Page 21 of Fire and Ice
“He’s friendly.” Grady nodded as he walked into the house with the bags of food and his equipment bag.
Chelsea crouched and extended her hand, keeping it low and putting it beneath Spot’s nose. He sniffed her and then looked at her as if trying to decide who she was and why she smelled familiar.
“He smelled you on me last night.” Grady patted Spot. “Spot, this is Chelsea.”
Spot licked her knuckles, and she grinned. “You’re as charming as your human.”
“Me being his human is about right, rather than him being my dog.” Grady shook his head. “Come on in.”
Spot politely trotted at her side and watched her closely as if cataloging everything about her. After Grady kicked the door shut behind him, he laid her coat over the back of the sofa.
Chelsea sat on the floor and stroked Spot’s head. “He’s such a good boy.”
“He’s well-behaved.” Grady set the burger bags on a round kitchen table and the duffel on the living room floor. “He’s at doggie daycare when I’m working, and they have overnight boarding.”
She looked up at Grady. “I’ve heard those places can be fun for dogs.”
“He loves it.” Grady took a leash off a hook on the kitchen wall. “I need to check the mail at the community mailbox for a letter I’m expecting. Spot likes to go—we won’t be gone long. Make yourself at home.”
“Okay.” Chelsea watched him clip the leash to Spot’s collar. Grady clicked his tongue, and they headed out the front door. She noticed a horseshoe-shaped mark on Spot’s rump. Grady nodded to Chelsea before he closed the door behind them.
She grabbed a couple of paper towels and folded them to use for napkins in front of chairs across from each other at the square table.
He said to make herself at home, and since he’d mentioned earlier that he had two-liter bottles of Coke and Sprite in his fridge, she figured they only needed one of them. She put the Coke on the table and two glasses filled with ice from the ice maker.
Grady’s home was large and clean—not spotless, but tidy. He had a small, decorated tree near a gas fireplace. He had what she thought of as a total guy house. A large entertainment center occupied one end of the room, featuring a huge flat-screen TV and nearly every electronic device imaginable. Like her brothers, Grady had all the available game systems. The entertainment center had plenty of drawers and cabinets to stash games and other electronics.
“Guys.” She shook her head and smiled. It wasn’t just guys who enjoyed playing games, of course. Brittany, a good friend of hers, had game systems to rival Grady’s. But, in Chelsea’s circle of friends and family, it was mostly the guys who got into it.
Grady had Seattle Seahawks paraphernalia around, so apparently, he was a big fan. He also had a bookshelf filled with hardcover books on astronomy, physics, fire science, training manuals, and firefighter magazines.
On one shelf, he had placed frame after frame of photos, which she guessed were pictures of family members. One of the frames was large, with what looked like a recent image of a group of thirty or more people. At first, she didn’t think she’d be able to pick out Grady, but she spotted him on the left next to a man who looked like him, only the other man was at least thirty years older.
“Probably Grady’s dad,” she said aloud.
The tree had no wrapped gifts beneath it, and she wondered if he was a last-minute shopper.
The front door opened, and Chelsea turned to see Spot bounding inside, followed by Grady.
Spot came straight for her, and she dropped to her knees to give the dog some love. “Good boy.” She scratched behind his ears, and he happily panted at her attention.
“Damn, I’m hungry.” Grady grabbed her hand and pulled her back to her feet. “Let’s eat, honey.”
His term of endearment brought heat to her cheeks. Fortunately, he didn’t seem to notice. They washed their hands and then sat at the table.
Grady poured glasses of Coke, and then they dove into the burgers, fries, and battered, fried cheese curds. All had cooled but were still amazing.
“Fried cheese curds just aren’t the same here.” He popped one into his mouth. “They were my favorite thing about Wisconsin when I visited years ago.”
She grinned. “Out of everything, it’s the fried cheese curds that are your favorite?”
“Okay, cheese curds are my second favorite.” He gave her a wicked look. “My number one favorite thing about the state is a sexy blonde figure skater who came from there, who could easily twist me around her little finger.”
The heat rushing to Chelsea’s face had to make her cheeks bright red. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” She was both embarrassed and pleased at the compliment.
He laughed. “You’re so cute when you blush.”
She tried to pretend she didn’t do exactly that. “I don’t blush.”
