I stepped out of the truck, and Hawk jumped down after me, following me toward the massive ass house that was too damn big for a single guy and a dog.
By the time we toured the house and I commented to Hawk several more times that the house was too fucking big, the movers arrived. Luckily, the main bedroom and bath were downstairs with a study, half bath, laundry room, and an open floor plan living, dining, and kitchen. Which meant all the spare bedrooms were upstairs and wouldn’t need furnishing. At least not immediately. My hope was that Mikal and Anya would stay with me when they came into town.
If they came into town, since they and their son didn’t want me to know who he was, and Mikal coached several teams of his own during the season.
When the movers finally got out of my way, I started opening boxes and unpacking the dishes, linens, and the like. Hawk had taken up residence at the large wall of sliding glass doors leading out onto the patio. My gaze trailed out the kitchen windows to check out what he was staring at. Trees of every kind filled the yard behind the house. Birds and squirrels swooped and scampered. I smiled at him.
“What do you think, Hawk? Think this will do for a while?”
He was well past the puppy stage, so he remained his usual stoic self, all but his tail. That set to wagging so hard I heard him brushing against the hardwood floors, so I knew he was excited as hell to explore. But he was a good boy and waited patiently. I glanced at the half-unpacked kitchen. I still had a slew of things to put away, but we’d both been cooped up in the car for a few hours, and we’d been working almost non-stop since we got here.
“Alright, buddy. Let’s take a break and check out the yard.”
Grabbing his daily collar with his tags from the box I set on the counter near the wall of doors, I leaned over, pulled his harness off, and replaced it with the simple collar. I didn’t make him wear the harness often. At the cabin, he hadn’t worn it unless we went into one of the neighboring towns we didn’t frequent much. He was a gorgeous, friendly dog, and people had a tendency to pet him if he wasn’t wearing his service vest.
Now that we were here, I’d have him in the vest until the team and others on campus got used to seeing us out and about. I’d retire the vest again, but until then, it gave us both a bit ofbreathing room because it literally said not to pet him. For the most part, the vest did it’s job and deterred people from being assholes. There’d always be one or two entitled people who thought it didn’t apply to them and would still try.
I dropped the harness in the box. “Wanna go play?” I asked him as I grabbed his ball and Frisbee.
Happy barking and spinning in place replaced the normally stoic dog’s demeanor. I opened the door, and he took off like a shot, running and sniffing. I gave him time to do his business, then called him back to me, tossing the ball and Frisbee until my shoulders burned. I paused several times to make sure he caught his breath and drank some water. I didn’t want him overheating, but after keeping him cooped up in the truck on the trip here and planning to go out tonight, I also wanted him tired enough not to stress when I left him alone.
My phone buzzed in my pocket as I took the ball from Hawk, tossing it into the yard, but Hawk didn’t acknowledge it. He remained motionless other than his head cocking as if asking if I heard it. I pulled the phone out of my pocket and said, “Get the ball, Hawk.”
He took off at a dead run, and I laughed as I opened my text messages.
Mikal Rustav
You in town?
Hawk brought the ball back, dropped it at my feet before sniffing the entire patio. When he found the spot he liked, he lay down with a huff.
Sasha Storm
Yes. Just moved the last of my boxes in. Thanks for arranging the moving company and helping get the stuff I ordered delivered.
Mikal Rustav
I didn’t do much other than tell the athletic director that you were saving the pork.
Sasha Storm
Bacon
My phone buzzed in my hand, my eyes rolling as his face filled the screen.
“The saying is saving the bacon, not the pork. How do you not know this stuff after all the years you’ve been in this country?”
“Pork is better, because it’s the whole thing. Bacon is too small.”
“Fucking hell.” Laughter pinched my side. “You are ridiculous.”
“Says the man who turned hermit and hid from the world for nearly a decade in the woods.”
“I didn’t hide, I just didn’t want to be a sideshow, so I removed myself from the circus.”
“Did you get approved for that club that costs a mint? Why is money compared to a plant?”
“It’s not. Money is minted. That’s the term for making money, and you got that saying right, but not the one about bacon?”
