It never ceased to amaze her how excited he was to see Mac. It made her feel better about the favor she was about to ask—it was quite a big one. But it was better for Fred, and selfishly, easier on her, if Mac could take Fred for a couple of days.
After two years, she was summoned to the city for paperwork. Lawyers. Something to do with the book, but everyone was assuring her it was okay; standard. She was taking Silas with her, but she couldn’t take Fred.
Surely Mac wouldn’t turn her down. Or rather, he wouldn’t turn Fred away. Right?
It was still morning; she’d slipped on a pair of sweat shorts and a matching top, jamming a baseball cap over her yet-to-be-washed hair, and headed out the door.
Mac had seen her in worse states.
The cabin looked sleepy as she approached the steps. That’s what she called it when there appeared to be no life inside. She glanced up the slight incline behind the cabin to his Scout, parked in its usual spot. So he was home. At least, it seemed he should be.
Fred preceded her up the steps and went to the bedroom window and peered inside while she went to the screen door and knocked. She watched Fred, who knew best where Mac was, then walked over toward the window and peered inside.
Her heart leaped. He was sleeping so hard and soundly, she didn’t want to disturb him. He was stretched out on his cot, face down with one foot off at the bottom and one knee bent; a sheet draped over him. He was facing her, arms over his head.
Peaceful, devastating.
Her body buzzed in excitement just looking at him sleeping, as it always did, the hard planes of his face relaxed in sleep, the sweep of dark lashes over his cheeks as he breathed deeply. She wanted to join him, crawl next to him, tuck in close to his hard, warm body.
These weren’t thoughts she should be having. But abstaining hadn’t made her desire him less. At what point did the cravings go away? How long did a nicotine habit take to break? Heroin?
She eased away, thinking it best to send him a text.
Fred barked. Once, then twice.
Mortified, Cassidy shushed him, “Dude!”
Fred tilted his head at her in surprise before peering back into the room. When he did, he launched into an excited prance.
Of course, he’d woken Mac.
“I’m sorry,” she called out, returning to the screen door as she heard him moving around inside.
Fred was less so, making his girlie-girl noises in anticipation of the appearance of Mac.
Mac came out of the bedroom, running both hands over his face. He blinked sleepily at her through the screen. “Déjà vu.” He braced his arms on the frame over his head as his brown eyes sought her out, weary yet seductive.
Cassidy’s eyes swept down his beautiful body now off-limits to her by her own rules, idiot that she was. “Mac, you’re naked.”
“You are familiar with my body,” he pointed out. “I’m not hiding it because we’re no longer fucking.”
Cassidy lifted her eyes from her extended perusal of him and narrowed them at him, then glanced away.
“Don’t pretend offense,” he grouched. “What do you want?”
How quickly he slipped into being an asshole again. She was tempted to leave; she was counting to ten in her head.
Mac sighed. “Day, you didn’t wake me to have a temper tantrum on my porch.”
“Jesus, you are unpleasant in the morning.”
He smiled as he asked in his low, rough, sexy voice, “Suffering from memory loss?”
Okay, fine, he enjoyed teasing her. Folding her arms over her chest as goosebumps broke out, she asked, “Can you take Fred for a couple of days?”
His amusement fled. “Why?”
“I’m going out of town.”