Clover

I’m not sure when it happened. It could have been that day in the supply store when he offered to buy me a backpack. Or the day he rescued me, and my class, in a blizzard on Blue Mountain. It could have been the first time I saw him take his daughter’s face in his big strong hands to tell her how proud he was of her and how much he loves her.

Any one of those times could have done it. Any one of a million moments over the past few weeks could have made me fall in love with Gage, but last night… When he held me in his arms and told me he couldn’t explain his feelings for me, I knew I was in love, and I know he is, too.

We communicated our love with our eyes and our bodies but not with actual words. Words are meaningless without the passion and proof behind them. We have both passion and proof.

Now, in the light of day, lying here in his bed tucked under his arm with my cheek pressed against his chest listening to his heart beating, I wonder what comes next. Adley will be awake soon. She slept in the living room, and I expect she will wonder why her daddy didn’t put her to bed like he always does.

Will she be upset that he chose to leave her there? Will she expect me to be something more than a nanny now? Will he? What part will I play in their family now, if any?

What if the man who took that photograph last night discovers Gage’s identity and ruins his privacy? What if my presence in Gage’s life has ruined it? I won’t be able to live with myself if that happens.

I blink the sleep from my eyes and notice that it’s still snowing when I look out Gage’s bedroom window. My obsessive thoughts have kept me from noticing the chill in the air and the dark screen on the alarm clock next to the bed.

“Gage, wake up. I think the power is out,” I say patting his rock-hard abs. He groans and turns toward me pulling me closer. His exposed skin is freezing, and I shiver when he wraps himself around me.

“You cold?” he asks in a sleepy voice with his eyes closed.

“You’re cold. Gage, wake up, there’s no heat in here. We need to check on Adley, I don’t think I even covered her up last night on the couch.”

His eyes open wide. He’s fully awake and alert when he sits up to listen to the lack of sound in the house.

“I have to go start the generator. It should have started on its own, but once in a while, it doesn’t. Can you check on Adley?”

“Of course, I’ll go grab some warm clothes and see if she’s up.”

“It won’t take too long to get the generator started, but it will be a while before the house is warm again. I’ll get a fire going, too.” He kisses my forehead and then my mouth quickly and rolls away out of bed.

I watch his perfect backside as he walks to the wardrobe and pulls on jeans, a t-shirt, a thick red and black flannel, and heavy wool socks. When he’s dressed, and there is nothing but his remarkable face to gawk at, I pull the sheet around my body and shiver when my feet hit the cold wood floor.

“I wonder how long it’s been out?”

“Hours, it takes a long time to get this cold in here unless it’s below zero outside.”

“Isn’t that bad for pipes and things like that?” I ask unsure of all the things that can go wrong in a mountain home with no power.

“Yes, very bad. Don’t open the refrigerator or use the water until I say. I don’t want to let what cold air we have in there out until I know the generator is going to work.”

“Okay.” I hustle to my room and pull on a pair of leggings, sweatpants, thick socks, cami, t-shirt, and the heaviest sweater I own. When I come out of my room, I look over the railing and find that Adley isn’t in the living room where we left her.

I open her bedroom door and find her huddled under the covers in her bed still asleep. I have no idea what time it is. My phone is still on the coffee table downstairs, and for all I know, it’s dead. I leave her sleeping, no sense waking her for school when we have no power.

Downstairs, it feels like I’ve stepped outside minus the snow and wind. Thankfully, heat rises, or we would have frozen in our sleep. I’ll bet the cold woke Adley and that’s why she went upstairs to bed. Noise may not wake her, but cold does.

Gage is already outside. I can hear him shoveling. I go to the window to watch, and I gasp. The snow is so deep! Gage is digging around a small structure outside where the generator is housed, and the snow is up to his waist. It’s taken him a while to walk the few steps around the house shoveling as he goes.

He is going to need help. I waste no time getting into my snow gear and boots. When I’m about to go outside, I notice my phone on the coffee table and curiosity about what time it is takes me to it, but as I suspected, it’s dead.

There’s an analog clock in the hall under the stairs, and I go to check it. Eleven o’clock in the morning! Oh my God, I haven’t slept in this late in years not to mention Adley never sleeps past eight o’clock. I should feel refreshed, but we didn’t go to sleep until at least four in the morning. Every muscle in my body aches in the best way, and it feels good to move around and remind them how to flex and stretch. He wanted me sore, and he got what he wanted.

Outside, I follow his snow path and find him frowning at the generator. “What’s wrong?” I ask. He looks up surprised to see me outside.

“It looks like someone was out here.”

“What, in this shed?”

“Yeah, normally the generator is tripped when the power shuts down, but it’s been disconnected, and I know it wasn’t like this a week ago. I check it regularly in the winter.”

“Do you think it was the guy from last night?” I ask shifting my weight from one foot to another in the snow trying to keep warm. Even through all of my clothes and snow gear, I feel the chill of the winter up my spine. The wind is ruthless biting at the exposed parts of my face, and the snow is still coming down making it difficult to see.

“I don’t know. I thought he was pretty shaken up when I told him I was gonna shoot him, but maybe he was trying to get the power to shut off thinking it would bring me outside for a picture.”

“Maybe.” God, I hope not. “Can you fix it?”

“Oh yeah, it’s no big deal. I just don’t like that somebody’s been trespassing and tampering with my shit.” He flips a switch, the generator begins to hum, and he closes the door to the shed. “What are you doing outside?”

“Adley’s asleep in her bed, and I figured you could use some help shoveling.”

“I’m going to wait until the snow slows down a little. I need to get some wood from the woodshed, though. You can help me carry it inside if you want.”

“Sure, lead the way.” He takes my hand and places it on the edge of a pocket on the side of his coat.

“Hold on here, so we stay together. I have to shovel a path to the woodshed as we go.”

I nod and hold his pocket like a kid while he scoops the heavy, wet snow out of our way. He’s already made a path from the house, so we load our arms with two stacks of wood, his much larger than mine, and trudge toward the house.

Inside, it’s still freezing. I leave my coat and snow pants on and help him stack the wood in a neat pile next to the fireplace. He goes about starting the fire, and I head to the door to get more wood. It’s going to take a huge fire and constant running heat to warm this big house up.

“Where do you think you’re going?” he asks when I slide my foot back into one of my boots.

“To get more wood. It’s artic in here.”

“No. I don’t want you outside alone. I’ll go in a minute.”

“Okay, but why?”

“I don’t like the idea of you being out there alone when somebody’s been creeping around the house. And it’s snowing so hard that you can’t see your hand in front of your face. You might get turned around.”

“What can I do then?” I want to be helpful and moving around keeps me warm.

“Do you have cell service?”

“Nope, it’s dead.”

“This storm wasn’t supposed to be this bad. I need a weather forecast. In the pantry, there’s a battery-operated weather radio on the top shelf. Can you grab it so we can see what we’re dealing with?”

“Yeah. I think I should go upstairs and make sure Adley is dressed warmer, too.”

“Good idea. I can’t believe she’s sleeping this late.”

“I wonder when she went to her room. I hope she didn’t hear anything last night.”

“Me, too. She must have been really cold to wake up and take herself to bed.”

“You don’t think she tried to come into your room, do you?” I ask suddenly concerned that she may have caught her father and me in a compromising position that traumatized her innocence.

“No, she knows she is supposed to sleep in her own bed no matter what. There was a time when she used to sleep with me every night. Then I read that it will stunt her development, and I kicked her out. I figured she’s already going to be lacking in social skills, and she doesn’t need to add co-dependent sleeping to her problems.”

“I was thinking…” He looks up and understanding washes over his face.

“I locked the door unless she knows how to get in another way. She could never have seen us.”

“Good, that’s a relief. I’ll be right back.” I say climbing the stairs and enjoying the warmth the activity provides me when I reach the top. Maybe I’ll run up and down the steps when I’m done waking her up.

Quietly, I pad across her room and sit on the edge of her bed. “Adley, honey, it’s time to wake up.”

“I’m awake,”

“You are? Why didn’t you come downstairs?”

“It’s too cold, and I was scared.”

Her back is to me, and she has the comforter pulled up over her head. I lift it and scoot in to spoon behind her. “Why were you scared, honey?”

“I woke up downstairs alone. I was so cold, I was going to get into bed with you, but you were gone. I went to Daddy’s room, and his door was locked, so I came in here.”

Shit. She didn’t see us, but she felt scared and alone—two things her father never wanted her to feel after being left alone in the hospital at birth. It’s an irrational guilt, of course. She was an infant in the NICU, and she had no idea she was alone.

Gage wouldn’t see it that way, though. “You were scared because you couldn’t find us?”

“Uh huh. Daddy never locks his door at night.”

“You know what, Adley?”

“What?”

“I’m a big believer in honesty, so I’m going to tell you what happened so you will understand, okay?” She nods. “Last night you looked so comfortable and sweet, your daddy didn’t want to disturb you, and he wanted to talk to me. We went upstairs to his bedroom, and he locked the door so we would have some privacy. We fell asleep, and he forgot to unlock the door. When we woke up, it was freezing in the house because the storm knocked out the power. I’m very sorry, we should have put you in your bed, and your daddy should have unlocked the door in case there was an emergency.”

She turns onto her back and looks at me. “Were you and daddy kissing?”

“Yes, a little.”

“You’re not leaving?”

“No, of course not. Is that what you thought, that I left?”

“Uh huh. I love you, Clover. I don’t want you to go even if some stupid man took Daddy’s picture.”

I smile down at her beautiful little face full of Gage’s expressions. I wonder what her mother looked like, and then I wonder if she knows what her mother looked like.

“Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere, I promise.” I squeeze her, and she smiles.

“Hey, I have a question for you.”

“What?”

“Do you have a picture of your mom?”

“Yeah, in a picture book. Daddy doesn’t like me to keep it in a frame. I think it makes his heart hurt too much.”

Another tiny piece of my heart breaks for this little girl who has lost so much in her life. “Can I see it?” I ask, and her eyes light up.

“Yes, I’ll get it.” She jumps out of bed and crouches down to open the bottom drawer of her dresser. She pulls out a huge white photo album and lugs it to the bed flopping it onto the mattress. She crawls up and burrows under the covers with me to look at it.

Inside the first page is her mother’s senior photo from high school. She’s beautiful with her long, blonde hair, big ocean-blue eyes, and flawless skin. She’s dressed in a bright red sweater that accents her fair complexion as well as her ruby red lips.

“She was very beautiful. You look just like her.”

“I do? Daddy says I look like him, but I don’t wanna look like a boy.”

“Oh, he doesn’t mean you look like a boy. He means you have his expressions and some parts of you resemble him but in a feminine way, you know, like a girl.”

“But you think I look like my mommy?”

“I do.” We spend some time flipping through the photo album. Toward the end, there are more and more pictures of Gage with Constance. Someone, I’m not sure if it was him or her, documented their whole relationship from dating to their wedding to her pregnancy, and then it suddenly ends.

“That’s me inside my mommy’s belly in this picture,” she says pointing at a picture of a very pregnant Constance standing outside an arena surrounded by people moving heavy equipment, guys smoking cigarettes, and groupies in a dirty, cold parking lot. She looks beautiful, but tired and uncomfortable. I can see why Gage feels guilty about dragging his wife around the world in her condition.

It couldn’t have been fun, but she did it for him because she loved him.

“Ladies, are you coming down for breakfast?” Gage calls up the stairs.

“Are you warm enough to go downstairs for breakfast?” I ask her.

“Yeah, I think so. We can take my comforter with us.”

“Okay, come on.” Downstairs, Gage is in the kitchen attempting to make breakfast without using the power and opening up the refrigerator as little as possible. Occasionally, he gives the coffeepot a longing glance while he pours two bowls of cereal and slides them across the granite to us.

It’s a little warmer, the fire is roaring, and I can’t feel the cold wood of the floor through my socks anymore. “I was going to make you pancakes, but I think we should let the generator make the house warm before we start doing other things.”

“That’s okay, Daddy, I like cereal.” Adley digs in stuffing a huge bite into her mouth.

“Me, too. This is fine.” I’m not very hungry anyway. The guilt of that photographer is wreaking havoc in my stomach.

“Me and Clover looked at pictures of Mommy,” Adley says chewing her giant mouthful of cereal. “She says I look just like Mommy. How come you say I look like you, Daddy?”

“Well, I believe I said you have your mommy’s features and my expressions.”

“That’s what I told her, too.”

“Uh huh, so when I smile like this…” she pauses her chewing to smile a toothy, fruity pebble smile. “I look like you. And when I get my picture taken, I look like Mommy.”

He pauses to look at her seeing his beloved wife as he must every time he looks into her eyes. Adley senses this and swallows her food. “Daddy, does it make you sad to see me?”

An instant frown wrinkles his brow, and he rounds the island placing his hands on her shoulders to look her straight in the eyes. “I feel only joy and happiness when I look at you, baby. Nothing else, just joy and happiness, do you understand?”

She nods her head, and I can tell he is fighting back tears.

“Hey, what do you say we work on your project today since we can’t do anything else?” I ask in an attempt to lighten the mood.

“I have the lyrics for that figured out. You want to hear them?”

“Yeah, right now, sing it, Daddy, sing it!” Adley says bouncing up and down in her seat.

“Finish your breakfast first.” He gives the coffee pot another look. “I don’t think I can wait until the house warms up for coffee. You want a cup?” he asks me.

“Yes,” I let out a relieved breath. “I thought you’d never ask. I can’t work on a fire safety report with no caffeine in my system.”

I watch him walk across the kitchen and prepare a pot of very strong coffee. He turns and leans his hips against the counter watching me eat while the coffee brews. I take a spoonful of cereal and chew. He smiles suggestively, and I wonder what he’s up to.

“What?” I ask not expecting an answer from the look in his eyes.

“Nothing, just thinking.”

“About?”

“My song,” Adley says butting in.

“Yes, her song,” he says. “What did you think?” He smirks, and it’s as sexy as it is irritating. There should be a word for that, sexitating. Yes. I like it. His smirk is extremely sexitating.

The aroma of coffee fills the kitchen, and my stomach growls even though it’s full of cereal. It wants coffee as bad as my poor brain does. When it’s done, he pours us both a cup and slides one across the island to me.

We drink our coffee, and when Adley is finished with her cereal, she drops her spoon into her bowl with a loud clank. “I’m done, let’s sing!”

“Okay,” I laugh. “Let’s go.”

Gage rinses our bowls and leads the way to the music room where he selects an acoustic guitar off the wall where all of his guitars are mounted. He sits down on a stool.

“Okay, I didn’t have to change the lyrics much. Just a few words here and there. It’s the perfect song for this. I’ll sing Aretha’s lyrics, and you two come in and give me some back-up on the just a little bit parts, okay?”

“Yes, got it.”

“Just a little bit, I can do that,” Adley says with confidence. He looks at me for confirmation.

“Got it, no problem.”

“All right, it goes like this,” he says beginning to play Aretha Franklin’s anthem for women, Respect, changing the words to advocate fire safety.

When our part comes up, he points at us, and we sing, “Just a little bit,” as he told us to.

He sings a quick line and points at us again. “Just a little bit,” we sing again and giggle when he makes a goofy face. He continues to play the song strumming along with his guitar until we have a pretty good rendition for her project.

Actually, it’s a lot better than pretty good, it’s great. Smokey the Bear should use it in a forest fire safety campaign to ward off the crazy pyromaniacs who set forest fires.

“Now we need to make the giant match!”

“Yep, let’s get on it.”

“I’m going out to clear some of the snow around the house. Work on your backup singing, and we can record that rendition tonight.”

“What’s rendition, Daddy?”

“It’s like our version. We didn’t write an original song, we just changed the words around a little bit.”

“Oh, like Kidz Bop?”

“Yes, just like that.” Gage looks at me with a you see expression, and I shrug. I never said she wasn’t perceptive.

“Okay, why don’t you show me where that cardboard box is at in the garage so we can make the match.”

“It’s on the workbench, come on,” she says taking my hand and dragging me through the house to the garage door. Gage uses the garage to store snowmobiles, a boat, and a truck that I’ve never seen him drive. He must keep it for an emergency and for towing the fishing boat to the water in the spring.

She flips the light switch, and we walk around the truck when I hear a whimper. I reach out and rest my hand on her shoulder keeping her from going any further. “Did you hear that?” I ask.

“Uh huh, it sounded like an animal.”

“Do you ever get animals in the garage?”

“We had a raccoon one time. Daddy had to get it out with a shovel.”

Shit. Raccoons? They can be nasty if they’re in a bad mood. “We better go inside and wait for your dad. Raccoons can be aggressive if they feel threatened.” I take a step backward and hear the sound again along with clicks of claws on the concrete coming in our direction. “Hurry, I think it’s coming our way.” I put her in front of me and start herding her toward the door that leads into the house.

When we reach the door, I turn around to take one last glance at the raccoon and stop in my tracks. “Wait, hang on.” I grab her hand. “It’s a dog.”

The dog is staring at us with giant sad eyes. He’s filthy and a little on the skinny side, but he’s wearing a blue collar with a tag on it. “Looks like a stray. How did you get way up here, boy?” I ask easing toward the trembling dog. It lowers its head to the ground looking up at me as if to ask for help. “Daddy says don’t touch animals you don’t know cuz they bite and have diseases.”

“He’s right, but this isn’t a wild animal, and he’s stuck in your garage. He has a collar, and I think he has a tag.” I offer my hand to the dog to smell, and he gives it a once-over before he belly crawls to me. I scratch the top of his dirty head briefly and turn his collar to see his name on the tag.

“Ollie,” I read. “Is that your name, boy?” His ears perk up.

“That’s it, his name is Ollie. How’d he get in here?” Adley asks.

“I have no idea. There’s no phone number on this collar. No phone number on a dog ID tag is stupid. It kind of defeats the whole purpose.”

“I’m gonna go get Daddy,” Adley says leaving me alone with Ollie.

“Did you get lost, boy? Couldn’t find your way home, so you’re hiding out in here?” He whines again, and I give his head another pat. A few minutes later, she returns with Gage.

“Shit, how’d he get in here?” he says when he sees the poor dog.

“Do you know who he belongs to?” I ask.

“No, but it’s a domestic dog, and I don’t know anybody with a dog that lives around here.”

“Maybe he was dumped off and made his way up here?”

“Is that a collar?”

“Yes, his name is Ollie, but there is no contact information.”

“I can’t see dumping a dog and leaving his collar on.”

“True, that would be weird.”

“Is he injured?”

“I don’t know. Do you want me to see if he will come inside?” I don’t know if he wants the dirty mutt in his house. I don’t even know if he’s an animal lover or not.

“Yeah, it’s freezing out here, we can’t leave him.”

I stand up and pat my leg. “Ollie, come on, boy. Do you wanna come inside?”

Ollie stands up slowly and follows me to the door looking at Gage and Adley every few seconds like he’s checking to see if this is a trap.

“He’s scared. Can I give him something to eat?” Adley asks.

“Sure, grab a hot dog but let Clover give it to him.”

“Wow, thanks, Superman. What if he has rabies, and he bites me?”

“It’s not that I don’t want to, but hot dogs are too much like lunch meat. I don’t touch them just in case.”

“Oh, okay. I’ll go grab it, stay here, Adley.” I feel like an ass. I should have known he wouldn’t delegate something like that without a reason.

When I return with the hot dog, Adley has coaxed Ollie to the door with her charm or perhaps Ollie is just cold and wants to come inside. Either way, the hot dog does the trick, and he is inside in seconds.

He isn’t rambunctious at all. He heads straight for the fire where he jumps up onto the hearth like he belongs there and curls up to get warm.

“Well, would you look at that? He acts like he’s lived here his whole life,” Gage says crossing his arms over his chest and leaning against the couch.

I approach Ollie and look him over in the light. “He needs a bath if he’s staying in here.”

“Agreed. I wonder where he came from?” Gage says looking at him hard as if Ollie might tell us his address.

“How did he get into your garage is what I want to know. And how many other critters can do the same?”

“I used to have a door that opened from the garage to the side of the house. The woodshed used to be there instead of out front. I didn’t like that I couldn’t see that door, and I got tired of going through the garage for wood, so I blocked it off, but somehow, a raccoon got in that way a while back. Maybe that’s how he got in, too. I’ll have to secure it. Are you two okay in here with him? I wasn’t quite done outside, and now I need to check that door.”

“Yeah, he seems to be pretty tame. When he’s warmed up, we will give him a bath and feed him something.”

“All right. I’ll be back in a few.”

He heads back outside, and I turn my attention back on the Ollie and Adley. She’s sitting on the floor watching him sleep. “He sure made himself at home, huh?” I ask her.

“Yeah. I hope we getta keep him. I always wanted a dog.”

“How come you don’t have one? Seems like a pretty good idea up here on a mountain.”

“Daddy said he didn’t want anything to happen to one in the woods. He said he couldn’t stand to see me cry if a wolf ate my dog.”

“Oh, wow, that’s a graphic visual,” I say, and she nods.

“How about you run upstairs and get your red paint while I keep an eye on him? When you get back, you can keep an eye on him while I go get the cardboard from the garage?”

“Okay,” she says jumping up to go upstairs. Ollie opens his eyes and watches her go without so much as lifting his head. I wonder how long he was in the garage. It’s been zero or below for days. How long can an animal survive in temps like that with no food or water?

Water. I should get him a bowl. He’s probably thirsty. In the kitchen, I find a plastic cool whip container Gage uses for leftovers and fill it with water. I put it in front of Ollie, and he looks at it, too tired to even get up. I lift it to his face, and he takes a long drink and wags his raggedy tail.

“Got it.” Adley enters the room and sets a jumbo-size plastic bottle of red paint on the coffee table before going straight back to Ollie. The safety project has taken a back seat to the excitement of having a dog as often happens with homeschooling, I’m finding out.

“I’ll go get the cardboard.”

“Okay, it’s on the bench.”

“I remember, thanks. And uh, don’t pet him too much until we give him a bath, okay? We don’t know where he’s been or what he’s been rolling in.”

“Like poop?”

“Among other things, yes.”

“Eww, I’m not touchin’ him.”

I find the cardboard right away, and while I’m out there, I look for the door that Gage was talking about. He did a good job of disguising it with wood and a shelf, but I find it easily.

I don’t see a breach in the door or the surrounding areas. Everything looks boarded up tight. I try to think, have we gone into the garage recently and left the door open? Not that I can remember, but maybe Gage did. I’ll have to ask him.

I head back inside with the cardboard, and we spend the next hour making a very realistic-looking giant match. Gage makes two trips in with enough wood to last us the rest of the day and evening, and we practice the fire safety song with the giant match prop three times all the way through until we have it down pat.

“You’re a good singer, Clover,” Adley says putting her match away.

“Not compared to your daddy.” She wrinkles up her nose.

“You’re a girl, it’s different. Daddy’s hard and low, and you’re soft and high.”

“That’s a very good way to describe our voices, baby.” Gage tussles her hair. “Somebody needs a bath and her hair washed.”

“Ollie?” she asks innocently.

“Well, yes, Ollie does, too, but I was talking about you. The water should be warm by now. Why don’t you run up and shower and get dressed? Maybe the power will come back on tonight, and we can record your project so you can hand it in tomorrow.”

Adley pops up off the couch and makes her way upstairs to shower.

“Am I making an appearance in this video?” I ask. “Because if I am, I need a shower, too.”

I haven’t had time, and part of me doesn’t want to wash last night off my skin in case it doesn’t happen again. Having sex with a child in the house is proving to be a lot more difficult than I ever thought.

“Yep, you’re a background give-it-to-me singer.”

“Then I’m going up to shower. Maybe I can take the dog with me and get it all done at once?”

“Yeah, that sounds good, and I’ll help.”

“You’ll help? How’s that going to work with Adley?”

“She’s taking a shower in her bathroom. We’re taking one in mine.”

“Okay, but I don’t want Ollie to see any funny business.”

He holds up his hands in surrender. “No funny business. But I can’t guarantee what will happen when the dog is clean and out of the bathroom.”

I don’t think about the possibility of a shower encounter with Gage. There is no way there will be any water left over after all of us to shower and wash the dog, anyway. I don’t like the idea of messing around with Adley awake in the next room.

“Yeah, yeah, come on frisky, grab Fido, and let’s get to washing.”

He chuckles as he takes a towel from the downstairs bathroom for the smelly dog and carries him upstairs.

I hear the shower going in Adley’s bathroom. “Are you sure we should shower at the same time? Won’t we freeze her out?”

“No, the house has two water heaters, we will be fine.”

Crap. I was hoping to put this on hold.

In the bathroom, Gage sets Ollie on the floor and starts the water. It’s a walk-in shower with two stone benches and a glass wall. I’m not sure how he is going to handle all of this, so I stand back and wait while he prepares the bathroom.

Ollie watches, too, until Gage stops and looks at me expectantly. “Well?”

“Well, what?” I ask.

“Are you going to give him a shower, or am I?”

“Oh,” I say jumping into action. “I’ll do it. Come on, Ollie, let’s see what you look like under all that dirt.” I remove his collar and hand it to Gage who puts it on the vanity.

“The shampoo in the white bottle is for kids, use that so it won’t burn his eyes.”

“Okay.” I pull my sweatshirt and cami over my head and step out of my sweatpants instantly shivering without the extra layers. In my panties and bra, I kneel down in the shower and wash Ollie while Gage watches from the other side of the glass.

“Can you hand me the showerhead?” I ask when I have Ollie all lathered up.

Gage reaches in and disconnects the showerhead from its cradle and hands it to me. I start to rinse Ollie and gasp. “He’s white! Like, all white.”

“Wow, I would have never guessed.” Gage rounds the end of the glass and crouches down next to me to get a closer look at the cleaner version of our new friend, Ollie. “I think he’s a white shepherd,” he says reaching out to keep some suds from going into Ollie’s eyes.

“Isn’t that a purebred dog?” I say continuing to rinse the brown dirt from his coat.

“Yes, which makes it even stranger that he’s up here wandering around breaking into my garage.”

“Maybe he wasn’t breaking in, maybe somebody put him in there?”

“On purpose? Why would anyone do that?”

“I don’t know, just a random thought. It’s just so strange, that’s all.”

“There’s a lot of strange going on around here the last day or so, Ollie is the least of it.” I look down to hide the guilt in my eyes. “Stop, it’s not your fault, that’s not what I meant.” His voice is full of warning.

Ollie whimpers when I allow the water to spray on one spot too long bringing my full attention back to him.

“We will get you all cleaned up and take you into town when the snowstorm is over, Ollie. I know you have an owner somewhere who is probably worried sick about you.” Ollie licks my face in appreciation like he understands what I’m saying.

“Hey, that’s my girl you’re kissing there, Ollie. Watch yourself.”

His girl. He’s never referred to me possessively before, but then again, we don’t go out in public, so he hasn’t exactly had the opportunity to do so.

Ollie gives a quick bark of understanding and shakes, spraying water everywhere. We yelp, and I fall back spraying Gage in the face by accident. He holds up his hands to protect his face and sputters before removing the showerhead from my hand. “I’ll finish, you shower.”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to get you in the face like that.”

“It’s just water, no big deal.” He smiles and squirts Ollie with more shampoo. I watch him scrub and rinse him again while I strip out of my wet panties and bra.

When Gage is done with the dog, they move out of the shower, and he dries him with a towel. I go about my shower shampooing and conditioning my hair. As I rinse, I feel like I’m being watched. There is no longer any movement in the bathroom, and I open my eyes to find Gage leaning his shoulder against the shower wall watching me just as I had suspected.

“Enjoying the show?”

“Absolutely.”

“Where’s Ollie?”

“I let him out. And I locked the door.”

Guilt stabs me in the chest, and I look away quickly. “What’s wrong?” He approaches and turns me away from him running his hands down my arms. I can feel his warm breath on the side of my neck and his erection pressing against my ass.

“Last night, when Adley woke up…” It’s hard to concentrate with him monopolizing my space in the shower.

“Last night when Adley woke up, what?”

“She was cold, so she came looking for me in my bed. When she couldn’t find me, she got scared and went to your room, but the door was locked. I told her we wanted to talk in private so we locked the door and left her downstairs because she was sleeping soundly. I told her we fell asleep and forgot to unlock the door, and I promised we wouldn’t do it again.”

I hadn’t planned on telling him, but he needs to know that locking the doors to get private time with me might not be the best idea. I do not, under any circumstances, want to be the cause of a rift between those two.

“She was scared?”

“Uh huh.”

“And alone,” he says in a flat tone. He’s putting it all together.

I don’t answer. He kisses my neck and slides his hands around to my flat belly resting his chin on my shoulder. “I was going to pick up where we left off last night for a few minutes, but now I think I should go talk to my daughter first.”

“I understand,” I whisper, and he’s gone.