“Of course I did. It’s like having two big body pillows with built-in heaters—until one farts. Then all bets are off.”
“Please tell me you didn’t let them in bed with you.” There’s a smile in his eyes.
“Okay, I won’t tell you.”
He laughs. “You did! You totally let them in bed with you. Now they’re going to want to sleep with me.”
We look at each other, a comfortable warmth settling between us, and for a moment it feels as though our past is just a bad dream. For just a second, we’re nothing but old friends having breakfast and laughing, without a care in the world.
“You mean you don’t already sleep with them?”
“Hell no,” he says. “They hog the damn bed, and I end up on the floor. I make them sleep in their own beds.”
“Well,” I say sweetly, “that’s probably about to change.”
Rhett shakes his head. “If I can’t get them out of my bed, I’ll be calling your ass to take care of it.”
“Deal.” I finish my donut in three bites.
“Do you want me to send Cooper over to get the dogs after lunch?”
I furrow my brows and then remember what I said last night about dropping them off. “No, I’ll keep them. I was just mad.”
“You sure? Because it’s really not a problem. I know they’re a lot of work.”
“They’re really not. I’ve enjoyed having them around. I’ll miss them when they’re gone.”
Rhett watches me, but he doesn’t say anything as he finishes his don
ut.
“Do you want the last one?” I ask, offering him the bag.
He shakes his head. “You eat it.”
I roll the top of the bag down and put it in the center of my desk. “I have a ton of work to do, but I’ll save it for a snack.”
“Where are you going?”
Tugging on my gloves, I turn around and walk backward toward the front door. “Time to muck some stalls. No rush, though. Finish your coffee and let yourself out when you’re done.”
Except he doesn’t finish his coffee at all; he follows me outside and looks around. “I can help. Physical therapy isn’t for another few hours, and if I go home, I’ll just park myself in front of Coop’s TV.”
“Mucking stalls probably isn’t on the list of activities you should perform with a shoulder injury. And Tess is coming out later to give me a hand.”
Reaching toward his back, Rhett pulls off the sling. “I can do something else. Something less strenuous. It’s strained, not destroyed.”
“Funny, because I swear Coop told me it was torn.”
Shaking his head, Rhett smiles. “Coop has a big mouth. There’s a small tear. I can still move it; I just have to be careful. But the rest of me is fine.” He holds his good arm out to the side. “I’m sure there’s something I can help you with that won’t ruin my shoulder.”
Pulling my bottom lip between my teeth, I look around.
“You could get the dogs some fresh water,” I say, nodding to the green hose on the ground by the fence. “Pull it around back.”
“Okay. I can do that.”
I’ve never seen a man look so happy to be given a chore. With a smile on his face, Rhett grabs the hose and gets to work.