Sure enough, my partner appeared only a moment later. There was a dreamy smile on her lips I'd never seen before, and one that looked so good on her.
"Do not ruin that smile," I warned Rymar.
He turned to see what I was talking about, then grinned when he saw it too. "Not happening," he promised.
The moment Ayla was close enough, she let us both know what had her looking like that. "Lansin has puppies!"
"Oh no," I teased. "How many do you want?"
She shrugged. "I love Holly. That's enough, right?"
"Shit," Rymar muttered, grabbing her shoulders and turning her so she'd see the plate of food. "That's for all of us. Eat something? I know you took care of Holly, so this is us taking care of you."
"Him," I corrected. "Ry's trying to give away the credit for his hard work again."
So she lowered herself down to sit beside me. Tapping her arm, I moved her closer, so she was between my knees and could lean back. Surprisingly, she did without hesitation - and I liked that. Then, she grabbed a piece of meat and popped it into her mouth.
"He wants me to show all the dogs how to disarm," she said, looking up and back so she could see me. "I need someone to carry the gun."
"Not me this time," I told her. "Ayla, I'm moving a little slow today."
"Oh." She turned quickly. "Did the scar split? Do you need a wrap?"
"I'mfine," I said. "I'm also making sure I stay that way, so you should make Rymar help you."
And she looked up at him. "Will you?"
Right before my eyes, that man melted. A silly smile took over his face and he was nodding before her words even sank in. Damn, I knew I had it bad, and I'd had a suspicion Zasen had turned stupid over Ayla, but Rymar? All this time, he'd clearly been hiding it much better than I could've guessed.
"Means Holly's going to hit you," I warned him. "And yes, that dog hits hard."
"I can take it," Rymar promised.
"I can use Xav too," she said. "That way, when she knocks the wind from you, he can have his turn." And she patted her leg, calling her dog over.
Fuck, but I loved how easily she included her dog in her life. I couldn't get enough of how she smiled down at Holly like this. Some days, it felt like that animal had cracked her shell and was the only reason we got to see how amazing this woman really was.
"Hey," I said, leaning closer. "Pass me some of that cheese?"
She grabbed a chunk and leaned back, offering it up to me. "Who lit the fire?"
"Kanik," Rymar said.
And from the darkness, Zasen's voice asked, "Who got the food?"
"Rymar," Ayla answered.
Zasen murmured, stole a handful of the bread, meat, and cheese, then dropped onto his ass beside me, next to the fire. First, he shoved a bite into his mouth, then he murmured again and leaned back, reclining the best he could out here.
"So, how much meat do we need, Ayla?" he asked.
"Lots," she said. "If we get enough to feed them for a holiday, they'll just come back. They'll say it's a gift from God or something. What we need is alotof meat. Like ten deer? More?"
"More," I suggested. "If there's elk in the area, that'll make it easy, but I'd say two to three times as much as we think."
"It'll take some time," Zasen pointed out. "I'm worried they'll come back while we're still hunting."
"So we don't take all the dogs," Rymar pointed out.
