Page 65 of Just A Little Magic

“Only in the abstract. My grandpa used to say his hemorrhoids were an absolute bitch.”

Owen’s peals of laughter and Levi’s chuckles had me growling at both of them. I stalked over to Owen, gave him a dirty look that only made him laugh more, and grabbed his suitcase to toss in the back of the car.Assholes. If I did have hemorrhoids, which I didn’t, bad enough for surgery, there’d be nothing funny about it.

“Are you ready?” I sounded growly, and I didn’t much care. I wanted Owen to myself and was getting antsy.

“Well, that’s the cue my break is over. Good luck with surgery and let me know if I can do anything to help.” Levi headed back into the house with a casual wave of his hand.

“Oh, no worries, we’ll let you know,” Owen called to his retreating back in a sing-song voice. I couldn’t have rolled myeyes harder if I’d tried. “Yes, I just need to pack up Bitty, and we’ll be ready to go.”

Owen sent my stomach into somersaults when he used my nickname for his cat. In the grand scheme of life, it probably meant nothing, but I was determined to take every win I could claim, no matter how small or insignificant. Elizabeth was already in her carrier, so it only took a few minutes to get her stowed safely. After the cat was buckled in, I did the same for Owen.

“You know I’m perfectly capable of doing that,” Owen said with a laugh. “I was so confused the first time you put on my seatbelt.”

“I’d rather know it’s there than worry about it. Do we need to stop anywhere before we head back to the house? I had a grocery delivery yesterday, so we should be good for food.”

“Nope, here goes nothing.”

Rather than answer, I reached over and squeezed his hand, and to my surprise, he turned his hand over and tangled our fingers. He said nothing but continued to watch the scenery he’d seen a hundred times.

Here goes everything.

“I’m going to ask one last time. Are you sure you want me to stay in here?”

Owen had his suitcases and boxes stacked on the floor but hadn’t opened anything. Bitty sat on the bed, her head ping-ponging when we spoke like she could understand the conversation as it happened.

“Yes, I want you in here, but if you want me to sleep elsewhere, I will.”

“Where do you want to stay?”

“With you. What if you need me at night? If I’m here, I can take care of you.”

Owen looked like he was about to argue but then abruptly changed his mind. With a nod, he opened the suitcase beside him and began pulling out items. “Do you want me to keep my clothes in the guest room?”

“Ha. Funny you should say that because I kinda sorta hoped this would happen and…”

“And what?”

“I’ve already cleared half the dresser and the closet out already,” I said sheepishly.

“Bear, you’re ridiculous. You know that, right?”

“It’s what you love about me, babe.”

Owen didn’t respond. I didn’t really expect him to but hope sprung enteral and all that bullshit. He abruptly shoved a box across the floor in my direction instead.

“Can you put this stuff in the kitchen, please?”

He dropped his gaze to the folded clothes he was pulling out like they were the most interesting things in the world. I grabbed the box and headed to the kitchen.

Once there, I undid the tape and started pulling items out. It was all the little items I’d packed up from his kitchen. I moved stuff around so that all his bottles, sippy cups, and divided plates would be in one spot, and I put his plastic-covered utensils in the drawer with all the others. The pacis I kept out to give them back to him.

When I returned to the bedroom, Owen was exactly where I’d left him. The stacks of clothes were forgotten in front of him. He’d grabbed Hoot and was using him to play handsy—wingsy?—with Elizabeth. Each time she swiped at the wing, he drew it back and giggled. It was a sweet, carefree sound I was loath to interrupt. I watched them from the doorway untilElizabeth outed me to Owen. He glanced up and was a little startled to see me.

“Sorry, babe. I didn’t mean to scare you.” I dropped down next to him on the floor.

“Da, ’itty silly.” Owen gently ran Hoot’s wing over the cat’s head. “Silly ’itty.”

“She’s not the only one who’s silly. I think I’ve got a pretty silly boy in front of me.” Owen didn’t speak but grinned and nodded his head. “You need a bath, and we need to eat. Which do you want first?”

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