He shrugged. "I'm okay. I haven't pushed reading or computer use. I've been trying to just sit and relax and not do too much."
“That’s good. I’ve been doing a lot of gardening. Because of the storm, we went out and harvested everything we could. I’ve never gardened before, and I’m enjoying it.”
“That’s great. I don’t do much. I did have herbs at my place, but those are gone.”
The dogs ran over, Frog slowing as he approached Calla. She dropped to a squat and reached out to Frog. He licked her face, and she laughed as she scratched his head.
“How are you, Frog?” Frog licked her again for an answer.
The door opened, and Elowen stepped out. "Knuckles, get over here."
Frog turned and watched as Knuckles ran to Elowen and sat in front of her.
“Knuckles is a good dog,” Thario said.
“Yes. I like her. At first, I was afraid, but she’s a sweetheart.”
“I hope you’re not afraid of Frog.”
She shook her head. "No. I feel like he has proven he is nice."
“So I guess you didn’t have dogs.”
“Not after the kitten Brent killed.”
“I’m sorry he did that.”
"Yeah, it sucks, but I'm glad it was only one kitten that he killed and not a bunch of different pets. I mean, it was bad enough he killed Daniel."
Thario nodded. “You’re very strong.”
She barked out a laugh. “I don’t know about that.”
"I do. You're very strong. You went through a lot, and you're doing well."
Her head lowered, then she glanced up and pushed her hair behind her ears. "I guess I just don't know how to fall apart."
“I think you’re doing great so far. If you do figure out how to fall apart, I’m sure you’ll be able to put yourself back together even better.”
The wind picked up, and he glanced around. “Huh, I guess the rain is coming.”
“We should probably get inside.”
He walked beside her, wanting to reach out and take her hand. He shouldn't. They needed more time together. Spending time like this with Calla would either show her he was a good person who wanted something with her or she would pull away. If she did, he would accept it.
Calla threw back her head,laughing at Elowen's story about how she'd taught one guy at the construction company she worked for that she wasn't there to fetch coffee.
“I can’t imagine working in construction,” Calla said.
“It was a good job. I enjoy working with my hands.”
“With what I’ve seen, you’re really good at it.”
Griz nodded. “Yeah. She is good. I like watching her work.”
Elowen chuckled. “It was weird at first having him watch me, but he would go fetch things I needed, make sure I had water, and make me food. I really love it.”
Calla was still in shock at how Griz did things for Elowen.
