Page 90 of Sit, Stay, Love
He looked up, water dripping from his curls, narrowed his eyes and said, ‘Oh, it’s on, Madden,’ and lunged at her.
She squealed as the pair wrestled for ownership of the hose, slipping and sliding on the wet concrete floor. He grabbed her from behind, his wet body wrapping around her, soaking her back as he held her in place and pried her fingers, one by one, from the green tube. She wiggled and squirmed against him, shivering from the mix of the cool of the water and the heat of his body, hard and flexing along her length, as she desperately tried to cling to the hose. Finally, he pulled her last finger free. ‘Aha!’ he hollered, and she giggled and scurried away, screaming as freezing water shot all the way up her back. He laughed and dropped the hose, slipped and slid towards the kennel door and smirked at her, a challenge in his eyes. The hose writhed like a furious water-gushing snake, and she yelped as she scampered from its spray, then leaped over it and hurtled after him. They burst into the sunshine, laughing as they raced up the paddock. Toby spun around to face her, jogging backwards, a smirk across his face while he made a come-on motion with his hands.
‘You’re toast, Herriot,’ she yelled, then skidded to a halt.
Toby stopped sharply, following her gaze.
Ethan was standing just up the rise of the hill, watching them. He gave them a hesitant wave.
Her stomach did an epic flip.
Toby turned his back to Ethan and strode towards her. ‘Do you want me to get rid of him?’
She shook her head. ‘I should probably talk to him.’
‘Do you want me to come with you?’
She ran her hand up and down his forearm. ‘No. But thank you. I’ll be okay.’
He gave her one nod.
‘What are you doing here anyway?’ she asked.
‘I wanted to make sure you were okay, after that dickhead…’ he said, pointing over his shoulder with his thumb towards Ethan, ‘… mucked you about. And I wanted to drop off Francine. She’s in with Carol.’
‘I better keep Ethan out of there then. I think Francine hates men.’
‘She doesn’t hate me, so it’s not men. Just Ethan James apparently.’ He smirked. ‘You know what they say about dogs. They know people.’
She rolled her eyes and whacked his arm. ‘Hey, we do have a new stray,’ she said. ‘If you’d like to check him out while you’re here, and maybe give him a name? He’s around somewhere. Probably with Buffy. I think they’ve fallen in love.’ Sera peered around Toby, waved at Ethan and sighed. ‘I’d better go put him out of his misery.’
‘Oooh. Can I do that for you?’
Ethan had his hands jammed deep into his pockets. His shoulders were hunched, his teeth digging deep into his bottom lip and his feet shuffling. He looked like a kid waiting to see the principal.
‘Hi,’ she said, stopping a little way away from him.
‘I’m so sorry. I don’t know what to say.’
She tilted her head and raised her eyebrows.
‘I came looking for you and you were gone. And then I realised the time. I pretty much ignored you the whole night, didn’t I? God, Sera. I’m so fucking sorry. I’m a fucking idiot.’
‘You should have gone on your own. Like I told you to. It was a work night.’
‘But I wanted you there.’
She frowned. ‘I can’t imagine why.’ Unless it was to make her feel like shit.
‘Because.’ He stepped a little closer. ‘I want to be with you.’
He reached out for her, and she let him take her hand.
He looked at his fingers clasped around hers. ‘I really am so sorry. How can I make it up to you?’
Her shoulders softened, the anger and hurt melting away under his gaze. She could see how truly sorry he was in his bright blue eyes, feel it in the warmth of his touch. And she liked him a lot. Even after last night’s fiasco.
‘How about you never treat me like that again. And make sure lots of rich people come to my fundraiser? Whenever the hell it is.’
