Page 58 of Rekindle My Heart

Chapter 14

“Whoa, nice to see you to fella. He sure is friendly.” Karma greeted him in the usual way—a sniff to his crotch. Ryan gently pushed the dog’s large head back as he scratched behind his ears.

The pain meds took the edge off, but his leg muscle twinged just walking to the house. A Chihuahua could knock him over at the moment. He didn’t want to think of the pain if her happy, bear-sized dog ran into him.

Erica whistled, and Karma followed her into the kitchen. Ryan did, too, only slower. She filled the dog’s water and put a couple scoops of food into his bowl before pulling out a couple glasses from the cupboard. “Water?”

“Sure.” Ryan rested on the counter stool. How could he be this tired? He’d spent the better part of the day in bed.

“What the…?” A warm wet seeped through his pants. Karma had finished his food and came to lean against Ryan’s leg. A softball size spot of drool now darkened his thigh. “Thanks, buddy.”

Erica shrugged as she set down their waters. “The joys of living with a Cane Corso.”

Loving brown eyes stared up at him. His heart melted a little more with each blink of those furry eyelids. Ryan stroked Karma’s soft face, his disgust at the slime all but forgotten. “Does he get let out when you’re at work?”

“Yes. I come home at lunch if we don’t have a call. And my father is retired now. He comes over to check on him. You love Grandpa, don’t you baby?” She cooed to the dog, who ate it up. His tongue rolled out and what could only be termed as a grin appeared on his face.

“Are you hungry?” She turned to the freezer. “I have pizza, fish sticks, or chicken tenders.”

Ryan raised a brow. “I’m good, but I thought firefighters all took turns cooking.”

Her cheeks pinked. “That’s a myth. Sure, we all take a rotation if Finn is gone, but he and Garrett are the best cooks in the firehouse. Walker isn’t bad, but they don’t even ask me to cook anymore. It’s not in my skill set.”

He wanted to ask what was in her skill set, but his mind went to some things he knew she excelled at. Not the time.

“Well, I’m beat. The guest room is the door on the left. Mine is the end room.”

“What’s on the right?” He couldn’t see her as having a craft room.

“Just the office.” Her cheeks flamed this time.

“Office. Really?”

Their eyes locked in a grudge match. A stare-down of epic proportion. He gave his best Clint Eastwood squint. Her lips pursed.

He weighed his odds of reaching the room before her without collapsing or blacking out.

“Screw it.” Ryan bolted down the hall, pushing past the pain in his body.

“No, you don’t.” Her fingers brushed his sleeve but didn’t find purchase.

Ha! He reached for the doorknob. Erica was on his heels. She made a grab for his hand but was too late. He flung open the door but stopped.

His sudden halt slammed him like three-hundred-pound druggie resisting arrest. The room spun, and he gripped the door frame. Squeezing his eyes closed, he fought to steady himself.

Hands bracketed his waist, supporting him. “That was dumb. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” Maybe. He stood perfectly still for a moment before opening his eyes and taking in the room.

He didn’t know what he was expecting. Maybe a craft room with heaps of yarn in every color. Hello Kitty collection stuffed into every nook and cranny. His mind even leapt to visions of a sex dungeon with whips and butt plugs. Okay, the last was not the Erica he had known. But what sat on the other side of the door shocked him even more.

He wandered inside. He reached out, fingers tingling with excitement.

“Don’t touch.” Erica stepped in front of him.

“Where did you get that? I want.” Ryan salivated over the latest, never-in-stock gaming console on the market. It was front and center, adjacent to the same console he had, under a sixty-inch television. A high-end headset was hooked on the arm of one of the two gaming chairs that sat in the middle of the room. “You play?”

She rolled her eyes. “I always did. Remember?”