Total pages in book: 61
Estimated words: 59265 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 296(@200wpm)___ 237(@250wpm)___ 198(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 59265 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 296(@200wpm)___ 237(@250wpm)___ 198(@300wpm)
Tuna jumped up on the couch beside me, resting his head on my leg as Adelaide nursed and I ate a donut and drank my coffee.
“Did your dad feed you yet?” I asked Tuna. “I don’t want to bother him. Maybe you can just have some food, huh? Better a little too much food than not enough, I guess.”
With that, I changed Adelaide and set her down to play with her toes and make her silly little noises while I fed a very eager Tuna.
It was a simple day—taking a shower, cleaning, and running the wash and dishwasher in between feedings. But it was a slightly more enjoyable chore day with a tail-wagging Tuna in tow.
We took a walk before the heat of the day set in, had some lunch, played in the backyard, and gave Adelaide a much-needed bath with Tuna keeping a watchful eye on the whole process.
After his dinner, we had a rest, then a long walk before it got dark, before heading home, where I got the idea to order a spread for a late dinner. In the hopes of being able to offer food to Owen after a long day of work.
Sure enough, about twenty minutes after the food arrived, Owen called to tell me he was on his way.
“It’s me,” Owen called as he came in the front door.
“In here,” I called, playing at plating my food as if it had just arrived. “That bad, huh?” I asked when I got a look at him.
“Just a long day,” he said, leaning over to greet his dog.
“Did you have a chance to have dinner? I have more than enough. Roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, mac & cheese, corn, and green beans.”
It was manly food. The kind of sustenance one wanted after a long day of manual labor.
Owen looked ready to groan. “If you don’t mind.”
“Not at all. Sit,” I said, waving to the table.
Instead, he leaned against the counter as I finished plating the food.
“How was he?”
“A perfect angel. Though, I may have fed him breakfast and lunch because I didn’t know how often you fed him.”
“Twice a day. And he had breakfast. But the pig will eat whatever is given to him.”
“Whoops. We did take two walks and played ball in the backyard, though, so he burned off some of that extra food. How was your day?”
Owen exhaled hard.
“That good, huh?”
“The homeowners had a miscommunication about who was supposed to put the cat up and where. So, of course, when I had the whole front of the house opened up again, it took advantage of that and escaped. I spent over an hour tracking it down, then using my ladder to get up the tree to grab it before I could get back to work.”
“Thank goodness you got it back.”
“I was not looking forward to having to tell that couple and their kids that I lost their cat.”
“How far did you get on the project?”
“I got a lot done. Tomorrow, I should finish the hardest work. Then another couple days to get it finished.”
“Well, Tuna’s daycare is open for business. I promise not to make your dog fat,” I told him as I carried the plates over to the table. “There are drinks in the fridge, if you want to grab some.”
We ate and talked about his two emergency calls, his schedule, and my bathroom.
“I’m not in a rush. I can wait until you can fit me into your normal work hours. You’ve been burning the candle at both ends lately. You can’t go on like this forever.”
“I appreciate that. Work comes like this a lot— nothing for a few weeks, then nonstop work for a few months. I’ll never complain about business being good, but—”
“But it’s a lot for one man to handle.”
“Yeah,” he agreed, jumping to his feet when I tried to get up to clear the plates. “I got the dishes. It sounds like Adelaide might want dinner too.”
With that, I went to see to my baby while listening to Owen moving around my kitchen with a familiarity that had that warm feeling spreading across my chest.
By the time Adelaide was fed, burped, changed, and half-asleep, Owen had returned to the living room.
“Want to sit for a few before you go?” I asked, waving to the empty side of the couch. Tuna had abandoned me to curl up near the baby’s bassinet.
Owen didn’t hesitate, just came over and dropped down with an exhale.
He smelled good. Like his usual cologne mixed with sawdust.
We both turned to the television, but I wasn’t even really seeing it with my brain on other, more important, things. Like how his body was touching mine from shoulder to knee.
Had I taken him into consideration when I’d changed into a lightweight cotton dress after my shower earlier? I’m embarrassed to admit it, but yes. I could feel his body heat through the thin material.