If someone opened the
door at that moment, they’d see a massive head under the blankets. Then again, if someone hookie was after us, seeing one of the covers from the motel’s beds over the top of the bath might be a giveaway anyway.
“Whoa,” Ava gasped, kicking me in the ass accidentally. “His breath’s as bad as ours.”
“I’m not certain that’s the truth,” I admitted, shifting to try and get comfortable, but it was impossible. Irish Wolfhounds were huge and weighed a ton, and Doyle’s ass wasn’t budging.
“Now what do we do?”
Keeping the edge of the blanket propped up so that we’d get some fresh air, I went with the only answer I could. “We have to wait. Whatever Mace heard, he knows what he’s doing.”
I knew they were having issues. Ava couldn’t tell me about what was going with Mace in his life, but she’d said he was shutting her out while he dealt with it.
It wasn’t that he wasn’t talking about it, he was disappearing for days, and then when he was home, he hardly spoke.
She’d given me an analogy of the relationship consisting of one living person and a statue. It was hard to picture, but I think I got it.
And I had to wonder how long a relationship could last when only one person was living in it.
“I love him, Bex,” she mumbled.
Reaching out blindly, I grabbed Doyle by mistake at first but then pushed my hand between his body and the back of the tub until I reached her shoulder.
“Remember how your grandmother used to tell us that all stains come out in the wash?”
“Yeah?”
“Well, this one might need a little bit of scrubbing, but it’ll go away.”
“You might—” she started, then stopped and was silent for a moment. “You know, when I look at how we got together, how impossible it’d seemed back then, I always think how lucky I am to have him. You might be right, and if I scrub at the stain, it’ll go away.”
Squeezing her shoulder one last time, I wrestled my arm back the same way I’d pushed it forward. “Atta girl. If it worked for Logan and me, it’ll definitely work for you and Mace.”
“Ain’t that the truth.” I heard her chuckling quietly but felt Doyle’s body moving with it more, seeing as how he was pressed tightly against me. “Y’all getting together was a miracle after all of that shit. Now look at you.”
“Yup. Sitting in a bathtub with you and my dog, breathing in wine and dog breath, with a comforter over our heads.”
Both of us started laughing, then groaned when it increased the smell under the cover.
“If you fart, I’ll kill you,” I warned her, doing my best to keep my mind off what was going on.
I’d had a shit day, and the fear I’d felt would probably never leave me. We train for it, we practice the procedures, but hearing it and seeing the scared faces of the kids… I wouldn’t forget it.
I also didn’t know what was going on outside or where Logan was and if he was okay.
I literally had zero control over anything at that moment, apart from warning Ava about the consequences of farting right now. It also lightened the atmosphere slightly, so that was a good thing.
It didn’t mean I wasn’t scared to death, though. That I definitely was.
And then I heard it, a bang just like we’d heard at the school today. All the kids’ faces came back into my mind and how terrified they’d been, as well as the knowledge that we were powerless and vulnerable yet again.
I didn’t have my phone, and I didn’t have a gun. I didn’t have anything to protect Ava.
Carefully and as silently as I could, I lifted the comforter and slid out of the tub like a baby elephant learning to do ballet. I needed to get the kittens and Prince, though, and make sure they were okay and not hit if the door smashed open.
Once I had the box in my arms, I passed it to Ava and got back into my position on the opposite end of the tub.
Then the crashing and yelling started, and we reached for each other, ending up with Doyle snuggled between two women who didn’t give one shit about how anyone’s breath smelled anymore.