Good luck with that, my brain fired at me.
“Oh, fuck off,” I whispered as I let the door go.
Brody and Hayes were standing at the bottom of the steps from the retaining wall in similar poses. Legs spread apart, arms crossed over their chests. And Jesus H...those football butts.
Lord thank you for football asses. And thighs. Didn’t mean to forget the thighs. Amen.
“Here you go, guys.” I handed off the glasses. “How are the dogs doing?”
Hayes chuckled. “Your boy is trying to get CC to chase, but she’s ignoring him to sniff the yard.”
“She’s been taking lessons from Jet on how to handle men,” Brody intoned.
Jet trotted up next to him, nudged his hand with her nose, and his surprise was comical. “Hey girl, how are ya?” She slipped her soft head under his hand. “Well, I’ll be damned. Finally decided I’m a worthy admirer, huh?” He scratched her ear as we watched Mack follow CC around making play overtures like a lovesick puppy.
“Poor guy.” Hayes shook his head. “He’s got it bad.” I didn’t miss how his eyes darted to Brody.
Brody was more concerned with the female paying attention to him than with Mack’s crush on CC. Handing his wineglass to Hayes, the linebacker dropped into a squat next to Jet, letting her lean into his side while he relished finally being allowed into Jet’s orbit.
After a good long sniff, CC took Mack up on his offer to chase and I watched as she broadsided my little fireplug, knocking him on his ass.
“Damn if Shaw doesn’t know how that feels. I’ve got twenty on CC.” Hayes chortled.
I pretended not to hear the first part. “I’m not taking that bet. Mack is smitten.”
Finally, Jet decided to act like a dog and joined the others. When she approached, CC did a little posturing. “What do you see, Shaw?” I tipped my head to the dogs.
“They’re in play mode.”
“How can you tell?” I asked.
“CC’s neck is arched, but her nub tail is in a relaxed wiggle. The energy is calm.”
I nodded, pleased Brody had read the books I recommended.
“CC’s mouth is slack, and her weight isn’t on her toes. Her ears are laid back a bit,” Hayes added.
“You know something about dogs, Walker?”
He shrugged, sipped from his glass. “I had ’em growing up.”
With a blink, CC took off running, Jet jumping to join her and Mack cutting the yard to bring up the rear. I sipped my wine, my glass near empty already. The timer on my watch went off. “Lasagna’s ready.”
Brody turned toward me. “Smells good.” He patted his stomach. “Not much longer and I’ll have to give that kind of stuff up for the season.”
Hayes chuckled. “How much weight are you gonna have to cut?”
“Hopefully only the ten pounds I’ve put on. I’ve been trying to be careful. Trying being the operative word.”
That’s when the dogs cut back toward us at full speed, but Brody had turned almost perpendicular to where I was standing, and I had a hard time seeing them behind his big body.
“Incoming.” As quick as I said it, Hayes shushed me.
It happened fast. Jet whipped her lithe frame through Brody’s parted legs and kept right on going. Brody’s face lit with surprise. Then CC and Mack tried to take the same path, but CC being tall—and Mack being wide—managed to hit the big man in the backs of his knees, taking them right out from under him.
The remainder of his wine went flying over his head as he landed flat on his ass with a thud.
Hayes was cracking up laughing, and I might have been worried about Brody hurting himself, but for the enormous grin he was wearing. Instead of getting up, he lay back in the grass, his chest shaking.
Hearing the ruckus, the dogs turned back to investigate. Mack decided to apologize by splaying across Brody’s chest to lick his face. “Ahh, damn, buddy. I sure am glad you’re the friendly sort. It was an excellent takedown.” Mack continued to lick at him while CC sniffed at her owner and determined he was okay before walking off. “Stahpp. Stahpp, buddy.”
Still laughing myself, I remembered how much Mack liked openmouthed kisses. “Dude, I’d stop talking if you don’t want him to slip you the—”
“Tongue! Blech.” Too late. Giving Mack a playful shove he sat up. “Well, that was smooth. And I’m pretty sure Mack just licked one of my tonsils.”
Walking around him, I picked up the cracked glass, thankful it hadn’t shattered. “You broke my glass, Shaw.”
He pushed himself up from the ground. “He did it.” Pointing at my sweet boy, who had his tongue lolling to the side.
“Blaming the dog already, B? I thought that part came after you ate.”
Brody flipped Hayes off.
“There’s no such thing as smooth, Shaw,” I said. “Not with dogs around. Come in and eat. I’ll open another bottle.”
As I walked up the steps, I heard Brody whisper, “Seriously? Fart jokes? How old are you?”
My snort-laugh was so loud we were now all equally embarrassed.
Chapter Fourteen
“I blame cheesecake.” —Lily
Lily
My house was small and older, but had a big backyard and had been updated since I moved in. I heard the guys shuffle in behind me as I pulled the lasagna out of the oven. “Dogs follow you in?” Picking up the large pan, I set it on the stove and flipped the oven door closed.
Brody’s voice got louder as they got past the mud porch and into the kitchen. “No, they’re playing. Will they be okay out there?”
“They’re fine.” I turned, pulling another wineglass out of the cabinet. “Hey, can one of you check to make sure there’s water in the bowl by the back door?”
“It’s full.”
I quickly threaded a corkscrew into the new bottle like any self-respecting woman who had a love affair with her wine.
“Oh man, this is really nifty, Lil.” Brody’s eyes made a sweep of my kitchen as I worked the cork free.
Hayes grinned. “This is pretty fucking cool. Like it belongs on I Love Lucy or something.”
After pouring another glass for Brody and refilling my own, I refilled Hayes’s glass as well. The light blue metal cabinets and Formica counter, the black and white tile floor, the kitchen table that was straight out of a malt shop. “Thanks, I did a lot of the work myself.”