Page 53 of Santa of the Creek
“You have your talents.” I waggle my eyebrows, and he laughs.
He showed me one of his talents this morning before work. Damn, he’s got mad skills with his tongue.
“How’s your ankle?” he asks.
I grimace. “Sore, if I’m being honest.”
I’m spending too much time on my ankle, I know that. But I’ve got medical bills to pay. I can’t afford to take time off work. Dean has offered to cover the cost for me more than once, but a man’s got his pride, you know?
The fact I’m standing on one leg like a flamingo to take the weight off my ankle is another matter entirely.
Randy walks past the other way. “Put him down, Santa. He’s supposed to be working.”
Dean flushes, and I want to yell at Randy, but he’s grumpy today. No one knows why. But we’re all trying to keep our heads down.
“I’m sorry. I need to get back to work,” I say.
“I’ll see you later?” he asks hopefully.
“It’ll be late,” I warn.
“That’s fine. I’ll pick up the princess and bring her back with me so she’s not on her own.”
My heart pitter-patters. He’d thought of my cat. “You spoil her rotten.”
“She deserves it, and so does her daddy,” Dean says.
I want to say more but Randy is scowling at me from down at the other end of the bar. “Gotta go.”
He returns to his companions, and I get back to work before Randy shouts at me again. I check to make sure he’s not getting any crap from the other guys. I know what they’re like at the fire house. We get a lot of them eating here. They’re beer and wings type of guys, not fancy food from the new French restaurant.
“I’m sorry,” I say to the next man at the bar. “What can I get you?”
The guy looks over his shoulder at Dean. “Is the hottie available?”
Not a local then.
“No,” I snap.
“Has he got a brother?”
I fix him with a glare. “Yeah, he’s the mayor, and he’d throw your ass in lockup for talking about him and his brother like that.”
He shrugs, not intimidated at all. “Win some, lose some.”
The guy is lucky not to get his beer poured over his head. The hottie is all mine. I’m so lucky that I’m the guy he wants.
By the time I stagger out of Randy’s and toward my car, my ankle hurts like a bitch, and all I want to do is lie face down and not move for twelve hours. I’m tempted to drive home because I just want to sleep, but I promised Dean I’d go to his place, and Ariel is there. I want to see my baby.
When I arrive at Dean’s, he’s left the outside light on and cleaned his driveway of snow, just a light dusting left from the evening. Initially when we became an us, we spent more time at my place, simply because of my cat, but from her first visit Ariel made herself at home, and now we go between the two. I walk carefully to his front door and use the spare key to let myself in.
Ariel greets me at the door with a demanding chirrup, and I scoop her up into my arms.
“Who’s my gorgeous girl?” I croon.
She meows again, informing me she is indeed a gorgeous girl and deserves to be treated with more respect by her errant owner. I love on her in the quiet of the hallway. I’m not sure where Dean is, but as it’s gone two, I assume he’s in bed.
I nestle Ariel against me, flick all the lights off downstairs and head upstairs. The art deco lamp on his nightstand casts dim light in the bedroom showing Dean is in bed. I stand there admiring the curve of his spine. I put Ariel down much to her disgust, and back out of the bedroom, closing the door quietly so I don’t disturb him. I’ll use the guest bathroom.
