Page 20 of Home Between Homes

“You’ll laugh, but I’ve tried them, and they’re not as bad as you think!” He tapped Maggie on the shoulder. “Sorry, girl, I have to go to the bathroom.”

She raised her head for a second but decided that was nonsense and put it back on his knee.

Jack sighed. “How many times do we have to talk about this?” He tried to slide his palms underneath her to get her to stand up, but Maggie didn’t move a muscle. “Come on, girl.”

“There’s one way to get her to stand up,” I said, walking to the sink. Before I could even put my hand on the child lock on her favorite cabinet, I heard her paws clink on the laminate floor. “That always works, huh?” I said to Maggie, turning my head further to grin at Jack.

“Thanks,” he said with a smile and made his way to the bathroom.

Not wanting to get on Maggie’s bad side, I gave her one of the dog treats before I rummaged through the fridge and pantry. With everything I found, I decided to make a pumpkin soup—not a perfect Christmas meal, but something that would keep us warm.

When Jack returned ten minutes later, he looked fresh, with his hair combed back. He offered to help, but I told him to sit at the table and relax. I was almost done anyway. He followed my every move, just like Maggie did yesterday, which I enjoyed more than I probably should have. The Labrador energy he was radiating was right up my alley. Maggie crawled between his legs. She didn’t bother begging to be petted because Jack was already doing it.

“How come we haven’t seen each other at Penn State anymore?” I asked as I roasted the chopped butternut in the pot.

“Just life and the usual complications,” he said.

That didn’t answer my question.But maybe I shouldn’t have asked in the first place, just like he didn’t interrogate me when we met yesterday. From what I could gather, he probably dropped out of college for some reason. He wasn’t a veterinarian, after all. I knew about the complications he was talking about. It’s not like I followed through with my plan to use that degree, either.

I let out an understanding sigh. “Life is an asshole sometimes, isn’t it?”

The pot sizzled as I filled it with hot water. When the pumpkin was covered entirely, I put the lid on and turned up the heat. “It should be done in about twenty minutes.” I filled two teapots I had prepared with the rest of the hot water and brought them to the table. Jack thanked me with a nod of recognition as I sat down at the other side of the table.

“Tell me, Jack. How is it that someone who seems to have the whole town on his side is alone at Christmas?”

“Are you asking me if I have a boyfriend?”

That was exactly what I was asking.I brought the cup of tea to my mouth and hid behind it. “Sorry for being so nosy.”

Jack leaned back in his seat and accidentally brushed his feet over mine as he stretched them out. “Sorry,” he said, pulling them back. His fingers fumbled for his tea. “There are only three other gay guys in this town that I know of. Two of them are in their mid-thirties, a couple, my best friends, and crazy as hell. The third is twenty-three and more like a brother to me.” He pressed his lips together. “So, no, I don’t have a boyfriend.” He brought the tea to his lips but paused for a moment with a grin. “Your turn.”

“There is no one. All I had was vet school and my internships. I worked twenty-six-seven.”

“There are only twenty-four hours in a day.”

“Exactly. That left little time for anything.”

The lid of the pot behind me rattled as it was lifted by the cooking water. I jumped out of my seat. As I removed the lid, steam shot up, and I pulled my head back to avoid burning my face. The orange butternut cubes twirled in the bubbling water. “Nice,” I said to myself, picked up a spoon I had parked on the wooden cutting board to my right, and stirred.

Jack took a deep breath. “Smells good.”

“Let’s hope for the best. With my food, there’s always a fifty-fifty chance it’s either tasty or trying to kill you.”

A laugh cackled through the kitchen. “If you want revenge for our trip through the snow, you could have just kicked me out of the house. That would have been a lot less trouble.”

“The chances of you surviving your way home were way too high,” I got in on the joke, turning to face him. “Poisoning people is much more effective, believe me.”

“But then you had a body to dispose of.”

“There’s a backyard and a lot of snow that will stay up for months.”

“But they would find me eventually.”

“I’d be out of the country by then.”

“Hm.” He pushed his lower lip in front of his upper. “Maggie would rat you out. She’s known me longer than you have.”

“Damn. I forgot about Maggie.”

---