“But I’ll give you a call when I get some time, and I’ll call when I need some help out at the cabins.”
“I bet you will,” John joked. Larissa punched her husband playfully in the arm.
“I’m holding you to that ,” she said and hugged Mark again.
By the time Mark arrived home, May had climbed up on the bed and was sleeping curled up on the pillow beside Lauren. She lifted her head and looked up at him with her ice-blue eyes as he came into the room.
“ May, off the furniture,” he whispered. May’s sweet, wise face looked at him as if he were crazy. She had been an amazingly easy puppy to train, not messing in the house, not begging for table scraps and not jumping on the furniture. But she didn’t seem inclined to move from her cozy spot by Lauren’s side.
He gently picked her up and put her on the floor. She stretched extravagantly then lay down.
Lauren’s eyes opened.
“Was she bothering you?”
Lauren licked her dry lips. “No. I like her.”
“She seems to have taken a liking to you too. If she gets on your nerves, let me know and I’ll get her out of your room.”
“She’s sweet.”
“I brought you some medications. I’m going to get an IV going for you, which will keep the antibiotics flowing, and I’ll give a little morphine to help the pain. It will also help you sleep.”
“Mkay,” she murmured.
Mark held her slender arm, daubed the inside of her elbow with rubbing alcohol, and as gently as he could, slid the needle into her vein. Once he got the morphine flowing she exhaled. “Wow. Nice.”
“What’s he pain on a scale of one to ten, ten being the worst pain you’ve ever felt in your life?”
“Six but dropping.” She turned her head slightly to look at him. “Why are you being so nice to me?” Her drugged gaze searched his in a cautious way that made him think she was not used to people being kind to her.
“You were in my barn. That means you’re my responsibility,” he said with a gentle smile. It wasn’t the truth, but the truth would just confound her. It confounded himself. He just liked her. Simple as Mother Goose.
Mark sat by her beside until the narcotic had lulled her back to sleep. Then he got up to leave. “Come on, May,” he whispered, ready to shut the door.
May looked at him, then put her head on her paws in a gesture that made it clear she wasn’t moving.
“Suit yourself, weirdo,” he whispered.
He left the door open to let May come down when she was ready and walked downstairs.
Today had been so surreal he wasn’t sure what to do. A glance at the horses outside in the paddock reminded him they still needed to be fed.
Mark fed and groomed the horses, and as he brushed them down, his thoughts veered back to Shelby. She’d been on his mind off and on for a month, and never in a good way. He was trying to remember what he liked about her. They had some history and that did count for something, he supposed. When he returned from Afghanistan, she’d been quietly supportive, even if she didn’t really know what to do for him when he became withdrawn. That was about that time she began to express her desire for “more.” She suggested moving into his condo in Arlington. He wasn’t ready for that so she countered they should at least be engaged. He was definitely not ready for that, yet the total insanity of her wedding campaign had to be experienced to be believed. She left wedding magazines around her apartment where she knew he would see them. When they were out, she’d “spontaneously” see a bridal salon that she just had to pop into. She pouted when she saw weddings on television, glaring at him with increasing anger. It became an all-consuming obsession with her.
“I bet you will,” John joked. Larissa punched her husband playfully in the arm.
“I’m holding you to that ,” she said and hugged Mark again.
By the time Mark arrived home, May had climbed up on the bed and was sleeping curled up on the pillow beside Lauren. She lifted her head and looked up at him with her ice-blue eyes as he came into the room.
“ May, off the furniture,” he whispered. May’s sweet, wise face looked at him as if he were crazy. She had been an amazingly easy puppy to train, not messing in the house, not begging for table scraps and not jumping on the furniture. But she didn’t seem inclined to move from her cozy spot by Lauren’s side.
He gently picked her up and put her on the floor. She stretched extravagantly then lay down.
Lauren’s eyes opened.
“Was she bothering you?”
Lauren licked her dry lips. “No. I like her.”
“She seems to have taken a liking to you too. If she gets on your nerves, let me know and I’ll get her out of your room.”
“She’s sweet.”
“I brought you some medications. I’m going to get an IV going for you, which will keep the antibiotics flowing, and I’ll give a little morphine to help the pain. It will also help you sleep.”
“Mkay,” she murmured.
Mark held her slender arm, daubed the inside of her elbow with rubbing alcohol, and as gently as he could, slid the needle into her vein. Once he got the morphine flowing she exhaled. “Wow. Nice.”
“What’s he pain on a scale of one to ten, ten being the worst pain you’ve ever felt in your life?”
“Six but dropping.” She turned her head slightly to look at him. “Why are you being so nice to me?” Her drugged gaze searched his in a cautious way that made him think she was not used to people being kind to her.
“You were in my barn. That means you’re my responsibility,” he said with a gentle smile. It wasn’t the truth, but the truth would just confound her. It confounded himself. He just liked her. Simple as Mother Goose.
Mark sat by her beside until the narcotic had lulled her back to sleep. Then he got up to leave. “Come on, May,” he whispered, ready to shut the door.
May looked at him, then put her head on her paws in a gesture that made it clear she wasn’t moving.
“Suit yourself, weirdo,” he whispered.
He left the door open to let May come down when she was ready and walked downstairs.
Today had been so surreal he wasn’t sure what to do. A glance at the horses outside in the paddock reminded him they still needed to be fed.
Mark fed and groomed the horses, and as he brushed them down, his thoughts veered back to Shelby. She’d been on his mind off and on for a month, and never in a good way. He was trying to remember what he liked about her. They had some history and that did count for something, he supposed. When he returned from Afghanistan, she’d been quietly supportive, even if she didn’t really know what to do for him when he became withdrawn. That was about that time she began to express her desire for “more.” She suggested moving into his condo in Arlington. He wasn’t ready for that so she countered they should at least be engaged. He was definitely not ready for that, yet the total insanity of her wedding campaign had to be experienced to be believed. She left wedding magazines around her apartment where she knew he would see them. When they were out, she’d “spontaneously” see a bridal salon that she just had to pop into. She pouted when she saw weddings on television, glaring at him with increasing anger. It became an all-consuming obsession with her.
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