Page 18 of Home Between Homes

Maggie jumpedup as I unlocked the door, squealing and wagging her tail. She had been right behind it, forcing me to stop to keep from falling over her until she moved to the side.

I stomped into the living room, snow falling from my clothes everywhere. The warm air inside felt like a sauna, probably because my bones were frozen. I shivered.

Jack closed the door behind him. His face and hands were as red as a traffic light, but he had a big smile on his face. It took me a second to figure out what exactly it was about almost freezing to death that made him smile, but then it hit me, too.

“We made it,” I said. “Like you promised.”

Jack’s smile grew brighter as he opened his arms wide and wrapped them around me. The fabrics of our jackets rustled against each other. I couldn’t get my arms around him as quickly as the embrace had ended, but that was okay. We were alive. That was all that mattered.

Maggie squeezed between us, whimpering as if to say she thought we had died in the blizzard.

I unzipped my jacket, took out Mrs Candice’s book, which was still tucked inside, and put it next to the landline. I took off my beanie and threw it on the rack to my left, and more snow fell on the floor. Only then did it occur to me that Jack had cleaned all this up this morning. “Oh, damn.” I looked at him, ready tobe scolded, but was surprised to see him just standing there, not taking off anything.

“Get out of those clothes, or you’ll get sick,” I said.

His lips curled into a thin line. He glanced at Maggie to avoid my gaze.

“You’re not thinking about going back out there, are you?” That was the only way I could interpret his behavior. “No. Nu-uh. Not happening.” I shook my head from side to side. It was a miracle that we had even made it back. I couldn’t in good conscience let him leave. “You’re going to stay here until the storm passes. You’re going to change into fresh clothes, which I’m going to give you right now, and you’re going to eat whatever I cook as a thank you for bringing me home safely.”

Maggie put her head between his legs.

“See, she agrees with me,” I pointed at her, trying to keep my red fingers from shaking.

Jack raised his hands, palms facing me as he took half a step back as if he was afraid I was going to lunge at him. “Okay, okay. You convinced me.” He looked out through the window in the front door. “It’s probably not safe to go back out there.”

“It definitely isn’t. You don’t have a choice. Don’t even think about it. I’ll tie you to a chair for your own good if I have to.”

Jack bit his lip, and only then did I hear that my last sentence could be misinterpreted if one wanted to.

“It’s been a while since anyone’s done that,” Jack replied, unzipping his jacket.

“I didn’t mean it likethat.”

“Neither did I.” He slipped his jacket off, hung it over the rack, and shook his head. “Sorry. Forget what I said. It’s a bizarre story.”

Seeing that my tirade had gotten through to him, I squatted down to untie my boots when he gave me a sideways glance. Ichuckled and shook my head slightly. Of course, I was intrigued now.

“It’s not what you think,” he defended himself.

“I didn’t say anything.”

“You didn’t have to.” He squatted down as well, his head now at my level and only six inches away. As he untied his sneakers, his eyes kept meeting mine. “Okay, I’ll tell you so you don’t get the wrong idea.”

“Just for the record, I didn’t ask, but I’m willing to listen,” I defended myself with a chuckle. With the laces now undone, I let myself fall to the ground to pull the boots off my feet.

Jack stood up, kicked his right sneaker against the heel of his left, and leveraged his foot out to reveal socks with a corgi printed on them. “It was at a bachelor party. There was a stripper, and I don’t know why, but the guy decided I was his designated victim for the night.”

“A male stripper?” I liked where this was going.

“It was a gay wedding, so of course. Anyway, he sits me down on a chair in the center of attention and starts doing his little dance around me. Besides a jockstrap, he was only wearing a tie, which he eventually took off to cuff my hands behind my back to the chair before blindfolding me. I didn’t want to be a party pooper, so I went along with it. End of story.”

“Wait. He blindfolded you, andthat’sthe end of the story?”

“The end of what I’m willing to say, but before you ask, no, I didn’t sleep with him.” Jack blushed. He glanced at me, bit his lower lip, and faced the wall. “Maybe he just made me believe that the things he put in my mouth were something other than they were.”

My jaw dropped. I had thought Jack was the shy and sweet country boy, only to be confronted withthisreality. Not that I minded. Not at all.

“I’m sorry to say, but that was even worse than what I had imagined,” I laughed, pulling off the second boot. “Or, well, not worse, but much more... sexual.”

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