed, walking around the small but adorable guest house. “I mean, I knew Meryl was renting this place to guests in the summer, but I had no idea it was this nice.”
Haylee shrugged and fed Freckles and Tyson each a kernel of popcorn. “I think the bones were here, but she did a lot of the cosmetic renovations herself.” She paused and pointed to the backsplash over in the kitchen. “If you look really closely, you can see the grout isn’t totally even.”
Leaning in and squinting, I could barely make out what she was talking about. “Even still, this is really impressive. Crooked grout and all.”
A breeze blew in through the open doors, catching her hair and sweeping it across her face. She brushed it aside, drawing it back and away from her face like a curtain. Clearing her throat, she looked sheepishly at her feet before asking, “So, now what do we do?”
“Well, you made the popcorn, so I figured I’d bring a movie. And since I only have about an hour and a half before I need to be at the bakery…” I pulled out a DVD ofThe Evil Dead.“It’s ninety minutes exactly.”
“You seriously have to be at the bakery at four?”
I nodded. “Technically, I should be there by three forty-five, but I figure I can be a little late.”
She grinned and took the DVD from my hand. “We’d better get started then. You can’t leave the Necronomicon unresolved. It’s bad juju.”
Exactly ninety minutesand one giant bowl of popcorn later, the credits rolled.
Haylee was laying on the couch, her head in my lap with Freckles curled beside her and Tyson asleep at her feet.
Gently, I stood and tucked a pillow beneath her head.
Tyson’s head jerked up when he saw me stir. I crouched beside him, scratching behind his ears. “Shhhh. Good boy, Ty. Don’t wake her, but make sure she’s safe, okay?”
I made sure the back patio doors were shut and locked, then pulled a blanket from the back of the couch to spread over her.
I brushed the back of my knuckles down the side of her face, her skin warm and smooth beneath my touch.
With a sigh, she nuzzled against my hand and my breath caught. Closing my eyes, I imagined for just a moment that she was mine to touch. To cuddle. To kiss. To fall asleep next to, holding her close.
A knot cinched my throat as I pulled my hand away.
Because shewasn’tmine.
Haylee shifted, turning over and mumbling something, still fast asleep. Only, as she moved, her phone fell off the couch from where it was resting next to her.
I caught it just before it hit the ground and went to set it on the coffee table.
I wasn’t looking. I swear, I wasn’t.
But illuminated on the screen was a text thread with someone named Maisie.
