Chapter 7
Tyler
The snow wasn’t as deep here, likely due to the thick pine trees surrounding the house and obscuring it from view.
I had to smile at the overall postcard look of the place.
It still definitely had the farmhouse vibe, just on a smaller scale.
The porch steps creaked a little under my weight as I jogged up, then knocked and tucked my hands in my vest pockets. It was cold.
“Mind your manners, please,” I heard Harris say before he pulled open the door. He gave me a smile and stepped back, allowing me entrance. The yellow lab, sitting patiently at his feet, wiggled in excitement but didn’t move.
“Hi.” I wanted to lean in and kiss him, but I wasn’t sure what the protocol was here. I tried not to shuffle my feet awkwardly.
“Hi.” Harris ran a hand down my arm. He looked a little awkward or nervous too. He cleared his throat. “I thought we could go check out the Z-E-B-R-A-S first.”
I nodded, then cocked my head. “Why did you spell it?”
Harris chuckled and pointed at the dog. Who was about to burst out of his skin trying to remain seated.
I grinned. “This must be the famous Cheddar. I have a present for you. If your dad says it’s okay.”
I handed over the small brown paper bag that had been hanging off my wrist. Harris looked inside, his eyes widening. Then he offered me a smile. “These are his favorite.”
“So I heard.” I waggled my eyebrows. “I might have done some recon.”
Harris regarded me for a moment. “Say hello, Ched.”
That seemed to be a release word, because the dog hopped up and started sniffing me everywhere he could reach, his whole body wiggling while his tail wagged crazily. He nosed at my thigh, then stayed there, snorting and huffing as he took in the scent. Harris raised a brow.
“My pump,” I said trying not to let the embarrassment creep in. Once again, I had to remind myself it was completely normal and it was nothing to hide. “I bet he smells the insulin or whatever.”
“Makes sense.” Harris was quiet for a beat. “It definitely wasn’t on your thigh last night. I didn’t see it.”
He would know since he’d all up in my business. I shook my head. “No, it was on my back. It was a site change day today.”
Harris took that information in and I could see the questions rattling through his brain.
I stayed quiet, wondering if he was going to ask.
If I was going to answer. There were people out there who talked about diabetes whenever they could, to bring awareness and understanding about the disease.
And I got it because I’d only been dealing with this for the better part of a year, and hadn’t dealt with that many people, and even I was sick of explaining that it had nothing to do with eating too much sugar.
But I wasn’t the type of guy who was all about educating the public.
Harris might be an exception though, considering we’d hopefully be spending some time together over the coming weeks.
Whatever had been going through his mind, he seemed to come to a conclusion. He nodded once and then reached for his parka. “Let’s go see the zebras.”
Cheddar went nuts, for just a few seconds, letting out a short howl and doing tippy tappies with his front feet. Then he scooted by me and out into the snowy night. Harris let out a quiet curse then gently but firmly shoved me to the side to yell out the door.
“Cheddar! Truck!”
The dog had taken off and his bark sounded distant, but not more than a few seconds later, the yellow blur came bounding back. He skidded to a stop right next to Harris’s truck, but he certainly didn’t stay still. He was ready and raring to go.
Harris chuckled. “Come on.”
We made it to the truck and Harris reached around me to open the door. Cheddar jumped in first, tracking snow onto the floorboards and the seat, but Harris let out a short whistle and pointed to the back. Cheddar hopped over the center console. Harris swept his hand through the remnants of snow.
“Don’t worry about it,” I said softly, stilling his motions by grabbing his wrist. “It’s no big deal.”
Harris glanced at me, then down where I held him.
He flipped his hand, breaking my hold, but grabbed my hand and squeezed before slowly letting go.
With a jerk of his chin, he gestured for me to get in.
Once I did, he shut the door behind me and jogged around the hood to climb in himself.
He started it up and almost immediately, lukewarm air blew through the vents, which meant it hadn’t been that long since it’d been running.
Before he could put it into gear, his phone rang, and he cursed. “One sec.”
I waved a hand to let him know it was fine.
“Ben? He did what? Of course he fucking did. Hang on, I’ll be right there. Thanks.” He stabbed the phone screen rather viciously before he blew out a harsh breath. “Quick pit stop at the office first. I gotta fix what Lenny fucked up before we can get on with our evening.”
I opened my mouth to say something, what I thought about the fuckhead probably, but at the last second, I decided it would be better to keep my mouth shut. Then I took in the hard set of Harris’s mouth and the tense line of his shoulders and changed my mind again.
“He cause problems like this a lot?” I tried for gentle and mostly succeeded.
Harris’s laugh lacked humor. “He did. He won’t anymore. I fired his ass today.”
“Good for you.” It was out of my mouth before I could check it, so I winced. “Sorry.”
Harris’s chuckle was warmer this time. “Yeah, yeah. It was a long time coming but he crossed one too many lines today. It’ll put a strain on us for a short time, but I already have a lead on a replacement.”
“That’s good.”
Harris swung into the parking lot and stopped his truck right at the door. Cheddar let out a confused sounding whine, if dogs could actually sound confused, and nudged Harris hard in the shoulder. Harris shook his head, but he was smiling as he rubbed Cheddar’s ears.
“I know. We’ll go see your friends in a minute.” He glanced at me. “Wanna wait here with him? It should only be a few minutes. I just have to fix the booking software.”
“Sure. No problem.”
Harris grabbed my hand again and squeezed, then pulled away slowly so his fingers trailed against my skin. “Thanks.”
I fought the shiver, because man did I like him touching me.
There was a quick blast of cold air as he jumped out of the truck, but he left it running so Cheddar and I would stay warm.
I tracked his progress, wishing his coat was just a little bit shorter so I could stare at his denim-clad ass.
I was really hoping I’d get to see it in person later.
My thoughts were interrupted by a wet dog nose to the eye and I laughed as I pushed Cheddar’s big lab head out of my way.
His nose was working overtime, nostrils flaring as he sniffed loudly.
I was probably a confusing tangle of scents, all the places I’d been, plus the insulin.
I knew dogs could be trained to detect blood sugar changes, but I was right on target for the moment according to my CGM, so I wasn’t sure that was it.
Plus, he hadn’t been trained. I was just new and he was taking me in.
Cheddar let out a huffy sigh, then placed one of his big paws on my arm and dropped his head onto the console. He couldn’t be comfortable, with his back half on the backseat and his front on the console, but he didn’t seem in any hurry to move. Dogs were weird.
I rubbed his head, making sure to pay good attention to his ears. In my experience, most dogs loved that shit. Cheddar, apparently, was no different. He closed his eyes and made a rumbly, low moan. I had to laugh. Despite his position, he was apparently very relaxed.
Harris returned ten minutes later. His walk was more of a stalk, really, and his shoulders were tense.
But the moment he opened this truck door, he stilled, then smiled, and relaxed.
His gaze darted between me and his dog, and then his smile grew.
Hopping into the truck, he shut the door, then leaned into my space.
“Thanks for waiting.” His voice was husky and low, and I did not miss the way his eyes dropped to my lips.
I leaned in too, closing a bit more of the distance until we were mere inches apart. “Anytime.”
It took him a second. Maybe two. Then he surged forward and captured my lips. I instantly opened for him, wanting to taste him. I was a big fan of kissing in general and particularly with Harris. He knew what he was doing and everything about him go my motor revving.
Cheddar was tired of waiting though, because he lifted his head, breaking us apart. Harris let out a curse and rubbed his chin, but all I could do was laugh. As much as I wanted that kiss to go on, and lead to much more, this wasn’t the best place for it.
“Right.” Harris lifted a hand and used his thumb to swipe along my bottom lip. For some reason, that motion nearly did me in. It shouldn’t be so sensual, but really, I would have done anything he asked in that moment. “Zebras.”
Cheddar let out two sharp, happy sounding barks, which was extraordinarily loud in the confines of the cab. Harris told Cheddar to sit and he did, but he was still wiggling in excitement. I grinned.
“He really likes them, huh?”
Harris nodded and put the truck in gear.
“They’re his best friends, I think. In general, they’re dangerous and they shouldn’t be kept as pets.
These two are a little more docile, since they were hand raised and bottle fed but never trust them.
Despite being equines, they aren’t like horses. Give them lots of space and respect.”
“Copy that. How’d you end up with them?” That’s what I was really curious about. After I found out he had zebras, I’d looked it up. In most states, it was illegal to own zebras, even with a permit.
“I was the closest equine rescue that had room and access to an exotic vet.” Harris navigated around a curve, then settled his hand on my thigh.
I very much liked that. “Zuri and Samir were seized from an illegal petting zoo in Pennsylvania. Placement with me was supposed to be temporary, since I’m not licensed to own dangerous animals or exhibit them.
But since Wayfair is classified as a sanctuary, I was given an exception. ”
“That’s so cool,” I said without thought. Then grimaced. “I mean, not where they came from but, you know, you have zebras.”
Harris chuckled. “Yeah, it’s pretty cool. I mean, like I said, you can’t trust ‘em for shit, but it’s pretty awesome. We’re here.”
The barn was bigger than I expected, but then again, with how serious Harris was about equine care, I shouldn’t have been surprised.
The instant Harris opened his door, Cheddar barreled over the console, whipping me in the face with his tail.
Cheddar didn’t care, ready to go see his friends.
By the time I got out of the truck and made it around the front to join Harris, Cheddar was sitting at the barn door, his tail wagging incessantly.
Harris didn’t make him wait, just rolled the door back, and Cheddar was off like a shot.
Harris held his hand out to me and I jogged the last few steps so I could grab it.
He threaded our fingers together and led me into the barn.
Cheddar had already made it through the rungs of the panels and was running full tilt, the zebras chasing him.
They were also making a noise I couldn’t even begin to describe.
“I had no idea zebras sounded like that.” I walked right up the rail, ready to lean on it, but Harris stopped me with a hand on my shoulder. He pulled me back a few steps just as the trio raced by. Then he surprised me by wrapping his arms around my waist and snugging my back up to his front.
Well, okay then. I didn’t mind that at all.
Harris pointed over my shoulder. “Samir is in the front. Zuri is behind him.”
“How can you tell them apart?” They looked the same to me.
“Samir is bigger and his neck is thicker. Also Zuri has a really thick stripe right on her withers.”
I could see it, now that I knew what to look for.
There were marked differences between them.
I’d seen zebras at the zoo before, but nothing like this, up close and personal.
I watched as suddenly, Cheddar changed direction and the zebras did the same, the game of chase now going the opposite way.
The arena they ran around in was filled with enrichment, toys and feeders, that the trio expertly dodged around.
It seemed this was a game they were well versed in.
I gave Harris more of my weight, and though I felt him change his stance, he held me up just fine. He wasn’t as broad as I was, but he was clearly strong, and those extra few inches he had on me seemed to be all in the torso. We lined up just right.
“Thanks for this,” I murmured as Cheddar scooted underneath the rail and came to sit by our feet, tongue lolling out of his mouth as he panted.
Harris pressed a kiss to my temple. “Anytime.”