Thirty-Five
Bay
We were back to watching the vampire priest or whatever he was supposed to be this morning.
After we had both eaten, I had cleaned up our dishes and brought him more coffee.
When I’d returned to the room, he’d had this back up on the screen, waiting on me.
It wasn’t bad, and I was actually enjoying it.
Especially his comments while watching it.
He liked the series, but he picked out every small discrepancy, like the fact that it was supposed to be early spring in some northern island and there was green grass.
Not very believable, although I would have never noticed it had he not pointed it out.
Lunch came and went with us eating it while continuing to watch the series. It was sometime around three when we finished it and he turned off the screen. Although our talking had been limited, I’d laughed more than once and enjoyed myself. Hale Carver was very distracting.
“I need to walk around,” he told me.
I climbed off the bed. “Okay, uh, how can I help?” I asked, walking over to his side.
He smirked. “Walk with me.”
I nodded. “I can do that.”
I watched as he eased himself off the bed, only wincing once. The pain medicine had been helping. I’d seen him move several times in ways he couldn’t do yesterday. But then he’d been drugged heavily.
When he was standing, he looked toward the bathroom. “I need to go in there first. You can wait here.”
Right. Whew. I was glad there was no longer a need for me to follow him to the toilet.
While he handled that, I walked over to look out the window.
It was nice and sunny out. I missed Slash, but I was glad he was getting to enjoy the weather.
I wouldn’t have been able to take him out while taking care of Hale.
I glanced back at the bathroom. I wasn’t sure how much longer I was going to need to help Hale. At this rate, he was getting more self-sufficient quickly.
I would get to go home soon. There wasn’t a rush of excitement at that thought or…even relief. I had to get my head on straight. Spending so much time with Hale was rattling my brain. I needed to get home. Back to work. Back to the center. This wasn’t my life here.
When I was returned to my apartment, I wouldn’t see this man again. That would be it. This time in my life would come to an end. Why did that feel so final, heavy?
I dropped my gaze to the floor and stared. Not sure what to make of the way I was feeling.
“You good, Snow?”
Hale’s voice broke into my thoughts, and I forced a smile as I lifted my head up and looked at him.
“Yes, ready?” I asked.
He was studying me as he walked in my direction. His eyes always felt as if they saw too much, and that made this even more uncomfortable. The last thing this man needed to know was that…I was going to…miss him. Oh God, it even sounded awful in my thoughts. I was deranged.
“Your pretty pale skin has gone white, darlin’,” he said.
“Probably just need some sunshine. Want to walk outside?” I suggested.
He didn’t respond right away. I swallowed nervously, trying hard to keep my expression light.
“Yeah, outside sounds good,” he finally replied.
“Great. Um, can you walk down the stairs?” I asked, realizing that might be an issue.
“Probably, but we’ll take the elevator today,” he replied.
Elevator? There was an elevator in this house?
“Do you need sunblock on before we go outside?” he asked.
Most likely, but that would require me going upstairs to get it. When I hesitated, he motioned for the door.
“Go on and handle that. I’ll wait here. I want a drink anyway.”
“Okay, I’ll be quick,” I assured him, then hurried out of the room, finding that I needed some space. To clear my head. Remind myself that this man wasn’t someone I needed to get attached to.
The view from the windows didn’t compare to this.
Hale’s property was beautiful. The landscaping had a koi pound with a waterfall, peach trees, and apple trees, along with a rose garden that had to require constant care all year for it to bloom like that.
I couldn’t imagine Hale out here, tending to the roses, feeding the fish, or picking up the fallen fruit from the trees.
He didn’t seem like the kind of man who would enjoy that kind of thing.
“You must have someone who takes care of your grounds daily,” I said as I watched the fish swim around under the clear water.
“Ellen takes care of the fish and roses. But I do have a landscaping company come in weekly to keep things tidy. This”—he glanced around—“wasn’t my handiwork or my ideas. My wife, she enjoyed it out here. This is all things she planted and took care of once,” he told me.
I wished I hadn’t brought it up now. I hadn’t wanted to make him think of something to sadden him. He was already in pain.
“I kept it up for the kids,” he continued. “Especially Opal. It was something she and her mom had done together.”
“It’s a beautiful memorial,” I replied, wishing I had something like that to remember the woman who had been my mother for three short years. But all I’d been left with was her mother, who hated the sight of me.
“Yeah,” he agreed as he walked over to a stone bench that sat across from the pond and eased himself down slowly onto it. “Won’t lie; I’ve thought about getting rid of the damn fish more than once. But then I think about Opal coming home to visit and them not being here. So, it stays.”
I glanced at the fish again. “You don’t like them? They’re beautiful.”
“Eh, might be, but you try to keep Slash from trying to catch one. It’s a pain in the ass.”
Oh no! I repressed a laugh. “Has he ever caught one?”
Hale nodded. “And it was one of the more expensive ones that Lethia had gotten from Japan. The damn thing had cost thousands of dollars.”
I covered my mouth with my hand. I did not need to laugh. That was terrible, but still funny at the same time.
“Go ahead. Laugh. It was the most expensive meal he’d ever had.”
A giggle escaped, and I dropped my hand. “I’m sorry. That should not be funny. Poor fish.”
“What about me? I bought the damn thing.”
Another burst of laughter, and I didn’t even try and muffle it this time. “I think you can afford it.”
He shrugged. “Just because I can afford it doesn’t mean the little fucker needs to be eating the damn fish.”
“How do you keep him away from it?” I asked.
“I finally had an invisible fence put around it. Just got to remember to put the collar on him before he comes outside.”
I watched the fish swim around some more, enjoying the peacefulness. Maybe I should get some fish. A nice large tank in my living room. I enjoyed Slash’s company. If I was home more, I’d want another dog.
“If you want Than to bring Slash back, I don’t mind taking care of him,” I said.
“I just told you he ate my expensive-ass fish, and you think I want him home?” he asked, but the teasing lilt to his voice made me smile.
“Yes,” I replied, smiling.
“I’ll get him back in the next day or so,” he said.
I didn’t push it. If he felt more comfortable with Than keeping him, then I had to let it go. Probably best I didn’t get any more attached to the dog either. I was already battling it with his owner.