I opened the door. The dogs threw themselves out and charged into the fading light. I followed them, ignoring the heavy rain as it soaked my clothes and the freezing puddles that seeped into my socks, and trailed them to the path that led around the lake. At first, I couldn’t see anything, not even the dogs, and anxiety squeezed my heart. What if the dogs had heard something terrible? What if Desta had sensed something happening to Max? He was Jed’s assistance dog, but I’d seen the way the working dogs watched over both men. If something had happened, he’d know…right?
Well, maybe, but it turned out not to matter. Just as my last grip on my mind faltered, two figures appeared in the murky distance, led by Flo and Desta, with one figure clutching a dark bundle that revealed itself to be Zola as they got closer—a very wet Zola, making herself at home, as usual, inPete’sarms.
Relief poured out of me in a whoosh of air I hadn’t noticed myself holding in. I started towards them and met them half way. Max offered me a slightly loopy grin, plucked Zola from Pete’s arms, and walked on, but as pleased as I was to see him safe and sound, I barely noticed—I had eyes only for Pete, who was wet and bedraggled and wearing the widest smile I’d seen from him inmonths.
He wound his arms around me and lifted me off my feet, spinning me in a slow circle. “Not that I’m not pleased to see you, but what the fuck are you doingouthere?”
“I was worried about you being out in thestorm.”
“So you thought you’d dance in the rain insolidarity?”
“I wasn’t dancing. The dogs heard you coming, so Ifollowedthem.”
“Without yourshoes?”
Dammit. I lifted my wet feet from the ground and stood on Pete’s boots. “I don’t need shoes. Igotyou.”
“Yes, you have.” He stared at me, and the pouring rain faded away. My world narrowed to just him, and his gaze held me prisoner in the bubble we’d fought so hard to save. “I’msorry,Ash.”
“Whatfor?”
“For everything. I’ve been talking to Max about a lot of stuff today, and he figures that I think better when I’m doing something.” I opened my mouth, but Pete cut me off by tapping his cold fingers to my lips. “I don’t mean work, I mean something practical… constructive, maybe? I helped him fix up the roof before the storm came over, and I loved it. Kinda made me want to build somethingforus.”
“Likewhat?”
“I don’t know, but that’s not what I’m trying to say. We’ll get to that,eventually.”
“So what are you tryingtosay?”
“I’m saying that I want to find a therapist who can do things my way. I can’t sit in an office downtown and spill my guts, Ash. I gottadoit, not say it,youknow?”
I rubbed rain out of my eyes and nodded as his plan clicked together. It made sense; of course it did. Pete had come to therapy with me when I’d asked him to, but getting him to talk had been like pulling teeth. How had it never occurred to me to put a hammer and wrench in his hand? “I get it, I think. Maybe Jed knows someone whocanhelp?”
“I’m going toaskhim.”
“Youare?”
Pete cocked his head sideways. “Yeah. I’ve got a plan, fucker. Ipromise.”
* * *
Pete
If Max thought Ash and I had lost our minds when we stumbled into the cabin, soaked to the skin and laughing at something and nothing, he kept it to himself. Already in dry clothes, he merely handed us some towels and disappeared to where I presumedJedwas.
Ash and I retreated to the bathroom. I pushed Ash into the shower first; somehow, even though I was the one who’d spent all day outside, he was splattered with themostmud.
After a couple of minutes, he poked his head around the curtain. “Come inwithme?”
There wasn’t much room in the cubicle, but I was hardly about to refuse. We hadn’t fucked since North Dakota, and I was so goddamn horny that my dick thought it had beenamputated.
Not that Ash was about to fuck me with Max and Jed down the hall. Still, being naked with him was everything. I washed his back and his hair and nuzzled his neck, biting gently until his dickresponded.
“Pete.”
“What?”
“Don’t tease me. I’m so hot for you right now that we’d break stuff if we got down and dirty, and we can’t dothathere.”
