Chapter 7 #2
I laughed. “You can curse around Charles. He’s sixteen. It’s not like he hasn’t heard it before.”
Drake smiled and gave an apologetic shrug. “Sorry.”
Charles sucked in a breath. “ Oh . Hey, Drake, do you play D&D?”
I gaped at him. What the hell was he doing now?
“Sure. There’s a campaign I drop into when I’m home.”
Charles turned to me. “You should invite Drake to your game tomorrow night.” He smiled at Drake like it was a done deal. “Finn and all his nerdy friends play at least once a month. They’re having it here tomorrow. I’m spending the night at Kirk’s house. His friend Tommy’s coming too.”
I frowned at him. “Since when?” I held up a hand. “Not that I’m not happy you’re making friends, and I’m not trying to say you can’t go, but this is the first I’m hearing about it.”
He waved a hand casually in the air. “Kirk texted me earlier. So, Drake’s in for D&D.
I can text Alex to let him know if you’re too busy.
You should get on the road. It’s only going to get darker out there.
I’m exhausted. Long day. I’ll be in bed asleep way before you get back.
Thanks for the help, Drake. I really appreciate it.
” He squeezed past Drake and patted him on the shoulder as he went by. Then he was gone.
I put my hands on my cheeks. “What just happened?”
Drake chuckled. “Earlier he apologized for his reaction when we were teasing each other at the door. He essentially gave me permission to date you. By the way, he thinks he’s, quote, ‘cramping your style’ and guys don’t want to date you because you have him now.”
I rubbed my forehead. “He’s right that I haven’t been going out with anyone, but it’s because I wanted to give him time to settle in here. I’ll talk to him. But now he’s manufacturing ways for us to be alone together?”
He grinned. “Apparently.” He lifted one shoulder. “Seems rude to let his efforts go to waste. You wanna come feed the scary forest monster with me?”
“You know what? I really do.”
“Okay, spill.” Alex poked me in the bicep as we covered the last leg of our morning run around the park downtown.
“What?”
“You know what. You’ve been smiling all morning. You never smile this much.”
I rolled my eyes. “So sorry my happiness is bothering you.”
That didn’t work, but I hadn’t expected it to. “You got laid, didn’t you?”
I shrugged. “Just a hookup.”
“Sure. Does your hookup have anything to do with Charles texting me about Drake coming to D&D tonight?”
I groaned. “I need to talk to him. He’s matchmaking, and I don’t want him to get invested in something that’s never going to happen.” I glanced at Alex. “He also told Drake last night he thinks the reason I haven’t been seeing anyone is because no one wants to date me now that he’s living with me.”
“Oh, fuck.”
“Yeah. I was trying to make sure he felt secure and that he was my priority, but Noelle apparently told him some of the dating stories I used to entertain her with when we talked. So he was expecting me to be going out all the time or something.”
“And he wants you to date Drake? Any particular reason he picked the guy who’s only in town until the end of the music festival?”
I was glad my face was already red from running. “Last night he witnessed me and Drake, uh, bantering.”
He hooted. “Bantering? You mean flirting. I need to get Charles to tell me exactly what you guys said.” I shoved him and put on a burst of speed to beat him to the sidewalk at the end of the park path.
He laughed as he caught up when I slowed to a walk.
“You’re allowed to flirt with hot musicians, Finn, even though you’re officially a parent now.
You can date, even have a— gasp —boyfriend!
” Despite Alex’s teasing tone, I could hear the wistfulness in his voice.
“It’ll happen for you, you know.”
He shook his head and looked away. “Nah. There’s no unicorn for me, especially since I insist on living in this weird little town. I’ll just have to live vicariously through you.” He turned to me and grinned evilly. “Which is why I’ve decided to help Charles in his mission.”
“What? Wait, how?” I tried grabbing for him, but he danced out of my reach, still with that fucking smirk on his face.
“Drake might not be Mr. Right, but he’s the only victim on the horizon with any potential.”
“Victim!”
He tapped his chin in mock thought. “We’ll start tonight at D&D. Charles said he’ll be staying at a friend’s house, so it’s perfect.”
I tried to stare him down, but he wasn’t paying attention. “Perfect how?”
My phone rang. I pointed at Alex as I fished it out of my fanny pack.
“You will not do anything. I can manage my love life, or hookup life, just fine on my own.” I looked at my phone, then raised my eyebrows as I answered.
“Drake? What’s up?” Was it wrong to hope for a booty call? But he knew I had to work this morning.
“Hey, uh. One of the chickens. You know the big black and orange one?”
“Yeah. Is something wrong with her?”
“I’m not sure. She won’t let me inside the coop to clean it.
And she’s trapped three of the other hens in there with her.
The other two got out to eat breakfast. She’s sitting in the doorway to the coop where it connects to the screened-in run.
But when I try to open the other door at the back, she comes at me with her beak and claws. ”
I stifled a laugh. “Are you okay? Did she hurt you?” Alex, who’d been listening avidly ever since I’d said Drake’s name, pointed toward his car and mouthed, Do we need to go over there?
“I’m fine. I just want to make sure she and the others are okay.”
I was pretty sure the hen was merely being protective of her eggs, but I was fully willing to jump on the excuse to see Drake again.
Last night after we’d fed Mabel, we’d spent a glorious hour with our dicks in each other’s mouths before I’d dragged myself home.
I couldn’t wait to be alone with him tonight after D&D.
“ Hmmm . I don’t have any appointments until later this morning. Alex and I were just finishing our run, so we’ll stop by on our way home.” Alex smirked as he looked between me and the vet clinic half a block away.
“Thanks, Finn.” The relief in his voice was palpable.
“Sure. See you soon.”
Alex walked faster. “I guess we’ve got a stop to make on our way home .”
“Shut up. I didn’t want to make him feel guilty.”
Alex volunteered to drive. Once I was in the car, I texted Nova to let her know I’d be in a little late.
“Now tell me what’s wrong with the chicken?”
I sighed. “Probably she’s just broody—trying to keep Drake away from her eggs. But he wouldn’t know how to get past her, and she’s big enough she’s blocking some of the other hens from going outside to eat.”
He grinned. “I am so going to record this.”
I groaned.
“What? You can put it on your socials. After I edit it, it’ll go viral in a hot minute.”
“Why are we friends again?”
A few minutes later we pulled into the driveway for Zeke’s compound. As he’d promised, Drake had added me and Alex to the access app, and with a touch to Alex’s phone screen, the gate opened.
We parked next to Zeke’s place, and I could see Drake sitting on one of the large rocks inside Dolores’ pen. He was wearing his straw cowboy hat, a denim jacket over a white t-shirt, cut-off jeans shorts, and cowboy boots. I had a hard time tearing my eyes away from his bare legs.
“Hey, thanks for coming!” he called out when we emerged from Alex’s car.
Alex waved at him. “No problem. This is much more entertaining than taking pictures of the mayor’s press conference that I have to go to later.”
I glanced down at Alex’s hands. He hadn’t brought his camera, but he did have his phone.
Sighing, I walked over to Dolores’ pen. Drake’s eyes took in my running outfit, and his gaze lingered on the front of my compression tights. Fuck. I’d better keep this visit professional, or I’d never hear the end of it from Alex.
I climbed over the fence and approached the coop.
Two of the birds were in the screened-in area, pecking at the ground.
The large Cochin hen, as Drake had said, was standing in the opening of the coop at the top of the ramp that led down to the ground.
The coop itself was about four feet long and five feet high, including its legs.
The opening to the run was only a little over a foot square, so the hen easily blocked the others from entering or exiting.
At the rear of the coop was a larger door, but she could easily rush the short distance to it before it was fully open.
“She’s not interested in eating?”
“No. I tried some bread, which the other two ate, and their regular food. She won’t budge. Unless I open the back door, of course.”
“Okay. So probably she’s laid some eggs in there.” I turned to look at Drake as I spoke. Just being polite, not anything to do with his long legs, bared to the morning sun.
He frowned. “You said they don’t need roosters to lay eggs, but the SPCA did say there’d been some roosters in with the hens. Would she be acting this way because she’d laid actual chicks?”
“No. Hens can’t tell the difference. But if she’s reacting like this to these eggs, fertilized or not, she’ll react this way to any future eggs.
She needs to be separated from the other hens, or you’ll be dealing with this behavior every morning.
Ordinarily I’d leave her in there and move the other chickens, but if she’s trapped other hens in with her, it’s a problem. ”
“Plus I don’t have anywhere else to put five chickens.” He stared toward the coop.
“Let’s see if we can get the other hens out of there for now, and you can get a smaller coop just for this one.”
Drake gave me an oh, hell no look. “I hope they teach chicken whispering at vet school.”