20. Bliss #2
“He’s the new veterinarian, and Dr. Brown still hasn’t filled my prescription for penicillin,” I explain. “I’ll probably call Grey this afternoon and get an account set up with him.” I jump out and kick the door shut since my hands are full.
Zane climbs out of the car and slams his door.
He marches toward me, grabs the bag out of my arms, and carries it inside, stomping all the way up the steps.
I follow behind, and when we get inside, he sets the bag on the bench and heads down the hall toward his room.
I go into my room. We slam our doors simultaneously.
The day started out so promising, but now we’re both mad.
And I forgot to swing by Darlene’s to get the box of selenium for my lambs.
Why does he make me so mad?
I was not flirting with the vet. He was flirting with the tourist. I get to be mad; he doesn’t get to be mad at me. And I want him to know that I’m mad.
While I was putting away the things I bought at Henry’s, I heard Zane’s truck fire up and pull out of the driveway. No word, no notice…he just left.
Fine. If he wants to ignore me, two can play that game.
I spend the rest of the afternoon hiding in the upstairs room, working on boring bookkeeping stuff that I’ve been putting off. I’m so unfocused that I’m messing up the majority of it, and I might as well be doing anything else.
So I send a text.
Bliss: Are you home?
Charlie: Yes! Just got home for the day. Want to come over?
She doesn’t need to say it twice. I’m in my pickup and on my way in less than five minutes.
It takes a while to get to the Pine Ridge Ranch where Max and Charlie live.
It’s still a Pine Ridge address, but it’s on the other side of the valley.
I pull down a long driveway and roll past the large log cabin—where Magnolia and Nash are now living—and drive around the corner to see the old two-story farmhouse that Max and Charlie lovingly refer to as ‘the bunkhouse.’
There’s a small sidewalk leading the way up to the wraparound porch. I don’t see Max’s pickup, so I park in the empty spot next to Charlie’s car.
I hurry up the steps, greeting Jim and Larry, the two stock dogs, lazing around on the porch.
“You boys have been into a skunk again.” Both dogs jump up and hurry over to sit at my feet.
I reach down and pat them on the head carefully—I don’t dare go in for my usual ear fluffing move because I’ll smell like a skunk the whole night. Jim and Larry are perfectly happy with a basic pat.
“You are such good boys. If only all men were as sweet and understanding as you.” They nod in sync, and I know they understand what I’m saying.
The door swings open, startling me, and Charlie steps out. She smiles when she sees me. “Bliss! I thought I heard you out here. Come in!”
I slip off my boots and follow her inside. Jim and Larry are doing their best to dart inside, too.
“No, you little rascals,” Charlie says with a snort. “I told you to leave that skunk alone, and you wouldn’t listen.”
She shuts the door after me.
I bend down to pull my boots off, and something on Charlie’s leg catches my attention.
She’s wearing athletic shorts, and I can see a big bruise on her thigh.
“What happened to you?” It doesn’t look like a hoof imprint.
Charlie glances down at her leg. “Oh, that! I was working on the distillery space this week and forgot about my level on top of the ladder. It came crashing down on my leg.”
“Yeesh.” The bruise is a solid line along the length of her thigh.
“Max was a little mad about the whole thing.”
“Wait, why?”
“Because I was wearing shorts and sandals. He’s already ordered another pair of work boots and double-canvased pants for me. Not like I’m going to actually wear them. Sometimes you just need to check on something, and I’m not about to suit up every time I do,” she says with a laugh.
She flops down on one end of the couch, and I sit down on the other.
“Do you—” I clear my throat. “Can I ask a weird question?”
“Sure! I’ll give you a weird answer.”
I smile at that. “Do you guys fight often now that you’re married?”
Charlie studies me for a minute, and then a smile stretches across her face. “We fought all the time leading up to marriage. And we still disagree on a lot of stuff. But we’re happy, if that’s what you mean.”
“How so?”
“It might be our personalities, but I want to know he’s willing to work through something with me.
And if we just ignore an issue, it’ll only grow and fester, making it bigger.
And yes, on one hand I’m annoyed with him for demanding I wear a hard hat everywhere…
but on the other, he’s angry because he doesn’t want me getting hurt at work.
So when those disagreements come from a place of caring about the other person… it’s a lot easier to work through.”
“What if that disagreement comes from being jealous of the other person?”
Charlie sits up abruptly. “Wait. You got jealous?”
“He was flirting with a tourist today,” I grumble. “I didn’t like it.”
“Are you sure he was flirting?” she asks, leaning her elbows on her knees.
I nod. “You should have seen her moon eyes. It was ridiculous.”
“Well, maybe so. Zane’s a good-looking guy. But was he making moon eyes back at her?”
I shift uncomfortably, because I honestly don’t know. I couldn’t see his face. “Never mind. Let’s not talk about this. I’d rather talk about anything except Zane tonight.”
Charlie nods. “Of course. Sometimes you just need a girls’ night.” She glances around before whispering, “I’m happy being married to Max, but sometimes I do miss all the girls’ nights I would have with Magnolia and Piper.”
Charlie used to live with Magnolia and their other roommate, Piper, in Bend. It sounds like a fun time to live with three of your friends. I loved living with my sisters and miss them so much.
“A girls’ night sounds like the perfect thing for tonight,” I agree.
Charlie smiles. “Perfect. I’ll grab us some snacks, and we can talk about all the things.”
“As long as we don’t have to talk about our husbands.”
Charlie mimes zipping her lips. “Absolutely no husband talk.”
I can already tell it’s going to be exactly the kind of evening I need.