Page 6 of Sheep Calm and Merry On
Devon cleared his throat. “Hot chocolate?”
“God yes,” Noah said. “Please and thank you.” He paused. “Um, and maybe a blanket? I’m still cold.”
Shit, Devon should’ve gotten him a sweatshirt too. “Come over here.” He gestured to the armchair next to the stove and pulled the fluffy blanket off the back.
Noah sat, and Devon tucked the blanket around his shoulders. What the hell was he doing? It was like he was outside his body, watching himself do something crazy. He managed to stop short of tucking the blanket around Noah’s bare feet. Why hadn’t Devon brought him socks?
Fortunately Devon was saved from further ridiculousness when Nelson got up from the fireplace and attempted to climb into Noah’s lap.
“Oh my God, Nelson, you little slut,” Devon said before he could help himself. “You never did say whether you like dogs.”
“I think this one likes me,” Noah said wryly. He buried his fingers in Nelson’s neck fur as Nelson settled over his legs, so that answered the question of how he felt about dogs.
“He can tell you’re cold, probably.” Devon made himself sit in the chair opposite. “Let me know if you want him to get down.”
“Are you kidding? He’s the best space heater ever.” He flicked his gaze up from the dog’s. “What’s his name?”
“Nelson.”
That earned him a slightly longer look. God, could he point those eyes back at the dog, please? Devon was still having a crisis. “Whole or half?”
“Willie.” Devon cleared his throat and sang a few bars. “Mamas, don’t let your babies grow up to be sheepdogs.”
Noah gave him a crooked grin, looking even more Muppetlike. God damn it, Amber.
Nope. Devon cleared his throat. “So. Noah Bell.”
Noah groaned and hid his face behind Nelson. “No fair using Google.”
“Hey. How do you know I didn’t recognize you?”
“Call it a lucky guess.”
Well, Devon’s reputation probably preceded him. “Fair.” He cleared his throat. “Ah, just let me….” He reached behind him and pulled the house phone from its cradle, checked the dial tone. Then he passed it over. “Ancient technology, but it’ll keep your people from worrying all night.”
Their fingers brushed for just a moment, reminding Devon of things he should probably not think about right now, and he swallowed. “I’ll just—give you a moment.”
God, what the hell was wrong with him? A cute boy touched his hand and now he was ready to flee the country. Jesus Christ, he’d gone soft. Or not-soft.
He should probably figure out something to eat for dinner anyway. He couldn’t let his guest starve.
And it occurred to him that he was exhausted. A few hours of highway driving in poor conditions, a walk in the snow, and an unexpected reminder of his past, all in one day? He didn’t have a ton of energy to put into dinner.
Fuck it. He grabbed a couple frozen baguettes and turned on the oven, then piled some sliced cheese and cold cuts onto a plate and called it good enough.
It took about ten minutes for the bread to heat through, so Noah was off the phone by the time Devon returned with makeshift dinner. He signaled Nelson to get off Noah’s lap, passed over a plate with all the fixings, and basically collapsed back into his own chair. “I was going to make something fancier, but to be honest, I’m wiped.”
“I’m not complaining. I’m so hungry I’m not even going to make it into a sandwich.” As if to prove it, he popped a slice of cheese in his mouth.
Devon deliberately returned to his own plate. “Did you get ahold of your people?”
“Yeah, my mom answered. She gave the same ancient technology spiel you did.” He shook his head. “Anyway, now you really can’t ax-murder me.”
“Ax-murdering sounds messy anyway. Too much work.”
They shared a tired smile over their rapidly dwindling plates. Finally, when they were down to crumbs and the dregs of their hot chocolate, Noah said, “So are you going to ask?”
Devon snorted in spite of himself. “I don’t know. Are you?”
