And when I get it back, it’ll smell like her.
Yeah, he could afford to never wash that tee again.
She was shorter than Elias, but her legs were long enough that she only had to turn the bottoms of his jeans up a couple of times, though she had to cinch her belt tightly.
Wait… Is she going commando?
Okay, never washing the jeans again, either.
TEN
The dogs ran ahead on the familiar trail snaking through the forest around Elias’ house. Elias watched Penny sniff at a columbine at the side of the trail. Chuck followed close behind, his nose to the ground. The air was alive with the sound of birds—the sharp cawing of ravens, robins’ morning songs, and the high-pitched whirring of hummingbirds as they darted unseen through the trees.
Wren walked at Elias’ side. Their hands brushed as they walked.
“Tell me about growing up here,” Wren said. “I bet you were a rule-follower.”
Elias couldn’t hold back his laugh. “No. Not in the slightest.”
“Really?” Wren’s hazel eyes sparkled as she tilted her head. She nudged a small rock off the path with her foot, her hair cascading over her shoulder in the sunlight. “But you’re former military, and I’ve seen you in action. You’re very disciplined.”
“Yeah, that all came later. I was hell on my parents as a teenager.”
“So what changed you?”
Elias whistled softly to get Chuck’s attention, steering him away from a bush that had caught his interest. He took a deepbreath, settling into his story. “It’s not something I’m proud of.” He shook his head as his gaze drifted to the towering pine trees surrounding them, swaying in the breeze. “I was seventeen, it was summer, and my friends and I were partying pretty hard, one last summer together before senior year. So, one night, it was my turn to bring the booze, and my fake ID got confiscated by the guy at the liquor store.”
Wren giggled. “Whoops.”
Penny hesitated at a fork in the trail. “To the left today, Pen. Go left. Short walk.” Penny looked back over her shoulder, then started down the left hand trail.
Wren shook her head. “She’s just so smart. So, what did you do then?”
“Well, to my mind, I had no choice but to raid my dad’s liquor cabinet.”
“Oh no.”
“Yeah. And, being the dumbass that I was, not only did I raid it, but I took the most expensive bottle of bourbon in there. And, on top of that, it was a gift from his best friend.”
Wren covered her mouth with both hands. “Which makes it irreplaceable,” she said through her fingers.
“Yeah.” He nodded. “So I took it to the bonfire party way back in the woods on Bear’s parents’ property. They lived on acres and acres of land, had no idea what we were up to back there. My friend Ben was the only one who paused before drinking the bourbon and looked at me. He asked how I could afford it and I just shrugged and said, ‘Five-finger discount.’”
“Ooof.”
“Yeah, telling you, I was bad.”
“So how long did it take for your dad to find out?”
Elias sidestepped a tree root growing out of the path, guiding Wren around it as they continued around a bend and back toward his house.
“It took exactly no time. We all spent the night at Bear’s since we were in no shape to drive. When I got home the next day, I had the worst hangover, so I went straight to bed right after I called in sick to my summer job. My dad knew the way dads do exactly when I’d fallen asleep, so he waited to knock on my door right then. I sat straight up in bed, hoping I wouldn’t puke all over myself. And being young, dumb, and full of come, I was ready to deny everything.”
“Of course.”
“But my dad, he just smiled at me and sat down on the bed. ‘Hey, son,’ he says all friendly, ‘I was going through my liquor cabinet last night.’”
“Oh no. Friendly means you’re in real trouble.”
