Page 6 of The River in Spring
A sudden urge to pee grabs my attention. At least I’m in the right room. I find the nook, push down my shorts and sit on the fancy toilet. Obviously it’s a bidet, but what are all these other choices? This is like the James Bond car. Maybe there’s an ejector button, or a secret weapon hidden. He could get rid of a lingering guest or defend himself against intruders.
Maudie’s bark lifts to the second floor.
“Oh shit!” I yell.
I finish my business and reach for my shorts. They’re up and zipped in a few beats, before running out of the room. At the bottom of the steps, the dog sits looking out the window. The sound of heavy footsteps on the porch stairs announce his arrival. Her tail is swinging back and forth at what she sees approaching.Shit times ten!
I hit the floor, and slide into the leather wing chair just as the door swings open.
“I made it!” Nobel says, stepping inside.
“Are you in pain?” I say, noting the pinched expression and an out of breath voice.
I rise and go to him, taking the rifle. Maudie gets a head scratch and a conversation from her guy.
“Hey, girl. Have you been entertaining our guest?”
“Sit down. Rest your ankle.”
When he looks up at me I kind of melt with the effect. He is one sexy looking hunk of man. His heavy dark eyebrows knit together but the corners of his mouth lift.
“Your cheeks are flushed. And you’re out of breath. Have you two been wrestling with King Kong?”
He gestures toward the soft monkey laying curled on the floor. It takes a few beats before I can come up with a reason that he might buy.
“No. We actually just got inside, because I thought I’d look at the view from the porch while Maudie was taking a rest on her doggie bed outside.”
I swear the dog is calling me a liar. Those soulful eyes ratting me out. Then she proves it by walking to the edge of the island counter and looking directly at me. Payment for her silence, canine blackmail at its finest.
“She wants a cookie. That’s where I keep them,” he says, innocent of my crime of entering and snooping.
“Oh! Let me get her one.”
Maudie gets her treat, the second in twenty minutes, and takes it to the spot in front of the chair.
“Come sit with us,” Nobel says, hobbling behind the dog and taking a seat in the chair I imagined him occupying.
I push the matching ottoman the last few inches and stand by as he lifts his leg and sets it down. A sigh follows.
“Let me help you with your shoe,” I offer. “You should take it off. Here.”
He lets me untie the knot and remove the boot. This man has some big feet. Hope that theory holds.
“Let me get the other one. You don’t want one shoe on and one off.”
There’s a restrained smile on his face.
“What?” I say, smiling myself.
“I’m not sure. Except to say this all seems funny. I never expected you to forgive my…”
His voice trails off and his eyes lower. The embarrassment is very sexy.
“Thank you,” he offers.
The shoe gets dropped to the floor and I make eye contact. “We should have a look at your ankle. It may have to be wrapped.”
“Do you know anything about twisted ankles? It wouldn’t surprise me. It seems you’re good at lots of things.”
