Chapter 19
Sheila jumped around the bed.
Jumped down.
Begged to be lifted up.
Ran around the bed.
Jumped down.
Begged to get up.
Parker couldn’t stop laughing. Sweet, evil fuzzy beast.
“You know that game where you try to match a pet to the owner? I would have been able to match the two of you in a heartbeat.” Heath’s eyes were still closed, and he didn’t even lift his head from the pillow.
Was he supposed to be offended?
He didn’t think so.
He thought Sheila was doing great. She loved traveling, and she was in an amazing mood.
Heath picked his head up. “I forgot how early pups get you up. And she hasn’t even had coffee.”
“Nope, but she is a morning baby, isn’t she?”
She pounced Heath as soon as he moved, barking happily, telling him good morning.
Heath usually woke up more slowly, but he perked right up, giving her scritches and kissing the top of her head. “Sheila baby! Good morning. Yes, it’s early. Sooooo early.”
Her little bark answered him like she knew just what he was saying.
Lord, he loved that sound. It was so damn good.
“She needs a walk, huh? Is it my turn?” Heath yawned and stretched up tall.
“Probably, yeah. I’m going to make a little dog run for her when we get home, and a doggie door, too.” It would make life a ton easier.
“You might think twice about the doggie door in winter.” Heath winked at him, already pulling on sweats.
“Do they not keep the cold out well enough?” He would figure something out.
“I don’t know. I’ve never had one. We’ll research. How does she feel about snow?” Heath had pulled on a hoodie and was stepping into sneakers.
“She loves it. I took her to Denver once, and she bounced around like a kangaroo.”
Heath laughed and clipped Sheila’s leash on her, which only made her more excited. “Awesome. You ready, miss? Let’s go pee.”
She ran around in a wild circle, and then she kept circling, all the way out of the trailer.
“Goofball,” he heard Heath say as they left, then the trailer door shut behind them.
Parker looked at his phone, which had about a hundred missed calls from his family and one from Sky, so he called his friend back. “Hey, man. We’re heading back home.”
“No shit? How did it go?”
“She pulled a shotgun on Heath. We got the trailer and Sheila. We’re well away now and not in any hurry.”
“She—what? Park. What the fuck?” Sky was stuttering and sounded angry.
“It might not have been loaded.” He didn’t know. “I wasn’t going to let her shoot him, no worries. She was unhappy.”
“Parker.” Sky sighed. “Never mind. You’re on your way home? Where are you? You’re in the trailer?”
“We’re outside Tulsa. We stopped early to clean and stock the trailer, let Heath know Sheila.” The trailer had been in pretty good shape, really. They’d pulled out a few bits of stale food, some frozen stuff, and Heath had insisted on new pillows and sheets and blankets, just in case.
“I can’t wait to see her. We’ll try to keep Bruiser from eating her as a snack.”
“I’m more worried about Walter eating her, man.” That cat was evil.
Sky hooted. “My Walter is not evil. He just doesn’t like you. And I have never figured out why. Did you say something mean to him?”
“Never. You know I like critters.”
“That must be it. You think he’s a creature and not a god.”
He snorted and rolled his eyes. “Listen to you. Beck doesn’t think he’s a god.”
“No, Beck worships me.”
“I heard that!”
“Good!”
He chuckled softly. “You’re both rotten. I’m ready to come home, do…something worthwhile.”
“Well, worthwhile might be a little bit of stretch for you, but we love having you around.”
“Shut up. I’ll go to work at the feed store or something, don’t you stress it.”
“I’m not stressing. I’m teasing. There’s lots you can do around here, and there is no hurry.”
He knew it. He’d figure it out once he was home. “I miss you guys. Tell the kids I’ll bring presents.”
“Will do. We miss you both. Drive safe and stay in touch.”
“We will. It’s going to be okay. We’ll take it slow.”
Heath came back in carrying Sheila. “Babe? Do you have a towel? She got into the mud.”
“I do.” He hopped up and grabbed one out of the little linen closet. “Here we go.”
“Thanks.”
“Sounds like you better run. Say hi to Heath for us! Later!” Sky hung up.
Heath wet the towel and washed Sheila’s feet and belly. “She was chasing some critter.”
“You are only tiny, girl baby. No chasing critters.” He wrapped her in a towel, laughing as she licked his chin.
“It was a mouse, I think? But I don’t think she knows how tiny she is.” Heath laughed.
“She has no idea. She thinks she’s a damn mountain lion or dire wolf or something. She thinks she’s absolutely huge.” He wasn’t going to ever do anything to disabuse her of that notion either. He loved her ferocity.
“It’s a nice morning. Good day for a hike. Or a scenic drive.” Heath handed her off and she stuck her tongue out and licked him.
“Do you want to do that? We could totally have a wander.” He loved how curious Heath was.
“Yeah?” Heath looked excited. “Not a whole day thing, but maybe a couple of hours before we get on the road? It’s really beautiful out there.”
“Sure, love. I’m on your schedule now, and I’d love to explore with you.” He couldn’t help but smile.
“Great. Breakfast and coffee first, now that Shiela is all walked. You want Cheerios? Did we buy any milk?”
“We did. There’s milk and bananas both.” He pulled down a couple of cereal bowls and rinsed them off, just in case.
“I’ll make the coffee.” Heath had taken to the trailer like he’d lived in it for years. He instinctively understood the little tango they had to do in the kitchen to get things done.
Sheila had curled up in her favorite spot on the window box and was watching them, waiting so patiently for her turn to eat.
He’d found her a rainbow bed, and a bunch of toys at the Walmart, along with a couple of sweaters, food, bowls, treats, and a new collar with purple rhinestones.
She liked purple best.
“We have to be home by the day after New Year’s Day, but not before. We can take our time. Where do you want to ring in the new year, babe?”
He pondered that for a second, but literally only that long. “At home. I want to start there.”
Heath’s smile lit up those blue eyes. “I love that. Starting fresh for the new year. So we have a few days to wander home then.”
“We do. We can do anything, see anything.” He wanted to give Heath the entire world.
Heath was in front of the fridge and handed him the milk. “We’ll make a plan. See something awesome to make us laugh. Make a memory. This trip started out kind of rough, but it’s ours now and we can make it whatever we want.”
He was damn lucky to have this man, that was for sure. “You know it. Our road trip home.”
Sheila yipped, her tail wagging once.
“Yes, you too, silly girl. You’re going to love your new home.”
“Do you think she uh…” Heath kind of grinned and kind of winced at the same time. “Would she like living with other dogs?”
“Are you kidding? She loves other dogs. She traveled with me, so she’s used to having to meet a ton of different animals—dogs, cats, bulls, horses.”
“Oh. Cool.” Heath relaxed. “I really want dogs.”
Dogs. Plural.
Huh.
He could go there. “I love dogs. I think they make us better humans.”
“I’ve never gotten one because I live—lived—alone and I didn’t think it was fair with no one home all day most of the time, you know? But two of us could work it out.”
“Absolutely. What kind of dogs do you think you’d want?” Two of us. God, he loved them.
“I don’t know.” Heath glanced at Sheila. “Bigger? Mutts. Shelter rescues. Must like snow.”
“I love it. So long as they get along with Miss Priss over there, I’m in.” She watched every move they made, and when he sat at the little table, she hopped up to see what they were doing.
“Oh, she’s first. It’s her house.” Heath poured their coffee, then filled her bowl with kibble and joined him at the table. “I do love cereal.”
“Me too, especially in the summer.” He tilted his head. “What’s your position on grits?”
He had an Instant Pot deal here in the trailer. He knew how to make those and…well, those.
Heath raised an eyebrow. “I have never had them. What should it be?”
“I love them. Like love them with butter, salt, pepper, and a sprinkle of cheese. Do you know about polenta?”
“I know about it. I have eaten it, and I like it, but I have no idea how you make it. I’m a good eater, but I’m a terrible cook.”
“Well, grits is sort of like polenta. I make grits in the Instant Pot deal.”
“I’ve heard of those. I don’t have one, but I’m ready to try your grits. They sound good.” Heath took another big bite of his cereal.
“Oh, cool.” That was handy. He’d buy some to make while they were out here. It was a weird…well, he couldn’t call it a skill. It was water, milk, and grits in the cooker, twelve minutes on, fifteen minutes waiting.
Not a skill.
“Beckett texted me while Sheila and I were out walking. That’s why she got after the mouse. I got distracted for a second. He asked if I was okay…?”
Weird. He arched an eyebrow. “You are, right? You’re glad to be heading home with me?”
“I am over the moon to be going anywhere with you, but every time you say ‘home’ I get goosebumps. For real. I thought maybe you told Skyler something.”
Not that he knew of. “Just that we went home and Momma misbehaved.”
Heath shrugged. “I told Beckett we’re more than good.”
“We are. We’re road tripping.” He stole a hot, happy kiss. “I can’t think of anything more fun to do with our clothes on, love.”
“Okay. Let’s do this hike. I just need my boots. Should we pack some snacks?” Sheila hopped up like she knew something fun was about to happen. “Oops. I said S-N-A-C-K-S.”
Sheila sniffed at Heath’s fingers. She wasn’t fooled.
“We should. I’ll get her backpack. She’ll get tired.” He opened the closet, her backpack right there.
“I bet. I think she takes like four steps for every one of mine.” Heath found his boots and traded them for his sneakers. “We bought some granola bars, right?”
“Maybe forty and yeah, there are…you want soft or crunchy. We bought both.” They were great at snacks.
“Crunchy, for sure. This is going to sound ridiculous, but I always thought I would end up with someone who could cook, and I am so glad I didn’t.” Heath grinned. “That’s too much pressure.”
Parker cackled. “Shit, you and me? We got Sky and Beck, frozen pizza, and mac and cheese in a box. Life is good.”
They were also super capable of ordering out.
“So good.” Heath helped him pack the granola bars. “You about ready to get out there?”
“Let’s hit it.” He was in, all the way. “C’mon, baby girl. Let’s go.” He had her a coat, booties, a little collapsable water dish.
He was ready.