“Three ways, not two,” Aiden said. “I’m not screwing you guys over just because you live in the same cabin.”
“I appreciate it,” I said, sitting down on the chair. “Venison will be good in the freezer for the winter months.”
“Yeah, it’s really nice not to have to drive all the way into town,” Aiden said. “When winter hits here, it hits like a son of a bitch. I’ve told you guys the stories.”
I laughed and nodded. “Poor Desiree.”
“Yup,” Aiden said. “Well, let’s get down there and move that carcass to the truck.”
“You stay and eat your soup,” Everett said. “Aiden and I can handle it.”
I raised my spoon in acknowledgment since my mouth was full of stew. Part of me wanted to get up and join them, partially out of guilt that they’d be lugging the deer carcass around without my help, and partially because moving meant keeping warm. But the lure of eating was too strong, and I stayed put while they went down.
The rest of the morning and early afternoon was uneventful, and I started to get a bit froggy about leaving. I had plans for the evening, and they both knew it. I wondered if they were staying late just to have a go at me. When Everett and I finally got back to the cabin, I ducked inside the bathroom and immediately started a shower going.
“Nice of Aiden to offer to gut and pair out the venison,” Everett said when I came back into the kitchen while the water warmed up.
“Yeah, super nice,” I said distractedly. “Do you know what time it is? I took off my watch already.”
“Three,” Everett said, smirking as he poured a beer into a mug. “Want a shower beer to take with you?”
“No, I’m good.”
“Well, now there’s something new. Deacon Rowe turning down a beer on a Saturday afternoon,” he said. “You must be awfully fond of this girl.”
I ignored the ribbing and moved back into my bedroom, shutting the door behind me. If it was three already, that meant I had about half an hour. I didn’t plan on even taking that long.
I hopped in the shower and rinsed and lathered and rinsed again in record time. My phone was sitting on the sink, and I checked it as soon as I was thoroughly clean. The entire shower had taken about three minutes once the water warmed up.
I brushed my teeth, applied deodorant and cologne to the appropriate places, and then I went into my bedroom to get dressed. The back door, leading to the porch, had a single curtain over it, pulled to the side. If someone was back there, they’d see right into my room. That said, the only things behind our house before it got to the mountain itself were trees and occasionally deer or rabbits. I didn’t think they’d mind.
My mind couldn’t get around the excitement at seeing Rebecca again. There was so much tension being built up in our phone calls that it was nearly unbearable. But on top of that, there was the new tattoo, a sunflower on her calf. The delicate placement of the tattoo was weirdly sexy to me, and I loved the idea of running my fingers across it, should I get the chance.
Really, any excuse to touch Rebecca was a good one for me.
She was working her shift at the tattoo shop, and that meant heading all the way across town to get to her and pick her up for our date.
What was going to have to constitute a date, at least.
I knew she didn’t get off for a while, but I was going to get there early to surprise her. I had an idea that I wanted to go with, but it required getting there early enough that she still had some time on the clock first.
Putting on the clothes I had put aside specifically for this purpose the night before, I checked myself in the mirror and nodded. It was as good as I could get. I didn’t particularly hold myself in high regard, looks wise, though I wasn’t blind to the way women tended to react to me when they saw me. I just chalked that up to being tall and having a good jaw.
Whatever it was I had, it seemed to attract Rebecca to me at least partially as much as I was drawn to her. I’d take it. Considering I was drawn to her like a moth to a yellow lightbulb, I was fine with that.
I headed out of my bedroom and came face-to-face with Everett in the hallway. He was holding a shot glass in both hands, and he stuck one out to me.
“No, thanks,” I said. “I have to drive.”
“One shot,” Everett said. “You have the metabolism of a goddamn gorilla. Take the shot and breathe for a second.”