She gave an airy laugh. “You’re so good to them,” she crooned.
“Yeah. I know,” he clipped, but he couldn’t work up any real ire. That’s what she did to him. “So what’s up?”
She gave him the scoop.
“Spence, Tabitha, and Sheila dropped me off a little while ago at your parents’ house, then they headed to Sheila’s to get her cat Rugby before they move on to Buck’s place to pick up Duck from Bobbie, who’s been hanging with the lab and her own pup, Reyghan today, since it was her day off.”
Ramble much?
But of course, he was guilty of the same thing where she was concerned.
“And my parents?” Trask asked. “I’m sure they welcomed you with open arms after I called and told them you were coming.”
“They did,” Jett replied cheerfully. “And thanks for that. They were very happy to see me because my presence actually solved a problem they’d been worrying over. Your dad’s folks. Ellen and Guy were concerned about leaving the elderly pair alone since the storm might end up socking them in. But with me here tokeep an eye on the homestead, your parents felt free to leave and head north to ride the snow out with them.”
Trask had wondered about that. His grandparents were both pushing ninety and fairly independent, but they wouldn’t be up to shoveling walkways or keeping the roof clear if the snow mounted up and posed a danger to their old farmhouse.
Of course, Trask’s parents weren’t spring chickens, either, but both were in great shape and extremely active, so he wasn’t worried they couldn’t handle things. And if they found themselves in any trouble, they had him, Mason, Kyle, Spence, and Buck to call.
Family was really great…most of the time.
Selfishly, Trask glommed onto his parents’ absence as being fortuitous for another reason.
He’d have alone-time with Jett.
Snowed-inalone time.
“When do you think you’ll get here?” Jett asked.
Was that excitement in her voice?
He looked out at the road, and noted that the plows and removal crews were currently keeping up with the snowfall, but he knew they’d have a hard time once the heart of the storm was upon them, which according to the news would be in another two hours. That gave him a very small window to make it home before they were inundated.
Thank God for four-wheel drive.
“I’m hoping to make it there in under two hours, but if the roads get rougher, I’m not going to push it. I’ll be taking it nice and slowly so the dogs and I can make it home in one piece.” He approached the checkout counter. “Can you hold on one minute?” he asked her.
“Uh, sure.”
He addressed the young man who was at the register texting.
Trask cleared his throat to get his attention. “Do you have any bags I can use to pick up my dogs’ waste?” he asked politely.
“Dude,” the guy responded, almost rolling his eyes. “Have you seen the snow out there? That shit will be all covered up by the time you get back to it, if it isn’t already. And we won’t be seeing it ‘til spring. If you want to come back then and take care of it…” the youth suggested cheekily, trailing off.
Normally, the irreverence of the clerk would have pissed him off, but this time Trask found his lips quirking upward, enjoying the humor.
“I’ll pass,” he said. “But thanks for that.”
He turned and walked out the door.
“I heard that,” Jett said in his ear. “And I’m so proud of you for not calling that guy out on for being an arrogant jerk.”
“Your fault,” Trask responded gruffly. “You’ve already got me looking at people more…objectively. It’s made it so I’m not even trying to pull rank anymore.”
“See? I’m good for something,” she chirped happily.
“Oh, I have a feeling you’re going to be good for a lot of things,” he sent back, and found that a full, damned smile had spread across his lips.
