“But what if I annoy you? I’m not easy to live with. I’m messy and I spend a lot of time in my own head, I don’t always notice what’s going on around me and I—”
“Baby doll, I know all this. I’ve lived with you.”
“Only for a short time.”
“Nobody is perfect. We both have flaws. I’m a neat freak.”
“And bossy.”
“That too.”
“And blunt, anti-social, temperamental—”
“Okay, you need to stop now before you talk yourself out of living with me,” he grumbled.
That wasn’t going to happen but she nodded.
“I’m sorry I’ve been quiet and withdrawn. I’ve had stuff on my mind.”
“Archer?” she guessed.
“Yeah, that’s some of it.”
“Will you tell me what happened?”
He sighed. “Can you give me a while? I’ll tell you eventually. I just need to process it all.”
She nodded. She could do that.
“All right, let’s get you inside and into bed.”
“Nooo, I don’t want to go to bed. I’ve spent days in bed.” She pouted.
“Because you’re injured and recovering. Wait there for me.”
He walked around to the passenger side and reaching in, undid her belt, pulling her out into his arms.
“I can walk. It’s my hands that are injured.”
“Are you forgetting about your ankle?”
“It was just a twist; it’s not even swollen anymore.”
He just grunted and carried her inside. To her surprise, the door was unlocked. But then she guessed security wasn’t much of an issue around here. They walked straight into the cozy living room, where the fireplace was already lit and crackling away. The fireplace had built-ins on either side, half-filled with books. There was a rug on the floor and a sectional in front of the fireplace. Mounted up high was a large T.V. The kitchen was towards the back of the room, making a big, open-plan area. It was warm and inviting. But that wasn’t what caught her attention.
Across the beams of the ceiling was a large banner that read,
Welcome Home, Caley
It looked like it had been hand-painted. There were also pictures of flowers, hearts and stars. And a big heaping of glitter scattered on top.
“Looks like the Littles have been busy,” Doc commented, walking to the sofa and setting her on it. “You can stay up for a while before you go down for a nap.”
“That was so kind of them.”
Doc grunted, looking at the floor. “And seems they left a trail of glitter in their wake. Gonna need the vacuum cleaner.”
She bit back a smile at his grumbling, knowing it was hot air without any real heat behind it. He walked towards the small, circular table set between the living and kitchen area. It had a series of gift-wrapped items.