Page 57 of Townshipped
I feel a nudge at my knee and then there’s a whimper. Em wobbles.
“Some wingman you are,” I tease Granger.
Em laughs and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. I run my hand along the path hers just traveled, from her temple, through her hair, toward the shell of her ear and down her neck, catching her fingers when I reach them.
“No regrets,” I tell her, lightly squeezing her hand in mine.
She leans into me. I stand holding her in the dim light of the hallway. Granger whimpers again.
“I think he needs to do his business,” Em says.
“Dogs. I knew there was a reason I hadn’t gotten one before.”
“You’ll love him in due time.”
I look Em in the eye. “I think I already do.”
* * *
I haveto run to see a client in Columbus this morning. It’s the first time I’m going to leave the farm for a whole day since Em arrived. I’ve been postponing all in-person consultations knowing she needed me. Maybe I just wanted to block us off from the world and pretend what we have could deepen and last.
I broke my resolve last night. She kissed me first, but that’s no excuse. Until we know what her life was—or is—we can’t risk pursuing one another no matter how right it feels between us.
I return downstairs to quiet. I already woke early and fed the goats and the llama and checked the doe who is having some possible early signs of toxemia. Then I went upstairs to shower and dress.
Em tends to sleep through the morning feed most days, but I expected to see Granger trotting into the kitchen when he heard me wake earlier, and especially now that I’m back downstairs. There’s no sign of him.
I walk to Em’s room and put my ear to the door. A floorboard squeaks under my foot in the hallway.
Her groggy voice calls out to me. “Aiden?”
“Yeah?”
“You can open the door. I’m covered.”
I push the door open. Em’s in bed, ruffled and looking like she just woke a moment ago. She’s snuggled under the covers, lying on her side with a sedate and beautiful smile warming her face. Granger is curled at her feet. He lifts his head to acknowledge me, but he doesn’t budge. It’s like he’s saying,I found my happy place and I’d like to see you try and move me.
She’s quickly becoming my happy place too, buddy.
That thought thrills and levels me simultaneously.
“I’m going into Columbus today for a work appointment. I should be back a few hours before dinner. Mom’s around and Laura’s at the salon. Rob’s here in town. Jayme is too. Shannon works for her dad, but if you needed anything, she’d hustle out here.
“And Karina knows you’re here. She’ll come by if you get lonely. She’ll bring the kids too, which would definitely make things the opposite of boring. Oh! And Lexi’s still on leave with the baby, so if you want, I bet she’d come out.”
“In other words, the whole town is on call?”
I laugh. “Something like that. I left a list of numbers on the counter, and I charged an old phone and got the service connected to it. It’s sitting next to the coffee pot. It’s not fancy. You can’t really text. One of the next items on my to-do list is to get you upgraded to a better phone.”
“When did you have time to arrange for me to have a phone? You didn’t have to.”
I linger in the doorway, memorizing this moment, how she looks and sounds, the perfection of her in my home. Time with her feels fleeting and fragile.
“I wanted to do it. I charged it last night. A call to the phone company’s eight hundred number this morning was all it took to activate the mobile number. And that’s the last we’re talking about it.”
“You’re awfully in-charge this morning.”
“Maybe it’s the tie,” I say with a chuckle.
