25. Marley
TWENTY-FIVE
MARLEY
Around ten, we decide to be the kind of adults that exist outside of the bedroom. We shower in Bennett’s room because the shower is huge and I don’t have to step over the side of a tub.
“I should have had you shower in here before. I wasn’t even thinking.” He looks so remorseful my heart sinks a little.
Reaching up I use my thumbs to smooth those deep lines on his forehead. “Do you know how long it has been since I got to soak in a bathtub? It was a gift I didn’t know I needed.” His face relaxes slightly, and he leans down to press his lips to mine.
The absolute best part of showering together—okay, second-best because naked Bennett is the clear winner here—is that I get to use him for balance. There isn’t an ounce of fear that I’m about to slip and crack my skull open. He is the sexiest and most stable handrail I could ask for. I find this a little funny since his presence in general has me a little off balance.
We manage to get ourselves showered with only some relatively innocent kissing, and out for a walk with the pack before noon .
“I love how they are pure chaos and somehow not,” I say, slowly trailing behind the dogs. Marley the dog has decided that today he’ll keep pace with me. Bennett doesn’t respond so I look over at him. He’s watching the dogs with the most serene look on his face, as if life could not get more perfect than it is right now. I wish I’d brought my camera along, but my memory will have to do for now. “You seem content,” I say to him.
He finally looks over at me and stops dead, worry splashed across his face. “Did I dream this morning and last night?”
“Oh, that explains it.” I roll my eyes, earning a warning look and laugh. Then the dogs go absolutely bananas, and Bennett is running after the sound, disappearing from view, around a bend in the trail. The barking stops abruptly and I hear Bennett yell “Move!” before he comes flying back around the corner, followed by a very angry-looking cow. Before I can even register what’s happening, Bennett’s got me in his arms and is jumping into a thicket of thorny shrubs as the cow runs by, the dogs close behind.
Bennett slowly slides me back down his body, his eyes tracking the cow as it bursts out of the forest. Then his hands are running over my face and body. “Are you hurt anywhere?”
I shake my head and run my fingers across his face. “You’re cut.” It’s not very long, but it does look somewhat deep.
He lets me wipe the blood away, but it pools again and drips down his cheek. “Fucking wild roses,” he huffs, glaring at the bush we crashed through before looking back down at me.
“I’m going to go out on a limb and assume that has never happened before.”
“You’d be correct. Seems like I should expect the unexpected in these woods when you’re involved.” He hauls me back up against his body and back the way we came. He sets me back down and hands me my crutches, then pulls out his phone. After he taps the screen a couple of times, he raises it to his ear, his eyes looking toward where the cow disappeared.
“Hey, Karl. No, road’s still out from what I could see.” He looks over at me, rolls his eyes, and mimes talking with his hand. It’s probably a good thing there are only three Hores; I’m shocked anyone ever gets a word in during a single conversation with any of them. “No, I’m actually calling about your bull. Yeah, Jason nearly took us out on the Creekside trail.” Another break, more eye rolling. “We are fine, dogs are fine. He ran towards the house with the dogs hot on his hooves.” I burst out laughing and slap my hands over my mouth. “Yes, by we, I was referring to Marley and I.” Oh, I think, such a missed opportunity for a pop-culture reference there. “I’ll tell her… Sounds good. See you soon.” He hangs up and looks at me with the same exasperated face I first saw him with. I reach out and grab onto the front of his sweatshirt then pull him into me. I move my hand to the back of his head and pull him down so I can kiss him right between his eyebrows. “What was that for?” he asks when he stands straight.
“Just because.” I smile at him, silently commending myself for yet again not giving into my day-one desire to lick that deep frown line away. I shall leave the licking to canine Marley and stick with using my lips on every inch of this man. “Is Karl coming to get his cow? Or would it be a bull since it’s a he?”
“A bull. He’s gotten out before but never made it this far.”
“How the hell do they catch him in such an open space?” I ask as we begin to walk back.
“With lots of grain, determination, and above all, patience.” Bennett sighs. “This is not how I wanted to be spending my day.” He looks down at me suggestively.
“Stop that.” I point at him. “We are adults, and we need to do adult things. Like care for dogs and catch an escaped bovine. ”
“To be fair, what I wanted to spend my day doing are adult things. Can I at least give you a ride back? If I can’t have you under me in the next fifteen minutes, I’d at least like you pressed against me in some capacity.”
“Now that is a solid pickup line, sir.”
“It’s one of those double-duty ones to boot.” He squats, taking my crutches as I climb on.
We can hear the dogs barking, two in particular as we leave the trees. Daisy and Buster, both border collie crosses, have the poor bull running in a circle. “This may be easier than I had anticipated,” Bennett says, just as the Hores pull into the yard. Karl maneuvers the truck and trailer in a way that looks strategic, but I can’t for the life of me figure out how this is all going to work.
All three Hores jump out, and Karl throws the end of a rope to Sophie, who opens the trailer and ties it to the handle before going to tie the other end to a fence post, while Nancy does the same thing on the other side. I’m impressed watching them operate so efficiently, though clearly they’ve had practice. Karl grabs a bucket from the trailer and begins shaking it.
Sophie greets us and gives me a knowing look. Why do I feel like the Hores are the most insightful people I’ve ever met? Like they just know things, when to show up, when to not, when to give a little nudge. The all-knowing, all-seeing Hores.
“He jumped his fence this time,” Sophie says, hands on her hips as we watch Jason turn on the dogs. “You’d think he’d want to stick around all the ladies, but lately he’s been kind of a loner.”
“We can all use a bit of alone time occasionally,” Bennett says, his head moving with the movement of the animals as they race back and forth.
“It’s almost hypnotic,” I say. “Like a metronome that keeps time with anarchy. ”
Bennett harrumphs. “I’ll take Marley to the house then be right back out,” he says, starting to walk away from Sophie.
“But I can’t watch from the house.” I pout.
“You also can’t get run over by that tank of an animal in the house.”
“Bennett, I have managed to not get run over by literal tanks. I think I’ll be okay.”
“Marley,” he replies, using the exact same tone. “Those tanks didn’t have four legs and a brain. And I bet you had the ability to run away.”
“True, but they did have rocket launchers and drivers who didn’t like the press much.” I feel him sigh and know I’ve won. “If you could just set me down on the porch, that would be lovely. Oh, and can you run in and grab my camera? I have a feeling this is going to be something I want to remember forever.”
Bennett does as I ask, and before long he’s running back out to the others. The first picture I take is of that beautiful backside running away from me.
I was not wrong about this being something I’d want to remember. The ground is slick, and the humans are not faring nearly as well as Jason. For such a large animal, he’s surprisingly agile. I manage to capture Sophie in mid-fall, arms flailing and a look of panic on her face. She jumps up fast, seemingly uninjured, so I didn’t feel bad about laughing. Bennett is clearly using his football skills, his stance low before he bursts into a sprint towards the bull. He too slips and goes down, smacking the ground in frustration before he’s up again. He’s going to need another shower. The man has gone through so many clothes since I’ve been here. I doubt he has to change as often in a normal week. At least no one can blame the current situation on me.
Eventually using another long rope and a whole lot of strange noises, they’re able to guide Jason towards the trailer. Granted, the poor guy is breathing awfully hard so this may be a case of him just giving up more than the humans winning. Before too long, he’s safely in the trailer and Bennett is helping the Hores untie the guide ropes before waving them off. As he walks towards me, I keep shooting, and just as he comes through the gate he notices what I’m doing. I capture his knowing smirk perfectly.
As tempting as it is to jump in the shower with him again, I decline the offer so that I can call Izzy.
“It has been nearly twenty-four hours, Marley!” is how she answers the phone.
“I’m sorry! I’ve been busy.”
“Oh my god, you slept with him.”
“What? How did you come to that conclusion?”
“What else would busy mean?”
“Literally anything else. I’ll have you know that I was at his neighbor’s place taking pictures of their cows for some online profile.”
“Oh,” Izzy says, almost sounding disappointed.
“It wasn’t until after I got back that I slept with him.”
I have to pull the phone away from my ear as Izzy squeals. It’s amazing how she can go from sounding accusatory to celebratory about the exact same thing seconds apart. I hear her apologize to someone and pull the phone back in.
“Okay, overreaction, my friend.”
“Mar, I’ve been married for twelve years and have three children, and all extracurricular activities with my husband are scheduled right down to the orgasm. Let me live through you, okay?”
“You would orgasm like clockwork.” I laugh, leaning back in the chair and flipping through the images on the back of my camera. When I get to the one of Bennett smirking at me, I zone out and miss whatever Izzy says next.
“Sorry, what did you say?”
“I asked if you’re together now. Are you a thang?”
“Ew, don’t say it like that, please. And, um, I don’t think so. We haven’t really had that talk. Besides, I’m really only here until the road is fixed. Assuming that happens before my ankle is good enough for me to drive.”
“Hmm. How do you feel about the leaving part?”
“Don’t therapize me, Iz.”
“I did nothing of the sort,” she replies, sounding offended. Izzy had been a therapist but walked away from her practice after having her second child. Kate required more care than any daycare could offer so Izzy learned as much as she could to offer the best environment for her middle child. “I just know you. You don’t do relationships, you don’t even spend the night with a man, and you are literally living in this guy’s house.”
“It’s been a day, Izzy. I’m not going to analyze what it is or isn’t right now. Right now it just is, and I’m fine with that. You know I prefer living in the moment anyway.”
“Yeah, that’s what I’m afraid of—for him, not so much for you.”
“Do you want to see a picture of him?” I ask, changing the subject.
“Why the hell was that not the first thing you offered?” I quickly connect the camera Wi-Fi to my phone and then do a quick crop before forwarding it to her.
There is a moment of silence, and then I hear a very quiet “Well, fuck me.”
“That’s what I said. And it worked.”
I hear Bennett coming down the stairs and glance up to offer him a smile. He’s all freshly showered and dewy, and I want to throw my phone across the room and then throw my body at him. By his expression, I can tell he knows exactly what I’m thinking, and he makes his way over.
“Hey, Iz?” I say, eyes locked with his.
“Ugh, go have fun. Don’t make me wait another twenty-four hours to hear from you, though.”
“Right. Bye.” I barely get it out before I end the call and watch as Bennett drops to his knees beside the chair.
“Hi.” He leans in and captures my mouth, using his hand to hold me against him, although it really is unnecessary. Good lord, he smells good. My hands go to his still-damp hair, and I pull him in and somehow manage to deepen the kiss more. A car door slamming has him jumping back, our hands pulling away from each other and he’s on his feet in seconds.
“Um, Bennett?” I say as he starts to walk towards the kitchen.
“Yeah?” He turns back to me.
“You may want to let me go to the door.” I gesture at his body.
He looks down and blushes. “Right, good idea. I’ll be out there in a minute.” He helps me up and gets me situated with the crutches. If I brushed by him when I was leaving, it was purely by accident and was absolutely not worth hearing his response.
Karl is standing on the other side of the door. I’m surprised that he knows how to do that.
“Back so soon?” I ask, opening the door.
“Yeah, I tried calling but there was no answer,” Karl says, stepping into the kitchen.
“Oh, Bennett was showering so that’s probably why.” I notice Karl’s gaze flick to my very dry hair.
“Right.” He’s blushing a bit, and I have a feeling Nancy may be responsible for him not barging in this time.
“Karl,” Bennett says, walking into the kitchen, coming to stand next to me. “To what do we owe the pleasure?” Referring to us as a “we” should freak me out, but instead I’m actively keeping myself from breaking into a little happy dance.
“Just came to let you know that the town called me back, finally. They’re sending someone over now to take a look. Some overpaid structural engineer or something. Thought maybe you’d want to go down. Nancy suggested that if they actually saw that the damage was impacting real people, they may be more inclined to get this done.”
Disappointment blooms on Bennett’s face, but he quickly covers it. “Yeah, sounds good. Marley, do you want to come?” What I want to say is yes, I’d like to come with you everywhere and have you come with me everywhere else. But instead, I shake my head, hoping I’m masking the panic that is settling in my bones. Time is running out.