Page 22 of Home for Nathan
“I can almost hear you thinking, worrying. You are amazing.”
He didn’t feel particularly amazing, but he’d take it. “Thank you. That’s…sweet.”
“I mean it.” Zion gave him a broad wink. “Though not the time for romance, huh? Ugh!”
The dog had licked Zion’s face, swiping right over his mouth.
“She likes you.”
“She can like my neck or something. Not my mouth.” But Zion was laughing.
“Yeah. Whew. Somehow, even though she was in the river, she needs a bath.”
“So do I, now.” Zion rolled his eyes. “So much for me being all suave homeowner.”
“Well, is there a shower down here?”
“No, but there is out by the yurt, and it has its own little hot water heater.” Zion looked around. “Let’s find something we can use for a leash.”
“Sure. You hold her, and I’ll find something. Are there old sheets with the old towels?” Maybe he sounded a little dubious about towels from a box.
“Hey, I found those in the house and washed them in color-safe bleach…”
“Hmmm.” Nathan wasn’t sure how he felt about that. But he guessed he didn’t have to feel any way about it.
“Oh, hey. There’s a catch leash in my car if you want to go get it. I always keep one just in case I see a stray dog on the road.”
He had anawwwwmoment with that, but he just headed to the door. “On it! I’ll be right back.” Nathan trotted back outside, and he was definitely going to start working out. He put a hand under his belly as if to hold it up, and he wasn’t even that big yet. Well, he was bigger than he had been when they’d started seeing each other, he guessed, and he had to be cognizant of that and give himself some grace. He found Zion’s vehicle unlocked, which he should have realized when they parked—he was really going to have to talk sternly to the man about security—and then found the catch leash down in the door pocket of the passenger side.
He grabbed it, then headed back in so he could hand it to Zion. “Here you go. Do you need any help?”
“Just bring the stack of towels?” Zion asked with a grin. He slipped the leash over the dog’s head. She fell right in with him as they headed out the back door, so she must be leash trained. He was gonna have to call the animal shelter and see if anybody had asked about her. Maybe put up some signs around town, because it would suck if somebody had just lost her.
Nathan grabbed the stack of towels to follow Zion, and they walked to the back toward the yurt, which he could see now from the walkway. It stuck up with a little white tent top, but it was really cool. It was obviously a permanent structure, which he saw as they rounded the bend in the yard. It had a little deck,it had all sorts of neat little patio furniture and yard art outside, and then off to one side there was a tiny outhouse. Attached to the other, there was an outdoor shower that would be really cold in the wintertime, he guessed, but nobody would stay here in the wintertime anyway.
“Could you grab the box of supplies from inside the yurt, Nathan? Or you know what, you hold her, and I’ll do that,” Zion said.
“Thanks.” He chuckled. “I’m about worn out. I didn’t realize how hard all of this dog adventure stuff was going to be on the pregnant guy.”
“Yeah, well, for me this just means I don’t have to work out today.” Zion winked. “In fact, I haven’t had to work out since I’ve been here because I’ve been sanding floors.” He made his way into the yurt, the little floorboards on the deck creaking, and he came back out with a bottle of what looked like shampoo. “Found it! When I first moved out here, only the power to the yurt worked. This ought to make her a little less stinky. We’ll have to see if she needs flea shampoo or something afterward, but she looks pretty good.”
“Right. It’s not exactly like we’re in fields of clover here to attract fleas.” While they were in the mountains, they were considered a high-desert part of the state of Colorado, and they didn’t have the big alpine meadows until you got up a lot higher than they were here. Secret Springs had sort of been carved out of a rocky canyon in the river. They were way more likely to get ticks.
“That’s okay, girl.” Zion took the leash back. “Let’s get in here and take a warm shower and get nice and clean.” Zion stripped down to his underwear which just made Nathan a little stupid, because God he was cut and hot and all the things that Nathan really wasn’t, and he could just stare for hours.
“You okay?” Zion looked back at him as he started the water.
“Uh-huh. Do you need me to do anything?”
“Well, I would offer to let you join us, but I don’t want you to slip or anything. Maybe you and I could take a shower together later.”
He flushed, his cheeks heating almost painfully with pleasure, but he couldn’t help his smile widening to something probably a little predatory. “I think that sounds like a great idea.”
“Wonderful.” Zion was so easy and so kind. He got the water up to a nice temperature—Nathan could tell because a tiny bit of steam was rising from it—and then he got the dog and himself under the spray, soaping them both up. The dog was a good girl. It was like she seemed to realize that Zion was helping her, and she just stood still and let him wash her down. Of course, if she’d been an outdoor sports dog, maybe she was used to having frequent baths.
“All done.” Zion turned off the water, and the two stepped out of the little shower, Zion grabbing the towels that Nathan had carried. He dried himself off first and then the dog. “All right. I think we’re good to go. Let’s see about getting her something to eat and some water, huh?”
“Sure. Do you have anything in the house?” Nathan still had two towels in his arms. He was pretty impressed by that actually.”
