I laugh as I head into the bathroom, trying to ignore my rising nerves over our second meeting with the Graffs. With time, I’ll hopefully get used to them, but right now, I’m not there yet. How much time will we have here, anyway? Hell, I’m barely comfortable with Thomas, and the man is supposedly my fiancé. I take a few deep breaths as I close the bathroom door behind me. There’s a press against the door as the latch is about to click though, so I open it, and find Arson peeking in.
“Buddy, I need to go to the bathroom. I can do this alone, okay?”
The look Arson gives me is the absolute definition of puppy dog eyes. His deep brown eyes seem to call out to me, pleading for me to reconsider, and I swear he makes his lower lip tremble as I slowly close the door on him again. Guilt swarms me, but he will be okay for two minutes without me, right?
I relieve myself, brush my teeth and hair, and put on a layer of deodorant, exiting the bathroom in only a few minutes. Arson is still sitting there when I open the door,and he looks irritated with my audacity of leaving him. “Stop it,” I tell him.
“Arson, leave the girl alone,” Thomas calls. He whistles, and at the sharp tone, Arson is at attention, bristling over to Thomas’s side in an instant. Thank goodness. Arson is such a good boy, but I feel bad that he was choosing me over his dad for a while.
“Ready,” I announce as I enter the main area again.
“Off we go.” Thomas opens the front door and rests his palm at the small of my back as I walk through.
Warm summer heat smothers my body. The area is mostly shaded from all the trees, but there is still a lot of sun peeking through. It’s muggy and hot, but thankfully a light breeze is present, ruffling the leaves and blowing strands of hair into my face. The pond over in the distance is looking more and more appealing with each step we take on the path. I try to recall if I brought a swimsuit, but I was so frantic while packing that I don’t remember half of what I packed.
Something I didn’t notice yesterday is the set of swings hanging from a tree. They’re simple, rope hanging down and connected to wooden planks, but it looks relaxing, like something out of a romance movie.
Thomas still has his hand resting on my back, guiding me through the trees. The path is mainly gravel, so I’m not worried about tripping over sticks or anything like that. The silence is nice, though, and I don’t have the compulsion to fill it with conversation. It feels natural.
Arson is about fifty feet ahead of us, his nose pressed to the ground as he scopes the land. Every time he gets a little too far, Thomas lets out a quick whistle and Arson returns to him, tapping his thigh before going out again.
It’s fascinating watching the two of them together.Arson is a well-trained dog with sharp instincts, and it’s cool to see him use his nose to search for whatever scent is hounding him.
We make it through the woods into the clearing that shows us Ron and Dottie’s house and barn. Ron is outside, a throng of chickens following at his heels.
“I’d bet anything that the chickens want whatever is in that bag,” Thomas says with a laugh. Arson darts toward the chickens, and I shriek.
“Oh my god, he’s going to eat them!” I panic.
Thomas whistles, and Arson stops in his tracks, circling back to us without hesitation. “No, he won’t.” Thomas laughs.
Arson boops my thigh this time, surprising me. He sticks by my side now, heeling to me.
“Morning,” Thomas calls to Ron.
Ron raises his free hand to wave, and a few chickens cluck in protest as he veers off course to meet us. They follow him with increasing speed, and I shift closer to Thomas. It’s not like I need protection, or am scared of the chickens, but if they’re hungry, you never know what they might do.
“How’d you folks sleep?” Ron asks. The chickens cluck and bawk at him. A few even go as far as peck at his boots, spurring him to grumble, “Alright, you menaces, here.”
He scoops a handful of grain, tossing it onto the grass. The chickens go wild, fighting and fluttering for a bite to eat.
“Well, thanks,” Thomas says. “You didn’t have to stock the kitchen for us, we could have gone shopping today.”
Ron shakes his head. “Nope. The less you two are seen outside of this land, the better, right?”
Thomas sighs, nodding. “I suppose that’s true. Regardless, it’s appreciated.”
“No thanks needed.” Ron waves him off. “Come this way. I’ll introduce you two to the rest of the animals.”
He leads us into the barn where I spot Dottie in one of the far stalls, hoisting a full shovel of manure into a wheelbarrow. I wrinkle my nose at the smell. I’m not sure it’s a smell someone could get used to.
Dottie calls from the corner. “Morning, you two!”
“Morning,” we reply in unison.
“Did ya eat?” she asks, shoveling another sloppy scoop of manure.
Thomas looks a little green in the gills as he swallows thickly. “Sure did. Thanks, though.”
