Lately, she’d been having to adjust how she tied the sling because he was growing fast, filling out into a little chunk. She smiled down at him as he grunted softly and pushed his little fist against her breast. He took his mealtimes seriously.
A soft shuffling sound drew her attention, followed by the bouncy sound of a tennis ball rolling across the deck before coming to a stop beside her sneaker.
Looking up, she spotted the source of the noise and said, “Holy freaking moley. They said you were big but I had no idea. C’mere.” Showing no fear, she held her hand out palm up to the pair of enormous Great Danes padding from one end of the deck toward her. One was covered in large black and white patches, with little dots over where she supposed eyebrows would grow, giving him a perpetually puckish look. He walked right up to her and nudged her hand with his big nose. The other Great Dane, a brindle, approached her until he, too, sat next to her chair. He tilted his head at her as he slowly leaned his big boxy head to her and sniffed her hand.
He looked at the other dog, chuffed softly, and then picked up the ball and dropped it in her lap.
She snorted and picked up the sopping wet tennis ball. “Well, I guess that’s that, huh? Did I pass muster?” she asked as she cocked her wrist as if to throw.
They both stood, bodies suddenly full of tension, ready to race as she raised it over her head. The black one made a false start, and she giggled as she threw it into the yard. The deck vibrated as they launched themselves after the ball, play-fighting each other for it as they caught up to it.
The black and white Great Dane, which she had a feeling was Loki, flopped onto the other dog and stole the ball before trotting back with a regal air and dropped the ball in her lap again. He leaned his nose in and sniffed at Whit, making Whit’s hair dance back and forth with the forceful puffs of his breath, and then he licked the top of Whit’s head with his long slobbery tongue.
Shaking with laughter at the flabbergasted look on Whit’s face, she said, “Awesome. Yeah, you’re definitely Loki. Go get it, boy.” She threw the ball and smiled down at Whit, who now sported a mohawk. “That means he likes you, I think. It also means you’re getting a bath in a little while because I don’t kiss boys who smell like dogs.”
The fragrance of burning wood, probably from the fireplace, reached her nose. She settled back, smiling as the dogs chased and tussled for the ball, breathing in the crisp scents of the season, which was more like a stereotypical fall than actual winter. The pecan trees had begun to lose their leaves but the oak trees were still clad in their dark green foliage.
Supporting Whit’s head and upper body, she rose from the chair. Even standing, the dogs’ heads came up to her chest as she stroked both of them and they trailed her as she picked up the blanket and the big towel and walked down the back porch steps and out into the neatly kept yard. Off to one side was another smaller building made from the same sort of rock as the house. A rock path led up to it and rose bushes rambled on either side of the entrance. She was both enchanted by it and curious as to its use.
The dogs stayed by her the whole time as she took a walk around. She’d awakened with stiff muscles but the soreness made her smile as she stretched her arms over her head and twisted around as she recalled the intensity and tenderness of making love with Kendry and Jared the night before.
She’d been understandably nervous, but Kendry had gone slow, easing his cock inside her so gradually that it was she who had begged him for more. And even then, he’d been so gentle, so caring, making sure that she came more than once. They both had. A multitude of emotions rippled through her as she wrapped her arms around herself and Whit. She could grow addicted to that kind of happiness.
She spread the towel on the ground and then put the blanket on top of it. After removing Whit from the sling she laid him down so he could look up into the trees.
Both dogs drew near, tails wagging and ears perked up, and she patted them as they gave the baby tentative sniffs before settling down nearby. If they hadn’t been so well-behaved on the porch she never would’ve gone out in the yard and got down on the ground with them. Judging by their manners, Kendry and Jared had worked with both dogs. It was like having two small horses crowded close to her as they positioned themselves so they were in easy range for ear scratches. They made the funniest conversational sounds as she paid attention to them and to Whit.
The sun peaked out from behind the puffy clouds rolling by on the horizon, and she sat there, watching the river, patting the dogs, and smiling for no apparent reason. It’d been a long time since she’d just…sat and watched the world do its thing. The sun rose higher over the rooftop, filling the morning with promise and warming her back with its rays.