“I’m sure it does, but you’ll get used to it.”
They walked outside, taking the trail that led past the horse pastures so Chandler and Barnaby could sniff around and take care of any business before they got to the farmhouse. It was a beautiful evening, crisp and cool with all the fresh scents of spring hanging in the air, flowers and grass and damp earth.
Back at the farmhouse, she unclipped the leashes from both dogs and set down a bowl of water for them in the kitchen. Chandler sniffed around energetically, while Barnaby stayed close to Megan, trailing her around the living room. Jake pulled her in for a kiss, and Chandler—sensing a fun new game in the works—ran over and jumped up, putting his front paws on Jake’s thigh to join in.
“Not used to having a dog underfoot,” Jake said, grinning.
“Down, Chandler,” she told the dog firmly, and he hopped down, barking as if he didn’t approve of being left out of the hugging and kissing.
That was pretty much the theme of their evening. She and Jake made it to bed, only to have Barnaby and Chandler trample across them several times while they were having sex, which led to a lot of laughter and mumbled threats to throw them out of the room.
“They’ll settle down,” Megan said as she lay against Jake’s chest afterward. “They’ve never been here before, and they aren’t quite sure what they’re supposed to be doing.”
“Either that, or it’s their mission to make sure I never get a dog,” he said, but there was no heat behind his words. On the contrary, he’d seemed more amused than annoyed by the dogs’ antics.
“You should adopt one.” She rubbed her fingers absently through his chest hair, enjoying the way it tickled her skin.
“One of these?” He looked over at Barnaby and Chandler, who had finally settled on the spare blanket they’d spread on the floor as a makeshift dog bed.
“No, not those guys necessarily, but a farmhouse should have a dog, don’t you think?”
“Yeah, I like the idea of that.” He sounded relaxed and content. “I think I’ve lived alone enough for this lifetime, don’t you?”
