Page 24 of Cut to the Heart of It
Johnny lifted the young dark-haired man.
“Dad, are you okay? What about CJ?”
“CJ is right here. You must be Danny.” I went to the door and stuck my hand out, but the young man squeezed me instead.
“Sorry, ma’am. I’m just excited you’re both alright.”
“Come in. How did you get here?”
“They did a repair to the road, and we got the trees cleared. A bunch fell but once the road was fixed the crews got out there and moved the trees in no time. That’ll be a hefty check.”
I looked at Johnny for an explanation.
“The state contracts companies to clear trees if they fall and we have a big and fast crew.”
“I see.”
“You guys must be starving! CJ, we have plenty up at the house.”
“I probably need to get home.”
Johnny pulled me to the kitchen then spoke softly. “CJ, you can’t drive home now. It’s already late. At least come stay the night. We can talk in the morning.”
“We already ate dinner.” I couldn’t think of anything else to say.
“True. But my bed is better than the one upstairs and I have more breakfast food. We’re running low on that.”
I bit my lip as a million thoughts swirled my brain.
“CJ, I’m not asking for forever right now. I’m asking for tonight.” He stroked my arm. “Please.”
His plea hit me in the gut. “Okay. I just need to get my things.”
“Danny, we’ll be right out. I’m gonna help her grab her things. I need a change of clothes.”
I was in a fog as I gathered my things from the bathroom. He had grabbed my bag and started helping me pack.
“Do I need to strip the bed and all?”
He grabbed my shoulders. “You’re not just a tenant. I’ll take care of that later. Let’s go. I need some new underwear.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. He had washed the same clothes every day and his shirt was missing a few buttons.
We turned everything off and he grabbed my Fireball and his last few beers from the fridge.
“Should I take my car?”
“Up to you, but I’m taking your luggage with me. Seriously, it’s too late for you to drive home.”
I rolled my eyes. “Fine, take the bag. But I probably need to drive my car.” Part of me wanted to stay, but part of me knew that was crazy.
I followed them up a few miles then pulled into a gravel driveway, similar to the one at the other cabin.
But, when we got to the end of the driveway, there wasn’t a quaint little cabin. It was a spacious home, that looked similar to a cabin, but the size of three put together. A large shed nearby, a huge wood pile, and a magnificent view.
I was awestruck. My car door opened, and Johnny reached his hand out. “Come on. Critters come out at night, so we need to get inside.”
Danny was at the door holding the collar of a giant hairy dog. “CJ this is Tiny.”
